Crucial Talks Podcast

Latest Episodes:

Crucial Talks Episode 45 Marques Ogden 3 Steps to Transformation and 3 Steps to Trust Aug 19, 2018

Show notes

Mike Sedam interviews Marques Ogden about self-transformation and trust on Episode 45 of the Crucial Talks Podcast.

Marques Ogden is a former NFL football player and author that speaks and consults about leadership and transformation. His book can be found on Amazon: https://amzn.to/2Bor3xB

What is so great about Marques is that he is relatable. His story of overcoming hardships relates to all of us. He has been through hard times. He has lost an important loved one. He has had to build his business from the ground up.

Marques gives us three steps to transformation:

1. Identify your inner circle.

2. Set a clear vision.

3. Take action.

He explains this to us with a great story about his spilled milk moment where he decided to transform himself...and he did.

Marques also talks about trust and the three things a leader should do to build trust:

1. Competency.

2. Reliability.

3. Selflessness.

Reach Marques at: www.marquesogden.com for speaking and consulting.

Thanks for listening to the Crucial Talks Podcast. Please visit www.crucialtalks.com.

Crucial Talks Episode 44: Melissa Agnes on being Crisis Ready and Brand Invincibility Aug 12, 2018

Show notes

Host: Mike Sedam

Guest: Melissa Agnes

On Episode 44 of The Crucial Talks Podcast, we talk to Melissa Agnes on her book, Crisis Ready. Check here for her book on Amazon: https://amzn.to/2BreWjo

Melissa is awesome and talks to us about how our organization can build the capacity to deal with a crisis in a way that we can come out on the other side with increased trust and credibility.

This is more than being able to manage crisis, it's about being ready for crisis in a way that helps the day-to-day activities of the organization.

Melissa talks to us about why we need to put people first, the importance of communication, and how the lenses we wear to view our organization, the people in it, and the issues we deal with can impact our decisions.

Melissa can be reached at www.melissaagnes.com.

If you would like to contact Mike Sedam, please visit www.crucialtalks.com.

Crucial Talks Episode 43 Esther Weinberg on the Dignity Zone: Trust, Respect, and Safety in Life and the Workplace Aug 05, 2018

Show notes

In this episode, Mike Sedam interviews Esther Weinberg.

Esther Weinberg is a leader in redefining organizational culture. She has also written a leadership book called Become a Successful Leader: 57 Simple Strategies Any Leader Can Implement TODAY!. It can be found on Amazon: https://amzn.to/2LoLNtE

In this episode, she talks about the role of dignity in workplaces and in our own lives.

Esther is the founder of MindLight Group, www.mindlightgroup.com where she helps organizations understand and implement the Dignity Zone which consists of trust, respect, and safety.

Operating in the dignity zone helps engage, retain, and recruit employees.

What I absolutely love about Esther's approach is the focus on positive relationships and mentoring. Too many executives, managers, supervisors, team members, and consultants look for problems to solve. With Esther's approach, they can focus on the positive and plant seeds to grow organizational culture that is positive and creative.

To be creative people need to feel trust, respect, and safety in their workplace.

Esther goes in with the mindset that she is helping to BUILD CAPACITY. Building capacity is a major focus of the Crucial Talks Podcast because building capacity lets us look at strengths and where we want to be in the future.

Esther discusses mentoring, workplace bullying, and self-improvement. She does it from a positive lens and with a focus on building capacity.

If you would like more information about this episode or any other, please contact me.

I can also be reached to speak to your organization, consult, or just have a conversation with you. Please feel free to contact me at: www.crucialtalks.com.

-Mike Sedam

Crucial Talks Episode 42 Joe Romm on Social Storytelling and How to go Viral and Reach Millions Jul 29, 2018

Show notes

Mike Sedam talks to Joe Romm, the author of How to Go Viral and Reach Millions. Joe's book can be found on Amazon: https://amzn.to/2CjFlRR

Joe earned a degree in Physics from MIT. As a physicist, he saw that scientists were not very good at communicating. He studied why some communication works better than others and how messages between people could go viral.

