Growing with Purpose

On this episode of the Growing with Purpose podcast, host Paul Spiegelman talks with Torey Carter-Conneen, CEO of the The American Society of Landscape Architects (ASLA) and a graduate of the Small Giants Leadership Academy, to talk about his leadership journey, his experiences as a Black leader, and his perspective on the important role business can play in our nation's fight for racial justice....

On this episode of the Growing with Purpose podcast, host Paul Spiegelman talks with Colin Quinn, Founder/Co-Director at Be Positive in Edinburgh, Scotland. Be Positive is an IT services company that provides consulting, staffing, and training in the area of business analysis. Colin's role at Be Positive is the head of vision and strategy. Away from work, Colin is the Director of the Glasgow City...

On this bonus mailbag episode of the Growing with Purpose podcast, host Paul Spiegelman answers listener questions all about small business finances with special guest Mackey McNeill, CPA, PFS, and Founder and CEO of the private business financial coaching firm, MACKEY . If the events of the last year taught us anything, it's that unexpected things happen and as business leaders, we need to be pre...

On this episode of the Growing with Purpose podcast, host Paul Spiegelman talks with Jim Hume, Owner and Principal of Phire Group , a research and brand strategy firm in Ann Arbor, Michigan. Under Jim's leadership, Phire Group delivers complete research and brand strategy along with creative and comprehensive digital and traditional capabilities to uncover a brand’s full potential. Jim founded Phi...

On this episode of the Growing with Purpose podcast, host Paul Spiegelman talks with Khalilah Olokunola, Chief People Officer at Tru Colors , a for-profit start up brewery owned & operated by active gang members with a social mission to unify and decrease gang violence across the country. KO was born and raised in Brooklyn, New York. She spent much of her teens active on the streets of Brooklyn an...

On this episode of the Growing with Purpose podcast, host Paul Spiegelman talks with Ari Weinzweig, co-founder of the Zingerman's community of businesses.  The Small Giants movement began in 2003 when author Bo Burlingham wrote an article for Inc. magazine dubbing Zingerman’s The Coolest Small Company in America. The idea to start a community for like-minded, purpose-driven business leaders took r...

Note: This interview was recorded at the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic in March 2020. On this encore episode of the Growing with Purpose podcast, host Paul Spiegelman talks with Jay Wilkinson, founder and CEO of Firespring , an inside-out marketing agency and Nebraska's first B Corp. Firespring is also a 2020 Forbes Small Giant . With a team of more than 200 employees, Jay spends most of his...

On this episode of the Growing with Purpose podcast, host Paul Spiegelman talks with Bo Burlingham, author of the Small Giants book among many others, former executive editor of Inc. Magazine, a Forbes contributor, and co-founder of the Small Giants Community. When Bo Burlingham published Small Giants: Companies That Choose to Be Great Instead of Big, he didn't know he was starting a movement. In...

On this episode of the Growing with Purpose podcast, host Paul Spiegelman talks with Delcie Bean, CEO of Paragus Strategic IT. Delcie Bean started the company that became Paragus when he was only 13 years old. Although he didn't flourish in the traditional school environment, he found great success in entrepreneurship at an incredibly young age. By his high school years, Delcie's business required...

On this episode of the Growing with Purpose podcast, host Paul Spiegelman talks with Elizabeth Glasbrenner, co-founder and President/CEO of Smiley Technologies, Inc. Smiley Technologies, Inc. (STI), is a group of entrepreneurial, service-centric software developers and support staff in Central Arkansas, with business practices and traditions that recall those who ushered in the first big wave of b...

On a very special episode of the Growing with Purpose podcast, the tables are turned and host Paul Spiegelman is in the hot seat. Small Giants Leadership Academy graduate Travis Slisher interviews Paul about his life journey and shares with Paul the impact of the Small Giants Scholarship Fund , which allowed him to embark on a journey to grow as a leader. Travis has a story that many emerging lead...

On this episode of the Growing with Purpose podcast, host Paul Spiegelman talks with Lisa Wise, who leads Flock DC , a family of service companies with an innovative approach to real estate management and preservation.   Over the last 25 years, Lisa Wise’s professional experiences have all been anchored in empowering individuals as consumers, building stronger communities, and creating forward-thi...

Note: This interview was recorded at the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic in March 2020. On this episode of the Growing with Purpose podcast, host Paul Spiegelman talks with Jay Wilkinson, founder and CEO of Firespring , an inside-out marketing agency and Nebraska's first B Corp. Firespring is also a 2020 Forbes Small Giant . With a team of more than 200 employees, Jay spends most of his time wo...

