Info

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.
RSS Feed Subscribe in Apple Podcasts
Awesome Office: Lead. Create. Inspire.
2024
March
February


2023
December
November
October
September


2018
May
April
March
February
January


2017
December
November
October
September
August
July
June
May
April
March
February
January


2016
December
November
October
September
August
July
June
May
April
March
February
January


2015
December
November
October
September


Categories

All Episodes
Archives
Categories
Now displaying: 2016
Jul 8, 2016

According to Ryan Holiday, there is an enemy within us.

This enemy has derailed the careers of promising young geniuses, decimated great fortunes, and run companies into the ground. It's made adversity unbearable and turned struggle into shame.

It's name? Ego.

Ryan Holiday is a media strategist, best selling author, and the former marketing director of American Apparel. He has been in the trenches building brands and designing media strategies, and today is one of the most highly regarded thinkers and marketers of his generation. But by his own admission, he hasn't been immune to the dangers posed by Ego.

In his new book, Ego is the Enemy, Ryan lays out a strategy for defeating the enemy Ego, and he was gracious enough to share some of this insight - and some incredible stories - with the Awesome Office audience.

In this interview, Ryan shares how luck played a role in his success, and why the stories we tell ourselves about our successes (and failures) are so important; how the schism that formed between Ryan and his parents after he dropped out of college at the age of 19 played an important role in his career development; and why we must embrace uncomfortable moments in order to become the best version of ourselves.

This episode also marks the first time we've recorded with a live audience, as we set up the mics in front of 70+ Awesome Officers at SnackNation HQ.

We captured the whole thing on video too. (We'll have that up here shortly.)

Key Takeaways

  • Ryan explains why the things you're most excited about are often the things that cause the most anxiety. 3:33 
  • Ryan tells us about his childhood in Northern California, and how everything from his parents' professions to their decision to live in Sacramento affected his life's journey. 6:18
  • Ryan describes the moment he realized that education and schooling aren't necessarily synonymous. 8:02
  • Ryan talks about his decision to drop out of college at 19, and the fallout it caused with his parents. 9:49
  • Ryan relays how he became author Robert Greene's research assistant, and how it almost fell it apart before it began. 11:38
  • Ryan dives into the premise of his new book, explaining what he means by the phrase "Ego is the Enemy." 14:59
  • Ryan helps us distinguish the difference between confidence and ego, and why one serves us while the other hinders us. 18:35
  • Ryan shares a strategy for removing your ego when you receive constructive criticism. 20:38
  • Ryan tells us about the many times luck played a part in his success, and explains why the story we tell ourselves matters so much. 20:55
  • Ryan uses a story about Bo Jackson to illustrate why you need an "internal scorecard." 27:26
  • Ryan and Sean talk about the pitfalls of comparing yourself to others, and why it's ultimately a fool's errand. 30:30
  • Ryan breaks down the misconception that you need to "find yourself" before you can identify work that's meaningful to you. 31:40
  • Ryan shares a tactic for training people to derive satisfaction from the internal things you can control rather than the external things you can't. 37:15
  • Ryan makes a case for life as "continuous training." 42:40
  • Ryan explains why we need to embrace life's uncomfortable moments and not always try to "fill them up with stuff." 43:44
  • Ryan explains what we can do to minimize ego in the workplace. 46:18

Links

Recommended Reading

 

Earn a $100 Amazon Gift Card, Courtesy of SnackNation

Our sponsor SnackNation wants to give you a $100 Amazon Gift Card for hooking your office up with snacks. Yes you heard me right - they want to PAY YOU to bring insanely tasty snacks into your office.

It's simple. Help get your office started with SnackNation's monthly snack delivery and they'll send you a $100 Amazon Gift Card. That's a gift card for you (not your office) to spend on whatever you like. You'll get high fives from coworkers because you brought the tastiest and best variety of healthy snacks into your office... all without lifting a finger.

Go to SnackNation.com/ao, to claim your $100 Amazon Gift Card now! 

 

 

Similar to Entreleadership and HBR Ideacast.

Jul 1, 2016

In 2004, Mark Rampolla was sick of settling for low-hanging fruit.

Sure, he had a comfortable life, a six-figure income, and was poised to reach the top of a Fortune 100 company. But he knew there was more to life than making money.

Most of all, he was concerned about the example he was setting for his young daughters. Did he want their dad to be a corporate conformist, someone who settles for the status quo, or someone who could strike out on his own and change the world for the better?

That’s when he decided to reach for the high-hanging fruit.

A few months later he launched ZICO coconut water, a company that sought to transform the billion dollar global beverage industry by offering a healthier alternative to the sugar and chemical laden sodas that dominated the market.

And he never looked back.

After a successful exit from ZICO, Mark is now the co-founder and managing partner of Powerplant Ventures, a venture capital firm specializing in plant-centric businesses. Together with his partners and portfolio companies, Mark’s goal is to revolutionize the global food system by offering the nutrition people need in sustainable and ethical ways.

Oh, and he’s also the author of the new book High Hanging Fruit.

Mark captivated us with his ideas and stories from his journey from Peace Corps volunteer, to entrepreneur and CEO, to venture capitalist.