He gives five rules to follow that will increase the chance of a message going viral:

1. Tell a story

2. Use figures of speech

3. Trigger one of the three activating emotions

4. Be memorable

5. Test messaging

He also gives a simple trick, proven by great storytellers like Jesus, Oprah Winfrey, and Donald Trump, so that we increase our ability to tell stories which increases our chance of going viral.

Joseph Romm can be reached at www.rhetoric.com.

For more information, please visit www.crucialtalks.com and reach out to me via email, LinkedIn, Facebook, or Twitter.

I am available to speak to your organization and also for consulting.

Crucial Talks Episode 41 Maja Kazazic Positive Perspective and Relationships Jul 22, 2018

Show notes

In this episode, Mike Sedam is humbled to interview Maja Kazazic.

Maja Kazazic grew up in war-torn Bosnia. She lost her leg and many friends during an explosion. Maja then moved to the United States where she not only learned to walk again, but learned to run again. She also started a successful technology company and now takes the lessons she has learned throughout her life to help the rest of us.

Maja is the epitome of what is discussed on the Crucial Talks Podcast... having a positive view and what this can do for your future. She also explains the importance of community and of having strong relationships.

As Maja says, "It is easy to stay positive when your life is going well." "What is really difficult is to stay positive during a time of crisis."

The key is perspective. "It's your perspective that makes the situation."

We all go through hard times and have to deal with challenges. In this episode, we get to see how challenges can be reformed into opportunities.

We also get to see how relationships are essential to success.

Maja tells us how we can reprogram ourselves to start seeing things in a more positive way and this positive view helps us overcome difficult times in our lives.

If you would like to get in touch with Maja, please visit her at:

www.majakazazic.com

or at www.majaspeaks.com.

To contact me for any speaking opportunity or to reach out to say hello, please visit www.crucialtalks.com

Crucial Talks Episode 40 Steve Sims on Imperfection is our Perfection - Trust, Relationships, and Positive Mindset Jul 15, 2018

Show notes

Imagine your list of getting things done. Have you been able to send people to see the Titanic, or figured out a way for clients to sing with their favorite band? How about closing down a famous museum for dinner in front of a famous sculpture while a world-renowned singer serenades the dinner party?

Steve Sims has done all that. However, important to us are the tips he can give us on a positive mindset, relationships, and trust.

Learn about his belief that business is personal.

Learn about being your "ugly self" and authenticity.

Hear all about the "chug test" and what this means to finding the right team members, allies, and clients.

Listen to Steve talk about the fact that there is no greater return on investment than investing in relationships.

Steve Sims is the founder of thebluefish.com, a luxury concierge service and is the author of Bluefishing, a book about success, relationships, and making things happen. Steve's book can be found on Amazon: https://amzn.to/2Gm0GhH

Please visit www.stevedsims.com to see more about Steve and his book Bluefishing.

Crucial Talks Episode 39 Appreciative Inquiry - People Positive: Lightbulbs and Lifeblood of Organizations Jul 08, 2018

Show notes

Appreciative Inquiry pursues changes to human systems with a focus on strengths. It is ultimately a method that takes a positive view of making change by focusing on people.

People are ultimately the greatest resource of any organization.

In this episode, we get to talk about the search for the lifeblood of our organizations, of the systems we are all a part of. This strength-based search can lead to motivating, positive places to work, live, and play. It gets us out of a deficit-view of our systems where we only see problems to solve and leads us into a positive view where we see innovation and possibility.

Would you rather have an organization that is thought of as a problem to be solved or would you rather have an organization that builds its capacity to fulfill its "why?"

Edison's development of the lightbulb, his connection to Henry Ford and Henry Ford hiring a consultant named Frederick Winslow Taylor leads us to understand why people have been treated as parts of a machine. We then get to see why a set of principles that looks at people as the seeds of strength that can be planted in our companies and communities can be a beneficial and positive way to build capacities in our systems.

