Podcast

Corporate CPR Episode 102: How Lack Of Alignment Within Your Organization Might Be Stunting Your Growth

/ Jana

On today’s episode we are talking about how lack of alignment within your organization might be stunting your growth. 

Jim Stevenson, Founder and CEO of Bletchley Group, an International Growth Consultants firm, specializes in Strategy, Transformation, and Growth. Committed to making growth the focus of strategy, he excels in creating customer-centric plans, go-to-market strategies, and aligning capabilities for revenue growth. As the visionary behind Tech Startup Machine, Jim collaborates with global brands and startups, providing digital services, from e-commerce to brand protection. Noteworthy clients include Guardian News, Bacardi, and Hilton Hotels. A Thought Leader and Speaker on Digital Strategies, Marketing, and Business, Jim’s specialties encompass Strategy, Transformation, and Growth. His versatile roles include Interim/Fractional Chair, CEO, Leader, Consultant, or Coach.

Episode Highlights:

Cultural Foundation: A strong, shared culture is foundational for a growing company’s success. Maintaining this culture becomes challenging as organizations expand, but it is crucial to prevent the formation of silos that hinder overall alignment and productivity.

Vision and Leadership Alignment: Continuous emphasis on the North Star or overarching vision is vital for a growing organization. Lack of alignment at the leadership level, including the board, CEO, and C-suite, can lead to divergent objectives and hinder overall progress.

OKRs for Strategic Alignment: Implementing Objectives and Key Results (OKRs) is a powerful strategy for aligning teams with overarching company goals. Focusing on challenging OKRs, cascaded from the top down, ensures a balance between aspiration and achievability.

Testing and Learning: Embracing a mindset of continuous testing and learning is crucial, especially for smaller entrepreneurial companies. Setting a clear time horizon for metrics and accepting the possibility of mistakes are key to the learning process.

Start Small for Big Impact: Initiating change through smaller, impactful projects can have a significant effect when steering a large organization. Proving success on a small scale generates enthusiasm and paves the way for broader and more significant transformations.

Jim’s Top 3 Takeaways for the Audience:

  1. Culture is a big thing.
  2. Alignment at all levels of the organization is critical.
  3. Focus on executive sponsorship. 

How to Connect with Jim:

https://www.linkedin.com/in/jimstevenson/

Corporate CPR Episode 101: Why You Might Be Killing Innovation Within Your Organization

/ Jana

On today’s episode we are talking about why you might be killing innovation within your organization. 

Robyn Bolton, Founder of MileZero, collaborates with medium to large businesses, guiding them through uncertainty to drive revenue growth. With a focus on innovation, she transforms deep customer insights into viable businesses, having worked with notable companies such as Medtronic and Teachers Pay Teachers. Formerly a Partner at Innosight, she served Global 1000 firms, including Nike and Nestle, shaping new markets and business models. Robyn, an MBA graduate from Harvard Business School, began her career at Procter & Gamble, leading the North American launch of Swiffer. A respected thought leader, her articles on innovation appear in major publications, and she frequently speaks on topics like Intrapreneurship and Design Thinking. 

Episode Highlights:

Strategic Innovation for Growth: Innovation is pivotal for organizational growth, addressing the “growth gap” and maintaining competitiveness in dynamic markets.

Adapting to Rapid Change: Established companies face the challenge of adapting to accelerated technological change, necessitating quicker innovation cycles for sustained relevance.

Clear Definition Drives Alignment: A shared and clear definition of innovation is essential to align diverse perceptions within organizations, ensuring cohesive efforts.

Diversified Portfolio Approach: Success in innovation requires a balanced portfolio encompassing incremental, adjacent, and transformative approaches, each demanding specific structures for optimal execution.

Leadership’s Dual Mandate: Leaders play a pivotal role in maintaining operational efficiency while fostering the adaptability essential for driving and sustaining innovation initiatives.

