Podcast 266: Change the Culture, Change the Game with Roger Connors

Roger ConnorsI recently did an interview with Roger Conner the author of “Change the Culture, Change the Game“.  In our dialogue together we discuss the importance of having a organizational culture of accountability.   As Roger states in the book, either you will manage your culture, or it will manage you.   Organizational culture is nothing more that the way people think and act.  Every organization has a culture, and they either work for you or against you.

Roger and I discuss what he refers to at the Results Pyramid, which is the tool that his organization uses to help create accountability within organizations.  At the core of the Results Pyramid are the experiences, beliefs, actions and ultimately the results that are created.   So the leaders of the organization must create the needed culture, the culture produces the results, the most effective culture is a culture of accountability then this helps transition the organization into one with a competitive advantage.  Sounds simple doesn’t it.  Well hold on just a minute—this only happens when the people in every corner of the organization make the personal choice to take the Steps to Accountability–and each step builds on the previous one.

So what are these steps of accountability that are require to produce results.  1) See it– means moving Above the Line or staying there whenever a new challenge arises.  2) Own it-means being personally invested, learning from both successes and failures, aligning your work with desired company results and acting on the feedback you receive. 3) Solve it-requires persistent effort as you encounter obstacles that stand in the way of achieving results.  When you take this step, you constantly ask the question “What else can I do?’  4) Do it– the final step in the process, represents the natural culmination of the first three steps–it means doing what you say you will do.

If you think that this stuff is just for business people, think again.  The basic principles that Roger speaks about in this book are so important to your own personal growth and development.  If you follow the sound advice in the book about being personally accountable, not only to yourself but to those you work with you will find a wonderful transformation in your personal life.  You can only imagine the amazing results that occur when you can get a whole organization where personal accountability is the guiding light for the employees.  This is a company that you will want to do business with.

I highly recommend that you obtain a copy of “Change the Culture, Change the Game“.  It will give you the guidance both personally and professionally in creating cultures of accountability, once you know the forumla for creating accountable people,  positive organizational transformation is bound to occur.
If you would like to learn more about Roger Conner’s and Partners In Leadership  please click here, and enjoy my interview with Roger.

Podcast 262: The Spirit of Adventure with Michael McCafferty

Michael McCaffertyIn this podcast I  interview a very good friend, and someone that I admire, author and adventurer Michael McCafferty . His new book entitled ” The Spirit of Adventure”  is about his amazing adventure  in a Waco bi-plane around Europe, and while in this interview we speak about Michael’s adventures we also speak about life as a entrepreneur  and father.

Every since I have known Michael he as had a thing for planes and fast cars, not a bad thing to have a fascination with. I remember going to a party at his home in Borrego Springs, CA many years back and his home was a hanger (literally) and the plane was in the living room.

In our interview together we discuss not only the planning it took to coordinate the transportation of his Waco bi-plane to Europe, but the ensuing 96 day adventure throughout the incredibly breathtaking countryside of  Europe.  Michael has lots of great stories from his adventure, and most of them are articulated in the book which is a series of emails that he was sending back to friends and family who were following him on his wonderful adventure.  For three months during the summer of 1997 he “went flying, low and slow, exploring Europe’s coastline, islands, Alps, big-cities and tiny villages.   As Michael recounts in our interview this was the greatest experience of his life”.

A very large part of this adventure has to do with Michael’s son Mike.  You see Mike broke his back in a plane accident in March of 1993 and was paralyzed from the waist down.  Michael stated that his son never once complained during extended rehabilitation and hospitalization, and he persevered.  He is and always will be his father’s hero.

As we discuss in our interview Michael had to decide if he would fly again.  He lamented as you can imagine, but as he states he would have sent the wrong message to Mike that it is OK to quit when things don’t come out as planned if he did not proceed with his bi-plane adventure.  If he had not flown again,  he would have backed away from a great personal goal, so he had on choice and, and the big adventure began.
If you are interested in learning more about Michael McCafferty and “The Spirit of Adventure” I highly recommend reading his book.  100% of the profits from this book go to research to find a cure for paralysis caused by spinal cord injuries as currently being done by Rutgers University’s Keck Center for Collaborative Nuroscience-Spinal Cord Injury Project.  Please enjoy this great interview with a wonderful man with a big adventure.  If you would like to visit his website just click here, and read the many adventures of Michael Mc Cafferty.

Podcast 243: Set Yourself on Fire with Phil Taylor

Phil TaylorI was first introduced to Phil Taylor through Dilip Abayskekara an author  we did a wonderful podcast with last year on his book entitled “The Path of the Genie”  Phil is a Tremendous Life Books author, and his new book entitled “Set Yourself on Fire: How to Ignite Your Passions and Live the Life You Love” is a wonderful book designed to engage and ignite the imagination.

During our interview Phil and I discuss the importance of having a wonderful imagination, and that frequently we suppress our dreams and imagination because of social conditioning as the years go by.  How true that is, when we were children our imagination would run wild with ideas, thoughts and we dream about people and places we would like to meet and or become.  Then somehow for many of us we loose our dreams, primarily because we are so involved in our everyday life to even give them a second thought.

