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“You have what you need if you know what you have.” 

I’ve been in this coffee shop for a couple of months now and I love how the owner of Ashley’s Harvest Moon Bakery and Cafe turned this shop around. You know me, I love turnaround stories and leaders who are able to pivot their business, especially during the pandemic. This coffee shop has been a favorite ever since I moved to Holly Springs, NC and so I was very excited to get to know the owner and interview her. I hope you enjoy this conversation I had with Ashley Heister and how this really young woman made this business successful through great leadership.

More about Ashley and her cafe:
Ashley Hiester is a small business owner out of Holly Springs, North Carolina. As someone who grew up in NC, it’s amazing to see how much has changed for the better. She has a few years of working in the restaurant industry and absolutely loved it. At a young age, she found cooking and baking to be a huge passion of hers. She also loves engaging and interacting with people. The opportunity to acquire Harvest Moon in July 2020 allowed her to do both of her passions for a living. 

Ashley’s Harvest Moon is a bakery-cafe and coffee shop with decadent food and amazing locally roasted coffee. We pride ourselves on excellent customer service and an atmosphere that makes you want to come back. We hope to see you soon! 

Check out Ashley’s socials:
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ashley-hiester/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/harvestmoonbakery/

Show notes:
[3:02] Who is Ashley and how things started for her
[4:20] How Ashley turned around the coffee shop quickly and how COVID played a role in the shop’s success
[7:17] Her insecurities as a young leader and business owner
[10:10] The challenges that come with leading already talented people and creating core values
[13:28] Their core values at play
[18:01] Handling new hires and surrounding yourself with the right people
[22:16] Ashley’s vision of Harvest Moon and the hardest part of the business in 2020
[25:15] Morning rituals to kickstart Ashley’s day
[28:50] Treat your staff like family
[30:57] Receiving customers’ feedback and missed opportunities 
[33:43] How social media made a huge difference and receiving bad reviews
[37:51] Marketing vs. management 
[40:26] Final thoughts: do it and take risks
[42:06] Outro

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Providing leadership to your boss is an essential ingredient in a winning organization, but it should be done the right way. In today’s episode, I share the importance of leading up and what NOT to do when leading up. 

On the other side of the table, as the leader of the team or organization, you should create an environment that allows people to feel comfortable in providing leadership to their leader. I also share what you can do as a leader to ensure that this culture exists and is palpable in your organization.

Show notes:
[0:52] The concept of leading up
[2:00] What NOT to do when it comes to leading up
[6:30] Our realization and the importance of leading up
[7:43] Who is responsible for creating the culture of leading up?
[8:55] The two choices that you (as the leader) can make
[10:43] Outro

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Knowing which type of organization you are developing is very important because it could spell either success or disaster. It’s also important to understand the differences, advantages, and disadvantages of building a rules-based or culture-based organization. There will be certain businesses that will work way better with a rules-based setup, but more often than not, a room for your people to grow and feel empowered will ultimately lead to success.

Show notes:
[2:35] When rules hamper performance and growth
[4:05] Too many rules can be limiting
[7:04] When organizations make a great job of building a right culture
[9:42] Driving the right culture allows people to make better decisions
[12:38] What organization are you developing?
[15:23] Outro

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What does it take to keep a business running successfully in the midst of a pandemic? How do you build a winning culture and how do you keep great people? Today I am joined by the owner of Homegrown Pizza in Holly Springs, North Carolina, Dan Henry. He offered some great insights on running a business and keeping it successful during the pandemic, how to be able to get a good work-life balance, leading by example, and keeping your people engaged.

Who is Dan Henry:
Dan has been in the restaurant business and after a year he started an Italian restaurant near the airport at Sorrento. In November 2002, he took over Homegrown and even won HS chamber Small business of the year in 2003.

