This week on Smashing the Plateau, dive into the world of content marketing with successful entrepreneur Michael Schein. As marketing has increasingly shifted to online platforms, businesses face incessant demand to constantly update content and keep up with the wild pace of the internet. Start-ups can be especially disadvantaged by this expectation due to limited staff, time, and resources. Michael saw this obstacle as an opportunity rather than stumbling block. His business, MicroFame Media, creates templates for content updates that make the job easier and more efficient for businesses of all sizes. Systematizing your marketing strategy – and other straightforward elements of your business – can be the stepping stone to spending more time and energy on new directions and next big things.

Michael also discusses:

• Becoming an authority in your field and gaining acknowledgement
• Recognizing ‘shift-points’ and forging progress
• Using media to gain exposure with other business leaders
• How to differentiate your business in today’s climate

Michael is the CEO of MicroFame Media, a content marketing and strategy agency that implements systems and processes for turning organizations into recognized authorities in their fields for the purpose of generating new business. He has created or facilitated the production of content for companies such as eBay, LinkedIn, Abila, TESLA, Inc., SEER Interactive, Interiors by Steven G., Magento, Vitalyst, Intellect, Arise Virtual Solutions, and Citrix, to name a few. He writes a weekly column for Inc and is a contributor to Fortune and Huffington Post.

Find out more about Michael’s business or get in touch him directly at microfamemedia.com.

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Theresa Fette describes her professional journey as a fortuitous meeting of luck and planning. After earning four degrees and working in law, she took over a failing trust company and transformed the shaky business to an asset management powerhouse. On this week’s episode of Smashing the Plateau, Theresa shares her experience in transitioning from entrepreneurship to building a legacy. She discusses how both traditional and non-traditional business practices played a part in her success, the challenges she has faced, and how to maintain business stability while remaining open to change and improvements.

Theresa also discusses:

• Making fans early on by removing road blocks for others
• The importance of developing the ‘likeability factor’
• Interpreting metrics and employing decision matrices
• Handling difficult or unrealistic client requests
• Engendering a positive office culture while managing and motivating employees
• Defining one year success goals for new hires

Theresa is a founder and CEO of Provident Trust Group, a leading self-directed retirement plan administrator and alternative-asset custodian. In six years, she increased the organization’s assets under custody from $300M to more than $5B. Fortune honored her as one of its most powerful women entrepreneurs for 2012.

Theresa is also a board member of Venovate Holdings, Inc. She holds a LL.M. in Taxation from the University of Missouri – Kansas City, a Juris Doctorate, a Masters in Accounting, and a Bachelor of Science in Accounting, each from the University of Arkansas.

Connect with Theresa on LinkedIn; learn more about her business at trustprovident.com.

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Jason Treu joins Smashing the Plateau this week to discuss the power of relationships in the business world and how to develop the relationship-building skill sets that will be key to your success. He emphasizes how essential skills such as building rapport, likeability, and trust, can be developed by anyone at any point in their career. Jason outlines specific steps to build self-confidence, become engaging and influential, and form relationships with the right people. His philosophy that everything we accomplish depends on other people inspires him to invest in the people around him, and to seek out accomplices, mentors, or simply those with common ground to move his business passion forward.

He also discusses:

• Creating a business people want to work for
• Forming habits around strong communication
• Following your passions and the importance of making your journey measurable
• The value of building relationships with busy people

Jason is a top business coach, speaker and author. He’s a leading expert on social engineering, influence, persuasion, and networking. At the heart of his strategy is the understanding that people and your relationships are your true “wealth.”

Jason’s bestselling book, Social Wealth, a how-to-guide on building personal and professional relationships, has sold more than 30,000 copies and has been #1 in four business and self-help categories. Jason is also a frequent contributor to publications such as Brazen Careerist, Thought Catalog, Under30 CEO, KillerStartups, and others.

Learn more about Jason and his business coaching live at BeExtraordinary.tv, on Twitter (@jasontreu), on LinkedIn (JasonTreu), or at his website.

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Entrepreneur and Sprinklr Global Evangelist Ekaterina Walter joins Smashing the Plateau this week with insider advice on moving your business forward and keeping up with today’s ever-advancing consumer. In this discussion, she highlights the importance of leveraging community and self-learning to achieve these ends. She also discusses self-empowerment and utilizing technology to learn more about your passions, take on new roles and initiatives, and form partnerships with those who share your interests. She describes how having self-confidence, and recognizing your surrounding support systems, are crucial to building networks, taking your business to the next level, and building success.