Author Phil Taylor  would like for all of his readers to be reignited and enthustiac about about setting goals again, and living their dreams.  He mentioned to me that there are five (4) reasons people fail to set goals. (1) Fear (2) Poor Self Image (3) Not Realizing the Importance of Goals (4) Not Knowing How to Set Goals.  In his new book “Set Yourself On Fire” Phil provides the reader with the four simple steps to setting goals, and believe me it is worth your time to set down and reignite yourself and learn how to properly set goals, then don’t be afraid to achieve them.

Phil reminds us that living our life purpose is so important, and if you fuel that purpose with aligned goals to your values you will be come unstoppable.  Just remind yourself of the statement by Henry Ford “If you think you can or you think you can’t you’re probably right.  So if you are looking for an easy to read book with wonderful stories, inspiration and ideas to ignite your fire then I highly recommend “Set Yourself On Fire” by Phil Taylor.
If you would like to learn more about Phil, he is the founder of Goal Achiever International and if you click here you will be directed to their website.  You can also find Phil on Linkedin.  Enjoy this interview with a very inspiring and wise man.

Podcast 218: It’s A Jungle In There with Steven Schussler

Steven SchusslerAuthor Steven Schussler is an amazing man.  He is an entrepreneur who has had tremendous success in the development of his Rainforest Cafe’s and other theme based restaurants.  His new book entitled ” It’s a Jungle in There-Inspiring Lessons, and Hard-Won Insights and Other Acts of Entrepreneurial Daring” is a great book for anyone who wants to learn lessons on personal mastery.

During our interview together we discuss what Steven refers to as the five (5) P’s of successful entrepreneurship.  Those P’s are: Personality, Product, Persistence, People and Philanthropy.   Steven emphasizes that if you are going to be an entrepreneur then you have to be willing to take risk, that is just part of being in business for yourself.  He has a wonderful formula, that in his estimation is an important element, it is PASSION + AMBITION=YIELDS SUCCESS.  Steven says that without passion for your product or service you are going to be hard pressed to become successful.  Your belief in what you are doing, and your passion are going to be the elements that assist in your personal success.

Steven is someone who listens to his inner voice or intuition.  He admits that all good entrepreneurs have the ability to listen and act on their intuition.  Many of his good decisions came from listening, then having the faith to act on his intuition.  I know that many of us hear the voice within, but do we act or are we afraid?  As Steven says you can’t be afraid, you have to go for it!

Steven also emphasizes that you need to dream big to become successful.  He mentions that when you do dream big and if you are passionate about what you are doing the outcomes are much more rewarding and fulfilling.  He quotes Norman Vincent Peal “Believe It and You Can Succeed”.  That is so true, if you believe in what you are creating and in yourself you can do almost anything.

If you want to learn from a man who not only believes in his projects, and himself then  you need to listen to this podcast with author Steven Schussler the author of “It’s A Jungle In There“.  For more information about Steven Schussler and his new book please click here to be directed to his website.

Podcast 185: Motion Before Motivation with Michael "Mike D" Dolpies

Michael "Mike D" DolpiesMike Dolpies the author of “Motion Before Motivation“, says that there are thee kinds of people in the world–those who make things happen, those who watch what happens, and those who stand around and wonder ” What happened?”.  He says that you are in control of what happens to you.  Even if you trust in a higher power to guide you, you know that the higher power will help those who decide to help themselves.

Mike’s book, “Motion Before Motivation“,  references newtons first “Law of Inertia”.  The important point that Mike is making by citing this law is that it is more important for us to take action, and that this is so important to manifesting what you want in life.

We can think all we want about attaining particular goals, but the most important step is the action.  You need to be sure that the actions you are taking are in the direction of clearly defined goals.  If not, “Natural Tendency” will work against you.   In human terms, “Natural Tendency” is the force of habit.  If someone is in the habit of constantly remaining in motion toward their goals, they will continue in that direction and get closer to them every day.   If someone is in the habit of putting things off or waiting for the inspiration or motivation to compel them to get moving then nothing will happen and they will remain “at rest”.

Mike refers to what he calls “pro-active motion”.  Pro-active motion is the motion you take based on solid principles, information and passion.  Pro-active motion will enable you to think two, three or even four moves ahead. Pro-active motion will help you remain calm, control your stress levels and easily deal with the curve balls and setbacks of daily life.

There is a three (3) step success formula outlined in Motion Before Motivation.  1) Motion creates belief in Yourself 2) Belief in Yourself Creates Positive Emotions 3) Positive Emotions Give You the Desire to Fuel the Motivation You Need to Keep Going.

I believe that these steps to success are great advice, and if you want to learn more about Mike and his book Motion Before Motivation you can visit his website by clicking here.

Podcast 176: The Most Successful Small Business In The World: The Ten Principles with Michael E. Gerber

Michael E. Gerber I believe most people in small business know author Michael E. Gerber.  Michael has written a new book entitled, “The Most Successful Small Business in the World: The Ten Principles“.  Michael is a fascinating and dynamic man, not to mention a prolific writer.