If you are anywhere near Holly Springs, North Carolina do check out Homegrown Pizza.
Web: http://www.homegrownpizza.com/
FB: https://www.facebook.com/HomegrownPizza/

Show notes:
[2:03] Who is Dan Henry and how he got to where he is now?
[4:08] The status of the restaurant he bought
[9:06] Henry’s edge over business owners who didn’t make it
[13:27] On having a great culture and how to find hard-working people
[18:46] On handling a business during the pandemic
[21:23] Taking things day-by-day 
[25:25] Henry’s vision and plans for the business
[28:50] Work-life balance and giving their people room to take responsibility and ownership
[33:58] A quick and funny story of John’s first experience of Homegrown Pizza  
[37:24] Dan’s recommendation from their menu
[38:28] Final words of wisdom
[40:26] Outro

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“It is impossible to live without failing at something, unless you live so cautiously that you might as well not have lived at all, in which case you have failed by default.” - J.K. Rowling

I wanted to share with everyone this presentation that I did for LAMP Main Stage where I spoke to a very large audience. In the beginning of this episode, I also talked about what transpired prior to my presentation and how I talked myself into calming down. More importantly, in this presentation, I talked about what hinders a leader from performing their best. Also, if you’re not watching this on YouTube, I highly suggest you do!

Show notes:
[3:35] Start of presentation
[6:35] The small difference makes a huge impact in the end
[7:25] Focus LESS on your weakness
[10:50] People care too much about what others think
[13:06] Use of the same leadership style for everybody
[14:59] The cork test: watch the full video version of this episode on my YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCGJXdFTRgrIIW3WcXm2v83g
[17:56] Outro

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Today’s topic is something that’s very critical for leaders to understand. I’ve seen different versions of this happening, but ultimately it starts with exactly the same thing --- not getting the most from your top members. In order for A-players to stay in your organization, they need three things: have the opportunity to grow, feel that they’re making an impact, and feel valued and recognized.

If your top players do better, it will create a huge impact because they will raise the bar and set the pace for your entire organization. It will cause a ripple effect for the other team members to emulate.

Show notes:
[1:10] What do you do with the talents you hire?
[2:04] What made me talk about this today?
[4:40] The problems with this scenario
[8:00] Two things that can possibly happen
[9:13] Too many rules or parameters that leaders give their talents
[10:20] Leaders don’t empower their A-players enough
[13:07] Outro

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I love having business owners as guests in this podcast especially those that have pivoted their way through the pandemic. Today is no different and I’m certain you are going to love this episode.

Crystal Herring and her husband owns CrossFit Contrivance and while there are quite a few CrossFit businesses around their area, theirs is one of the most successful ones. We talk about how she navigated the business during the pandemic, how to build a winning team, the importance of transparency, the power of community, and how to lead through uncertainty, just to name a few. I’m sure you’re going to enjoy this episode and don’t forget to check out CrossFit Contrivance.

More about Crystal:
Experienced professional with a demonstrated background working in the financial services industry.  Strong business development, financial services, specifically client service in the boutique advisory sector. A successful entrepreneur in the fitness industry.

Where to find Crystal Herring and her business:
Website: https://www.crossfitcontrivance.com/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/CrossFitContrivanceAPEX

Show notes:
[2:26] What is CrossFit and the community around it?
[3:44] How is CrossFit different from a regular gym
[5:13] On CrossFit being intimidating, but has a good retention rate
[9:04] How Crystal started with CrossFit and her biggest learning when she opened the business
[13:45] “Build people and the people will help build your business.”
[15:23] Biggest leadership challenge and how to attract great people?
[18:40] On building a tight-knit community
[19:53] Taking setbacks personally and letting go of those who aren’t a good fit
[22:43] Their obsession with their clients is the reason for their success
[27:10] On building a winning team and showing your expectations from the onset
[30:02] Navigating through the pandemic and being transparent
[38:21] Crystal’s vision
[39:46] Where to find Crystal and her company
[40:30] One-piece of advice from Crystal

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“What we measure we tend to do really well with.”

I have a very special guest today! He is an actor, businessman, retired professional bodybuilder, and former politician, and my childhood hero. Make sure to tune in to hear what he thinks about visibility and clarity. 