Ekaterina also discusses:

• Empowering employees where it matters in efficient ways that lead to growth
• Online opportunities for self-education
• Customer engagement with your brand on the ground and through social media
• How to create consumer experiences in a consistent fashion

Ekaterina has led strategic and marketing innovation for Fortune 500 brands such as Intel and Accenture, and she currently serves as Global Evangelist at Sprinklr. She has written for Forbes, Fast Company, Inc., Huffington Post, and Entrepreneur, and has appeared on CNBC, ABC, NBC, FOX News, Forbes, TechCrunch, CNN, WSJ, Inc., and published the best-selling Think Like Zuck in 2013.

She received a 2013 Marketer of the Year honor (SoMe Awards), and was named #3 on The Forbes 2014 World Top 40 Social Marketing Talent. In June 2014, Fortune magazine included her in the list of the most impactful business people on social media.

Learn more about Ekaterina at www.ekaterinawalter.com or follow her on Twitter (@Ekaterina).

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With two successful entrepreneurial endeavors under her belt, CEO and owner of LunaMetrics Robbin Steif is well-positioned to describe some of the common challenges facing entrepreneurs today. One challenge she discusses here is creating a balance between keeping full control over the quality of your product vs. empowering other team members to be actors and decision-makers. Robbin points out the importance of finding the right people for the job, but also of becoming aware of your own strengths and weaknesses as a leader. Because you are a critical component of your business, taking the time to put work into yourself is likely to translate into business success.

She also discusses:

• Using data analytics to become a more efficient and cost-effective business
• Leaving the corporate track to become an entrepreneur
• Overcoming personal issues to advance business
• When to release a product on the market
• The pros and cons of relying on resumes when hiring new talent

Robbin is CEO and owner of LunaMetrics, an Internet consulting firm that recently celebrated its tenth birthday, and is now an Inc. 5000 company. LunaMetrics is her second entrepreneurial endeavor. Steif is a graduate of Harvard College and the Harvard Business School. She was awarded a 2013 BusinessWomen First award from the Pittsburgh Business Times, as well as a 2014 Diamond Award for leadership.

Learn more about Robbin Steif on LinkedIn; connect with her on Twitter (@robbinsteif); and learn more about LunaMetrics at www.lunametrics.com.

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Nicole Valentine is passionate about opportunities to grow, improve, and mature a business. In this interview, the founder of Synergy Business Development describes how, from entrepreneurship to exit strategy, the successful business leader always asks “What’s next?” Nicole also touches on the importance of adjusting your product to keep up with the ever-changing human experience, and creating a simple-yet-complete business model that can be transformed and shared. She describes how these forward-thinking strategies can help you move forward throughout a career, from start-up to successful exit.

She also discusses:

• Creating a vibrant culture and community feeling by bringing together different perspectives
• Making a habit out of being creative
• Keeping teams engaged, strong, and productive through clear communication and strong leadership
• Considering alternatives to getting an idea to market, such as forming partnerships and utilizing existing channels

Valentine worked as a Wall Street Corporate M&A Lawyer before launching her New York-based consultancy Synergy Business Development. Synergy advises startup CEOs, strategy teams at Fortune 500 Companies, and social entrepreneurs in business development and strategic growth. Last year, Nicole launched a business strategy app, Winly, to deliver her business growth methodology to entrepreneurs around the world. Available on IOS Apple iPad and iPhone, Winly (www.winlyapp.com) includes a suite of Playbooks to inspire teams to win by making strategy a daily exercise.

Learn more about Nicole at www.synergybusinessonline.com, or follow her on Linkedin (www.linkedin.com/in/nicolevalentinemoody) and Twitter (@ValentineSaid).

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Even by entrepreneurial standards, Chuck Ealey has had a diverse career—or three careers: football star, businessman, and community leader. After a record-setting college football career in Toledo—which, he says, he viewed as a vehicle to getting his degree in business economics—Chuck was passed over in the NFL draft in an era when black quarterbacks were almost unheard-of. Leaving the NFL, he went on to an outstanding career as a quarterback with the Hamilton Tiger-Cats, the Winnipeg Blue Bombers, and the Toronto Argonauts (he describes how “I went to Canada to live the American dream and play quarterback.”)

