Reminder - we’re combining the Awesome Office and Brand Builder podcasts into one show. (Think of it as Awesome Office 2.0.)

What’s different? In a way, not a lot. We’ll still do culture-focused features and interviews every other Thursday, led by host Sean Kelly. But now they’ll be available in a different feed, so make sure to subscribe to Brand Builder in Apple Podcasts. 

In addition, every Monday we’ll have new content focused on building your brand and scaling your business. 

We just launched our first culture-focused Brand Builder, and here it is - a conversation with Traci Fenton, the CEO and founder of WorldBlu.

Exciting news - we’re combining the Awesome Office and Brand Builder podcasts. Think of it as Awesome Office 2.0.

What’s different? In a way, not a lot. We’ll still do culture-focused features and interviews every other Thursday, led by host Sean Kelly. But now they’ll be available in a different feed, so make sure to subscribe to Brand Builder in Apple Podcasts (or however you listen).

In addition to that, every Monday we’ll have new content focused on building your brand and scaling your business. Over time, we realized how interconnected these topics are, and consolidating these shows in one place just made sense.

To give you a feel for what you can expect, we’re bridging the gap between Awesome Office and Brand Builder with an episode with Tyler Merrick, the CEO and founder of Project 7.

Project 7 is a gourmet specialty candy brand dedicated to creating one of a kind customer experiences while giving back to 7 areas of need. Basically, Project 7 comes up with totally out there flavors – like birthday cake flavored gum or moscow mule flavored organic gummies – and then partner with non profits who are making an impact both in America and abroad.

We chose this episode because it gives you a good sense of the Brand Builder content that we think you’ll enjoy. It covers some familiar ground in terms of topics - and it’s just a great story.

We’ve combined a two part episode into one episode.

Takeaways

• In social entrepreneurship, is your cause a lead actor or part of the supporting cast? Project 7 was founded on Tyler’s desire to bring more purpose to his life’s work. Finding the right way to position the causes he cared about involved a giant learning curve. Tyler shares how he found the balance that would allow the causes to shine and the business to flourish.
• Stay lean. Think your business can’t reach the next level without hiring a bunch of CPG heavy hitters? Well, Tyler and Project 7 expanded to 12,000 stores with fewer than 10 full time employees. He shares a very specific tactic for figuring out whether or not you really need to make that next hire.
• How to bounce back. One of the most interesting parts of Project 7’s success story… is that it could have easily ended. Tyler answers the question - how do you recover from the brink of failure?
• If you really want to make a difference, lead with product and brand. It doesn’t matter how great your cause marketing is or how charitable your customer. At the end of the day, features and benefits drive consumer behavior. You need a thriving business before you can give back.
• Hire smart. Not sure whether or not make that next hire? Only pull the trigger if you’re confident the revenue they bring in will be 2.5x their salary.
• Let your sales numbers tell a story. Start with the buyers who are on board with your concept in order to provide proof of concept - show some momentum and you'll have a nice little velocity story to bring to the more skeptical buyers.
• Practice Radical Responsibility. Tyler had to make some hard choices, and he maintained his credibility as a leader by shouldering some of the blame.
• Innovate inside the box. You can diversify your product line without adding too much risk by innovating within limitations.

Links

We’re currently experiencing a golden age for startup brands. It’s easier today to launch, build, and scale a consumer brand than perhaps any other time in history.

But that’s not to say it’s easy.

Startup brands still face obstacles, old and new, including how to stand out from the glut of new brands, how to adapt to the constantly shifting landscape of retail, and how to best leverage the wide array of data and tools now available at their fingertips.

Luckily for us, Courtney Reum is here to answer those questions.

Courtney and his brother Carter are the authors of the best selling new book Shortcut Your Startup, and he shares some of the top insights with us in this updated episode.

Courtney gives a glimpse into the book with a few of his shortcuts -

1. Role of brand in frictionless scaling.
2. How to make sure you don't miss out on a key insight.
3. Why it's important to know whether your brand is a “speedboat” or a “sailboat.”
4. The power of “heart-based” momentum.
5. Why success doesn’t necessarily equate to an exit.

Links

• M13
• Shortcut Your Startup by Courtney and Carter Reum
• Connect with Courtney on LinkedIn

This week’s Awesome Office guest is a builder of disruptive brands.

We’re talking about Scott Painter, probably best known as the founder and CEO of both True Car and Cars Direct. He’s made a name for himself by launching and leading companies that anticipate consumer behavior and then capture huge markets.

This time out, Scott has his eyes on something no one has really done before - building a global brand around the concept of fairness.

Today is Employee Appreciation Day, but this week’s Awesome Office episode is not about that. (Well, not really....)

Our focus this week isn’t how to appreciate your employees once a year - or even once in a while. It’s about creating a year-round culture of appreciation that permeates your organization - one that not only drives results, but that improves everyone’s quality of life in the office.  

You see, while we think Employee Appreciation Day is a great thing, it’s also sort of like Valentine’s Day. If you only show your significant other that you care that one day of the year, you probably don’t have the strongest relationship.