Robyn’s Top 3 Takeaways for the Audience:

  1. Leaders, the tension you feel between operating and innovating is real. You goal now is to figure out how to live with that tension and both operate and innovate in the best way for your organization. 
  2. Innovation isn’t an event. It can start with one, but make sure you have a plan for how to keep the momentum going. 
  3. Get really good at incremental innovation and set up a separate team and structure to focus on adjacent innovation.

How to Connect with Robyn:

Website: https://www.milezero.io

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/robynmbolton/

Corporate CPR Episode 100: How Communication Might Be Killing Your Organization

/ Jana

On today’s episode we are talking about how communication might be killing your organization.

Pam Hurley, PhD, is the founder and president of Hurley Write, Inc., a certified women-owned small business. Pam’s teaching style has been described as “energetic” and “straightforward.” Indeed, many clients credit Pam with giving them the strategies they needed to start thinking critically about their own writing. 

Episode Highlights:

Impact of Effective Writing: Effective writing plays a critical role in shaping an organization’s reputation, customer relationships, and financial success. Poor writing can lead to confusion, questions, and damage to the company’s image.

Undervaluation of Writing Skills: Many organizations undervalue the importance of writing skills, expressing a need for quality documents while neglecting to invest in the development of their employees’ writing proficiency. There is an assumption that a college education ensures adequate writing skills.

Time and Cost Consequences: Poor writing has not only communication quality implications but also significant time and cost repercussions due to repeated document iterations and reviews. This is especially noticeable when employees, such as project managers, are burdened with excessive reviewing responsibilities that detract from their primary roles.

Equal Rigor for Internal Communication: Internal communication, encompassing emails and other documents, deserves the same level of scrutiny as client-facing communication. Miscommunication internally can lead to problems, impacting relationships and rapport within the organization.

Audience-Centric Writing: Deep understanding of the audience is crucial in effective writing. Knowing the attributes, relationships, and context of the reader aids in tailoring the tone, voice, and content appropriately. This prevents misunderstandings and enhances the overall effectiveness of communication, both internally and externally.

Pam’s Top 3 Takeaways for the Audience:

  1. Think of the organization in terms of the communication. Is there an organizational problem? Do you have a communication standard in place?
  2. Writing should be part of your overall strategic plan for the company. 
  3. Always think about the planning of your documents. 

How to Connect with Pam:

Website: https://www.hurleywrite.com

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/hurleywrite/

Corporate CPR Episode 99: Making Finance-Driven Decisions

/ Jana

On today’s episode, we are talking about making finance-driven decisions.

Paul Barnhurst, known as The FP&A Guy, is a seasoned Finance Professional with over 12 years of experience in finance and Financial Planning & Analysis (FP&A). He holds a bachelor’s degree from BYU, an MBA specializing in finance, and a Master of Information Management from Arizona State University. Paul’s diverse career spans various industries, including government, travel services, finance, automotive, Cyber Security, and Ecommerce. His expertise lies in budgeting, forecasting, financial planning, modeling, report building, and business partnership. Paul recently launched The FP&A Guy, offering FP&A consulting for small and mid-sized companies, FP&A training, and content creation. Based in Salt Lake City, Utah, he’s an active thought leader on LinkedIn in the FP&A field.

Episode Highlights:

  • Financial Modeling for Informed Decisions: Financial modeling is a critical tool for making informed decisions. It involves creating dynamic models with inputs and outputs to estimate the financial implications of various scenarios, such as business expansion. Good financial modeling helps in projecting likely outcomes.
  • Aligning Strategy with Finance: Financial modeling in the corporate context plays a key role in aligning strategic plans with financial considerations. It engages different departments in the budgeting and forecasting process, ensuring that business decisions are financially sound and in line with the company’s overall strategy.
  • M&A as an Art and Science: Mergers and Acquisitions (M&A) strategies should combine both financial analysis and a deep understanding of market dynamics. Successful M&A deals require discipline to avoid overpaying or making unrealistic assumptions. It’s both an art and a science.
  • Building Robust M&A Models: In M&A, success hinges on having a robust financial model, conducting effective due diligence, understanding the strategic fit between companies, and structuring deals intelligently. Consideration of market conditions and future exit strategies is essential.
  • Key Considerations for Informed M&A: When considering M&A, focus on key factors such as financial aspects, the technology state of the target company, cultural fit, legal risks, and understanding industry growth or decline. These considerations are fundamental for making well-informed decisions during mergers and acquisitions.

