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Igniting Momentum for Game-Changing Results

Organizational Culture & Performance

Should You Preserve Culture as Your Company Evolves?

How can you maintain what makes your company special in the hybrid and remote workplace?

Read Growth Igniters Radio Episode 194 Transcript

Find out by listening to episode 195. Scott and  I are tackling the tough issue of maintaining your company’s culture over time – without losing what makes you stand out as you keep creating new value for customers, employees, partners, and  other stakeholders.

You’ll gain insights on:
  • The challenge as well as opportunities for preserving your company’s culture when everyone isn’t in one place
  • Debunking myths about what it takes to maintain your company’s unique culture over time
  • Three immediately useful ideas for transforming while preserving the most important aspects of your company’s culture

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The Keys to “Being Enough”

How can you reclaim your ‘self’ in our complex world?

Read Growth Igniters Radio Episode 193 Transcript

Find out by listening to episode 193. Scott and I speak with Charlene Wheeless, a renowned communications visionary, author, and keynote speaker. She leads her namesake communications and business advisory firm, Charlene Wheeless LLC, and she is the senior advisor for equity and justice at APCO Worldwide, a global advisory, and advocacy communications consultancy.  She has been featured in a variety of media including Chief Executive, Business Insider, PR Week, and others.

In her new book “You Are Enough! Reclaiming Your Career and Your Life with Purpose, Passion, and Unapologetic Authenticity,” (May 2021) Charlene shares her courageous story of breaking down stereotypes and barriers while navigating her own path forward  (learn more about Charlene Wheeless below).

You’ll gain insights on:
  • How feelings of not  “being enough” can happen to high achieving top leaders along with everyone else in an organization
  • Life lessons that can be applied to anyone facing human struggles in a complex world
  • Three immediately useful ideas for thinking differently to lead in a way that enables you and others to be the “best version of yourselves” regardless of the challenges

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Is Your Board Fit for the Future?

How must board-management relationships evolve to proactively lead into the future?

Read Growth Igniters Radio Episode 152 TranscriptFind out by listening to Episode 188. Scott and I speak with returning guest Peter R. Gleason, CEO of the National Association of Corporate Directors (NACD) about highlights from their Blue Ribbon Commission report “Fit for the Future.”  

Peter is a recognized expert in board leadership and corporate governance issues. He serves as a member of NACD’s national faculty, is regularly quoted in the national media, and is a frequent presenter on the subjects of corporate governance, executive and director compensation, risk, strategic planning, and board/shareowner relations.

He has served as a commissioner on every NACD Blue Ribbon Commission report issued over the past 16 years, including the most recent releases on Fit for the Future: An Urgent Imperative for Board Leadership and Adaptive Governance: Board Oversight of Disruptive Risks.  (read more about Peter Gleason below)

You’ll gain insights on:

  • The most impactful challenge for boards and management teams in the age of rapidly interacting “Megatrends”
  • The “Recalibration” of expectations and roles between boards and management
  • Three immediately useful ideas for shaping “Future Fit” Board-Management relationships

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Remembering Dr. Gail Hayes, Race Relations Advocate

Read Growth Igniters Radio Episode 186 Transcript: Remembering Dr. Gail HayesScott and I were shocked and saddened by the news that a recent guest on Growth Igniters® Radio, Dr. Gail Hayes, unexpectedly passed away after a brief illness. She was a Race Relations Consultant, Speaker, award-winning book author, and media personality. (see bio below).

To honor Dr. Gail’s memory, we are revisiting the entire conversation we had with her in the Fall of 2020. We discussed the compelling business case for building bridges to promote racial equity in the constantly shifting environment, why we need more than good intentions to overcome systemic racism, and immediately actionable ideas for working together on problem-solving.

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Recognize Emerging Opportunities Ahead of Your Competitors

How can your company be the disruptor – and not the disrupted?

Read Growth Igniters Radio Episode 84 Transcript: Emerging OpportunitiesFind out by listening on-the-go to Episode 84. The environment in which we lead our businesses continues to change in so many previously unanticipated ways. Disruptions can come at us not only from competitors but from social and economic changes as well as disasters such as pandemics, fire, and flood. This makes it more important than ever to find and respond to emerging opportunities as well as challenges as they appear.

With this in mind, Scott and I revisit our Fan Favorite discussion of how companies of any size can be game-changing disruptors by redefining their purpose and place in the competitive environment.

In this episode, you’ll gain insights on:

  • An often underestimated way to discover emerging opportunities
  • The secrets to developing a “game-changing mindset”
  • Three immediately useful ideas for changing your game faster

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The New Keys for Leadership Success in a Disruptive World

Why are more boards looking for greater adaptability in CEOs, C-Suite, and Sr. Executives?

Read Growth Igniters Radio Episode 152 TranscriptFind out by listening to Episode 152.  In this pivotal fan-favorite podcast, Scott and I speak with Peter R. Gleason, President & CEO of the National Association of Corporate Directors (NACD). Although we recorded this conversation in 2019, before the disruption of the COVID-19 pandemic and other crises, it is just as relevant (or even more so) now as then.