And while Employee Appreciation is simple, it’s not easy. There are definitely some best practices and a few pitfalls to avoid. AO host (and SnackNation CEO) Sean Kelly has made appreciation a priority for a while, and shares his top dos and don’ts.

Here’s a recap of Sean’s tips:

Do

• Understand how those you lead want to be recognized - not everyone is the same.
• Force moments of recognition (both personally and as an organization)
• Always specifically call out why you’re recognizing someone AND be very careful about what you’re recognizing people for (I think you should always recognize people around company core values)
• Write thank you cards - perhaps more powerful than any other form of recognition
• Ensure you're recognizing people at all levels of the organization (especially if you’re a leader)
• And of course show people you care by giving them the most phenomenal snacks that’ll actually improve their lives and make them happier and healthier

Don’t

• Equate recognition to coddling
• Only recognize people for results
• Don’t recognize people inauthentically because you think you should - it’ll always backfire whether it’s your boss or anyone else
• Push away recognition when it comes your way - accept it gracefully (at the same time understand you may not receive it when you deserve it)
• Don’t recognize people only when they agree with you (in fact you should recognize people for dissension and going against you if you truly want to build a strong culture of innovation)
• Don’t forget to recognize that you are good enough - without self love you simply won’t be a good appreciator or other people

Links

• Joey Joyce teaches you how to create a Culture Committee at your organization.

This week we dig into the Awesome Office archives to bring you one of our absolute favorite conversations.

From kid programmer in 1971 to Forbes cover story in 2003, Joy, Inc. author and Menlo Innovations CEO Richard Sheridan has never shied from challenges, opportunities, nor the limelight. His focus has always been around technology, but his passion is actually process, teamwork and organizational design, with one overarching goal: unlock the business value of Joy.

Strangely enough, it all began in 1967, when a ten year old Richard decided to surprise his parents by building a piece of furniture while they were away for the evening.

Hear his incredible journey to Menlo, and how culture became such a focus for Richard in this uncut interview.

Key Takeaways

Like this episode? Then let us know! Subscribe, 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.

Building an authentic, employee-led company culture is what most of aspire to. It can be the key to making your org a magnet for talent. Retention and engagement suddenly become a breeze.

The problem - it’s a lot easier said than done.

As always, we’re here to help. This week we’ve got Joey Joyce on the podcast to share the secret to creating a culture inspired by your values, but built by your employees.

Joey is a senior team member at SnackNation, and the president of SnackNation’s Culture Committee. His insights provide a framework for launching a Culture Committee at your organization.

That’s what we dig into in this interview - tactics for launching, scaling, and maintaining an employee-led culture committee at your company.

Here are Joey’s tips for launching a successful culture committee at your organization:

1. Select a Representative from each department. Every department has its own needs, challenges, and subculture. Your committee should give everyone a seat at the table, and work towards a culture that works for all.
2. Write a Mission Statement. Your committee should have a specific, culture-related purpose in sight. It might be to improve communication, make the office healthier, or to just make the day more enjoyable. Our Mission Statement was to live the company’s values, spread joy and optimism with events that the team would enjoy, and break down departmental silos and increase collaboration.
3. Chart a Roadmap. Once you nail your mission, work backwards to create measurable goals and a path to achieve them.
4. Capture and Incorporate Feedback. Some initiatives you’ll knock out of the park, others will require some adjustment before you get them right. You won’t know what works unless you ask your team. Field surveys… or better yet, just talk to people!
5. When times are tough, AMF (Always Move Forward). One of the biggest challenges with a Culture Committee is that it’s basically extra work for everyone involved. Each member has her primary job responsibilities, which always come first. In any given week you might have an engineer struggling to ship a product on time or a salesperson feeling the pressure to hit her goal. The key, according to Joey, is to find the right balance and always move cultural initiatives forward. If only two people can meet for ten minutes, meet for ten minutes. Just AMF.
6. Break out into subcommittees. Scale your committee as your company grows by creating specialized subcommittees.
7. Practice Radical Responsibility. Ultimately, your Culture Committee will only work if members hold themselves accountable.

Is your company locked in departmental silos? Has communication stalled out? Is energy down, or morale dipped a little low?

A Company Summit might just be what the doctor ordered. Company Summits are a great way to unleash your creativity and tap into your team's collective brain power.

But let’s not beat around the bush - company summits can be expensive. On top of out-of-pocket cost for things like venue, catering, coffee, and snacks, there’s the opportunity cost of having your entire company away from the office for half a day or more. You have to be strategic in order to make your summit worth the investment. 

So how do you make sure that your Summit is a hit and not a flop? AO host Sean Kelly has thrown a ton of these over his 12+ year entrepreneurial career. He's here to tell you how to design your next summit for maximum ROI.

