STP013: The Advantage of Being Anonymous with David Zweig
David Zweig is convinced that today’s constant focus on self-promotion is killing productivity and creativity. In his book Invisibles (Penguin) and on this episode of “Smashing the Plateau,” Zweig discusses how staying in the shadows is an oft overlooked common denominator in the success strategies of many of the world’s most prominent people.
Topics include…
- How to get noticed without overtly seeking attention
- The real reason your marketing isn’t working for you
- The quiet power of listening
- What happens when you give people their space
- Pursuing collaboration, not competition
David Zweig is an author, lecturer, and musician. His most recent book Invisibles: The Power of Anonymous Work in an Age of Relentless Self-Promotion is an ode to the voiceless engines of progress in business and a guide for business owners looking to uncover the people who can most help them achieve success.
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STP012: How to Get Better Once You’re Already Good with Ruben Quinones
Ruben Quinones is unafraid to discuss the fears he’s had to conquer in his professional journey. In this episode, you’ll learn how to channel your own fears to continually add to your skill set so that you never become stagnant in pursuit of your goals.
Topics include…
- The power of facing your greatest fears
- What it really means to communicate effectively
- Why you must treat honest feedback as your best friend
- What advantageous professional relationships look like
- The competitive advantage of having a thick skin
New Media guru Ruben Quinones deals with the challenge of adapting to rapidly changing technology every day. He is the Digital Director at iFuelinteractive, Director New Media at Path Interactive, and the Creator of the Facebook Analytics dashboard Social Tofu.
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STP011: Why Risks Aren’t Reckless with Wesley Hein
Wesley Hein likes to talk about risk, whether it’s the risk of starting a new business, the risk of staying where you are, or the risk of sticking with your dream when everyone is telling you to abandon it. As the founder of Enigma Records (the label responsible for signing such musical artists as the Red Hot Chili Peppers, Motley Crue, and Devo) and early Silicon Valley pioneer, Wesley knows about risk better than most.
On this episode of “Smashing the Plateau,” Wesley discusses his views on unique perspective on risk and how you can use it to your advantage.
Topics include…
- What passion actually means
- Conquering the first step: pulling the trigger
- Why accepting the fear of failure is mandatory
- Finding success in unexpected places
- How to turn personal struggle into group triumph
Wesley Hein is the CEO of Master Channel (formerly Idea Den), a branding company that blends content, commerce, and community. Throughout his career, he has repeatedly found himself at the forefront of whatever new opportunity seemed the most exciting.
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STP010: The Power of Community in Business with Christina Lattimer
After years coaching influential business leaders, Christina Lattimer was finally inspired to bring them together in an online community where they could discuss their most challenging issues. What happened next went far beyond anything she ever dreamed of. On this episode of “Smashing the Plateau” Christina discusses her unusual transition from corporate employee to business owner, how she built her powerful online ecosystem, and the leadership strategies that have sustained her throughout it all.
Topics include…
- How to keep your cool when you’re feeling vulnerable
- The ins and outs of making important transitions
- What we can learn from bad managers
- Why staying consistent is so essential
- Growing your following from 300 members to 10,000
Christina Lattimer is the Founder of the e.MILE Community, a chattering hub of leaders looking to improve their ability to guide a team and execute. Christina specializes in leadership development, coaching, and consulting. She mentors managers and is an expert in human resources, as well as an accomplished leadership author.
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STP009: The Real Core Of Leadership with Joanne Rogovin
Are leaders supposed to be more or less emotional than their staff? Why should they take the rap for someone else’s error? On this week’s episode of “Smashing the Plateau” you’ll hear from leadership expert Joanne Rogovin, who gives us the details on what effective leadership looks like. Joanne is a titan in the exploding leadership coaching industry. She specializes in helping executives solve problems at the top that have the potential to fatally infect the entire organization if they go unchecked.
