Win At Home First

Here is some hard truth... The company will be fine without you. The nonprofit you volunteer for will be fine without you.

Your family WILL NOT be fine without you.

Yes, we need to work hard.

Yes, we need to serve.

However, we can't overwork and overserve at the expense of our family. This was just one of many pieces of wisdom that this week's podcast guest shared. Amy Connor has been a Brand Manager at P&G, then Vice President of Marketing for Lenscrafters. Amy is also a wife, a parent, plus on the board for a local private school.

So, Amy understands a demanding schedule.

Her wisdom of how to overcome the demands of the world, yet still win in your personal and spiritual life is very helpful.

I hope you enjoy the episode as much as I did!

In this episode, you'll discover…

• Key trait to win at both work and home (1:10)
• How do you find the time to be a mother, a wife, and a business owner (8:06)
• What were your struggles with your identity when you decided to leave your corporate job (23:49)
• What are some guardrails you have in your life to make sure you are taking time for yourself (27:36)

Amy Connor's Bio

Amy Connor is CEO & Owner of CMO-OnLoan™, an organization that serves privately-held, mid-market companies in Dayton, Cincinnati and Northern Kentucky.

Connor and her team help business-to-business companies that don't have a marketing leader by building, implementing and growing revenue-generating marketing systems. Their purpose is to build the region by fueling mid-market company success.

For more than 20 years, Connor drove growth with her ability to quickly assess business opportunities and lead strategic and actionable roadmaps in world-class companies like The Iams Company, Procter & Gamble and Luxottica.

After a successful corporate career, including her role as vice president, marketing for LensCrafters, Connor started CMO-OnLoan in 2016. Since then, Connor and her team have served many companies throughout a broad range of industries in the region.

Connor is a sought-out speaker, providing relevant insights to business leaders and organizations, including the Goering Center for Family & Private Business, Mason Deerfield Chamber, P&G Alumni Symposium, Xavier University MBA program, American Marketing Association, Association of National Advertisers, SCORE, and Vistage.

What's Next?

Speaking of getting an ROI on your life…..

The Confident and Consistent Leader Challenge has had AMAZING results to help leaders identify where and how to be intentional.

I can't wait to hold the next one on April 25th and help leaders create, and build better habits!

Are you going to take the leap and join us? 100% money-back guarantee if you don't move forward.

Go here to learn more, see endorsements of previous guests, plus register!

Are you crushing it at work but struggling at home? If you want to learn how to win at home, then go to https://CoryMCarlson.com/subscribe and download your free copy of "10 Ways To Win At Home."

I met Renji Bijoy about 6 years ago when he was a participant in the Ocean accelerator and I had the opportunity to speak a few times to the cohort.

I immediately hit it off with Renji. First of all, he is a very personable individual, however, there are two things that stood out to me. First is how radical his business idea was (and still is too many of us). The second is how strong his faith was (and still is)!

Both of those ideas caused me and will cause you to think and dream bigger.

As for his business, he founded a company, Immersed, that creates VR workspaces. This means, you and your coworkers can be across the country, yet all 'work in the same meeting room virtually!'

I know it sounds crazy, but 300,000 people have downloaded their program and Facebook has invested in them!

The second item of his that impressed me was how strong his faith was. He is consistently giving God credit, spending time in the word, and prayer.

He has hit Forbes 30 under 30, a growing company, yet he spends 2 hours a day in quiet time!

There is so much to learn on this podcast! Renji will challenge your thinking and habits....in a very good way!

In this episode, you'll discover…

• Key trait to win at both work and home (2:34)
• How do you serve at home after working such long and hard days (6:35)
• How do you maintain your relationship with God (19:21)
• How do you stay grateful for the lot you've been given and how much you've accomplished thus far (26:38)

What's Next?

Are you crushing it at work but struggling at home? If you want to learn how to win at home, then go to https://CoryMCarlson.com/subscribe and download your free copy of "10 Ways To Win At Home."

If you're looking for a resource to help you with these times when your work is now in your home, check out my book Win At Home First on Amazon. Forbes Magazine rated it one of 7 books everyone on your team should read.

