Leaders Of Tomorrow Podcast

Latest Episodes:

198 | Rebecca Friese | Creating a Workplace Culture That Doesn’t Suck Dec 07, 2020

Show notes

In today’s show, Chris interviews Rebecca Friese, Managing Partner, Flyn Consulting, and author of the recently-released The Good Culture: The Leader's Guide to Creating a Workplace That Doesn't Suck.

We start this show with Rebecca sharing her interesting backstory.

Born and raised in Illinois, Rebecca chose Penn State to complete her college education. She made the most of this experience, and in this segment, she talks a great deal about how extra-curricular activities can truly set you up for success.

After graduation, Rebecca worked as a consultant with Anderson Consulting and Accenture.

In this next segment of the show, Rachel regales listeners by sharing her experiences and then talks a great deal about workplace culture and some of the issues that are plaguing us today.

Reluctance to give and accept constructive feedback is one of the main things that we talk about in today’s show.

When organizations are singularly focused on revenues and profits, workplace culture issues are often relegated to the backseat.

After all, if the consulting dollars are flowing in, why would you rock your ship by pulling up your “star consultant”?

But, are we really protecting our employees but not having this conversation? On the contrary, Rachel shares why we are, in fact, doing them the biggest disservice.

The innate need for people to work with purpose, autonomy, and mastery is another important theme that we talk about today.

As humans, we have an innate need to grow, develop, and continuously better ourselves. Can you expect to retain a gifted and hard-working employee if the workplace is devoid of the above three factors?

On a positive note, we talk about how our empathetic side has been brought to the fore in the wake of COVID.

We are sure you will enjoy today’s animated discussion.

Enjoy!

What You Will Learn In This Show

How to give and receive constructive feedback
How covid has brought our empathetic side to the fore at the workplace
How happy, engaged, and connected people leads to a highly productive and effective work-force
And so much more…

Resources

Flyn Consulting

Fierce Conversations: Achieving Success at Work and in Life One Conversation at a Time

Radical Candor: Fully Revised & Updated Edition: Be a Kick-Ass Boss Without Losing Your Humanity

The Weekly Coaching Conversation (New Edition): A Business Fable About Taking Your Team’s Performance and Your Career to the Next Level

Student Works

Chris Thomson LinkedIn

Chris’s Email

197 | Marco Pimental | Growing Through Acquisitions: How I Leveraged Structures to Build an Enviable Portfolio of Disruptive Technology Companies Dec 03, 2020

Show notes

Looking for proven ways to scale up your business in these uncertain times?

In today’s show, we interview Marco Pimental who reveals how having internal systems in place can help you successfully acquire and manage businesses, even if they are vastly different in nature.

Growing up, Marco was curious and extremely enterprising. From working early mornings in a grocery store to running a car import business, Marco tried his hand at different ventures before he discovered Student Works.

Because of this student painting experience, early in his career, Marco realized that great structures and great relationships are the “secret sauce” that can skyrocket a business.

And, he poured his learnings into his new venture, GOYAdeal – a coupon service similar to Groupon. Though he did not make any significant gains when he exited this business after just thirteen whirlwind months, Marco considers this to be one of his best experiences ever.

In the year 2015, Marco ventured into the digital publishing space with Assembly, a business that was later amalgamed into Redbrick.

Discussing business strategy and growth in the last segment of the show, Marco shares how Redbrick has grown massively via the acquisition route over the past few years. Redbrick is the parent organization that owns Assembly, Shift, Rebase, and LeadPages.

You will learn what Redbrick looks for when evaluating a potential acquisition, and how they have been able to achieve operational synergies among their multiple businesses.

Enjoy!

What You Will Learn In This Show

How a Student Works experience can equip you with foundational skillsets and fast-track your career
Relying on internal structures for scale and growth
How to drive operational synergies withing different group companies
And so much more…

Resources

Redbrick

Student Works

Chris Thomson LinkedIn

Chris’s Email

196 | Nicky Billou | How to Massively Scale Up Your Business in Challenging Times Nov 30, 2020

Show notes

In today’s show, Chris interviews Nicky Billou, co-founder, The Million Dollar Clinic, and host, The Thought Leader Revolution Podcast.

We start this show with Nicky sharing his interesting backstory. Nicky was a great high school student but lost his focus somewhat when he entered university. However, hell-bent on doing well, Nicky surrounded himself with a great peer group – which pushed him to elevate his game.

Nicky ultimately ended up getting his Masters in business and international relations from Georgetown University.

After graduation, Nicky worked in the telecom and IT space for a while and did fairly well for himself. And then 9/11 happened.

JAWZ, his employer went belly up, and Nicky finally decided to say adieu to the corporate world and ventured out into fitness training.