After leaving football, Chuck went on to establish himself as a leader in the financial industry. Today, he is a Certified Financial Planner, radio host, and has been the Mississauga Regional Director for the Investors Group Financial Services Inc. since 1987. Here, he talks about his career and the things that have made him successful:

• Handling transitions and difficult periods by moving “one play at a time, one day at a time”—and focusing on what you can control in the moment
• The importance of fully focusing on an endpoint or outcome, and having a plan to reach it
• The potential communication gaps in inter-generational communication in the workplace, and why “we can’t just overlook it and say ‘do it like me’”
• Mentoring younger workers in the workplace, and emphasizing long-term goals over short-term gratification.

Chuck is a recipient of the Herb Carnegie Community Leadership Award and the African Canadian Achievement Sports Award. He is the founder of the Chuck Ealey Foundation and the Chair of the Board of Directors for the Living Arts Centre in Mississauga.

Learn more about Chuck at www.chuckealeyspeaks.com or at www.undefeatedspirit.com.

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After a career in the British finance industry, Nigel Savage successfully made the leap from the private sector to non-profit management. He founded Hazon in 2000, with the goal of building a more sustainable Jewish community and a healthier world. Here, Nigel discusses the similarities between for- and non-profit enterprises, including: finding the right people for the job, maintaining competitive advantage, organizational systems and structure, and common road blocks.

He also discusses:

• Assessing personal strengths and weaknesses and knowing when to ask for help
• Recognizing what business components will require continuous or additional work after implementation—such as social media communications, human resources, and internal structure
• Overcoming discomfort with fundraising
• Reducing bureaucracy while maintaining systems
• Keeping the faith: applying religious and community-based assets to solving real-world problems

Nigel founded Hazon with a bike ride across America to raise awareness of environmental issues; today, the New York-based nonprofit has staff in 7 locations around the US, and was designated by the Sierra Club as one of the top 50 faith-based environmental organizations.

Nigel has studied at Georgetown, Pardes, Yakar, and Hebrew University, and has experience as the executive director for a number of independent films. He was a founder of both the New Israel Fund in the UK and Limmud New York. Currently, her serves on the board of Romemu. He has twice been listed in the Forward’s annual list of America’s 50 most influential Jews.

Learn more about Hazon on the web at www.hazon.org, on Twitter (@Hazon), or on Facebook.

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Tamela Rich’s solo travels across North America have put her face-to -face with fears of humiliation, loss of autonomy, and even death. In this interview, the author, storyteller, and adventurer discusses how fear can hinder us from overcoming challenges in our personal and business lives. As she observes, fear does not need to hold us back from achieving business goals: with the right mix of confidence, humility, and self-reflection, we can channel fearful energy in a productive way towards growth and reward.

She also discusses:

• The benefits of positive thinking and self-reflection to leadership
• How focusing on personal strengths—both our own and those of others—is more productive than lingering on weaknesses
• Turning setbacks into opportunities for growth
• The positive implications of getting to know your “true self,” such as being more adaptive and more able to navigate unpredictable circumstances

Learn more about Tamela, her writing (including her book, Living Full Throttle), and her motorcycle adventures at TamelaRich.com, or follow her on LinkedIn (Tamela Rich) or Twitter (@TamelaRich).

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Marilyn King knows something about the power of thinking: after a car accident in 1979 rendered her unable to train physically for her third Olympic Team, she placed second at the Olympic trials for the 1980 Moscow Games after using only mental training techniques. A two-time Olympian in the five-event pentathlon, Marilyn has spent 30 years as an expert in the field of exceptional human performance. The president of Way Beyond Sports, she helps others apply skills learned through sports to three specific areas: business, education and peace.

In this interview, she discusses:

• The importance of daily practices – not only physical, but mental: how you approach the day, what the plan is, how to be more effective.
• The power of Olympic thinking: Passion, Vision, Action.
• Why leaders need to understand the conditions under which people are willing or able to change
• How leaders can tell a company’s “Story of Now” to give employees a sense of excitement and purpose
• How leaders can mine the collective wisdom of the company’s employees
• How Olympian Thinking can help us achieve the world we want to live in

Marilyn’s work includes programs conducted for senior executives at Fortune 500 companies, such as AT&T, Apple Computer, Hewlett Packard, IBM, Ikea, Microsoft, Nokia, Oracle, Swiss Reinsurance, Starbucks and Wells Fargo. She has been featured on Forbes.com, The News Hour with Jim Lehrer, and NBC Nightly News. Currently, Marilyn is involved in a joint Russian-American venture called “The Peace Team,” and has twice spoken at the United Nations.

