The Bizgnus Podcast

•  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,...

•  Vito Altavilla tells how he did it •  “It’s more like you’re a chronicler of an age (Total Recorded Time is 13:12) Lots of people think they’ve got a book inside of them but few do anything about it. Vito Altavilla of Cincinnati had a book inside, too, but he has done something about it.  He has used a self-publisher to get his book, “It Began in Brooklyn,” edited and published....

•  Only pay and advancement tops clear communications •  “It’s all important that you know which words matter” (Total Recorded Time is 22:39) Abraham Lincoln spoke briefly – perhaps for no more than three minutes -- at a ceremony in 1863 on the battlefield near Gettysburg, Pennsylvania. At the same ceremony, another speaker droned on for two hours. But for well over a century, Lincoln’s...

•  Expert tells why customer onboarding is as important as the sale •  “Find out what your customers want and need” (Total Recorded Time is 16:51) For more than two decades, Donna Weber has helped high-growth startups and established companies create customers for life with successful customer onboarding strategies. And those, she says, are better than “hope as a strategy.” “What I find...

•  A quiet Charlotte family is thrust into Hollywood •  “Writing for me was something that I didn’t share with anybody” (Total Recorded Time is 18:21) When it comes to the alure of show business, the same bug that bit stars like Ronald Reagan, Hilary Swank and Leonard DiCaprio bit a family living quietly in sedate Charlotte, North Carolina. And while the DeBoer family’s star is still ris...

•  Transformation coach points to his own unusual experience •  “I have a mission on this Earth” (Total Recorded Time is 25:04) What he describes as a mystical experience has shaped the life and career of Harrison Klein, a professional speaker on the topic of transformation. He is an executive coach, among other interests. “I have a mission on this Earth,” Mr. Klein says. “And the reason...

•  It’s the 10th leading cause of death in the U.S. •  “When you bring up the word ‘suicide,’ people shut down” (Total Recorded Time is 26:05) Tom Fargnoli, a retired software and systems engineer and former Catholic Church deacon, wants to see business leaders talking about suicide. “When you bring up the word ‘suicide,’ people shut down,” says Mr. Fargnoli.  “In most cases, people...

•  Your best leaders might not be called manager •  “We like to call those people the ‘sparks’” (Total Recorded Time is 14:30) Executive coach Courtney Lynch, who has worked for years with high-performing leaders to help them achieve next-level results, says applying some of the leadership training used by the Marine Corps can bring out untapped talent in any organization. And she doesn’...

•  Why you have to get out of your own head •  “I’ve got some good lessons about what I bring from swimming” (Total Recorded Time is 23:13) Successful negotiation – where there’s a balancing of needs – can be reached easier if those involved bring mindfulness to the negotiation table, says Matthew Moseley, a communication strategist, author and speaker. He says that while active listenin...

•  Online professors offers ideas •  Could these ideas boost employee engagement? (Total Recorded Time is 16:02) For leaders trying to get their workers to be more engaged, there are lessons to be learned from the classroom, specifically from author and educator Marilyn Carroll. In this Bizgnus Interview, Ms. Carroll offers tips that can be used by teachers and business leaders. Please c...

•  Job references need to be treated with kid gloves, says expert •  “Do not leave your professional references to chance” Total Recorded Time is 15:47 Even in these days when it seems there are more job openings than people to fill them, job seekers should treat their references as a treasured asset, says Jeff Shane, president of a company that checks references – for job seekers. It ma...

•  Pool toys taken to the beach are blamed •  “It was like a microplastics bomb exploded on the beach” (TRT 12:51) There are bombs bursting across the U.S. and around the world, day in and day out.  And children are often to blame. Even if you haven’t heard anything about these bombs, you might have eaten some of their results. These are pool toys containing glitter and microbeads t...

•  What? You didn’t know? Why this is “The Era of Workplace Fun” •  Fun is serious business in recruiting – and retaining – the best (Total Recorded Time is 42:43) Repeat after me: “Work made fun gets done.” Now that we have planted that ear worm, we need to tell you it’s the title of the latest book by employee motivation expert Bob Nelson. He notes that more than eight out of ten emplo...