Perhaps most fascinating is the fact that Mark has maintained his trademark optimism and grit throughout his long career, and is always challenging himself to learn and grow.

Buy Mark’s Book and Donate to Homeboy Industries

Mark’s new book is called High-Hanging Fruit: Build Something Great by Going Where No One Else Will.  Use this link to purchase the book and a portion of the proceeds will be donated to Homeboy Industries, a Los Angeles-based nonprofit that provides hope, training, and support to formerly gang-involved and previously incarcerated men and women.

Key Takeaways

  • Mark explains why he made the leap from entrepreneur to venture capitalist, and how he investing unexpectedly became a labor of love.
  • Mark tells us how he evaluates companies, and why the single most important factor is always the quality of the person (or team) leading the business.
  • Mark breaks down the difference between “experience” on paper and the story that an entrepreneur brings with her to a business.
  • Mark weighs in on the question of whether or not our culture has “entrepreneurial fever,” and explains why he usually discourages people from people leaving their job to start a business.
  • Mark describes the perils of becoming an entrepreneur in a left-leaning family, and tells us the amazing story of his entrepreneurial journey, which started off in the Peace Corps.
  • Mark explains how his days in Latin America with the Peace Corps working with local cooperatives and women owned businesses shaped his perspective on entrepreneurship, and helped lead to both ZICO and the high-hanging fruit concept.
  • Mark tells us why took on the challenge of managing International Paper’s (a Fortune 100 company at the time) business in El Salvador, straight out of business school.
  • Mark tells us how he discovered that the IP’s local CFO was cooking the books, and how that ultimately led to an acute familiarity with finance and balance sheets - something that serves him to this day.
  • Mark talks about the genesis of ZICO, which actually began as a side hustle while he was still with IP.
  • Mark explains why half of strategy is deciding what NOT to do, and explains some of the worst business ideas he came up with during the ideation phase prior to launching ZICO.
  • Mark describes how he evaluated these ideas not just with the typical business filters, but with personal and social filters as well.
  • Mark talks about the greatest challenge working with a giant company like Coca Cola back when they were a mere minority investor in ZICO.
  • Mark tells us the single most important lesson that he wished he knew back when he started ZICO in 2004, as well as the darkest moment throughout the entire ZICO journey.
  • Mark explains why the belief that “you’ve already won” actually enables you to do your best work.
  • Mark explains why he’s so bad at hiring.
  • Finally, Mark tells us what inspired him to write the book High-Hanging Fruit.

Books

Links

Earn a $100 Amazon Gift Card, Courtesy of SnackNation

Our sponsor SnackNation wants to give you a $100 Amazon Gift Card for hooking your office up with snacks. Yes you heard me right - they want to PAY YOU to bring insanely tasty snacks into your office.

It's simple. Help get your office started with SnackNation's monthly snack delivery and they'll send you a $100 Amazon Gift Card. That's a gift card for you (not your office) to spend on whatever you like. You'll get high fives from coworkers because you brought the tastiest and best variety of healthy snacks into your office... all without lifting a finger.

Go to SnackNation.com/ao, to claim your $100 Amazon Gift Card now! 

 

Jun 25, 2016

What makes an Awesome Office? Is it the culture? The leadership? Is it the office space itself? These are the questions that we set out to answer on this podcast from day one.

You’d be hard pressed to think of a more qualified person to provide answers than this week’s Awesome Office guest, Sara Mailloux.

As Hulu's Director of Workplace Experience, it’s Sara's job to provide the company’s 1,300 Hulugans with an environment that supports their culture and empowers them to perform at their best, day in and day out.

While Hulu does have an incredible, open workspace, Sara contends that it’s the people in that - not the space itself - that make an office truly awesome. The office is there just to empower the people in it to do great things. 

Sara was a delight to talk to in this episode. In it, she goes deep into the history of Hulu, and describes the ways she helps craft the right experience to keep the company on an upward trajectory.

Key Takeaways

  • Sara describes the transitions that the Hulu workplace has undergone since its inception nearly a decade ago.
  • Sara explains why she’s rarely at her desk, and tells us about the types of spaces she’s designed to encourage collaboration.  
  • Sara tells us how she became the #2 employee at Hulu, and how an early foray in television production inspired a career-long love of experiential design and construction.
  • Sara relays the story of how Hulu got the name “Hulu,” as well as how Hulu employees came to be known as “Hulugans.”
  • Sara tells us the funnest thing about working at Hulu (which, it turns out, is also the most challenging).
  • Sara explains Hulu’s “60/40” rule, and why she believes employees must drive their own career development.
  • Sara explains what “Workplace Experience” means at Hulu, and why she’s dedicated her career to it.
  • Sara explains the dilemma between trying to design for the individual vs. creating experiences for the team in aggregate.
  • Sara names the types of spaces that she thinks every workplace should give their employees.
  • Sara explains the role of constant and consistent communication in workplace experience.
  • Finally, Sara tells us what companies can do to improve workplace experience, even if they don’t have a ton money to spend.

Links

Recommended Reading

Earn a $100 Amazon Gift Card, Courtesy of SnackNation

Our sponsor SnackNation wants to give you a $100 Amazon Gift Card for hooking your office up with snacks. Yes you heard me right - they want to PAY YOU to bring insanely tasty snacks into your office.

