Beyond Business with Alex Atwood: Lead to Succeed 116

In the world of work, it's easy to get caught up in the pursuit of financial success. However, what many of us often overlook is that the environment in which we work plays a pivotal role in our overall satisfaction and well-being. That’s one area that we’ll be discussing with Lead to Succeed guest Alex Atwood.

Alex is a serial entrepreneur with over 20 years of experience in the hospitality and staffing sectors, and an emerging coach in the psychedelics field. He is also a public speaker, angel investor, podcaster, and philanthropist.

Alex gained business acumen early on, starting with selling candy at a markup in elementary school, and went on to found several companies, including Sanistaff and the Hospitality Training Institute. One of his significant accomplishments was pivoting his hospitality staffing agency during the COVID-19 pandemic, getting 75% of his workforce back to work in just 21 days.

Listen in and learn more about leadership and personal growth.

Become a Leadership Junkie with Tim Lupinacci: Lead to Succeed 114

Leadership isn't tied to titles or roles; it's about using your qualities to create a positive impact. “Everybody Leads”: That’s what Lead to succeed guest Tim Lupinacci will be sharing about.

Tim Lupinacci spent the first 28 years of his legal practice focused on helping financial institutions solve complex problems arising in commercial restructuring and bankruptcy matters throughout the country. Four years ago, he was selected as CEO and Chair of Baker Donelson, which is one of the 100 largest law firms in the country. In this, and prior, leadership positions, he has led the Firm through significant organizational change, growth, and the global pandemic. He continues leading Baker Donelson through its five-year BakerVision 2028 strategy, and the execution of its Diversity & Inclusion Compact.

As a self-professed “leadership junkie”, Tim’s journey to stepping up as a leader began thirty years ago as a young lawyer after disappointing a boss with an epic failure. In the three decades since, Tim has studied, read, and grown his leadership skills through hard work, being curious, trying novel ideas, failing, learning from the failures, and getting better every day. This culminated in launching a non-profit called “Everybody Leads” focused on empowering individuals in underserved communities with basic leadership skills and confidence to better lead themselves, lead others, and lead in the community.

Listen in and learn more about becoming a leadership junkie.

Be Intentional with Jeff Eschliman: Lead to Succeed 113

business, leadership, relationships, self-awareness, isolation, lonelinessNaphtali HoffJuly 5, 2023Impactful Coaching & Consultingleadership, business leadership, medicine, entrepreneurship, customer survey, customer service, technologyComment

From MD to CEO with Dr. Jonathan Baktari: Lead to Succeed 112

Excelling as a professional does not preclude you from succeeding at entrepreneurship. That’s what we learned from Lead to Succeed guest Dr. Jonathan Baktari.

Jonathan is the CEO at both e7 Health and US Drug Test Centers and the host of Baktari MD. e7 health is a preventative health and wellness company that has been called the “the Uber of preventive medicine” and was named the Best Technology Company in the Healthcare Space in 2019.

US Drug Test Centers is a nationwide network of over 20,000 testing centers in the US and is revolutionizing drug and alcohol testing across the nation.

A former triple board-certified physician with specialties in internal medicine, pulmonary and critical care medicine, being a healthcare CEO is only the latest chapter in Dr. Baktari’s life mission to help others by making integrative preventative medicine available to everyone.

Listen in and learn more about how to become a better leader.

Overcoming Isolation with Nick Jonsson: Lead to Succeed 111

As the old saying goes: “It’s lonely at the top.”. Not addressing this topic may cause difficulties for executives to keep functioning normally. That’s why Lead to Succeed guest Nick Jonsson focuses on this topic.

Nick is an International Best-Selling Author & Award-Winning Speaker, Leadership Keynote Speaker, Executive Mental Health Advocate. Nick is also the Co-Founder and MD of EGN Singapore, one of Asia’s premier networking organizations. He built a caring community that provides hundreds of executives a safe haven to share their challenges and receive support and learn from each other.

Nick is passionate about raising awareness of mental health and combating loneliness in the modern business world. He recently published a book, "Executive Loneliness: The 5 Pathways to Overcoming Isolation, Stress, Anxiety, and Depression in the Modern Business World," which provides practical strategies for overcoming isolation and building connections in the workplace. Listen in and learn more about ways to manage executive loneliness.

Show Your Authentic Side with Tara Gooch: Lead to Succeed 110

Inspiring people is one of the single most important leadership skills that separates great leaders from average ones. And it's by showing people your most authentic self and sharing your story of failure that you get them inspired. That’s exactly what Lead to Succeed guest Tara Gooch will be inspiring all leaders to do.

Tara started her company, Best Branding Solutions during the global pandemic in June 2020. She is a proud entrepreneur, mother, and wife who believes in leadership in all aspects of business and life. She coaches people on personal branding and LinkedIn strategies That Maximize Leadership Teams to Drive Organizational Growth and Increase Sales Effectiveness

Tara believes that success is possible for everyone and that there is enough for all if we align with our purpose and focus on being creative, not competitive.

Listen in and learn more about the importance of being authentic as an entrepreneur.

Turn Your Passion Into a Business with Miriam Schulman: Lead to Succeed 109

Creativity and innovation are the pathways for your business to increase improvement and productivity. That’s exactly why entrepreneurs who think outside the box are those whose businesses are growing faster than the others. In this episode, we’ll dive deeper into the importance of being creative as an entrepreneur, with our guest Miriam Schulman.

Miriam is an artist and founder of The Inspiration Place, where she helps other artists learn how to profit from their passion or become better artists. She’s helped thousands of artists around the world develop their skill sets and create more time and freedom to do what they love.

