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Awesome Office: Lead. Create. Inspire.

The Awesome Office Show is all about helping you lead people, create culture, and inspire Awesome at your company. Each week we talk to a business leader, entrepreneur, HR pro, or engagement specialist at the most successful and buzzed about companies in the country, and learn their most actionable tips, tactics, and best practices - and share them with you. This is a behind the curtain look that you’re not going to find anywhere else. If you care about developing stellar cultures that provide lasting value for employees, customers, and shareholders, then this is the podcast for you. The Awesome Office Show is hosted by Sean Spear. Similar to Entreleadership and HBR Ideacast.
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Now displaying: April, 2016
Apr 29, 2016

When people in the food industry meet Robyn O’Brien for the first time, they often remark, “Funny, you don’t look like one of them.”

“One of them,” presumably being the stereotypical food or environmental activists.

And to be honest, they're right. (To wit, Robyn does not wear Birkenstocks or tie-dye, nor does she have dreadlocks.) 

In fact, Robyn is a self-described “conservative Texas mom” raised in a military family, and admittedly, the last person you’d expect to be leading a crusade to reform the food industry. Yet she is at the forefront of a movement to fundamentally rethink what goes into our nation’s food supply.

As a financial analyst in the food industry, Robyn began to undercover undeniable links in the chemical pesticides, GMOs, and antibiotics in our food and troubling health trends like the explosion of childhood food allergies.

Through her writing and her now Famous TEDx Talk, Robyn triggered an allergic reaction in the food industry when she dared to asked: “Are we allergic to food or what’s been done to it?” Today, she is a sought-after advisor and speaker, inspiring organizations and individuals to engage in the “New Food Economy.”

Robyn was a delight to interview, and as usual, the conversation took some unexpected turns. What we found most fascinating was Robyn's insight into her journey from financial analyst to food warrior. Fear, she says, was the one thing holding her back, but how leading with love (something she learned from her mother as a child) has given her the courage and resolve to bring these important issues to light. 

Robyn’s now famous TEDx Talk:

 

 

Key Takeaways

  • Why Robyn is optimistic for the future of the natural foods movement, and why the big food industry players are finally admitting that it isn’t a fad or a trend.
  • Why what we feed ourselves and our families directly impacts how we feel, live, and work.
  • Why “vegan” is no longer a dirty word.
  • How a conservative girl from Texas from a military family became a crusader for reforming our food supply.
  • How observing the exploding rates of food allergy in children inspired Robyn to dig deep and uncover the untold story of the food industry, and why accepting that this is her purpose has enabled Robyn to let go of the fear that has held her back from making a difference.
  • How and why everyone should listen to their heart in order to find their true purpose and be the person that we’re truly meant to be on this planet.
  • Why we should look at our lives like a novel.
  • Why our traits and emotions are like muscles, and why courage is just as easy to exercise as fear.
  • The origin behind Robyn’s now famous TEDx Talk, and why she didn’t want to do it at first.
  • Why making a difference isn’t about focusing on the naysayers, but being energized by the positive voices you see opportunity in the challenges ahead.
  • Why food is the next big “operating system” to be disrupted.
  • What you should do in the office to impact the health, wellness, and productivity of your team.
  • The foods you should avoid at all costs - and a few you should start eating today.

Links

Books

This is episode is brought to you by the snack geniuses at SnackNation.

SnackNation is a healthy office snack delivery service that makes healthy snacking fun, life more productive, and workplaces awesome.

To try a free SnackNation discovery box (featuring 15 delicious snacks your team will love), visit get.snacknation.com/ao. You'll also receive a complimentary copy of the 2016 Ultimate Guide to Creating An Awesome Office.

Apr 21, 2016

Our guest this week is Scott Svenson, the co-founder and CEO of MOD Super Fast Pizza. MOD is the pioneer in the fast casual pizza market and is now one of the fastest growing restaurant chains in the US, with 114 stores open today and plans to have 190 open by the end of 2016.  Thats some serious growth.

There's no doubt that Scott is an accomplished leader - he and his wife have built multiple successful companies both in the US and UK.