Learn more about Marilyn at her website, www.WayBeyondSports.com.

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Jeff Salz–anthropologist, explorer, keynote speaker, and expedition leader—advocates adventure as a mode of leadership. In this interview, he describes how “Adventure isn’t just defined by the activity—it’s really a state of mind and a state of perspective,” and suggests that leaders can learn a lot from approaching things from the perspective of an adventurer. This can be helpful to understanding leadership itself; Salz says that in today’s swiftly-changing business scene, “You have to have the skills of a leader that once belonged to the expeditionary.”

Here, he discusses what leaders can learn from adventure, and where anyone can find it, as well as:

• The leadership skills that any expedition-leading adventurer—or any leader—should have, including the ability to stay cool under pressure and have an intuitive grasp of a situation
• How to deal with uncertainty while leading a team
• Maintaining a sense of “purposeful certainty” about outcomes
• How to help a whole team share a sense of urgency and responsibility for outcomes
• How approaching business as an adventure can generate a sense of creativity, excitement, and openness to change

Jeff holds a Bachelor’s in Outdoor Education, a Master’s in Experiential Education, and a Ph.D. in Cultural Education. He is involved in adventure-base education, speaking, coaching and training, and has worked with executives at companies including Microsoft, Google, eBay, Motorola and the Walt Disney Company. He is also a founding contributor to Escape magazine.

Learn more about Jeff at www.drjeffsalz.com, or look for his book, The Way of Adventure. Jeff can also be seen on the History and Discovery networks, and can be reached at jeff@jeffsalz.com.

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Steve Farber has focused on leadership development for more than 25 years, and over that period observed that quality of leadership was “the deciding factor as to an organization or company’s competitive advantage.” To develop and help others with his experience, he developed the concept of “Extreme Leadership,” and explains that “Leadership is not about your position or your title; it’s not about what you call yourself. Leadership is about your ability to influence people around you to change the world for the better. In other words, leadership is an extreme act: by its nature, it’s extreme.” Steve is the President of Extreme Leadership, Inc. and founder of The Extreme Leadership Institute. Both help develop “Extreme Leaders.”

Here Steve discusses:

• The LEAP system, and the four qualities that all leaders should have
• Why simply asking your employees to “love” their customers is not enough, but how the workplace has to be made an enjoyable place to work in.
• Why leaders should always be examining their own practices by setting their sights beyond their own business, and to the industry as a whole
• Why being honest with your team about anxieties and risks can help create a culture of innovation and openness

Steve is the former VP of The Tom Peters Company. He has worked with an array of public and private organizations in a range of arenas, from the tech sector to financial services, manufacturing, health care, hospitality, entertainment, retail, public education, non-profits, and government. He is listed on Inc magazine’s ranking of the Top 50 Leadership and Management Experts in the world, and his third book, Greater Than Yourself: The Ultimate Lesson of True Leadership, debuted as a Wall Street Journal and USA Today bestseller.

Learn more about Steve or download a free audio program at SteveFarber.com.

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After eight years of analyzing risk in the reinsurance industry, Mark Hunter hired a career coach to help him assess what leadership meant to him. Soon, he left the industry to take an apprenticeship with his coach; today, Mark is the founder and President of Pinnacle Coaching, Inc., an international business and executive coaching company.

In today’s episode, he discusses modern leadership, including:

• Leadership as “a way of expressing ownership” and responsibility—over teams, fiscal results, or whatever falls under one’s purview
• Overcoming fear of that ownership through choosing a challenge, and viewing that challenge as an opportunity
• Why it is important to establish the kind of leader you are within your organization
• Why seeking outside points of view can be helpful in moving a business to the next level, particular in assessing communication and collaboration breakdowns

Mark is the author of The Brink: How Great Leadership Is Invented (2014). He is a Professional Certified Coach (PCC) through the International Coach Federation, and specializes in keynote speaking, workshop facilitation, business/corporate coaching, and team culture/context shifts.

