Podcast 586: Simplicity Survival Handbook with Bill Jensen

Bill Jensen is a returning guest to Inside Personal Growth.  This time he joins me to discuss a book he published sometime ago called The Simplicity Survival Handbook.  Simplicity is something that we all need a bit more of in our lives. We have become more inundated with complexity in our world as a result of the speed of transmission of information, and the devices that keep us tethered every minute.   We are spending more time on email, distracted by social media not to mention that the devices are “always on” which leads to us being so distracted that we are not paying attention to our most important relationship–our family.

Simplicity is the power to do less (of what does not matter), simplicity is the power to do more (of what does matter), states Jensen. Bill guides the reader on how to reduce email clutter, write shorter emails, go to fewer meetings, how to quickly communicate with anyone more effectively, how to leave shorter voicemails and much more.

If you are like most technology workers your day is filled with emails, voicemails, texts, meetings and attempting to put out fires and solve problems.  Now this is what you are probably paid to do, but what if you could shift some of those activities to more productive and creative endeavors?  Imagine the value you would bring to your organization, and how much better you would feel everyday.

I encourage you to listen to and implement some of the thirty-two techniques that Bill Jensen writes about in his book “The Simplicity Survival Handbook“.  You can learn more about Bill Jensen by clicking here to be directed to his website.  You can also watch a presentation on the Future of Work Bill did in 2015 by clicking here.

 

Podcast 572: World Famous How to Create a Kick-Ass Brand with David Tyreman

Most of us are aware that branding ourselves  or our companies can be a challenging task.  It is as if there is a magic formula that when you have the correct ingredients your company can blast off into the stratosphere where customers are clamoring to subscribe to your service or purchase your products.

David Tyreman has authored a book entitled “World Famous-How to Create a Kick-Ass Brand.  David has worked with some of the biggest companies like Banana Republic, Nordstrom, Macy’s, Nike and many others.  In my interview with David we explore the components that are required to create a kick-ass brand.  David explains there are five of them and they are:  1) Dare 2) Learn Why People Buy 3) A Defined Differentiation 4) Adding Value 5) Ready, Set Engage.  These steps make up the roadmap for someone wanting to develop their brand.

We also discuss the power of a super niche, defining what you do best and not spreading yourself too thin that your customers are confused by your offering or service.   You also need to be concerned and do you research on the demographics and psychographics of your target customer.  Remember not everyone is your customer, so develop a plan and research your customer profile so you know what makes them tick.

David is a master at helping people brand themselves or their company.  His book “World Famous-How to Create a Kick-Ass Brand” is loaded with stories, examples and advice that can assist both the newbie or the experienced marketer.

I would recommend that you check out David Tyremen at his website by clicking here.  World Famous also has a great branding course that you might want to consider taking.  If you are interested finding out more about the course please email David at david@worldfamouscompany.com.

 

Podcast 569: Built To Sell with John Warrillow

Do you own a business?  Are you thinking about venturing out and becoming an entrupauner?  Then you need to listen to this podcast with author John Warrillow and our discuss about his new book entitled “Built to Sell-Creating a Business that Can Thrive Without You.”  I know many of your reading this might be thinking, wouldn’t that be great.  According to John having a business that will thrive without you, is entirely possible.

John’s book revolves around a parable about an advertising agency where the owner is doing many of the wrong things to attain the ultimate of having a business that will thrive without him.  He meet a business guru who provides him with some sound advice, and his business starts to turn around.  Are you wondering what some of that advice was?

Well, here you go:

Tip#1, Don’t generalize;specialize. If you focus on doing one thing well and hire specialists in that area, the quality of your work will improve and you will stand out among the competitors.

Tip#2, Relying too heavily on one client is risky and will turn off potential buyers of your business.  Make sure that no one client makes up more than 15% of your revenue.  

Tip #3, Owning a process make it easier to pitch and puts you in control.  Be clear about what you are selling, and potential customers will be more likely to buy your product.

Tip#4, Don’t become synonymous with your company.  If buyers aren’t confident that your business can run without you in charge, they won’t make their best offer.

Tip#5, Avoid the cash suck. Once you’ve standardized your service, charge up front or use progress billing to create a positive cash flow cycle.

If you are looking to create greater value for your customers, and develop a business that is salable at the highest price then I highly recommend that you listen to my interview with author and businessman John Warrillow “Built to Sell“.  His advice and wisdom when it comes to developing a business that is salable and can thrive without you being present are extremely important to you not becoming a slave to your business.  I see to many people that this happens to, and it does not have to be the case if you develop your personal blueprint and follow John’s advice.