Listen in and learn more about the importance of creativity in business.

Culture Course Correction with Sophie Theen: Lead to Succeed 108

A toxic workplace culture can result in decreased happiness and satisfaction, and performance at work, particularly with startups. In this episode, guest Sophie Theen shares her tried and true advice on how founders and leaders can improve workplace culture.

Sophie Theen is an award-winning Human Resources and Diversity and Inclusion professional. She has been featured on the “Women in FinTech Power List” since 2017 and is the first HR professional to win the “Standout” spot. Theen is also widely recognized for her innovative influence on how Human Resources works in technology companies and startups. She now works with companies around the world as an advisor.

Listen in and learn more about the importance of workplace culture.

Surviving School Leadership With Elvis Epps: Lead to Succeed 107

School leaders are facing huge challenges. Increased demands, resulting in record levels of mental and physical stress, has led a huge number of school leaders to quit their jobs. We need a solution!

In this episode, Lead to Succeed guest Dr. Elvis Epps discusses many of the problems that school leaders are facing and shares helpful solutions.

Elvis is a retired high school principal from Palm Beach, Florida. He holds state certification in school leadership and administration and is the author of a new book, “New Principal, No Problem: How to Lead a Winning Culture Without Losing Your Mind.”

Dr. Epps has been featured on Oprah’s XM Radio Network, where he discussed topics such as Bully Prevention and Maintaining a Happy Home. He is also a Certified John Maxwell Trainer, Coach, and Speaker. Dr. Epps is a proud military veteran of the US Navy.

Listen in and learn more about the challenges and opportunities facing school leaders.

Listen to Yourself with Jennie Blumenthal: Lead to Succeed 106

Living in a hustle culture, everybody needs you to stay on the hamster wheel. Only those who have learned the value of Pausing and Reflecting will encourage you to do the same. And this is exactly what Lead to Succeed’s guest, Jennie Blumenthal will inspire us to do.

Jennie spent 20 years as an executive in Corporate America counseling Fortune 500 companies on growth strategy and digital transformation and left during the pandemic pivot. She now coaches executive women to do their own Corporate Rehab and grow in their existing career or in a new opportunity.

Her new book CORPORATE REHAB: Ditch The Hustle Culture and Thrive Again came out on October 1, 2022.

Listen in and learn more about the value of pausing and reflecting.

From Resignation to Reinvention with Sara McElroy: Lead to Succeed 105

Around 4 million Americans are quitting their jobs each month in 2022 because of gender inequality, toxic workplace culture, and burnout. Can The Great Resignation really be the solution? This is what we discuss with Lead to Succeed’s guest Sara McElroy.

Sara is a former hustle culture devotee, ex-chief marketing officer, the Wall Street Journal’s poster girl for pandemic career burnout, and a two-time member of the Great Resignation: class of 2021 and 2022. She returned to her journalism roots to uplift the voices of women from the Great Resignation by founding Raze to Rise, a journalism project sharing heartfelt personal stories from the women of the Great Resignation.

Listen in and learn more about the importance of putting your employees first.

Happy Workers Happy Customers with Matt Blumberg: Lead to Succeed 104

Want to know why certain companies produce the best products and have the happiest customers?

Their secret is that they invest in their people and put them first.

And this is exactly the philosophy of Lead to Succeed guest Matt Blumberg.

Matt is the founder and CEO of Bolster, a new talent marketplace for on-demand executives and board members launched in 2020. Matt was previously Chairman & CEO of Return Path, the market leader in email optimization. Under Matt’s leadership, Return Path won numerous “employer of choice” awards including #2 on Fortune Magazine’s “Best Companies to Work for” list.

Matt is also Founder and Chairman of Path Forward, a non-profit whose mission is to empower people to restart their careers after time spent focused on caregiving. He is also the author of Startup CEO: A field guide to scaling up your business, and Startup CXO: A Field Guide to Scaling Your Company’s Critical Teams.

Listen in and learn more about the importance of putting your employees first.

Serial Entrepreneurship with Sean Castrina: Lead to Succeed 103

business, coaching, communication, high-performance, leadershipNaphtali HoffSeptember 14, 2022entrepreneurship, entrepreneur, business growth, business, small business, leadership, communicationComment

Become Legendary with Tommy Breedlove: Lead to Succeed 102

Most people seek happiness in money, success, power, and shiny objects. But that is NOT where happiness lies. Instead, turn your attention to yourself. It’s in loving, leading and respecting yourself that you’ll find what you’re asking for. This is what we learned from our guest Tommy Breedlove.

Tommy is the Wall Street Journal and USA Today bestselling author of the book, "Legendary" and the founder of the Legendary Life Movement, a movement that empowers driven people to be pros in leadership, business, mindset, and their relationships.

Tommy started his 20-year corporate career at one of the largest financial consulting firms in the world, and eventually became a shareholder, the international practice leader, and a member of the board of directors.

At the top of his career, Tommy experienced a transformational moment inspiring him to walk away from the corporate world to change his life and follow his true calling.

Listen in and learn more about how to move your life in a new direction.

From “D” to “A+” With JR Rivera: Lead to Succeed 101

Never let a teacher’s opinion about your ability or your performance in school determine your future. This is what JR Rivera's story taught us.

JR’s teachers said he would never amount to anything. But in the years since, this straight "D" student who barely graduated high school has become a businessman living an extraordinary life of limitless possibilities.

Listen in and learn more about the way to success.

Lead to Succeed dives deep into personal leadership journeys, seeking to understand how leaders got to where they are today, and the challenges & successes that they experienced along the way