Change Your Mindset

We, as humans, are not wired to multitask – but we’re also addicted to it! So today, we’re going to learn about why multitasking doesn’t work and then some strategies we can use to be more productive. I thought this would be a perfect episode to end the year, as the accounting community’s busy season is lingering on the horizon.   We’re joined by third-time guest Karl Ahlrichs, a human capitalist...

Stephanie Feger is a passionate communicator who believes that a shift in perspective can help people live truly fulfilling lives.   After working in the public relations and marketing industry for over 15 years, she realized that happiness isn't found in what society deems important and felt a calling to help others reach their fullest potential while embracing all that life has to offer. Now an...

Carrie Sechel is an entrepreneurial business consultant, speaker, and the bestselling author of BASE Jump: Finding Yourself in an Unfulfilling Professional World. Before creating her business, Carrie spent 18 years in public accounting, including seven years as a partner with Deloitte.   Carrie always knew she wanted to start a business at some point, but she struggled, and her fear of leaving Del...

Sean Kenny is the Co-Founder of PrepLink, a platform that allows accounting firms to work with freelance CPAs remotely, flexibly, and on demand. He is on a mission to transform the landscape of public accounting, and as you’ll hear in this episode, he is extremely passionate about this mission (and, personally, I think PrepLink is going to evolve into something very special).   Before founding Pre...

Have you ever laughed out loud at a tax seminar? Do you wish that you could understand complex tax law in simple terms? Would you like to make more money with great tax planning strategies?   You may not believe it’s possible – mostly the laughing part – but today’s guest, David Krebs, is here to prove you wrong.   David is an author, speaker, Thomson Reuters Gear Up Tax Class teacher, silver-cert...

I recently started facilitating an experimental new professional development program called Slide Deck Improv, and today I am excited to introduce you to two of partners in crime in this venture, Kristen Rampe and Jason Lieu.   Kristen is the creator of Slide Deck Improv, a 10-year veteran of public accounting, and the owner of Kristen Rampe Consulting. Jason actually worked for Kristen during his...

My guest today is Courtney Kirschbaum, who I had the pleasure of speaking with after her keynote address at the Georgia Society of CPAs’ Southeastern Accounting Show in Atlanta. Courtney’s keynote address was titled “The Beginning of the End or the End of the Beginning?” and it focuses on the idea that everything old is new again, especially when it comes to panicking about the younger generation....

My guest today is Kate Colbert, the Founder & President of Silver Tree Communications and Silver Tree Publishing and the author of the newly released book Think Like a Marketer: How a Shift in Mindset Can Change Everything for Your Business. Kate provides great marketing advice for people in any kind of business, and she tailored this conversation for the financial professional.   Now, this isn’t...

Rebekah Brown is the Director of Development for the Maryland Association of CPAs and the Business Learning Institute. Rebekah frequently presents to groups both locally and nationally on the future of the accounting profession and, as a certified Insight to Action facilitator, she has guided firms, nonprofits, and accounting professionals in the United States and Canada in their strategic plannin...

Overwhelmed by trying to stay current with the rapid change in technology? Have sleepless nights because you fear that someone will #hack into your company? Just need IT help? Then this episode is for you. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Owen Wyss is the Financial Controller at Thompson Concrete Construction, and he can best be described by a quote he gave in a recent AICPA article titled “Tired of Getting After-Hours Work Email?” Owen said, "Given the fact that my company does pay for me to have the ability to access my email on my smartphone, I believe they expect me to be available in an emergency or in order not to delay a pro...

Cara Silletto is a retention guru who works with companies all around the country, in all different industries, to help them reduce employee turnover. To accomplish that, she bridges the generational gaps and helps managers be more effective in their roles.   This is an issue that comes up a lot in firms today and it’s only going to be a bigger issue with each passing year. So if you’re clinging t...

My guest today is Jennie Scheel, CFO of Five Nines Technology Group and a previous attendee of my Financial Storytelling seminar. After the seminar, she sent me an email with a nice compliment about the class and asked if I knew of any great summaries that I could share with her for taking accounting data and turning it into a powerful story… but at that time, and even still, I didn’t know of any....