It's simple. Help get your office started with SnackNation's monthly snack delivery and they'll send you a $100 Amazon Gift Card. That's a gift card for you (not your office) to spend on whatever you like. You'll get high fives from coworkers because you brought the tastiest and best variety of healthy snacks into your office... all without lifting a finger.

Go to SnackNation.com/ao, to claim your $100 Amazon Gift Card now! 

 

Jun 17, 2016

Sometimes, our brains are our worst enemies.

It's true - our biology predisposes us to react emotionally and perpetuate negative self-talk. For leaders, this leads to self-doubt, tension, and dysfunctional teams.

So what’s a leader to do?

Simple: outsmart your brain.

That’s according to this week’s awesome office guest, Dr. Marcia Reynolds, a world renowned organizational psychologist and leadership coach, and the author of the books Outsmart Your Brain and The Discomfort Zone.

Dr. Reynolds has delivered workshops in 35 countries and has presented at the Harvard Kennedy School, Cornell University, Edwards School of Management in Canada and Moscow School of Management in Russia.

In our conversation, she lays out a strategy for circumventing our over-protective brains, and reveals how we can change the way we communicate in order to maximize every conversation we have with our teams.

Marcia also recounts an incredible story about a particularly impactful conversation she had during a brief stint in jail during her rebellious youth.

We’re so humbled that Marcia shared so much with us. We know you’ll get a ton out of this interview - we sure did.

Key Takeaways

  • Marcia explains why she thinks coaching is so beneficial, and the mindset that prevents a lot of business leaders from fully taking advantage of it. 3:58
  • Marcia tells us why training by itself doesn’t work, and why real behavioral change requires ongoing conversations and accountability. 5:45
  • Marcia describes the ideal cadence between a leader and a coach. 6:45
  • Marcia explains why the most significant conversations are about challenging people to do more. 11:35
  • Marcia explains the hazards of focusing on achievement and excellence in our upbringings, and what the missing piece for her was. 11:40
  • Marcia tells us her journey into leadership coaching - including a conversation during a brief stint in jail that changed her life forever. 12:45
  • Marcia explains how leaders can make deeper connections with their teams, despite the increased demands put on their time and energy, and why leaders should see it as an opportunity, not a burden, when team members come to them for advice. 14:24
  • Marcia explains why she titled her book Outsmart Your Brain, and shares the number one mindset shift leaders need to make to improve on a daily basis. 16:43
  • Marcia describes why curiosity is actually the most underrated emotion. 19:40
  • Marcia explains the fundamental premise behind her book The Discomfort Zone, and why it’s so important to challenge people to become the best version of themselves. 23:40
  • Marcia shares two stories about toxic cultures, and the approaches that each company took (to varying degrees of success).  34:20
  • Marcia explains why we need to treat employees as partners, not as cogs in the machine. 38:25

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.

Jun 11, 2016

There's no doubt that today, Marcus Buckingham is a master communicator.

The entrepreneur and best selling author of First, Break All the Rules and Discover Your Strengths is one of the foremost experts on the topics of employee engagement and performance, and is a sought after speaker on these topics.

You’d probably never guess that he grew up with a debilitating stammer.

It's true: for the first eleven years of his life, this master wordsmith and public speaker couldn’t speak.

So what changed?

That’s precisely what we dive into in this week’s episode - overcoming the challenges that hold us back from becoming exactly who we want to be. Marcus tells us the incredible story of how we was able to overcome his speech impediment, and the lessons that he carried with him throughout his life and work.

Marcus also shares a simple trick for finding your strengths, and why we should look more at our past successes than our failures.

Key Takeaways

  • Marcus explains how he came to be a public speaker, despite a childhood stammer.
  • Marcus shares how he overcame his stammer, and relays the lesson that he’s carried with him ever since.
  • Marcus points out that while failure can be instructive, you can only repeat and scale success by focusing on past successes.
  • Marcus explains why the more you realize how unique - and, ultimately, alone - you are, the more you can actually contribute to and connect with others.
  • Marcus describes the discipline he discovered that enables him to collect the feedback that life gives us, and where most people go wrong when it comes to this.
  • Marcus clarifies the distinction between “non-strengths” and “weaknesses,” and describes how our non-strengths actually become weaknesses.
  • Marcus shares a simple trick to help you find your strengths (see Love it/Loathe It bonus exercise).
  • Marcus describes the one thing he loathes more than anything else, and how to turn your strengths into weaknesses.

BONUS EXERCISE: Loved It / Loathed It

In today’s episode, strength-finding expert Marcus Buckingham shares a quick and easy strategy for discovering your strengths. It works like this:

  • Take a piece of paper and draw a line down the middle. On one side write “Loved It,” and the other write “Loathed It.”
  • As you go through your week, reflect daily on the things that you looked forward to, that made time speed up, that energize, or that may have made you a little tired, but that you want to do again. Those all go in the “Loved It” category.
  • Now think about everything you do that you put off, that makes time drag on, or that leave you completely drained and exhausted. Those go in the “Loathed It” category.
  • Before long, you’ll have a clear picture of your strengths. The beauty of this method is that it’s not abstract - these are actual tasks, functions, or activities that you actually perform during your week.
  • Now summarize your findings using specific action verbs (again, nothing abstract).
  • For Marcus, these words were “interview” and “mingle” - he found that he loved interviewing people, but absolutely loathed mingling.

