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On the Schmooze

Welcome to On the Schmooze, a weekly podcast that features interviews with talented professionals who have achieved success in their field or industry. I ask probing questions to get them to share untold stories about their leadership journey and how they built and sustained their professional network. Put insights from me and my guests into action this week and you’ll benefit from for years to come. Podcast inspired by Dorie Clark, Guy Raz, Pat Flynn, Jonny Nastor, Dale Carnegie.
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Now displaying: May, 2017
May 29, 2017

Welcome back to On the Schmooze. Thank you so much for joining me. Last week I had the pleasure of interviewing Scott Stratten, this week you’ll be hearing from me, your host.

Every other week I’ll be offering my take on some aspect of networking and relationship-building. These shorter podcast episodes will include practical networking tips and techniques you can put into practice right away. My hope is those insights from me, and my guests will help you achieve the leadership position you’re seeking, build and sustain your professional network, and find the work/life balance that works best for you.

Today’s podcast features excerpts from my soon to be released book, “Croissants vs. Bagels: Strategic, Effective, and Inclusive Networking at Conferences.” The unusual title will make a lot more sense by the end of this episode.

If you have been listening to my podcast, you are clearly prioritizing networking and creating relationships that work for you and your career or business. That said, you probably also have some anxiety around doing all of this. For many, the idea of meeting with strangers ranks somewhere around the thrill of going to the dentist. They would rather skip all of this fuss and just put their head down and do their work. You may have felt the desire to avoid networking events altogether, but have come to accept that they are necessary.

You have been told that networking was important, that meeting people was critical for your success, that your business would grow if you made the right kinds of connections. Your experience has left you feeling exhausted just thinking about going back out to yet another networking event. I host this podcast, and I’m launching a book this summer, to help you stop wasting time networking and be more strategic, effective, and inclusive while building great relationships.

Networking can take place anywhere. Listen to the rest of this episode.

Listen, subscribe, and read show notes at www.OntheSchmooze.com - episode 46.

May 23, 2017

Today’s guest has been named one of the Top 5 Social Media Influencers in the world by Forbes.com. He earned that title by telling the truth about social media marketing, with his signature sardonic humor. Namely that companies are largely using it incorrectly and getting distracted by every big shiny object that comes along. In an era where everyone is clamoring to sell you their social media marketing kit, he has nothing to pitch from the stage – so there’s no holding back. The stories about how we get it wrong help us get it right.

He and his wife are an amazing team as co-owners of UnMarketing Inc and co-hosts of The UnPodcast. They are also co-authors of four best-selling business books, including their latest, “UnSelling: The New Customer Experience” which was named “Sales Book of the Year” by 1-800 CEO-READ. They also released the 3rd edition of their first bestseller, with a new subtitle “UnMarketing: Everything Has Changed and Nothing Is Different.” All this while caring for their five children, two dogs, and two cats.

Prior to running his own business, he was a music industry marketer, national sales manager, and professor at a business school. Now he is solely focused on speaking at events for companies across a wide spectrum from PepsiCo, Adobe, and Red Cross, to Cirque du Soleil, Saks 5th Avenue and Fidelity Investments.

Please join me in welcoming Scott Stratten.

In this episode we explore:

  • his thoughts on leadership “I don’t think leader is a self-given title. You only are a leader if people choose to follow you. Leading is a verb.”
  • lessons he learned after the recession shut down his successful viral video company
  • his “conscious decision to not go for endless growth.”
  • the necessity of self-awareness: “If we can’t identify where we’re the hole or the weak spot, we can’t improve it.”
  • the value of networking at events: “Nothing beats face to face. Virtual is not a substitute for face to face, it’s an addition or an enhancement.”

Stay tuned until the end of the episode to hear what I thought were the key takeaways you could put into practice this week and benefit from for years to come.

Listen, subscribe, and read show notes at www.OntheSchmooze.com - episode 45.

May 15, 2017

Welcome back to On the Schmooze. Thank you so much for joining me. Last week I had the pleasure of interviewing Mary Pilon, this week you’ll be hearing from me, your host.

