Did you know that employees are more likely to stay at an organization when they view their leader as empathetic?

Of all the traits that make for great leadership, empathy is near the top of the list–and according to this week’s podcast guest, it’s going to be increasingly important for the next generation.

Pattie Dale Tye is the Consulting COO for Stoll Keenon Ogden PLLC and a Board Member of Trilogy Health Services, LLC. Pattie Dale is also a C-suite veteran with over 30 years of experience leading companies to new heights. She spent over a decade with AT&T, leading sales and operations for the company’s largest accounts. In her time with Humana, Pattie Dale was instrumental in the company’s multibillion-dollar Large Employer Segment. She is also the best-selling Forbes Author of Ordinary to Extra-Ordinary.

Challenges for the Next Generation of Leaders

Any entrepreneur who led a team through the pandemic knows how difficult it can be to connect virtually. Leaders need to model behavior, and that’s much more difficult to do online. Pattie recommends meeting in person as much as possible. If that’s not possible, look for ways to bring the whole team together for virtual events.

Another challenge is that Gen Z and millennials don’t have a lot of trust in leadership–so you need to work harder to earn their loyalty. They’re driven by purpose, autonomy, and flexibility, and they want to work for leaders who share those values. Look for ways to demonstrate those values and show that you care about them as individuals.

Leading with Empathy and Generosity

According to Pattie Dale, the two most important characteristics of a leader are empathy and generosity. You need to know the people you’re leading and understand where they're coming from. Let them know that you’re invested in their success and that they can come to you when they need support.

As for generosity, focus on giving back to your team. Replace a “survival of the fittest” mentality with generosity. If someone is struggling, offer to help. Make yourself available. Being approachable can help you get the best of everyone.

Enjoy this episode with Pattie Dale Tye…

Soundbytes

14:00-14:26
“When it’s a customer with a problem that I can help solve in a way that helps that entity flourish, it just lights me up, because you know that had a multiplier effect–that didn't just help that person, that executive that day, or that leader that day, that allowed them to feed many, many families and to grow business in a much more expansive way.”

18:46-19:24
“We need to be leading with empathy right now. And I love to say you need to be leading with generosity. You need to get to know the people you’re leading and understand where they're coming from and why they have the notions about leadership they do, because we understand that 50% of the Gen Z's don't have respect nor trust in leadership, and we need to. We need to get to the root cause and let them know that you have as much vested in their success as hopefully they have in their own success.”

Quotes

“I was very ordinary until I learned what might make me extraordinary.”

“As long as I'm helping solve a problem and release energy to the universe, I'm a happy camper.”

“Stop coming to work in a survival mode and come to work in a giving mode.”

“If you're not an approachable leader, you're not going to get the best out of your people.”

Links mentioned in this episode:

From Our Guest

Visit Pattie’s website: http://pattiedaletye.com

Connect with Pattie on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/pattie-dale-tye/

Connect with brandiD

Download our free guide to learn 16 crucial website updates that attract more leads and convert visitors into clients: https://thebrandid.com/website-tweaks/

Ready to elevate your digital presence with a powerful brand or website? Contact us here: https://thebrandid.com/contact-form/

Do you ever feel like there just aren’t enough hours in the day? As a business owner, your to-do list is virtually never-ending. But what if you could grow your business faster by doing less? Today’s podcast guest is proof that it’s possible.

Rodric Lenhart is a lifelong entrepreneur, multi-best-selling author, and sought-after speaker. Over the last 30 years, he’s built several multi-million dollar companies in both the product and service industries. Having traveled to more than 50 countries across six continents, Rodric brings a unique worldview and a deep appreciation for freedom. All profits from his book Million Dollar Flip Flops are donated to his foundation, Send a Student Leader Abroad, with the goal of sending one million kids on life-changing trips.

Build Your Business Around Your Life

Like most successful business owners, Rodric is very protective of his time. He wakes up in the sun and has a structured morning routine, after which he works from around 10:00 to 3:00 pm. It’s important for him to leave empty space on the calendar for reading, writing, and introspection. That quiet time is crucial for developing the business. When you’re busy all day everyday, that leaves little room for new ideas.

