The power of storytelling is undeniable. When you speak at a conference, or with your friend one-on-one, notice how much they remember of the conversation when it’s attached to a story. Likely, they (and you) will forget much of your conversation, except those pieces that revolved around a particular event, with specific people and places. Humans remember stories, and further, we share stories. As leaders, we must learn how to wield these powerful tools to inspire action on our teams. For...

It’s true: robots are taking our jobs.  Well, at least to some degree. As if being a leader in business wasn’t challenging enough, we have to worry about artificial intelligence learning more than us at an accelerating rate.  Luckily, there’s something humans — namely entrepreneurs — have over AI: We have the power to leave a legacy. You say you’re not an entrepreneur?  That’s exactly what The Land Geek founder and Dirt Rich author Mark Podolsky thought before he discovered his true...

Transparency and culture may be keys that unlock greater profits, better talent, and faster decision-making. But don't take our word for it. Listen to Reid Rasmussen; he's seen these key ingredients in action. He’s the CEO and Co-founder of freshbenies, where they help employers balance their benefits program. He came on this episode to give details on how he’s seen transparency and cultu

There are so many elements that create an enduring WorkForce, but here are 5 that no company can afford not to have. Special guest Michael Brannock came on our recent episode of the Lead to Grow Podcast and explored 5 elements of workplace culture. Michael is the CEO of WorkForce Unlimited, a company started by Michael’s mother in 1987. Michael worked in commercial banking for nearly a decade before coming on board as the CFO in 2011, a position he held until he became CEO in 2014.

The idea that there's only certain people with influence — Instagram influencers, or celebrity influencers — is incorrect. We all are influencers. So, how can you take your influence to the next level? How can you really use it to grow and develop others? That’s something Julia Deaver is all about. The latest guest on the Lead to Grow podcast, Julia came on the show to talk about how you can take your influence to the next level. These are her top five strategies for influencing by...

In this episode of the Lead to Grow podcast Chad Sanderson, Managing Partner at ValueSelling Associates tells us how to ask great questions that help create a truly differentiated sales experience for buyers.

Storytelling. It’s a business skill, an artform, and a leadership quality. If you are struggling to shift the energy, change the focus, or impact your employees or your customers, maybe you should take a good look at your storytelling skills: They may be the hidden key to unlock your organization's success. This week’s guest has won multiple Emmy awards for his unique storytelling, or, as he would want it said: His team has multiple Emmy awards for their storytelling. Michael Cardwell...

Community Banks fund over half of the small businesses in the US. They are an essential and often overlooked part of the economy. Tina Giorgio is the President and CEO at ICBA Bancard. Tina has been in this role for a little under 2 years, but she has spent the last 30 years in community banking. “Community Bankers, at our core, are about serving our local community.  There’s a lot of communities in the United States who would not be properly served if it wasn’t for their local community...

Leading millennials, new sales representatives, or other employees in entry-level positions has unique challenges. Dan Gottlieb has some helpful answers to those challenges, and they all come from a massive amount of experience. Dan is an industry analyst at TOPO Inc., specifically for Sales Development, & Account-Based Growth Organizations. Yes, that’s a bit of a mouthful! Essentially, Dan helps sales development companies utilize world-class strategies and tactics. He came on the ...

What initially appears as failure, can often be the catalysts to our greatest discoveries. Josh Steimle had an apparent failure — in 2013, he was nearly out of business. A bad hire at his marketing agency had brought him to the brink of bankruptcy. Fast-forward to the present, and his agency (MWi) is thriving, he started a second business (Influencer Inc.), and he’s now publishing a book called The 7 Systems of Influence, to show others how they can copy his successes (and avoid his...

Have you ever found yourself chasing down every dollar that comes your way? Many business owners and leaders have been there, thinking, “We’re saying ‘yes’ to everything, but the company still isn’t growing.” Jon McGinley says that maybe saying “yes” is the problem, not the solution. On this episode of Lead to Grow, Jon joined us to share 5 reasons every company should specialize, not generalize. Jon is Senior Partner at CloudKettle, where he helps companies build and optimize their...

“A company is nothing more than a group of people.” I started listening even closer as Oded spoke. His words resonated with me, for multiple reasons: We had similar ideas on leadership, plus, we’ve both owned companies in the moving business. (Oded is the President of DN Van Lines.) Lastly, we both believe this: The right person is far more important than the perfect skill set. On our Lead to Grow podcast, Oded talked about expanding your company into other Lines of Business, and gave...

