Corporate Competitor Podcast

Ep. 60: Baseball shaped this highly competitive and goal-oriented executive. Adi Ignatius is a leader who comes to play—whether the “play” involves slow-pitch softball or transforming the country’s oldest and most influential academic business journal. His success includes writing for the Wall Street Journal, receiving a nomination for the Pulitzer Prize, writing for the Far Eastern Economic Review, Time Asia, and Time Magazine, where he became Executive Editor and Deputy Managing Editor before stepping down from Time to take the top job at HBR in 2009. At HBR he was challenged with leading the transformation of a venerable and beloved business journal into a leading-edge digital platform. That he achieved this and kept the Review’s fiercely loyal readership engaged testifies to the inventiveness and flexibility of Adi’s mind. In this episode, he shares stories and observations about the relationship between baseball and business. These include the batter whose appearance made him see business in a whole new light and the three key ingredients that keep winning teams winning together.   Visit https://donyaeger.com/corporate-competitor-podcast/episode-60/ for a free gift and today’s show notes!

Ep. 59: University of Florida Crew shaped this technology leader. John O’Shea’s career at Tech Data started in 1994 when he was hired from a temp agency. Flying up the ranks as swiftly as one of those sculls plying the waters of a crystal clear lake—“I was averaging a new job every six or eight months!”—he rose to the position of President of Global Business Units at TD Synnex. He has developed a distinctive leadership style that CEO Rich Hume called strong and informed. You will learn: Two things effective leaders always do when handing out a compliment Two essential conditions winning teams must-have for effective debate The conversation every great leader has with a high-performing employee The single quality is shared by the most dynamic and resilient teams. Visit https://donyaeger.com/corporate-competitor-podcast/episode-59/ for a free gift and today’s show notes!

Ep. 58: Bobsled & softball shaped this competitor and mother.  When Elana Meyers Taylor finally steps out of the bobsled for the last time, maybe after the 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing, she will be able to look back at a trail-blazing career in which she became the first woman to earn a spot on the U.S. National Team competing alongside men as a four-man bobsled pilot. In this episode you will learn: How to trade “obligations” for “opportunities” Why she thinks respect is the glue that binds successful teams The myth of the single-sport advantage to elite athletes Why business leaders should be like “multi-sport” athletes The power of role models to open new possibilities for others.  Visit https://donyaeger.com/corporate-competitor-podcast/episode-58/ for a free gift and today’s show notes!

Ep. 57: Georgia Tech football shaped this business icon. In 1971 Bert Thornton went to work at Waffle House flipping eggs and four decades later retired as the President and COO. His best leadership advice? Give out your cell phone number, because “when the trainees have access to the COO, communication improves among managers.” Each of the 11 million bowls of Bert’s Chili served annually is named for Thornton, who came up with the recipe when Waffle House moved into Texas in the 1980s.

Ep. 56: Baseball shaped this great leader who has served as the president of Baptist Hospital and founded his own businesses serving his two passions: healthcare excellence and strong communities. Many have read his books on leadership and business operations. Studer co-owns the Pensacola Blue Wahoos minor league baseball team with golf great Bubba Watson. The little-known team grabbed headlines in 2020 after the COVID pandemic shut down normal operations when they turned the stadium into a giant Airbnb. The creative venture brought in revenue to the team provided a much-needed source of entertainment during the pandemic and earned international publicity. Do you want your internal team to come up with genius ideas? Listen for six practices you can try to help your team hit it out of the park.   YOU WILL LEARN: 3:00   Baseball’s impact on Quint’s life. 13:00  How to bookend feedback with support. 20:00  The six do’s and don’ts for optimizing creativity and problem-solving on your team 29:00  How to turn down somebody’s idea without turning down the person. 32:00  How to replace a culture of “no” with a culture of “yes.” 33:30  When to credit your team with a great idea (even if you had it first). 35:00  Why perfectionism “kills” innovation. 37:00  Bubba Watson’s partnership with Quint and the Blue Wahoo baseball team. For a free gift and to subscribe to the show visit https://donyaeger.com/corporate-competitor-podcast/episode-56/

Ep. 55: NFL special edition with guest host John C. Maxwell to discuss the benefits of having a system your whole team buys into. “I used to say the job of a leader is to set the standard and demand all live up to that,” said three-time national championship coach Urban Meyer. “I’ve come to believe the job of a leader is to earn your team’s trust. And then you set a standard while equipping and inspiring them so they can achieve the standard.”  Meyer’s system for building a deep bench will help any business leader build strong teams in their organizations. Here you will learn about: baking leadership development into your core values respecting the accomplishments of your predecessors  replacing fear with trust and even love as the key motivator, and keeping your team “above the line” when confronting adversity and other threats.  Check out more episodes of Corporate Competitor Podcast and John Maxwell’s Leadership Podcast!

