Today’s guest empowers people who feel disconnected with the tools to start meaningful conversations and find their people. He creates tools and transformational experiences, so leaders and teams can feel heard, seen and valued, and create a culture of authenticity, trust and belonging.

He is the creator of ASK DEEP QUESTIONS, which started out as a deck of cards to help his friends connect on a camping trip, and is now being used to facilitate meaningful conversations through sharing personal and vulnerable stories on every continent around the globe.

His mission is to help people feel less alone. Through his workshops and programs he is fueling the movement for deeper human connection. His work has been featured on TEDx, CBC News, Breakfast TV, Cityline, and HuffPost. He is currently building a community of facilitators that design MAGICAL HUMAN MOMENTS online.

Please join me in welcoming Jan Keck.

In this episode we discuss:

• his thoughts on leadership: “Leadership is inspiring and encouraging others to learn new things and supporting them through that process.”
• how attending summer camp as a kid in Germany inspired him to want to lead.
• that good leadership is giving followers a good start.
  his time abroad in Australia for one year and how it shaped his life.
• his love for doing the uncomfortable thing in order to propel himself into his goals.
• the beginning of his “Ask Deep Questions” deck of cards.
• what “The Campfire Formula” is and the story behind it.
  his process of playtesting the cards and categorizing their depth and validity in the deck across different situations.
• his initial run of the cards and his Kickstarter campaign.
• his goal of creating a culture of being top of mind within your network.
• how he nurtures and sustains his network including the outer two layers that doesn’t necessarily add to your life and may actually be draining you.

Listen, subscribe and read show notes at www.OnTheSchmooze.com - episode 239.

Today’s guest believes everyone can use their voice to impact the world. She’s found that to be true for her own career as an award-winning international professional speaker and as a publisher who helps experts become authors.

She has written several books and compiled compelling stories for several additional books. These include “REAL TALK: What Other Experts Won't Tell You About How to Make Presentations That Sizzle,” “A Collective Breath: Stories of Being Black in America and Visions of Change,” and her newest book “Upward: Leadership Lessons for Women on the Rise.”

She has served as a faculty member for the Texas A&M University System, a Certified Advanced Facilitator and faculty trainer for the University of Phoenix, and a professional development consultant. She has presented for companies and organizations such as Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM), Vanguard Investments, and Kentucky Fried Chicken.

Please join me in welcoming Bridgett McGowen-Hawkins.

In this episode we discuss:

• her thoughts on leadership: “Leadership is the three H’s. Head, hands, and heart. Your followers know the objectives from your heads, have the tools you provided in their hands, and believe what is in your heart and are built up by your leadership.”
• her early childhood days of having her nose in a book, copying definitions from a dictionary, and thinking her peers were lame.
• her dream of being a news anchor and the passionate reason why that was her goal as a child.
• her beginning of teaching professionals how to teach and how that evolved into being a professional speaker.
• how publishing a book has helped to grow her network.
• how knowing what people need and being able to deliver that can create new opportunities.
• how she nurtures and sustains her network by pouring into others and sharing knowledge.

Today’s guest brings a wealth of first-hand knowledge to growing tech firms using more than 30 years of experience as an entrepreneur, business leader, and angel investor.

She played principal roles in pioneering several B2B technology firms. As co-founder of SpaceWorks, an eCommerce software company, she facilitated its startup and growth to nearly $25 million in revenue; at America Online, she designed the PR program and investor roadshow for the IPO; at United Press International, she facilitated a turn-around strategy; and for LEXIS/NEXIS, she was instrumental in the creation and successful launch of a new division.

Since founding Best Marketing LLC in 2001, she has consulted with more than 90 early-stage and growth-stage tech companies on their go-to-market strategies. In 2018, she was appointed Chair of the National Women's Business Council, a federal agency that advocates for female founders. She is immediate past Board Chair of the Dingman Center of Entrepreneurship at the University of Maryland.

Please join me in welcoming Liz Sara.

In this episode we discuss:

• her thoughts on leadership: “Leadership is about seizing an opportunity. It’s filling a need or solving a problem. A true leader has excitement about their idea, product, or solution.”
• her theory about 1st born children being predisposed to being leaders.
• how one book in the 80s changed the trajectory of her life.
• the realization that as entrepreneurs we never really plan the next step of our journey.
• her desire to be in new emerging markets and help people in those spaces excel.
• her advice for current college students and how they can take advantage of upcoming trends.
• how she nurtures and sustains her network by blocking time in her calendar every week to do outreach via email or the telephone.

Listen, subscribe and read show notes at www.OnTheSchmooze.com - episode 237.

Today’s guest is passionate about direct marketing.  He believes that marketing isn’t everything--it’s the only thing.

For 34 years, he has followed a specific set of direct marketing principles that helped him build Boardroom Inc. into an iconic publishing company. During that time, he was mentored by, and worked with, a who's who of marketing legends and he worked side-by-side with the most prolific copywriters who have ever lived.

That experience led to him founding Titans Marketing, a direct marketing educational and coaching company, where he passes on these timeless fundamentals to the next generation of great direct response marketers through masterminds and master classes.

He is the author of two books, the most recent being “Overdeliver: Build a Business for a Lifetime Playing the Long Game in Direct Response Marketing”.

Please join me in welcoming Brian Kurtz.

In this episode we discuss:

• his thoughts on leadership: “Leadership is walking around on the inside with your colleagues and on the outside with your customers to see and know where everything is.”
• how to get ideas from all areas of your organization.
• the 100-0 concept of how to add value to those around you.
• how important it is to be interested and not just interesting.
• his theory about direct marketing scaling everywhere regardless of the product being sold.
• how to create a living legacy by compounding interest in your current relationships.
• the importance of the words we use and how that can impact our business.
• how he nurtures and sustains his network.

Listen, subscribe and read show notes at www.OnTheSchmooze.com - episode 236.