Paul’s Top 3 Takeaways for the Audience:

  1. Modeling is only one decision-making tool. It should be used to help guide your decisions, not dictate them.
  2. Most M&As do not result in a return to the buyer so make sure you bring discipline to your process and try to remove emotion.
  3. Make sure you’re asking Finance for help. Finance can bring a lot of value, especially if they are willing to learn & partner with the business.  

How to Connect with Paul:

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/thefpandaguy/   

Email: Pbarnhurst@thefpandaguy.com

Website: www.thefpandaguy.com

Corporate CPR Episode 97: Whether You’re Telling The Right Story About Your Brand

/ Jana

On today’s episode we are talking about whether you’re telling the right story about your brand.

Kitty Hart boasts 25 years in branding and marketing. As VP of Client Brand Experience at Heroic Productions, she leads a team of professionals in designing and producing events that convey brand stories, values, and vision. Kitty firmly believes that every brand-customer interaction, be it at corporate events, retail spaces, conference rooms, or websites, is a chance to inspire and engage. She leverages experiential marketing and design thinking to address complex business challenges, providing innovative solutions.

Episode Highlights:

  • Importance of Designing Every Interaction: Effective companies recognize the significance of designing every moment of interaction with their audience, as it directly impacts the perception of their brand.
  • Control and Consistency: To maintain a positive brand perception, companies need to control and be consistent in how their brand shows up in various instances, ensuring there is no misunderstanding about their brand.
  • Integration of Design Thinking: Successful companies have integrated design thinking into their business strategies, which is crucial for creating memorable brand experiences.
  • Listening and Adapting: Monitoring social media and conducting surveys can help companies gauge how well their brand is perceived. If people aren’t talking about the brand or are expressing negative sentiments, it may indicate the need for improvements.
  • Crafting a Clear Brand Story: Companies should craft a clear and compelling brand story, understanding their “why.” It’s essential to involve a cross-section of the organization to create and maintain a consistent brand message.
  • Shift in Perspective: To make your brand stand out, shift your focus from products and services to the results and impact on customers. Challenge the status quo and emphasize why you do what you do.
  • Design and Visuals Matter: High-quality visuals, staging, and technology are crucial for creating engaging and enjoyable corporate events. A well-designed environment enhances the learning experience.
  • Balancing Content and Engagement: Achieving a balance between informative content and enjoyable elements like entertainment and networking is essential for successful events. Keep attendees engaged and looking forward to future events.

Kitty’s Top 3 Takeaways for the Audience:

  1. Importance of being consistent with your brand no matter what size company you are. 
  2. Think about the delivery of your product or service. Observe how the delivery is designed from beginning to end (words, visuals, behaviors, etc.)
  3. Every single brand can use experiential marketing effectively. Look outside of your industry to see what brands are doing, take note of what you find interesting, and see how you can apply it to your business. 

How to Connect with Kitty:

LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/kittyhart/

Email: khart@heroic-productions.com

Website: www.heroic-productions.com

Corporate CPR Episode 97: How Employees’ Expectations Of Their Companies Have Shifted, And How Companies’ Mindsets Might Have To Change To Stay Relevant

/ Jana

On today’s episode we are talking about how employees’ expectations of their companies have shifted, and how companies’ mindsets might have to change to stay relevant.

Joining us today is Chuck Hogan, Managing Partner at Your Best Life, an organization helping people to elevate finance, family, fitness and faith to maximize their Best Life through mentor strategizing, community and exclusive once in a lifetime experiences. His unique background of sales, business and relationship building gives him a rare perspective that enables him to successfully guide entrepreneurs, CEOS, and other top executives to new heights.

