Change Your Mindset

Today we’re excited to have returning guest John Kelley, Chief People Officer at White Castle Systems. We discuss how the skills of improvisation relate to change management, and how being a family business affects their company culture. Change management is the process of identifying and implementing necessary changes during a major business transition, whether that is a merger, a shift in cultur...

Korean Proverb Shijaki banida: “The start is half the task.” Today’s guest, Phil Kim, is a highschool dropout turned accidental accountant turned tenured educator and professional speaker. He shares the remarkable story about how he fell into a hole and then turned his life around by chasing BIG goals through small actions. In December 2016, Phil gave a talk at TEDxAlbany called “Chase One Rabbit:...

Today’s guest, Maureen Zappala, is a rocket scientist turned professional speaker. She shares how we can get over the fear of public speaking and the Imposter Syndrome. The Imposter Syndrome is a concept describing high-achieving individuals who are marked by the inability to internalize their accomplishments and have a persistent fear of being exposed as a fraud. We all fight it and Maureen has s...

Did you know that… when a customer stops doing business with a company, 68% of the time it's because they feel ignored, underappreciated, or taken for granted? when an employee quits, 67% of the time it's because of their manager? only 42% of employees say that they received any kind of recognition in the past year? Those surprising statistics show why we need today’s guest, Lisa Ryan, and her bus...

Today’s guest, David Crone, is a corporate entertainer, ventriloquist, speaker, and sometimes IT guy. He’s on the show to share his hilarious stories and teach us why work should be fun. David’s personal and business growth have been driven by a desire to be a great entertainer, not just a great performer. Great performers have great technical skills. As a ventriloquist, that means manipulating th...

Jeff Jackson is a husband, a father, a speaker, a salesman, a published author, a superhero in training, an accidental accountant, and a daddy blogger. His blog, Daddy is Best, was named one of the Top 50 Dad Blogs by BabySpot. On his blog, Jeff keeps his creative spark lit while discussing the role of the modern dad. Jeff is a baby boomer, and his father was part of The Silent Generation. His dad...

Do you know the difference between time management and energy management? If you’re a CPA, accountant or anyone that's entering their peak revenue season, this podcast is a must-listen. We have a number of tips and techniques on how to get the most energy out of ourselves and how to generate more energy when we need it. Greg Conderacci is an expert on energy management. He wrote Getting Up!: Super...

Matt Horan is a professional development consultant with experience in engineering, practicing law, the Navy and management. In this episode, he explores why we need to be teaching people leadership skills earlier, before they are leaders. He also offers, possibly for the first time ever in a podcast, a good definition for “adding value.” Some people naturally want to be leaders and some people ar...

We talk about how learning improvisational skills can be a valuable tool in your continued professional education (CPE) all the time. Today, we’re learning how other comedy skills can help hone different presentation and communication skills for professionals. Greg Kyte is the Founder of Comedy CPE, a stand-up comedian, a CPA and a cartoonist. In other words: he is a standup comedian, with a niche...

Today’s guest, Randy Nelson, is CEO of Gold Dolphins, LLC author of "The Second Decision: The Qualified Entrepreneur.” It’s a wonderful book that has changed the way I lead my own business. The first decision is your decision to start a business. The titular Second Decision comes in after the business is up and running smoothly. The Second Decision is whether or not you, as a Founder of a business...

Bob Dean is a collaborator, innovator and talent developer. His firm, Dean Learning & Talent Advisors LLC, consults with companies on learning and development, talent management and customer experience. “I believe that learning and development needs to be a life-changing experience for people.” He is a ”Certified Experience Economy Expert” and joined the first group of professionals certified by t...

2016 flew by faster than a european swallow, or maybe that's an African swallow? Well, in any case, on June 27th this podcast was launched with the intent to help my audience strengthen their communication and leadership skills through improvisation. I wasn't sure what I was walking into but I did tell myself that I needed to invest a year's worth of time to see if this was right for my business a...

Today’s guest, Dr. Jay Young, just launching College Bound Advantage to provide more value and information to any college applicants, and their families, in the Ohio area. At College Bound Advantage, Jay will use his 20 years of academic experience and months of in-depth campus research to provide applicants with a trail map and all of the information they will need to make the best decision. His...

