Winning Teams

Joining us today is global leadership expert and author of The Vision Code, Oleg Konovalov. He is certainly a leadership guru and has extensive experience across the world with global companies. He has authored several other books, but today we dig deep into the importance of creating a clear vision. In his book, he details the six key criteria in creating a solid vision and in this episode, he helps us understand each one.

If vision is so crucial and important to a company or organization, why is it so difficult to establish and communicate? Oleg explains in this interview why leaders struggle with this aspect of business and the difficulty in getting past your own human connection to the past and your ego. Oleg's book is excellent and highly recommended, but take a listen to this episode for a good outline of the valuable content he has to offer in creating a compelling vision.

• The Human Connection to the Past and Their Ego
• The Abstract Definition of Vision
• Emotional and Passionate Parts of Vision
• The Difference Between a Vision and a Mission
• Why Companies Struggle with Clarity
• Creating an Executable Vision
• How to Detach Yourself From Your Ego to Create a Vision
• The Six Key Criteria is Developing a Solid Vision
• Create Value for Everyone, Everywhere You Can
• Why Leader Spend Little Time on Communicating Vision
• Understanding Changes and Adjustments
• Revisiting Your Vision on a Monthly Basis
• Oleg's Daily Rituals

Dr. Oleg Konovalov is a global thought leader, author, business educator, consultant, and C-suite coach. Oleg is named among the top eight global experts in leadership and shortlisted for the Distinguished Award in Leadership by Thinkers50. He is on Global Gurus Top 30 in Leadership, has been recognized as #1 Global Thought Leader on Culture by Thinkers 360, is #1 Global Leading Coach (Marshall Goldsmith Thinkers50) and has been named as one of the Top 10 Most Inspiring Global Thought Leaders. He is the author of The Vision Code (2021), LEADEROLOGY (2019), Corporate Superpower (2018), Organisational Anatomy (2016), and Hidden Russia (2014). His research identifies entrepreneurs' and managers' strategic needs in the areas of leadership. Oleg helps leaders to become the masters of the future and achieve new levels of success.

Connect with Oleg Konovalov:

• https://www.olegkonovalov.com/

• Oleg Konovalov Website
• The Vision Code: How to Create and Execute a Compelling Vision for Your Business by Oleg Konovalov
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• LinkedIn

Connect with John Murphy:

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In his recently published and very relevant book Slacking Off: A Successful Way to Work From Home, author Mike Arnold shares his 15 years experience in working from home. Over the years, Mike has admittedly made mistakes but has mastered confronting his time and managing his work as an entrepreneur all from home. Many of us were faced with changes in work environment and some continue to work from home after the onset of Covid-19 and although Mike's book was in the works starting in 2018, the publication couldn't have been more timely.

In today's episode, Mike walks us through the common pitfalls many people experience when working from home and the many things we don't notice throughout our workday. Mike also teaches us the importance of embracing the calendar to be effective and efficient in managing our focus. This episode and his book Slacking Off contain so much great content and several lessons that can help you feel more fulfilled in your work from home position.

• Mike's Background and Current Career as an Entrepreneur
• Confronting Your Time
• Common Pitfalls and the Things You Don't Notice
• The Slack-Off Day - Doing Everything But Work
• The Power of Mastering Your Calendar
• Recognizing Your Needs First
• Realigning and Gaining Clarity on Your Purpose
• Leading Yourself Before Leading Others
• Facing Who You Really Are and Spending Time With Yourself
• Mike's Book Recommendations and Daily Rituals

Mike Arnold is a work from home entrepreneur with skills that range from business management, business development, time management, strategy, efficiency coaching, and much more. Michael has worked for over 15 years from home working for himself and major corporations such as Cox Automotive, Verizon SuperPages, and Major Commercial Finance companies. In his journey he has made many mistakes and has lived to share some wisdom to help you on your work from home journey. There are plenty of ways we can each learn from each other, and Mike shows how you can learn from his mistakes working from home and create your own successful actions.

Connect with Mike Arnold:

• http://slackingoffbook.com/book/

• Slacking Off Book Website

• Slacking Off: A Successful Way to Work From Home by Michael Arnold

• Facebook Page

Connect with John Murphy:

• LinkedIn
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Originally from Hungary, today's guest joins us to talk about a very hot topic in the business world: supply chain. Agnes Zsofia Nagy is a value chain and commercialism expert with a long track record in consulting. She currently owns her own consulting business where she focuses on supply chain with her clients and organizations.

