On the Brink with Andi Simon

Latest Episodes:

267: Veronica Sagastume—How Do You Switch From A Success in Business To A Successful Business Builder? May 17, 2021

Show notes

Hear how to turn your big idea into a profitable business!

Veronica Sagastume was a wonderful woman to interview. She represents all that we love about women who can take an idea and turn it into a great innovation and a successful business. In our podcast, Veronica helps you think about yourself, what you are doing, and how you can convert your big idea into a bold new venture. What is also of great interest to us is how someone can see opportunities and turn them into realities. This is never easy. Sometimes, however, you need a good role model, and Veronica will tell you about hers. She knew quite quickly that she liked the rough and tumble world of business and could play with everyone, from bosses to investors to clients and suppliers. Listen to how she did it and how you can too. Enjoy.

Watch and listen to our conversation here

About Veronica Sagastume

Veronica has built a thriving consulting and coaching business and was excited to share her journey with me. An ex-corporate CFO, she describes how she turned her passion into a great business by helping accounting, bookkeeping and tax business owners create content to increase their visibility on social media and grow their business online. Specializing in helping clients develop strong content marketing strategies to attract and connect with customers, Veronica says that her primary goal is to increase their online visibility, impact and bottom line. Want to know more? Check out her website and podcast or email her at veronica@fortifiedaccounting.com. You can also connect with her on LinkedIn, Facebook and Twitter.

Ready to take your big and run with it? Here are some important tips:

Additional resources for you

My best-selling new book: "Rethink: Smashing The Myths of Women in Business"
My award-winning first book: "On the Brink: A Fresh Lens to Take Your Business to New Heights"
Simon Associates Management Consultants website

266: Alain Guillot—How Do Immigrants Adapt To New Lives In Foreign Places? May 10, 2021

Show notes

Learn how to see your way forward to your best future!

I met Alain Guillot when he interviewed me for his podcast and I was totally intrigued by his story. As an anthropologist who studied immigrants who relocated from Greece to New York, I remain endlessly fascinated by the ability of people to completely change their lives to thrive in a foreign environment. Alain and I spoke at length about what he himself did to thrive, and how he eventually became a full-time blogger and podcaster. But it was never easy or completely evident that his calling was to become a story merchant, as he calls himself. Listen in and be moved!

Watch and listen to our conversation here

"We all have the tools to achieve greatness, all we need is more self-confidence." -Alain Guillot

Alain immigrated to Canada from a poor country in South America. As he tells it, he had to work as a janitor, a busboy and a food server to afford school. His first job as an insurance salesperson was short-lived (he was never much of a salesperson) and after that, he became a dance school owner, a day trader, an Airbnb host, an Uber driver, a photographer, and now a blogger and podcaster.

On his podcast, Alain interviews experts, authors and speakers in the personal finance and personal development arena. As he tells it: "I want to extract the techniques of successful people and share those techniques with you."

During our On The Brink podcast, we spent our time together talking about his life journey and wondering how it might help you realize how to get off the brink and find a way to "soar" yourself. John Seely Brown famously said, "The way forward is all around you, if only you can see it." Can you see your way forward?

About Alain Guillot

Based in Montreal, Canada, Alain is a full-time blogger, podcaster, and YouTuber. He writes and hosts podcasts about personal finance, entrepreneurship and personal development. To connect with Alain, find him on LinkedIn, Twitter or his website or email him at g_invest_now@yahoo.com.

Learn what makes so many business people successful and effective

Additional resources for you

My best-selling new book: "Rethink: Smashing The Myths of Women in Business"
My award-winning first book: "On the Brink: A Fresh Lens to Take Your Business to New Heights"
Simon Associates Management Consultants website

265: Cass McCrory—You Have A Great Personal Brand To Live Right Now May 03, 2021

Show notes

Hear how to use social media to create a winning personal brand!

Cass McCrory and I had one of those long, luscious conversations about what matters to each of us, and both of us, which is helping women become the best that they can be. Cass's podcast, Real Women in Business, is focused on connecting women with the inspiring stories of other women who, like them, are building great lives in business. Yet what she has found is that many of these women are unhappy. In research we did for our new program, Rethink Your Journey With Andi Simon, we found the same: 66% of the women surveyed were dissatisfied with their lives but not sure how to change them. From Cass's perspective, the process is not that complicated. Listen in to hear her thoughts about how you can positively change the direction of your life!

Watch and hear our conversation here

Cass's podcast is for women seeking to be inspired by women like themselves

Cass asks her podcast guests the following questions:

How do you lead a full life while leading in business? Does it feel good?
How did you get here?
What do you want to do next?
What have you learned along the way?

