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Businesses that Care Podcast (formerly Mere Mortals Unite)

Mere Mortals Unite (MMU) and Businesses that Care (BTC) are two distinct series in this podcast. BTC is focused on building a business culture that allows your business to recruit and retain good talent. Our guests share ideas that work, to create a culture of engagement. On previous episodes of MMU we share superpowers that everyone has although they may not have discovered them yet, or forgotten them or given them away. Take them back, increase their use in your life. provides skills and techniques so you can discover your superpowers. The result is an increase in success and joy in your life and the lives of those that surround you. Let’s change the world one person at a time, starting with you!
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Now displaying: March, 2017
Mar 29, 2017

091 Increasing Engagement in the Workplace

URL:  http://www.julieannsullivan.com/engagement-in-workplace/

 

Summary

Did you know that by 2020, there will be a shortage of 5 million workers across all industries? This translates to more choices for workers and a greater need for employee engagement. Money is no longer the dominant factor that drives a person’s choice of where to work. How can you help employees be more engaged and create a culture that will help your company thrive both now and in the future?

On this episode, you’ll learn practical tips and strategies that will help you add value to employees and create a culture they love. I’ll share why communication, collaboration, and change management skills are so important and how to help employees develop them. These used to be known as “soft skills” but are now considered essential. Don’t miss this episode that’s packed full of ideas to help you create an environment that exudes success!

You’ll discover:

  • Why employee engagement is so important to your company.
  • Practical ways to help employees develop skills such as communication, collaboration, and change management.
  • How much money you can add to a 50-person company’s bottom line by increasing employee productivity by just 5%.
  • Several benefits of creating a positive workplace culture.
  • How engagement helps people become better problem solvers, salespeople, and customer service reps.
  • Examples of engagement practices you can use immediately in your company.
  • How engagement impacts your company’s CSR (corporate social responsibility).
  • Why money is no longer the most important criteria that people use to decide where to work.
  • How employee engagement helps employees be more productive and creative.
  • Why the lack of employee engagement in the coming years is going to become a critical problem as our workforce becomes more sophisticated and discerning.

 

Interview Links & Other Resources

Send Julie Ann an email

Businesses That Care on C-Suite Radio

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Mar 22, 2017

090 Be More, Do More, Have More, The Power of Significance - Tom Ziglar

URL:  http://www.julieannsullivan.com/ziglar-on-significance/

 

Summary

What does it mean to create significance? How can I make a greater impact on others? How are my habits related to my personal and professional achievement? Those are questions every success-oriented person should be asking, and our guest today will help you find the answers.

I’m excited to introduce you to Tom Ziglar, son of the late Zig Ziglar, one of the world’s top motivational speakers for decades. Tom is CEO of the Zig Ziglar Corporation and travels the world speaking to billion-dollar companies, small business owners, and at prestigious academic institutions. In our interview, Tom reveals the secrets that have helped him become so successful. You’ll learn why you must be before you can do, why you must do before you can have, and what the ultimate goal of your success should be (hint: it’s to help others). Grab pen and paper, your phone or tablet, because you’ll want to take notes on the practical strategies Tom shares for success.

 

Tom’s Bio: For over two decades, Tom has served as CEO of the family business. He joined the Zig Ziglar Corporation in 1987, learning every aspect of the business as he climbed from working in the warehouse, to sales, to seminar promotion, to sales management, and then on to leadership. Tom has had the privilege of speaking around the world to billion-dollar companies, small business owners, and at prestigious academic institutions like Cambridge and Harvard. He excels at speaking on leadership, business, and performance. Tom’s mission in life is simple: To help you become significant by equipping you to help others be, do, and have more than they thought possible.