This specific topic is of great interest and is changing dramatically and rapidly. In today's episode, Agnes discusses what these changes are and the reasons behind current issues the industry is seeing. But what can solve these problems? It all comes down to proper leadership and collaboration, both of which Agnes speaks about today. She also shares her expertise on the benefits, challenges, sustainability, and profitability in supply chain and she is just a fountain of information. Listen to find out more.

• Agnes's Background and Career in Consulting
• The Current Disruption of the Daily Life in Supply Chain
• Supply Chain Leadership Weaknesses
• The Key Reasons Behind Current Issues
• Being More Strategic with Supply Chain Rather Than Operational.
• The Reasons Behind Lack of Strategic Leadership
• The Domino Effect of Wrong Decisions
• Incredible Cost Increases
• The Difference Between Circular and Linear Supply Chains
• The Need for Reusable Energy Sources
• The Balance Between Sustainability and Profitability
• Outsourcing Trends and Finding Collaboration
• Contracting Partners Responsibly
• The Role of Culture
• Book Recommendations and Daily Rituals

Zsofia Nagy is a value chain and commercialism expert who has a real passion and love for her work and for ensuring development for the organizations she works with. As an independent professional, she offers an objective pair of lenses and a rich experience-based knowledge to help you find the right solution and execute it successfully. She started at the very bottom of the organization at companies and worked her way up with honest and hard work. This gave her three powerful tools: knowledge of what goes on in the trenches, how to build trust with employees to get things done, and how to bridge the top to the bottom of the organization for their mutual benefit.

Connect with Agnes Zsofia Nagy:

• https://www.bzlw.ch/

• Zsofia Agnes N. on LinkedIn
• Advisory for Long-Term Value Creation Website

Connect with John Murphy:

• LinkedIn
• Twitter
• YouTube
• Facebook

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As leaders we know that checking in and asking questions is important, but today's guest shows us how our approach could be all wrong when engaging a team. In fact, checking in isn't engaging at all, so what should we do instead? Today's guest, Shawna Schuh discusses why and how leaders should ask good questions.

Shawna Schuh is a leadership coach from Oregon who does amazing work with a long list of amazing clients. The organizations she works with certainly experience deep transformation in the area of leadership as she focuses on developing leaders who are committed to growing. Today, Shawna and I discuss some very important topics and how people need leaders instead of organizations. We also talk about leading teams of multi-generational members which is really incredible but poses its own unique challenges. And as an expert in her field, Shawna describes what a highly effective leader does that less effective leaders do not. With her humor and expert storytelling, this episode is sure to be a great listen.

What We Talked About in This Episode:

• The Common Issues Shawna Sees in Organizations
• Finding and Retaining Good Talent
• The Difference Between Checking In and Engaging
• Leaders Need to Model
• The Must Haves of Being a Successful Leader
• Managing Multiple Generations
• Can You Ever Really Know Yourself?
• Checking Your Self-Talk
• The Impact You Have on Others
• Ideas Instead of Feedback
• Asking Questions the Right Way
• Shawna's Book Recommendations and Daily Rituals

About Our Guest:

Shawna Schuh is a business coach based in Oregon and is an expert in the communication skills arena. Since 1983, she has been educating and motivating professionals to connect with their customers and prospects through powerful people skills that get results. Shawna has authored books, programs, and hundreds of articles. She is a frequent guest expert in the media and is considered an extraordinary storyteller and consummate presenter.

Connect with Shawna Schuh:

• https://shawnaschuh.com/

• Shawna Schuh Website
• Shawna Schuh on LinkedIn

Connect with John Murphy:

• LinkedIn
• Twitter
• YouTube
• Facebook

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As the author of a fascinating book called From Start-Up to Grown-Up, Alisa Cohn joins us today to dive into the world of startup businesses. Alisa is an amazing coach with loads of well-deserved awards and recognitions but her focus and passion is around startup businesses and entrepreneurs. However, I believe her book and this episode are excellent for any leader, not just those in startups.

In this episode, Alisa and I discuss her new book and the unique structure it has. Oftentimes, books on entrepreneurship focus on processes, data, and leadership skills. But Alisa's book is divided into three parts: You, Them, and the Company. This structure is fantastic because as she explains in this episode, you must work on yourself and your personal growth before you can effectively apply strategies, tools, and techniques. So, no matter what role you play in the business or even what kind of business you are a part of, this episode and her book offer a huge amount of content and tools to adopt for growth and success.

