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A Leader’s Guide to Finding the Positive Side of Turbulence

How can you find opportunities in the turbulence created by our disruptive environment? 

Read Growth Igniters Radio Episode 172 Transcript

Find out by listening as we revisit Episode 172. In this Fan Favorite conversation, Scott and I speak with Amy Lee Segami, President and Managing Principal of Segami Studios and Consulting. We explore how understanding the dynamics of turbulence can help you lead yourself and others through times of crisis.

Amy is a former engineer turned award-winning artist and entrepreneur who applies her unique application of fluid dynamics (Painting on Water™) to help leaders and teams embrace turbulence and increase innovation. Her works are in museums’ permanent collections, and her artistic process was nominated for the 2020 Thomas Edison Innovation Award. She has been featured by media including BBC, NPR, Crain’s and the TED Blog.   (read more about Amy  below)

You’ll gain insights on:

  • How embracing the principles of turbulence can help you and your teams navigate disruptions from crises such as COVID-19 and the volatile economy
  • What one of Amy’s clients learned about turbulence through Painting on Water™ that helped them to increase innovation
  • Three immediately useful ideas for leading to find the positive side of turbulence

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How to Spot Major Changes in Business Before They Happen

 Even in the midst of ambiguity, it is possible  to “see around corners” 

Read Growth Igniters Radio Episode 1678TranscriptFind out more by listening to fan-favorite Episode 168. Scott and I speak with Professor Rita Gunther McGrath, a world-renowned thought leader and a professor at Columbia Business School, where she directs the popular Leading Strategic Growth and Change program. She is widely recognized as a premier expert on leading innovation and growth during times of uncertainty.

She is also the author of many scholarly articles and best-selling books, the latest of which is Seeing Around Corners: How to Spot Inflection Points in Business Before They Happen. (read more below about Dr. Rita Gunther McGrath).

You’ll gain insights on:

  • Why 10X shifts in the business landscape (known as inflection points) can seem sudden but are not
  • The key to distinguishing between real signals of a disruptive inflection point and “noise”
  • Three immediately useful ideas your leadership team can use to see around corners and position your organization and yourself for your next level of success

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Aim High: Chart Your Course and Find Success as a Leader

Leadership lessons from the 23rd Secretary of the U.S. Air Force 

Read Growth Igniters Radio Episode 162 Transcript In this Fan Favorite podcast, Scott and I speak with Deborah Lee (“Debbie”) James, who served as the 23rd Secretary of the United States Air Force, with responsibility for 660,000 military and civilian personnel and a budget of nearly $140 billion.

Debbie has a three-decade track record of leading, transforming, and driving lasting results in both the Legislative and Executive branches of Government. She is the author of the highly acclaimed 2019 book Aim High: Chart Your Course and Find Success. (see more about Deborah James below)

You’ll gain insights from:

  • The three critical elements of Debbie’s Aim High philosophy
  • A story about the most valuable leadership lesson Debbie learned for navigating extremely high stakes situations
  • Three immediately useful ideas for mentoring others

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Find Silver Linings to Lead Your Company Through the Crisis — and Beyond

How has a game-changing CEO discovered new opportunities in the midst of a pandemic?
Read Growth Igniters Radio Episode 173 Transcript

Find out by listening to Episode 173. Scott and I speak with returning guest Shari Spiro, CEO and Founder of AdMagic Games and Breaking Games, about how she and her company have found ways to change for the better during the COVID-19 pandemic crisis.

Ad Magic Games is one of the largest independent printers of tabletop games in the US, including the wildly popular Cards Against Humanity and Exploding Kittens, and other customized playing cards and board games.

Breaking Games is an award-winning game publisher and manufacturer. Since its 2015 launch, Breaking Games has substantially grown and has games on the shelves of Target and Walmart, games that are recognized by Mensa International, and is also responsible for the launch of dozens of other critically acclaimed tabletop games. (read more about Shari below)

You’ll find out:

  • The biggest impacts of the COVID-19 crisis upon Shari’s companies, and how they innovated in response, including launching their new non-profit “Puzzles for the Pandemic”
  • How Shari leads her teams to discover “Silver Linings” despite major challenges
  • Three immediately useful ideas for leading to find your own “silver linings” under the toughest circumstances

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How Activating Your Brain Can Increase Innovation

What does it take to lead for maximum innovation despite deep uncertainty?
Read Growth Igniters Radio Episode 169 TranscriptFind out by listening to Episode 169.  Scott and I speak with Scott Halford, President of Complete Intelligence, LLC. He is a writer and long-time professional speaker and educator of businesspeople worldwide, and the author of the Wall Street Journal best-selling book, Activate Your Brain: How Understanding Your Brain Can Improve Your Work – and Your Life.

