Shock Your Potential

Elevate and Celebrate - Tracy Lamourie

"A rising tide sails all boats" Tracy Lamourie
Public relations is often viewed to be a necessity for only specific and limited entities and individuals. However, according to our guest today, Tracy Lamourie, this belief is not accurate whereby she believes that PR is for everyone regardless of where you are and what you do in life. If done correctly, Tracy believes that people can take advantage of the opportunities to build their brands and elevate themselves positively.
Tracy Lamourie is a high-profile international award-winning publicist and the Founder and Managing Director of Lamourie Media Inc., which is a Universal Women's Network 2020 Woman of Inspiration Winner for the Women In Media award. She is also the author of the upcoming book GET REPPED - Build Your Brand With Effective Public and Media Relations. Tracy is passionate about amplifying important messages and being a voice for those who most need one. She has been recognized by media around the world for her 20-year campaign that ultimately helped free an innocent man from death row and for her work of getting clients major media attention and for her local community work. She is the winner of the FIRST PLACE PLATINUM award Hamilton Spectator for PR and also a frequent guest on TV, radio, and high-profile podcasts around the world on topics of leadership, empowerment, and entrepreneurship as well as all aspects of media and public relations. She is a 2020 RBC Women of Influence Nominee and was recently nominated for the internationally prestigious 2020 Tällberg/Eliasson Global Leadership Award.
In today's episode, our guest will be discussing on why you should be considering giving more positive attention to your image and how to do it through a PR agent. She will also highlight the importance of fostering good relationships even as you put yourself out there as a leader.
 
Listen in!
Social Media
https://www.facebook.com/lamourie/
 https://www.linkedin.com/in/tracylamourie/
https://www.instagram.com/tracylamourieprmedia/
People hear PR and think it is about celebrities or politicians who might need some spin-doctoring. [1:49]
My job is to elevate and celebrate what people are doing, whether it is creative people, celebrities, or entrepreneurs [2:05]
No matter what you do, there are media opportunities for you not just in your industry, but also in the mainstream. [2:32]
New entrepreneurs can access the PR options as long they understand a few key things that help you build bridges [3:02]
A lot of people are great at what they do but don't think of themselves as potentially being in media or winning awards [5:28]
The people who appear in media and win awards probably knew about how to go about it, or they had a publicist who put them out there [5:44]
Being featured in media elevates your brand by improving your SEO, gives you an advantage over your competitors and attracts customers as well as excites your current customers [7:07]
Finding an experienced PR person helps simplify the work, which would typically take a lot of time [9:50]
Commercial break [11:48]
What I guarantee my clients is my excellent work, my contacts, and my connections. [13:02]
There is nothing wrong with celebrating your accomplishments and talking about them. [4:52]
There is a difference between arrogance and confidence. Arrogance has a smirk and confidence has a smile. [15:05]
Find opportunities to elevate other people [16:30]
If you have good people and you do well to them, they also do good to you. [18:46]
It is all about relationships and lifting people up. [21:09]
So be kind to people regardless of the position they are in. [21:15]
It doesn't matter what you do; there are media for you. [22:25]
I am a bigger critic of my work than you are. [23:25]
We did not get this far only to get this far, we can keep going, and there is more to go. [23:51]
………………………………………………….
Thank you to our July Sponsor: Entrepreneur’s Guide to Financial Well-Being 
Imagine starting a long journey without a map…or even a clear idea of the obstacles ahead. That’s exactly what it’s like for entrepreneurs who start companies with a lot of passion, but without the financial expertise to grow and scale their businesses and create long-term wealth for their families.
Wayne Titus shows you how to find a financial adviser who can help you map a better journey. In his book, The Entrepreneur’s Guide to Financial Well-Being.  With the right adviser at your side, you’ll have the freedom to focus on what really matters to you.
Get The Entrepreneur’s Guide to Financial Well-Being at Amazon.com and in the virtual bookstore on the Shock Your Potential app.

Positioning Yourself for Long-term Success - Ken Lundin

“You need to connect your team’s personal desire and growth with how the company gets them there.” Ken Lundin
When it comes to sales, the focus of the majority of leaders is on hitting the numbers. There is, however, far much more that sales is about, as we shall learn from our guest today, Ken Lundin. With businesses facing new complexities due to the pandemic, Ken believes that to succeed, leaders have to review how they and their teams operate and be more deliberate in ensuring that their strategies are aligned with the current realities.
Ken Lundin is the founder of Ken Lundin & Associates and creator of the Sales Alpha Roadmap. He found his mission while standing on his front lawn in Atlanta in 2011 when he learned from the people who had purchased it that the bank had sold his house. With his business – and the last six years of his life - up in smoke, he took a mid-level sales position and over the next two years was offered two promotions attaining the role of SVP of Sales within two years. With his unique perspective on thriving during difficult times and his considerable sales understanding, he soon became a consultant in order to bring his systematic process to other companies, helping them adapt to complex changes and to thrive in uncertain times
Undoubtedly, sales are much harder to come by in the "new normal" of the COVID era. On average, companies have less than 25% of their sales staff meeting quotas successfully. However, Ken's process is rooted in an understanding that it may be unusual today's difficulties are not unique. Businesses always have and will always need to pivot how they connect with and sell to their customers as times change, and, with this need in mind as well as a keen awareness of what exactly is at stake for entrepreneurs, Ken is a man on a mission - and a man with a proven track record – to help businesses adapt and grow their sales in any market environment.
In today’s episode, we will learn more about why positioning yourself in the new environment is essential for sustainability and discuss the dynamics of leading a sales team in the current operating environment.
 