Every other week I’ll be offering my take on some aspect of networking and relationship-building. These shorter podcast episodes will include practical networking tips and techniques you can put into practice right away. My hope is those insights from me, and my guests will help you achieve the leadership position you’re seeking, build and sustain your professional network, and find the work/life balance that works best for you.

This week, I'll be sharing tips to help you more effectively and inclusively network with people with disabilities. This is an excerpt from my soon to be released book “Croissants vs. Bagels: Strategic, Effective, and Inclusive Networking at Conferences.”

Creating a welcoming event is a multi-faceted endeavor and I would be remiss if I did not offer some guidance on how to communicate with a person with a disability. Unfortunately, the angst people have about networking gets amplified when given the opportunity to connect with those with disabilities. This may be true even if you have a disability yourself.

Some people choose to avoid engaging rather than do or say something wrong. Others make an awkward, hesitant effort, which is sometimes perceived as inconsiderate, and rather than making someone feel included may have the exact opposite effect.

The bottom line is to be respectful. Aside from that basic tenet, there are some things to keep in mind when communicating with someone who is differently-abled than you.

Listen, subscribe, and read show notes at www.OntheSchmooze.com - episode 44.

May 9, 2017

Today’s guest has covered a wide range of topics as a reporter for The Wall Street Journal and The New York Times. She chiefly covers sports, business, and politics, including both the Rio & London Olympics, doping coverage, features on legal and financial issues in sports, and the occasional video shot from a dog sled. Her work regularly appears in leading publications like the New Yorker, Esquire, and Bloomberg BusinessWeek.

Her work has received many honors and awards, including as part of The Wall Street Journal’s team that won Gerald Loeb and New York Press Club Awards in 2011 for covering the “Flash Crash” of 2010. She was included in Forbes magazine's first-ever 30 Under 30 list for media.

We met at a networking dinner hosted by Dorie Clark and I was fascinated to learn that she had written a New York Times bestseller about the history of the board game Monopoly. She really has a broad range of interests and experiences.

Please join me in welcoming Mary Pilon.

In this episode we explore:

  • how she defines leadership, “Leadership when you are in a creative field, you need to be a little bit more subversive and a little bit more out of the MBA box.”
  • the power journalists have, "Figuring out where do you want people's attention to be shifted."
  • why she thought she would have a greater impact as a journalist rather than a lawyer
  • what she does to stay relevant in an ever-changing industry
  • how she manages her time as a solopreneur, "Nobody tells you to take a vacation, no one tells you to take a break."

Stay tuned until the end of the episode to hear what I thought were the key takeaways you could put into practice this week and benefit from for years to come.

Listen, subscribe, and read show notes at www.OntheSchmooze.com - episode 43

May 1, 2017

Welcome back to On the Schmooze. Thank you so much for joining me. Last week I had the pleasure of interviewing Matt Schneider, this week you’ll be hearing from me, your host.

Every other week I’ll be offering my take on some aspect of networking and relationship-building. These shorter podcast episodes will include practical networking tips and techniques you can put into practice right away. My hope is those insights from me, and my guests will help you achieve the leadership position you’re seeking, build and sustain your professional network, and find the work/life balance that works best for you.

This week, I'll be sharing the details of a study that explains why networking makes us feel dirty.

Are you resisting networking because you feel like it’s dirty business? Well, you are not alone. A study published in 2014 found that networking with the goal of career advancement made people feel icky. The study, co-authored by professors from Harvard Business School, University of Toronto, and Northwestern University, used one experiment to conclude that this kind of transactional networking for professional gain made people subconsciously rank cleaning products higher than other household or office products. In another experiment participants who thought about this kind of professional networking answered fill-in the blank words with words associated with bathing, while those thinking about personal networking to build friendships did not.

What leads to this feeling of being dirty? We are our harshest critics, so if we cannot justify our networking behavior and feel we are using others without offering anything in return, we may question our moral purity and that makes us feel dirty.

All networking is not created equally.

 

Listen, subscribe, and read show notes at www.OntheSchmooze.com - episode 42.

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