Please subscribe and rate the podcast. I would love to continue to build our community of people interested in having a positive impact on others and themselves.

Also, please visit www.crucialtalks.com and connect with me. I am willing to talk with you one-on-one and would love to speak to your organization.

Crucial Talks Episode 38 Name, Blame, & Shame Game - Intergroup Relationships Jul 01, 2018

Show notes

How we interact with others can have either a negative or positive impact on how we can get things done.

If we see others as out-group members that we do not share a common goal with, it can cause us to behave differently toward them. The same things apply to how people treat us. In this episode, I explain what happened to me in a meeting.

When the meeting started I thought I was there to work with others in my organization to solve a problem. I was ready to take responsibility for a pretty large mistake. During the meeting, things shift to where the others in the room began to name me and blame me for the mistake. It even went to shaming me. At that point, I actually felt my entire thought process change. I transition from part of a shared group to an out-group member.

In this episode, we get to talk about how this can impact individuals, groups, and entire organizations. We discuss the second pillar of the Crucial Talks Podcast, and that is group relationships.

If you would like further information, please visit www.crucialtalks.com. I would love to connect with you or speak to your organization.

Crucial Talks Episode 37 Self-Transformation - Four Step Process in Heartbreak Ridge and October Sky Jun 24, 2018

Show notes

Self-Transformation happens throughout our lives. We transform by adopting new roles and assigning behaviors to those roles. As the roles become more important to us, the behaviors we exhibit become more aligned with the roles we have adopted. We have done this since we were kids and continue to do it our entire lives. By understanding the process we have always used to change, we can make a conscious effort to transform who we are and what we want to become.

There are four steps to this change process:

First, people define themselves as a member of a distinct group.

Second, They learn the behaviors the correlate with that new role.

Third, they assign these behaviors to themselves.

Fourth, the behavior becomes more normal as the role they have adopted becomes more important to them.

We get to see examples from two different movies, Heartbreak Ridge and October Sky.

We not only see how this process works, but also get a hint on how to influence others and how we can bring people closer together so that they can work together.

For more information or to have me speak at your organization, please visit www.crucialtalks.com and contact me.

Crucial Talks Episode 36 People, Purpose, and Potential with Jeffrey Davidson Jun 17, 2018

Show notes

People are a company's biggest resource. Having the right people doing the right work maximizes potential. Jeffrey Davidson talks to us about people, about how teams are built, and what team members need to succeed.

One of the first things a leader needs to do is ask "What did I do well? What can I build upon? Where could I have done better?" This shows a vulnerability and builds a pattern of feedback that can:

1. Set an example and

2. Allow teams to learn

"As humans, we are social beings." We need to be able to learn to get better. We need to create chances to learn and build learning cultures.

Having trust and openness lets everyone learn from each other. Trust is one of the most important parts of a great team, not just their experience, age, or education.

"Everyone wakes up, looks in the mirror, and wants to do a good job today." They might make mistakes, but their intentions are good. If we can direct their intentions, we can get great results.

The secret to great teams is... Communication!

Communicate:

1. What's the meaning?

2. How do we design success?

Filter decisions and actions through those two things.

No matter what role you play, a shared goal can help people because it allows people to work toward success using their strengths. People will be able to ask themselves if what they are working on is in alignment with their greater goal.

We can also help our teams by providing feedback more regularly and personally with empathy. "Understand them and give them regular input."

There are seven questions people want to know in teams:

1. What's the purpose?

2. How do we know we're working on the right stuff?

3. When can we declare success?

4. How do we get stuff done? What are our tools and processes?

5. How do we work together?

6. How am I doing?

7. Is it real?

For more information from Jeffrey, please visit: www.greatteamsltd.com

He also has more information just for podcast listeners: www.greatteamsltd.com/more

To contact me with any questions, to have me speak to your organization, or for consulting opportunities, please feel free to reach out through www.crucialtalks.com

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