Episode Highlights:

  • Embrace Change and Possibility: The importance of embracing change and seeking possibilities, even when it means stepping out of your comfort zone. Staying in a confined space or routine can make one feel claustrophobic, especially for individuals who are free spirits or artists.
  • Recognizing and Leveraging Skills: New-age leader managers are skilled at recognizing and leveraging their employees’ unique talents, even if those talents aren’t aligned with their passion. They encourage employees to mentor others and share their expertise.
  • Patience and Job Satisfaction: The changing job landscape, where people switch jobs more frequently, may be due to a desire for continuous growth and a focus on self-expression.
  • Balancing Scripted Experiences and Personality: The balance between scripted experiences in customer service and allowing employees to showcase their personalities. It emphasizes that effective communication goes beyond scripted words and involves factors like tone, energy, and intent.
  • Rapid Technological Advancement: Technology is advancing at an unprecedented rate, causing information to become outdated quickly and changing the expectations of individuals entering the workforce.
  • Shift in Aspirational Figures: Historical business figures like the Carnegies and Vanderbilts no longer serve as the primary role models for aspiring professionals due to the changing nature of work.
  • Infinite Mindset and Just Causes: Younger generations are motivated by an infinite mindset, seeking just causes and movements that align with their values and being willing to make sacrifices for these causes.
  • Impact on Company Culture and Communication: The shift towards more independent or contract-based work can impact company culture. Effective communication and understanding of individual personalities are essential for meeting employees’ needs and expectations.

Chuck’s Top 3 Takeaways for the Audience:

  1. Look in the mirror today and give appreciation to yourself.
  2. You don’t need a better life; you just need different options. You don’t “need” to shift, get to “choose” to shift.
  3. Get into the habit for time blocking. Set time aside for self-care. Your family and friends need the best of you, not what’s left of you.

How to Connect with Chuck:

Your Best Life Website: www.YBLNow.com

Email: Chuck@YBLNow.com

LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/chuck-hogan-b8610148/

Corporate CPR Episode 96: Whether You Should Be Considering Return To Work

/ Jana

On today’s episode we are talking about whether you should be considering return to work.

Doug Camplejohn, a seasoned tech executive and entrepreneur, is the Founder and CEO of Airspeed, a platform for enhancing employee connections and recognition. With leadership experience at LinkedIn, Microsoft, and Salesforce, Doug is also an investor and advisor to startups. He’s a frequent speaker at industry events and is passionate about leveraging technology for innovation and improvement. He graduated from Carnegie Mellon University.

Episode Highlights:

  1. Return to Work Dynamics: The discussion on returning to work highlights diverse perspectives, including those in favor, against, and undecided on the matter.
  2. Motivations for Returning to Work: The motivations behind companies pushing for a return to the office are explored, including factors like real estate concerns, habit, and potential mistrust.
  3. Flexibility and Hybrid Work: The importance of workplace flexibility is emphasized, exemplified by Apple’s approach of making remote work an earned privilege based on performance.
  4. Fostering Connection: Strategies for fostering connection in remote and hybrid work environments are discussed, including techniques like Ice Breakers, which help team members get to know each other on a personal level beyond work-related discussions.
  5. Building Relationships and Mentorship: Building relationships in a remote work setting can be challenging, but it’s essential for mentorship and personal growth. The conversation suggests that employees should proactively seek out mentors and engage with colleagues through tools like virtual meetings and apps designed for connecting people.
  6. Remote Work Offers a Global Talent Pool:  The ability to hire talent from around the world is a major benefit of remote work. This global talent pool allows companies to find and employ individuals with the skills they need without being restricted to a specific geographic location.
  7. Work-Life Harmony: Companies should emphasize “work-life harmony” rather than “work-life balance.” Remote work allows employees to have more flexibility in managing their work schedules to accommodate personal commitments, ultimately leading to happier and more balanced lives.