Scott focuses on brain-based behavioral science, emotional intelligence, critical thinking, and influence. His clients include some of the most venerable businesses in the world, including GE, Google, Bank of America, American Airlines and more. (read more about Scott Halford below)

You’ll gain insights on:

  • What neuroscience reveals about achieving full potential in ambiguous high stakes situations
  • How different brain functions interact to foster or inhibit creativity and innovation
  • Three immediately useful ideas to foster a more innovative environment in your company

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How the Art of M&A Strategy is Changing: What Top Leadership Needs to Know

What are the biggest changes impacting M&A strategy?

Read Growth Igniters Radio Episode 161 TranscriptFind out by downloading and listening- on-the-go to Episode 161. Scott and I speak with Alexandra Reed Lajoux, Founding Principal of Capital Expert Services, LLC, a diversity-minded firm connecting law firms and other professional services firms with business specialists.

Alex is also the lead author of the Fifth Edition of The Art of M&A: A Merger, Acquisition, and Buyout Guide (to be released in late July). Her articles have appeared in Financier Worldwide, Risk & Compliance, and Capital Insights. (see more about Alex below)

You’ll gain insights on:

  • The biggest change affecting the development of M&A strategy in recent years
  • The changing accountabilities of the Board and the C-Suite regarding M&A strategy now and in the future
  • Three immediately useful tips for identifying and securing M&A Partners

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3 Emerging Ethical Issues of AI And IoT That Top Leadership Teams Need to Prioritize

 Find out the new responsibility of leadership in a digital economy

Read Growth Igniters Radio Episode 160 TranscriptDownload and listen on-the-go to Episode 160. Scott and I dig into this important issue with David J. Sorin, CPA, Esq., Partner and Chair of the Venture Capital and Emerging Growth Companies Practice at McCarter & English, LLP.

His national practice focuses primarily on privately- and publicly-owned startup, early stage, emerging growth, and middle market technology, tech-enabled, and life science enterprises, as well as the investors, executives, and boards of directors who support and lead them. (read more on his bio below)

You’ll gain insights on:

  • Three emerging ethical and legal issues linked to the rise of Artificial Intelligence and the Internet of Things
  • Top leadership’s new responsibilities as digital technology is transforming the global economy
  • Three immediately useful ways that top leadership can begin to address these ethical issues for both today and tomorrow

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What Big Mergers Can Tell Us About New Opportunities in 2018

  How can big M&A deals inspire other game-changing strategies?

Read Growth Igniters Radio Episode 136 TranscriptDownload and listen- on-the-go to Episode 136.  Scott and I welcome back Dr. Ben Gomes-Casseres, author of the book Remix Strategy: The Three Laws of Business Combinations (Harvard Business Review Press) to discuss strategic partnerships.

Ben has been studying, teaching, and consulting on the strategy of business combinations for thirty years. He is a Professor at the International Business School, Brandeis University. (Read more in Ben’s bio below).

You’ll gain insights on:

  • What the most remarkable deals over the past year can tell any leader about strategic opportunities for their own company
  • Thinking beyond traditional boundaries for deals that can enable you to be the “disruptor and not the disrupted”
  • Immediately useful ideas for developing game-changing opportunities and growth for your company

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Pam & Scott’s Book Pairing on Leading for Game-Changing Decisions

What does it take to successfully lead into uncharted territory?

Read Growth Igniters Radio Episode 118 TranscriptFind out by listening- on-the-go to Episode 118. Scott and I discuss two well-researched books that, taken together, can provide new light on this challenge: The Knowledge Illusion: Why We Never Think Alone, by Steven Sloman and Philip Fernbach (2017); and Quiet: The Power of Introverts in a World That Can’t Stop Talking, by Susan Cain (2012).

You’ll gain insights on:

  • Why we need to take a different approach to seeking and sharing knowledge in a highly dynamic environment
  • How forced collaboration can get in the way of innovation
  • Immediately useful ideas and a free downloadable guide

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How Corporate Philanthropy Can Grow Your Business

Find out how to increase top and bottom line results through corporate social responsibility

Read Growth Igniters Radio Episode 116 TranscriptDownload and listen-on-the-go to Episode 116, featuring our conversation with returning guest Karen Eber Davis. We discuss insights from her new e-book Can Philanthropy Actually Help Your Bottom Line?

Karen is President of Karen Eber Davis Consulting, which helps businesses use strategic philanthropy as a force to grow their profits and performance. She is also author of the book 7 Nonprofit Income Streams: Open the Floodgate to Sustainability. Known as “a catalyst” and architect of meaningful income growth, Karen is the leading authority on ways that nonprofits and for-profits can engage with each other to create dynamic partnerships. (see more about Karen below)

In this episode, you’ll gain insights on:

  • Trends that are making strategic philanthropy more impactful than ever to both businesses and communities
  • Three key components of increasing your company’s “ROP – Return on Philanthropy”
  • Actionable steps you can take to start increasing your own company’s ROP (including a link to download her new e-book)

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