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Social media
http://www.kenlundin.com/
 https://www.linkedin.com/in/kglundin/
https://www.facebook.com/kglundin
https://twitter.com/kglundin
https://www.instagram.com/kglundin/
I own a sales and advisory company for B2B companies, and our goal is to break that traditional ineffective sales consulting model. [3:10]
I am also working out on being a fitness junkie who gets to see the sunset from every continent. [3:20]
Sometimes the hard part is realizing what broken looks like because we are so invested in the things we have built. [5:00]
We can clearly identify that during the pandemic, it was a difficult time for many companies while others flourished. [5:20]
As we are coming out of the pandemic, we see more companies start to pick up. [5:33]
However, it is not sustainable because the world has moved [5:40]
We have to find more objective ways rather than settling for the euphoria of hitting numbers [6:14]
If you haven’t changed the way you map your positioning to your client base and the outcomes you are trying to achieve, you will become commoditized. [8:08]
What are you doing to change the way that your market perceives the value that you offer? [8:56]
If it is business as usual like it was eighteen months ago, you better rethink it. [9:01]
Most managers and leaders struggled to manage and lead when they had to do it traditionally. [15:00]
The hybrid model is going to be a challenge for leadership [15:40]
The leadership at all levels has to model the behavior they expect from their employees to have some consistency. [15:47]
Commercial Break [16:05]
Being a leader, especially in a sales team, is an interesting mix. [16:48]
Salespeople tend to think that they can make a decision about how they spend their time, and leaders like it when they do. [17:42]
Effective management in sales is providing your team with the pathway to exercise their individual initiatives and abilities [18:42]
We, however, have to put the guard rails in so that they understand what the job is and what the expectations are, what success is and what accountability looks like. [18:52]
As a leader, you must ask yourself whether your sellers understand specifically what is required of them that is not quota matters. [19:09]
You establish future leaders by having an unwavering belief in their ability and then back up the fact that you believe that they are capable of so much more than they think they are with a structure and accountability to allow them to accomplish things that they thought they could. [20:03]
The more time you spend being reactive, the less time you have being proactive, the more likely you are to see outcomes that you don't have control over. [22:53]
You need to connect their personal desire and growth with how the company gets them there. [26:41]
When the two don’t fit, it is time for the individual to leave. [27:05]
We did not have very good relationships with people when we were seeing them in person, and the relationships have become even more superficial with people working remotely. [28:49]
If you cannot position your company in a manner that helps people meet their needs, be prepared for turnover. [29:30]
Now is more important than ever to manage, coach, and lead your teams, to understand where they are coming from and to tie into what their personal wins look like, where they are trying to go with their lives, and how your company facilitates that. [32:25]
………………………………………………….
Thank you to our July Sponsor: Entrepreneur’s Guide to Financial Well-Being
Imagine starting a long journey without a map…or even a clear idea of the obstacles ahead. That's exactly what it's like for entrepreneurs who start companies with a lot of passion but without the financial expertise to grow and scale their businesses and create long-term wealth for their families.
Wayne Titus shows you how to find a financial adviser who can help you map a better journey. In his book, The Entrepreneur’s Guide to Financial Well-Being.  With the right adviser at your side, you’ll have the freedom to focus on what really matters to you.
Get The Entrepreneur’s Guide to Financial Well-Being at Amazon.com and in the virtual bookstore on the Shock Your Potential app.
 
 

Leading with Authenticity - Meaghan Hurn

“We can’t change the whole world, but we can make our little corner slightly better, and that is what we are doing.” Meaghan  Hurn
Publishing a book is considered to be one of the most significant steps towards becoming an author. This journey is not such a glamorous affair and entails long periods of hard work that require continuous collaboration from both the author and the publisher. Most writers sometimes end up frustrated with the process, but it doesn’t have to be so. This is according to our guest today, Meaghan Hurn, who believes that authors can be able to publish their books without going through all the frustrations that come with the process if only they know and understand their options in publishing.
Meaghan Hurn is the Founder and CEO of Hurn Publications, an Independent Publishing House that’s both collaborative with its authors and innovative in how it approaches the process of bringing books to life. Meaghan is big on giving back to the writing community outside of those who publish with Hurn Publications, and you’ll find on their website that they host Indie/Self-Pub Authors to help get the word out about their book. Meaghan supports the ProLiteracy Campaign to help adults learn to read and work their way out of poverty, and proceeds of the Hurn Publications online sales are donated to the program.
Hurn Publications operates with the belief that authors should be able to make a living at writing and selling books and has a hands-on approach in the pre and post-publication process with its authors. It’s actively trying to change the way the industry operates positively and sustainably. Hurn Publications has published works for HBO and has received awards and nominations from Writer’s Digest, Cohan, NY Times, and Publisher’s Weekly to start.
Additionally, Meaghan supports SoldiersAngels.org and has helped send over 50,000 packages to deployed military members during 2020 and continues to do so. In 2019 and into 2020, Hurn Publications developed the Princess Like Me and Prince Like Me Campaigns, a new approach to printing children’s books that allows all children from every ethnic background to find themselves the hero of the story.
In today’s episode, my guest will discuss the publishing options available to authors and why they should be making space for themselves to ask questions and understand the contracts they are given before committing to publishers.
Listen in!
Social Media:
https://facebook.com/HurnPublications 
https://www.instagram.com/HurnPublications 
Website: www.hurnpublications.com
 