Learn more about Mark at Pinnacle-Coaching.net, and learn more about his book at TheBrinkBook.com. Write to Hunter directly at Mark@pinnacle-coachingnet.

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Soon after the 2008 downturn, Josh was faced with a decision: find another job, or create something new? He chose to reinvent himself as a freelance CFO for businesses in St. Louis, using LinkedIn to build his business. Soon, he became a LinkedIn campaign designer for several clients, and in 2011 founded Linked Selling, which has grown to serve clients all over the world in a range of industries.

In this interview, Josh discusses:

• Choosing to start a new business in a rough economy
• Recognizing when your clients are asking for new services, and having the flexibility to offer them more services
• Networking online through LinkedIn—and why it’s not all about pitching
• Recognizing when you need to hand over parts of the management of your business to others
• Placing hiring and training systems in place to make sure that your employees can be successful

Linked Selling specializes in fully outsourced LinkedIn lead generation campaigns. They represent clients in the US, Canada, UK, Asia, and Australia, in a wide variety of industries; clients include Neil Patel and Microsoft. Josh’s company also operates LinkedUniversity.com, an online training program for LinkedIn marketing.

Josh’s book Connect is being released on June 15; learn more at TheConnectBook.com/smashing, or through Josh’s LinkedIn page.

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In this interview, JP Hervis discusses his career shift from award-winning journalism to public relations, a shift that “made sense”: as a journalist, he was “too often” receiving press releases that he could see needed improvement. Having never taken a public relations or business course, Hervis began working freelance for a small PR firm; he is now the president and founder of Insider Media Management.

Here, he discusses:

• How “every business has a story—and the story is usually the people. And the people are the distinctive elements of any business.”
• How to hire the right PR firm for your needs, and why identifying your needs is so important to firm selection
• Why leaders need to consider what story they are telling about their business—both for their customers and for their employees
• The importance of maintaining years-long business relationships by “not getting too comfortable” with long-term clients
• Recognizing every member of your staff, and being sure they are not growing bored, but are being positively challenged with interesting work

Insider Media Management is a public relations, digital marketing and advertising firm that has represented clients around the country in a wide variety of industries, including medical, technology, sports, entertainment, law, consumer goods, hospitality, and more. Hervis has worked with celebrity sports figures, chefs, CEOs, law firms, doctors and small business owners.

Hervis has received awards and recognition for his work from the West Virginia Associated Press, Mississippi Associated Press, Society of Professional Journalists, and National Academy of Arts & Sciences. In 2014, he was selected by Boca Life Magazine as one of the top 40 Under 40; Insider Media Management has been named one of the top public relations agencies in South Florida by the South Florida Business Journal.

Learn more about Hervis at InsiderMediaManagement.com, or call them at their headquarters in Boca Raton, Florida at (561) 995-6560.

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Ted says that “my resume looks like someone threw a grenade into a normal career.” Currently the Chief Marketing Officer of Meddle.it, Ted is a three-time CEO who has founded several businesses. Here, he describes how businesses and leadership styles need to adapt to what he calls a post-industrial economy, where social media and shared social intelligence have changed the balance of power for companies, employees, and consumers.

He also discusses:

• What companies should do when people trust individual employees far more than corporate messages
• How companies can work with employees on social media to create trust and interest
• What’s “unnatural” about a command-and-control leadership style
• Why working with volunteers is invaluable leadership experience, and why you should treat all of your employees like they are volunteers

Meddle.it is an enterprise SaaS firm specializing in content marketing through employee advocacy. Ted is the author of A World Gone Social: How Companies Must Adapt to Survive. He is also a Forbes Top 20 Social Media Power Influencer, an Inc. Top 100 Leadership Expert, and an Inc. Top 100 Speaker. He is currently working on a project about “The modern CEO,” and what it takes to lead a business in the post-industrial age.

Learn more about Ted Coiné via his Twitter @TedCoine.

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Orlando Bowen is a former professional athlete and television personality who motivates youth and corporate audiences with keynotes. Here, he shares his story of a traumatic 2004 episode in which he was seriously assaulted by two corrupt plain-clothes police officers; he describes how they planted drugs on him and charged him with assault. After being acquitted and settling a lawsuit against the Peel, Ontario police out of court, Bowen has dedicated his life to working with youth, helping them become future leaders. He is the founder and Executive Director of the One Voice One Team youth leadership organization.

