Strategic Momentum

The experiences women have in the workplace today are vastly different from how they were 50, 20, and even 10 years ago. Now, more and more women are moving up the corporate ladder holding executive positions or even running their own companies. However, there are still career challenges and misconceptions holding women back from fully living up to their growth potential. Today’s guest, Ines LeBow...

In the last episode, we talked to Mehtab Bhogal, a co-founder of the private equity firm Karta Ventures, about how he and his partners drive value for their businesses and the businesses they advise. If you haven’t already, you can listen to that episode here . Today, Mehtab joins us again to share Karta Ventures’ approach to product development and marketing. We dive into deep into what Mehtab an...

Mehtab Bhogal successfully launched and scaled several bootstrapped direct-to-consumer brands and eCommerce ventures to over 7-figure revenues within 12 months of inception, ranging from a reputation management brand to a men’s hair product company. Today, Mehtab is only 25 and Co-Founder of the private equity firm Karta Ventures. In this episode, we will examine the uniquely Millennial mindset th...

In the world of journalism, connecting to your audience is paramount. Yet, making that connection is a common struggle that those in the profession face day-in and day-out. But to do your best work, and ultimately gain upward mobility, being in the right environment is key. However, there are common misconceptions of what that entails. Our guest Stephane Fitch, former Forbes Bureau Chief and now f...

In the last episode, we looked at how people make decisions in a world increasingly flooded with data. I talked with a panel of experts to understand whether gut-based or data-based decision making was more effective in business. What we deduced is that the best decisions are made when balancing both styles – and the worst decisions are made when you lean too hard one way while neglecting the othe...

In business today, being data-driven can be a major factor in whether you and the company you work for succeed or fail. The wealth of information that’s now available is helping us make decisions big and small, strategic and tactical... but we didn’t have all of this data in the past and people were still making good decisions every day. Without a world full of data, people were just relying more...

Tom Schuh, founder of Optimum Effect Group, spent over a decade in the military before landing a job in sales with American Express. Despite lacking a college degree or any sales training, he worked his way up the corporate ladder before transitioning into being an entrepreneur. Tom’s journey in the military mirrored his career arc in the corporate world and then into entrepreneurship. And that ex...

Traditionally, we view career growth in a linear progression; but for the Millennial generation, professional journeys are more commonly taking a non-linear or “meandering” path. For Deepak Shukla, founder and CEO of the SEO agency Pearl Lemon, the meandering path was not just a byproduct of his curiosity, but an incubator for personal and professional growth. From art school to tax consulting to...

Building a marketing and communications agency, much less any business from the ground up, isn’t easy. Finding new business, hiring and retaining great talent, and consistently delivering quality work can be an ongoing struggle. And that can be particularly challenging when you are servicing the government and non-profit sector, given their budget limitations. But Joseph Ney, Creative Director and...

In business, we often get so focused on our own needs that we forget or possibly don’t care to learn about another person or businesses and their potentials needs. Even when you go to a networking or marketing event, you’re still focusing mostly on you and your business – and so is everyone else. The end result is a bunch of conversations that aren’t very productive and, frankly, aren’t very inter...

In today’s multi-channel, 24/7 news cycle, it can be difficult to get your company story to stand out much less even get it shared by media outlets. Chris and Keith Blackman are brothers who, combined, have a lifetime of media experience. They both have extensive backgrounds in network television, although they had different career journeys before segueing into media relations and PR roles – “what...

Over the past decade, there's been a trend towards, or even movement of, mission-driven companies and organizations. Brands are focusing on being a force for good – and many of these organizations are also succeeding in business. And there’s science to support the idea that being altruistic, being mission and purpose-driven, is a potent recipe for both personal fulfillment and business succes...

What does it take to develop a sound business strategy? Kevin Garton, Chief Operating Officer of Context Capital Partners walks us through what it takes and just as important, the misconceptions many people have around what a strategy actually is. The idea of creating a strategy may sound simple, even obvious, but as you’ll learn in this episode, the choices you have to make almost never are. Lear...