As humans, we tend to take the path of least resistance.

Now, since this email is sent to business leaders, then let's set the record straight. We are all pro-active, 'go get 'em', type leaders - so l know we don't usually take the path of least resistance on purpose!

Instead, it an unintended consequence for our hard work in another area and we just need to catch our breath!

What I see in my own life, is if I am working hard on a work project, then I may take my foot off the gas in investing in my family.

Or I may have spent the weekend investing in family and fun, so when I get to work I coast by just cleaning out my email inbox and aimlessly scrolling social media.

In this week's podcast conversation with Pete Durand, CEO of Cruxible Partners, we have a great conversation about how to avoid this pendulum swing!

For example, in our marriage, we need both scheduled and spontaneous dates, so we don't drift in our marriage. Dates are great guardrails for our marriages!

At work, we need set time blocks for deep work so we are focused. As well as giving ourselves permission to cut out of work early for an afternoon run, if we are just wasting time in the office.

Today's episode is full of nuggets as Pete has been successful in the large corporate world, as well as launching his own company!

In this episode, you'll discover…

• Key trait to win at both work and home (4:05)
• How do you share your burdens with your spouse (8:12)
• How you pursue your spouse (11:22)
• Intentionality of faith when raising your kids and the spiritual journey with your spouse (17:16)
• Have you ever felt God tell you it's time to hand over your story for a greater story (26:39)

Pete's Bio

Pete had a successful early corporate career at companies like Kimberly Clark, Eaton and General Electric. After working in several startups, he was inspired to start RivalHealth in 2009, a company delivering fully customized and individual fitness solutions. In 2017, after changing thousands of people's lives, he merged the company with gBehavior to form GoPivot Solutions, the leading well-being platform in the US.

He founded Cruxible Partners, a boutique consulting and talent acquisition firm in 2018. After consulting with Saebo, Inc. he joined the company as CEO in early 2022. Pete was excited to marry his passion for health and Saebo's mission to leave no stroke patient behind.

He is patent holder, a podcast host, an accomplished triathlete, exercise junkie, nutrition nut and NASM Certified Personal Trainer (CPT). Pete holds a BS in Industrial Engineering and MBA and is a former Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year for the Carolinas.

What's Next?

Are you crushing it at work but struggling at home? If you want to learn how to win at home, then go to https://CoryMCarlson.com/subscribe and download your free copy of "10 Ways To Win At Home."

If you're looking for a resource to help you with these times when your work is now in your home, check out my book Win At Home First on Amazon. Forbes Magazine rated it one of 7 books everyone on your team should read.

In December, I had the opportunity to speak at the GameDay event in Birmingham, AL. Where about 100 business leaders came together to plan out their personal and professional life for 2022

The night before the event, we had a speaker's dinner with the hosts and the emcee. The emcee was Martin A. Briggs, who is this week's podcast guest.

I had the privilege to sit next to him and hear some of his story. I was encouraged and inspired to say the least.

He is very strong in his faith, a family man, an innovative business man, and all about helping others. Martin is very connected in Birmingham, and is all about connecting other people in the Birmingham area to each other.

He founded ULECx Market with his wife, Kayla, which is an investment and marketing firm. One of the purposes of the organization is to connect other faith-forward businesses in Birmingham with each other, to help them all prosper.

A few podcast highlights:

• 3 ways to discern if you hear God
• How to work with your spouse
• How to fight with your spouse (super helpful )

In this episode, you'll discover…

• Key trait to win at both work and home (2:30)
• How does one grow in their relationship with the Holy Spirit (3:14)
• The Essential Six (6:05)
• How to listen when you're being told to hand over your story for a greater story (17:42)
• Tips and tricks for working with your spouse (21:49)

Martin's Bio

Martin is a graduate of the University of California, Davis where Martin received a bachelor's degree in Agricultural and Managerial Economics. His academic studies extended to Creighton University where Martin pursued advanced academic studies in Health Administration and Policy. In the Spring of 2020, Martin graduated from Highlands College with a certificate in ministry leadership. Martin and his wife Kayla are the founders of the investment/marketing firm The ULECx Market.