We work hard for others [4:05]
We take a traditional approach as Indie publisher and we make it as collaborative as possible. [4:09]
The collaborative part is that I know every single one of my authors and they know me. [4:28]
They are part of this journey, and we never take it from them but we do it with them. [4:31]
If they have an idea, we bring it in because we are humans and not robots and therefore there is no way for us to know every single answer. [4:56]
Our authors come up with really cool things because who better know their book than the person who wrote it. [5:06]
We work really hard to make sure our contracts are author-friendly. [6:42]
One of the tips I have for leaders is to make space for themselves and authors should do that for themselves as well. [7:06]
Authors do have more choices but I don’t think they know it [7:53]
There is a lot you can do and don’t have to take the contract that you have been given [8:06]
When you come across more traditional offers, that advance, is more like a loan because your book has to pay that money back. [11:13]
I am hoping that more publishers will try and make it fairer. [11:46]
Our royalty rates are higher and they start out almost at their maximum. [12:02]
Most authors don’t know that they can negotiate or don’t have the confidence to take up that space for themselves and ask for more so we go ahead and do that for them. [12:10]
I have never met a business that can do it with just one person. [13:43]
It always seems that it is an overnight success but it isn't. It is years of work. [14:30]
Commercial Break [15:50]
I had to learn that while I don’t think I am intimidating, other people can think I am, so I have to give them the power to take up space for themselves. [17:00]
I let them know that they are not required to be right all the time. [17:11]
What we have had to deal with in 2020 is constant learning and being okay with change. This is hard for a lot of people sometimes more personal than it is in business. [19:07]
Schedule your day for when your brain is on fire. [24:06]
………………………………………………….
Thank you to our July Sponsor: Entrepreneur’s Guide to Financial Well-Being
Imagine starting a long journey without a map…or even a clear idea of the obstacles ahead. That’s exactly what it’s like for entrepreneurs who start companies with a lot of passion, but without the financial expertise to grow and scale their businesses and create long-term wealth for their families.
Wayne Titus shows you how to find a financial adviser who can help you map a better journey. In his book, The Entrepreneur’s Guide to Financial Well-Being.  With the right adviser at your side, you’ll have the freedom to focus on what really matters to you.
Get The Entrepreneur’s Guide to Financial Well-Being at Amazon.com and in the virtual bookstore on the Shock Your Potential app.
 
 

Unlock the Power Within - Max Borges

“You have never been qualified as you are today to start a business,” Max Borges
When in business, focusing on what you are good at and ensuring you have a great team is vital for growth and sustainability. Today, our guest Max Borges has the first-hand experience of running a business and insists that success is inevitable when people focus on doing what they are best at and surround themselves with people who can do things better.
Max Borges is an entrepreneur who in 2002 founded the Max Borges Agency – a tech-focused public relations firm. By studying the habits of business and strategy icons, he built his agency to more than 50 employees and $10 million a year in revenue. Max is also a tech investor, author of How To Be Fan-Fucking-Tastic! and host of the Unconventional Genius Podcast. Max lives in Miami Beach with his wife and three children and listens to heavy metal.
In today’s episode, our guest will discuss the importance of leaders focusing on their strengths when running their businesses and why it is crucial to eliminate any limiting beliefs and practices that hinder leaders from thriving.
You can find his book: How To Be Fan-f*cking-tastic!: Practical advice on how to stop sucking at life and start being Fan-f*cking-tastic!- https://amzn.to/3vwPJhJ
Listen in
Social Media
https://www.linkedin.com/in/max-borges-3ab2781/
https://www.linkedin.com/company/max-borges-agency
https://www.instagram.com/fan.fucking.tastic/
https://www.maxborges.com/
 
19 years ago, a company offered me a freelance gig which I took but only took me four hours a day. [2:52]
I got another freelance gig and rented a small office and hired some part-time help and then continued getting more clients and then slowly stepped it up. [3:18]
I felt I needed to make money while I can, and I have since made money for the last 19 years straight. [4:25]
For the first four years, we did any kind of marketing work we could get. [4:42]
After four years with ten employees and a million dollars in revenue, I realized I was stuck with too much and couldn’t grow. [4:55]
I had to figure out how I could scale the business. [5:21]
I read three books that all had a similar message: figuring out what you could be the best at. [5:27]
I made a list of all my happy clients and who did not require me to get involved and that my employees were handling without my input. [5:45]
I also made a list of my clients that were sucking me in and was requiring me to get involved. [5:58]
What I realized is, fortunately, the first list was about 70 percent of our business were consumer tech clients that we were doing media relations for. [6:09]
The other 30 percent were clients we were doing everything else for but took 90 percent of my time. [6:20]
I realized if I just did consumer tech relations, I’d have almost nothing to do, which would then free me up to work on my business and not in my business. [6:26]
I was nervous because I was not sure it was the right decision but that year we grew 74 percent and continued growing over the subsequent years. [6:50]
It got easier to run the business because now I got to do more business-building activities instead of business operating activities. [7:31]
You also have to focus on hiring great people that can focus on doing some things better than you. [9:18]
The most important thing you can do if you are building any professional firm where you are selling expertise is to commit and dedicate the time to hiring and developing great people. [9:47]
It is also essential that you believe in people’s potential, and I believe that people have far greater potential than they realize. [12:00]
I spent a couple of years collecting quotes which I published into a book, and so far, the response has been great. [14:23]
One of the quotes is, “It is never too late to start something great”. [16:30]
Many people think they have to start a business when they are eighteen or nineteen, but a lot of people start their business later in life. [16:40]
Commercial Break [19:05]
One of the quotes I have in my book is “life is an open book test”. [19:54]
In real life, we are constantly being tested, but we always have the resources to tap into in real-time whenever we want to. [20:23]
It also crucial that we surround ourselves with people who are experts in various fields who I can turn to for mentorship. [20:54]
It is not about what you know; it is about what you can figure out quickly. [21:35]
Rocket science is not rocket science anymore. [22:07]
Another one of my favorite quotes is, “don’t follow rules that don’t exist”. [23:32]
There are so many things that we do because we think it is a rule, but it is not really a rule. [24:17]
People are not afraid of failure; they are scared of humiliation and that people will laugh at them. [27:25]
We must do things that challenge us to strengthen that muscle of being fearless. [27:45]
Figure out what you can be the best at, and that will be your sweet spot.[31:05]
………………………………………………….
Thank you to our July Sponsor: Entrepreneur’s Guide to Financial Well-Being
Imagine starting a long journey without a map…or even a clear idea of the obstacles ahead. That’s exactly what it’s like for entrepreneurs who start companies with a lot of passion, but without the financial expertise to grow and scale their businesses and create long-term wealth for their families.
Wayne Titus shows you how to find a financial adviser who can help you map a better journey. In his book, The Entrepreneur’s Guide to Financial Well-Being.  With the right adviser at your side, you’ll have the freedom to focus on what really matters to you.
Get The Entrepreneur’s Guide to Financial Well-Being at Amazon.com and in the virtual bookstore on the Shock Your Potential app.
 

