Impact Makers

With the Impact Makers Podcast, my goal is to inspire you to identify ways that you can make a difference at work and in life — either through providing education on a topic to increase your influence, clarify your message, or lead with greater impact, or to bring you conversations with interesting guests who are doing just that. In Episode 48, I'm chatting with someone who not only inspires me, b...

How many times have you heard the phrase - "Well, it's not exactly rocket science" when someone is referring to something as easy?  I guess that means that we associate those who actually ARE rocket scientists with being exceptionally smart.  And while that's probably true - actually it IS true - the reality is that you and I can think like a rocket scientist, without actually having to send anyth...

I've had the best job in the world for over 10 years now - where I have the privilege of speaking on stages and in training rooms to groups of leaders around the world about how to increase their influence, focus strategically, and make a positive impact at work and in life. When I stepped out on my own in 2010 to start my business, I had a little bit of experience, a healthy dose of confidence, a...

Whether you work for a corporate brand - or you're a personal brand - we all have something in common. In order to persuade people to buy from us, work with us, or tell others about us, we have to be able to create powerful messages and stories that connect with our intended audience, and position us for success. So, wouldn't it be nice if there was some type of framework that could help us to cho...

The reason that the Impact Makers Podcast exists is to bring you tools, tips and resources to help you build a career that you love, and to live a life that matters. I love introducing you to people that I believe are truly making a difference out there in the world, who can inspire you to take action in your own life, or help you to discover paths to impact that you may not have considered possib...

Today's guest on the podcast is my friend Kendra Ramirez.   Kendra is a well-respected entrepreneur who is a Women of Influence Award Winner, and a recipient of the John Barrett Entrepreneur Vision Award. She's also been honored as the Cincy Chic Woman of the Year, an American Marketing Association Marketing Legend, and was a finalist for the Social Media Innovator of the Year.   Since 2005, Kendr...

Sometimes, I have the honor of being a guest on other podcasts or webinars, where I'm typically asked to share about one or more of the topics that I'm passionate about, including leadership, speaking, and personal branding. And today, I'm sharing one of those recent conversations with you. Shortly after the world changed for us all as a result of a global pandemic, my friend,   Erich Kurschat - w...

My guest today is Katie Augsberger, who is an employee experience strategist that's disrupting how we think about employee experience, and helping organizations to rethink their policies and practices to create a more healing and inclusive workplace for all of their employees. I was first introduced to Katie through my friend Laurie Ruettimann's podcast in early 2019, and then shortly thereafter L...

Are HR leaders the only leaders in an organization who can (or should) lead with a people first approach?   My guest in today's episode - Steve Browne - doesn't think so! Steve has been my friend and mentor for over 20 years now, and he's also a constant source of encouragement, wise counsel, connections and smiles for leaders around the world through his work as an HR executive, a board member of...

Do you want to make an impact? Are you hoping to influence change? Well, today I am speaking about how you can make the most impact at work. You'll hear numerous stories from my career in HR, learn four key points to help you meet business challenges in the future, and also obtain some takeaways you can apply to your career immediately. While the stories in this episode are HR related, the advice...

Today Steve Arntz, Products Director at Instructure, joins me for an insightful conversation about Career Drivers. We discuss what they are, how to identify them, and how to take action. If you're a leader, you'll also be able to apply what we'll be talking about to coaching conversations so you can help your team to grow and to create more impact in the workplace.  Last year I attended Infrastruc...

Over the holidays, I was traveling to Tennessee to spend the week with my extended family. It's a 5 ½-hour drive, which allowed me with a lot of time for thinking. I brought with me some materials to start my goal setting process. In preparation, I began contemplating my goals for 2020 and what I needed to do to make this the best year ever. I came up with a list of 10 items while driving the coun...

When my BFF, Laurie Ruettimann, called me up and told me about her unplanned, open afternoon and a need for a last-minute podcast guest, I suggested we do a recording together to fill the gap. Inspired by the recurring random show theme heard on The Tim Ferriss podcast, I suggested we do something similar. Thus, this week I am bringing you a conversation with Laurie Ruettimann. Laurie is a writer,...

