It’s the middle of the year… are you still on track to meet your goals? Many of us have gotten off track but now is the perfect time to determine how the rest of the year will go. It’s time to grab the opportunity bull by the horns and ride it into submission with the help of these inspiring guests. Get ready: this episode is part of the Halftime Series.
Today our inspiration is Ken Kannappan, Executive Vice Chair of Plantronics. He is an incredibly thoughtful leader with a wealth of insight about humble leadership, generosity, and smart working philosophy.
In a former life, Ken Kannappan was Senior Vice President of Kidder Peabody. He then took a massive pay cut and jumped into the entrepreneurial tech space. As President and CEO of Plantronics for nearly two decades, Ken helped transform the company from a manufacturer of contact center headsets with annual revenues just over $100M into a global audio communications leader with annual revenues of approximately $1B.
As G.I. Joe very nearly said, understanding is half the battle. In every area of your life, you can make better decisions and communicate more effectively when you understand what other people are saying and what they want.
If you want to understand, you have to listen – and it’s important to listen with your ears AND your eyes. People say more with nonverbal communication and tone than they do with their words.
In the workplace, understanding what other people want is one of the most valuable skills you can have, which makes collaboration and communication with others imperative. The best developer can’t sell an app if it doesn’t appeal to others and the most creative person in the world can’t create something valuable in a vacuum.
“In the real world, creativity that comes from understanding what people want is going to be very successful in the market”
A sad truth of leadership is that, as people move up the ladder, their ability to listen and understand often diminishes. This is because understanding is heavily correlated with humility.
Humble and open-minded leaders can simply do more. The more humble you are...
“Focus on your vision. Focus on what you want to accomplish. Focus on what makes you happy… then the fit’s going to become natural. You’ll wind up doing something you love and you’ll be very happy.”
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Resources:
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We are also brought to you by the Lawton Marketing Group, a full service advertising and design agency serving companies and entrepreneurs at all levels. The are your one stop shop for all your website, logo, social media, print, app design and reputable management needs.
Visit LawtonMG.com for more info.
Production & Development for The Impact Entrepreneur Show by Podcast Masters
This episode is part of the Halftime Series. It’s the middle of the year… are you still on track to meet your goals? Many of us have gotten off track but now is the perfect time to determine how the rest of the year will go. It’s time to grab the opportunity bull by the horns and ride it into submission with the help of these inspiring guests.
Todd Stottlemyre grew up around Yankee Stadium in “a school of champions." His teachers were legends like Mickey Mantle, Whitey Ford, Yogi Berra, Thurman Munson, and his father, Mel Stottlemyre.
Growing up in that environment inspired Todd to dream of following in his dad’s footsteps and playing in Major League Baseball, but things weren’t always easy for this high-performing family. When Todd was just 15-years-old, his brother died after an extended battle with leukemia.
This devastated Todd, but his father’s leadership helped carry the family through that adversity and the community lifted him up. He credits the experience with helping him become the man he is today: a man who has spent 15 seasons in MLB and played on three World Series Championship teams.
Todd learned some incredible lessons in the school of champions, especially from his dad, and he wants to pass them on to others. He wrote Relentless Success: 9-Point System for Major League Achievement so that other people can benefit from the school of champions and live their championship life.
Everyone’s championship life looks different, but success is always built around these same core principles.
In the spirit of Halftime, you should follow Todd on Facebook and check out his recent Facebook Live videos. He’s been talking about how 2017 is all about the endless pursuit for human potential, and the only way to discover what we can achieve as human beings is to fail miserably – you have to get out there and go for it. We have to learn in order to move forward.
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Resources:
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We are also brought to you by the Lawton Marketing Group, a full service advertising and design agency serving companies and entrepreneurs at all levels. The are your one stop shop for all your website, logo, social media, print, app design and reputable management needs.
Visit LawtonMG.com for more info.
Production & Development for The Impact Entrepreneur Show by Podcast Masters
This episode is part of the Halftime Series. It’s the middle of the year… are you still on track to meet your goals? Many of us have gotten off track but now is the perfect time to determine how the rest of the year will go. It’s time to grab the opportunity bull by the horns and ride it into submission with the help of these inspiring guests.
Today you will be inspired by former American college football coach and sports analyst Lou Holtz. For many years, Coach Holtz has been considered among the greatest speaking legends in America. He talks about overcoming seemingly impossible challenges by setting your own goals and working to achieve them – the perfect person to kick off the Halftime Series.
Despite never inheriting a winning team, Coach Holtz compiled an impressive 249-132-7 career record and was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame. He is also the only coach in the history of college football to…
Coach Holtz doesn’t claim to have achieved any of his accomplishments because he is above average – he is intensely motivated, constantly learning, and tries to help the people around him believe in themselves.
Motivation is a critical factor for success. There’s really only two things a leader or coach can help you with: your belief in yourself and your skillset… but if you’re not motivated, nobody can help you with those two things.
Everything, especially motivation, starts with a dream; a goal.
Coach Holtz believes that only one thing determines whether you’re growing or you’re dying, and it’s not age... It’s whether you are trying to accomplish something. If you’re trying to accomplish something – if you have a goal – then you will have enthusiasm and excitement when you get up every day.
“One thing determines whether you’re growing or you’re dying: are you trying to accomplish something?”
This idea applies to any and every aspect of life. If you aren’t trying to figure out how to improve your marriage, the marriage is dying. If you aren’t trying to find new solutions for your business, your business is dying.
Even when you’re moving forward with motivation, you will still have to make some tough decisions along your path. When Coach Holtz was the head of a team, he only had two mandates: graduate and win. Every decision he made had to help his team meet one of those two mandates.
As a business leader, you also only have two mandates: satisfy the customer and make a profit. Once you understand what your mandates are and what you’re trying to accomplish, then the right thing will be more obvious and you will start making the changes that are necessary to do those two things.
“There’s no right time to do the wrong thing and there’s no wrong time to do the right thing.”
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Resources:
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We are also brought to you by the Lawton Marketing Group, a full service advertising and design agency serving companies and entrepreneurs at all levels. The are your one stop shop for all your website, logo, social media, print, app design and reputable management needs.
Visit LawtonMG.com for more info.
Production & Development for The Impact Entrepreneur Show by Podcast Masters
This episode is the conclusion to the Comeback Series, which featured Entrepreneurs who have experienced a major setback and then successfully pivoted to something different, bigger, and more impactful.
There are few things in life that are universally true. However, regardless of race, religion, or nationality, we love to celebrate people overcoming adversity and shutting down the naysayers; we love to see people bounce back, crush obstacles, and face seemingly insurmountable obstacles head on.
Don’t just celebrate – take action.
Where is your comeback?
Here’s my challenge to you:
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We are also brought to you by the Lawton Marketing Group, a full service advertising and design agency serving companies and entrepreneurs at all levels. The are your one stop shop for all your website, logo, social media, print, app design and reputable management needs.
Visit LawtonMG.com for more info.
Production & Development for The Impact Entrepreneur Show by Podcast Masters