The Culture Matters Podcast

“Excellence is never an accident.  It is always the result of high intention, sincere effort, and intelligent execution.” - AristotleCEO of K&L Industries and the Chairman of the Board of Top Contractor School Keith L. Callaway Jr. is on the show today and it has been a long time coming!  Jay and Keith are discussing how performing difficult tasks in your personal life will translate into your professional life and endear you to your team as a leader, the importance of having a good handle on your finances when starting up a business, and not being afraid to delegate to the people on your team who have the experience.  It is important for leaders and especially those at the very top to trust that they have the right people in the right places to handle things and while it takes time, it is a vital part of success.  We loved having Keith on the show so please enjoy this episode of The Culture Matters Podcast!

“As it takes 150 years for a Copper Beech Tree to mature, plant today, because there is no time to waste.” - James E. Hughes Jr.Our guest on the show today is an asphalt and pavement expert with over 30 years in the business and the owner of Laurel Asphalt John Rugg and he is here to drop some knowledge for our listeners!  John and Jay discuss John's journey from a starter on the University of Maryland (go Terps!) football team to an entrepreneur in the paving and asphalt space.  We're also discussing genuinely caring about your customers, paying attention to the little details and educating customers, and what it looks like when you bring one of your children into the business.  John has a great way of telling stories and we hope you enjoy listening to him as much as we enjoyed talking with him.

“I think that a life properly lived is just learn, learn, learn all the time.” - Charles MungerFounder of Big Think, advisor, consultant, and true mortgage professional Ruth Lee joins us of the podcast today to take us through her entrepreneurial journey.  Ruth talks with Jay about how her mother's own entrepreneurial journey gave her a perfect role model for a woman in that space, her strong faith in making sure her team were better when they left than when they arrived, and a little bit about how debate both at home and abroad gave Ruth a few more tools in her tool belt.  Ruth is a fascinating person with a wonderful story to tell, so we hope you enjoy this episode of The Culture Matters Podcast.

“He who would learn to fly one day, must first learn to stand and walk and run and climb and dance. One cannot fly into fly.”Scott Einbinder is a real estate professional with nearly two decades of experience in the game and we are going high energy in this episode!  Scott digs into his early life where his parents owned the first Century 21 franchise in New Jersey and how he was lucky enough to have two incredibly pioneers real estate professionals in his home to help him learn the ropes.  It wasn't all rainbow and sunshine as Scott reveals to Jay the mountains of rejection he faced early in his career and how he used that rejection as the world's finest learning tool, the future of the real estate business, and exactly what the Scott Einbinder Effect is.  The good energy gets flowing early in this one and it stays that way throughout, so get ready for some high octane real estate chat with a man who literally grew up around the business. 

“We are governed; our minds are molded, our taste formed, our ideas suggested largely by men we have never heard of.” - Edward BernaysFounder of Spartan Media and veteran of the United States Marine Corp. Jeremy Knauff joins us today and we've got a lot to unpack.  Jay and Jeremy discuss the inspiration behind Spartan Media coming from a very dark time in Jeremy's life, how being mentioned favorably in the media helps bring credibility to your business, and the power of positive feedback and how highlighting wins can help breathe new life into people who might need it.  Jeremy is a man whose life revolves around helping others realize the full potential of their businesses and that genuine desire to see others succeed really comes through in today's conversation. 

"Courage allows you to be honest." - Phil MancusoPhil Mancuso, "El Presidente" of EPM Wholesale himself, is back on the show and we are covering a lot!  Jay and Phil discuss the importance of honesty in the mortgage industry, passing the best familial traits down through the generations, and even a little history on the Mancuso clan!  Phil is a wonderful resource and human being and he has a lot of energy to match it, so try and keep up with this conversation with Phil Mancuso.

"A pessimist sees the difficulty in every opportunity.  An optimist sees the opportunity in every difficulty." - Sir Winston Churchill Connor LaRocque is a marketing expert, author, and the founder and CEO of SocialRise and he is back on the show today for another go around on The Culture Matters Podcast.  Jay and Connor are unpacking the kind of energy it takes to do what Connor does, the balancing act of running a business and being proactive in finding new opportunities, and the benefits of being as genuine as possible in your interactions with other, even if you've only just met.  We're always happy to have our favorite Canadian on the show and we hope you enjoy this conversation with Connor LaRocque.

"Praise is more obtrusive than a reproach." - Friedrich NietzscheLong-time friend and previous guest of the show and New Jersey real estate staple John Swartz makes his triumphant return to the podcast today and we are thrilled to have him back!  It should come as no surprise if you've heard John on the show before, but today we are talking about real estate!  More specifically, we are discussing the future of real estate, what the market is going to look like as we careen head long into the future, and even how John and his business are changing with the times and adapting to the technology.  It's always great to have John back and spreading his copious amounts of knowledge around in the real estate space, so we hope you enjoy this conversation.

"Anyone who keeps learning stays young." - Henry FordOn a very special and personal episode of The Culture Matters Podcast, Jay talks with good friend and frequent guest on the show Andrew Berman.  The discussion centers around how a mutual friend's health challenges inspired Jay to cut his hair in a show of solidarity and transitions into Jay's accident that could have potentially taken away the use of his arm for the rest of his life.  This is a deeply personal and revealing conversation and we hope that if you or someone you know is going through something right now that you can find some hope or inspiration to keep fighting the good fight.

"Think like a man of action.  Act like a man of thought." - Henri BergsonTransformative health and wellness expert and our favorite medical professional Dr. David Yerkes is back on the program today!  Our conversation today centers around what makes people tick.  Dr. David discusses his lifelong curiosity around why people do the things they do helped lead him to starting his own podcast, productive health behaviors, and why sleep is an incredibly important part of life, especially as we get older.  Dr. David is a wealth of knowledge concerning health and we are always happy to have him share what he knows with our audience!