A New Benchmark for Effective Meetings - Josh Little

“Trust is such a big factor in leadership, and we learn to trust by how others act and how they show up in relationships” Josh Little
Communication is one of the critical elements that ensure effective collaboration and leadership. Considering the current work environment characterized by remote and hybrid working arrangements, communication between teams has become even more challenging. For these reasons and more, our guest today, Josh Little, believes in using the right technology that makes conversations more convenient and practical.
Josh Little is the founder of four tech companies–Maestro, Bloomfire, Qzzr (quizzer), and Volley–that have collectively been used by hundreds of millions of people. His work has been featured in Tech Crunch, Mashable, Entrepreneur, Inc., and Forbes. With two successful exits and a third pending, he’s currently on a mission to save the working world from death-by-meetings with his fourth creation, Volley.
In today’s episode, we will discuss what asynchronous video conversation is all about and the fantastic app Volley, which is making effective communication a reality for teams. We will also learn some of the leadership qualities that our guest believes are important in fostering great relationships with team members at work.  
Listen in!
Social Media
https://www.linkedin.com/in/littlejosh/
I felt my mission in life is to create beautiful things and that could be a tech company, musical performance or a jar of pickles [2:30]
There is nothing as creatively satisfying as building a company even though it is intimidating and risky. [2:43]
Volley has been my most recent beautiful thing. [4:03]
Thinking about how to get the right information to the right people at the right time at work, is something that I have been passionate about for years. [4:30]
Leaders were going to have to adapt and figure out new strategies to lead, connect, talk and collaborate with their team. [5:00]
We can’t sort the problem with back to back zoom, because of burnout and fatigue. [5:08]
There are so many inefficiencies with the current construct that we call meetings. [6:31]
We are a lot more efficient at communicating by speaking than we are typing and for that reason at some point written communication fails. [7:10]
Volley is a video messaging App that allows professionals or teams to collaborate by sending video messages back and forth. [7:42]
We take turns just like any other conversation, except we record our turn with video. [7:54]
This option gives us the best of both worlds that is the richness of talking and the flexibility of texting. [8:00]
The beauty of Volley is we take those snippets of content and put them and call them a Volley where you create and send a Volley in a threaded conversation. [10:32]
The other members in the conversation can see your Volley and respond to it. [10:42]
A lot of teams have a stand up, or daily update of meeting. Instead of that being a scheduled thing, we do a stand up where everybody shows up. [10:50]
We want people to try Volley, it is a new technology and new way of thinking and working. [13:00]
We don’t want to be so presumptuous that we just know that this is exactly the way it needs to be compiled for use at work. [13:15]
So we knew a free product was necessary to the learning that we needed to do in order to create the product that we needed to create. [13:24]
We have many ideas for cool features, functionality and technology that we can infuse into this experience that people will be willing to pay for. [13:53]
We haven’t been working remote in the past three companies, because there was friction and breakdown in communication. [16:25]
I have been an aspirational remote worker and remote CEO for over a decade now so maybe VOLLEY is just me solving a problem by creating a tool that needed to exist to enable communication to just flow. [16:51]
While Volley is a great way to communicate, it is really for remote or distributed teams and hybrid teams that have some remote workers. [18:06]
Commercial Break [19:48]
The first one is do what you say you are going to do or say something else. [20:16]
The next one is playing with all cards on the table. [21:08]
That is the only way that we can get to the sort of understanding and clarity of what needs to be accomplished and why that matters. [21:49]
I have never been burned by vulnerability in any way. [22:12]
The new one is continuous leadership or on demand leadership and this is what Volley enables. [22:28]
You are only leading when interacting with your team. [22:41]
What we have been experimenting with Volley is the idea of continuous leadership. [23:18]
Only seven percent of communication is the words that we use, 38 percent is the tone and 55 percent is what we look like when we say those words. [25:12]
We are elite athletes at this thing called conversation and we need to talk to move forward. [25:50]
You should download Volley today because relationship and connectedness are important. [27:55]
………………………………………………….
Thank you to our July Sponsor: Entrepreneur’s Guide to Financial Well-Being
Imagine starting a long journey without a map…or even a clear idea of the obstacles ahead. That’s exactly what it’s like for entrepreneurs who start companies with a lot of passion, but without the financial expertise to grow and scale their businesses and create long-term wealth for their families.
Wayne Titus shows you how to find a financial adviser who can help you map a better journey. In his book, The Entrepreneur’s Guide to Financial Well-Being.  With the right adviser at your side, you’ll have the freedom to focus on what really matters to you.
Get The Entrepreneur’s Guide to Financial Well-Being at Amazon.com and in the virtual bookstore on the Shock Your Potential app.

