The Pivotal Leader

"The key is to know who you are and understand what drives you, what makes you happy and what drives you as a leader." - The Our Shawn McBride

On this episode of The Pivotal Leader, Gina interviewed The Our Shawn McBride is a corporate lawyer licensed in 12 states and Washington, DC and is a CPA licensed in 3 states. He heads The R. Shawn McBride Law Firm, PLLC, a corporate law boutique and McBride For Business, LCC a business strategy firm where he is often called upon to speak or consult on the future of business. He is the author of Business Blunders which showcases common business mistakes to avoid and three other books.

His extensive experience in the sales arena comes from running his multiple businesses and being called upon repeatedly to help sales organizations increase their sales results.

Episode Highlights:

• What consulting on the future of business means and what we should be looking at when creating business plans for the future
• Some changes or trends that business should be anticipating over the coming years, including block-chain (and what block-chain is)
• What smaller businesses should be doing to prepare for block-chain technology
• The importance of looking at the ripple effects of new technology and the disruption it can or will bring
• Common business mistakes that Shawn has seen and some solutions to the mistakes, including some LLC setup blunders
• Should you setup your business as an S-Corp or LLC?
• Partnership Agreements and the 4 D's (death, disability, divorce or disagreement) Shawn says you should always run through before going into a partnership
• How Shawn does it ALL, his system and processes and how inter-connectivity aids him in his day-to-day business activities

FULL SHOWNOTES

"Whenever you do something you love it becomes a renewable source of energy for you. It unlocks creativity, energy, enthusiasm and it's no wonder I am doing all this crazy stuff right now, because I did something that I loved."

- Julian Placino

On this episode of The Pivotal Leader, Gina interviewed, Julian Placino, a recruiting professional with 12 years of experience in agency and corporate staffing. He's been instrumental in advancing the careers of hundreds of technology, creative, and sales professionals around the country. For seven years, he led talent acquisition for Bottle Rocket, one of the premier mobile development firms in the world. Julian also is the creator of the Pathways to Success Podcast in iTunes where he conducts in-depth interviews with world-class performers to discover their mindsets, tactics, and behaviors. He has interviewed CEOs, New York Times bestselling authors, TEDx speakers, celebrity athletes, company founders, leading entrepreneurs, and prolific thought leaders.

Podcast Highlights:

• Julian's fascinating story, how he went from recruiter to podcaster to keynote speaker and owner of Pathways to Success Training Company
• The importance of finding the intersection of your inner strengths
• Some advice to an organization that is trying to create a culture of innovation and inspiration
• What inspired Julian to create the Pathways to Success podcast, how his recruiting experience aided him in doing so and what the podcast is all about
• Creating a social footprint and discovering what a personal brand truly is
• How having a podcast, a personal brand and message can leave an impact on your followers
• Using LinkedIn as a medium to produce and publish content and how it helped Julian build credibility as a personal branding consultant
• Social media acts as a great feedback mechanism and the importance of listening to your market
• The benefits of recharging and what Julian does to recharge
• Julian's view on the future of podcasting from a business perspective and the wrong and right energy

FULL SHOW NOTES

Pivot10Results

"I tell everybody, you want to figure out what you are made of? Launch your own business. I don't know any other tool, in the world, that will make you grow up, level up, figure yourself out faster than launching your own business."

- Donnie Boivin

On this episode of The Pivotal Leader, Gina Trimarco interviewed Donnie Boivine - Success Coach, Podcast Coach, Content Developer, International Speaker and host of the Success Champions Podcast. He's an expert sales professional and top 200 iTunes podcaster.

Episode Highlights:

• The difficulties of moving from an employee mindset to a business owner mindset
• The benefits of podcasting and interviewing guests
• The challenges of podcast monetization
• Using the social proof of being a podcaster to get exposure on 'the big stage'
• Discovering podcasting for business
• The accountability of having processes and systems in place
• The fear of success
• The power of incremental growth when your next milestone soon becomes your new comfort zone
• Keep going after failure
• Evolve your experience, rather than just repeating the same experience year after year
• Are you a salesperson OR 'just' an order taker
• Managing sales teams, measuring performance and encouraging competition
• How a podcast episode can power your content marketing

FULL SHOW NOTES

Spontaneous Selling 1.0

"Create the atmosphere that allows you to become all that you are meant to be." - Tom Ziglar

On this episode of The Pivotal Leader, Gina Trimarco and Rachel Pitts(co-host of Women Your Mother Warned You About) interviewed Tom Ziglar, son of Zig Ziglar and CEO of Ziglar, Inc. This is a two-part series with part two (about sales) available on Women Your Mother Warned You About. This episode focuses on leadership.