What's Next?

Are you crushing it at work but struggling at home? If you want to learn how to win at home, then go to https://CoryMCarlson.com/subscribe and download your free copy of "10 Ways To Win At Home."

If you're looking for a resource to help you with these times when your work is now in your home, check out my book Win At Home First on Amazon. Forbes Magazine rated it one of 7 books everyone on your team should read.

The new group call starts next week.....there is still room for you to join!

We have a great group so far. About 5-6 leaders, so room for a few more.

Check this out to learn more.

Reach out if you have any questions.

-Cory

Did you have a bad week? Or maybe a few bad weeks?

I know for me, there have been some bad weeks at various times these last two years.

However, this week's podcast guest, Steve Montgomery, gave me a new perspective on what a bad week is.

In 2009, Steve had 3 awful events take place in a matter of 10 days!

First, his wife calls him informing him that she just had just miscarried their first baby.

The very next day, Steve was a part of a mass layoff at work.

So unemployed and grieving the loss of their first child, Steve then receives more heartbreaking news.

His dad died!

A miscarriage, a job loss, and a father's death is a pretty week!

I don't know how I would have responded if I was in his shoes. Maybe depression, drunkenness, or just slothfulness.

However, my hope is by listening to today's podcast, we all respond the way Steve did.

He responded as a victor and not a victim.

A favorite verse of mine lately is Romans 8:28, "And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good"

Steve put his faith in that verse back then. Forwarding now to 2022, he can say how God used all those stories for good.

Such a great podcast!

In this episode, you'll discover…

• The key trait to win at work and win at home (1:56)
• The #1 thing a team desires (7:05)
• You don't have to be a risk-taker to be successful (10:17)
• How God intervened in Steve's life (18:15)
• How to remain hopeful and faithful in the face of adversity (22:40)

Steve's Bio:

Mr. Montgomery is the Founder and CEO of Legion Insurance Group. An important personal experience was the catalyst for his entrepreneurial endeavor. His real-world success and insight-led Mr. Montgomery to leverage his desire to protect people from harm's way to bring honor and hope to families all over the world.

Before becoming an entrepreneur, Mr. Montgomery honed his ability to get to any table in his commitment to being a person of value and enjoyed a stellar career in the financial services industry with both Morgan Stanley Smith Barney and Merrill Lynch. This experience honed his leadership and deal-making skills.

Mr. Montgomery proudly served in the U.S. Navy as a Search and Rescue Swimmer and graduated from the University of Washington with a Mechanical Engineering degree. He is the super proud husband of Lindsey and is a grateful father to three angels on loan who teach him the invaluable lessons of life.

What's Next?

Are you crushing it at work but struggling at home? If you want to learn how to win at home, then go to https://CoryMCarlson.com/subscribe and download your free copy of "10 Ways To Win At Home."

If you're looking for a resource to help you with these times when your work is now in your home, check out my book Win At Home First on Amazon. Forbes Magazine rated it one of 7 books everyone on your team should read.

A few months ago, my family and I were watching an episode of 'Shark Tank' and to our surprise, there was a Cincinnati company on there!

William and Kristen Schumacher are founders of Uprising, a company that makes healthy chips and bread.

I enjoyed watching them on the show and hearing their company story - but I was more intrigued they were doing this as husband and wife!

So, I had to reach out because these are my kind of people! Business leaders who are also strong in their faith and wanting to win at both home and work.

The podcast is inspiring and it will help you dream again.

The fact that William left a great job at P&G to start this company.

Then Kristen leaves her job at her dad's company, Nehemiah Manufacturing, to join.

Followed by a crazy story of when William was striking out finding bakers to make their bread, so he decides to just swing for a grand slam, and calls one of the more popular bakers in Cincinnati.

To William's surprise the baker called back....by mistake!

The only reason the baker called him back is because William Schumacher's name is the same name as this guy's friend from high school! As you can imagine, this is now their baker!

The podcast is filled with inspirational content - as well as practical tools on how they are pulling all of this off.....not to mention there a doing all this with a newborn baby!