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.

Jun 4, 2016

When you think of innovation hotbeds, you might think of places like Austin or LA. Ten years ago, maybe it was San Francisco or Brooklyn.

I’m guessing the words “Sherwood Park, Alberta, Canada” don’t immediately come to mind.

Well, not yet, anyway. Especially if this week’s Awesome Office guest Daniel Matishak has anything to say about it.

Daniel is the co-founder and CEO of Mindable, a marketing optimization company that specializes in activating niche communities in the personal development space. The company has been able to grow into a massive, 8-figure marketing juggernaut based out of - you guessed it - Sherwood Park, Alberta.

How have they pulled this off? One strategy that has paid off is a mostly remote workforce, that enables the company to attract top talent not just from their own backyard, but from across the globe.

There are, of course, challenges that come with a dispersed team like Mindable’s. Namely - how do you maintain the right culture when more than half your staff never sets foot in the office?

That's really what this interview is all about.

Key Takeaways

  • Daniel talks about his entrepreneurial beginnings at age 19, and why he’s chosen to stay in Canada throughout his nine year career.
  • Daniel shares how went about building a business without an idea for one.
  • Why the business world is seeing more venture-backed internet marketing businesses - and will continue to.
  • Daniel shares Mindable’s competitive advantage, and it’s not what you might think.
  • How to maintain the right culture when the majority of your workforce is remote.
  • The advantages of starting a company in a place like Sherwood Park, Alberta.
  • Daniel walks us through the thought process behind his company’s newly redesigned office space, and shares the quirky features that have enabled Mindable to maintain a great culture.
  • Daniel explains why he feels culture is so important and relates a story about how Mindable overcame one of its lowest moments - when they lost roughly half their business.
  • Daniel talks about how he combats self doubt, and why he thinks egos kill companies.

Links

Recommended Reading

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.

May 27, 2016

In our digitally connected, multi-screen world, where people hide their true selves behind layers of snark and our deepest emotions are expressed via emoji, conversation seems to be a lost art.

But as this week’s guest attests, conversation is one of the most important skills we possess, both in business and in life.

Michael Rothman is a digital entrepreneur, master conversationalist and storyteller, and all around fascinating guy. A founding employee at Thrillist, his latest venture is Fatherly.com, a lifestyle site for men entering parenthood - and a conversation in its own right (albeit of the digital variety).

Michael shares his point of view on how to create engaging dialogue, both face-to-face and through digital media, and even shares his notes from one of the best communicators in the world - Oprah Winfrey. Turns out, Oprah is a fan of Fatherly, and Michael has had the opportunity to spend time with her and her amazing staff.

On top of all that, Michael shares an amazing story about biking nearly 5,000 miles from New York to Los Angeles to raise scholarship money for his mentee and honor his beloved aunt. The grueling journey taught him a ton of lessons that still inform his life today, most of which were surprising even to him.
Here are a few photos from that epic trek:

Michael Rothman
Michael's epic beard.
Michael Rothman Fatherly CEO
Michael and his pal Avi finally make it to the west coast.
Michael Rothman CEO
Michael's view for 55 days.

Key Takeaways

  • Michael tells us how he got to know Oprah Winfrey, plus the most unexpected thing about hanging out with her. 3:35
  • How to become more disarming in conversations, and why that’s important. 6:17
  • Michael tells us who he is at his core, and why it’s important to know yourself. 8:23
  • Michael breaks down the art of conversation, and shares how to maximize your networking opportunities. 10:40
  • Strategies to drive past surface level questions and get to know people on a deeper level when you meet them. 14:40
  • Michael shares the origins of Fatherly, and how it evolved out of Thrillist. 16:30
  • Michael describes the “dudes to dads” cultural shift that inspired Fatherly. 17:20
  • Michael shares the experiences that qualified him to launch Fatherly despite the fact that he’s not a father himself. 21:10
  • Michael shares how he and his team developed the hugely popular piece, “The 50 Best Places to Work for New Dads.” 29:49
  • Why Michael biked from New York to LA, and what it taught him about himself and his ability to overcome major challenges. 33:41

Links

Recommended Reading

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.

May 21, 2016

When faced with adversity, some people crumble.

Andres Izquieta is not one of those people.

Andres is a fashion designer, serial entrepreneur, and the CEO and co-founder of Five Four Club, an online men’s clothing subscription service. 

In 2008, Five Four (then a retail and wholesale outfit) was on the brink of failure. The worldwide credit crisis that gave birth to the Great Recession was decimating the retail industry, and it looked like Five Four might not survive.

But Andres and his business partner had other ideas. They brought the company back into the black by pivoting to a men’s fashion subscription service.

The strategic shift paid off. Today Five Four Club has more than 70k active monthly subscribers, and is about to launch several new verticals before the end of the year, including a formalwear accessory line, an athletic wear label, and a shoe brand.