Peter is a recognized expert on board leadership and corporate governance issues. He serves as a member of NACD’s national faculty, is regularly quoted in the national media, and is a frequent presenter on the subjects of corporate governance, executive and director compensation, risk, strategic planning, and board/shareowner relations.

He has served as a commissioner on every NACD Blue Ribbon Commission report issued over the past 16 years, including the most recent releases on Adaptive Governance: Board Oversight of Disruptive Risks, and Culture as a Corporate Asset. (read more about Peter Gleason below)

You’ll gain insights on:

  • Why Boards, CEOs, C-Suites & Sr. Executives need to think differently about disruptive risks
  • The critical new leadership traits and behaviors that CEOs need to develop
  • Three immediately useful ideas for developing your own leadership success in a disruptive world

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C-Suite Politics in the age of Zoom

How does a virtual C-Suite impact key alliances and critical decisions?

Read Growth Igniters Radio Episode 183 TranscriptFind out by listening on-the-go to Episode 183.  Scott and I speak with Nancy Halpern, Founder of the firm Political IQ. She is a nationally recognized leadership consultant who diagnoses political dysfunction in organizations. She leverages her thought leadership and intellectual capital from over twenty years of client engagements to help companies find solutions to the many challenges of office politics.

Nancy’s clients include The World Bank, Disney, and Novartis, among many others. She has been interviewed by a variety of media including The Wall Street Journal, The New York Times, Fast Company, Inc., and more (read more about Nancy Halpern below)

You’ll gain insights on:

  • The critical impacts of virtual C-Suite politics on relationships and business decisions
  • How the dynamics of alliances can change in the virtual C-Suite
  • Immediately actionable ideas for navigating virtual C-Suite politics in the age of Zoom

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How Top Leadership Can Build Bridges to Promote Racial Equity

Beyond ethics, what is the compelling business case for promoting racial equity? 

Read Growth Igniters Radio Episode 182 TranscriptFind out by listening on-the-go to Episode 182.  Scott and I speak with Dr. Gail Hayes, a Race Relations Consultant, Speaker, award-winning book author and media personality who is internationally recognized as a communicator who ignites the atmosphere with contagious enthusiasm and a passion for purpose.

She has been called a Conduit and Bridge between Races, genders, generations, and political parties because of her unique ability to paint pictures with words to promote understanding between communities. She currently serves on the Advisory Council of the American Diversity Report and enjoys helping organizations create new ways of doing business in today’s changing culture.  (read more about Dr. Gail Hayes below)

You’ll gain insights on:

  • The compelling business case for building bridges to promote racial equity in the constantly shifting business environment
  • Why we need more than good intentions to overcome systemic racism
  • Immediately actionable ideas for discovering what is really happening in your organization and working together on problem solving

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It’s Time to Face the Elephant In The Room — Again

How can we increase racial equity and opportunities in the workplace?

Read Growth Igniters Radio Episode 175 TranscriptFind out by listening to Episode 175.  As systemic racism and social injustice are at the forefront of our collective consciousness, we need to ask how we can keep these issues from becoming an elephant in the room again once the protests end.

As leaders, none of us can solve these issues in the whole world, but we can address them in organizations wherever we have influence.

As an example, in 2016 Chris Rock called out the elephant in the room about racism in the entertainment industry during his brilliant hosting monologue for the 88th Academy Awards. This sparked conversations that resulted in the beginning of significant change for the Academy in a number of ways (we’ve included a link to his monologue and the subsequent article in Variety on the episode page).

In fact, Scott and I used this as the basis for an entire episode about taking control of the elephants in the room for game-changing results. Please listen to this episode with “fresh ears” as we discuss ways that you can safely and effectively confront the issues that everyone knows about but no one wants to discuss.

In this episode, you’ll find out:

  • How to decide the role you need to play in calling out an elephant in the room
  • The least talked about issue that causes elephants in the room to grow
  • Answers to frequently asked questions we get about safely and effectively discussing uncomfortable issues

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Leading Your Organization Through Times of Upheaval and Major Change

 Help individuals and groups cope with emotions from major reorganizations, layoffs & more

Read Growth Igniters Radio Episode 31 Transcript

One of the biggest leadership issues coming from the COVID-19 pandemic combined with the volatile economy is how to help yourself and others cope with the many emotions triggered by major changes such as large-scale reorganizations, layoffs, pay cuts, and much more. How can you best lead yourself and others through feelings of uncertainty and loss while at the same time looking ahead to the future?

In revisiting this timeless episode, Scott and I speak with Dr. Leslie Austin about how you can help bring out the best in your organization during major changes. Leslie is an executive coach, organizational consultant, and psychotherapist with the focus of helping companies and individual executives live up to their full potential.

Leslie appears frequently in international, national and local radio, television and print media and has an extensive list of media credentials including frequent regular appearances as a guest expert on CNN/HLN with Nancy Grace, Court TV with Nancy Grace and all the major hosts there, business podcasts, and much more.  (read more about Leslie below)

You’ll gain insights on:

  • Why acceptance of difficult emotions in ourselves and others is critical to effectively leading your organization through major crises such as the COVID-19 pandemic
  • When and how a CEO should approach emotionally distressed individuals and groups
  • Three immediately useful guidelines for leading yourself and others through major change

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