 

You’ll discover:

  • Why Tom describes his superpower as being an “intellectual engineer,” and how you can harness that power as well.
  • The fastest way to success.
  • Key wisdom from Zig Ziglar on why habits are like termites: “Hurricanes and tornadoes get all the publicity, but termites do more damage and they take such little bitty bites.”
  • Why you’ve got to be before you can do, and do before you can have.
  • Why lottery winners tend to squander all their money.
  • The reason why you should get out of bed immediately instead of sleeping in.
  • How to re-train your brain to look for the good by keeping a gratitude list.
  • The power of a 2-minute self-talk exercise twice a day … it will change your life!
  • The three C’s of prosperity: Connect, Communicate, Collaborate

 

Tom’s 5:00 a.m., 45-minute routine that has laid the foundation for his success:

  • I imagine two chairs--one for me, and one for God. I ask Him three questions: Do you know my circumstance? Are you big enough to handle it? What’s the plan?
  • I study the Bible.
  • I write down four goals I’m working on that day.
  • I write the names of the people I will encounter that day, and create a mental model of how my time with them will go. Even if things go differently, I am better prepared to handle it.
  • Then I get to work on my #1 priority for the day.

 

Interview Links & Other Resources

Ziglar.com

Free Self-Talk Cards

Follow Tom on Twitter

Connect with Tom on LinkedIn

Connect with Tom on Facebook

The Ziglar Show Podcast

Two Chairs by Bob Beaudine

Mere Mortals Unite on C-Suite Radio

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Mar 15, 2017

089: Building Connection in the Workplace - Bristlecone Holdings

http://www.julieannsullivan.com/workplace-connection/

 

If there is one industry that is perceived as cold and uncaring, it’s finance. Banks, credit card companies, asset management firms, and insurance companies.  They are not usually known for their customer care. Our guest today will explain how one finance company provides exceptional care not only to its customers, but its employees as well. 

Today I’m thrilled to introduce you to Kelsey Martin, Chief People Officer at Bristlecone Holdings in Reno, Nevada. Bristlecone provides consumer leasing to several niche markets, and has distinguished itself by diving deeper into the data spectrum. Their mission is to redefine creditworthiness, and by doing so have helped many consumers who would not otherwise be able to obtain financing. In our interview, Kelsey describes how she has helped Bristlecone serve its employees and connect with them through simple but effective engagement strategies. Listen in and prepare to take your business to the next level!

Kelsey’s Bio: Kelsey Martin is the Chief People Officer of Bristlecone Holdings, an alternative consumer finance company. She oversees its culture, human resources processes, policies and procedures, and talent development.

About the company: Bristlecone is a group of individuals frustrated by current financing options. Kelsey described it like this: “Like our customers, we survived the Great Recession. Like our merchants, we adapted to a changing market. We knew we weren’t alone. We set out to build financing that made more sense for everyday people.”


We partnered with the smartest and the best to build a more resilient, reliable and accessible finance model. We found those with shared values to collaborate in our mission. We work with the most trusted retailers in each market. We strive to delight our customers with prime customer service. Together, we want to revolutionize consumer finance using modern technologies.

 

You’ll discover:

Why it’s important for Bristlecone to care for its customers as well as engage its employees.

The importance of defining your workplace culture.

What it means for Bristlecone to have a “ranch-style” culture, and how it helps employees feel more engaged.

A simple and fun practice they use to publicly recognize employees, and how it connects to their three core values of innovate, empower, and serve.

How Bristlecone’s focus on employee connection has impacted their turnover rate and created culture of appreciation.

Why the company is different than other financial institutions that serve lower-credit customers.

What Kelsey will be working on this year to help employees stay connected, and how it will continue to help their workplace feel like an extended family.

 

Interview Links & Other Resources

BristleconeHoldings.com

Follow Bristlecone on Twitter

Connect with Bristlecone on Facebook

Connect with Bristlecone on LinkedIn

Businesses That Care on C-Suite Radio

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Mar 8, 2017

088: The Power of Resilience - Lauren Schieffer

http://www.julieannsullivan.com/the-power-of-resilience-lauren-schieffer/

 

All of us face trials and setbacks on a daily basis. Whether it’s a minor problem or a major tragedy, one quality will help you deal with these setbacks successfully: resilience. My guest today helps us understand why we need to be resilient and how to put it into practice every day.

I’m thrilled to introduce you to Lauren Schieffer, a Certified Speaking Professional (CSP) who works with leaders and organizations who want to go from successful to significant. She shares some great wisdom from her father, “The Colonel,” on how a setback is merely a setup for a comeback. She also shows how resilience has played a huge part in helping her overcome personal challenges. Lauren’s story will have you cheering and ready to handle with whatever life throws at you!

