The Bizgnus Podcast

•  How a “mompreneuer” took an idea from her kitchen to a nationwide business •  “Don’t put walls up in front of yourselves that prevent you from ultimately getting out there and doing it” (Total Recorded Time is 31:47) What was coming out of her tap in her home kitchen didn’t exactly thrill Kara Goldin.  Nor did diet soda because the weight never seemed to leave. Then the idea: &nb...

•  What leaders should do when an employee grieves •  “This is a very unspoken, unaddressed area of leadership” (Total recorded time is 22:45) By just about any definition, these are not good times.  We’re trying to cope with a pandemic that could be the worst in a century… the economy has tanked for many companies and workers… politics seems like unending trench warfare and then yo...

•  A sea change is underway in how companies operate that could lead to prosperity for some and failure for others •  “A movement that’s been happening under the surface” (Total recorded time is 37:30) It’s been flying under the radar for years but now it’s emerging as a different, perhaps more sustainable way of doing business. Roy Whitten, an expert in attitude and its role in human pe...

•  There finally is a better way to sell •  “Our mission is to prove that ‘selling’ isn’t a word to be ashamed of” (Total recorded time is 32:15) Challenges to the success of businesses do not begin and end with the COVID-19 pandemic.  Before COVID – and likely after it – is the challenge of selling a business’s goods or services. That’s where Roy Whitten and Scott Roy come in for m...

•  Former restauranteur knows the real recipe for business success •  “A lesson that’s not just for business, but is actually a lesson for life” Total Recorded Time is 23:55 Dan Sachs knows a thing or three about business success. Now the executive director of the Polsky Center for Entrepreneurship and Innovation at the University of Chicago, Mr. Sachs was president of Meerkat Advisory,...

•  Too many in business are letting their creativity languish, expert says •  “Everything about creativity can be learned ” Despite all the talk about innovation, people in business are not taught how to think creatively. As a result, many careers stall and companies are grappling to compete and survive. “Everything about creativity can be learned,” says creativity expert and business co...

•  Public pension plans are just murder for insider Josiah Vencel •  “It’s nonfiction wrapped in fiction” There are only a few ways to keep a public pension fund financially viable: employee contributions, taxpayer funds and returns on investments. Those are the legal ways. But Bakersfield author Josiah Vencel has a retirement plan that’s just plain murder. “As I was writing, I realized...

•  No, you’re not immune to bias •  “Work that really does have an impact is when you help people understand the way they’re making decisions” Howard Ross, a lifelong social justice advocate, and author of the book, “ Everyday Bias: Identifying and Navigating Unconscious Judgments in Our Daily Lives, ” says the more we think we are immune to biases, the greater likelihood that our o...

•  Expert Jennifer Kahnweiler says it’s time organizations were introvert-friendly •  “You’ll get so much more out of your team if you play to their preferences” (Total recorded time is 17:22) Chances are, whether yours is a for-profit company or a non-profit, you are overlooking a lot of existing talent. They are the introverts.  And they are rising, albeit slowly. It’s estimated t...

•  How to spot the hidden technology reefs that could shipwreck your small business •  “You can be leveraging technology in the same way that a Fortune 500 company” (Total Recorded Time is 13:35) Let’s just add another major worry when it comes to keeping your small business afloat in these troubled times of recession and COVID pandemic.  It’s trying to steer a company through the h...

•  Why putting competition and profits hurts your entire organization •  “It’s not just about meeting specific metrics or goals” (Total Recorded Time is 15:27) With the COVID-19 pandemic forcing businesses to rethink how they operate, now is the time to find a better way to a stronger bottom line says author and business leadership consultant Dan Bruder. “What type of impact could your c...

•  Why are COVID rates so high in the Central Valley? •  UC Merced professor has an unsettling answer A new study from the University of California, Merced, finds a link between low-wage work and the spread of COVID-19 in the Central Valley. The Central Valley is now a focus of efforts to control spread of the often-deadly virus that causes COVID-19. The emergence of the region as a hot...