But what impresses me most about it him is his calm demeanor, stoic nature and sense of confidence that he gives to others. He’s just got a really cool aura about him - like he is fully present and aware - and I know this is one of the many reasons people really love working with him, and why he has had so much success.

I had the fortune of meeting Scott at Harvard a few months ago, where we were both taking a leadership and executive management course that was developed through YPO, the Young President’s Organization. Scott’s company MOD Pizza was a case study for all of the 200 CEOs and business leaders there, and it was through this case study that I realized Scott and MOD have something really cool going on that we can all learn from.

What I found most fascinating - and what we talked about at length in this interview - is how MOD thrives with a business model that puts employee experience first.

Key Takeaways

  • Scott explains the importance of believing that human beings are inherently good, and how expectations often shape outcomes.
  • Why even though pizza is all that MOD sells, but it’s actually not the most important thing in MOD’s business.
  • Why when setting up guidelines for your team members, its all about creating "wide boulevards and high curbs."
  • Why Scott and his wife Ally founded MOD Pizza under the banner of "enlightened capitalism."
  • The surprising way that money can buy happiness (hint: it’s not how you think).

Recommended Reading

Links

 

This is episode is brought to you by the snack geniuses at SnackNation.

SnackNation is a healthy office snack delivery service that makes healthy snacking fun, life more productive, and workplaces awesome.

To try a free SnackNation discovery box (featuring 15 delicious snacks your team will love), visit get.snacknation.com/ao. You'll also receive a complimentary copy of the 2016 Ultimate Guide to Creating An Awesome Office.

Apr 15, 2016

AWE Episode graphic template_Marc Merrill_edited-1

From day one, Riot Games has been about one becoming thing - the most gamer-focused studio in the world.  

Co-founders Marc Merrill and Brandon Beck are both hardcore gamers, and from the outset, they’ve consciously built a culture that emphasizes player experience above all else - even revenue.

To preserve this ethos, the company only hires gamers, a practice they’ve continued even as they’ve scaled. Today, the company has more than 2,000 employees (or “Rioters” as they’re known internally), all of whom have firsthand knowledge of gaming and gaming culture.

The end result is an organization that is always in touch with its audience. And while Riot’s core consumer is sophisticated and at times demanding, Marc says these high customer expectations motivate Rioters to deliver superior gameplay. 

By all accounts, this approach has paid off.

If you’ve never heard of Riot Games, there’s a good chance you’ve heard of their marquee title, League of Legends - aka, the most popular online game… ever.

What, exactly, does that mean? We’ll let the stats tell the tale.

  • 67 million people play League of Legends each month
  • This translates to 3.5 billion monthly hours of game play
  • 36 million people watched the League of Legend e-sports championship in 2015 - that’s twice the viewership of last year’s NBA finals

We visited the stunning Riot Games HQ in West Los Angeles to speak to Riot president Marc Merrill, and to learn exactly how they’ve managed to build their unlikely empire.

The campus itself was a sight to behold. The sleek-yet-whimsical Riot offices feature a world-class cafeteria, an outdoor basketball court, a Korean style PC-cafe, a gorgeous onsite coffee bar called Bilgewater Brew, and surprises around every corner. 

DSC_0107 copy
Sean and Producer Jeff in the Riot HQ Lobby
Copy of Riot Exterior
Riot HQ at night.
Copy of PC Bang
A PC Cafe at Riot HQ
Bilgewater Brew
Bilgewater Brew at Riot HQ

Marc and his team were generous hosts, and we can’t thank them enough for sharing their perspective on what makes Riot such a powerhouse in the gaming world.

