Podcast 388: We First-How Brands & Consumers Use Social Media To Build A Better World by Simon Mainwaring

 

Simon MainwaringIt is not often that I come across a book and author that has life transforming ideas, and ideas that I believe will have a positive impact on our world.

I recently interviewed author Simon Mainwaring about his new book entitled “We First-How Brands & Consumers Use Social Media to Build A Better World.”  His  book is not only a must read for anyone in business, but for anyone who is part of the socially responsible movement and wants to impact the world for the better.

Simon really believes that we need to transform the engine of capitalism  because our current structure is not performing in ways that benefit the whole. As the title of the book eludes, we need to move to a “We First” instead of a ” Me First” mindset.   He points out that the book is not about doing away with capitalism, is is about recognizing the advantages of capitalism as a generator of progress and prosperity, but at the same time acknowledging the mounting criticisms–if left unchecked, a capitalist system will run off it own rails.  Many noted economists, thought leaders, and social visionaries around the world are all recognizing that capitalism has become dysfunctional.  It has lost is way as an effective, self-regulating, and sustainable economic system. It has devolved into a single-minded pursuit of profit and wealth for a small elite at the expense of the overall society.”

We First points out that the unresolved tension between self-interest and selfishness is no a philosophical debate.  It is at the root of corporate and individual economic behavior, shaping how brands and consumers participate in capitalism on a daily basis. It affects the choices we make about our use of natural resources, or habits of consumption, our views of investment and profit, our attitudes toward both poverty and ethical business conduct, and the political debates that ultimately determine what type of society we want to live in.

If you are interested in reshaping your personal beliefs, and join a movement that will have a positive impact on how we consume good and services then I highly recommend that you read and study Simon’s new book “We First“.  He also has an amazing course which is both available on the Internet, and there is an upcoming live event in the Los Angeles area in March of 2013.

If you are interested in  Simon’s course offering please click here to be directed to a landing page with more information about the event.  I will be taking the course and attending the live event, you will not want to miss this opportunity.    If you purchase admission to the on-line course you are entitled to attend the live event in Los Angeles in March of 2013, and you are eligible to bring a non-profit of your choice at absolutely no cost.

You can also watch a very cool presentation that Simon did at TED Talks by clicking this link.

 

I hope you enjoy this great interview with a man that is going to change our world, through influencing our choices, consumption and behaviors.

Podcast 387: Leapfrogging-Harness the Power of Surprise for Business Breakthroughs with Soren Kaplan

Soren KaplanIs the element of surprise something that we can all use to create breakthrough in our businesses?  Author Soren Kaplan in his new book entitled “Leapforgging” believes that surprise is the power that can help businesses jump start their creativity and embrace ways to reinvent themselves.  Kaplan states ” Instead of fighting against uncertainty we should use it to break down limiting mindsets and barriers to change the game.”  We can find both opportunity in both good and bad surprises. Soren encourages leaders to embrace counter-intuitive ideas, manage paradoxes and even welcome failure.  This is what he refers to as the key to “Leapfrogging“–creating or doing something radically new or different that produces a significant leap forward.  I always appreciated the Albert Einstein quote ” The definition of insanity is doing the same thing and expecting a different result“.

Soren’s new book “Leapfrogging” can certainly assist anyone in finding new ways of looking at and transforming their ideas and thoughts into breakthroughs both personally and professionally.  His book helps the reader overcome existing mindsets by introducing whole new possibilities–and consequently new assumptions–into the mix. Soren states that breakthroughs share three common characteristics: 1) They challenge fundamental assumptions about existing products, services, business models or organizations. 2) Breakthroughs transform existing ways of doing business by rewriting rules or revolutionizing current practices. 3) They apply resources in entirely new ways, whether people, knowledge, relationships or technology.

Soren’s new book is a great resource for anyone who feels stuck. He has provided great stories along with strategic questions after each chapter to challenge your mindset, and help you learn how to “Leapfrog” into new breakthroughs. If you would like to learn more about Soren Kaplan you can click here to be directed to his website, or you can watch a great Ted-X video presentation by clicking here.

Enjoy this great interview with author Soren Kaplan.

