The Bizgnus Podcast

•  Leaders must change their approach, expert says •  “Traditional brainstorming sessions need a serious overhaul” (Total Recorded Time is 25:38) Running a brainstorming session is a great way to explore new ideas. Leaders at all levels use this strategy to promote innovation. But how do you do it when the participants are scattered into little video squares in a Zoom meeting? Traditiona...

•  What the Nez Perce War may presage •  “It’s just heartbreaking how the ambition of a few can cause such damage and destruction” (Total Recorded Time is 18:19) If you asked 10 Americans what they know about Chief Joseph or the Nez Perce War, eleven of them would draw a blank. But could there be a parallel to the current war in Ukraine and a war in the western United States nearly a cen...

• When big money is chasing a small inventory, what’s to do?  • “Multi-family… contain all the basic fundamentals that you can carry over to any other sector”  (Total Recorded Time is 25:38) Hypergrowth in multifamily real estate has led to white-hot competition for available properties, resulting in waiting lists of would-be buyers, all of whom seem ready and willing to take on more ris...

•  Done right, it can grab attention and cement your message in the mind •  “We connect with those businesses that take risks and laugh at themselves” (Total Recorded Time is 25:58) Is your marketing a joke?  Seriously, adding humor to marketing may improve it, say the marketing mavens of humorous cat litter and other things, Shelby Dash and Kristina Clifford. The owners of Take2Con...

•  Samuel Nkwume targets new audiences with his movies •  “It’s really wonderful to do something that you enjoy doing, something you’re passionate about” (Total Recorded Time is 13:22) Hollywood producer Samuel Nkwume hopes to carve his film-making career out of the splintering world of video streaming. Already an experienced producer of thriller films, Mr.  Nkwume is seeking a wide...

•  Stopping the death of a free press •  “We’ve seen in the last decade or so a massive, severe drop in local news” (Total Recorded Tine is 27:41) You might remember seeing them at various events around town such as a school board meeting -- back in the day.  Or perhaps you remember smudging your fingers on the ink from the morning paper, reading what they wrote -- back in the day....

“Brands can no longer do what they want”time to re-think the relationship between an organization’s brand and society says branding expert Jane Cavalier Lucas. “It is time to re-think the relationship between brands and society," says Ms. Cavalier (Lucas), author of the new book, “The Enchanted Brand: Strengthening the Human Side of Business in the Age of New Essentialism” (2022, Indie Books Inter...

•  Becoming an inclusionary leader in 7 steps •  “Some of these companies have corporate ‘sludge’” Total Recorded Time is 24:38 Did you know you had it?  It’s called “male privilege” and in the 21stCentury it could be holding men back from becoming needed allies and inclusionary leaders, says Ray Arata, an award-winning diversity, equity, and inclusion leader and speaker, consultant...

•  Author’s Bakersfield is much more than country music and oil fields •  “You really can get away with murder here” (Total Recorded Time is 23:35) The sunbaked streets of Bakersfield. Bodies in the nearby desert.  A larger-than-life attorney pulling the invisible strings that shape life in a growing town. These are some of the locations, characters and events that Sarah Burns has w...

•  Even 42 percent of those earning more than $100,000 annually now live paycheck to paycheck •  “Unfortunately, this is not a good news podcast” (Total Recorded Time is 20:55) Living paycheck to paycheck is no longer just a problem for low-income Americans.  Nor is it a problem that just pops up during recessions. Living on the edge of the financial cliff is a daily experience for...

•  We are entering a new era where people count as much as numbers •  “Women’s true stories … define power as the ability to nurture and protect, as well as the ability to control or dominate” (Total Recorded Time is 27:00) Leaders, whether in business or politics, should trust their instincts, tell their stories, and benefit the common good says Annette Simmons, a leadership consultant...

•  It’s the internet, of course, but with critical nuances •  “It’s one of the greatest evolutions on the planet that’s ever happened” (Total Recorded Time is 16:43) One might call this the age of the “influencer” as platforms like YouTube seemingly create influencers overnight. But our guest on this Bizgnus Interview podcast, Teresa de Grosbois, is the influencers influencer:  She’...