I really enjoy reading blog posts and listening to podcasts from leaders who share some of their favorite tools and resources for productivity, running their business, or just cool apps that they use. I'm always on the hunt for better ways of doing things. Really, it's a great way to discover new tools that I want to check out or to learn to use a tool differently. Well, with that in mind, I've go...

I am excited to share something with you that is near and dear to my heart. It's very much like my baby, and just like a baby, sometimes it's a joy and other times it can be challenging. But no matter what happens, I'll always love it. Well, what exactly is it? It is DisruptHR. You may already be familiar with DisruptHR. But I'm sure there are some who have never heard of it, or if you have, you h...

Whether you're an introvert or an extrovert, you should always be networking. In this week's episode, I'll talk about how you can network like a pro. I'll also be sharing ten awesome questions that you can ask to start great conversations at networking events. You will also hear how I learned how to network the right way , after doing it the hard way for a very long time. I'll dive into why you sh...

Self-care isn't selfish. It is necessary. We truly can't pour from an empty cup and we can't help others if we're emotionally worn, completely stressed out, or too sick to help.  In this episode I'm talking about self-care and the five areas I've been trying to improve for the sake of myself, my family and my business.   I'll talk about the importance of sleep, rest and exercise, for our physical...

Bruce Waller is VP of Corporate Relocation for Armstrong Relocation and Companies. He is the author of the books, Find Your Lane and Milemarkers, and he is a good friend of mine. He recently reached out to me to get coaching advice about how to choose speaking topics and ideas for creating great presentations and slide decks. I asked him if he'd be willing to allow me to record our conversation to...

New phone, who dis? Well, it's your old friend, or in some cases, your new friend Jennifer McClure. After a hiatus, I'm back with new episodes of The Impact Makers podcast. As always, my goal is to help you create maximum impact at work and in life through building a career that you love and living a life that matters.  In this episode, I share what I've been up to while we've been apart. Life as...

What you feed will live and what you starve will die - the same principle applies to leadership. If you want to be a great leader, you have to feed your fire to serve and inspire. Today, Jennifer and Eric to talk about success, leadership, and coaching - and how it led Eric to his calling as a man of faith.   Eric Peoples is a public speaker, certified leadership coach, and founding pastor of Lega...

Whether you're thrilled or terrified to talk about your story, it's important to remember that everyone has something unique to share with the world - one that's meaningful and inspiring. But how do you tell your story without compromising your authenticity? Today's guest is Jennifer's good friend and host of Camera Ready , Val Brown. Their conversation unravels the effect our voice and story play...

What if we were all given an unlimited amount of grace despite our shortcomings? Adam Martin is the Founder of F5 Project, an organization that provides job and housing opportunities to felons leaving the prison system so they can have a sense of purpose and the confidence to re-enter their communities. Today, Jennifer and Adam dive deep into how the social stigma that surrounds felons effects the...

Joe Gerstandt isn't just a straight white dad with tons of tattoos. He's also an expert on diversity and inclusion who has trained leaders at Fortune 500 companies, non-profits, the government, and more. He also speaks on how each of us can become conscious champions for diversity and inclusion in our work and in our lives. Jennifer and Joe talk about his journey from small-town America to where h...

Communicating your personal brand doesn't have to be complicated. Your next step is often right under your nose! This episode concludes Jennifer's three-part series on personal branding, and she shares 6 ways that you can do to begin sharing your personal brand and how to get the opportunities that you're looking for. Over the last three weeks, Jennifer and her guests have dissected what a persona...

In the words of Sally Hogshead, "Different is better than better." In the second part of a 3-part series on personal branding, Jennifer shares some tools, strategies and exercises from her Personal Brand Worksheet that you can use to discover where you're at and help to get to where you want to be. In next week's episode, we'll be taking what you'll learn today out in the world. In today's episode...