On a serious note, I wanted to bring this topic to light because it’s an occurrence I’ve seen in some leaders and organizations. They don’t show or make visible performance results or numbers in fear that their people won’t appreciate it. Guess what? Those who don’t want their numbers shown are the same people who aren’t productive or who aren’t doing well. As a leader, if you have this mindset, you’re missing the boat on an opportunity to challenge your team and allow your people to grow.

Show notes:
[1:38] I have a very special guest who came into the studio
[2:28] What my special guest thinks about visibility as a performance enhancer
[4:44] What is visibility? 
[6:39] Here’s another great example
[10:27] Realizations
[12:35] Leaders, do your people know what success looks like? 
[14:07] When you make things visible, your people are going to perform so much better
[16:10] Episode wrap up

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“If you can not change the people, you have to change the people.”

I wanted to talk about a topic that applies to many of the leaders out there, and yes, including myself. I’ve been in this boat some time ago so that’s why I feel urged to share it with everybody.

Have you ever had that team member who sticks out like a sore thumb? One who doesn’t take feedback openly yet doesn’t improve despite the coaching. I can go on and on, but I’m pretty sure you already know who I mean. Keeping this type of member for too long comes with a cost and that’s what I’ll be sharing today. Let me know if you’ve experienced this and what did it cost you?

Show notes:
[0:00] Intro
[1:03] ONE key problem in organizations
[2:03] Do you have a poison pill in your organization? 
[3:51] The cost of keeping the wrong people for too long
[5:45] As a leader, you have to be reality-based
[7:04] Time taken away from your A-players and time away from more important things
[7:34] The standards of the organization drop
[8:05] Negativity and frustration builds up
[10:09] Final thoughts
[11:59] Outro 

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When you lead yourself effectively, it will make leading others easier. The first step in doing this is to live in alignment and my guest for today is an expert on that. Lauri Andreacchio is the host of Off the Mat as well as a Yogini and teacher. We talked about the visualization/relaxation techniques that Lauri studied and mastered to help her stay calm during stressful situations. More importantly, we talked about the power of living in alignment, what it means and why it’s important. Make sure you stay tuned.

More about Lauri:
Ever since she was a kid, she has always loved creating things, being creative, and being active. She was very independent --- her famous words were “I can do it myself!”; Even if she really couldn’t. Her interests were diverse and she was always looking for creativity, variety, beauty & joy in life.  As an adult, started her own design/sign company. She discovered Yoga and was hooked! Naturally, she wanted to share what was helping her so much, so she got her first certification and began teaching. She was doing her best to live “from the heart” and help others along the way.

A few months after giving birth to her second child, she underwent emergency open-heart surgery to repair a deteriorated mitral valve. Thanks to family and friends’ support, she was able to get through the crisis. Utilizing lots of deep breathing, visualization, alternative medicine, etc., she began to heal. She now continues to live a life of service to others.

Where to find Lauri Andreacchio:
Website: https://www.lauriandreacchio.com/
IG: https://www.instagram.com/kalisoulartandyoga/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/KaliSoulArtandYoga/
Off the Mat: https://www.lauriandreacchio.com/off-the-mat

Show notes:
[0:00] Intro
[2:34] When Lauri was first introduced to the concept of living in alignment 
[6:33] On practicing breathing techniques to achieve calmness
[9:29] Mindfulness — what is it?
[12:47] The effects of social media on alignment
[14:37] What is living in alignment?
[16:47] Taking a breath, literally
[21:19] Great tip when speaking in public
[24:47] How to slow your mind down? 
[27:10] Lauri and her yoga practice
[31:25] On encouraging others to do yoga
[34:48] The birth of Off the Mat
[38:02] “If it doesn’t make you smile, why do it?”
[39:47] Final words of wisdom
[42:51] Outro   

Text LEADER to 617-393-5383 to receive The Top 10 Things That The Best Leaders Are Doing Right Now

For questions, suggestions, or speaker inquiries, contact me at [email protected]