If you’re trying to find your ideal daily routine, ask yourself what you want your day to look like a year from now–then build a business that fuels that, instead of the other way around.

Advice for New Entrepreneurs

Rodric has two pieces of advice for new entrepreneurs: the first is to turn off social media. Forget what everyone else is doing and focus on your business and your customers. Don’t get lost in the comparison game.

Second, try to avoid Shiny Object Syndrome. It’s easy to get sucked into the newest app or strategy, but successful businesses are built on the basics. Be willing to pick up the phone and have conversations with people. Figure out what your target audience wants and needs, then give it to them. Let them tell you what they want, instead of trying to impose your ideas on them. Listen and learn.

Enjoy this episode with founder Rodric Lenhart…

Soundbytes

11:29-11:51
“I’m very protective of my time. I haven't set an alarm in probably 15 years. I wake up with the sun. I have a very set morning routine, and I try to work between around 10:00 and 3:00 every day. And I make a lot of time for reading and introspection and writing and developing the business, not just being busy all the time.”

21:10-21:36
“It’s shiny object syndrome, the next cool app or program, the next customer acquisition method. That's not what's going to give you a successful business. It's back to the basics. It's having conversations with people. It's being willing to pick up the phone. It's learning what do they want, what do they need? That's how you know what to give them, versus thinking you have this idea of what to give them.”

Quotes

“The bulk of my financial abundance came from the ability to change course.”

“What do you want your day to look like a year from now? And let's build a business that feeds that, not the other way around.”

“Why write a book? Well, it's to help people who are in the same situation I might have been in 20 years ago.”

“Ultimately, it all comes from a place of service. And I think if we aren't wired that way to start, none of the other things fall into place.”

“I don’t know what chapter two looks like, but I know I can't see it while I'm in the middle of chapter one.”

Links mentioned in this episode:

Million Dollar Flip Flops: http://www.milliondollarflipflops.com/

Connect with Rodric on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/rodriclenhart/

Connect with Rodric on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/rodriclenhart/

Connect with brandiD: Download our free guide to learn 16 crucial website updates that attract more leads and convert visitors into clients: https://thebrandid.com/website-tweaks/

Ready to elevate your digital presence with a powerful brand or website? Contact us here: https://thebrandid.com/contact-form/

Have you ever heard the saying “Success is a lousy teacher?”

Our biggest learning experiences come from failure: the product that flopped, the content that didn’t perform, the “failed” business idea. For Anne Montgomery, failure was just the beginning.

Anne is a former television sportscaster, writer, and educator. Her first TV job came at WRBL-TV in Columbus, Georgia, and led to positions at WROC-TV, KTSP-TV, and ESPN, where she anchored the Emmy and ACE award-winning SportsCenter. She finished her on-camera broadcasting career with a two-year stint as the studio host for the NBA’s Phoenix Suns, before moving into her career as a teacher and author.

Her novels include Your Forgotten Sons, The Castle, A Light in the Desert, Wild Horses on the Salt, The Scent of Rain, and Wolf Catcher. She taught journalism and communication skills in a Title I high school for 20 years.

Defying the Odds

When Anne told her parents she wanted to be a sportscaster, they laughed. In the 1970s, that wasn’t an option for women. But Anne proved them wrong and went on to have a successful 40+ year career in sports.

Likewise, she was also told she would never go to college. Growing up, Anne struggled in school, and it wasn’t until she was in her fifties that she was diagnosed with dyslexia. Despite that, Anne has several degrees and has published six novels (and counting).

Failure is the Greatest Teacher

One of the most important skills any entrepreneur can master is how to bounce back from failure. For Anne, failure has been her greatest teacher. She never planned on becoming a writer or an educator–she was forced into a career change when the men in her industry decided she was too old to be on camera.