Embracing Empathy in Leadership - Brandi Bernoskie

“When you take care of your team, your people, and clients, they will take care of you too.” Brandi Bernoskie
Leaders work with people and it is very important that they create an environment that fosters open and honest communication if they are to get ahead and thrive. This is according to our guest today, Brandi Bernoski, who believes that the best way to sustainably grow your business and be a better leader, is by defining what success means to you, and being human in all your points of contact with both your people and clients.  
Brandi is a digital strategist, website developer, and founder of Alchemy+Aim and North Star Sites, companies that help entrepreneurs and business owners elevate their online presence and enhance their digital experience. She is an advocate for using technology in ways that humanize, connect and serve people as well as for asking deeper philosophical questions and teaching others to think more broadly about impact when they create, particularly in STEAM fields.
Brandi’s academic background in theatre, philosophy and physics was the perfect foundation for launching her business, where her team has worked with thought leaders like Brené Brown, Laverne Cox, Judy Smith, and Kate Northrup as well as other notable change makers since 2013. Brandi is a natural connector and business matchmaker, who is always working to help others step into their genius work and leverage the expertise of those around them to achieve new levels of success and community along the way.
In today’s episode, Brandi  discusses about what to consider when building a digital presence for your business. She will also delve more into what it means to be an empathetic leader and the importance of taking care of your people as well as your clients and creating meaningful relationships.
Listen in!
Social media
https://alchemyandaim.com    
https://brandibernoskie.com
https://www.linkedin.com/in/brandibernoskie
 
I started my business about eight years ago as a freelance developer. [2:22]
I am not developing anymore because my team is doing all the development. [2:31]
We have the opportunity of partnering with our clients to bring out the best of what they do by creating something online that supports their business and their lifestyle. [2:40]
I am not a believer in magic pills or cookie-cutter formulas in order to get the job done. [2:50]
I am emphatic with my clients about tuning in to what they are excited about and leveraging those points of connection for the benefit of the business. [2:58]
I am such a natural relationships person, that I have built my entire business on just referrals, connections, and meeting new people. [3:39]
We have to start by defining what success means for ourselves. [4:15]
We hop on the latest social media channels because everyone is there, and we think that is where we should be, but your ideal audience may not be there. [6:05]
I tend to find my perfect audience in rooms full of brilliant women. [6:15]
We think we have to launch out of the gate with many offerings but you can start with just two and build on new ones as the audience demands it. [8:18]
That is the joy of having a business; is that you learn and evolve as you go. [9:55]
Some of my clients have come as referrals from people I have known; from spaces that weren’t necessarily related at all to website development. [10:10]
I never have a goal to sell anyone anything, even on a sales call. [10:50]
My goal is to understand what they need, and help them get what that is. [11:00]
There are times I go into things that I don’t think are going to work with me. [11:10]
I focus on finding who in my network I can connect them with, to help them get what they need. [11:18]
Any offer I make to my clients always comes from that place of service. [11:37]
This has helped me create long-term relationships with people. [11:52]
Commercial Break [13:25]
Being empathetic with people and getting to know whatever situation or struggle they are going through. [14:48]
Inevitably we can’t silo ourselves. [15:05]
If something is happening in our personal lives, it is going to affect our work. [15:12]
Permitting people not to be perfect all the time is huge. [15:51]
Creating that safe space for anyone that you are working with to come to you and let you know what is going on is so significant, particularly today. [16:23]
That is the foundation of all the leadership work I do with people. [16:55]
We have had to shift how we operate in so many ways, and to shift back is going to take some time. [15:25]
The pandemic brought to light things that mattered most to people. [15:40]
I always tell my team that if something happens, that needs your attention, please be there. [20:55]
Remember that you are an evolving human being, and it is not about getting things done perfectly but beautifully in their imperfection. [22:45]
It is always an evolution. [23:10]
………………………………………………….
Thank you to our July Sponsor: Entrepreneur’s Guide to Financial Well-Being 
Imagine starting a long journey without a map…or even a clear idea of the obstacles ahead. That’s exactly what it’s like for entrepreneurs who start companies with a lot of passion, but without the financial expertise to grow and scale their businesses and create long-term wealth for their families.
Wayne Titus shows you how to find a financial adviser who can help you map a better journey. In his book, The Entrepreneur’s Guide to Financial Well-Being.  With the right adviser at your side, you’ll have the freedom to focus on what really matters to you.
Get The Entrepreneur’s Guide to Financial Well-Being at Amazon.com and in the virtual bookstore on the Shock Your Potential app.

Create a Safe Place for Your People - Ira S Wolfe

“When you help people take that first step, they become more confident. When they are more confident, then all of a sudden the world seems a little brighter and they can see the light at the end of the tunnel. ” Ira Wolfe
The past year turned out to be very unconventional for majority of people with the work place being most affected. The outcomes of various events most especially the Covid-19 pandemic, altered the normal work routines of many if not all companies which led a large number of people moving to work remotely. The dilemma facing many leaders now is how they will move forward considering their new operating realities with regards to work locations. According to Ira Wolfe, the answer is very simple and involves managers building safe spaces for their people to work and thrive.
Ira S Wolfe describes himself as a “Millennial trapped in a Baby Boomer body”. He is the president of Poised for the Future Company, founder of Success Performance Solutions, a TEDx Speaker, Top five Global Thought Leader on Future of Work and HR (Thinkers360), author of Recruiting in the Age of Googlization- https://amzn.to/3gvHAFR, and host of Geeks Geezers Googlization podcast (selected as one of the top 50 podcasts to listen to in 2021). Ira is also a frequent presenter at SHRM and business conferences and a guest on over 50 podcasts each year. His most recent book is Recruiting in the Age of Googlization- https://amzn.to/3gvHAFR, now in its 2nd edition. The book was selected as one of the top 50 books to read in 2021 by Thinkers360 and recognized as one of the best Recruiting books of all time by Book Authority. Ira is the founder of the Googlization Nation community and a frequent contributor to HR and business blogs including Cornerstone on Demand's Rework, Medium and Huff Post. He’s been featured in INC Magazine, Fast Company, Business Week, American Express OPEN, NFIB, Inc., Intuit Small Business, and Fox Business. He is also the author of five other books including Perfect Labor Storm, Understanding Business Values and Motivators.
In today’s Episode, Ira Wolfe will discuss more about how the work environment has evolved and how managers can take advantage of the opportunities available to grow people as well as their companies. We will also discuss how to navigate through the uncertainty that characterizes the current work environment.
Listen in!
Social Media:
LinkedIn: https://linkedIn.com/in/irawolfe
LinkedIn: https://linkedin.com/successperformancesolutions
Twitter: https://twitter.com/hireauthority
Twitter: https://twitter.com/ggg_pod
FB: https://facebook.com/successperformancesolutions
Instagram: https://instagram.com/googlizationnation
YouTube: https://youtube.com/irawolfe
 