On top of that, Andres is the host of Weekend Fix on the Esquire network, and recently launched vegan eatery Fala Bar, which has two locations in Los Angeles, including one on the ultra hip Abbot Kinney Blvd.

In our interview, Andres traces this comeback story to the grit, determination, and drive to be the best that was instilled to him by his immigrant parents. The experience of being a first generation American both sparked his interest in fashion, and has given him an edge that, according to Andres, helps account for much of his success. 

Andres’ fashion tips: what every professional male should have in his wardrobe.

Key Takeaways

  • Andres shares the origin of the Five Four name.
  • Andres tells us why his nickname is “Pablo,” and why he considers himself more Picasso than Escobar.
  • Why Andres’ admires Allen Iverson, and why he feels AI is a bit misunderstood. 
  • Why Andres believes that failure is the best force to shape you into the person you need to become.
  • How to make your relationship with your business partnership last through the inevitable ups and downs of entrepreneurship. 
  • What the experience of having immigrant parents instilled in Andres, and how this mindset has been an asset his entire life.
  • Why the feeling you get from dressing well is the key to understanding fashion.
  • What we lose from the “anti-fashion” Silicon Valley culture, and why emulating Steve Jobs isn’t always a great idea.
  • Andres’ shares his and his business partners’ lowest moment, and how they were able to pivot their model and find success. 

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.

May 13, 2016
Are you optimizing every day to be the best that it can be?
 
In today's fast paced world it can sometimes seem impossible to accomplish what you originally set out to with your day. Sean Kelly is here to help.
 
In this episode of the Awesome Office Show the script is flipped as our host, Sean Kelly, answers the most common questions asked by the Awesome Office Community. From how to most effectively use your time, to the first thing you should do in the morning to guarantee productivity, Sean shares some amazing insight into how to experience a truly phenomenal day, every day.
 

 

May 5, 2016

 

Vulnerability is a big theme on this show. Time and again, we’ve learned that leaders who are willing to be vulnerable are able to communicate more authentically and forge truer connections with their teams.
 
No one embodies this idea quite like this week’s guest, ShipOffers partner Tony Grebmeier.
 
As you’ll see in this week’s episode, Tony G is an open book.
 
A recovering addict, he’s unafraid to talk candidly about his darkest moment, when he was moments away from taking his own life.
 
But Tony has come a long way from rock bottom. Today, he focuses on being 100% fully aware and present in everything he does. And he does a lot. Tony hosts the Entrepreneur Unplugged podcast, and his company, ShipOffers, is a trusted source for elite marketers of health and beauty products, acting as strategic partners for direct response marketers in 43 countries around the globe.
 
Tony shares the secrets to his amazing comeback story with us, including a little trick he’s learned to liberate himself from his inbox.
 
(Yes, Tony G might have just solved email.)
 
Key Takeaways
  • Tony shares what it’s like being in business with his two childhood best friends, and why sometime you can’t help someone just by giving them a job.
  • How the business evolved from selling stuff online to wholesaling for online retailers.
  • How a series of knee surgeries led to a debilitating addiction to pain killers and alcohol.
  • How Tony found a renewed purpose after being on the brink of suicide.
  • Why leading with a servant heart was so essential to Tony’s recovery.
  • The importance of asking for help, and why that’s a part of ShipOffers’ culture.
  • Why ShipOffers hires quickly and throws new hires in the mix to see what they can do.
  • How Tony freed himself from email.
  • How anyone can find their unique ability.

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 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.

Mar 31, 2016

One of the coolest offices you'll ever see in your life... is a contact center in the Philippines.

If you're skeptical, so were we. But then we talked to today's Awesome Office guest Jaspar Weir, and it started to make sense.

Jaspar is the President and Co-Founder of TaskUs, a company that provides outsourced customer care and back office support for some of the most innovative companies in the world, including Expensify, Groupon, and Tinder.

We knew going in to the interview that TaskUs had a great culture, but we had no idea that culture is actually central to their business. In fact, Jaspar actually cites their commitment to culture as their number one competitive advantage. As such, he and the team have managed to create a Silicon Valley-style atmosphere, not just at their HQ located in the heart of LA's Silicon Beach, but also at their five facilities in the Philippines.

The results speak for themselves. What began as a 5 person outfit in a tiny office in Manila has morphed into a company with more than 5,000 employees worldwide. Even more telling, more than 70% of their new hires come from internal referrals - compared to the industry standard of 30%. Simply put, TaskUs is a company where people are proud to work, and even more are dying to work for.

And if you needed proof, here are a few photos from "Chateau Ridiculous," their jaw-dropping, steam punk-themed office in Manila:

IMG_9784-1157

IMG_9748

_MG_5788

IMG_9636

 

As you'll learn in this interview, TaskUs' stellar culture goes so much further than whimsical office spaces. At the heart of it is a commitment to open, honest communication, personal growth, and constant learning.