Doug’s Top 3 Takeaways for the Audience:

  1. You can’t leave culture to chance; you have to be deliberate. 
  2. Culture isn’t about words on a plaque. People are everything. 
  3. The role of startup CEOs, and even managers in larger corporations, is MVP (Money, Vision, People). 

For More Info About Resources Mentioned in this Episode:

https://b.link/corporatecpr

How to connect with Doug:

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/camplejohn/

Email: d@getairspeed.com

Corporate CPR Episode 95: Why You May Not Be Hearing Your Employees

/ Jana

On today’s episode we are talking about why you may not be hearing your employees.

Marsha Acker is known internationally as a facilitator of meaningful conversations, a host of dialogue, and a passionate agilest. Through her keynotes, books, workshops, and leadership coaching, she empowers leaders around the world to show up authentically in their lives and work — and to grow their leadership range so they can create sustainable, intentional, and positive impact. Drawing on systems thinking, structural dynamics, agility, and over 25 years’ experience in the field helping leaders and teams collaborate and align, she developed Build Your Model for Leading Change to support those stepping into new leadership roles and responsibilities.

Episode Highlights:

Front Page Crisis in Leadership: The concept of a “front page crisis,” is where leaders must deal with high-stakes situations and receive feedback from employees that becomes public news. This emphasizes the importance of effective leadership during critical moments.

Communication Styles Matter: “Structural dynamics” can be a framework for understanding communication styles, including power, affect, and meaning. Leaders need to recognize and adapt to these communication domains to improve their effectiveness in various situations.

Childhood Stories Impact Leadership: Childhood experiences often shape how leaders respond in professional settings. Exploring and understanding these early stories can help leaders navigate their communication patterns and behaviors more effectively in the workplace.

Three Operating Systems:

  1. Open System: Encourages open dialogue and participation from all.
  2. Closed System: Involves hierarchical decision-making with limited autonomy.
  3. Random System: Emphasizes autonomy and fosters innovation.

Four Conversation Actions:

  1. Move: Sets direction and proposes new ideas.
  2. Follow: Supports existing ideas.
  3. Oppose: Provides a different perspective or correction.
  4. Bystand: Offers neutral observations.

Identifying Communication Issues:

  1. Repetitive Conversations: Repeated discussions without resolution signal communication problems.
  2. Resistance to Opposition: If opposing viewpoints aren’t welcomed, diversity in discussions is lacking.
  3. Subtle Signs of Concern: Unvoiced concerns may manifest as topic shifts or silence in meetings.

Marsha’s Top 2 Takeaways for the Audience:

  1. Separate the What from the How in meetings and conversations. What is the topic and how are people engaging?
  2. Catch yourself when you start to defend your point of view. Instead, try to bring inquiry into the conversation.

How to connect with Marsha:

LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/marsha-acker-3486a72

Website: www.buildyourmodel.com     

Corporate CPR Episode 94: The Introverted Leader And How They Can Drive A Successful Organization

/ Jana

On today’s episode we are talking about the introverted leader and how they can drive a successful organization.

Jodi Lasky is a seasoned entrepreneur, coach, and author with extensive knowledge in neuropsychology, accountability, productivity, and introversion. Drawing on her background in Communication, Culture, and Technology, as well as law, Jodi has dedicated her career to understanding leadership and personal tendencies. Her coaching program, ‘The Introvert Founder’, leverages her understanding to help introverted entrepreneurs navigate the complexities of business success, encouraging them to work in harmony with their natural tendencies rather than battling against them.

Episode Highlights:

  1. Introverts Process Internally: Introverted leaders often think deeply and make decisions internally before speaking, which can result in thoughtful and well-considered responses.
  2. Value of Silence in Meetings: Recognizing the importance of silence in meetings allows for more thoughtful discussions and ensures that everyone has the opportunity to contribute effectively.
  3. Effective Opening Questions: Introverted leaders can foster meaningful connections by using opening questions that encourage substantial conversations, bypassing small talk.
  4. Respect Non-Working Time: Introverts value their non-working time for recharging, and leaders should be mindful not to expect constant communication outside regular working hours.
  5. Empathy and Awareness: Introverts often possess heightened awareness, making them skilled at reading body language and understanding subtle cues, which can enhance empathy and understanding in leadership roles.