Here, he discusses:

• The necessity of finding fulfilling work
• How “understanding who you are and what you stand for” will help you overcome challenges and move forward.
• Surrounding yourself with people who share the same values
• How your value system will help you make trajectory-including decisions at “moments of truth”—decisions that may affects your business, life, and relationships
• Handling “game breakers”—when you have to set your goals aside to handle unplanned-for situations

Orlando’s mission is to inspire people to be “Game Changers” in the lives of others. He created the SWOLE Leadership Development Program (Self-respect, Work hard, Overcome adversity, Lead by example, and Excellence). He was awarded the 2012 African Canadian Achievement Award, the 2013 Queen’s Diamond Jubilee Medal, and a national 2014 Harry Jerome Award for community service. He is also the 2015 president of the Toronto Chapter of the Canadian Association of Professional Speakers.

Learn more about Bowen at www.OrlandoBowen.com.

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Julie Ducharme is a speaker, consultant and author on leadership, business, and marketing. She is the CEO of JD Consulting LLC, CEO of Julie’s Party People, and president of Synergy Learning Institute. She is also a Professor and mentor for the Doctor of Business Administration (DBA) Program at Walden University. Here, Ducharme speaks about when and how to choose to strategically expand a business—whether by investing in new equipment, human capital, or by forming strategic partnerships.

She also discusses:

• When caution can become a liability, and when a calculated risk is the right move for a business
• The importance of understanding your market, and of understanding how social media can help you reach out to consumers
• Knowing when to spend money to make money, whether by investing in equipment, marketing or technological education.
• Understanding the power of networking and partnerships, and getting to know people in the industry who “might need you”—or who , in turn, you can send clients to for services you don’t offer
• Finding good mentors by immersing yourself in the industry

Ducharme started her career in college and professional sports; for the past 15 years, she has been working with corporations, colleges and universities around and outside of San Diego. She regularly consults for businesses and schools in various areas of business, public outreach, curriculum, program design and other topics in the business and academic arenas, and is published chapters in the bestselling The Refractive Thinker series.

Learn more about JD Consulting at www.jdconsultingsolutions.com or about Ducharme’s education programs at  www.synergylearninginstitute.org. Ducharme also has presences on LinkedIn (Julie Ducharme) and Twitter (@julieducharme).

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Salim Ismail is a speaker, strategist and entrepreneur based in Silicon Valley. He specializes in breakthrough technologies, and has spent the last six years building Singularity University as its founding Executive Director and current Global Ambassador. Here, he discusses how rapidly-changing technologies are changing both the face and the needs of a variety of industries and society in general, and how this rapid change can translate to opportunities for those who are able to adapt and move at a fast pace.

He also discusses:

• Why we’re experiencing another “Gutenberg” technology moment—or ten of such moments!—at the same time
• How our political, technical, legal, healthcare and education systems all need to be updated for today’s fast-moving technological world—and what Singularity is doing to address these changes
• Why we are experiencing “one of the most extraordinary opportunities in the history of business”, particularly for small and medium-sized businesses that can change and innovate quickly
• The challenge of communicating huge visions as a leader to people who may not be in the same headspace
• The value of “detoxing” periodically to get away from the psychological stress of starting and running a business

Prior to his work at Singularity, Ismail was a Vice President at Yahoo, where he built and ran Brickhouse, Yahoo’s internal incubator. His last company, Angstro, was sold to Google in 2010. He has founded or operated seven early-stage companies including PubSub Concepts, which laid some of the foundation for the real-time web.

Ismail has been featured in the New York Times, Bloomberg BusinessWeek, Fortune, Forbes, Wired, Vogue and the BBC. He advises Fortune 500 executives and many world governments on the future of technology and has recently released his first book, Exponential Organizations.

Learn more about Singularity University at SingularityU.org; Ismail’s book at ExponentialOrgs.com, or follow Ismail on Twitter (@SalimIsmail).

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After serving in the army and later becoming a registered nurse, Rick Martinez founded MedTrust, a staffing service that sends nurses and doctors to military hospitals nationwide, where they’re needed. Today, his focus is Project BINK, which helps people contemplate and act on what he calls “bink” moments—those moments when clarity and a level of awareness enters one’s life, as clear as the clink of a wine glass. Here, he speaks about giving such moments time and space, and understanding how to use them to move forward in life and/or business—toward “purpose-driven happiness.”