•  Sales expert finds the 100 most critical sales skills •  “Six key themes emerged” (Total Recorded Time is 16:48) You might call him the “Readers Digest” for that aisle of books about being a better salesperson. Alex Dripchak, who began his sales career at Oracle, where he was the first person ever to be a sales manager and outside producer by the age of 25, has poured through dozens o...

•  If you can’t or won’t sell, is business ownership for you? •  “One of the things I hope the book does is that it prevents people from making the big mistakes” (Total Recorded Time is 25:05) Patrick Burke, who has advised more than 200 successful start-ups as well as mergers, acquisitions, and other business deals, has s seen a lot -- including a lot of mistakes. He’s the managing part...

•  Expert says it’s time to ditch the old way of selling – pitching, persuading and pressuring •  “Too often social entrepreneurs underestimate the important role that sales and sales management plays” (Total Recorded Time is 24:45 It is legend that the founders of Capital Cities Broadcasting would tell their television and radio station managers that before they did well financially, th...

•  As nation emerges from COVID, leaders face new challenges to keep employees motivated •  “You’ve got to get in the game” (Total Recorded Time is 18:05) In addition to its tragic death toll, the COVID pandemic has prompted unprecedented business change from reinvented business models to reliance on a virtual business environment. What’s next? It will be the urgent need to reengage with...

•  What leaders should prepare for •  “People are managing it very differently” (Total Recorded Time is 15:41) As the U.S. emerges from its worst pandemic in a century, leaders will need to tap their inner resilience to shape their futures and that of the organizations they lead says Lisa Koss, co-founder and a partner at the leadership consulting firm Ontos Global. But leaders should ex...

•  How fables can bolster a business •  “I’d like to tell you that I had a master plan to be a best selling author” (Total Recorded Time is 19:15) Once upon a time there was a business.  And after that sentence, the fable about your business can grow to have a happy ending or a tragic one. When it comes to business fables, Michael Levin has written a lot of them. He stresses that th...

•  Now is not the time to fight change says expert •  “Over time, with practice, we accrue what I call resilience wisdom” (Total Recorded Time is 21:42) Few single events have impacted life as much as the COVID-19 pandemic. And while the amount of permanent change it has created is yet to be seen, one thing seems certain: Change is upon us and woe to those who fight it. Sarah Stebbins, a...

•  Leaders can learn from the fish that would fly •  “That will make the world a much better place” Total Recorded Time is 17:40 The humble Exocoetidae – the biological name for the family of fish that seemingly fly out of the water for short distances -- has a lesson for business leaders, says relationship specialist Paul Cowan, who works internationally to facilitate change between adv...

•  It often boils down to how you look at your staff •  Curiosity about staff can be transformative for a business (Total recorded time is 19:17) The ratio of work on business problems to the development of staff can be out of whack, says leadership and executive coach Lisa Koss, co-founder and a partner at the consulting firm Ontos Global of Berkeley. “We need to be doing more than just...

•  Surgeon creates Hollywood-level recording studio •  Including a Johnny Cash back story Total Recorded Time is 18:40 Comparing audio recorded on a smartphone to audio recorded in a studio is like comparing a doodle to a Rembrandt. And it used to be that getting a Rembrandt-level recording, with the right equipment and the highly trained sound engineers, meant traveling to Hollywood or...

•  And they are getting other firms to do it too •  Updating an old saying Total Recorded Time is 20:07 There’s a saying used by many business leaders: Before you do well, you must do good. Los Angeles entrepreneurs John David Snyder and Niki Shadrow Snyder are taking the saying to a new level – and then some. The couple started with Project Pop Drop, which involves monthly giving by the...

•  Ken Honda explains how angry money is holding you back •  “You can free yourself financially and also emotionally” Total Recorded Time is 15:30 Is money money?  Not to Ken Honda, a best-selling author in Japan who is taking his ideas worldwide. He says there’s such a thing as angry money and happy money. Even though you can’t see the smile of the money physically, Mr. Honda says...