•  Renowned psychology professor reveals research that could boost your team’s productivity and reduce stress •  “Just looking at the blue color for a few minutes will increase your creativity” (Total Recorded Time is 24:03) Sometimes it’s the trees.  Or the beach.  Or just gazing out the window at a garden. These actions seem to help humans be more creative while reducing stre...

•  Are “microagressions” poisoning your relationships? •  “Microaggressions, typically, are neither micro nor aggressive” Total recorded time is 15:55 Every day, people exclude and alienate others – and often quite unintentionally. This can be as simple as frequently mispronouncing a co-worker’s name.  Or it can be more overt, such as avoiding someone who looks different. Social sci...

•  Using quantum mechanics in everyday life •  “You create the outcome of your life from within you and your own power” Total recorded time is 24:57 The writer Agatha Christie had her famous fictional detective Hercule Poirot solve crimes using the “little gray cells” of his brain. Our CVBT interview guest today says we can solve many of our own problems using something much smaller than...

•  Why the jobless numbers are not going down •  “Despite a couple positive signals that we’ve seen, there’s some real worry” Total Recorded Time is 7:49 The Department of Labor said last week that it counted 1.3 million newly unemployed people across the nation.  Outplacement expert Andrew Challenger says while some of those suddenly on the unemployment rolls can directly blame the...

•  New president of University of the Pacific offers vision for the future of the university •  “I’m so inspired by our young people today” (Total Recorded Time is 18:27) The tri-campus University of the Pacific, with its main campus in Stockton, a college of law in Sacramento and a school of dentistry in San Francisco, should continue to develop its dual personality in the years ahead,...

•  Demotivated employees were a problem before COVID; now what? •  “One of the sources of demotivation … is stress” Total Recorded Time is 16:39 Demotivated employees were a $500 billion business crisis. Then Came COVID-19. Before the COVID-19 outbreak, by several measures between 60 percent and 70 percent of U.S. workers were less than enthusiastic their work, costing businesses between...

• Why managers need to recognize brain sex • The “4 C’s” a manager can implement today • “You can’t ignore gender” (Total recorded time is 14:41) In these days of pandemic, every business needs to get the most out of its greatest asset: it’s employees. But in many businesses, half or more of that potential is going unused or is mis-used. That’s because women are being asked to think like certain t...

• Music from the heart and heat of World War Two is is being remastered for a 21st Century audience • “I discovered them while going through his attic” (Total recorded time is 11:32) Jason Burt is bringing to today’s audiences music recorded in the fire of the Pacific war of World War Two. Mr. Burt, who spent much of his youth in the California Delta, is the history teacher at Clarksburg Middle Sc...

• What leaders can learn from top adventurers • “The end result if you can work through that conflict and communicate effectively is you get better product”T Total recorded time is 24:20 You don’t have to scale the face of Half Dome with only your bare hands and toes to be a successful business leader, but it might help as not plunging 4,800 feet to the valley floor might gain you admission to the...

• Management consultant say now is the time for companies to be intensely training the next generation of leaders • “How do I quickly and effectively move my emerging leaders … into leadership positions” Total Recorded Time is 16:40 There could well be another aspect of the current COVID-19 recession that is about to surface: a tsunami of retirements by senior members of many businesses who look a...

• Even when working from home, you can strive for a balance between work and life, Fresno State expert says • “We do better when we’re rested and when we have time away from work” Total Recorded Time is 13:13 Remember when going to your place of business meant getting dressed and then driving somewhere? But for months now going to work for millions has meant ambling down the hallway in your pjs to...

• Commercial real estate disruptor calls for nore “conscious capitalism” • “You can create extraordinary success by helping others succeed” Jonathan Keyser, founder and CEO of the Phoenix, Arizona-area commercial real estate company Keyser LLC, says he’s a reformed ruthless jerk. “My journey reinventing myself from a ruthless jerk to someone who’s committed to serving other people was not an easy...

• Chaotic times require adaptive leadership, he says • “It’s very easy to get into a conversation about history” (Total Recorded Time is 17:30) In these chaotic and incredibly uncertain times, effective leadership can fall back on a proven, specific way of leading and managing teams, says Ed Muzio, chief executive officer of Group Harmonics of Austin, Texas, and a three-time author of books on lea...