He also discusses:

• Assessing risk and responsibility before making major changes
• Understanding difficult situations as potential opportunities for a life change
• Maintaining a work-life balance, even when the same qualities that make you a good entrepreneur may cause challenges outside of the workplace
• Taking advantage of the value of mentors and community to entrepreneurs
• Making sure that thought and planning eventually lead to action

The San Antonio Business Journal named Rick one of its “40 Under 40,” and MedTrust was listed among the US Small Business Administration’s (SBA) Top 100 companies. In Martinez’s second company, Alamo CrossFit (a licensee of the global brand CrossFit, Inc.), he created a corporate culture to reflect his own ideals—gym clients became members of a “Tribe,” working together and motivating each other to achieve shared goals. His current focus is Project BINK.

Learn more at www.projectbink.com or at www.itsRickMartinez.com.

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Sales and sales management expert Jack Daly has built 6 companies into national organizations, two of which he subsequently sold to the Wall Street firms. Today, he delivers keynote and general session presentations on sales; he has also been a cited influencer for several prior guests on Smashing the Plateau. Here, he argues that having a proven system for sales and sales management in place is a “differentiator” for business success, and that companies need to consciously work to create a winning company culture, and prioritize quality and training over speed when growing their sales force and helping individual salespeople become more effective.

He also discusses:

• How sports teams—who never take the field without systems, processes, preparation, training, and practice—are more prepared for success than “most businesses in the world today.”
• The central importance of a playbook for success
• Why people and companies tend to underperform compared to their potential because they “run to the urgent at the expense of the important”
• The importance of executing simple, basic things that work—and executing them well. “Take a breath! Don’t be in such a hurry to go out into the marketplace. Figure out what works, and then build it in your processes.”
• The four necessary legs of a winning company culture, and how to begin implementing them: Recognition systems; communication systems; personal and professional development processes; and employee empowerment processes.

Daly is currently developing a companion book to his bestselling Hyper Sales Growth, titled The Sales Playbook for Hyper Sales Growth, which will provide more details on the systems and processes described in Hyper Sales Growth, along with timelines for putting them into play.

To learn more about Daly, visit JackDaly.net or call (888) 298-6868.

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Speaker, author, entrepreneur and financial expert Greg Crabtree has come a long way since he grew up on a chicken farm in Alabama. He is currently CEO of Crabtree, Rowe & Berger, PC, a CPA firm that helps entrepreneurs build the economic engine of their business; he also specializes in helping clients develop a business plan that includes a “purpose”—a sense of how they want to help their community or give back once the business becomes successful. Here, he discusses why all small business should have that plan and that purpose—and why purpose should not come at the expense of profitability.

Other topics include:

• The key untruths that too many small business owners tell themselves regarding pay and profitability
• Separating owner wealth vs. business profitability
• Why “profit plus purpose equals impact”
• The importance of knowing “what does healthy look like, and how to get there” for your business
• The problem of listening to “the noise” of the media and business anecdotes, rather than hard business numbers
• “The number one problem inhibitor to success in today’s market is effectiveness of marketing… Nine out of ten companies that we break down are not spending enough money on marketing”
• Why financial consultants needs to be more proactive about helping clients learn from the results of audits and other financial work

In addition to serving as the Crabtree, Rowe & Berger‘s CEO, Crabtree leads the business consulting team, which helps clients align their financial goals with their profit model and their core business values. In 2011, Greg published the book Simple Numbers, Straight Talk, Big Profits! He is a National Area Council Member of the Boys and Girls Clubs of America, and is involved in the ALS Association of Alabama and the Boys and Girls Clubs of North Alabama. He is a former board member of the Atlanta chapter of The Entrepreneurs’ Organization (EO).

Learn more about Crabtree’s work at SimpleNumbers.Me; Crabtree Rowe & Berger’s site is available at CRBCPA.net.

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Pandwe Gibson describes the focus of her work: “How do you create opportunities for economic development in low-income communities? Because that is the vehicle to having a happy, healthy, fulfilled life.” Gibson’s career has worked to answer this question—after founding a network of schools in Louisiana to create educational opportunities for students after Hurricane Katrina, she shifted into a more community-based direction, since stable communities and employed adults were also crucial for children’s development.