One of the things that we, as leaders, need to do be able to make smarter decisions faster. When we have a decision to make, we usually spend too much time thinking. How much time in your day is being taken up by just thinking and not actually make a decision? How much time could you save every day if you could make smarter decisions and make them faster? Well, that’s what we talked with Josh Feinberg about on today’s episode of the Lead To Grow podcast. Josh is the President and CEO at...

Failure is sometimes a better teacher than success. But too often, when we run into failure, we don’t see the learning opportunity. We believe the lie that it’s the end. The world is thankful Todd Palmer didn’t stop after his “failure”: He joined us on the Lead to Grow podcast to share what he’s learned from the brink of bankruptcy about failure and humility as a leader. Todd is the President of Diversified Industrial Staffing, a 6-time member of the Inc. 5000. He’s also the Founder and...

Ambassadors are essential to any institution: They are bridge-builders, key communicators, and interpreters. They translate between one entity and the rest of the world: They communicate ideas and philosophies and garner support with outside individuals, or even countries. Every institution needs ambassadors. Businesses are no exception. On this episode of the Lead to Grow podcast, Amy Franko joined us to show how ambassadors can radically impact your customer base, your ROI, and your...

“Do you really think you can build this business?” That’s what someone asked David Ridley during the early stages of his startup real estate investment firm. Well, David was able to build the business. The firm he founded and lead as CEO, Invesco Real Estate, grew to over $65 billion in assets under management with 20 offices scattered around the world. But that’s not the most important part of the story. The most crucial part of David’s story is not that he was able to achieve success....

Here, we love providing value to others. It’s in the name of our company (Values-Driven Leadership). It’s an amazing day when we get the chance to speak with someone else who loves bringing value as much as we do. We sat down with Bill Cates, a Hall of Fame speaker, best-selling author, and founder and head of Referral Coach International. He came on the Lead to Grow podcast to deliver a few secrets on customer referrals. The biggest secret is this: Referrals aren’t a side dish to your...

How do you innovate faster and at the same time be more customer-centric? We spoke with Aaron Eden is Co-Founder and Chief Operating Officer of Moves The Needle. Moves the Needle "ignites entrepreneurial action within large organizations so their people can be closer to customers, move faster, and act bolder." He gave us tips on how innovators like Steve Jobs lead their teams to victory.

Andy Crestodina. He’s a cool guy with a track record that includes earning a degree in Mandarin and working as a teacher in China. In 2001, Andy and his friend co-founded Orbit Media, a company that has grown from zero to about $4.5M in revenue. Totally organically. Now, Andy is the CMO at Orbit Media and he’s a marketing metrics expert. Our latest guest on the Lead to Grow podcast, Andy talked with us about his experience and his company. He also shared his metrics expertise, focusing on...

Babak Azad had planned this for over a year. He had quit his eight-year career at Beachbody, where he helped excel their revenue from $100MM to $1B. But after three months of working together ... he and his business partners split up. Babak’s wife had just given birth to their second child. With a growing household, no job, no business, Babak had to do something. This is his story and his lessons on leadership. On this episode of the Lead to Grow podcast, we get a chance to hear from the...

Here’s an interesting thought: Cold emailing. It works. Really well, actually … at least according to Alex Berman. In fact, he’s helped his clients generate over $100M in new business from cold emails. Alex is the Chairman of Experiment 27, a digital marketing agency that specializes in cold emailing. x27, as they like to call themselves, is easily creating new business for themselves and others using a systematic process of emailing. The best part? Alex believes in giving away his best...

Customer service is only as good as your employee service. Many believe that, but Chuck Bailey is one who consistently lives it. He’s the Owner and Founder of Cornerstone Moving & Storage, where they focus on each employee, by getting to know them personally. From day one, Chuck dives into the lives of new team members and dedicates himself to their growth and development. After you hear his interview on the Lead to Grow podcast, you may alter your mindset about the magnitude of...

Most of us know the tremendous impact branding can have upon an organization. When most of hear “branding,” we think colors, websites, logos, and names. But Bill Gullan says that’s not where branding starts. Bill’s the president of Finch Brands, where they help clients brand and rebrand every day. Bill says that branding starts well before you name a company or polish a website. It starts internally, with the values driven by your culture. On this episode of the Lead to Grow podcast,...

Adam Vazquez spent two years at VaynerMedia as an account supervisor. The full-service digital agency, founded by celebrated author and entrepreneur Gary Vaynerchuk, brought with it all the big name brands you could think of. Working on accounts like The North Face and L’Oreal made him feel like he could take on any client. Before he left the media company, Gary Vaynerchuk sat down with Adam and gave him one piece of advice he’d never forget. Vaynerchuk told him he had the talent and desire...