Morning Coffee and Mimosas

Companies are beginning to rethink their position on virtual work. Our episode today is about deciding when to return to the office. It can be tough to know what is best for you, your company, and your employees.  The question, though, is, when should YOU return to the office? What should you, as an employee, do? Although you may feel this isn’t your decision, we’d like to propose that your decisi...

We all want to feel appreciated. It's one of the most powerful motivating forces behind human behavior. And it is a key factor in personal and team productivity. How do compliments affect our productivity? It's simple: when we feel appreciated, we tend to work harder and smarter. We go the extra mile and do more. Yet there are so many reasons why we are not shown the appreciation we may de...

Ever wonder why you’re always so stressed? Many things can cause stress. It could be a deadline, a meeting, a difficult conversation, something you feel you cannot control, or just the build-up of many different things. Stress is the composite result of all of this. In this episode, we explore this topic not only through some coping skills but, most importantly, by identifying the root cause of wh...

This episode is our third look at Change. We have discussed changes we want or need to make within ourselves, and we’ve discussed external changes that happen to us. This week we dig into a roadmap to influence Change in others. It is important to understand people’s unique motivations and what may hold them back from Change. Change can trigger grief-like reactions within people. Even though there...

It feels like an appropriate topic on the first day of spring to continue our theme around change by talking about the changes that happen TO us. Whether we notice it or not, this type of change is continuous and constant. Change can be a difficult thing to deal with. Why do we resist change? Is it fear of the unknown? Uncertainty of an uncharted path? The concern of potential loss or hardship? We...

Change is inevitable. It's a part of life, and it's a part of growth. The only way to grow and get better is by changing what doesn't work for you. It’s important to know how to embrace and manage it so that it can inspire you and not overwhelm you. This episode focuses on how you can manage change within yourself. To make meaningful change happen, there are 5 major points we discuss. ...

Let’s have some fun with an age-old problem that plagues us all. Procrastination! Procrastination is a thing that we all do from time to time. It's rarely because you're lazy. Identifying WHY you procrastinate certain tasks is the key to overcoming it; Is it time-consuming, and you don't have the energy for it? Is it that glimmer of hope that someone else may take care of it? Maybe you...

What is the Eisenhower Matrix? It helps you prioritize your tasks. It's useful because it sorts tasks into categories based on urgency and importance.  Dwight D. Eisenhower was America's 34th president from 1953 to 1961. Before leading the country as President, he served in the United States Army and rose to Supreme Commander of Allied Forces to win World War II. He also later became the f...

Have you felt stuck? In a rut, with no idea how to get out of it? Well, then this episode is for you! Discipline and consistency, combined with action. This “magic formula” causes opportunities you could have never dreamed of to present themselves. Few things are more satisfying than achieving a goal that you've been working towards for months or even years. With discipline, you’ll create a gr...

One of the most important aspects of our personality is self-confidence. Self-confidence is not about how good you are, it's about how good you think you are. We are constantly bombarded with messages that tell us that we are not good enough. It's important to remind ourselves that these messages are not true. No matter who you are, what you do, or where you come from, you have the ability...

Our episode today is about crafting a complaint email that gets results. Cristina has a rant about her returns issue with the discount boutique Ruelala that is hilarious. Amazingly, a powerful email outline emerges that will work for you every time! There are few things more frustrating than receiving a product that doesn't match our expectations. Imagine Cristina's disappointment when she...

Have you ever sat through a meeting that could have been an email? Ever ended a meeting with no clarity around what is to happen next? Too often, meetings are called without true purpose and intent wasting our most valuable resource - time.   A great meeting brings the right people together with an established intent and clear understanding of what success looks like. Meetings are a vital tool tha...

Effective communication is about how you exchange information with others. It’s about understanding the emotion and intent of the message rather than just the content. What sounds so simple often gets clouded because of our own need to be heard, our pride, motivations, etc. Each party to a conversation has its agenda. That’s perfectly fine. But the great communicator controls, manages, and uses ea...

