So you think you have your culture nailed. You have your mission, core values, a space that wows, and a team of stellar contributors who are ready go out and crush the competition.

You’re good to go, right?

Not quite.

As our Awesome Office guest Vinnie Fisher points out, your culture is still missing a key ingredient, without which it will never be complete.

You need to discover the heartbeat of your business.

According to Vinnie, every business has a heartbeat – a unifying feeling or spirit that permeates the organization and comes directly from the leader.

It’s akin to a type of energy, and is one of the intangibles that separate average businesses from high-performing ones, and mediocre leaders from great ones.

Vinnie should know, as he’s one of the most energetic, prolific entrepreneurs we’ve had on the show.

Vinnie is a former-attorney-turned best-selling author and serial entrepreneur who has founded multiple successful businesses with staggering exits (and, as you’ll hear, one or two not-so-staggering). He is currently the CEO and Chairman of accounting solution Fully Accountable, and CEO and Chief Visionary of The Total CEO, an executive coaching firm.

Vinnie had so much beautiful knowledge to share with the AO community, it was truly a pleasure to have him on the show.

Key Takeaways

• Vinnie shares the secret to his seemingly boundless energy.
• Vinnie explains what he means when he says he focuses on answers rather than questions, and how that helps elevate his mood, energy, and productivity.
• Vinnie tells us that unless you invest in self first, you have nothing to give others.
• Vinnie talks about what he considers the biggest failure of his career, and what he learned from it.
• Vinnie shares the concept of a business’s “heartbeat,” and how you can discover the heartbeat of your business.
• Vinnie breaks down how he applies the heartbeat principle to the hiring process, and how he employs the concept of “reverse hiring.”
• Vinnie tells us how he manages self doubt.
• Vinnie take us through his morning routine, and reveals the habits that help him perform at the top of his game.

Links

• Fully Accountable
• The Total CEO
• Vinnie on Twitter, Facebook, and LinkedIn
• VinnieFisher.com

Recommended Reading

• The Best Investment: A Better You by Vinnie Fisher

As always, if you haven't yet, please subscribe to, rate, and review the show in iTunes. This show grows by word of mouth, and the more we grow, the more Awesome we can all create together.

You might think that Ancient Rome would be the last place to look in order to gain insight into the modern workplace.

Considering today’s lightning-fast pace, constant technological disruption, and hordes of smartphone-toting Millennials, what can the ancients possibly teach us about leading our organizations?

But as we learn in this latest installment of the Awesome Office Show, quite a bit actually.

In Episode 29, we decided to flip the script and put our fearless leader and AO host Sean Kelly on the hot seat to share some of his learnings from a recent Harvard Business School course he took on the leadership secrets of Ancient Rome.

Sean’s course focused on the teachings of ancient Roman philosophers Seneca the Younger and Valerius Maximus, both of whom lived and worked during Rome’s Julio-Claudian dynasty, under Emperors Tiberius and Nero, respectively.

Sean gave us a fantastic deep dive on his learnings from the course, and tells us how we can apply their timeless wisdom in the service of creating better, longer lasting organizations.

Key Takeaways

• The best leaders(paradoxically) combine super human confidence and super human humility. 
• Self confidence must be driven by a sense of purpose.
• Purpose, it turns out, is a choice, and choosing to see purpose in the road ahead has a powerful impact on results.
• The best leaders possess both deep devotion and high standards, two concepts embodied in the ancient ideal of Justice.
• In order to get the best out of people, you must see others "as God sees them," that is, as the best version of themselves.
• Don’t like someone? Empower your sense of empathy, and try to see the world through their eyes. 
• Trust relies on authenticity (the real you), logic (a plan), and empathy, and is possible without the "burden of knowledge."

Recommended Reading

• Memorable Doings and Sayings, Voume I by Valerius Maximus
• Letters from a Stoic by Lucius Annaeus Seneca
• Good to Great by Jim Collins
• Uncommon Service by Frances Frei and Anne Morriss

As always, if you haven't yet, please subscribe to, rate, and review the show in iTunes. This show grows by word of mouth, and the more we grow, the more Awesome we can all create together.

Too often, companies are focused on how they can extract value from an opportunity or market, and not on the value they can provide.

Not so for Ryan Cummins and Omaze, the Los Angeles-based company that raises money and awareness for caused-based charities by creating the chance to win once in a lifetime experiences.

Ryan, along with co-CEO Matt Pohlson, lead a team of 58 rockstars in a shared workspace with mobile gaming studio Scopely - a fact that comes with some serendipitous cross cultural benefits.