• Alisa's Background, Credentials, and Recognitions in Business Coaching
• How Alisa Engages with a Start Up
• The Rationale for Alisa's Structure of Her New Book
• Applying Strategies, Tools, and Techniques After Working on Yourself
• The Personal Growth Journey for a Successful Business
• Putting on the Mantle of Leadership
• The Demons That Get in the Way of Growth and Leadership
• Entrepreneurship Entry Level Job is as the Leader
• Imposter Syndrome and Fear
• Two Visions: The Full Fruition and Plan for Economic Viability
• Self-Awareness and Finding What You Love About Your Business
• Appropriate Communication and Timing
• Tracking Metrics and Data in the Early Days of a Startup
• Toolkit for Any Stage Business
• Alisa's Book Recommendations and Daily Rituals

Named the Top Startup Coach in the World at the Thinkers50/Marshall Goldsmith Global Coaches Awards in London, Alisa Cohn has been coaching startup founders to grow into world-class CEOs for nearly 20 years. She is the author of From Start-Up to Grown-Up, published by Kogan Page. A one time startup CFO, strategy consultant, and current angel investor and advisor, she was named the number one "Global Guru" of startups in 2021, and has worked with startup companies such as Venmo, Etsy, DraftKings, The Wirecutter, Mack Weldon, and Tory Burch. She has also coached CEOs and C-Suite executives at enterprise clients such as Dell, Hitachi, Sony, IBM, Google, Microsoft, Bloomberg, The New York Times, and Calvin Klein. Alisa is also a guest lecturer at Harvard and Cornell Universities, Henley Business School and the Naval War College.

Connect with Alisa Cohn:

https://www.alisacohn.com/

• Alisa Cohn Coaching Website
• Alisa Cohn on Twitter
• Alisa Cohn on LinkedIn
• Alisa Cohn on Facebook

Connect with John Murphy:

• LinkedIn
• Twitter
• YouTube
• Facebook

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Most people like to think of themselves as doing good things in the world, but when we look at the concept of decency in our world's cultures, we are lacking. So how can we do better as individuals to help create a better world? And how does this begin with businesses? Jeff Garson joins us today to break it down.

Jeff Garson is the author of the very interesting and highly recommended book Radical Decency. In his career journey, he started out as a lawyer and ended up taking a drastic shift to become a psychotherapist. In today's episode, Jeff shares his concept of decency and how starting in the business world can make a huge impact as business and sales make the world go round. This all sounds very overwhelming and maybe even a bit abstract, but Jeff offers some very practical and real things we need to look at as both individuals and business leaders.

• Jeff's Background and Inspiration to Write Radical Decency
• Overemphasized Values and the Need to Shift
• The Decency Foundation
• Business as the Strategic Point of Entry
• The Problem of Winning Being the Only Thing
• The Compatibility of Decency and Profitability
• Where to Start Within a Business to Apply Decency
• Jeff's Observations as a Psychotherapist
• What Happens When You're in Fight or Flight Mode
• Listening is More Complicated Than Speaking
• Jeff's Pep Talk to Keep Unlocking Decency
• Trusting the Process
• Decency to Yourself, Others, and the World
• Jeff's Book Recommendation and Daily Rituals

Jeff was an attorney for 25 years representing banks, investors, and businesses of all sizes. Since leaving the law in 2000, he has been a psychotherapist supporting countless clients as they've struggled to find their way in a world that relentlessly pushes them to compete and win – and remorselessly judge themselves when they fall short. He is also the co-founder of the Decency Foundation; an organization dedicated to bringing Radical Decency to business. Drawing on this lifetime of work, study, and exploration, Jeff is uniquely able to speak with authority about the overriding issue of our time: How to create a better life and world when, year by year, the culture's fiercely competitive, me-first values seem to reach, ever more deeply, into our lives.

Connect with Jeff Garson:

https://jeffgarson.com/

• Jeff Garson's Website
• Radical Decency: A Values-Based Approach to a Better Life and World by Jeff Garson
• Jeff Garson on LinkedIn
• Garson Counseling Group Website

Connect with John Murphy:

• LinkedIn
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What does it mean to build a sale ready company? There will be a time as business owners when we need to have an exit strategy for various reasons. It is not something many entrepreneurs and organizations plan for. That's why I've asked Josh Patrick to join us today on A Life and a Living Podcast to help us better understand the importance of building a sale ready company.

Josh Patrick is an entrepreneur, consultant, and author of The Sale Ready Company, a how-to book disguised as a novel. The writing style is unique in that you learn the importance of this topic and strategies to be prepared through the fictional story of a family of business owners. Josh has such vast experience and a great depth of knowledge on this topic and in today's episode we discuss how to plan ahead, how to create an attractive business to transfer, and through his practicality, we can learn how to move forward with less risk of burnout.