Topics include…
- Why leaders should be the ones to take the fall
- The importance of seeing change as nonlinear
- Why you should stop worrying about day-to-day issues
- How to build the right kind of relationships
- The role of emotions in leadership
Joanne Rogovin, Principal at Change Leadership Consultants, has more than 30 years of experience helping to mentor, mold, and empower leaders. She has worked alongside Change.org as a leadership coach in both the profit and non-profit sectors, providing guidance to people and giving them tools to communicate their visions.
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STP008: The Performance Of Business With Vivek Tiwary
Vivek Tiwary refers to illustrious manager Brian Epstein, the so-called “Fifth Beatle,” as his historical mentor. He uses Epstein’s tenure with the legendary rock band as a model for every aspect of his business, and the result has been a wave of successes. On “Smashing the Plateau” you’ll hear Vivek discuss the importance of choosing your own historical mentor, the real way to make sure you can do what you love and why you should constantly be saying, “Yes!”
Topics include…
- How to use challenges as sources of inspiration
- Why the key to being persistent may be closing your ears
- Learning from the past to work smarter today
- Why you should be multitasking right now
- How roadblocks are actually opportunities
A New York Times best-selling author, Tony Award-winning producer, and CEO and President of Tiwary Entertainment Group, Vivek Tiwary has carved out more than a niche for himself in the worlds of theater and business, and he succeeds tremendously in both. In addition to the award winning graphic novel and upcoming motion picture The Fifth Beatle, he has been behind such hits as The Producers, American Idiot, and A Raisin in the Sun starring Sean “P. Diddy” Combs, to name a few.
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STP007: The True Meaning of Business Values with Gary Ireland
In recent years, the term “business values” has lost a lot of its meaning, which makes running a business according to yours harder than ever. That’s where Gary Ireland comes in. An attorney by trade, Gary has made a career out of standing up for those who need protection the most. This episode focuses on how doing what you believe is right can be the surest road to profit.
Topics include…
- How to identify your own personal values
- Using your value system to grow your business
- The benefits of continual learning
- What we can learn from big failures
- The most common trait of all successful people
- How to create business relationships around personal interests
Gary Ireland is Principal at the Law Offices of Gary E. Ireland. There he works with executives in employment transition to resolve issues through alternative dispute resolution – mediation and negotiation – as well as through traditional litigation.
Be sure to review us on smashingtheplateau.com/itunes.
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STP006: Designing Success with Steven G.
Steven Gurowitz is a model of how to dominate an industry by doing the opposite of what’s usually done. Starting out as a self-described “New Yorker of humble beginnings,” Steven G. went on to found one of the biggest interior design firms in the country. No matter what field you’re in, this interview will reveal how far you have to go to thrive in a world where competition never lets up.
Topics include…
- The biggest decision in every small business owner’s career
- What it really takes to weather a financial downturn
- How to stay debt-free as you grow your business
- Why true customer service requires obsessivenes
- Finding the right systems to improve your creative output
- How non-techies can use technology to win
Steven G. is the Founder of Interiors by Steven G. With locations in both Miami and New York, the company is the biggest high end interior design in Florida and the recipient of numerous prestigious design awards.
Be sure to review us on smashingtheplateau.com/itunes.
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STP005: Trendspotting As the New PR with Richard Laermer
Richard Laermer built his career on the universal truth that all businesses need to get noticed. Lately, he’s had to deal with the reality that how to make that happen has completely changed. In this interview, we talk about why the old saying “there’s no such thing as bad publicity” has become obsolete and what’s taking its place.
Topics include…
- How to create attention for your business that won’t disappear
- How to identify trends before everyone else does
- Why print still matters in a digital world
- How to benefit from “phone karma”
- The importance of causing trouble
- Why you need to stay informed about things you don’t care about
Richard Laermer is the Founder and CEO of RLM Public Relations. He is the author of numerous best selling books including Punk Marketing and Full Frontal PR and has been published in the New York Times, Washington Post, Rolling Stone, People, and USA Today. Richard is a frequent guest on CNN, CNBC, Fox News, and NPR and was the host of the TV show Taking Care of Business on TLC.