•  Bakersfield man wants to call attention to child abuse •  “3,030 of that was walked” (Total Recorded Time is 23:34) Here’s a factoid you might need: A pair of tennis shoes is good for about 600 miles of walking. That’s according to Robert Schrader of Bakersfield, who wore out three pairs of tennis shoes, a pair of hiking boots and some snow boots in walking from San Francisco to New Y...

•  Simon Severino says a modest goal is to double sales within 90 days •  “I help executives with ‘go to market’” (Total Recorded Time is 14:40) Succeeding in business is often compared to running a marathon.  But Simon Severino says before winning marathons, runners need to master running sprints. He puts that philosophy into business strategies that he and his company teach to ent...

•  Elisha Shapiro came up age a the entertainment industry changed •  “Most of it’s dumb luck” (Total Recorded Time is 22:22) For four decades, Elisha Shapiro has been part of the artistic scene in Los Angeles, creating what he calls conceptual art that explores modern mass media, beliefs, and the very nature of art. And for the past 20 years he’s spearheaded the annual Nihilist Fil...

•  Could inflation become far worse than the Federal Reserve expects? •  Economist blasts Fed (Total Recorded Time is 24:44) Inflation is prominent in the news these days but the Federal Reserve sees it cooling quickly, at least that’s the median projection by the Fed’s Board of Governors at their meeting in mid-December. So is too much emphasis being put on inflation?  We have as o...

•  Demographer says the real problem lies overseas •  The Baby Boomers are leaving big shoes to fill (Total Recorded Time is 21:19) The national unemployment rate is under 5 percent and in some states, such as Nebraska, it’s hovering around 2 percent. These days it seems you can’t go anyplace without seeing stores, offices, bars, restaurants – you name it – plastered with help wanted sig...

•  It’s the new strategy of “flexing” •  Michigan business professor Sue Ashford explains how to do it (Total Recorded Time is 22:32) By making small, daily, changes, a person or even an organization can achieve new levels of personal and professional growth, says Sue Ashford, a professor of management and organizations at the University of Michigan’s Ross School of Business. She’s devel...

•  Negotiations guru Cash Nickerson says it helps to know martial arts •  “I’m talking about internal martial arts” (Total Recorded Time is 12:25) Cash Nickerson has learned a thing or two in 36 years of handling all types of negotiations. Especially why getting to an agreement can be helped by applying principals of martial arts. “When I talk about martial arts, I’m talking about intern...

•  Expert says successful companies will be the resilient ones •  “Manufacturers are slowly ramping up operations to bring them closer to home” (Total Recorded Time is 27:25) A top expert on manufacturing logistics sees good times ahead for U.S. companies and their workers as more firms bring jobs back from Asia. She’s Lisa Anderson, a Claremont, California-based consultant. “The big sec...

•  Mike Wolf says U.S. offers overlooked opportunities •  “We get into real estate to create freedom for ourselves” (Total Recorded Time is 27:10) With home prices rising daily like rockets, is it still possible to make money buying and selling homes?  Mike Wolf, a Canadian who says he’s keen on investing in homes in the U.S., says “yes.” Mr. Wolf says he has done over 3,000 transac...

•  The four essential elements •  “Much more important than that was the culture we developed” (Total Recorded Time is 11:52) At a time when worker’s tenure with a single company can almost be timed with a wind-up stopwatch, Robert Kohlhepp is an exception.  He spent his entire career – more than half a century – with Cintas Corporation, retiring in 2016 after a career that saw him...

  How Steve Marks helped build his small muffin shop into a big business •  “My dream and passion has always been to own my own business” (Total Recorded Time is 20:52) In the next minute or so, someone will have started a small business somewhere in the United States, adding to the well over 600-thousand new businesses opening up this year.  But how many fail? One out of five....

•  Now Jeff Martinovich is rebuilding his life and business •  “I believe we need to make ourselves stronger inch by inch” (Total Recorded Time is 23:35) Jeffrey Martinovich is a builder, of sorts.  Not the kind that uses hammer and saw, but a builder of his life and reputation. An Air Force veteran of the First Gulf War and founder of a billion-dollar wealth management firm, Mr. Ma...

•  The Bizgnus time machine gears up for a remarkable podcast •  “Business and politics were more overtly intertwined” (Total Recorded Time is 17:06) Longtime members of the Bizgnus audiences will be delighted to note that we have finally recharged the batteries on the company’s Wayback machine and it has taken us back in time by two centuries to the 1820s in the United States. Actually,...