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How To Create Clarity in the Midst of Uncertainty [Episode 143]

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Find out how to increase clarity despite ambiguity

Read Growth Igniters Radio Episode 143 TranscriptDownload and listen- on-the-go to Episode 143.  Scott and I speak with Ann Latham, Founder and President of Uncommon Clarity®, Inc. She is considered an expert in strategic clarity and the productivity, performance, and commitment that follow. Her newest book is The Clarity Papers – The Executive’s Guide to Clear Thinking and Better, Faster Results.

Ann’s clients represent more than 40 industries, and range from Fortune 100 for-profit organizations, such as Boeing and Hitachi, to nonprofit organizations as diverse as Public Television and Smith College.  Her advice has appeared in almost 100 media sources, including The New York Times, BusinessWeek, and MSNBC.com. She is also an expert blogger for Forbes.com, where she writes about the power of clarity to transform leaders and organizations.
(link to Ann’s full bio is below).

You’ll gain insights on:

  • Why “real clarity” is extremely uncommon – and why it matters
  • How to increase clarity – especially when “you don’t know what you don’t know”
  • Three immediately useful ideas to harness the power of clarity

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CEO Lessons From a 2017 Malcolm Baldrige Award Winner [Episode 142]

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 What does it mean to earn the U.S. Department of Commerce award for quality and excellence?

Read Growth Igniters Radio Episode 142 TranscriptDownload and listen- on-the-go to Episode 142.  Scott and I speak with Celeste Ford, Founder and CEO of Stellar Solutions. The company is a global provider of systems engineering expertise, and a recognized leader in government and commercial aerospace programs that are focused on high impact projects, satisfying customers’ critical needs while realizing employees’ dream jobs.

In addition to receiving the 2017 Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award, Stellar Solutions has received many other awards over the years including Fortune Magazine’s Great Place to Work (medium company)  and Top 500 Women-Owned Businesses in the U.S.

Celeste is a valued member of the boards of multiple organizations in the private and public sectors. She is also a recognized and respected personality in her field, having served on Congressional commissions as well as on panels focused on entrepreneurship and women in business. She is an active advocate of community and charity outreach. (link to Celeste’s full bio below).

You’ll gain insights on:

  • What the Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award represents
  • What surprised Celeste about participating in the Baldrige process
  • Immediately useful ideas for deciding whether the Baldrige framework is right for your company

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The CEO’s Role in Navigating the “Gray Zone” of Innovation [Episode 90]

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How can you lead through the ambiguity of innovation – even faster and more effectively?

Read Growth Igniters Radio Episode 90 TranscriptFind out by downloading and listening- on-the-go to Episode 90.  While most CEOs are not “hands-on” innovators, there are still a number of defining decisions CEOs make that can greatly impact innovation outcomes. In this episode, Scott and I bring out these issues, share our stories, and provide proven ideas for guiding your company through the “gray zone”

You’ll gain insights on:

  • What “the gray zone of innovation” is, and how the CEO can set the stage for reducing it
  • The conflicting needs that are always behind the ambiguity of innovation
  • Three immediately useful ideas for creating an environment for navigating the innovation gray zone

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PeopleShock − The Path to Profits When Customers Rule [Episode 64]

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What is the ultimate competitive advantage in the digital age? 

Read Growth Igniters Radio Episode 64 TranscriptFind out by listening on-the-go to Episode 64, as we speak with Tema Frank, Chief Instigator at Frank Reactions. She is a customer experience, digital marketing, and usability testing pioneer who put up her first website in 1995, and founded the world’s first omni-channel customer service testing firm, Web Mystery Shoppers, in 2001.

Tema is also a best selling author. Her second book, People Shock, The Path to Profits When Customers Rule will be published in May, 2016.

You’ll find out about:

  •  How the “Amazon Effect”is  causing customer expectations to rise
  •  Less obvious changes to look for that can signal customer dissatisfaction
  • Three ideas for creating a strong competitive foundation in the digital age

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The Keys to Building More Powerful Collaboration [Episode 61]

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What’s more powerful than collaboration for creating dynamic outcomes?

Read Growth Igniters Radio Episode 61 TranscriptFind out by listening on-the-go to Episode 61. We speak with returning guest Judith E. Glaser, CEO of Benchmark Communications, Inc., Chairman and Co-Founder of the CreatingWe® Institute, and the world’s leading authority on Conversational Intelligence®.

Judith is the award winning author of the best selling books CreatingWE® and Conversational Intelligence®: How Great Leaders Build Trust and Get Extraordinary Results. (see bio below).

You’ll find out about:

  • Why co-creation is even more powerful than collaboration
  • Stories that exemplify using conversational intelligence to move beyond collaboration to co-creation
  • Three pieces of actionable advice for taking your organization to a place of more powerful collaboration, and beyond

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