2013 | It's Worth Noting

Leadership Podcast

Seth Godin interview – “The casual lie of the flight attendant”

January 29, 2013

Seth Godin, bestselling author, blogger and speaker, let me interrupt his Monday morning to ask a few questions around the intersection of organizational health and culture and themes in his books The Icarus Deception and Linchpin. I think you will find Seth’s ideas and advice thought provoking and practical. Both video and audio of the interview are available below. If you are not currently subscribed to the It’s Worth Noting podcast, I invite you to do so and catch-up on episodes you may have missed. New episodes will go live about every two weeks. The focus will be interviews and conversations with business and thought leaders on organizational health and culture. Listen below or on other podcast players.

Leadership Podcast

Gary Vaynerchuk interview – “Employees are how you win.”

January 10, 2013

I recently had the opportunity to get a few minutes with Gary Vaynerchuk to get his take on organizational health and culture. For those not familiar with Gary, he gained notoriety expanding his family’s wine business into Wine Library TV. Building on his wine and social media hustle, Gary became a best selling author of Crush It! and The Thank You Economy and launched VaynerMedia, a brand consulting agency with a focus on social media. Gary’s enthusiasm and energy is contagious. I hope you find the thoughts and ideas he shared with me helpful for your organization. Listen below or on other podcast players.

Leadership

Forget sitting or standing meetings. Start walking.

April 18, 2013

What if the following could be said of your team meetings? They help us focus They help us get exercise They help us think more clearly None of these benefits could be said of a typical meeting around a desk or table, or even standing. If you want to improve your one-on-one and small team meetings overnight, insist that they take place while going for a walk. Walking meetings are obviously impractical for larger groups or if there is no way to avoid needing to look at a computer screen or document. Setting those two situations aside, here is how walking meetings can make a big impact: Without documents, slides and the like, attendees are forced to master their material and talking points. The result is more focused and engaging conversations. People are more apt to look forward to meetings that get them out of the office and moving around.…

Leadership Productivity

The power of 10x problem solving

July 28, 2013

Life in business and at home presents an endless array of problems to solve. Probably due to this relentless volume, it’s easy to get stuck in a routine of implementing solutions that will simply solve the immediate problem. It’s uncommon to routinely take the time and energy to identify good long-term solutions that will be scalable and flexible enough to handle growth and other changes. Unfortunately, the effect of routine short-term problem solving is that problems reoccur and accumulate. As the volume of reoccurring problems increases, it gets harder to have the time and energy to work on long-term solutions. It is a vicious cycle and it’s easy to get stuck. One easy way to either avoid getting into this mess or to claw your way out of it you’re already there is to start solving problems using what I call a 10X test. The next time you have a…

Leadership

How to know when you are hiring the wrong people

February 21, 2013

If you sit down for an interview and you, as the employer or hiring manager, have all the leverage, you are hiring the wrong people. When you only attract candidates who need a job, who are focused on saying what you want to hear, who have become professionals at interviewing, you have all the leverage. You are not trying to woo them, they are trying to woo you. You control the selection process, dominate salary negotiations and dictate start dates, job descriptions and other details. You have all the leverage. You are in total control. Unfortunately, you are in total control of a completely broken hiring strategy and process. You may get lucky and one of the candidates is great. The process will work occasionally, but not consistently. You are dependent on luck to deliver your next best employee and build a great team because your strategy and process is…

Leadership Podcast

Mark McClain interview – “It’s a competitive advantage”

May 2, 2013

Mark McClain is a friend, dedicated family man and experienced leader and entrepreneur in the Austin, Texas tech scene. Mark serves as CEO of his latest co-founded venture, SailPoint Technologies, a leading enterprise identity and access management application. During our time together, Mark shared how lessons learned as a father and leader in other organizations that were less attentive to culture have shaped his leadership philosophy. Today, Mark and his co-founder at SailPoint are committed to maintaining a healthy culture – a competitive advantage in the marketplace for talent and customers. Resources: The Advantage by Patrick Lencioni Listen below or on other podcast players.

Leadership Podcast

Ken Schiller interview – “Because of Me”

April 5, 2013

Quick order and fast food restaurants are not typically known for amazing service. For a variety of reasons, including inexperienced workers, high turnover, quick pace and low profit margin, it is very difficult to operate one of these restaurants in a way that consistently puts a smile on both customers’ and employees’ faces. Ken Schiller, along with his co-founder and co-owner Brian Nolen, have set their restaurants apart by emphasizing culture and creating an exceptional customer and employee experience. After 18 years in the business, their team is continuing to grow, innovate and delight. Enjoy the podcast! Resources: Top Grading by Bradford Smart K&N Management “Cooking Up Excellence Using Baldrige Ingredients” course Listen below or on other podcast players.

Leadership

Does your team try the coffee?

January 18, 2013

If you owned a coffee shop, you would have your team try the coffee. Not once, but everyday. The daily sip would help them correct problems quickly and be familiar with what the customer was experiencing. If your organization provides tangible goods and services to customers, it is easy to try the coffee. Far too many organizations ignore this simple routine, but it can be done with little cost or effort. What about all the intangible customer experiences such as interactions with your team that reveal an organization’s attitude, vision and values? How does your team get a taste of the intangibles everyday to make quick corrections and be familiar with the customer experience? This is where effective leadership come in. This is where culture makes a tremendous difference. An organization must find ways to parallel internally the intangible experiences they aspire for their customers to experience externally. If you…

Leadership Podcast

Roy Spence interview part 1 – “Make a difference, they’ll pay you money”

February 18, 2013

Roy Spence is an Austin advertising legend. He’s a founding member of GSD&M, one of the most celebrated and impactful advertising agencies over the past few decades. Along with his work in advertising, Roy has found time to create The Purpose Institute, write a WSJ best-selling book, It’s Not What You Sell: It’s What You Stand For, and start a hot sauce company out of an airstream trailer. Roy’s passion is helping individuals and organizations find their purpose. He’s also a board member of the Conscious Capitalism movement. We dived into both topics during our interview, broken into two parts for you to enjoy so be sure to also listen to Part 2: Be great at what you’re good at. Listen below or on other podcast players.

Leadership Podcast

Roy Spence interview part 2 – “Be great at what you’re good at”

February 18, 2013

This is Part 2 of a two part interview. If you have not listened to Part 1, please do so before continuing… Roy Spence is an Austin advertising legend. He’s a founding member of GSD&M, one of the most celebrated and impactful advertising agencies over the past few decades. Along with his work in advertising, Roy has found time to create The Purpose Institute, write a WSJ best-selling book, It’s Not What You Sell: It’s What You Stand For, and start a hot sauce company out of an airstream trailer. Roy’s passion is helping individuals and organizations find their purpose. He’s also a board member of the Conscious Capitalism movement. We dived into both topics during our interview, broken into two parts for you to enjoy so be sure to listen to Part 1: Make a difference, they’ll pay you money. Listen below or on other podcast players.