I grew up in a time where people still got gold watches and people worked for a company up to 50 years in one career and sometimes in one Job. [2:37]
With time it has gotten more complex. [3:00]
From a company owner’s perspective, it is terrifying that someone would last only three to five years, [3:19]
If they can bring value to your organization and leave your organization in a better place according to the metrics, then that is okay. [3:37]
In as much as companies complain that employees have no loyalty, it is them who train them to be that way. [6:22]
I had a very successful practice in dentistry and when I left people wondered what I was going to do. [7:00]
I developed transferable skills such as communicating with people, building teams, and critical thinking. [7:39]
The thing that people overlook is about having transferable skills which are learnt through life experience. [9:22]
There are no life career jobs and we can’t treat people that way. [9:36]
If you hire people and they contribute to what you have done and they leave your company in a better place, then that is the best you can ask for. [9:43]
Very reliable research indicates that on average, two-thirds of all jobs maybe one-third automated. [11:52]
The reality is one-third jobs that won’t change are those that will be eliminated. [12:24]
Every single person on the planet whether retail or frontline has to learn how to work with technology, because of the likelihood that most jobs are going to have a higher degree of automation. [12:48]
Sixty five percent of remote workers want to stay remote, thirty three percent want to remain hybrid, and the remaining want to go back to the way things were. [15:33]
Talking about managers and leaders, they were not very good before at ensuring employee engagement. [16: 20]
According to Gallop, thirty percent or less of people were fully engaged at work while seventy percent were partially or fully disengaged. [16:32]
If it wasn’t good when they were under your nose where you could micro manage them, what is going to happen now that they are remote. [17:04]
When you are at work you have to manage people, who are on site and those who are remote and it is always fluid. [18:06]
It creates a huge opportunity where you can hire anyone around the world to fill those hard to fill jobs. [18:58]
The down side is how you fill that safe place that they feel part of culture when they may never physically be in the same room to know their people. [19:06]
Commercial Break [19:20]
Everybody needs to become more adaptable where we are literally writing the rules as we go on. [21:07]
We do know that there will be some form of hybrid workplace. [21:25]
I spent my passion project last year and a half and it is on adaptability [22:10]
I don’t have a better Acronym to describe what 2020 was, Volatile, Uncertain, Complex and Ambiguous, and is the world we are going to live in going forward. So how do we manage that? [22:50]
We work with something called the adaptability quotient [ 23:25]
It identifies fifteen dimensions that impact someone’s ability to change. Some are internal which refers to skills we need to have. [23:31]
As leaders you have to create a company culture that makes people feel supported. [24:26]
The most important that we can change include grit, resilience, mental flexibility, growth mindset and unlearning. [25:34]
In order to have empathy, you need to step into other people’s shoes and that calls on seeing the world from somebody else’s point of view. [29:50]
The five abilities are things that individuals are going to have to learn. [30:40]
For leaders, the biggest challenge ahead is how do you help create a safe space? [30:58]
Leaders have to help people build their confidence and gain the courage and by doing so, they will become more optimistic and hopeful about the future. [31:17]
Don’t let the shift hit your plans [34:15]
………………………………………………….
Thank you to our July Sponsor: Entrepreneur’s Guide to Financial Well-Being
Imagine starting a long journey without a map…or even a clear idea of the obstacles ahead. That’s exactly what it’s like for entrepreneurs who start companies with a lot of passion, but without the financial expertise to grow and scale their businesses and create long-term wealth for their families.
Wayne Titus shows you how to find a financial adviser who can help you map a better journey. In his book, The Entrepreneur’s Guide to Financial Well-Being.  With the right adviser at your side, you’ll have the freedom to focus on what really matters to you.
Get The Entrepreneur’s Guide to Financial Well-Being at Amazon.com and in the virtual bookstore on the Shock Your Potential app.