If you want more information about the book and John’s company click here for Value Builders System, or please click here to be directed to the book website.

I hope you enjoy this wonderful interview with someone who can lift most business people out of the doldrums of being chained to their businesses.

 

Podcast 526: Values, Inc with Dina Dwyer-Owen

Our moral compass is set by the values we live by.  Values are one of the most important elements we can define as individuals and as organizations. When our friends and family look at us they can tell you the values that we live by and uphold.  When our customers evaluate our level of service, they too can tell us the values our organization stands by and for.

In my recent interview with Dina-Dwyer Owen the co-chair of the “The Dywer Group” we discuss her new book entitled “Values, Inc-How Incorporating Values into Business and Life Can Change The World“.   Dina was profiled on the popular TV Show “Undercover Boss“.  Her organization is comprised of group of franchise companies that provide a myriad of services to homeowners, from Mr. Rooter to The Grounds Guys”

In my interview with Dina we discuss the importance of how values that she learned from her father, these values have helped to shape The Dwyer Group today.  Diana sites that 73% of people surveyed believed that a code of ethics makes their company a better place to work, and this is truly exemplified throughout the Dwyer Group of companies.   Dina know is that “being authentic” and transparent is important to the success of any organization.  If you want to learn more about the importance of personal and business values, then I recommend that you listen to the words of Dina Dwyer-Owen in our interview together.

You can learn more about her companies by clicking here, or you can connect with her on Facebook by clicking the link, or Twitter.  I hope you enjoy this great interview with a wonderful leader driven by her values and making this world a better place to live.

 

 

 

Podcast 511: Connected to Goodness with David Meltzer

I had the pleasure of meeting, then conducting this interview with author and sport agent David Meltzer.  His new book entitled ” Connected to Goodness” is about David’s personal journey, with life lessons that will inspire, inform and get the reader to take a new look at how they view the world.

Most people would assume that a sport agent needs to be tough and a ruthless negotiator.  David Meltzer is calm, peaceful, compassionate, empathic and a totally understanding person, and these qualities  he learned throughout life have shape him into a person who is an amazingly successful as a businessman and sport agent.

David lives by seven interconnected principles and four key elements of: clarity, balance, focus, confidence.  David also understands the importance of defining and living your purpose while examining your values, and aligning them with your purpose.  He also knows that having a foundation in life is imperative.

“Everything in life, from the construction of a building to a relationship, requires a solid foundation , or it will crumble. Values provide that foundation.  No matter what you attract in your life, identify, prioritize, and utilize your own values to build the foundation that will best provide clarity, balance and focus with confidence.

I encourage you listen to David Meltzer the author of “Connected to Goodness” while we learn from a master who has taken the time to understand the complex workings of the human mind, and has mastered his thoughts,  resulting in phenomenal success both personally and professionally.

If you want to learn more about David and his organization please click here to be directed to the book landing page, or click here to go to the Sport One Marketing website.

Podcast 484: Leadership As A Hero’s Journey with Eric Kauffman

I think that many American’s ask the question on a regular basis, especially with our congress “Where are the leaders”?  Yes, leadership is a skill and talent that is learned, and just because you have a law degree or any other degree in higher education doesn’t qualify you to be a skilled leader.  I recently had the pleasure of interviewing Eric Kaufmann the author of a new book entitled ” Leadership As A Hero’s Journey“.

In our interview together we discussed how “Joseph Campbell’s” famous “Hero’s Journey” is an important element of all brave and committed leaders. Eric states that leadership as a Hero’s Journey unfolds on three levels 1) results 2) wisdom and 3) spirituality.  He also states that there are four virtues associated with leadership and they are 1) Focus: What am I creating? Focus sets direction and clarity for the journey. 2) Courage: What am I avoiding? Courage enables full engagement that is otherwise blocked by anxiety and fear.  3) Grit: What am I sustaining?  Grit drives action forward in the face of fatigue and disheartenment.

I know you are going to enjoy this wonderful interview with author and consultant Eric Kaufmann about his new book.  If you want to learn more about Eric please click here to be directed to his website.    

Podcast 480: The Mindful Weight Loss Method with Stephanie Matos

Weight Loss, almost everyone has attempted one method or another.  Some are successful and other completely fail.  Individuals in the United States spend billions of dollars each year trying to release weight.

I had the pleasure of speaking with an author by the name of Stephanie Matos, who recently released a new e-book entitled “The Mindful Weight Loss Method“.  I believe that Stephanie is on to something, and in our interview together we discuss how not only she released over 60 lbs, but how she is helping others with her Mindful Weight Loss Method.

