There's nothing like a gathering of good friends to lift you up and add perspective. Radio brought us together. Friendship has kept us together for 30 years. We used to see each other daily, hear each other's phone conversations, cheer each other on, console one another in the low moments. We've traveled together, traveled to see one another. We've weathered and championed moves, marriages, kids, career changes, business launches and challenges.

We don't see each other nearly enough now, but when we do, it's like a moment hasn't passed. New stories weave together effortlessly with memories.

Among us is about a 10-year age span. Some of us are having life experiences now that others had decades ago, and others are leading the charge of what's to come. We had dinner together the other night (missing our friend Paula Beadle). We all left corporate to pursue other things, and most of us are small business owners.

As the evening unfolded, I realized something powerful: while we all have ...

For 10 years, I was mildly obsessed with Bikram yoga. 90 minutes in a 105-degree room, no music, just staring at my sweaty switching poses at the instructor’s command. For some it sounds brutal, for me it was transformative.

It cleared my head. Built discipline. Healed my body. Calmed my nerves. Created community. And honestly? It also released a lot of body issues being forced to confront yourself in the mirror for that long.

Then I stopped. About seven years ago, right around when I started my business. I can't pinpoint exactly why or when—it just... faded away. I replaced it with walks outside (helped that we got Lyle, our rescue Westie), which are meditative and quite frankly doesn’t take as long, but it still strikes me as odd that something so rooted in my weekly schedule so simply disappeared.

This year it’s felt like I've struggled with consistency and discipline. I’ve been distracted more easily where I used to have good focus. Projects I could crank out in a day have langu...

An organic pest control salesman knocked on my door last week, working the neighborhood. I hadn't heard of his company, but he was engaging enough that I let him deliver his pitch. Having sold books door-to-door one college summer 30 years ago—and spending a lifetime in sales since—I had empathy for his situation and curiosity about his approach.

It didn't take long before I could predict exactly what he'd say next.

After he left (without a sale), I realized his techniques were nearly identical to what I'd learned three decades ago. Has nothing changed in sales training?

The Time Warp Problem

When I was recruited on campus with promises to "earn more money in a summer than you do in a year," I received a week of immersive sales training. Scripts, role-playing, door positioning techniques—all the methods I was witnessing with this young salesman.

This isn't about him personally. If I were hiring salespeople, I would have recruited him on the spot. This is about the outdated trainin...

Season 3, Episode 10

SUMMARY

Whether or not you want to admit it, you're in sales. It's not just a profession or title description. Anyone who introduces themselves, interacts with others, persuades and influences...is in sales. There is a lot of resistance and declaration of not wanting to "sound salesy" and it's high time you got over it because it often stands in the way of getting outcomes you say you want. Charlene DeCesare is here to help. Charlene is a Senior Consultant and Lead Facilitator for the research-based sales training company, The RAIN Group, and author of "The Email Cemetery: Where Bad Sales Emails Go to Die & How to Resuscitate Yours." Learn practical steps to improving communication and buy-in. This episode has at least one new takeaway for everyone regardless of how long you've been in sales or avoiding saying you sell.

LINKS

Charlene Ignites 

Wynning Your Way for Senior Leaders

TRANSCRIPT

Michael Kithcart: 0:03 

Hello, I'm Michael W Kithcart...

Season 3, Episode 9

SUMMARY

Nearly every professional has felt like a fraud at one time or another and the higher you advance in leadership and responsibility, the more likely moments of inadequacy or "being found out" occur.  While the drive to be confident in professional roles can have its benefits, it also tends to raise the likelihood of imposter syndrome emerging.  Jen Coken is a comedian, coach, speaker, and Imposter Syndrome expert. She transforms womxn executives and founders from being stuck and fearful of making the wrong decision, to owning their expertise, having confidence in the direction they’re headed, and the courage to be with the uncertainty.  She shares client examples of recognizing where their imposter syndrome initiated, how it became their superpower, and how they moved through the "fraud" to become more effective leaders.  Hear the different types of imposters and ways to flip your narrative to work more for you.

LINKS:

Jen Coken

Take th...