My guests today are Rich Stang and Brad Hoffman, who are partners in the Maryland accounting firm DeLeon & Stang – and it is not your average firm. I have included a case study on DeLeon & Stang in my upcoming book, Taking the Numb out of Numbers, and I brought Rich and Brad on the podcast so they can talk more about their fascinating firm. DeLeon & Stang is very much an anticipatory organization....

My guest today is Dr. John Molidor, a Professor of Psychiatry and Community Assistant Dean at Michigan State University College of Human Medicine as well as a past president of the National Speakers Association Board of Directors. John shares his extensive knowledge about how to prepare a presentation that takes your audience's brain into consideration and provides a richer learning experience, or...

Collaboration is a buzzword in business today. Everyone talks about it. But how do you do it?  Well, today’s guest, Eddie Turner, thinks he has the secret sauce to collaboration: “It should be facilitated – facilitated collaboration is what accelerates performance and drives impact.” Eddie is known as “the leadership accelerator” because he works with leaders to accelerate performance and drive im...

Today I sit down with four incredible guests – Michelle Sopp, Jennifer Oleksa, Chris Fleck, and Bret Johnson – to discuss our major takeaways from the 2018 National CPE Educators conference held earlier this year.  If you are in the learning and development business, in any industry, pay close attention because all industries and professions need to adapt and change in response to new technologies...

This is an exciting time to be in the accounting profession – we are at a turning point, and the profession is recognizing that just counting beans is not going to get us into the next century (or even the next decade). We need to change our role and relationships with our clients, and we need to be proactive about investing in developing technologies that will allow us to do so.   That’s why I sa...

Today I’m celebrating my 100th episode (because I technically started this show with episode 0) – and I have a special announcement for all of you.   First, I’d like to thank all of the guests who have given their time and shared their knowledge with my audience – without you, we never would have reached this milestone. I’d also like to thank my audience, especially those of you who listen every w...

Scott Palmer is the Executive Director of Adult Education at Butler Technology and Career Development Schools, and he joins me to discuss how the principles of improvisation have helped him create a collaborative environment with his team, his students, and the institution.   Scott has been in adult education for more than two decades, and he loves this work because he is able to help others reali...

Kay Frances is a motivational humorist who has shared her message to “lighten up, stress less and take care of ourselves” for over 30 years. Kay is “America’s Funniest Stressbuster” – and she even wrote the book on stress, The Funny Thing about Stress; A Seriously Humorous Guide to a Happier Life!   When it comes to humor, Kay is the real deal. She performed as a professional stand up comedian for...

Bob Pacanovsky is what you might call a “Wow!” expert – with 20 years of entrepreneurial experience, primarily in the hospitality space, he has learned how create engagement, retention, and loyalty with customers, employees, and clients. Bob took that expertise and founded The Black Tie Experience, which helps companies and leaders create that Black Tie Experience for their customers and employees...

Kristen Rampe,  Founder of Kristen Rampe Consulting, returns to the show to discuss how CPE educators can get the best out of their presenters and subject matter experts and a new training tool for those who want to build confidence when speaking in front of a crowd: PowerPoint Improv!   If you want to get better at speaking, this episode is for you.   Kristen conducted an excellent breakout sessi...

Chris Loehrer is a right-brain person living in left-brain world, meaning he is extremely creative, has a BFA in animation and film, but currently operates in a leadership role within The Ohio State Bar Association (OSBA)… not exactly what you might expect from a creative type.   In this episode, Chris offers a unique perspective on the topic of leadership, and shares the challenges he faces with...

Ted Janusz is a speaker and marketing guru, and he’s here to help you get the most out of your online presence. We discuss how you can set your organization apart from the competition, how to get your clients and prospects spending more time on your website, and what you can do to raise your level of authority to be perceived as an expert in your field.   Marketing isn’t the same as it was even ju...