In his 70’s Michael still travels the world speaking his message with great passion and zest for life.  In my interview we explore one of his new ventures entitled “Origination‘”.  I would highly recommend that you click on the link and watch his compelling video.  I am not someone to watch a 20 minute video on the Internet, but this video was quite compelling and intrigued me enough to learn more about what Michael is up too.

Michael reveals in “The Most Successful Small Business in the World: The Ten Principles” is a must read for any person in business.  Gerber’s ten principles will help you to break out of the vicious cycle before it starts in your new business. He’ll help you to embrace the energy of exploration with a road map for taking your vision beyond the obvious.  Only then can you build a company that provides continuous fulfillment and personal growth, and can expand the income, services and positive contribution to your employees and community.

Gerber’s ten principles will help you to: 1) identify your company’s essential “system”–its highly differentiated way of doing business that will be the cornerstone of your success.  2) Build a business of great imagination;a self-reliant “reach” that will create economic certainty in any climate. 3) Create a center of growth and learning for your employees, that will in turn develop you business beyond any standard that formerly existed. 4) Instill a higher purpose that can move yourself, your business, and your customers to greater levels of fulfillment and growth.

If you are looking for a truly different business book with wisdom, guidance and simple formulas for success—then you have landed on the right book.  Please visit Micheal’s website by clicking here for more video, audio, radio shows and more.

The website is beautiful and loaded with great free content. Enjoy this lively interview with a true master at small business,  Michael E. Gerber.

Podcast 160: Working for Good with Jeff Klein

Jeff KleinI had the wonderful opportunity of meeting Jeff Klein at the recent Innovation and Humanities Conference in Orange, CA.  It was an inspiring to hear him speak,  and I was very impressed by his message and passionate delivery.  I subsequently have had several deep dialogues with Jeff and feel honored to know a man who’s mission is to help shift how we think about our work.

Jeff starts the preface of his book with a wonderful quote from Kahlil Gibran, “Work is love made visible”, and there could be nothing more true.   “Working for Good” has been written to support any conscious entrepreneurs, intrapreneurs, leaders, and change agents at work who truly want to make a difference while making a living.

Jeff refers to as the essential skills of working for good as 1) awareness 2) embodiment 3) connection 4) collaboration 5) integration.  The combination of these five skills forms an integrated Working for Good system.

While each skill is connected and informs the other, there is a progression of development and application from awareness to embodiment, connection, collaboration and integration.  Awareness asks questions that seek to penetrate, to get behind facades and into the depth.  What’s going on here?

Connection begins with cultivation awareness–connecting with ourselves and working with our minds and hearts–and emerges as we carry awareness into embodiment, into action with our bodies.

Collaboration leads to integration and completes the full circle of the Working for Good system.  Integration is the dynamic process of combining various elements into a new whole that has its own presence and integrity.

Jeff Klein is truly a thought leader with a unique message, attempting people to understand that they have the abilities to apply new skills and passion to do good, and make a big difference through the work that they choose to do, no matter what the work.   As Jeff says,  “Awareness is the first step to becoming a more conscious leader, and with this first step we can all create work with a purpose focused in doing good in and for the world”.

I encourage everyone to not only read Jeff’s new book, “Working for Good“,  but to practice the exercises at the end of each chapter.  Jeff’s website is awesome and loaded with content, videos and downloads.  I highly recommend that you download the  26 principles of working for good.

Do yourself a favor and listen to this great podcast with truly a wonderful thought leader, then go to his website by clicking here and watch a couple of his video’s.  Enjoy this podcast–and start your practice of Working for Good.

Podcast 143: The Answer with John Assaraf

John AssarafI know that many of us are looking for “The Answer“, and I am not certain if it exists or not but the message that John Assaraf has for you could just be what you are looking for.

His new book, “The Answer“, with co-author Murray Smith, is an intriguing look into the personal power of attraction as well as how to reprogram your unconscious brain.

The Answer combines decades of research from neuroscience and quantum physics with practical, hands-on business know-how to give you the confidence you need and the specific step-by-step actions to follow to build the business, and the life, of your dreams.

In my interview with John we explore the basic building blocks of what is required to rethink, relearn, and reprogram our brains so that we can manifest both the life we want, and the business that we desire.

John states that, everything you need to build your dream business, all the tools, resources, capital, people, ideas, expertise…… it all surrounds you today.  You just need to learn how to tap into that personal power.

Through new findings in neuroscience, scientists have discovered that we can override our own genetic codes.  If we learn how to gain access to the power of our brain, where our attitudes, beliefs, and established thought patterns are stored, we can create new neural pathways that can actually rewrite our genetic code.

Creating a clear business vision is the critical first step to your success.  If you are truly passionate and want to create enormous amounts of success for yourself, then you must have five key elements in place.

  1. You must find something that stirs your soul
  2. You must become excellent at it
  3. You must recondition your mind to believe you can have it and achieve it
  4. You must understand how to make money at it
  5. you must take daily action

Come explore with John Assaraf and myself  “The Answer”   to many of the challenges most entrepreneurs face upon starting, building and maintaining a successful business and personal life.

If you would like more information on John Assaraf and One Coach please click here to access his website.