She also helps women create their own personal brands. An expert in LinkedIn marketing, she advises clients on how to use social media for personal and professional success and exposure.

About Cass McCrory

Cass strongly believes that having a personal brand is crucial for both you and your organization. It not only enables you to connect professionally, it positions you for your next step (inside or beyond your existing company), establishing your expertise and current availability to the network you're growing.

With more than a dozen years' experience in marketing, business strategy and project management, Cass has gone from working for large enterprises to a small super trendy agency to founding her own business, Capra Strategy. You can connect with Cass through LinkedIn, her website Capra Strategy and her Real Women in Business podcast.

Ready to capitalize on the power of social media to create your brand? Start here

Additional resources for you

My best-selling new book: "Rethink: Smashing The Myths of Women in Business"
My award-winning first book: "On the Brink: A Fresh Lens to Take Your Business to New Heights"
Simon Associates Management Consultants website

264: Mia Hewett—Isn't it Time to Ditch Your Negative Thoughts and "Soar?" Apr 26, 2021

Show notes

Hear how to cast off your baggage and live your dreams!

This was an interesting interview with Mia Hewett. Every interview is interesting. But some of them take us in places that are unexpected. Mia's was particularly unexpected. She has a new book out called "Meant For More: Stop Secretly Struggling and Become a Force to Be Reckoned With." It's an incredible story of a woman's journey of discovery and awakening. Mia is very concerned about helping people, women in particular, create their own reality...really looking in the mirror and seeing who they are. Not listening to old stories or destructive myths. Reminds me of my book, "Rethi nk: Smashing The Myths of Women in Business." Don't wait, take a listen!

Watch our conversation here

Create your own reality by accessing your own power, shifting your self-image and letting go of the misconceptions and misunderstandings

A wonderful purpose that Mia and I share is taking what we've learned and using it to help others so they can become the best that they can be. That involves focusing on how we live our story, how we take our dreams and turn them into a reality. But, our story often includes stumbling blocks, making us prisoners in own minds. The good news is that we can collaborate with our mind and change that story to live lives that are happy and fullfilled.

Here's what you'll learn from our podcast:

The truth about having weaknesses (and why they don't determine your success)
How to create unshakable self-esteem with the 3 Human Thrivers
How you HAVE experienced trauma, even if you never had a near-death experience or were not physically abused (and how it's affecting your reality in a huge way)
Why problems don't really exist (and the two reasons you still struggle)
The biggest misconception you have about the current version of yourself

About Mia Hewett

Two of Mia's sayings that I really love are: "No one should ever feel that their dreams are out of reach" and "Life is Too Short Not to Reach Your Potential." So how does she apply these to her own mission in life? By helping others no longer be stopped by fear; to be free of overthinking, anxiety and exhaustion; to be the leader you were born to be; and to live the life you are meant for so you can succeed in business and in life. She helps us heal the emotional side of ourselves so we can get unstuck and move forward in life. You can connect with Mia through LinkedIn and her website.

Feel it is time to let go of what is holding you back? Here's a place to start

Additional resources for you

My best-selling new book: "Rethink: Smashing The Myths of Women in Business"
My award-winning first book: "On the Brink: A Fresh Lens to Take Your Business to New Heights"
Simon Associates Management Consultants website

263: Alain Hunkins—The Top Ten Ways To Crack The Leadership Code Apr 19, 2021

Show notes

Learn how you can become a more dynamic, effective leader

Alain Hunkins is the author of a new book, "Cracking the Leadership Code: Three Secrets to Building Strong Leaders," which offers a very impactful way to develop leaders. As you know, I direct two leadership academies for two clients. And what I've learned over the years is that leaders need to lead to the right places and followers need to know what work they need to do to get there. As you'll hear in our podcast, it's not that easy. Alain and I talk about recognizing the bad habits inherited from previous generations of leaders and why "old-school" leaders flounder in the "new-school" world. Please listen, learn and share.

Watch and hear our conversation here

Are people hungry for a new type of leader in the unrest associated with the pandemic?

What type? Do they even know? Typically, the culture of an organization is very comfortable keeping its employees in the world that they have always known. Leaders in those types of organizations have honed their skills over the years so that on the surface, their style seems to work.

Then a crisis hits, or new leadership arrives, or major clients leave. What happens? Everything, including leadership, has to shift. But to what? Listen to our conversation and start thinking about your leadership style and those around you with a different perspective, a fresh lens. As I always say, it is time to make change your friend.