Currently, she is founder of Ecotech Visions, a Miami-based tech incubator currently helping 18 green manufacturing companies find the right people, make the right connections, and grow the needed leadership skills to develop into influential innovators and stable community employers. In this lively interview, she discusses her driving philosophies about manufacturing can (and should) help Americans achieve the American dream, and why the current business climate in America is not necessarily helping entrepreneurs or innovators grow those kinds of businesses.

She also discusses:

• Why the greatest opportunities for American manufacturing are located along the tech spectrum
• How America currently lacks an ecosystem of support to help innovators move up, and help tech innovation happen
• How EcoTech is helping young engineers, architect, and business majors come together to create new businesses
• Why so many successful small businesses find it difficult to grow into medium or large businesses
• The advantages of focusing on the assets of your community—who your consumer is, and what they need—rather than thinking in terms of “niches”
• How Michael Jordan and LeBron James can help us think about where we should look for technical innovation

Gibson has started, led and scaled three successful companies; she is currently Founder and Executive Director of EcoTech Visions. She holds a Bachelor of Arts from Scripps College, a Master of Arts in Teaching and Learning from Claremont Graduate University, a Master in Leadership from Harvard Graduate School, and a PhD from Claremont Graduate University.

Learn more about EcoTech at ecotechvisions.org, or through its social media pages on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram.

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After beginning her career as an attorney, Tania Yuki moved into digital entrepreneurship; she is currently the founder and CEO of Shareablee, which provides social content analytics for business. In this interview, she discusses the nature of that transition, and how important is it to recognize that the employee/entrepreneur dichotomy is not the only relevant division for people seeking out a career path: she suggests that people might also consider whether they prefer to seek variety (and risk) or whether they prefer stability.

In this wide-ranging discussion, she also discusses:

• The importance of clarity and transparency for leaders
• Why expanding businesses especially should go into the hiring process with a set of metrics, and know, in advance, what qualities they are searching for in potential employees
• The necessity of being “regimented” in how you take care of yourself: why sleep and fitness are required to maintain your mental clarity for decision-making
• Knowing what you can achieve in a given week, and how taking time to plan out your week can help you get there
• Using predictive analytics to “take the guesswork out of social media”, and making decisions based on available data about social media practices
• Why planning is invaluable even when—or especially when—unexpected events mean that they don’t work out: “You don’t plan because you want to create a rigid structure… but if you don’t plan, you’ll really have no chance at being able to succeed with anything that comes your way.”

As an attorney, Yuki specialized in digital rights management, IP and film financing; before founding Shareablee, she was head of acquisitions and branding and led product management for comScore’s Video Metrix, the world’s leading online video ratings service. She is also the founder of wimlink, an organization that holds regular events and seminars promoting entrepreneurship, leadership and the professional development of women.

Yuki was recently honored with a “Great Mind Award” from the Advertising Research Foundation, and featured in Fast Company and Forbes as one of the top 12 women driving digital in New York. She also received the 2014 L’Oréal Women in Digital “Next Generation Award.”

Learn more about Yuk and her business at Shareablee.com, or through Shareablee’s Facebook and Twitter pages.

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Drawing on over 25 years of experience as a consultant and coach, Brenda Williams has developed what she calls her “Self-Mastery System,” which focuses on leadership development and emotional intelligence. In this interview, she explains how relatively few people have a real self-awareness, noting that “Most of us think we are one way, but when you do a 360-self assessment”—soliciting feedback from friends, employees, or others—”you get different feedback.” She notes that people can learn to be more consciously aware of what they are conveying to other people—through their language, tone, and more, and that this awareness can help them become better employees and better leaders.

She also explains:

• How effective leaders can convey confidence, inspiration, and make employees feel appreciated and “part of a bigger journey”
• What happens when leaders are not aware of how they come across to their employees, which may lead to a lack of inspiration, or—even worse—hesitancy and fear to speak up
• The importance of inviting and encouraging new perspectives
• How to present ideas to leaders about creating change in a way that will be positive for the company as a whole
• How active listening and asking “clarifying questions” can help improve communication

Williams is a Board-Certified Coach who has provided consulting and coaching to individuals and businesses for over 25 years. She helps individuals and organizations make critical changes in their behavior, mindset and skills. Learn more about Williams at www.yourcoachingsolution.com.

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