Trust refers to the belief that someone is fair, transparent, and honest, among other attributes. The most important thing about building trust is that it starts with you. You need to believe in what you are doing and what you are trying to accomplish. That sense of trust helps create a safe environment where your team members, friends, and family feel comfortable asking questions or sharing ideas...

Ghosts in the Machine is not just an idea. The term "ghost" describes the insecurities, fears, memories, and attachments that haunt us. Our past experiences can impact how we approach present-day situations. These ghosts that we live with may create false assumptions about how other people see us and judge our actions.  Have you ever felt resistance to change yourself? Have you ever experi...

As we begin this New Year, we thought this the perfect time to talk sales predictions for 2022 and beyond.  Whether you are in the sales business or not, you are in the sales business! Don’t believe us? Have you looked for a new job? Have you tried promoting a great idea you have? Have you tried to buy something without getting ripped off? Well, guess what? You were, in fact, selling or a part of...

The Holidays are over with one notable exception: New Year’s Day. This is the day that many people make some sort of resolution. People have been making New Year’s Resolutions as far back as the 1600s. Perhaps even longer than that. Why are we so set on making resolutions when they often don’t last? What’s really happening is people do so much of what they shouldn’t in December. They then resolve...

The Holiday’s are a special time of the year. We take time to gather with family and friends, time to appreciate what we have, splurge on gifts, and indulge in all of our favorite foods.   What about your work, your job, or your business? How do you stay effective during the Holidays? How do you use this time when people are taking a pause to set yourself up for success in the new year? In this ep...

It’s easy to think of business challenges as separate and distinct from our personal challenges, yet the two so frequently go hand in hand. Running a business, large or small, consumes a large part of one’s day, and also a large part of one’s emotional capacity. Khris Reina, a father of 5, a successful commercial real estate investor, entrepreneur, and the owner of The Oakley Kitchen + Cocktails,...

Resilience is often learned and developed through early life experiences.  As we continue this resilience series, we are joined by a very special guest known as Laura Graziano to most, but mom and wife to us.   Not only is she the woman that keeps the heart of our family beating, she also has an inspiring story of resilience.  Growing up with a mother afflicted with mental illness, Laura learned f...

This is the Sunday before Thanksgiving Day. We decided to step out of the resilience series to say thank you. We thank you, our listeners, and we express just how thankful we are for all that we have and how far we have come. Joining us this episode is Joe’s beautiful wife, and Cristina’s Mom, Laura. Laura has been with us every step of the way with this Podcast, so we brought her on to chat, and...

Life is unpredictable.  This week we are joined by a very special friend, Sam Morovati.  Sam is a customer experience leader in big tech, an avid car collector, father, husband, and SURVIVOR.  This week’s episode tells the story of the accident that almost killed Sam Morovati on October 18, 2020.  That accident is just the beginning of a long journey to recovery and resilience.  Sam shares how the...

We are joined this week by Pete Radigan, a husband, father, author, entrepreneur, and Heart Transplant Recipient, along with his friend and editor, Jim McGrath. Our previous episode focused on a family that turned to organ donation as a means of coping with the tragic loss of their son. This week’s episode delves into the perspective of the recipient of the ultimate gift: life. Pete shares insight...

A seven-year-old boy from California, Nicholas Green, was killed by highway robbers in 1994 while vacationing in Italy with his family. His parents agreed to donate his organs and corneas, which went to seven Italians waiting for transplants.  Reg and Maggie Green spoke openly to the media, with no bitterness, about their loss and decision. The world took the story--and the Greens--to its heart. O...

The noun  resilience  stems from the Latin  resiliens , “to rebound, recoil.” Resilience is a person’s ability to recover from unfortunate circumstances or illnesses.  What’s important about resilience is knowing what YOUR capacity for resilience is. Think about the little, micro rebounds you’ve made. Then think about the times you perhaps did NOT rebound. What will happen when a major event occur...