Leaders Should Give a C.R.A.P. - Jason A Hunt

"People are attracted to those that know their values and what they stand for" Jason Hunt
Acknowledging that people are the central element in leadership is the first step towards being an effective leader. To grow and use your influence as a leader, you have to start by making authentic connections. Our Guest today, Jason Hunt, knows this too well thanks to his leadership journey and the experience of working with upcoming leaders. He is dedicated to ensuring that the people he works with find it easier to like and follow their leaders.
Jason Hunt is the founder and CEO of Eye Squared Leadership, and he has had the pleasure of working with companies large and small. Jason's first significant leadership role was to run a branch of 100 church members in outer Siberia when he was 19. Since then, he has served in several leadership positions, including the principal of a school. He has a master's degree in leadership, is certified by the John Maxwell Leadership Institute, and is the author of The Other Side: 5 Rules for Leading with Influence- https://amzn.to/35snw0J . Jason lives in Owatonna, Minnesota, with his wife and four kids.
In today's episode, Jason will discuss what leadership is and what it's not and take us through the discoveries he has made in the course of his leadership journey. He will also share simple, practical tips that can guide leaders to connect and positively influence the people they interact with.
Listen in!
Social Links:
Website: https://www.influencingforimpact.com/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/influencingforimpact
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jasonahunt/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/influencingforimpact
YouTube:  https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC-g1esmhBI4w4hZ-6yIwbXQ?view_as=subscriber
As you intentionally grow your influence, there is a direct correlation to the amount of positive impact you can have on people. [2:50]
I was leading at junior high as a principal, and it was a clear aspiration for me, and I wanted to be able to do that. [4:22]
I was leading from my title and thought that leadership was about management more than anything else. [4:59]
Everything was okay in year one, but the gloves came off in year two, and everything was falling apart. [5:19]
I wanted to point a finger and blame other people, but I knew internally everything rises and falls on leadership. [5:39]
I realized that my leadership style wasn't working at all because I was too focused on the tasks. [5:58]
I realized I had to focus on the people, and I hadn't been doing that at all. [8:23]
I created a strategy for me to start to change, and one of the primary things I wanted to do was to be open and vulnerable with my staff. [9:57]
Authenticity in leadership is a key to leading well. [10:12]
I primarily work with middle-level leadership in manufacturing organizations. [14:25]
I know the pain they experience in their positions because I have been there. [14:45]
Commercial break [17:40]
I was able to be a church missionary, and that is what got me over in Siberia. [18:05]
I ended up on a two-year mission, and I learned a lot about leadership. [19:05]
I had to step up as a leader even if I was only 19 years old, and I knew almost nothing about leadership. [20:00]
It is okay to have the courage to make decisions. [20:20]
If you want to understand more about a culture, don't just read. Go where the culture is at and see. [23:15]
My four tips on leadership include having a heart that cares, using your ethic and act, including asking questions, using hands to collaborate where I believe in a horizontal leadership style, and lastly, having the courage to make difficult decisions. [25:50]
People want to know you give a CRAP (Celebration, Recognition, Appreciation, and Praise) which can sometimes be challenging. [27:05]
At the end of the day, it is not the bottom line that creates influence with people, but rather your ability to focus on the needs and desires of your team. [31:47]
………………………………………………….
Thank you to our July Sponsor: Entrepreneur’s Guide to Financial Well-Being 
Imagine starting a long journey without a map…or even a clear idea of the obstacles ahead. That’s exactly what it’s like for entrepreneurs who start companies with a lot of passion, but without the financial expertise to grow and scale their businesses and create long-term wealth for their families.
Wayne Titus shows you how to find a financial adviser who can help you map a better journey. In his book, The Entrepreneur’s Guide to Financial Well-Being.  With the right adviser at your side, you’ll have the freedom to focus on what really matters to you.
Get The Entrepreneur’s Guide to Financial Well-Being at Amazon.com and in the virtual bookstore on the Shock Your Potential app.
 
 

Suitcase Gals - Gurvinder Ravery

“You are not a number with a travel advisor, you are with a live person and you don’t have to hold.” Gurvinder Ravery.
After months of restricted travel due to the pandemic, people are now starting to plan for their next trips. Yet as travel opportunities continue to open up in most parts of the world, it is important for travelers to realize that the travel world has changed and is quite different from what they once knew before the pandemic. According to our guest today, Gurvinder Ravery, seeking the services of an experienced travel advisor to help you navigate the travel process might be the best way to go considering the current circumstances. 
Gurvinder Ravery's passion for traveling has allowed her to discover new destinations around the globe and share them with her clients. Eleven years ago, Gurvinder and her family started a tradition of taking annual trips to Turks and Caicos enjoying "island living" for a month. Gurvy Travel soon emerged. Gurvinder assists travelers with the logistics of planning and traveling.
In today’s episode, our guest will be discussing her travel experiences and what motivated her to get into the travel industry. She will also tell us more about an exciting travel opportunity that she offers to women who love traveling.
Listen in!
Social Media
Website: https://www.gurvytravel.com 
Website: https://suitcasegals.com 
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/gurvinder-ravery-55861521/ 
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/71679072/admin/ 
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/gurvytravel 
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/groups/150418173663476 
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/gurvytravel/ 
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/suitcasegals/ 
Virtual Showcase: https://www.wbo-mc.com/2021/02/06/gurvinder-raverygurvy-travel/
 
I grew up in Southern California and lived in Maryland for the last 23 years with my family. [2:27]
I have been traveling for years and even had a destination wedding in Positano, Italy. [2:48]
Eleven years ago my family and I started vacationing on the Island of Turks and Caicos. [3:08]
One of my friends helped me see the light and that the travel business was in my blood so here I am years later a travel advisor who started Gurvy Travel. [3:36]
I am an extraverted advisor for Turks and Caicos but I can assist with any destination. [3:56]
I traveled very safely five times during the pandemic and visited four different Islands. [4:02]
Garvy travels helps busy travelers to take a break from everyday stresses by sending you away for an incredible vacation where you can visit destinations that you haven’t seen before or revisit a destination but with different experiences. [4:09]
I have recently joined forces with another travel advisor and we created a group called ‘Suitcase girls.’ [4:55]
‘Suitcase Girls’ is a group for women that are 50 and over and like to meet and travel together. [5:06]
‘Suitcase Girls’ supports and encourages women to get out and explore together with other women and go on organized trips. [5:18]
I have seen more and more people wanting to do something off the beaten path that they wouldn’t have done before. [8:37]
During the pandemic, I looked into how I can bring travel into my client’s living rooms and into their world without traveling physically. [9:40]
Commercial Break. [11:40]
There are many destinations that you can go to if you are fully vaccinated while others will require a test to be done before arriving on property. [13:57]
One of the destinations that I chose was Cost Arica because it has a lot of outdoor activities. [14:20]
I have been there five times and I still haven’t seen the entire country so it is also one of those countries that I feel that there is so much to do. [14:50]
Families with teens struggle with choosing destinations to go to and Costa Rica is one of those destinations where you can keep your teens and families entertained. [16:00]
I would recommend reserving early, and springtime is a great time to visit Costa Rica. [18:48]
There have been so many changes and there are so many protocols that are still in place and travel advisors can help you navigate through that process. [20:21]
Travelers are a lot smarter these days and they want trips that are authentic, real, and trips that have a sustainable component and local immersion. [21:00]
Don’t overlook the depth of work that a travel advisor does of putting your plans together for a memorable trip. [21:20]
Be patient and be flexible because things are different in the travel world. [21:58]
………………………………………………..
Thank you to our June Sponsors: &Marketing U
Solopreneurs and small businesses often struggle to create effective digital marketing programs. It’s hard to know where to start, what to prioritize, how to sift through confusing information and solutions that seem too good to be true. Agencies and full-time marketing employees are expensive!
&Marketing U is a modern marketing course with all the tools, education, and accountability you need to grow your business without that extra set of hands or high overhead costs. You will learn exactly what you need to do to execute a concrete marketing strategy by dedicating just 2-4 hours per week.
&Marketing U will help you execute: Strategy, Messaging, Content Marketing, SEO, Social Media, Paid Digital Advertising, and more. You’ll have access to on-demand resources, live courses, group coaching sessions, community forums and networking, plus the exact templates and tools you need for success.
Our CPO took this course and one of the biggest benefits we gained was developing a competitive strategy that aligned our social media playbook and website to generate highly qualified leads.
For all the tools, education, and accountability you need to grow your small business at a fraction of the cost of hiring a traditional agency or additional employees, go to:  www.and-marketing.com/u, and use the code SHOCK to receive 10% off any program!
 