Jaspar really brought the magic - so much that this episode runs a little longer than most. And if you notice a slight lilt in Sean and Jaspar's voices, it might be because this conversation took place on St. Patrick's Day, and the two celebrated the occasion with a glass (or two) of Jameson.

jaspar weir jameson small

 

Key Takeaways

  • Jaspar describes his first entrepreneurial venture with his business partner Bryce Maddock, an 18+ LA club night called "Club Access."
  • Jaspar takes us through the beginnings of TaskUs, the very first iteration of which was a frozen yogurt concept in Argentina.
  • Jaspar explains how his desire to create a global company, coupled with the popularity of Tim Ferriss' the 4 Hour Work Week, led to the creation of TaskUs as we know it today.
  • Jaspar relays the story of the first office they opened in the Philippines, which involved wiring their entire life savings to a complete stranger.
  • Jaspar explains the difficulties of scaling the 1:1 task outsourcing, and why the company eventually pivoted toward a Business Process Outsourcing (BPO) model.
  • Jaspar lays out why he thinks culture is TaskUs' number one competitive advantage.
  • Jaspar talks about "Chateau Ridiculous," the company's amazing, steam-punk themed facility in the Philippines, and how it was designed.
  • Jaspar explains why TaskUs embraces a "work hard/have fun" ethos, and how that's different than "work hard/play hard."
  • Jaspar describes how to motivate employees to experience breakthroughs while still cultivating a culture of fun at the office.
  • Jaspar breaks down the company's biggest challenge scaling from 5 employees to more than 5,000, as well as his strategy for overcoming it.
  • Jaspar makes the case for "forced facetime facilitation."
  • Jaspar spells out why potential business partners should travel together before committing to a partnership.
  • Jaspar talks about the power of expectations, and why he thinks the idea that "no one will ever care about the business as much the founders" is a myth.
  • Finally, Jaspar shares his number one cultural tip for businesses of all shapes and sizes.

Recommended Reading

Links

This is episode is brought to you by the fine folks 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.

Mar 25, 2016

Stop me if this sounds familiar:

You’re a brand new employee at a company that values teamwork and collaboration. Eager to prove yourself, you come out of the gate swinging. You do good work early on, and garner a reputation as a high contributor and team player.

This reputation results in more people from across the org asking for your assistance on all sorts of projects. You, of course, say yes (you are a team player, after all).

Before long, you feel yourself spread thin. You make a millimeter of progress on a thousand different fronts, but no significant progress on any. Your “priority” list is thirty items long. In an ironic twist, your early success has now undermined your ability to contribute at a high level.

The quality of your work goes down, while your stress level skyrockets.

It’s a surefire recipe for burnout.

Luckily for us, today’s Awesome Office guest has developed a solution - Essentialism.

Greg McKeown is a renowned speaker, author, and the CEO of THIS Inc, a company whose mission is to assist people and companies to spend 80 percent of their time on the vital few rather than the trivial many. His New York Times best selling book, Essentialism, is all about helping readers discover the disciplined pursuit of less - that is, helping them find their unique abilities and highest leverage activities, and realigning their lives to focus on making the highest contribution possible.

The concept of essentialism was inspired in part by McKeown’s experience working in Silicon Valley. What McKeown found was that the early success of these startups was actually a double-edged swored. It presented them with an overwhelming amount of opportunity - in the form of partnerships, new markets, acquisitions, and the like - which ultimately detracted from their ability to focus on the essential activities that made them successful in the first place. 

In this way, success can actually become a catalyst for failure.

The experience lit a bulb in McKeown’s head, and the framework of essentialism - the disciplined pursuit of less but better - began to take shape.

This was an incredible interview, packed with tons of practical tips and engaging stories that will start you down the path of Essentialism.

Key Takeaways

  • Greg breaks down the meaning of “Essentialism,” and shares how he arrived at the concept.  
  • Greg explains how the experience of working with Silicon Valley companies played a role in developing the Essentialist framework, and how success can often become a catalyst for failure.
  • Greg relays the story of an employee who, after being pushed to the brink with nonessential activities, decided to “retire in role” in order to return to his essential activities and highest level of contribution.
  • Greg explains why essentialism sometimes requires us to say no, and relays the story of Paul Rand, the “man who said no to Steve Jobs.”
  • Greg shares a tactical tip for shortening your to-do list.
  • Greg talks about the phenomenon of decision fatigue, and how to combat it.
  • Greg points out why it’s so important to create space in your life to determine your truly essential activities.
  • Greg shares how to create a one-page “life design” that will keep you on track.
  • Greg explains why people are too focused on one half of innovation, and that true innovation involves simplifying and reducing.

Recommended Reading

Links

This is episode is brought to you by the fine folks 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.

Mar 18, 2016

Our biggest embarrassments. Our darkest fears. Our greatest failures.

They are the things that lurk in the back of our minds, loom heavy in our consciousness, and haunt our dreams. They cause us pain, anguish, and shame.

It’s tempting to think: If only I had a time machine, a chance to go back and do things right.

But as today’s Awesome Office guest Rob Bell illuminates, to do so would be to deny one of our greatest assets.

With a little time and perspective, these moments have the potential to be our greatest sources of personal strength. In fact, these trying, troubling, or just plain cringe-worthy times are actually the force that shapes us into who we are today.

Named one of Time magazine’s 100 Most Influential People in the World in 2011, Rob Bell is a former pastor and New York Times bestselling author of the books Love Wins, What We Talk About When We Talk About God, and The Zimzum of Love. His newest book, How To Be Here is all about learning how to pursue and realize our dreams, live in the moment, and joyfully do the things that make us come alive.