• Josh's Personal and Professional Background
• The Two Equally Important Sides to a Business's Sustainability
• The Sale Ready Company by Josh Patrick
• Personal Sustainability: How Are You Spending Your Time at Work?
• Economic Sustainability: Is the Business Profitable?
• Work Life Integration Rather Than Work Life Balance
• What Makes a Business Transferrable
• The Importance of a Planning Process
• Reflecting and Adjusting Plans
• Important, Urgent, and Non-Urgent
• Including Stakeholders in Planning Process
• Josh's Coaching Owners with an Exit Strategy
• Making the Client the Expert in an Engagement
• Josh's Book Recommendations and Daily Rituals

Josh Patrick is a serial entrepreneur who has been obsessed with what makes businesses successful and ultimately personally and economically sustainable. In his forty years running, owning, consulting and working with business owners he's seen almost anything that's possible with privately held businesses.

Connect with Josh Patrick:

https://learn.elevate.ac/courses/sale-ready-business

• The Sale Ready Company: What it Takes to Create a Business Someone Would Want to own, Even If You Have No Intention of Selling by Josh Patrick
• Josh Patrick Elevate Website
• Josh Patrick on LinkedIn

Connect with John Murphy:

• LinkedIn
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Joining us today on A Life and a Living Podcast is Michelle Natalya Moore, a fascinating lady with an equally fascinating career and insight on the trending problem with attention. Founder of MindEQuity Inc. Michelle helps organizations discover their weaknesses and guides them in not only treating attention as an asset but how to harness it for success. How much time is wasted each week by yourself and your team? You may be surprised.

MindEQuity offers a great online test that gives you a score on your focus. I took it myself and in this episode we discuss what each section means and what those results have told me about myself. The results are unsurprising to me, but Michelle is able to describe some solutions that I'm eager to put into practice. The first step is always awareness and by listening to today's episode, you'll have a good starting place for your own areas of improvement and how to better strengthen the focus of yourself and your teams.

• Michelle's Company MindEQuity Inc. and Career Background
• Doing Better Work in Half the Time
• The Impact of Losing a Connection to Ourselves
• Michelle's Definition of Attention: A Body Function
• How to Protect and Harness Our Attention Skills
• Being in Multiple Spaces at One Time
• The Fear of Missing Out - An Effect of Covid-19
• Value Creation and Aligning to Benefit Clients and Teams
• The Trend in Awareness of the Problem in Focus
• Pre-Covid Hype of Tactile Innovation Tools
• How to Design Work for the Balance We Strive For
• Michelle's Attention Audit Process
• Finding the Balance with Technology
• How Much Time Do You Believe You Are Losing Each Week?
• Michelle's Book Recommendation and Daily Rituals

Michelle Natalya Moore founded MindEQuity in 2014 after 20 years in Big 4 consulting. For a decade, she served as equity partner with PricewaterhouseCoopers and Ernst & Young. She has an MBA and is a PDMA Certified New Product Development Professional. In addition, Michelle is an advanced teacher of the MIT Presencing Institute's Social Presencing, a set of body wisdom practices enabling teams to harness attention for insight and innovation. She is the author of a chapter in Presencing Theory U, Book 3: Collective Perspectives on Presencing, University of Laval. Michelle is a speaker with MacKay CEO Forums, Horasis Global Meeting and Management Leadership Forum. She has been featured across a variety of online media, podcasts and has appeared on Voice of America Business Channel.

Connect with Michelle Natalya Moore:

https://mindequity.ca/

• Find You Focus Score Test
• Mind EQuity Website
• Michelle Natalya Moore on LinkedIn
• Michelle N. Moore on Twitter

Connect with John Murphy:

• YouTube
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• Twitter

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In an incredibly relatable conversation, today's guest openly discusses his own struggles and how he came to reclaim his life. Thomas Anderson, a Swedish entrepreneur, change manager, author, speaker, and coach, joins us on a Life and a Living Podcast to help us create our own space and learn the steps to take to help ourselves in times of struggle. We are constantly connected to the digital world and at risk of high levels of burnout. How can we equip ourselves with the tools needed to avoid that burnout and what can we do as leaders to guide our teams to do the same? Thomas helps us to understand the process he went through including his realization of needed change, learning to say no, and communicating effectively with loved ones. Because of his journey, Thomas has now shifted into helping organizations and individuals with the steps to reclaiming their lives.