Note: This interview was recorded prior to the COVID-19 pandemic. On this episode of the Growing with Purpose podcast, host Paul Spiegelman talks with Emily Tetto, Vice President of Talent and Culture at Acceleration Partners . Emily is also a Small Giants Leadership Academy facilitator, lending her expertise on how to hire and onboard top talent to emerging purpose-driven leaders. Early in her ca...

Note: This episode was recorded in 2019, prior to the COVID-19 pandemic in the United States.    Jonathan Keyser is the founder and thought leader behind Keyser, the largest occupier services commercial real estate brokerage firm in Arizona. Through sheer determination and focus on selfless service, Jonathan is disrupting the commercial real estate (CRE) industry, and beyond.   A best-selling auth...

On this episode of the Growing with Purpose podcast, host Paul Spiegelman talks with Blair Kellison, CEO of Traditional Medicinals , a mission-driven, organic and fair trade wellness tea company based in Sonoma County, California. Blair Kellison made the best decision in 1995 by taking a 70 percent pay cut to leave the corporate world and take a job at a mission-driven, vegetarian tea company. As...

On this episode of the Growing with Purpose podcast, host Paul Spiegelman talks with Jack Stack, Founder, President and CEO of SRC Holdings Corporation and a pioneer of the leadership model known as open-book management . The coronavirus pandemic has ushered in a new wave of fear and uncertainty: about our own health and the health of our loved ones, our safety, and our economic security. For entr...

On this re-broadcast of the inaugural episode of the Growing with Purpose podcast, host Paul Spiegelman talks with Tom Walter, serial entrepreneur and founder of Tasty Catering .  Tom is a founding member of the Small Giants Community and has served as a  Small Giants Leadership Academy  facilitator to share his expertise with emerging leaders in the Small Giants Community. Throughout his life, To...

On this episode of the Growing with Purpose podcast, host Paul Spiegelman talks with Raman Chadha, founder of the Junto Institute . Raman is a Small Giants Leadership Academy facilitator who shares his expertise on emotional intelligence training with emerging leaders in the Small Giants Community. Most of us know that emotional intelligence is an important skill in leadership — but is it a skill...

Adam Witty is the founder and chief executive officer of Advantage|ForbesBooks . Adam has built Advantage Media Group, The Business Growth Company™, into one of the largest business book publishers in America, serving over 1,000 Members in 40 U.S. states and 13 countries. Most recently, Advantage has partnered with Forbes to create ForbesBooks, the first book-publishing imprint for the global medi...

A life or death ski accident dramatically changed Bryan Papé's perspective on life at the young age of 20. That moment created a ripple in his life that encouraged him to create his first business, the lifestyle products brand  MiiR.  It’s taken Bryan near and far: from Boise, Idaho to Buchanan, Liberia, where he’s been inspired by the joy and resiliency of those he has met. In this episode, hear...

On this episode of the Growing with Purpose podcast, host Paul Spiegelman talks with Dan Sachs, a professor at DePaul University Kellstadt School of Business, where he teaches classes on Restaurant Entrepreneurship and Service Leadership. Dan is also the founder and owner of the BIN36 restaurant and wine brand. Recently, Dan published his first book, The Million Dollar Greeting: Today’s Best Pract...

On this episode of the Growing with Purpose podcast, host Paul Spiegelman talks with Chris Stakich, CEO and Chairman of the Board at  Rustic Pathways . Chris is also Co-Founder and Chairman of the Board for Thinking Beyond Borders , the global leader in gap year programs. After graduating from Harvard University with a degree in economics, Chris felt compelled to get out into the real world and ma...

On this episode of the Growing with Purpose podcast, host Paul Spiegelman talks with Steve Palmer, Managing Partner of Indigo Road Hospitality Group . The Indigo Road Hospitality Group operates more than 20 restaurants across the Southeast region of the United States, and in 2019 it was named one of Forbes' 25 best small companies in America . Palmer's career in hospitality began at the age of 13,...

When Gongos' beloved founder, John Gongos, passed away suddenly in 2012, Camille became the new owner literally overnight. Having joined in the launch of Gongos Research in 1991, Camille's s forward-leaning posture is establishing a new north for the company. Staying true to the company’s core competencies while nurturing new talent, Camille operates under the belief that people realize their full...