Ep. 54: Harvard Hockey shaped this business icon. Angela took her joy of sport and turned it into a high-profile career. She played longer than any other man or woman in a USA Hockey jersey and was only the fourth woman inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame! After she hung up her skates, she continued her studies at Harvard Business School and served on the International Olympic Committee. She was fascinated by the business of sports which led her to co-found Sports Innovation Lab, a data-driven market research firm that serves major companies throughout the world.  In this episode, she offers several experience-tested ways for "controlling the controllables" to ensure you and your team never leave the "field of play" without having given 100 percent. I have my notepad ready. I hope you do, too. Visit https://donyaeger.com/corporate-competitor-podcast/episode-54/ for a free gift and today’s show notes!

Ep. 53: Track and Field shaped this incredible leader. Before joining RE/MAX – one of the largest publicly traded real estate companies in the world with 135,000 agents operating in 110 countries— Adam Contos ran a SWAT team, working for a local Sheriff’s Office. He describes the job as “kicking in doors, blowing things up, and saving people.” In this episode, Adam shares that while his current professional life is completely different, his approach to leading high-performance teams remains the same. His goal is to break down barriers, blow up conventional thinking, and help as many people as possible achieve success. How do you scale your organization in a way that values the people who are building it? You will find out here. I have my notepad ready. I hope you do, too! Listen here or on Apple, Spotify, and IHeartRatdio. You will learn: (5:00) How to distinguish what you can control. (6:00) How to lead from the front. (12:30) How to use success as a stepping stone. (16:30) How to prioritize people over processes. (18:30) How to recruit people to FIT your culture. (24:00) The difference between a Super Bowl team and a Pro Bowl team in business. Resources: Connect with Adam on LinkedIn  Check out Adam’s podcast ‘Start With A Win’

Ep. 51: As an equestrian in her native Australia, Kristy Ingram had to learn how to make the transition from managing horses to managing people when her competitive days ended.  Her 15 years of consulting experience includes managing Ernst & Young’s sponsorship of the Rio Olympics and developing their Women’s Athlete Business Network. Today she is EY’s Global Leader of Athlete Programs where she helps talent-hungry managers tap into a leadership pipeline that most overlook… retired athletes.  A big part of that process involves language and, specifically, the “descriptors” used to describe who we are—our identity. Many of us, not just athletes, will have to reinvent ourselves professionally from time to time. This conversation will prove to be a valuable tool in your toolkit. Visit https://donyaeger.com/corporate-competitor-podcast/episode-52/ for a free gift and today’s show notes!

Ep. 51: Pittsburgh Basketball and 10 years in the NBA shaped this entrepreneur. Charles Smith played with the Los Angeles Clippers, New York Knicks, and San Antonio Spurs. During that window, he was often asked to assume new roles, sometimes mid-season. The one skill he worked on constantly was shot blocking, and still today he ranks in the NBA’s top one percent of all-time shot blockers. After retiring, he participated in the Executive Entrepreneurs program at Stanford University and has recently partnered with Fierce Inc., a global leadership development and training company whose client roster includes Apple, Coca Cola, and HBO. One of Fierce’s critical areas of focus involves helping teams communicate better. “There’s an old saying in sport,” Charles said, “The game tape or practice tape doesn’t lie. If you fall down, it’s there for all to see. Businesses don’t have tape like sports teams do, but they do have measurables.” And if the tape doesn’t get you, observed the 10-year NBA player, a good teammate will. Listeners to this podcast will enjoy Charles’ no-nonsense insights forged in the heat of world-class competition. Visit https://donyaeger.com/corporate-competitor-podcast/episode-51/ for a free gift and today’s show notes!