Rob is also an award-winning podcast host, speaker, and a sought-after business consultant, and was featured on Oprah’s 2014 Life You Want Tour. We spoke to Rob about the value of our failures, how to build and lead great teams, and a whole lot more.

Key Takeaways

  • Rob tell us his most recent new belief, and explains why it’s the stuff you’re most embarrassed about today that matters most in the long run.
  • Rob clarifies what he means by “working your craft,” and why reclaiming the idea of craft is the key to living a meaningful life.
  • Rob shares why a direct connection with the people you serve is imperative to any organization, and why stories are the key to forging that connection.
  • Rob explains how the way we treat others is based on our image of ourselves.
  • Rob describes how his experience as a pastor has given him an unflappable quality, and why this is a good trait to have in business.
  • Rob breaks down what he means by “soul vs. scale,” and why tension is actually a sign of health and self-awareness when trying to balance work, life, and ambition.
  • Rob explains how leaders are always leading (even when they think they aren’t), and describes the greatest gift a leader can give to his or her employees.
  • Finally, Rob explains why assuming joy will follow success will inevitably lead to an “existential thud.”

Recommended Reading

 

Links

This is episode is brought to you by the fine folks 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.

Mar 11, 2016

Discovering your purpose almost always involves making some hard choices.

First and foremost, there’s the opportunity cost – saying yes to your purpose necessarily involves saying no to something else.

So what happens when the opportunity cost is a college education, and what if following your gut instinct means that your parents might disown you?

This is exactly the choice that our Awesome Office guest Mike Zhang had to make early in his entrepreneurial career.

Today, Mike is the CEO of The Drip Club, a booming e-liquid retailer whose mission is to be the Coca-Cola of the vape space. At just 25, he has multiple companies and a solid exit under his belt.

But before his success with Drip Club, Mike was a student trying to juggle his coursework with the obligations of a growing airsoft e-commerce business.

Less than a semester into his freshman year at UC Berkeley, Mike realized that he couldn’t give his all to both school and his company. Deep down he knew he had to choose one or the other. Against the advice of friends and family, he chose to drop out of college and run the business full time.

A successful exit a few years later eventually put his parents’ anxieties to rest, and Mike learned the power of trusting his gut instincts.

Mike shared what he learned during these formative experiences, as well as the role of gut instinct in business strategy and the benefits and challenges of partnering with friends.

Key Takeaways

  • Mike walks us through his very first business venture, which he began at the ripe age of eleven.
  • Mike tells us how he was able to run a million dollar airsoft business in high school and college, and about the pressure he felt from friends and family when he decided to drop out of UC Berkeley to run it full time.
  • Mike talks about the beginnings of The Drip Club, and why he chose to take the helm as CEO.
  • Mike describes why the company pivoted away from a subscription service and opted to become a consumer goods company focused on brand and IP development.
  • Mike tells us why doing unscalable things early on in a business can be a tremendous asset, but why it’s ultimately unsustainable.
  • Mike shares the lessons he’s learned working with different types of business partners, including personal friends.
  • Mike shares his number one recognition tactic at Drip Club, and why the company believes in supporting the whole person, not just the "employee."
  • Mike explains why he subscribes to a servant-leader style of leadership.
  • Finally, Mike shares what he means by gut instinct, and why it’s so important for business leaders to develop the confidence to act upon it.

Recommended Reading

Links

This is episode is brought to you by the fine folks 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.

Mar 5, 2016

There’s a reason why films like Office Space and cartoons like “Dilbert” strike a chord with so many people:

The modern employee is plagued by a dystopian vision of what work (and therefore life) has to be.

This vision depicts a world that is soulless and monotonous, that deprives of us of our energy, creativity, and joy, and in which our job feels more like a transaction than a calling.

But as today’s guest Shawn Murphy uncovers for us, this dystopian vision is a choice, one made everyday by both leaders and employees alike.

The upside? Shawn reminds us that there’s another choice – the choice to say, “I want something more for my team, and more for my own life.”

Shawn Murphy is the author of the Optimistic Workplace and the CEO and founder of Switch and Shift, an organization that focuses helping organizations bring more humanity to their workplaces. Through his consulting work and his writing, Shawn teaches people how to make that choice and unlock the transformative power of optimism in the workplace each and every day. We are grateful that he shared this wisdom with our Awesome Office community.

 

Key Takeaways

  • Shawn tells us how he helps leaders and companies bring a sense of humanity back into the workplace through his work with Switch and Shift.
  • Shawn talks about the dystopian vision against which he is fighting through his writing and consulting work, and how this vision came to be a reality for so many working professionals.
  • Shawn explains why he thinks the words “manager” and “employee” should be eradicated from the lexicon of business, and proposes more fitting alternatives.
  • Shawn discusses the concept of stewardship and how it relates to the organization, customers, and employees.
  • Shawn talks about the number one misconception about the idea of the “optimistic workplace.”
  • Shawn explains the concept of a value circle, and relays a story about a company in Virginia who found some inspiring results from the practice.
  • Shawn discusses the importance of reflection, watching, and noticing in the context of great leadership.
  • Finally, Shawn throws his hat in the ring and accepts the challenge of the minute of magic.