At the time, leaving sportscasting felt like a failure. But it led Anne to her most rewarding career yet, a life-changing friendship that inspired her first novel, and even the family she couldn’t have dreamed of, when her teaching experience led her to become a foster parent.

Enjoy this episode with author Anne Montgomery…

Soundbytes

31:25-31:53
“Business owners like to hire people who've been in sports or actually any extracurricular. You know how to be punctual or you're not playing, you know how to work as a teammate, and you know how to follow rules, all those things. And of those young athletes, I wouldn't want to hire the kid who caught the game-winning touchdown. I want to hire the kid who dropped the game-winning touchdown, that went to practice the next day. That's the kid I want.”

35:17-35:37
“I sometimes feel bad for people who are such incredible athletes or singers or actors or whatever, where everything is always perfect because at some point it's not going to be. How do you handle that? We all have to learn to handle failure, and how you handle it is more important than anything we do. You know? How do you handle disappointment? Get back up and do it.”

Quotes

“I was told when I was young that I’d never be a sportscaster. I’m the kind that says, ‘I’ll prove you wrong.’”

“We plan our lives and think it’s going to be a straight line, but it’s not. It’s how you handle the curves.”

“I’m not embarrassed about anything that’s ever happened to me. They’re all learning experiences.”

“We learn nothing from success. We learn from failure.”

“Life isn’t going to be exactly what you expect, but maybe it will be better.”

“I think failure is falling down and not getting back up.”

Links mentioned in this episode:

Visit Anne’s website: https://annemontgomerywriter.com/

Connect with Anne on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/anne-montgomery-1b995b23/

How do you sell someone a product they don’t know they need?

When Sheri Chaney Jones launched her impact management platform, most of her customers didn’t even know what impact management was. A few years later, it’s become an industry standard.

Sheri is a renowned social entrepreneur and impact measurement expert. With over two decades of experience, she has transformed the efficacy of nonprofits and government organizations through data-driven strategies. As the founder of Measurement Resources Company and SureImpact, she's dedicated to enhancing social sector performance. Sheri is also an author, professor, and advocate for women's equity, holding degrees from Central Michigan University and The Ohio State University.

Create Your Own Category

As a consultant, Sheri’s job was to build impact measurement frameworks to help nonprofit organizations understand the effectiveness of their programs. She worked with each client to determine which data to collect and how to collect it, but the process was very manual. She started searching for software that would keep that information at their fingertips, and when she couldn’t find it, she created it.

When Sheri launched SureImpact in 2020, it was the first impact management platform on the market–a term that no one else was using, but her competitors have since rebranded to include.

From Service Provider to Software Company

In Sheri’s consulting business, she knew how to do every job. Launching SureImpact was a new challenge because she didn’t know how to code software. While she’s still the CEO, she had to learn how to pitch angel investors, find the right team, and report to a board.

As the first software of its kind, SureImpact has done a lot of market education. In 2020, most nonprofits didn’t account for impact measurement in their budget because they didn’t know it was possible.

In the early stages, Sheri hesitated to leverage her personal brand and network. As a tech CEO, she didn’t think personal branding was as relevant as it had been to her consulting company. But she realized it was her experience that inspired SureImpact–and that if she wanted to break into the market, she needed to share her story.

Now, Sheri leverages her platform through speaking engagements, blogs, webinars, and even a book: Impact & Excellence: Data-Driven Strategies for Aligning Mission, Culture, and Performance in Nonprofit and Government Organizations. As a result, SureImpact has increased new customers by 50%.

Enjoy this episode with founder Sheri Chaney Jones…

Soundbytes

8:58-9:15
“When we went talk about branding, when we went to market in 2020, we called ourselves the first impact management platform on the market. And what's been fascinating is, since launching, some of our largest competitors have rebranded themselves as an impact management platform.”

14:23-14:36
“So prior to even launching, launching true impact, I had been traveling, speaking at conferences, talking about how to create these data driven, high performing cultures. And so we've just leveraged that platform I'd already had.”