Episode Highlights:

• Following in the footsteps of an iconic family member
• The characteristics of an excellent leader
• Scaling a business so it is NOT dependent upon ONE person
• Defining success, significance and legacy
• How to make better self-care choices and leverage them to become a better leader
• The four keys to physical health
• The essential benefits of getting enough sleep
• Three things goal achievers ALWAYS do
• Creating an organizational culture that attracts and retains top talent
• Four actions to create a GREAT atmosphere in an organization
• If you want to change the culture of an organization, it starts with leadership

FULL SHOW NOTES

"To be successful, you have to be able to convince people, you have to be able to listen, and you have to do all of those kinds of things that a good salesperson does." - Tom Murry

On this episode of The Pivotal Leader, Gina Trimarco interviewed Tom Murry, former CEO of Calvin Klein, where he ran the company for 17 years and facilitated the brand's growth from 2.8 billion to 8 billion. Prior to that, he spent the majority of his career working for iconic fashion brands, one including Tahari and rising through the ranks to the greatest job in the world. Working alongside designer extraordinaire Calvin Klein with the same and no-nonsense approach that he applies to fashion.

Podcast Highlights:

• How Tom went from working on oil rigs to working in fashion
• The power of teamwork and how the same rules apply from the oil rig to the runway to the boardroom
• How "rocking the boat" showed up in the fashion industry
• The importance of being a good salesman
• Tom's journey in learning all facets of the apparel industry (from manufacturing, to merchandising, and everything in between)
• From Tahari to his dream job at Calvin Klein
• For the aspiring C-Suite professional, Tom describes some ways you can position yourself to become the next CEO
• It's important how you show up and roll up your sleeves to be noticed
• Fundamentals of business success and the four principles to execution in apparel and other industries
• How leaders can create a more collaborative team player culture
• Strategies for attracting team players with the right potential
• Tom's perspective on stereotypes in the fashion industry and how to work with the creative personality
• What it was like working with Calvin Klein

FULL SHOW NOTES

"If you start managing innovation teams in some sort of a regular traditional business model ... forget it. It's not going to work. It's not going to happen. You need chaos. You need structured chaos and you need freedom." - Bjorn Oste

On this episode of The Pivotal Leader, Gina Trimarco interviewed Bjorn Oste, Co-Founder & CEO of Good Idea Drinks, also known as "The Swedish Sugar Buster". Good Idea is a sugar and sweetener free flavored, carbonated water that helps people with normal blood sugar levels handle the blood sugar spikes following a meal.

Prior to Good Idea, he co-founded Oatly, a 100% oat-based milk, sold in over 25 countries including North America, Europe and Asia with his nutrition professor brother as a co-founder, He also co-founded Aventure AB – a research-based company specializing in the development of advanced and functional food concepts. Their purpose is to develop attractive food products with preventive properties that make it easier for people to move towards a healthier lifestyle.

It's a totally new approach and they chose the USA as their first market for obvious reasons. Lifestyle related diseases such as type 2-diabetes, obesity and CVD are sky rocketing, and they see a real need of changing the paradigm – from cure and treatment to protection and prevention by lifestyle change.

And prior to this, he co-founded Dynasoft, a world leader in specialized complex computer security systems for global banks, blue chip companies and governments.

Podcast Highlights:

• The story behind being a serial entrepreneur growing multiple successful startups into global organisations
• Developing a nucleus of competence
• Curiosity and innovation as the key to growth
• Lessons learned growing a computer security company
• Being super creative about launching new products and developing a new market
• An interesting observation about the impact of family life on entrepreneurship
• Launching brands direct to consumers
• The importance of collaboration with global experts
• Expanding an idea and identifying related opportunities
• Developing a product that reduces blood sugar spikes after meals
• Process and strategy for taking a new product to market
• Achieving 'proof of concept' as a major step to success
• Authenticity and storytelling rather than the brand
• Identifying your audience and communicating in a way that resonates with them

FULL SHOW NOTES

"There's no prize for 2nd place in sales - it's win or lose, sell or die." - Jeffrey Gitomer

On this episode of The Pivotal Leader, Gina Trimarco interviewed the King of Sales Jeffrey Gitomer and Jennifer Gluckow, speaker, trainer and writer on all things sales.

Buckle up for this ride with Jeffrey and Jennifer – truly one of the funnest podcasts Gina has recorded to date and they did it live in the Sell Or Die Podcast studio in Charlotte.

Podcast Topics Include:

• The problems of sales mis-information
• Learning presentation skills by singing karaoke in bars
• Why discovering your customers 'pain' isn't a great place to start
• Building rapport in sales conversations
• Modern sales training to reflect the realities of our modern world
• Sales lessons experienced at a Bruce Springsteen concert
• Are you friends with your top customers?
• Politically correct vs conversational - don't forget to be friendly or human!
• Using positive language and humor to build a relationship and get past the gatekeepers
• Creating trust and the experience to help people buy
• Learn how to be creative on the spot rather than memorize a script
• Let's all highlight how to succeed rather than how to fail
• The benefits of interviewing as a strategy to gain access to decision makers

FULL SHOW NOTES

"Dreaming big takes the same amount of effort as dreaming small, so go big.