Retelling the Indian Travel Experience - Vinay Parameswarappa

“Everybody loves a good story, and they would love it even more if they can relate it to what is happening back at home” Vinay Parameswarappa
‘Amazingly different!’ That’s how the majority of travelers describe India as a destination.  The diversity of the people, the culture, and the famous cuisines provide interesting experiences to travelers who visit this country with a rich history spanning over 5000 years back.  However, this destination can be overwhelming to travelers considering its numerous sites and available activities one can get involved in. Our guest today, Vinay Parameswarappa, is an experienced travel operator who understands the complexity of India as a destination and insists on the importance of having expert guidance when visiting India.
Vinay Parameswarappa is the founder of Gully Tours, one of India’s first experiential tour companies specializing in immersive travel. They offer walking tours, cycle tours, food tours, and bespoke tours in Bangalore, Mysore, Coorg, and Kochi in South India. Since 2009 he has hosted more than 30,000 people from 70+ countries around the world. His guests include Mr Kofi Annan, Bollywood celebrities and CXOs of Global Corporations. He has been featured in Netflix, The Guardian, National Geographic Magazine and CondeNast Traveler. He was selected as one of the Leaders of Tomorrow in the Tourism space by the Indian Media House – ET NOW. He is an Engineer & an MBA from the University of Oxford.
Listen in!
Social media
https://www.linkedin.com/in/vinayparameswarappa/
https://linkedin.com/company/gullytours
https://twitter.com/wineye
https://www.facebook.com/Gully.Tours
https://www.instagram.com/gully.tours/
I travelled across South East Asia, and it was fascinating to see how well the whole travel ecosystems had developed [3:25]
What struck me is Singapore, as a city-country, gets more tourists than the whole of India, while Singapore is much smaller than Bangla[3:30]
I felt that what was missing in India is packaging the whole thing better, market it better and be better at telling your own story [4:00]
So much of the experiences I had in India growing up while travelling was just trophy hunting, but the experience was different when I had a chance walking in Singapore [4:50]
The experience, together with reading a book on the founding of the world’s most famous travel companies, motivated me to quit my job in Singapore and move back to India to start a travel venture[5:31]
Everybody loves a good story, and they would love it even more if they can relate it to what is happening back at home [7:54]
I love travelling and taking walking tours. It is such a great way of knowing destinations with the help of an expert who facilitates and helps you navigate your way around [9:08]
One of the experiences we offer is a tour where you go to a market and shop for what you need and go to the home of a local family and you cook a meal in their kitchen [12:20]
I like the quote by the former Indian prime minister, “the antidote to terrorism and tourism”. The more you go out and see other people, the more you realize it is the same everywhere [13:02]
Commercial Break [13:20]
If you are coming to India, it is not about the destination you pick but how you look at the country. [14:15]
There are many guests who come to India with western yardsticks, which will definitely disappoint you. [14:20]
The first step is having an open mind when coming to India, hoping to explore and learn something new. [14:45]
The South of India has many diverse experiences to offer, including temple architecture, palaces, spices, lovely beaches and great food. [15:15]
People now have the option of taking virtual tours to ‘test drive’ the destinations before they visit [17:22]
………………………………………………..
Thank you to our June Sponsors: &Marketing U
Solopreneurs and small businesses often struggle to create effective digital marketing programs. It’s hard to know where to start, what to prioritize, how to sift through confusing information and solutions that seem too good to be true. Agencies and full-time marketing employees are expensive!
&Marketing U is a modern marketing course with all the tools, education, and accountability you need to grow your business without that extra set of hands or high overhead costs. You will learn exactly what you need to do to execute a concrete marketing strategy by dedicating just 2-4 hours per week.
&Marketing U will help you execute: Strategy, Messaging, Content Marketing, SEO, Social Media, Paid Digital Advertising, and more. You’ll have access to on-demand resources, live courses, group coaching sessions, community forums and networking, plus the exact templates and tools you need for success.
Our CPO took this course and one of the biggest benefits we gained was developing a competitive strategy that aligned our social media playbook and website to generate highly qualified leads.
For all the tools, education, and accountability you need to grow your small business at a fraction of the cost of hiring a traditional agency or additional employees, go to:  www.and-marketing.com/u, and use the code SHOCK to receive 10% off any program!