The next segment of the show is particularly interesting as Nicky enthralls listeners with some great stories about how he managed to scale up his business.

Particularly, Nicky stresses a great deal on the importance of networking. As he rightly says, “Life is about putting yourself out there, and asking for what you want.”

Nicky’s networking skills and persistence paid off big time as he partnered up with Olympian Gold medallist Mark McKoy for Tranz4m, a revolutionary training system.

Nicky’s latest venture is The Million Dollar Clinic. With this new business, Nicky and his wife are helping clinics massively scale up their businesses in these challenging times.

Whether you are a new entrepreneur or an experienced one, you will certainly enjoy listening to this dynamic entrepreneur.

Tune in now!

What You Will Learn In This Show

The importance of networking and why it is critical to put yourself out there
How to pivot and thrive in challenging times
How can clinics massively scale up their business in the wake of covid
And so much more…

Resources

The Thought Leader Revolution Podcast

Finish Line Thinkingtm: How to Think and Win Like a Champion

The Thought Leader’s Journey

Cathy Capitalist & Johnny Jobmaker: The Video Game Company

Student Works

Chris Thomson LinkedIn

Chris’s Email

195 | Brett Bergmann | Lighting Up 140,000 Homes in Kenya Nov 26, 2020

Show notes

In today’s show, Chris interviews, Brett Bergmann, COO, Solar Panda.

Growing up, young Brett was totally confused by the myriad of options available in front of him. There were a whole bunch of ways he wanted to go, but he had little idea how to get there.

This is when the Student Works opportunity came knocking.

Running a painting business and managing a crew of people at a young age had a transformational impact on young Brett. Rather than looking at business through a dispassionate and practical lens, Brett realized that, at the end of the day, it was all about great people.

The important SUCCESS DRIVER in business was something so rudimentary yet often-ignored…a team of happy, productive people.

Other than learning these important, foundational skills, working at Student Works also helped Brett snag his first corporate job.

While working as a Students Painter, Brett took on a garage painting job for the CEO of McCain Foods. Impressed by his passion, collaborative approach, and leadership skills, he offered Brett his first job in corporate development at McCain.

Certainly, if you show up in a consistent and unique way, the opportunity will come knocking sooner or later…and when you least expect it.

After McCain Foods, Brett joined another iconic organization, General Mills as a marketing manager. Notably, Brett worked on some well-known brands like Nature’s Valley and Green Giant.

Lighting up 140,000 homes in Kenya

“I don’t have to worry about my kids coughing on kerosene fumes.”

Currently, Brett works as the COO of Solar Panda. Solar Panda sells solar kits in Africa – thus providing Kenyans with a much-needed and far healthier alternative to kerosene. Brett talks about their unique micro-financing structure which has made it possible to scale up their business in Africa.

In this segment of the show, Brett also talks about the different challenges of remotely managing their 198 people team in Kenya.

We also draw some interesting comparisons between working in start-ups and extremely large organizations.

If you thinking of switching over from a start-up to a large organization or vice-versa, this segment of the show will be particularly interesting to you!

Enjoy!

What You Will Learn In This Show

Working in a large organization vs. start-up – a comparison
How solar energy is proving to be an affordable solution for thousands in Africa
Why great people are the most important success driver for any business
And so much more…

Resources

Student Works

Chris Thomson LinkedIn

Chris’s Email

194 | President’s Call | The Power of Accountability, Integrity & a Clean Environment Nov 23, 2020

Show notes

Today’s show is a special one as we have some of our top operators joining us to discuss the power of accountability, integrity, and a clean and healthy environment.

Maddie, a student from the University of Western Ontario grew her first business by 300%. Adam just graduated from the program after doing well over a quarter-million dollars worth of business. And John, our top operator from the West Coast did $750,000 worth of business last year.

These are only some of the exceptional individuals who in their early twenties handled multiple crews and tens of clients while overcoming some of the biggest challenges.

The virus outbreak, disgruntled suppliers, angsty clients, demanding school schedules…our top Student Work operators have managed to put up a stellar show inspite of all this.

So, what is their “secret sauce”? The reason behind their incredible feat?

“What shows up in one area of life shows up in another area of life.”

In today’s show, some of our top operators share how being a part of the Student Work ecosphere allowed them to lean on proven structures – which eventually resulted in accountability and unflinching integrity.

Enjoy!

What You Will Learn In This Show

The power of accountability, integrity, and a clean and healthy environment.
How cultivating structures and good habits can help you
How a Student Works experience allows you to hone critical and foundational skillsets
And so much more...

Resources

Student Works

Chris Thomson LinkedIn

Chris’s Email

193 | Paul Flick | How I Created a Multi-Million Multi-Service Franchise Company Nov 19, 2020

Show notes

In today’s show, Chris interviews Paul Flick, CEO, 360 Degree Painting, and Premium Services Brand. 360 Degree Painting is a painting franchise company whereas Premium Services Brand offers multiple services in the home services space.