Today’s guest on the show is Jamie Richardson, the Vice President of Government and Shareholder relations at White Castle Systems, Inc., the Chairman of the Ohio Restaurant Association, and a family-owned business advocate. “It's 95 years ago that the epicenter of all cravings was launched, and we’re going better and bigger and having more fun than ever.” White Castle is celebrating its 95th birth...

Today on Improv Is No Joke I am talking to Janis R. Cohen, a licensed clinical social worker and author of The Intuitive Therapist. She has been a practicing therapist for the past 25 years, but eight years ago her practice changed dramatically when Janis’ intuitive and psychic skills opened up and her practice completely shifted. Janis is a clairvoyant, an empath and a medium.   Janis’ goal in li...

I spent 10 years in higher education, with eight of those years at The Ohio Dominican University in Columbus, Ohio. One of the great benefits of being a professor is seeing your students graduate and start developing wonderful careers. Today, I’m excited to be joined by one of my former students, Ashley Matthews, Senior Tax Manager at Rea & Associates. A constant struggle in public accounting is t...

Welcome to the Improv is No Joke podcast. Today’s guest is Bill Sheridan, the Maryland Association of CPAs’ Chief Communications Officer, editor, and resident social media cheerleader. He is creator and co-author of the association’s acclaimed blog, CPA Success; Certified Association Executive and thought leader at the Business Learning Institute; and manager of the association’s numerous social n...

Welcome to the Improv is no Joke podcast! Today’s guest, Brette Rowley, is a coach, educator, marketer and entrepreneur. She spent five years as a marketer before starting her own business, Brette Rowley Coaching, which leverages her experience as a business and marketing consultant in the corporate world to help young, professional job seekers brand and position themselves for success in a crowde...

In today’s episode I sit down and talk to two long-time business partners, great friends and excellent marketers. Claudia and Tom Trusty are the co-owners of Trusty & Company, a full-service marketing partner that maintains a diverse clientele ranging from brick and mortar retail to healthcare providers to a popular online knitter (and, of course, they only work with the best professional speakers...

Today we are talking to very special guest Greg Lainas, Senior Vice President of Management Resources at Robert Half and President of the Connecticut Society of CPAs. He is also a character in the novel Flashback by Gary Bravely, an Accidental Accountant, and a world-class networker. Whether you’re a student looking for your first job or a professional who hasn’t had to look for a job in over 20 y...

Today I’m excited to be speaking with Greg Kozera. He is a leadership expert, a wonderful speaker, a leading authority on fracking, and the author of two books – Learned Leadership and Just The Fracks, Ma’am: The TRUTH about hydrofracking and the next great American boom. Greg’s first book, Learned Leadership, emphasizes the idea that leaders are not born, they are made. In the book he shares powe...

On today’s episode I’m talking to an extremely passionate CPA, Lisa Anderson, a partner at Morse & Company. In addition to being a CPA in tax, she is also Accredited in Business Valuation (ABV) and Certified in Financial Forensics (CFF) through the AICPA. Lisa originally became an accountant because she didn’t think she wanted to interact with people. However, through the many steps of her career,...

I’m extremely excited to bring you today’s guest, Judy Carter. She is a keynote speaker, an incredible author, and an effective coach. She is also retired from an impressive career as a stand-up comedian. To be completely transparent, Judy has been incredibly influential in my life and my career. One of her books, The Comedy Bible, is something that I have referred to many, many times throughout t...

Today we’re speaking with Mark Wyssbrod, founder of the special firm Pro@ctive CPA and a local capitalist. He also invests in small businesses in a CFO role through a firm called Small Business CFO.   Mark was also awarded the Small Business Person of the Year by the Greater North Fulton Chamber of Commerce in 2013, the Public Service Award by the Georgia Society of CPAs in Spring of 2015, and was...

Today I am excited to bring you a great conversation with Dan Swartwout. Dan is a stand-up comedian, an entrepreneur, a philanthropist, host of the show cbuzz, a City Council Member, and an all-around great person.   Cbuzz is a Columbus’ first business-focused podcast. Dan has been hosting it for a year, and they have formed media partnerships with the Columbus Chamber of Commerce, CD 102.5, Rev O...