Podcast 383: Charity Case with Dan Pallotta

Dan PallottaI personally appreciate the position author Dan Pallotta has articulated about the unjust discriminatory rules that society imposes on charities.  In his new book entitled “Charity Case-How The Non-Profit Community Can Stand Up For Itself and Really Change the World.” Dan states that virtually everything our society teaches about charity is backwards.  The donating public is told to measure the effectiveness and moral character of charities by how little they spend on “overhead” never being taught that overhead is really investment without which the nonprofit sector can never hope to solve massive social problems.  The media and government unwittingly perpetuate these views, condemning charities that invest in behind-the scenes infrastructure or attempt to lure talent away form the for-profit sector.

I personally have volunteered thousands of hours on charity boards helping to organize and raise money to assist with the funding of this program or that, and believe me the task is a challenging one at best.  Charities are always fight the battle to attract and keep good loyal and committed donors, and those donors frequently are judging the charity on how they control their expenses, and how much of their donated dollar is going to work.  Believe me just like any other business, charities can waste money but the charities I have been involved with have been lean mean fighting machines and truly use the donated dollars quite effectively.   I understand what Dan is saying in “Charity Case” is that the public sentiment has always been one of suspicion. While we spend money with other private-sector businesses and never once give a thought to how they spend their money on expenses or advertising as long as we receive the good or service we purchased.

In my interview with Dan we speak about his movement to help reposition charities in the eyes of the public.  Dan has a very interesting proposition about building an anti-defamation league for charities, the purpose would be to unite charities and create an advertising campaign that would inform the public about all the good that they are doing.  A great example is the ad campaign that “Got Milk” did that was funded by the  Milk Advisory Board which is comprised of dairy cattleman who have united and created advisory board to help build a positive image about milk.  Dan states that charities have never united together, and put their resources to work building a positive image for themselves with the public.  I personally believe this is a great idea, and one that is long overdue.

 

If you are interested in learning more about how Dan plans to help the charities of the world unite and overcome the ill-conceived views of the public I encourage you to read both “Charity Case” and Dan’s previous book “Uncharitable“.  You can also learn more by visiting his website by clicking here.  Enjoy this great interview with author and activists Dan Pallotta.

Podcast 382: The 21 Skills of Spiritual Intelligence with Cindy Wigglesworth

 

Cindy WigglesworthWe have all read and heard about the work of Daniel Goldman regarding Emotional Intelligence, but now what I believe could prove to be equally important is the measurement of our  spiritual intelligence.  Author  Cindy Wigglesworth has just published a book entitled “The 21 Skills of Spiritual Intelligence“which  provides insight into our spiritual intelligence.  As part of my inquiry Cindy  allowed me to take the 170 question analysis that she diligently developed over many years. The quiz was quite revealing and is certainly a tool that will be quite useful both personally and in the work environment. (For more information on the click here to be directed to her website.)

Cindy defines spiritual intelligence as “the ability to behave with wisdom and compassion while maintaining inner and outer peace regardless of the situation.” Wow, now thats  a skill set  that most corporations would love to instill in their employees.  Cindy states that “transcending our smaller nature and growing into our full potential as human beings is the most important and fulfilling thing we can do with our lives.  The set of skills that are collectively known as spiritual intelligence are designed to help you become more fully who you are, to continue to grow and develop, and to live with greater consciousness, direction, wisdom and compassion.

Cindy uses her newly defined spiritual intelligence in conjunction with the other identified intelligences, physical, cognitive, emotional intelligence.  When combined and analyzed they become a powerful tool that can assist the management of organizations in defining how employees will best work, inspire and collaborate with one another.  There are 21 skills that have been identified as part of our spiritual intelligence , and those skills have been classified into four (4) quadrants.  Self-Awareness, Universal Awareness, Self Mastery, Social Mastery/Spiritual Presence.  To better understand the spiritual intelligence model I recommend that you click here to be directed to Cindy’s Deep Change website.

I hope you enjoy this wonderful interview with Cindy Wigglesworth, the author of “The 21 Skills of Spiritual Intelligence“.  You can click here to watch a great PBS interview in which Cindy provides the viewer with insight into her personal philosophy and history.

