Today’s guest has a mission for helping solopreneur experts do what they love and get paid what they’re worth.

He is a recognized authority on entrepreneurship and leadership development, having served as a CEO, COO, and CFO in the not-for-profit sector as well as a project manager in the private sector.

As the host of the business podcast Smashing the Plateau, he’s released over 400 episodes that offer a wealth of personal experiences and practical advice about achieving business breakthroughs.

He is the Co-Founder of the BestNetwork, which guides expertise-driven solopreneur business owners to save time and make more money.

Please join me in welcoming David Shriner-Cahn.

In this episode we discuss:

• his thoughts on leadership: “Leadership means communicating ideas that spur other people to take action. It’s about inspiring others and it’s not about authority or command.”
• how he has taken on leadership roles, especially as a volunteer, for a lot of his life.
• how he launched his business in 2006 and then started business networking in 2007 and what he has learned from that.
• some of his strengths and how he learned to decipher his strengths.
• his networking habits including conferences, in-person get-togethers, and collaborating with other entrepreneurs to connect people.
• his BestNetwork membership network.

Listen, subscribe and read show notes at www.OnTheSchmooze.com - episode 143

Today’s guest unleashes human potential through mindfulness techniques. Known as the C-Suite Network Advisor on Mindfulness in the Workplace, she helps stressed-out leaders find and sustain greater focus, clarity, and inner peace, resulting in a more grounded and powerful presence and enhanced profits.

She began her career in the world of nonprofits and volunteer leadership, teaching thousands of association staff and volunteers how to reboot for success. Today, she takes the best of her strategic vision expertise, blends it with mindful leadership practices and her event background to curate experiential events that change hearts, minds, and companies.

She is the author of several books, her latest “Everyday Mindfulness: From Chaos to Calm in a Crazy Work” was an Amazon top new release in 2018. She has received numerous awards and is the producer and host of the Everyday Mindfulness Show.

Please join me in welcoming Holly Duckworth.

In this episode we discuss:

• her thoughts on leadership: “Leadership is the combination of skills, characteristics, and abilities that fit into the idea of the position. It’s important to understand that everyone is a leader because everything we do begins with leading ourselves first.”
• how leadership came naturally to her but how she didn’t consider herself a leader until other people pointed it out to her.
• her journey from being a meteorology major to mindfulness coaching.
• how she works for organizations to help them develop a practice around being present in the moment and mindful.
• the seven components to being a mindful leader and how to implement them.
• the specific mantra that she says every day to help manifest her desires into her life.

 Listen, subscribe and read show notes at www.OnTheSchmooze.com - episode 142

Today’s guest is made up of one part creativity, one part context, one part connections, and a sprinkle of playfulness. She is the founder and idea culturist behind sajory, an innovation consultancy that nurtures organization behavior and helps businesses transition its culture into a fertile space for innovation.

Some of her past accomplishments include designing a city-wide leadership program for Toronto’s youth and creating a multi-faceted storytelling project in Montreal called My Arabic Story. After her master’s degree in creativity, innovation, and change leadership from SUNY Buffalo in New York, she experimented with different methods to run innovation facilitation programs in government agencies in the United Arab Emirates.

She is a TEDx and keynote speaker, and a curator of the subscription box IMAGINESS by sajory – monthly inspiration to imagine happiness at work.

Please join me in welcoming Randah Taher.

In this episode we discuss:

• her thoughts on leadership: “Leadership is not a static thing. Sometimes people are following you, sometimes they are following a concept, and sometimes you are leading yourself.”
• the transformation she experienced going from a curious and rebellious-against-norms child into an adventurous and courageous adult.
• the four different methods she uses in business: creative problem solving, cognitive, strategic planning, and biomimicry.
• how networking, including connections and follow up created an amazing leadership opportunity for her.
• how design thinking and creativity got her a position teaching architecture without having architect experience. She read books by day and taught by night.
• her theme of being willing to take risks and reach out to people, and the amazing journey it has taken her on.

Listen, subscribe and read show notes at www.OnTheSchmooze.com - episode 141

Today’s guest is passionate about helping employees, managers, and business owners move their business and personal life to the next level through word of mouth referrals.

He has experienced the same challenges that most employees and business owners face. He used his failures to craft a message as a speaker that resonates with his audiences and leaves them with actionable steps to improve their business.

He is the author of “MORE…Word of Mouth Referrals, Lifelong Customers & Raving Fans” and host of the small business podcast Square Peg Round Hole.

Please join me in welcoming Matt Ward.

In this episode we discuss:

• his thoughts on leadership: “You need to develop your skills enough for other people to see you as a leader. My analogy is that you can’t push a rope, you can only pull it.”
• how owning his own company taught him he was a leader.
• his combination of networking and bootstrapping that has brought him significant success.
• how he believes results come from building true, meaningful, and deep relationships with others.
• his tools for networking, including using LinkedIn to set up “catch-up calls” and his old school handwritten notes “20-20-20” method.
• his high-five effect idea and his goal for giving 1,000 high-five’s in 2019.

Listen, subscribe and read show notes at www.OnTheSchmooze.com - episode 140

Today’s guest is a business thought leader who is known as “the woman with the titanium digital Rolodex.”

In her more than 30 years of experience as an entrepreneur and corporate leader, she has served as the CEO of both public and private companies and in management positions at Fortune 500 companies.

She has been profiled in Inc., Forbes, Venture Beat, Huffington Post, and Bloomberg Businessweek as a sterling example of the new breed of “super connectors” who use their experience and networks to accelerate growth and enhance profitability.

She is the author of “Crack the Funding Code: How Investors Think and What They Need to Hear to Fund Your Startup” and “How to Be a Power Connector: the 5-50-150 Rule,” which was #1 of The Top Ten Business Books of 2014 by Inc.com.

Please join me in welcoming Judy Robinett.

In this episode we discuss:

• her thoughts on leadership: “Leaders are the visionary people who are empathetic. They build a team by caring about their people and getting that group to execute a vision together.”
• how leadership experiences in graduate school taught her how to be an empathetic leader.
• her journey from being a shy and bullied kid to being a powerful connector and strong leader.
• how she learned the importance of talking to strangers and where purposeful conversations have taken her.
• her 5+50+100 rule for networking and making connections.
• the three golden questions she follows to help crowd surf through other people’s networks to find help when needed.

Listen, subscribe and read show notes at www.OnTheSchmooze.com - episode 139