Jodi’s Top 3 Takeaways for the Audience:

  1. Introversion is not shyness. Don’t look at a shy person and assume they are introverted and don’t look at a person who is speaking and assume they are an extrovert.
  2. Use the people around you to remember the things you need to follow up on. Remember to interact with your people.
  3. Meet people where they are. Leaders need to adjust their style, not expect others to adjust to theirs.

How to connect with Jodi:

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jodilasky/

Website: https://introvertfounder.com/

Corporate CPR Episode 93: How You Can Understand Your Digital Health And Why It’s Important

/ Jana

On today’s episode we are talking about how you can understand your digital health and why it’s important.

Sharon Park is a visionary leader and a seasoned marketer with over 15 years of experience in the digital marketing industry. She has a proven track record of building profitable and scalable marketing programs for B2C and SaaS companies, leveraging her deep expertise in Google Ads, AI, and ML. She is also a passionate entrepreneur and a recognized influencer in the MarTech space, with a mission to empower medium and enterprise businesses with cutting-edge marketing technology.

As the CEO of Sage Digi, Sharon leads an elite team of marketing consultants specializing in performance advertising campaigns and analytics infrastructure. She applies her pattern recognition of Google’s algorithms and her innovative approach to storytelling to create growth engines that catapult lead generation and retention performance. She is also a board member of With My Own Two Hands Foundation, a non-profit organization that supports education and water projects in Africa. Sharon holds a BA in U.S. History and Violin Performance from UCLA, an MA in U.S. Civil War History from UVA, and a Business Analytics Certificate from Harvard University.

Key Takeaways:

  1. Understanding Digital Health: Digital health encompasses various aspects, but in this context, it primarily refers to website health and digital marketing performance, including organic and paid traffic.
  2. Assessing Website Health: To determine if your website is healthy, start by checking your domain authority score using tools like SEMrush. This score indicates how Google views your website’s importance.
  3. Balancing Organic and Paid Traffic: For businesses, achieving a balance between organic (unpaid) and paid traffic is crucial. A 50-50 ratio between the two is a good benchmark for companies with substantial revenue.
  4. Connecting Strategy to Revenue Growth: Align your website and paid advertising strategy with your company’s revenue goals. Monitor metrics like Google Ads impression share to ensure you’re winning auctions and reaching potential customers effectively.
  5. Focusing on the Funnel: Implement a full-funnel marketing approach, starting with building brand awareness at the top of the funnel, followed by nurturing leads in the middle, and closing sales at the bottom.
  6. Resilience Through Brand Building: Investing in top-of-funnel marketing builds resilience during economic downturns by establishing trust and recognition among your target audience.
  7. Avoiding Corporate Mortality: Protecting your performance budget and consistently investing in mid to upper funnel marketing can help your business weather tough times and maintain a competitive edge.
  8. Avoiding Common Mistakes: Avoid relying on multiple sources of revenue data, getting stuck in analysis paralysis, or failing to ask tough questions about website health and performance.
  9. The Timeline for SEO: Understand that SEO is a long-term strategy that requires consistent effort and patience. Results may take months or even years to materialize, but the investment is worth it.
  10. Choosing Advertising Platforms: When starting with advertising, prioritize platforms like Google Ads for immediate returns. As you generate profits, expand into awareness-building channels like LinkedIn or display advertising.

Sharon’s Top 3 Takeaways for the Audience:

  1. The time to get started on your digital health is now.
  2. Don’t do it by yourself. Bring on an agency you trust and who pledges transparency to you.
  3. Create content (a newsletter, a blog, a webinar). It pays dividends in the future.

How to connect with

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/presidentsharon/          

Website: https://sagedigi.com/