About Alain Hunkins

A sought-after keynote speaker, lecturer, facilitator and coach, Alain Hunkins is a leadership expert who connects the science of high performance with the performing art of leadership. Leaders trust him to help unlock their potential and expand their influence, leading to superior results, increased engagement, higher levels of retention, and greater organizational and personal satisfaction. He has a gift for translating complex concepts from psychology, neuroscience and organizational behavior into simple, practical tools that can be applied on the job.

Over the course of his 20+ year career, Alain has worked with tens of thousands of leaders in over 25 countries, and served clients in all industries, including 42 Fortune 100 companies. He delivers dynamic keynotes, seminars, and workshops covering a variety of leadership topics including communication, teambuilding, conflict management, peak performance, motivation and change.

As well as his new book, "Cracking the Leadership Code: Three Secrets to Building Strong Leaders," Alain has authored over 400 articles, has been published in numerous business publications, and is a certified co-leader for ManKind Project International, a non-profit whose mission is to help men lead lives of service to their families, communities, and workplaces. He is currently based in Northampton, MA with his wife and two children.

You can contact Alain through LinkedIn, his website and his blog, or email him at alain@alainhunkins.com.

Ready to learn how to be a better leader

Additional resources for you

My best-selling new book: "Rethink: Smashing The Myths of Women in Business"
My award-winning first book: "On the Brink: A Fresh Lens to Take Your Business to New Heights"
Simon Associates Management Consultants website

262: Babette Ballinger—How Does A Woman Tackle The Fashion Industry? Head On Apr 12, 2021

Show notes

Hear how one woman made her mark in an industry of men.

Babette Ballinger holds a special place in our hearts, and in my new book, "Rethink: Smashing the Myths of Women in Business." As a fashion designer and owner of her own apparel sales firm, Babette had to constantly re-invent herself, learn how to run a business, and deal with the challenges of sustaining successful partnerships with men. Working with almost every major retailer in the country as well as many smaller ones, she quickly developed the ability to compromise and navigate complicated and diverse rules and regulations. When I think of trailblazing women who opened the door for so many others, I think of Babette. Listen in!

You can watch our interview here

The fascinating life of Babette Ballinger

Babette Ballinger grew up in Memphis, TN and graduated from Washington University in St. Louis (as did my husband Andy) with a BFA. After moving to New York City where she had a great time but did not find fame and fortune, she moved to Los Angeles and became a successful fashion designer and merchandiser in the heyday of color-coordinated pant suits and nylon printed shirts. Returning to New York, she founded and ran her own garment manufacturing company for more than 25 years. As she will tell you, critical to her success was understanding production, deadlines and cost effectiveness, as she had to design, produce and sell her entire product.

She married her husband, Raymond Ballinger, in 1982 and they raised two sons and a daughter. Together, she and Raymond founded and ran The Rhinebeck Summer Theatre.

Now living in Bloomington, Indiana, Babette is continuing her participation in theatre and art. She is a member of the Bloomington Water Color Society and a founding member of Upland Plein-Aire Group and IPAPA. She also currently serves on the Bloomington Art Commission.

A woman of many talents and interests, Babette mentors individuals in business through Bloomington SCORE, has published a memoir of the Ballinger family called "Earthbound," and has just completed a memoire. She is also an amateur genealogist and has helped friends find their biological families.

You can connect with Babette on LinkedIn or email her at aknita@aol.com.

A few more stories of barrier-breaking women achieving great things

Additional resources for you

My best-selling new book: "Rethink: Smashing The Myths of Women in Business"
My award-winning first book: "On the Brink: A Fresh Lens to Take Your Business to New Heights"
Simon Associates Management Consultants website

261: Edie Fraser—How to Create a More Equitable World for Women in Business, Together? Apr 05, 2021

Show notes

Hear how women leaders are finally coming into their own

There are times when very special people come into our lives. If you believe in serendipity, as I do, you realize that they are here for a purpose. We often are not sure what that purpose is, but there is something almost magical in meeting them, working with them, and just having them enter your orbit. Edie did a lovely review of my new book, Rethink: Smashing the Myths of Women in Business, and from there our friendship grew. Now, Women Business Collaborative is working with Rethink and Catalyzing the Future to host a global virtual summit on May 13, 2021 called Catalyzing the Future: Rethinking Women's Leadership in Business. You can register here.

You can watch our interview here

We are stronger and go farther together

Edie Fraser was introduced to me by a client/colleague/friend, Lynne Born. Edie, Lynne and others had realized that momentum moving women forward was coming slowly, almost at a snail's pace. All of the organizations centered around women's advances in business were well-intended and hard-working, but were often competing with each other for position and progress.