In this episode, you'll discover…

• How to juggle responsibilities as a parent, spouse, and business owner (7:10)
• Can you control the outcome? (11:35)
• How God showed himself in William and Kristen's story. (18:39)
• How do you not tie your identity to your success? (30:00)
• Declined on Sharktank, but managed to stay positive and show up (36:00)

William and Kristen's Bio:

William Schumacher

William holds deep e-commerce and CPG experience, having earned his stripes as a successful brand manager at the CPG behemoth Procter & Gamble Co. In 2019, driven by his entrepreneurial spirit, love for helping others and passion for health science, he left the multi-billion dollar company to launch Uprising, a modern rendition of healthy (and delicious) food staples developed with patent pending baking methods. William led the charge in raising over $1.25 million in venture capital from marketing veteran Nick Brien (former Dentsu Aegis CEO) as well as prestigious entrepreneurs including Jerry Jao (Re Sci), Carter Cast, Craig Wortmann, Hayden Slater (Pressed Juicery), Daina Trout (Health-Ade), and Rosie O'Neill and Josh Resnick (Sugarfina). Since its inception, Uprising has sold hundreds of thousands of units of fresh product and 10x'ed YOY revenue in 2020 alone, on its journey to becoming a major disruptor in the $648 billion health industry.

Kristen Schumacher

The lady behind the movement, Co-Founder and Chief Brand Officer of Uprising Food Inc. Kristen is a marketing and sales professional, with extensive experience in consumer packaged goods, generating over $100MM in lifetime revenue across 10+ brick and mortar new sku launches in 5 years.

Fun Facts: Kristen was a collegiate athlete and in her free time loves beating her husband in a game of horse. She is passionate about helping others and raised over $150,000 in 10 short weeks for rare blood cancers.

More Resources:

Are you crushing it at work but struggling at home? If you want to learn how to win at home, then go to https://CoryMCarlson.com and download your free copy of "10 Ways To Win At Home."

If you're looking for a resource to help you with these times when your work is now in your home, check out my book Win At Home First on Amazon. Forbes Magazine rated it one of 7 books everyone on your team should read.

• How do you hold people accountable? (6:53)
• Wakeup call in the form of anxiety (17:06)
• What's your Ebenezer? (21:19)
• Does coaching actually work? (24:55)
• Are you Listening? (27:00)
• How can you be confident, and vulnerable? (31:41)

Jim Samocki serves as the President at Doran Manufacturing and responsible for leading the third generation privately-held company, owned by Jeff and Todd Stegman. Jim and his wife, Michelle and have two school age daughters, Sophia and Julia. Based in Camp Washington, Ohio since 1953, Doran is a leading provider of safety and maintenance monitoring technology and products for commercial vehicles.

Prior to his 14 years at Doran, Jim spent the first 15 years of his career working in sales, sales management and product development leadership roles at Campbell Hausfeld in Harrison, Ohio. He earned his undergraduate business marketing degree from Miami University and an MBA from Ohio State. He has been a trustee and chairperson on the Board of Trustees at Mother Teresa Catholic Elementary School and coached various youth sports teams.

The Confident and Consistent Leader Challenge has had AMAZING results to help leaders identify where and how to be intentional.

I can't wait to hold the first one of 2022 on January 31st and help kickstart leaders into this new year!

Are you going to take the leap and join us? 100% money-back guarantee if you don't move forward.

Go here to learn more, see endorsements of previous guests, plus register!

Here is one endorsement that may help you with your decision:

-Cory

It is great to be announcing another podcast episode!

I made a LinkedIn post (check it out here) last week about why I needed to take a break from my podcast for a few weeks.

Throughout the year, I review all of my efforts to see what I should do 'more of' as well as 'less of'.

Well, the podcast was one that got the 'less of' vote.

I hit pause on it for 6 weeks as it was affecting my mind – when I got great feedback, it went to my ego; or I felt defeated if my downloads decreased from the previous week. Not healthy!

👉I encourage you to review all of your actions to see what is adding value, or needs to be tweaked in frequency, method, etc., or is affecting your mind more than it should!

Well, I am back with this week's podcast, and what a great way to return!!