Key Takeaways

  • Marc explains why Riot only hires gamers, and spells out the advantages (and challenges) that come with this policy.
  • Marc tells us why he considers talent to be Riot’s greatest asset.
  • Marc relays an incredible story about their search for a new head of talent, and why it ultimately took two years.
  • Marc describes why managers who are both misaligned and credible can be so dangerous to your business.
  • Marc talks about why it was important for Brandon and him to create the most gamer-focused company in the world.
  • Marc explains why high customer expectations and an “infinite backlog of opportunities to improve” is actually a good thing, as well as why the main motivator for Rioters isn’t compensation.
  • Marc reveals the most important KPI at Riot (and it’s not what you think).
  • Marc breaks down what de-noobification means, and how it’s helped scale Riot’s amazing culture.
  • Marc takes us through the two scariest moments in Riot’s history, and how the company persevered.
  • Marc tells us why “not my job” doesn’t exist in the Riot lexicon.
  • Marc explains why they’d rather have empty seats in the org than the wrong person in a role.

Recommended Reading

Links

This is episode is brought to you by the snack geniuses at SnackNation.

SnackNation is a healthy office snack delivery service that makes healthy snacking fun, life more productive, and workplaces awesome.

To try a free SnackNation discovery box (featuring 15 delicious snacks your team will love), visit get.snacknation.com/ao. You'll also receive a complimentary copy of the 2016 Ultimate Guide to Creating An Awesome Office.

Apr 8, 2016

Life isn’t easy. Life isn’t perfect. But life is good.

That’s the motto that has propelled Life is Good - the lifestyle clothing brand that celebrates optimism - from a $200 initial investment in 1989 to a $100M company today.

This week, our Awesome Office guest is none other than Life is Good co-founder and Chief Executive Optimist Bert Jacobs. In the interview, Bert shares how he and his co-founder/brother John conceived of the company, and why placing optimism at the core of the brand has helped it reach millions of people.

As Bert tells it, before it was ever a company or a t-shirt, “Life is Good” was a spirit personified by Bert and John's mother, Joan, an eternal optimist who taught her children to turn the music up, enjoy the moment, and always remember to focus on the good things in life.

Ultimately, the pair took her message to heart, and made the spread of positive energy their lives work. In addition to the brand's uplifting message, Life is Good achieves spreads good vibes by donating 10% of net profits to the Life is Good Kids Foundation, and by holding events like the Life is Good music festival, which is set to return to Austin, TX in June of next year.

Bert was an incredibly honest, good-natured, and fascinating guest. He told us why he believes our disposition determines our happiness, why work/life is balance is an inherently flawed concept, and why the people who have the hardest row to hoe tend to gravitate toward the Life is Good brand the most.

Speaking to Bert put us in a great mood and taught us a lot about leadership and business, and we think listening to him will have the same effect.  

Key Takeaways

  • Bert shares the origin of the company’s motto, and why “life is good” isn’t simply an appeal for blind cheerfulness.  
  • Bert explains why optimism is like shooting foul shots (hint: it involves hanging out with American Ninja Warriors).
  • Bert describes the early influence of his mother on his and John’s outlook, and how her spirit inspired the philosophy that eventually became the Life is Good brand.
  • Bert relays a seeming paradox about the LIG brand - that the people who have the hardest road in life tend to resonate with the brand the most - and why he thinks that’s the case.
  • Bert explains why our disposition determines our happiness, not the other way around.
  • Bert demonstrates why work/life balance is a flawed concept, and makes a case for bringing what you love the most into the office with you everyday.
  • Bert posits that companies don’t have a responsibility to help employees find their purpose (or to be purpose-driven at all), but instead makes a business case for it.
  • Bert talks about why so many companies are scared to have fun, and why they should consider integrating more fun into their business.
  • Bert explains why a company’s growth is limited by its leader’s ability to get out of the way, and explains why leadership is more successful when they act more like grandparents than parents.
  • Bert describes how, in his view, organizations and businesses have a “natural rhythm," and what happens when businesses fall out of rhythm. 

Recommended Reading

Links

This is episode is brought to you by the snack geniuses at SnackNation.

SnackNation is a healthy office snack delivery service that makes healthy snacking fun, life more productive, and workplaces awesome.

To try a free SnackNation discovery box (featuring 15 delicious snacks your team will love), visit get.snacknation.com/ao. You'll also receive a complimentary copy of the 2016 Ultimate Guide to Creating An Awesome Office.

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