Be sure to review us on smashingtheplateau.com/itunes.
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STP004: Two Kinds of Influence with Bill Bryan
Bill Bryan has had a whirlwind career in which he has been a psychologist, soldier, entrepreneur, consultant, and advocate for quality education. The one constant that has tied his many diverse ventures today has been the study of leadership. In this interview, Bill discusses the concept of leadership from a very different perspective.
Topics include…
- Why not all kinds of influence are the same
- How managing energy is different from managing resources
- Why the best leaders see themselves as destabilizers
- How to harness people’s desire for meaning to make things happen
- What changing your “lenses” can do for your career and life
- The power of resistance
Bill Bryan is the Vice President of Leadership and Organization Development with the Center for Secondary School Redesign, Inc. Bill began his career in the Army and has a PhD in clinical psychology from George Washington University. As a consultant, he worked with some of the world’s largest corporations, including AT&T, Hewlett-Packard, Johnson & Johnson, Anheuser-Busch, and Major League Baseball.
Be sure to review us on smashingtheplateau.com/itunes.
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STP003: Why People Choose Some Products Over Others with Carly Fink
Carly Fink has been fascinated with marketing since she analyzed why people favor certain brands of bottled water for a grade school project. Since then she has turned her obsession into a career that bridges advertising, research, and academia—all with the aim of getting to the bottom of the mystery of what causes people to buy.
In this interview, we talk about…
- How to turn flaws into benefits through skillful marketing
- Why more sales is not an acceptable business goal
- How people walk differently than they used to and why that matters to your business
- Irrational distinctions people make between similar products and services
- What market research really means and how to use it to your advantage
- Why Millennials may not necessarily be the best people to handle your social media
Carly Fink is an owner of the brand consultancy and market research firm Provoke Insights. Before starting her own business, she worked at JWT and Grey Advertising. Carly is also an Adjunct Professor of Advertising, Strategic Planning, Marketing, and Market Research at Baruch College MBA program.
Be sure to review us on smashingtheplateau.com/itunes.
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STP002: Redefining Partnership with Patty Soffer
Patty Soffer had a career that most people would have envied…until it came crashing down around her. In this interview, we talk about Patty’s quest to uncover the hidden causes of her company’s collapse, what she discovered, and how she ultimately built herself up even stronger.
Topics include…
- Why every business is a partnership no matter how it’s structured
- The most common reasons partnerships hit the skids
- Why profits always follow people, not the other way around
- The true meaning of accountability and why it matters
- Why business and personal always go together
- How to prevent partnership problems from sinking an otherwise healthy business
Patty Soffer started her career as a top fashion model and went on to found one of Florida’s largest and most successful ad agencies, Soffer Adkins. Today she is the bestselling author of Partnership or Partnersh*t: You Decide and founder of a Human Foundation, among many other ventures.
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STP001: How Building a Community is the Key to Innovation with Blaine Graboyes
Blaine Graboyes has lived at the crossroads of business, technology, and creativity for his entire career. In this interview, we talk about the main differences between ideas that turn into massive successes and those that stall.
Topics include…
- Why strong personal relationships hold the secret to reducing risk
- How so many businesspeople neglect the details of execution
- Best places to seek help for the most difficult problems
- Why unconventional education is better than business school
- Why it’s never too late to break traditional ways of thinking and connecting
- Avoiding the most common challenges of bringing on new people
- The benefits of getting rid of your smart phone
Blaine Graboyes is the CEO of GameCo. He has produced 4,000 digital and transmedia projects for clients such as Dreamworks, Mattel, Sony Pictures, Nickelodeon, DirecTV, and Warner Bros. Blaine has founded multiple successful startups and was a pioneer of DVD technology in its earliest days.
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