Lauren’s Bio: Lauren Schieffer works with leaders and organizations who want to go from successful to SIGNIFICANT. Able to relate to and energize everyone from the custodial staff to C-Level executives, Lauren has spent her career pinpointing characteristics of significance, how to understand differing communication styles, and how to prevent and manage conflict from the High Road. She delivers inspirational and relevant content, infusing humor and interaction. As a recovering bulimic and assault survivor, Lauren is the embodiment of the reality that what happens to you in your life is not as important as how you choose to respond to what happens to you. It's all about choice.

 

You’ll discover: 

  • How Lauren describes her superpower
  • The benefits of being resilient.
  • A powerful truth: when you decide to be resilient, nothing and no one can knock you down and keep you down but you.
  • How Lauren used resiliency to deal with the challenges of being a sexual assault victim, in addition to her struggle with bulimia nervosa.
  • Why you don’t have to undergo a huge tragedy to use resilience.
  • How resilience applies in business situations.
  • How Lauren was able to help one company’s difficult employee learn to communicate respectfully and manage conflict.
  • Why you should avoid words like “always” and “never.”
  • Two actions you can take today to create more resiliency in your life.

 

4 things Lauren does to create more resiliency in her life:

  1. In any life situation, break down your goals into manageable chunks.
  2. Have a plan for achieving your goals.
  3. Focus on daily effort, not on results.
  4. Change what you say when you talk to yourself.

 

Interview Links & Other Resources 

LaurenSchieffer.com

Road Signs on the High Road of Life by Lauren Schieffer

Follow Lauren on Twitter

Connect with Lauren on LinkedIn

Connect with Lauren on Facebook

Mere Mortals Unite on C-Suite Radio

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Mar 1, 2017

087 How to Create an “Unleavable” Culture

URL:  http://www.julieannsullivan.com/create-unleavable-culture/

 

Summary

Most companies are focused on profitability and how they can improve their bottom line. In the process of doing business, it’s easy to forget the number one factor that determines profitability: culture. Today’s guest, Jason Forrest, will help you understand why the workplace environment is so important to your business or organization, and how to improve it.

Jason is the CEO and Chief Culture Officer of Forrest Performance Group (FPG). FPG is a company focused on mastering the art and science of human performance, and was named the Best Place to Work in Fort Worth, TX by FWInc. He’s one of the world’s top sales trainers, and has created a sales and sales management training program that is regarded as one of the world’s best. His focus on motivation and unleashing human performance is contagious. You’ll come away from this episode with the motivation and knowledge to impact your organization’s culture and improve your own performance.

 

You’ll discover:

  • How to create an “unleavable” culture vs. “unfireable” culture.
  • The easiest way to destroy your company culture.
  • Why every single employee has a quarterly coaching session with Jason.
  • The story and purpose behind the “Freaking Awesome” happy hour their company celebrates every Friday, and how it has changed their culture.
  • The most important trait of a highly profitable culture.
  • Why our beliefs have more to do with our success than our abilities.
  • Why every employee gets a minimum of 5 hours of coaching, training, or personal development each week.
  • The relationship between culture, productivity, and profitability.
  • The number one factor that determines your profitability.

 

Bonus Content

According to Jason, there are 4 levels of employees:

  • Level 1 is usually where new employees come in; they say, “Tell me what to do.”
  • Level 2 employees do what they’re told to do and then ask, “What else can I do?”
  • Level 3 employees proactively look for what else they can do and come up with new solutions.
  • Level 4 employees can lead themselves with little to no direction and are in perfect alignment with the company’s focus.

As an employee “levels up” they become more and more engaged and invested in the company’s vision, culture, and beliefs.

 

Interview Links & Other Resources

Forrest Performance Group

Follow FPG on Twitter

Connect with FPG on Facebook

Connect with FPG on LinkedIn

Mere Mortals Unite on C-Suite Radio

iTunes - Subscribe, Rate and Review

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