We are witnessing an evolution in the composition of the workforce: the continual growth and increased impact of the independent worker, otherwise known as freelancers, contractors, or independent consultants.  And with the gig economy, as many like to call it, the profile of these independents have also been shifting – they reflect people across a variety of knowledge-intensive industries li...

In business development, it’s all about the “value exchange” because the best learning comes from reciprocal relationships. So to help break through the inertia that may exist in organizations, you have to understand that BD involves so much more than this perception of sales to help drive a business forward. John Keeling, SVP of Business Development at The Motley Fool, joins us for this episode....

Dana Cavalea spent 12 years with the New York Yankees Organization, including many years as the Director of Strength and Conditioning and Performance Enhancement. He had the opportunity to train greats such as Alex Rodriguez, Derek Jeter, Mariano Rivera, Andy Pettitte, and Justin Verlander. Today, Dana brings those same performance optimization techniques to business leaders, entrepreneurs, and pr...

Recruiting the right talent can be a challenging process – and for leaders looking for their next opportunity, finding that perfect position for your particular talents isn’t easy either. But whether you’re looking for a job or trying to hire someone, taking a strategic approach to your search can help you overcome the challenges to finding that perfect fit. Our guest today, Dan Yu, is the Founder...

WGN Morning News is the #1 morning news show in Chicago. As a station that has been around for 70 years, they have a unique brand that people trust – a brand that today’s guest, Executive Producer Aline Cox, strives to maintain. It’s not necessarily easy separating opinion from fact to deliver real news today. It can be an ongoing challenge in retaining an audience because the battle for their tim...

Technology is giving consumers more options and power than ever before – and as a result, businesses need to stay on top of what they want, need and how they behave in order to create those experiences that align to their needs. If you don’t, they’ll move on to another company that can keep up and offer something they DO want. Stephanie Balderrama, President of Consumer Insights Group, has been on...

What does it take to implement artificial intelligence to create business momentum? Steve Brown, Director of Einstein Analytics Specialists at Salesforce, says being agile is the key. With experience in startups as well as F100 companies, Steve has been on the forefront of operationalizing new technologies to help build and grow businesses for much of his career. Now at Salesforce, he’s at the tip...

Beth Freedman is the managing director of gyro:UK , a leading global B2B creative agency, and has spent her career working for some of the biggest agencies in the world, including Saatchi & Saatchi and Fallon. Beth believes real business momentum happens when service-based businesses invest in the growth and development of their people. It’s the human part that agencies often forget.&nbsp...

In this interview, Dr. Zimbardo, a renowned social psychologist, gives us a look into the foundation and purpose of his latest initiative, The Heroic Imagination Project. The project explores everyday heroism and how to train “ordinary”people to be heroes, with the rallying cry: “Stand Up, Speak Out, Take Action Against Injustice.” He takes the concept into the workforce and explains how anyone ca...

Joanie Rufo, Founder of Initiate Consulting , is a Certified Leadership Coach with nearly 25 years of experience helping leaders be more purposeful and effective. In that time, she’s found that the key to effectively leading others is, first, learning to effectively lead yourself – a concept she calls Leading Self. Leaders are always under a spotlight – every action, every word, and every behavior...

In today’s world of shrinking attention spans and decentralized work forces, Scott DiGiammarino, CEO of MovieComm , believes that how you communicate your message makes all the difference in the world. In the last episode , Scott shared his story of how he transformed one of the worst-performing offices at American Express into the best-performing office by applying a creative solution to motivate...

Scott DiGiammarino is the CEO of MovieComm, a technology company that helps leaders lead through the power of movie clips. Prior to MovieComm, Scott was a senior executive at American Express. During his tenure, he turned around one of the worst performing offices and achieved the top ranked spot in a year, then held that spot for 20 years. In this episode, we discuss the challenges Scott faced at...