 

Podcast 379: Change Course with Dan Pallotta

Dan PallottaIn my interview with Dan Pallotta we discuss a his newly designed program called “Change Course“.  I have interviewed Dan previously about his book entitled “Uncharitable-How Restraints on Non-Profits Undermine Their Potential.”   Dan Pallotta has been involved in  lifting up the profile of non-profits for years.  At age 21 he organized a bike ride across America to raise awareness about world hunger,  he also launched a for profit enterprise that was responsible for developing AID’s rides as well as the 3-Day Brest Cancer walks.  Needless to say Dan Pallotta is not stranger to the world of non-profit.

Dan realized that many people are torn mentally and emotionally about where to spend their time.  So many of us want to help in the non-profit sector, yet we feel that we are not doing enough or don’t have the time.   We want to know how to make the transition and feel comfortable with our decisions. This boot camp for idealists, activists and social entrepreneurs and anyone exploring how to make a good living and a big difference will help anyone seeking to have fulfilling work while making a living.  In Change Course, Dan and his team are going to guide the attendees and inform them about: 1) the pros and cons of a non-profit career 2) making a difference in every moment 3) duty and responsibility vs. joy and opportunity 4) social enterprise vs. social entrepreneurship 5) maximizing the impact of personal philanthropy and much more.

If you are like most people you may want to get involved with charitable work, but  could or would you every make a career of it?   Dan will help guide attendees in determining what their options are, as well as help resolve the dilemmas that many face in making non-profit work a career.   If you want to learn more about the Change Course, please listen to this informative podcast.  You can also click here to be directed to the Change Course website which will provide you with the information you will need to make your decision about attending the course.

Podcast 342: Smart Trust with Greg Link

Greg LinkI recently interviewed my good friend and co-author of “Smart Trust“, Greg Link.  Yet another great book from the Covey Link team.

Many of you may remember a book entitled ” The Speed of Trust” which sold more than 1 million copies in 2006  in which Stephen M.R. Covey wrote about the importance of preserving and restoring trust was one of the most important elements in business today..

In “Smart Trust” Greg and Stephen provide a lens to see how trust issues impact every situation, and how you can cut through traditional either/or thinking to extend what they call Smart Trust, enabling you to operate with hight trust in a low trust world.

Greg speaks with me during this interview about how high trust organization time and time again outperform low-trust organizations by nearly three times.  Moving from a low-trust organization has hugh implications and opportunity abounds.   Organization that can embrace “Smart Trust” have the benefit of having employees, customers and communities that support their organizations thus , employee engagement, profitability and innovation are just a few of the benefits of operating with “Smart Trust“.

Greg and I discuss what they refer to in the book at the “ 5 Actions of Smart Trust“, and how Smart Trust Leaders consistently take these actions.  1) Choose to Believe in Trust–this creates the foundational paradigm out of which all other trust-building behaviors flow. 2) Start with Self–focus first on developing the character and competence that enables them to trust themselves and to also give others a person–or a team, organization or country–they can trust 3) Declare their intent…and assume positive intent in others–they signal goals and intended actions—both what and why–clearly in advance, and generally assume that others also have good intent and want to be worthy of trust. 4) Do what they say they’re going to do–they follow through and act to carry out their declared intent; walk their talk. 5) Lead out in extended trust to others–they are the first to extend trust an initiate the upward virtuos cycle that leads to prosperity, energy and joy.

One thing that I know for certain is that “trust” and “fear” can not co-exist.  If we can move our people, businesses and planet to to understanding the importance of embracing “Smart Trust” we will certainly move toward more equanimity. We would have a world where we work in cooperation with one another without the conflict that fear creates.  Competition would be replaced with collaboration and wonderful synergies would emerge  benefiting humanity as a whole.

 

If you would like to learn more about Greg Link and Stephen Covey please click here to be directed to their website.

You can also check out this YouTube Video about the 13 behaviors of high trust people. I hope you enjoy this wonderful interview with Greg Link from the Covey Link Team.

Podcast 326: Being Extraordinary A New Model for Success with Guy Finley

Guy FinleyI always have a great time interviewing Guy Finley.  He is one of my favorite authors with a heart of gold, and a love for humanity.

I had the pleasure of actually being involved in the making of “Being Extraordinary-The New Model for Success“.  This new book is what is referred to as an enhanced book for the Apple iPad.  I am a partner in an organization called Wiseologie Media Group, and we develop enhanced books for authors and publish them in the various forms of digital media for tablets such as the iPad, Nook, Amazon Kindle Fire etc.