When you think about it, mindfulness as a mechanism to create awareness of our patterns and is a wonderful way to shift our behaviors, and we all know if we can’t shift our behaviors from stress eating, or postponing that work-out we will never release the excess weight.  Stephanie speaks with in this podcast about many methods that are not only working for people, but are successful at keeping the weight off.

I hope you enjoy this podcast with Stephanie Matos, and if you want to learn more please click here to be taken to her website.  Or to watch one of her YouTube videos just click here.

Podcast 390: Howard’s Gift- Uncommon Wisdom to Inspire Your Life’s Work with Eric C. Sinoway

Eric SinowayMany of us are privileged enough during our lifetime to have a wonderful mentor.  Howard’s Gift is a book about Eric Sinoway and his amazingly wise mentor and professor at Harvard University Howard Stevenson.  This book is filled with compelling stories and lessons that Eric learned from Howard throughout his years at Harvard and beyond.   Howard was a towering figure at Harvard Business School, and the man who literally defined entrepreneurship and taught thousands of world’s most successful professionals.

Many of the lessons you will take from this book will be quite valuable, and the way that Eric tells the stories are quite inviting and compelling.  One lesson that Howard speaks with Eric about are “inflection points“.  So just what is an inflection point and why is it important?  An inflection point as defined by Andy Grove the founder and former CEO of Intel is an event that fundamentally changes the way we think and act.  Usually, an inflection point isn’t a little change. It is a moment when–by choice or not–we pivot from the path down which we are traveling and head in an entirely new direction.   I would venture to say that almost everyone has inflection points in their lives, and it is the experiences and moments like this that we remember forever and change us– almost always for the better.

Howard advocates business planning for your life’s work.  In other words  develop and image of where you want to be and this place is not defined by our title, pay or stature.  As human beings we are complicated souls seeing meaning and purpose in our lives, but when you look at the individuals that have made a difference on our planet they have done so by having a vision of creating something much greater than just making money.  They have a mission to change our culture and society with their inventions; Apple, Facebook, GE, Toyota, Tesla, Google and the list goes on.

If you are driven to make our world a better place to live by whatever means, then you owe it to yourself to read “Howard’s Gift“.  This book is filled with great stories and lesson learned by Eric Sinoway the author by his mentor and wise confidant Howard Stevenson.

Enjoy this wonderful interview with Eric and for more information about the book please click here or watch short video on juggling priorities on YouTube by clicking here.

 

Podcast 385: So Good They Can’t Ignore You with Cal Newport

Cal NewportI recently interviewed Cal Newport a Georgetown University professor of computer science about his new book entitled “So Good They Can’t Ignore You“.   Cal’s book title is taken from advice that comedian Steve Martin once gave to aspiring entertainers and that was to “be so good they can’t ignore you.”.

Cal bunks the advice that we should follow our passion, or do what we love and the money will follow.  He cites that in Steve Jobs’ famed address to the graduating class of Stanford that he advocated to “follow your passion”.  Cal states that the evidence shows that this advice will do your career more harm than good.  Cal reveals that loving what you do is a wise goal, but following your passions isn’t the way to get there.   ” Stop trying to figure out what you are passionate about, instead the secret to building a career you love is to develop rare and valuable skills that you can then leverage to take control of your livelihood. Get good, and the passion will follow.  Not the other way around.

In “So Good They Can’t Ignore You”  Cal presents studies and compelling examples that expose the truth about how people end up loving what they do.  He cites experience, autonomy, competence and relatedness each play a much bigger role in motivation and job satisfaction and his roadmap for getting you there consist of four easy rules: 1) Don’t Follow Your Passion 2) Be So Good They Can’t Ignore You (The Importance of Skill) 3) Turn Down a Promotion (Importance of Control) 4) Think Small, Act Big( The Importance of Mission).

If you take Cal’s advice he states that you will create career capital, and science tells us that the key to loving what you do is to have important traits such as autonomy, competence, creativity and a sense of impact in your working life. These traits are rare and valuable. Basic economics tells us that if you want these traits in your career, you mist build up rare and valuable skills to offer in return. In other words, until you are very good at something, you shouldn’t expect a very good job.

If you are new to the job market or a seasoned veteran the advice that Cal presents in “So Good They Can’t Ignore You” is compelling and sound.  I highly recommend reading Cal’s new book, and applying the principles and advice he has for the reader.   I

f you would like more information about Cal Newport you can visit his blog by clicking here. I hope you enjoy my interview with author Cal Newport about his new book “So Good They Can’t Ignore You.”