 

Recommended reading

Links

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.

Feb 27, 2016

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

Recommended Reading

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.

Feb 20, 2016

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

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.

Feb 13, 2016

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

Recommended Reading

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.

Feb 5, 2016

 

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

Recommended Reading

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.

Jan 30, 2016

Awesome Officers… get pumped.

Yes pumped, because this week we’ve got a phenomenal interview with Jim Cavale, the president of Iron Tribe Fitness.

Jim is a passionate, purpose-driven entrepreneur and leader who believes that culture and values are the key to building strong organizations and lasting relationships with customers.

In this episode, Jim walks us through the journey that brought him to that realization - from the baseball fields of upstate New York where he was a standout high school athlete, to the University of Montevallo in Birmingham, Alabama, where he founded the school’s broadcasting program while playing on the baseball team, to Iron Tribe, where, before he was president of the company, Jim was actually one of Iron Tribe’s very first clients.

Today, Jim has helped Iron Tribe expand to more than 41 locations in markets spanning from Seattle to Miami, and the company is on a mission to transform 15,000 lives by 2017.

Through it all, Jim has learned that core values should never be abstract, but real principles that permeate the organization and drive decision making every single day. This, he believes, is the key to creating lasting value for customers, and is a truism that applies to virtually every business, not just those in the fitness industry.

Jim also tells us about one of the most influential figures in his life, his legendary high school baseball coach Tom Dotterer, who taught Jim lifelong lessons about perseverance that he applies to his business today. 

Key Takeaways

  • Jim tells us why he ventured from New York to Birmingham, Alabama, and why being a big fish in a small pond can be a major advantage for some entrepreneurs.
  • Jim dives into some of the challenges of attracting talent to a smaller market like Birmingham, and tells us how to overcome them.
  • Jim explains how to build a community-focused organization, and why doing so is essential for any business.
  • Jim reveal the one commonality between his top performing franchises.
  • Jim explains the differences between certainty and confidence, how the two are often conflated - and why that’s bad for any business.
  • Jim talks about the role of big data in organizations, and how he leverages data to innovate at Iron Tribe.
  • Jim tells us about one of the most influential figures in his life - his high school baseball coach - and what he taught Jim about life and business.
  • Finally, Jim reveals the biggest challenge he faces as a leader of people, and how he’s overcoming that today.

Links

Recommended Reading

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.

Jan 22, 2016

 

"Work smarter, not harder."

It's a familiar maxim for anyone who cares about productivity.

But it's also something you'll never hear Kevin Dorsey tell his team.

Why? Because no company, team, or organization ever achieved greatness by sacrificing hard work for efficiency.

From Dorsey's point of view, why not work both smart and hard?

This is just one of the many pieces of advice that Kevin gives in his presentation, 8 Surefire Productivity Hacks for the Workplace.

Kevin Dorsey is a speaker, productivity coach, and the head of sales at SnackNation, where he trains and leads a team of more than twenty sales rockstars. An avid reader and frequent presenter, he's known internally as a fountain of personal development knowledge, and is obsessed with maximizing his team's and his own productivity.

We recently watched a presentation that he gave his team on workplace productivity hacks earlier this year, and we thought it would be a tremendous value add for the Awesome Office community. 

We’d loved this presentation because it provides both interesting facts and practical takeaways. Kevin gives you the tactics, and then the science behind the tactics, to help you and your team maximize your days and become the powerhouses you know you can be.  

We've also provided a video of the presentation intercut with slides that you can share with your team. 

Kevin will be speaking at the Salesloft Rainmaker Conference March 7-9 in Atlanta, as well as the LA Chapter of the American Association of Inside Sales Professionals on February 18.

Video Presentation:

Key Takeaways

  • Under optimal conditions, the brain can only stay focused for 60-90 minutes tops (unless in a flow state). Most people max out at 20 minutes.
  • Focus and will power are limited resources - meaning you can use them up. This is why most of us have much more trouble staying on task in the afternoon than in the morning.
  • There’s an interruption every 11 minutes, and it takes us 25 minutes to get back to our previous level of focus, which means we’re virtually never at our optimal focus level.
  • Here are some simple "hacks" to boost your focus and concentration, and get more done:
    • (1) Wear headphones - it sends a signals to those around you that you’re in focus mode.
    • (2) Listen to music that improves focus - instrumental works best.
    • (3) Schedule your interruptions. Give yourself permission to give your brain a break, you’ll be less tempted throughout the day.
    • (4) Give up the idea of multi-tasking - we’re biologically incapable of doing it. Instead, set aside dedicated focus time for the projects you need to get done.
    • (5) Schedule high priority things first, when cognition and focus are at their height.
    • (6) Play a game. Games have been proven to heighten brain function, including things like task switching and decision making.
    • (7) Focus on relaxation, don't just waste time during your breaks. Incorporate proper breathing, movement, some time outside, even reading and meditation.
    • (8) Get outside! Seeing blue sky and green grass has a naturally calming effect, and getting out in the sun will give your brain some vital vitamin D.

Links

Recommended Reading 

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.

« Previous 1 2 3 Next »