Generation Excellence Podcast

Mike Hart is the second generation leader of Hart, Inc. a full-service advertising agency with offices in Toledo and Columbus, Ohio. I first met Mike in his original Toledo offices and we exchanged stories about working for our fathers and all of the other unique individuals that one faces in advertising. Mike provides a great perspective on the highs and lows of business. His advice to his two ch...

Sanya Weston is an engineer entrepreneur who comes from a family with a legacy of being leaders and innovators in the travel industry. Hear how her family organization dealt with 9/11, the ongoing COVID pandemic and other challenges; never wavering from helping clients with their business and leisure travel plans. Learn about a non-profit Sanya recently formed to provide African-American students...

Steven Goodman is a CPA, a banker, a business-owner and a published author. Put all that together and you have someone who has been in the room for difficult and seminal conversations around business continuity and succession. Steven’s book is titled Business Succession Planning, and he is passionate about the importance of planning for generational family businesses. Listen as Steven shares some...

Shane Pliska serves as president of Planterra, a business his parents formed over 45 years ago. Learn about how flying ficus trees ignited a unique business spanning the design and installation of plantscapes to beautiful weddings in a glass conservatory. Business insight, art, culture, creativity and of course “growth” are part of the generational Planterra story. Please use your green thumb and...

Joshua Bernard is a super hard-working commercial mortgage banker at Bernard Financial Group, a firm his father started 30 years ago. Josh introduces an intriguing concept - taking a mousetrap and “second generationizing” it. (Find that idea anywhere else!) A student of the business, Joshua is honest in his appraisal of interacting with clients, colleagues and family. Joshua also enjoys cooking, s...

Heidi Harlan outlines how her family built a business that helps teachers gather and organize the materials they need to make science lessons fun and engaging for students. Heidi explains how she brings her Hollywood experience to the next generation of a business that has roots in entertainment, but is focused on revolutionizing science education in the U.S. Put on your lab coat and safety google...

Elliot and Noah Lewkow of The Cappuccino Man Grab a cappuccino (or your favorite beverage) and join me for the legend of The Cappuccino Man through the stories of founder Elliot Lewkow and his son Noah. Find out how selling a piece of equipment spawned a network of “coffeehouses on wheels” in Michigan and Southern California. This family business communicates and operates in a manner as fresh as t...

Jim Michelson is the chairman of SMZ and celebrates 56 years in the advertising business. He’s also my father and that makes this a unique conversation. If you’re interested in a real connection to the actual Mad Men era of the business, Jim shows who’s the best storyteller in the family... by a mile. While technology has changed our business (and almost every other) the principles Jim reminds us...

Christopher Klebba grew up in and around the family business. From a single gym to many Planet Fitness locations in the U.S. and Canada, Chris (father) and Christopher have built a family enterprise that now includes Smoothie King franchises, a unique bar/restaurant called Single Barrel Social and additional ideas in the hopper. Christopher is a student and teacher of leadership lessons and we’re...

Robert Schulte followed the “flight plan” of many second generation business owners by working in every aspect of the business. Machining, delivery, operating the lathe, computerizing the tooling and building of molds, and more. This episode captures that there aren’t really secrets of a fast-growing family enterprise, just a good deal of hard work around serving customers and embracing the princi...

Rob Shooks is one of the 4th generation owner-operators of Shooks Farm and Cellar 1914 in Northern Michigan. What does it take for a family farming operation to cross the 100 year mark? We’ll learn about how Rob’s analytical skills led the family to make a major shift into starting a winery. Rob shares dramatic stories from the business’s past and shows how the family is already embracing a 5th ge...

Scott Leibovitz is the president of Ari-El Enterprises a GENeration EXcellence-style business that acquires, develops and manages commercial real estate. In this episode Scott shares how the business was founded (and named) by his father, his earliest memories of the business and where the family envisions taking Ari-El in the future. I enjoyed talking with Scott about family, about business, and...

We welcome Don Barnes III, president of Belle Tire to GENeration EXcellence. Don continues the family leadership legacy for this tire and automotive service retailer with over 130 stores in Michigan, Ohio and Indiana. As Belle Tire nears their 100th anniversary, Don shares the applied wisdom of the Belle Tire “Belief System.” Want to learn about the Infinite Game. Don said that Belle Tire is halfw...

Elizabeth Mays a third-generation businesswoman who leapt out of Western Michigan University, having majored in Film, Video & Media Studies and Graphic & Printing Science to make her mark on a legacy printing business in Detroit. In this episode we go from the Tuskegee Airmen, to a business transitioning from analog to digital, to our nation’s endless struggles with racial injustice. Lace up the “...

Martha Zehnder Kaczynski is one of the 4th generation owners of the Bavarian Inn family of businesses in Frankenmuth, Michigan. This is a jam-packed 30 minutes on 132 years of continuous operations, family creed, values, and a never-ending commitment to creating enjoyable experiences. I hope you enjoy and respect Martha’s knowledge of and passion for her family business. Quiz to follow on success...

William Alexander is a passionate lecturer at The Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania. We spent an hour (that flew by) talking about perpetuating and stewarding generational family businesses. We get to learn about “expert power” from an expert and touch on values, accountability, family constitutions, ... even Confucian culture. You won’t get this anywhere else!

A masterclass with Sandy Rosen, CEO of Great Lakes Recycling (GLR) and part of the third-generation leadership of a business founded by his grandfather in Detroit in 1927. From scrap paper and rags to today accepting plastic, e-waste and automotive materials GLR is the story of an honest, hardworking and caring recycling company.

Try to go one day without opening a cabinet door. JB Cutting, Inc. CEO Deb Behring shares how her family business has been manufacturing high-quality cabinet components for the bath, kitchen and home storage industries for over 40 years. Our conversation “opens the door” to insights on delegating responsibilities, assessing talent, and work ethic. Take a listen to how Deb – working with her brothe...

Want to learn about industriousness? Dan Weingartz generational family business story traces nearly 75 years from a single farm and feed store that has grown into an industry leader spanning five outdoor power equipment superstore locations in Utica, Farmington Hills, Cedar Springs, Clarkston and Ann Arbor. Join this conversation that covers everything from risk-it-all bets to a family foundation...

A conversation with Jeffrey, Josh, Andrew and Justin Moss, the 3rd and 4th generation family leaders of this 99 year-old Detroit institution who has been proudly serving kitchen and bath contractors and homeowners. We sat down in their award-winning Midtown location to talk about “Rebuilding Detroit” and even touched on the innovative Toto toilet.

Episode #06: Kenny Koza, President, Group 10 Management by Jamie Michelson

Episode #05: Josh Shanahan, President & CEO, SVT Technologies by Jamie Michelson

Episode #04: Loren Baidas, President, General RV by Jamie Michelson

Episode #03: Eric Hohauser, President, Harvey Hohauser & Assoc. by Jamie Michelson

Episode #02: Dave Wolk, President & CEO, Goodway Group by Jamie Michelson