19:59-20:39
“If I write and start with a place of gratitude and start my day with writing everything I'm grateful for, and then maybe my wishes or my prayers. Then once I get through that laundry list of stuff, what's so interesting is a new level of inspiration will show up, and I'll start writing in the third person, which is so fun. It's so fun when my journaling takes that shift where I'm writing to myself, and it's almost like my inner self, or the self that has that wisdom or intuition is guiding me and telling me what to do.”

Quotes

“I’ve always been fascinated by using data to predict performance.”

“For entrepreneurs and businesses, we have some pretty common metrics we use. But these non-profits and social sector organizations have to add another layer of metrics to the conversation: are they changing lives and changing circumstances?”

“I didn't find the product on the market that was solving the problem that I thought needed to be solved. So we built a product for the future.”

Links mentioned in this episode:

SureImpact website: https://www.sureimpact.com/

Measurement Resources Company: https://measurementresourcesco.com/

Connect with Sheri on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/sherichaneyjones/

Aakash Shah struggled with allergies for years before finally finding permanent relief. Now he’s helping others access the same life-changing treatment–all from the comfort of their own homes.

Aakash is the founder and CEO of Wyndly. He holds BAs in Computer Science and Cognitive Science from the University of Virginia. After graduating, he helped found and grow several startups, two of which he saw through successful acquisitions. In 2020, Aakash joined forces with his cousin, Dr. Manan Shah, to found Wyndly: a 5-star online telehealth experience that provides convenient access to allergy immunotherapy.

From Computer Science to Telehealth

The idea for Wyndly began with Aakash’s own allergy issues. After being thrown around the healthcare system for years, none of the allergists he’d seen could fix the problem. The best solution they could offer him was to visit their clinic weekly for treatment.

Aakash’s cousin suggested a popular alternative in Europe, where doctors mailed their patients sublingual (under the tongue) immunotherapy treatment. It worked: Aakash experienced permanent allergy relief. He sold his wife and sister-in-law on the same regime, and when they had similar results, he knew there was business potential.

Wyndly now provides permanent, fully remote allergy relief. Their customers receive personalized treatment in the mail and unlimited access to their team of doctors via text message, chat, and email.

A Unique Business Model

When Wyndly launched in 2020, Aakash noticed two key marketing trends: first, people were more open to buying healthcare products online. Second, more people were self-educating themselves through video content. They capitalized on the first trend by providing a fully remote experience. As for the second trend, Wyndly’s TikTok videos average around a million monthly views.

A few years later, they’ve branched into other marketing strategies like SEO, paid ads, and email marketing. They also accept referrals from other doctors.

Wyndly’s business model is unique because most healthcare businesses are dictated by what insurance companies are willing to cover. Although Wyndly accepts insurance, most customers are happy to pay $100/month for permanent allergy relief. They also offer a compelling guarantee: try it out for six months, and if you don’t experience relief, they’ll issue a full refund.

Enjoy this episode with founder Aakash Shah…

Soundbytes

6:30-6:49
“This is just so much better that the world has to be experiencing it. And that was my shift into entrepreneurship, right? Once I realized that there was a big enough problem that I felt passionate enough about…there just has to be someone chasing after this.”

12:58-13:20
“It's really important to know where your first 1-2,000 customers are going to come from. And a lot of times, people out there will say, ‘Well, try Facebook ads] or try door-to-door sales or this or that. And maybe those will be right. But you really have to sit down and talk to folks and try to identify where are your buyers coming from.”

Quotes

“I built the medical experience I wish I had.”

“That’s probably the #1 way people become entrepreneurs, they see someone else do it and decide to take the leap behind them.”

“It’s really important to know where your first 1,000-2,000 customers are going to come from.”

“It’s important to understand who your specific customers are, and we did that by just sitting down and talking to them.”

Links mentioned in this episode:

Aakash’s website: https://www.aakash.io/

Wyndly website: https://www.wyndly.com/

Connect with Aakash on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mraakashshah/