Season 3, Episode 7

SUMMARY: 

Nearly 1 in 3 people are perfectionists. While many carry it as a badge of honor, or use it as an explanation as to why they have not completed or started something, it really is a dream killer. Perfectionism creates unnecessary pressure, and amps up worry, fear, and doubt. It is one form of procrastination, something nearly all of us encounter at least occasionally, 20% of us chronically. It is possible, and I'd say necessary, to break free from perfectionism and create an identity that is more self-supportive. Elizabeth Onyeabor is a leading international expert on perfectionist leaders and high achievers. As the Founder of InnerGenuity and Habitual Happiness Hub, she coaches leaders ready to move forward with ease, be their best, and achieve unstoppable results. She shares the four main reasons why people procrastinate, 7 Practical Practices for Perfectionists that will help you start letting go of your perfectionist tendencies, and Elizabeth ...

Season 3, Episode 6

SUMMARY: 

As an independent journalist and two-time Emmy nominee, Georgia Fort is committed to providing visual stories about race and culture that build equity.  She's had plenty of material to work with right here in Minnesota.  She was one of two reporters in the courtroom for the sentencing of Derek Chauvin, the former officer who murdered George Floyd.  She's also covered the Kim Potter trial, and most recently Amir Locke, who was killed by police in a SWAT raid (happened on the day we recorded this podcast).   The murder of George Floyd once again raised the issue of responsible reporting and the need for change. It also shaped Georgia's purpose to help change the narrative in media to include different perspective from the perpetual white lens. Still truth. Different perspective. Perspective mainstream media has often failed to include in its storytelling.  Her reporting has been published on CNN, ABC, NBC, Fox and CBS affiliates. Georgia also started ...

When I was in college, I was a sports reporter. The big goal was to do play by play in the NFL and eventually own the New York Giants. I gained experience as the sports editor of the college newspaper, working on the sports desk for the city paper and covering sports for the local CBS station on the weekends. It was a football town and I was the only woman around at the press conferences, in the press boxes, on staff.

My presence interrupted the way things had always been. I was supported by some, tolerated at best by others, harassed by a few. Most days I didn’t let it get to me, but I did enter all situations with my game face on ready to battle, stand my ground, demand to be heard. It required showing up every single day without a roadmap and doing what seemed like the next best step. Action, fumble, adapt, repeat.

I didn’t wait for people to tell me I could do something or ask for permission. I showed up, wrote what I saw and focused on amplifying voices and talent that weren’t b...

Season 3, Episode 6

Summary:

Today's episode tells the story of two powerhouses in the world of writing who joined forces to elevate the words, stories, and writing of women. Chris Olsen is dedicated to amplifying women's voices through her social enterprise My Founder Story. Julie Burton is an author, co-host of Her Next Chapter podcast, and founder of Modernwell, the first female-centered co-working collaborative space in Minneapolis. The two share about their ventures and their new collaboration, Publish Her, a female-founded hybrid publishing company.

Links:

Buy the Book: Her Path Forward: 21 Stories of Transformation and Inspiration

Modernwell | My Founder Story | Her Next Chapter

Chris and Julie recommend: Still Writing | On Writing | Bird by Bird

Transcript:

Michael Kithcart: 0:01 

Hello, I'm Michael Kithcart, high-performance leadership coach and the creator of Winning Your Way. Welcome to the Champions of RISK podcast. A podcast that highlights ways to tread t...

I was working with a leader who was self-admittedly out of control. He was upset because the executive team was not making decisions he thought they should be making and in absence of doing so, he kept bringing up what he thought the solutions should be to them.

He so desperately wanted to control the outcome based on what he thought others should be doing or providing. It was stressing him out and it was starting to damage his reputation.

Once I redirected him to what was within his own control, he could identify direction he and his team could take. By releasing his desire to control executive decisions, he could focus on other ways to achieve his priorities.

Wanting to control outcomes is futile and stressful. It is fear-based and in an effort to reduce the anxiety, you attempt to take over. How’s that working for you?

Chances are you’re trying to control something in your life right now, an outcome, a person. As a result, it’s also likely weighing heavily on your mind, taking u...