Paul worked with Student Works as a district manager and operator in the late 1980s.

In the first segment of the show, Paul recalls his life as a teenager. Like many of us, Paul struggled to define his life’s course. Additionally, he shares that his introverted nature prevented him from realizing his full potential.

Paul stayed with Student Works for two summers. During this time, he helped open up a new division in Michigan and Ohio. Listeners will learn how Paul’s Student Works stint helped him come out of his shell – and how he learned some important lessons in leadership and conflict management which created a strong foundation for his career.

After Student Works, Paul decided to go the corporate route as he took up a position in the sales and logistics department at Coca Cola, Ontario. Here, Paul draws some interesting parallels between Coca Cola and Student Works.

Specifically, at Coca Cola, Paul learned the importance of creating structures to manage a business. Contrary to the popular misconception, listeners will learn how rigid structures, in fact, allow you to work with greater freedom.

After four smooth years at Coca Cola, Paul finally decided to take the entrepreneurial plunge and moved base to the United States to kickstart 360 Degree Painting. 360 Degree Painting is a franchise painting operation with a business model somewhat similar to Student Works.

In this part of the show, Paul also talks a great deal about how he managed to keep his business afloat during the 2008 economic crisis, and he goes on to share some of the most important lessons that he learned from this brutal experience.

Listeners will also learn about the immense potential of the multi-billion-dollar home-services industry – that is to date, fragmented, and still dominated by mom and pop stores.

Other topics discussed today are the importance of investing in the right people and infrastructure, and what it takes to run a successful franchise operation.

Enjoy!

What You Will Learn In This Show

A “peek” into the home-services industry
How to survive massive economic downturns
How business structures allow you to work with greater freedom
How to run a successful franchise operation
And so much more…

Resources

Student Works

Chris Thomson LinkedIn

Chris’s Email

192 | Darius Mirshahzadeh | Encoding Organizational Core Values Nov 16, 2020

Show notes

In today’s show, Chris interviews Darius Mirshahzadeh, Former President, The Money Source Inc and host, The Greatness Machine. Darius, a core value evangelist shares his life story and reveals some of the most critical business lessons that he has learned from his successes and failures.

Growing up, Darius was extremely money-motivated. So much so that he considered dropping out of college so that he could enter the business world. At his parent’s prodding, Darius rushed through college and managed to graduate in just three years.

On graduation, Darius partnered up with his twin brother to form Twin Capital Mortgage in 2003. Twin Capital Mortgage was in the sub-prime lending business, and the Mirshahzadeh brothers managed to scale up the business ten-fold to 10-million by 2006.

On the face of it, while the business was immensely successful, Darius shares that they had a tough time managing this stupendous growth. The brothers were constantly in fire-fighting mode. And, things only worsened as their employee headcount touched 150 by 2006.

The sub-prime bubble burst in 2008.

And Darius lost everything he had earned and more. Employee headcount shrunk to just 10 and Darius was in consolidation mode for the next 5 years.

Here, Darius shares some of the biggest takeaways that he learned from this experience. Specifically, for someone like him who believes in doing business with utmost integrity,

Darius took all these learnings and poured them into his next organization, The Money Source. Listeners will learn how Darius managed to avoid the mistakes that he made the first time round and scale-up The Money Source to a 1000-person organization without any “growing pains”.

In this segment of the show, Darius shares a five-step process for coming up with rock-solid organizational core values. Listeners will learn how core values can become an organization’s ultimate decision-making tool and increase performance levels across the board.

Enjoy!

What You Will Learn In This Show

How core values can help you scale and grow your business to another level
A five-step process for coming up with aligned organizational core values
How core values can help you facilitate tough but necessary business decisions
And so much more…

Resources

Scaling Up

Student Works

Chris Thomson LinkedIn

Chris’s Email

191 | Corey Bullock | How to Add More Value and Enjoy Massive Professional Growth Nov 12, 2020

Show notes

In today’s show, Chris interviews Corey Bullock, Sale Enablement Specialist at Intuit.

Growing up, Corey was frustrated with his lack of clarity. While there are some of us who are absolutely certain about what they plan to do professionally, Corey wasn’t one of them. Rather, Corey chalked out this professional path through the rather painful process of elimination.

In the next segment of the show, Corey shares some of the biggest lessons he learned at Student Works. Particularly, he talks a great deal about building credibility and trust. A simple thing like punctuality can go a long way in making people realize that they can always depend on you.

Here, Chris and Corey also talk about the Four Referability Habits which are deeply ingrained in every Student Works graduate.