Instead, Edie decided that what was needed was to combine all of these great organizations into one collaboration where together, they could turn momentum into a movement that would propel women into C-suites, into boardrooms, into pay equity and gender equality, and enable women entrepreneurs to gain a fair share of the VC capital.

Listen to our conversation about how Edie's life was a journey on its way to catapult herself and others into this new movement.

But also listen to how working together, recognizing the achievements of each of these organizations and each other, can propel change in business, and in society, in ways that none of us can do on our own.

About Edie Fraser

Currently CEO of Women Business Collaborative whose mission is to accelerate equal position, pay and power for all businesswomen, Edie previously spent 14 years as Managing Director of Diversified Search and Founder and CEO of STEMconnector® and Million Women Mentors®. She also founded and served as CEO of Public Affairs Group working with 250 Fortune companies, advancing best practice programs focused on women and diversity leadership.

A consummate entrepreneur, Edie has built three companies and launched several movements. In addition, she has received 56 major leadership awards, including the Mosaic Woman Award and Lifetime Achievement Award from Diversity Woman Magazine. She has served on numerous boards, including the national board of SCORE, and has been inducted into the Enterprising Women Hall of Fame. She also was the first woman to serve as Chairman of the World Affairs Council of DC.

Edie is the author of several books, including Do Your Giving While You Are Living and Risk to Riches: Women and Entrepreneurship in America.

You can connect with Edie on LinkedIn or Twitter or email her at Edie@WBCollaborative.org

Learn more about what women can accomplish when working together

Additional resources for you

My best-selling new book: "Rethink: Smashing The Myths of Women in Business"
My award-winning first book: "On the Brink: A Fresh Lens to Take Your Business to New Heights"
Simon Associates Management Consultants website

260: Bruce Eckfeldt—How Can You Really Scale Your Business to Succeed? Mar 29, 2021

Show notes

Need to grow your business, fast? Hear how!

Bruce Eckfeldt roams in the same territories that I do, but his background and experience are rather different. He was an architect until he realized that learning how to be an architect is very different from being one. So he skipped over into business and never looked back. In our conversation today, we dig deep into what he learned as a CEO in an Inc. 500 company, building his own company, and then selling it and pivoting to redesign his career. Now he helps others "soar." Do you have a business you want to grow? Listen in!

Watch and listen to our conversation

Bruce's passion lies in the architecture of business strategy and development

Our talk today is about growth. Growth demands strategic focus, clear accountability, ongoing communication, cultural improvement, team alignment and cash flow optimization, along with other core components of a thriving business. Bruce and I discuss huddles, Master Minds and strategy methodologies that help you and your team get focused and stay on it.

About Bruce Eckfeldt

Bruce Eckfeldt is a consultant, coach, author and highly sought-after speaker on organizational development and performance management. Originally an architect, he then became a pioneer in the use of computer-aided design and 3D modeling, later transitioning into software design and development.

Seeing the need for a faster-paced, more innovative approach to technology development, Bruce was an early adopter of Extreme Programming (an early Agile/Lean software methodology), founding Cyrus Innovation in 2003, one of the first Agile/Lean development consulting firms.

After more than a decade of developing products and coaching companies adopting Agile/Lean practices, Bruce sold Cyrus in 2014 to focus on broader organizational development initiatives. He served as interim CEO, COO and other executive roles across a number of different high-tech and professional service companies, leading these companies through periods of high growth and leadership transition. Now he is a strategic coach to organizations of all sizes seeking rapid growth.

You can connect with Bruce at LinkedIn, Twitter and his website. You can also email him at bruce@eckfeldt.com.

Need to grow, fast? These are a good first step

Additional resources for you

My best-selling new book: "Rethink: Smashing The Myths of Women in Business"
My award-winning first book: "On the Brink: A Fresh Lens to Take Your Business to New Heights"
Simon Associates Management Consultants website

259: Claus Raasted—Now Is The Time To Turn Your Big Ideas Into Great Innovations! Mar 22, 2021

Show notes

Hear how embracing the unfamiliar unlocks your best ideas!

Often when I am looking for interesting people to bring to our podcast listeners, I am introduced to unexpectedly fascinating folks like Claus Raasted. An innovation strategist, Claus has been pushing the limits of the possible for 20 years. He is Director at The College of Extraordinary Experiences, a Coach at McKinsey & Company, and posts a daily innovation keynote on his YouTube channel. He is also a prolific author with 30 books to his name, and has just finished "The Innovation Cycle." Our discussion was about how to help people "see, feel and think" in new ways, which you know is my own passion and purpose. For a fascinating podcast, listen in!