- Jose R. Costa

On this episode of The Pivotal Leader, Gina Trimarco interviewed Jose R. Costa, CEO of For Eyes, which is part of GrandVision, a global leader in optical retail with more than 7,000 stores worldwide. He has a background steeped in marketing, franchising, multi-unit retailing and enhancing customer experience at some of the most recognized brands in the world.

He is the author of "Leading With Edge: Activate Your Advantage Through Personal Insight," which features the concept of leadership as a practice, inviting readers to acknowledge the determination and grit it takes to be a good leader. Previous to his current role as CEO, he served as Group President of Driven Brands where he led MAACO®, CARSTAR® and Drive N Style®. Collectively, these brands operate more than 1,400 body shops across North America, generate more than $1.8 billion in annual system sales and further establish Driven Brands as a leader in the automotive aftermarket space. Previously, he was President of MAACO®, where he was responsible for managing and developing 500 automotive body shops across the U.S. and Canada.

Podcast Topics Include:

• The inspiration for writing a leadership book
• Why there is high demand but low supply for strong leadership
• How to lead with edge
• The importance of the "Ask, Listen & Be Curious"
• How to become more curious and a better listener and how improv skills can help
• Theater and improv skills in business
• Employee engagement strategies
• Core (common sense) leadership fundamentals
• Jose's "no computer" policy during meetings
• Jose's four key meeting reasons: to explore, inform, decide or debate
• Advice for becoming a CEO and successful in business
• His experience on Undercover Boss
• Performance reviews, "spontaneous feedback" and millennials
• Training and development strategies for employees
• The value of working with the worst managers
• Creating a culture of education and continuous learning
• Advice for franchisees and franchisors
• Jose's favorite books (and he reads a lot) – book list available on our website

FULL SHOW NOTES

"Get up early. Stay late. Do what your passion is. And don't be afraid of taking risks."

- Stephen J. Cloobeck

On this episode of The Pivotal Leader, Gina Trimarco interviewed Stephen J. Cloobeck, a self-made entrepreneur with more than thirty years' experience across every aspect of hospitality design, development, and deployment … AND author of the new book CHECKING IN: Hospitality-Driven Thinking, Business, And You.

As the original founder and former CEO and chairman of Diamond Resorts International – a business that grew to become the second-largest vacation-ownership company worldwide with more than four hundred properties across thirty-three countries in its portfolio – Cloobeck made a name for himself as the industry's most adamant advocate for radical customer service, what he calls embracing the Meaning of Yes.

To Cloobeck's own amusement, he is perhaps most frequently recognized for his appearances on CBS's hit TV show Undercover Boss. Featured on multiple episodes across multiple seasons, Cloobeck to this day ranks as the "most generous boss" who has ever participated in the unscripted program.

Podcast Topics Include:

• How the five biggest companies are hospitality companies
• The meaning of "A culture of no is a culture of losing" and "Leadership is hollow without ownership"
• Delivering "the meaning of yes"
• Be an accessible and approachable leader to customers and employees by making your personal contact info available
• Passion as the root of success
• Complacency emanates from the top
• Communication, Collaboration and no Stagnation
• Stephen's experience partnering with Bill Marriott
• Overcoming dyslexia
• Advice for how best to connect with others
• Work ethic: the old-fashioned way of working hard and "no free lunch"
• Advice for scaling a business

FULL SHOW NOTES

"Everybody has a defining moment which changes their life for better or worse."

- Ulrich Kellerer

On this episode of The Pivotal Leader, Gina Trimarco interviewed Ulrich Kellerer, business leader, international speaker, and mental health activist from Munich, Germany. For over twenty years Kellerer worked in the European fashion industry as the founder and CEO of the German clothing line, Faro Fashion, which took over distribution rights for the brand CLOSED (the leading European fashion company for women's and men's sportswear) in Bavaria - south Germany. Kellerer is the co-author of The Soul of Success with Jack Canfield and the author of the recently released title: One Moment Can Change Your Life: Extraordinary Stories about Ordinary People. Today, Kellerer's life is dedicated to fighting the depression epidemic and promoting mental wellness in the workplace.

Podcast Topics Include:

• Becoming a "mood manager"
• People make the difference - being a role model by showing you care to change people and lives
• Communication – the biggest ability of humankind
• Decreasing loneliness and depression, especially for entrepreneurs, to increase life expectancy and the reality of loneliness in the U.S.
• How to support someone with suicidal thoughts and anxiety
• Overcoming "Luxury Problems" eliminate the attitude of "You buy things with money you don't have to impress people you don't like."
• How to motivate yourself to greatness – structure, discipline, dreams, and self-respect
• Having more than one "best hour of your week" life experiences

FULL SHOW NOTES

Fine tune your "mood manager" skills!