• Thomas's Heavy Burden and Feelings of Not Being Enough
• The Realization That Change is Needed
• Creating Space as the First Step and Learning to Say No
• Taking Time for Yourself and Your Health
• Conversations with Loved Ones During Difficult Transitions
• The Importance of Self-Reflection and Acceptance
• How to Listen to Your Senses and Manage Your Emotions
• The Constant Social Connection to the Digital World
• Thomas's Work Supporting Organizations in Change Management
• Breaking Patterns of Behavior That are Not Serving You
• How Leaders Can Help Prevent High Levels of Burnout
• The Effective Tools in Managing Change
• Thomas's Current Outlook on Life
• Taking Action: One Step Leads to Another
• Thomas's Daily Habits and Book Recommendations

Thomas Anderson is a Swedish entrepreneur, change manager, inspirational speaker, and life coach. He helps people and companies in their transformation journeys. He has extensive experience from global companies as a project manager, change manager, and management consultant. He has always been close to the change process as his main work has been managing digital transformation, being the bridge between IT and the business, which affects people in many ways. In 2015 he was successful in his career and lived with his family in a nice house—he had all that you "ought to" have. But there was something missing in life, he was trapped in an emotional prison of self-doubt, stress, anxiety, and feelings of worthlessness. He didn't know how to be there for himself, and he was on the brink of burnout. That was a starting point and over three years he completely turned his life around, a journey which he now shares in his book, The Vulnerable Man.

To reach Thomas, go to his website: https://thomasanderson.se/eng/

• Thomas Anderson Web Page

• The Vulnerable Man: Break Your Patterns. Master Your Emotions. Reclaim Your Life. by Thomas Anderson

• Thomas Anderson on Facebook
• Thomas Anderson on LinkedIn
• Thomas Anderson on Instagram

Connect with John Murphy:

• YouTube
• Facebook
• LinkedIn
• Twitter

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As we wait for the upcoming publication of his book, Don Khouri joins us on A Life and a Living Podcast to discuss "when to say yes." Don has had a very successful and long career in the corporate world working for Fidelity Investments. While there, he gained experience in leadership roles specifically leading large software teams globally. After 21 years with the company, Don changed courses and now spends his time making the rest of us as effective and efficient through his own coaching and upcoming book When to Say Yes: The Five Steps to Protect Your Time.

Today's interview is primarily about his new book and I am excited to share that Don goes through each of the five steps that he writes about in his book. So listen to today's episode for a sneak peek into what is awaiting for you in September 2021. In addition, Don also dives into his practical tips and tricks for prioritizing, taking control of endless virtual meetings, and overall personal productivity. His background and experience in the corporate world make this interview very realistic and down to Earth, as Don truly knows what it is like to be in your shoes.

What We Talked About in This Episode:

• Don's Background and Experience Working in Leadership at Fidelity
• Don's Passion for Personal Productivity
• Upcoming Book When to Say Yes: The Five Steps to Protect Your Time
• How do We Decide What Goes on Our List?
• Knowing When to Say Yes Leads to Knowing When to Say No
• The Challenge in Saying No as a Leader or Executive
• Keeping Up With a Priority List and Determining What to Squeeze In
• The Steps to Protect Your Time
• Prioritize and Reprioritize
• Priority as the Driver for Your Energy Level, Location, and Time
• The Importance of Mastering Delegation
• Embrace Time Blocking
• The Fallacy of Inspiration: Discipline and Daily Practice Lead to Creativity
• Making Meetings Effective
• The Obvious and Simple Tool of Effective Leaders
• Don's Book Recommendations and Daily Rituals

About Our Guest:

Don is a coach and consultant with a proven track record of coaching senior leaders and high potential employees to improve their executive presence, to strengthen their communication and relationship skills, and to motivate and inspire teams. He is a strong relationship builder with the ability to successfully manage client engagements and to drive additional revenues. Known for expertise with personal productivity, organizational design, and building and leading high-performing culturally-diverse teams, Don has a PhD in Human and Organizational Systems and Certificate in Executive Coaching. He was previously in a leadership role with Fidelity Investments and worked with the company for 21 years primarily in global software teams.

Connect with Don Khouri:

• Don Khouri Home Page
• When to Say Yes: The Five Steps to Protect Your Time by Don Khouri
• Khouri Coaching and Consulting Home Page
• Don Khouri on LinkedIn

Connect with John Murphy:

• YouTube
• Facebook
• LinkedIn
• Twitter

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