Watch and listen to our conversation

While Claus is a successful innovator, he knows how difficult it is for people to do that

Currently, Claus helps people create ideas and then enables them to implement them. In this podcast, we talked about how ideas come from across industries, from people of different backgrounds coming together to share their viewpoints. And while it's so much more exciting to learn from people who are different than us, people are often uncomfortable with the unfamiliar. Their brains just hate the new and the different.

As a corporate anthropologist who helps companies change, and that means the people inside those companies, I know far too well how the brain hates to change, how it embraces the familiar and fights the unfamiliar. You just need to collaborate with your mind to change all of that and see what is possible. Let this be a time for change. You can do it!!

Claus teaches you how to take your big ideas and turn them into great innovations

He also shares a simple lesson: If you want to do anything—whether it's write a book, change your company, create something new in how you cook dinner—just start. Do a page, a chapter, an idea, one step at a time. The important thing is to start.

You can connect with Claus on LinkedIn, his website, The College of Extraordinary Experiences website, his blog or his email claus.raasted@gmail.com.

About Claus Raasted

This is what clients say about Claus:

"Claus packs more insights into 60 minutes than I can action in 6 months. His fresh, deeply insightful perspective matched with his uncanny ability to tell stories the way his audience can grasp leave the listener feeling a sense of awe and wonder. Savvy, sharp, savant."

"He can inspire you to sit up and listen, and never has there been a greater need to re-evaluate and better understand the changes in ourselves, in business and in society."

"A cross between Thor, Mick Jagger and Lady Gaga!"

Claus works globally but his base is the island of Bornholm in the Baltic Sea, where he lives with his better half and their daughter.

Ready to start working on innovationa and change? Start with these

Blog: How to Convert a Great Idea into a Successful Innovation

Blog: Hate Change? Anthropology Can Make You and Your People Love It!

Podcast: Andy and Andi Simon—Innovation Games® Are What You Need To Imagine Your Future

Additional resources for you

My best-selling new book: "Rethink: Smashing The Myths of Women in Business"
My award-winning first book: "On the Brink: A Fresh Lens to Take Your Business to New Heights"
Simon Associates Management Consultants website

258: Kim Spencer—Isn't It Time To Become The Princess You Always Wanted To Be? Mar 15, 2021

Show notes

Hear how you, yes you, can live a life that's more fulfilling

Kim Spencer—what an amazing women. I was so delighted to be on Kim's podcast, The Princess and the B, that I wanted to share her enthusiasm with all of our listeners. During this podcast, we dig into why women seem to have a hard time seeing the "princess" in themselves. Kim, as you will hear, has been obsessed with women who somehow smashed the myths holding them back and managed to soar. (Sounds like a chapter in my new book "Rethink: Smashing The Myths of Women in Business" ) Now Kim is ready to help women overcome those self-imposed limitations and climb to the top. Are you ready to live your best, most fulfilling life? Listen in!

Why do some women self-destruct while others become powerhouses, pioneering their own path and finding their passion and their purpose?

Growing up, Kim had a fascination with princesses. Her mom even had to search through old library books to find new princesses for her. In these characters, Kim found women who were human.

She will also tell you about how her princess fascination was really an escape from a home life marked by an addicted father and an enabling mother. Kim found her way out through acting, but that was not enough. Listen in and you will learn how she escaped her reality while creating a new one, and now finds herself on a continuing journey to help others become the best that they can be.

About Kim Spencer

Rather than tell you Kim's story, I urge you to visit her website, CrownYourself. You can read about her acting career, and her realization that she was living a story that was unfulfilling. And you can also see how she changed her life by changing her story...to herself, her husband and her family. You can connect with Kim through LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter and her website.

Rethink your story

We are our stories. We live them. If you are ready to change your story, please visit our new program, Rethink Your Journey with Andi Simon. It was built by women for women who are ready to rethink their life's journey and take it in new directions. Is it your turn to find that pathway to become the best that you can be? Whether in your homelife, your career, your own business, your philanthropic work, or however you are stuck or stalled. It is time for you to Rethink Your Journey. Join me. Together we will have a great journey. Bon Voyage!

Get inspired by these women who refused to be held back

Additional resources for you

My best-selling new book: "Rethink: Smashing The Myths of Women in Business"
My award-winning first book: "On the Brink: A Fresh Lens to Take Your Business to New Heights"
Simon Associates Management Consultants website

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