Bill Baker is a Principal and Owner of MSA Design and is a humble and vulnerable leader.

He shares lots of wisdom, but the story he shares about when a pastor looked him in the eye and said, "We are all going to die" gave me chills!

Yes, the phrase may sound depressing, yet it is a reality.

We will all die, so we need to live our life with a sense of urgency.

More time loving family and friends, instead of scrolling our phones.

More time praying and thinking, instead of cleaning out our inbox.

More time doing great work, instead of meaningless tasks.

More time taking risks, instead of playing it safe.

As Jesus reinforces in the 'Parable of Talents', it is about ROI for our life.

• How to be patient with people's actions ([8:30])
• Why you should be transparent with your kids ([12:50])
• How a cancer diagnosis helped Bill "let go" ([16:10])
• Open dialog with your family is key to communication ([22:10])
• What do bowling and parenting have in common? ([31:30])

Bill Baker, AIA serves as Principal and one of three Owners of MSA Design, a national Architecture+Interior Design+Graphics practice headquartered in Cincinnati with offices in Columbus and Florida. In addition to his firm-wide role in leadership and business development, Bill's project focus is as Principal-In-Charge on key projects for MSA Sport, the athletic design practice of the firm and a "Top Twenty" Sports Architecture firm in the United States.

Bill has been active on multiple community-based organizations and boards including the: Cincinnati World Cup 2026 Local Organizing Committee, Cincinnati USA Sports Commission, Cincinnati Chapter of the American Institute of Architects, The YMCA of Greater Cincinnati, Hyde Park Community United Methodist Church, the Charter Committee of Greater Cincinnati, and the Ball State University Department of Architecture Professional Advisory Board.

Bill is a native of the small town of Sparta, Ohio and graduated with Honors from the Estopinal College of Architecture and Planning at Ball State University. He resides in Cincinnati's Mt Lookout neighborhood with his wife Amanda and three children.

The Confident and Consistent Leader Challenge has had AMAZING results to help leaders identify where and how to be intentional.

I can't wait to hold the first one of 2022 on January 31st and help kickstart leaders into this new year!

Are you going to take the leap and join us? 100% money-back guarantee if you don't move forward.

Go here to learn more, see endorsements of previous guests, plus register!

In this episode, you'll discover…

• What not to do when you feel emptiness. (8:20)
• Our now matters now. (10:35)
• Do you believe that god has the "Night Shift"? (13:20)
• Progress, over perfection. (17:58)
• Relationship THEN responsibility. (22:50)
• Share the wins and losses. (25:22)
• Who over what. (30:01)
• What is an identity ceremony? (32:09)

Are you crushing it at work but struggling at home? If you want to learn how to win at home, then go to https://CoryMCarlson.com and download your free copy of "10 Ways To Win At Home."

If you're looking for a resource to help you with these times when your work is now in your home, check out my book Win At Home First on Amazon. Forbes Magazine rated it one of 7 books everyone on your team should read.

In this episode, you'll discover…

• Why humility is the single most important trait for leaders today — both at work and at home (2:39)
• The one question to ask yourself before walking to your home after work that neutralizes petty arguments before they happen (5:45)
• The "Simmer Down" secret for humanizing your business and attracting new customers and team members in droves (6:29)
• How developing your values and character can ease your anxiety and depression (11:55)
• Why trusting your feelings fills you with misery (and how to learn from your feelings without self-sabotaging) (14:14)
• The "Precious, Not Perfect" mindset tweak that helps you forgive yourself after making a boneheaded mistake (20:41)
• Why helping your kids avoid pain results in them developing a victim mindset and ungrateful attitude (even if it feels like the right thing to do) (26:18)

If you'd like to connect with Joe, you can email him at [email protected]. Or you can check out his website at https://youthfrontiers.org.

Are you crushing it at work but struggling at home? If you want to learn how to win at home, then go to https://CoryMCarlson.com and download your free copy of "10 Ways To Win At Home."

If you're looking for a resource to help you with these times when your work is now in your home, check out my book Win At Home First on Amazon. Forbes Magazine rated it one of 7 books everyone on your team should read.