Guy’s new book ” Being Extraordinary” is  a question and answer format allowing the reader to easily extract the words of wisdom from Guy Finley without having to read every page of the book–although you should its a wonderful book.  I personally interviewed Guy for over five hours, and our interviews are the foundational material included in “Being Extraordinary”  For Guy Finley this book is a leap into addressing many issues facing business leaders from a spiritual perspective.

A very important topic that is covered is the shift that Guy would like to see business leaders make, from one of “what can I take” to “what can I give or contribute to the world“.  This concept might seem simple, but imagine a world where our business leaders make a shift in their thinking from “taking” to “giving”.  Not only would our business world be transformed, all businesses and the stakeholders–employees, vendors, stockholders would become part of a global transformation in the exchange of good and services benefiting humanity–social responsibility would be the focus.

Guy says that the ordinary is created to serve the extraordinary, and that we realize this relationship within ourselves by learning what it means to come “awake” and be “present” to ourselves at all times.  In becoming extraordinary, one of the most valuable lessons is to awaken to our own personal relationship with our “higher-self” the self that transcends aspects of our self that are not awake to what and who we are becoming in each and every moment.  At this point we experience our own personal revelation, we realize that their are not failures only learning lessons and opportunities to progress in our own awakening to who and what we are becoming.

Guy states that the “I” must be willing to die for the “We” if we are to become fearless.  In “Being Extraordinary” the reader will learn that to transcend the ego’s dominion and realize our connection to the “One”.  You learn that you are  not separate, you are One with the Source and Being Extraordinary is part of our divine right.

If you want to learn more about “Being Extraordinary” please click here to be directed to the iTunes store where you can download the first two chapters for review on your iPad.  You can also learn more by clicking here to be directed to a You Tube video with an introduction to the book.  I hope you enjoy this wonderful interview with author Guy Finley about “Being Extraordinary“.

Podcast 278: In Sickness and In Health with Vadim Liberman

Vadim LibermanI recently received the Spring Issue of “The Conference Board” Magazine” and was very impressed with an article that the senior editor Vadim Liberman wrote entitled ” In Sickness and In Health-Do Companies Care About Their Peoples“.   Over the last many years my interestes have been focused on wellness in the workplace, and Vadim’s feature article hit the nail on the head as far as I was concerned.

As Vadim states in the article ” As the world get flatter, its’s getting fatter and sicker.  Heart disease, diabetes, cancer and a host of other conditions afflict more of us than ever. But it’s not only our ballooning bodies that are ailing.  Companies are suffering from ill health, exhibiting symptoms that include lower productivity, engagement, and morale, as well as higher medical costs.”

In my interview with Vadim we speak about not only the issues of developing wellness program for organization to improve the overall health of the organization, but just as importantly we discuss the important issues of the necessary cultural changes necessary to sustain organizational vitality and health.

The main purpose of wellness programs–trimming medical expenses–is obvious.  Except that it’s obvious to no one outside the United States.  You see our focus is on reducing medical costs and it is our number one priority, but in other countries such as Canada, Europe, and Latin America productivity is companies’ top wellness-program objective.   According to Vadim’s research US businesses may be swallowing the wrong pill to slash overall expenses.  Productivity has a greater financial impact than medical costs, explains Barry Hall, a principal in the clinical-health-consulting and global technology-solutions practices of Buck Consultants.

According to the recent Buck Consultants global-wellness survey, two thirds of organizations currently have a formal wellness strategy, up from 49% in 2007.  However, few companies say they have fully implemented their plans, especially across borders, and 28% of those with no strategy admit they don’t know how to get started.  One thing for certain is that companies should seriously consider implementing a wellness strategy, and it needs to include a focus on the cultural issues of wellness as well as the metrics of creating a well and vital organization.

One connection seems clear: between worker heath and productivity.  “People who have poor health report lower levels of productivity” In fact one study indicates an 18 percent difference in productivity between healthy and unhealthy worker.  If you would like to read the entire article please click here to be directed to the Conference Board article.

 

I hope you enjoy my interview with Vadim Liberman the senior editor for ” The Conference Board Magazine”