The Remarkable Leadership Podcast

Have you ever had an experience where once you've shared an idea that was in your head with another person or group of people and as soon as this idea "out in the open", there are way more questions than you ever anticipated and suddenly your once-very-clear idea is a bit fuzzier than before? Yeah, me too. That's why in today's episode, I'm going to talk about the power in WRITING IT DOWN. And yes, I mean with an actual pen or pencil and paper.

Leadership is all about the Golden Rule. Treat others as you would want to be treated. Cameron Mitchell started his career washing dishes for beer money. He had an epiphany one crazy night and graduated from the Culinary Institute of America when he was 22 years old and has developed 18 different restaurant concepts, including Mitchell's Fish Market. Today Cameron Mitchell Restaurants remains independent and privately held recognizing over $300 million in combined annual revenue from its food service operations consisting of 60 restaurants. Cameron and Kevin discuss his new book, Yes the Answer! What is the Question?: How Faith In People and a Culture Of Hospitality Built A Modern American Restaurant Company. They delve into whether the customer is always right and how your culture and values are what hold folks accountable.

In this episode, I'm talking about a pervasive "B" word in our society that is getting in the way of our success and our results. And I'm building a case against this word and giving you five reasons why we need to banish it from our vocabulary.

One face to face conversation is more successful than 34 back and forth e-mails, yet we constantly on our "devices". Dan Scawbel is a New York Times bestselling author, partner, and research director at Future Workplace, and the and the founder of both Millennial Branding and WorkplaceTrends.com. His latest book is Back to Human: How Great Leaders Create Connection in the Age of Isolation. Dan and Kevin talk about how we need to use technology as a bridge to human interaction, not a barrier. People want to bring their full selves to the workplace and Dan explains how a more socially connected workforce saves money long-term.

Seth Godin wants to be ahead of the curve. He believes his role is to notice things and share so individuals can change the culture. Seth is a best-selling author, entrepreneur, blogger, and in the Marketing Hall of Fame. He joins Kevin to discuss marketing, leadership, and thoughts from his most recent book This is Marketing. He believes this is all about doing work that matters for people who care. We need the guts to state our goal and the generosity to share it. Regardless of where we are, we can speak up and make change happen.

In this insightful discussion, Dr. John Hillen, a leadership and strategy professor at George Mason University and co-author of 'What Happens Now?', delves into the necessity for leaders to continually evolve to meet organizational growth. He highlights the risks of leadership stalls and the need for self-awareness and adaptability. The conversation covers essential elements of effective leadership, such as vision and strategic thinking, while also addressing how personal passions like literature can enhance leadership skills. It's a call to reinvent oneself to avoid being outpaced by change.

I recently recorded a podcast with Seth Godin, a really smart and prolific blogger, and in our conversation, I asked him about the discipline it takes him to write a blog post every single day. Before answering my question, he re-framed it for me, saying that he didn't like to think of it in terms of discipline but rather intention. His words have had me thinking ever since. Intention versus Discipline – this is such an important distinction. So important that in today's episode, I am taking a deeper dive into this idea and giving you some quick tips and ideas to help you re-frame how you're distinguishing between the two and how you can decide to be more intentional.

A recent study showed that 2/3 of US workers are disengaged and that number is close to 80% worldwide. This may be, in part, because we are living in a ½ virtual and a ½ face-to-face world. Nick Morgan is a communication coach and author. Nick and Kevin talk about his most recent book, Can You Hear Me? How to connect with people in a virtual world. Body language is important for communication, so what happens when you are working with folks around the globe? Nick explains that communication is an emotional exchange and delves into why online connections are fragile.

Jeffrey Gitomer is the King of Sales and New York Times bestselling author. In his latest book, Truthful Living, Jeffrey compiled, edited and annotated the lectures of Napoleon Hill. He joins Kevin to talk about his access to original course notes and why he thinks Hill's lessons are more bankable today than they were 100 years ago. He shares Hill's foundational wisdom and challenges us to think about what we aren't doing.

In this episode, I am really practicing what I preach by being personally vulnerable and sharing some valuable lessons that leaders can learn when they open themselves up to others and are truly vulnerable.