Sean's Top Tips for Throwing an ROI-Positive Company Summit

1. Prepare. The old adage that failing to prepare is prepare to fail definitely holds true here. You need clear cut goals, a dialed itinerary, and quality presenters.
2. Determine the top problems you want your team to tackle. Figure out the biggest challenges your company faces, and unleash your team on them.
3. Choose a moderator or facilitator. You'll need someone MCing to keep the group focused and schedule on track.  If you don’t have someone on your team who fits the bill, consider hiring someone.
4.  Maximize cross department collaboration. Break up those cliques! Don't allow people to pick where they sit or who they team-up with. Instead, purposefully seat people from opposite sides of the house together for lunch and for break out sessions.
5. Solicit high quality, vetted presentations by your best speakers. Keep these in the morning, have lots of back and forth and audience participation, ad reserve afternoons for breakout sessions.
6. Put your teams of employees to work. Allow for teams to present their findings and compete with other teams to keep them accountable for putting in real work and presenting in a fun way
7. Slot in lots of breaks and movement. Jumping jacks and hi-fives help keep the mood and energy up.
8. Do NOT allow for a heavy lunch or energy-zapping snacks/food/drinks. (SnackNation can help you with all your snacking needs.)
9. Book an inspiring space that allows for breakouts. A good rule of thumb - the venue should be cooler than your office space! No hotel ballrooms or lame event spaces.
10. Provide alcohol at the end of the day. (But not too much.)
11. Don't make your summit too long! This should feel like intense work, but should not be massively draining
12. Take notes. Designate someone to capture the best ideas. Remember, you want to walk away with more than just good vibes!
13. Follow up. Make sure you connected with your leadership team afterwards and are aligned around expectations.

By now you’re probably familiar with the concept of "work-life integration," which is rapidly replacing the outdated notion of "work-life balance."

Work-life integration simply acknowledges the reality that work is a major part of our lives. Most of us spend 8, 9, 10 or more hours at the office every day, so to pretend that there’s a distinction between “work” and “life” just isn’t on the level.

But acknowledging this reality is just the first step. For people-focused leaders, the next question becomes, how does this change the way we manage people? How do we manage in a way that acknowledges that work and life are one? In other words, how do we manage the whole person?

That’s one of several topics we explore in this week’s episode, featuring SnackNation President and COO Ryan Schneider.

As the President and COO of SnackNation, Ryan's job requires him to know how every single team member impacts the business. This not only requires a holistic understanding of the state of the business at any given moment, but a deep understanding of  the complex factors that motivate employees both inside and outside the office. That's exactly what we mean by "managing the whole person," and Ryan's experience leading teams both in the startup world and at Fortune 500 companies has given him a unique perspective on this practice.

In this episode, you’ll learn:

• Why Ryan personally interviews 98% of the people who interview at the company - no matter what the position.
• The planning process Ryan uses to maintain a holistic understanding of the business at all times.
• The risks involved with not managing the “whole person.”
• How to transition from a “top-down” culture to one that’s led from the bottom up, and why that’s so important.

Links

• Connect with Ryan on LinkedIn 
• Sapiens by Yuval Harari
• The Axe Files interview with Joe Maddon

In our last episode we focused on 2018 goal setting. Considering that health- and fitness-related goals account for nearly half of all New Year's resolutions, there's a good chance that a many of you are currently engaged in the noble struggle of eating healthier, getting active, or just dropping a few lbs.

Of course,  New Year's resolutions are notoriously hard to keep. In fact, 92% of New Year's resolutions end in failure.

What differentiates the successful 8% from the rest? Knowledge and a game plan, for starters.

In that spirit, this week we have a presentation from Mark Sisson that’s all about helping you achieve your health, fitness, and nutrition goals. 

Mark is basically THE guy when it comes to understanding Ketogenic diets. He’s a former endurance athlete turned health and fitness expert and a New York Times bestselling author of the books The Keto Reset Diet and Primal Blueprint.

Mark has a unique ability to make Keto accessible, and in this talk provides ideas and strategies to up your health and wellness game in 2018.

In this episode you'll learn:

• The concept of metabolic flexibility, and why it's the lynchpin of health, performance and longevity.
• The definition of ketonic, and the benefits of training your body to metabolize ketones.
• The evolutionary science that explains our metabolic processes - and why they're not as useful for us as they were for our ancestors.
• Some specific tips for living a more Keto-friendly lifestyle (without going full Keto).

Links

• Mark’s Daily Apple 
• Mark’s books 
• Primal Blueprint 

The New Year has a way of sneaking up on us. 

During the hectic months of November and December, we sprint like crazy to hit our Q4 goals. The next thing you know, it’s the holidays, and family obligations kick in. Blink, and it's January 1st... and we haven’t thought about our New Year goals once. 

Better luck next year? Not so fast! It's not too late to get your 2018 goals back on track. 

In our first Awesome Office episode of 2018, we present the procrastinator's guide to winning 2018.

In this episode you'll learn:

• How to rapidly develop goals and begin integrating them into our routines
• The ideal number (and best type) of goals to develop. 
• How to hold yourself accountable as you pursue those goals. 
• The cost of NOT setting goals.
• Sean's top goal recommendation for 2018 for everyone, no matter who you are.