At Wilfrid Laurier, Corey got the opportunity to co-op at Solowave Design Inc. and then at American Express.

Corey’s stint at Solowave was somewhat of a bittersweet experience. While he learned a lot, first as a sales rep and later on as an eCommerce manager, he eventually realized that working in a commoditized industry could not help him realize his growth ambitions.

Corey made the conscious decision of switching over to the accounting software firm, Intuit, Inc. Listeners will get a peek into Corey’s work life. Topics discussed in this show include overcoming your resistance to change, and how a customer-centric approach can help sales professionals protect their livelihood inspite of more sophisticated automation.

Enjoy!

What You Will Learn In This Show

How to build professional credibility within your organization
How CRM’s can help drive business efficiencies
How can salespeople pivot, survive, and thrive inspite of automation
And so much more…

Resources

Student Works

Chris Thomson LinkedIn

Chris’s Email

190 | Gary Mottershead | Why Persistence is the Key to Entrepreneurial Success Nov 10, 2020

Show notes

Today’s show is a special one as Chris interviews Gary Mottershead, President, and Founder, GCP Industrial Products and Facilitator at Dan Sullivan’s Strategic coach.

Gary always had a big work engine. As a teenager, he ran a newspaper business and displayed ingenuity by making deliveries in a motorboat.

However, inspite of this, Gary did not take the entrepreneurial route from the get-go but worked with Dupont for 8 long years after graduation. Next, Gary went to work for his friend in the cleaning and chemical business which as he puts it was an “unmitigated disaster”.

His friend decided to sell the business, and Gary decided to take the entrepreneurial plunge in 1989 when the economy was going through a steep downturn. On top of it, Gary had just become a father and was also taking care of his terminally ill mother.

This new venture, Recovery Technologies Inc. was in the business of recycling tires. Gary had to deal with numerous challenges here as well, and he sold this business in 1998.

Success had still eluded him. But as Gary puts it, “You have to make a choice and then live with the consequences”. Certainly, if you can’t stomach all the ups and downs, you are not cut out for entrepreneurship.

Fast forward, twenty years later, GCP Industrial Products is leading from the front as they adopt new ways of doing business with Chinese suppliers.

Gary talks a great deal about his role as a facilitator at Dan Sullivan’s, Strategic Coach as well.

Topics discussed in today’s show include the importance of cultivating gratitude, how systems and processes build confidence, the importance of working smart instead of working hard, and much, much more…

Enjoy!

What You Will Learn In This Show

How persistence always pays off in the long run
Importance of systems and process for managing and scaling up a business
How to enhance your creativity and overall work efficiency
How to maintain momentum in the face of an unprecedented event
And so much more…

Resources

Student Works

Chris Thomson LinkedIn

Chris’s Email

189 | Evan Wailoo | What I Have Learned After Working For Some of the Biggest Names in the Technology Space For The Past Three Decades Nov 05, 2020

Show notes

In today’s show, Chris interviews Evan Wailoo. Currently, Evan works with Autodesk in their AEC department. Prior to this, he has worked with technology behemoths, Apple, and Microsoft.

Evan interned with Student Works nearly 30 years back. Evan shares that he was an average kid but extremely money-motivated. So, this drive helped him run a large and successful painting business inspite of the fact that he did not have a car and had to commute by bus.

In this segment of the show, listeners will learn how Student Works taught Evan how to deal with tough people and tough situations.

After Student Works, Evan made the conscious decisions of working with large, strong but extremely innovative brands. Here, Chris and Evan discuss why it is important to work in a growing industry as opposed to a commoditized industry.

Evan kickstarted his professional journey by taking up a job at Autodesk. He worked in their movie software division for six years before moving on to Apple.

In the next segment of the show, Evan delights listeners with some delightful anecdotes about the work culture at Apple. Evan joined Apple in 2010 when Steve Jobs was in the process of passing on the baton to Tim Cook. Evan makes an interesting comparison between the starkly different workstyles of these two business leaders.

After Apple, Evan joined Microsoft for another extremely rewarding stint. Here, he talks about Microsoft’s initial struggles when they made their initial foray into consumer hardware.

Currently, Evan is back at Autodesk. And this time, he is working in the AEC (Architecture, Engineering, Construction) division. In this segment of the show, Evan shares how COVID has given a big push to automation in the notoriously slow construction industry.

Other topics discussed in this show include the importance of a great work ethic for finding success in the professional world and the perks of working in a results economy.

Enjoy!

What You Will Learn In This Show

The perks of working in a results economy
How COVID has given a push to automation in the construction industry
How the work culture at Apple has improved after Tim Cook took over
Why you should always look to create value instead of working in a commoditized industry
And so much more…

Resources

Student Works

Chris Thomson LinkedIn

Chris’s Email

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