ValuClarity

Adam Kipnes coaches his clients through a focused strategic planning exercise that engages all stakeholders, and develops innovative plans by asking better questions. This approach makes the plan a living document, with some contingency planning built in. In our conversation, we talked about the challenges of making a long-term plan during periods of rapid, extreme change -- specifically a global pandemic.

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Steve Melanson helps clients distill their differentiation down into a single, simple concept. Then, he helps them align everything in their business to that simple, clean brand promise: their graphic/media presence, marketing, operations, service...everything. He and I are kindred spirits in that regard. I really enjoyed our conversation, and of course (egotistically), how much we agree.

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Joe Swinger confesses that he used to be the "manager from hell" until he received a wake-up call from his management after the results of employee surveys. He quickly figured out that getting results from your team actually gets easier when you motivate and coach them. This revelation led him on his own journey of coaching and helping mid-career professionals figure out how they can live lives of "Vibrancy, Impact, and Purpose"...I can think of no better charter for anyone in any management/leadership role.

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VAluClarity goes global: Alessandro Duringon joined me from his home just outside of Milan, Italy. Alessandro is a sales leader with experience in a variety of technology product companies. We talked about selling value, and how small-seeming differentiation can lead to selling success, even earning a price premium.

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Tim Rethlake is leads sales team training for the world's largest fireplace and hearth company. He shares his wisdom extensively on social media, in clever, pithy posts. Tim and I talked about differentiation, value, and how sales organizations adapt to change. I always enjoy spending time with Tim, and hope enjoy this conversation.

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Bob Pizzini enlisted in the navy, ultimately becoming an Explosive Ordinance Disposal (EOD) specialist. Upon leaving the service, he had to learn to lead young people who had not benefitted from the US military's extensive leadership training infrastructure. Through some trying times, he's developed his own style of leadership that starts with a heavy dose of self-management, then goes on to team management. I love what he has to say about all of it.

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I often coach my clients that sometimes you can achieve high-value uniqueness by being the only one to combine two familiar (not-well-differentiated) ones. Aneesh Chaudry has created a business that differentiates by Integrating two well-known disciplines into a unique new one: A creative differentiation method. By integrating eastern and western healing traditions, a high-value, different service was created. While I am personally interested in integrative medicine, there are some value and differentiation lessons to be learned from Aneesh.

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Mike Skrypnek found himself at a crossroads after the crash of 2008, and took advantage of an opportunity to reimagine his business, his life, and his career. He dove into hundreds of hours of self-examination, guided by experts in the field, and developed his own "Grow, Get, Give" ethos, where companies grow through customer value focus, and share that success philanthropically. We talk about it in a great interview which has some powerful parallels to any business or sales person.

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George Brontén: is a thought leader, author, and the CEO of a CRM company who finds that CRMs often don't do what they should. We talk about what sales leaders should be getting their teams to do instead of logging activities, about the importance of coaching (not managing) and his book, which helps sales people -- and the coaches coaching them -- avoid those simple mistakes that are high-frequency deal-killers.

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Tricia Benn, Executive VP with the C-Suite Network serves as the guest host for this episode. She interviews Mark Boundy as the guest. We talk about the vision of a value-focused organization, and some of the tools we use with clients to help simplify and clarify that process.

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