Ryan can trace his dual passions for story telling and caused-based philanthropy to his days in film production, when he and Matt worked on projects like Al Gore’s global concert Live Earth, and Girl Rising, a documentary about young women in developing countries making their mark in tech.

As Ryan tells us in the episode, giving is a powerful force in delighting Omaze’s audience, and the power of giving isn’t limited to philanthropy-based organizations. In fact, he argues that businesses in every industry can harness the transformative power of giving.

Ryan had a ton of amazing insight for us, including how the team at Omaze practices a form of radical candor, and the surprising way Ryan uses fear and self doubt as a tool of self-transformation.

Key Takeaways

• Ryan describes the origin of his dual passions for storytelling and philanthropy, and how these two impulses inspired him to found Omaze with partner Matt Pohlson.
• Ryan relays an anecdote about his nieces and nephews that taught him the value of storytelling, and tells us how companies can harness the power of good stories.
• Ryan tells us about one of Omaze’s coolest campaigns involving cast members from the new Star Wars films.
• Ryan tells us why Omaze makes it a point to practice radical candor when it comes to providing feedback, and tells us a method to ensure feedback is communicated effectively.
• Ryan tells us what makes a good leader, and describes what he’s currently doing to become a better one.
• Ryan tells us what it’s like sharing a workspace with a startup from another industry (gaming studio Scopely), and describes what the two companies have learned from one another.
• Finally, Ryan talks candidly about personal fear and self-doubt, and tells us the surprising way he’s turned his fear into a powerful tool of self transformation.

Links

• Omaze Harrison Ford Star Wars campaign
• The Omaze blog
• Omaze.com
• @ryan_cummins on Twitter
• @Omaze on Twitter

Recommended Reading

• A Short History of Nearly Everything by BIll Bryson

As always, if you haven't yet, please subscribe to, rate, and review the show in iTunes. This show grows by word of mouth, and the more we grow, the more Awesome we can all create together.

What can a Master’s degree in education and a background in nightlife teach you about becoming an entrepreneur and effective leader?

Judging from Amanda Slavin’s track record, quite a bit.

Amanda Slavin is a Millennial and Generation Z expert, and the CEO and founder of CatalystCreativ, an experience studio that’s focused on helping cities, brands and institutions flourish by developing educational and inspirational on- and offline campaigns.

But before she was Amanda Slavin, Catalyst CEO, she was Ms. Slavin, a first grade teacher with a Masters in Curriculum and Instruction from the University of Connecticut’s Neag School of Education.

As she tells us in this week’s interview, Amanda is grateful for her experience as an educator, and applies the engagement principles she developed in grad school to her client work. Through education and engagement, Catalyst helps its clients reach Millennials and create a “ripple of impact” that creates community and lasting value for brands. 

Amanda talks to us about Holacracy, the system of self organization she uses internally at Catalyst, and that she picked up from investor/mentor Tony Hsieh.

Amanda was also vulnerable enough to share some of the challenges she faces as a young, accomplished leader, including a recurring sense of isolation and occasional self-doubt, along with the tactics she uses to overcome these emotions.

We had a blast learning from Amanda, and we know you will too.

Key Takeaways

• Amanda talks about how her experience as a teacher serves as a driving force in her work with Catalyst Creativ, and shares the lasting lessons her first grade and middle school students taught her.
• Amanda explains how the Holacracy system works within Catalyst, and why she’s chosen to adopt it as a framework for the org.
• Amanda tells us why an organization can’t change unless its leaders are willing to work on themselves both personally and professionally.
• Amanda describes the “ripple of impact” concept.
• Amanda breaks down the “Three Ps” from her TEDx talk, and why she believes that companies ought to find a higher purpose in their missions.
• Amanda covers the “7 Levels of Engagement” that she developed as a grad student, and how she applies them to her client work at Catalyst.
• Amanda talks about one of the companies she admires most, and what she's learned from them

Links

• CatalystCreativ
• Amanda’s TEDx Talk
• @AJSlavin on Twitter 
• @AJSlavin on Instagram
• Life Is Beautiful Fest
• Soul Cycle 

Recommended Reading

• Holacracy
• Creativ's 7 Levels of Engagement
• “30 Things I’m Happy I Tried and Learned Before 30″ by Amanda Slavin 

As always, if you haven't yet, please subscribe to, rate, and review the show in iTunes. This show grows by word of mouth, and the more we grow, the more Awesome we can all create together.