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This week our guest is John Jennings - formerly the CEO of Safeguard Security, CEO of CQR Technologies and founder of QuickPass. A native Arizonan, John shares his story which took him from the early days of the security business to growing one of the larger businesses in the industry. He also discusses some important lessons learned from Jim Collins and how some counter-intuitive strategies led to tremendous growth for his company.
Additionally, John discusses the lessons learned transitioning a family business from one generation to the next, the value of making mistakes, the lessons learned from his work with Hospice of the Valley, and the difference between leadership and management. He covers that and so much more.
Please follow the Arizona Originals podcast on these social media platforms: Instagram, Twitterand Facebook. And thanks to Beth Lewallen at Italicized Consulting for all her help getting our social media up and running...and be sure to follow her on Twitter!
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James Patterson's Michael Bennett books
This week our guest is Joshua Becker- bestselling author, blogger and popular speaker on the topic of minimalism. You won’t want to miss his story and his thoughts on everything from building a platform, navigating career change, determining what your "first filter" is, dealing with online trolls and haters, to building a team around you to make you your best.
He takes us on his journey from studying banking and finance, to attending seminary and becoming a minister, to a particular Saturday speaking with a neighbor who would be a catalyst for where Joshua is today. And if you have never thought about the topic of minimalism, this conversation will not only be a solid introduction, but will also be thought provoking.
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This week our guest is Park Howell - founder of the Business of Story…and you also might know him from the ad agency he founded, Park & Co. This conversation is packed with great stories and very practical advice about how you can tell better stories to help you grow your business and your personal platform.
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Save the Cat Goes to the Movies
Origin Story: A Big History of Everything
Ron Robertson is the co-founder and CEO of Picmonic, a revolutionary visual learning platform proven to help students master critical information and retain it longer.
Ron grew up in Show Low, Arizona and his journey takes him from the cool pines of Arizona to the beaches of San Diego, and then back to the University of Arizona for medical school. During his preparation for the US Medical Licensing Exam, his life took an interesting turn...and he tells that story which led to the founding of Picmonic.
In our conversation, Ron covers a variety of topics of interest to students, lifetime learners, entrepreneurs and anyone interested in improving yourself. He also makes a good case that everyone could benefit from knowing a great tattoo artist!
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Olympic gold medalist Misty Hyman won a stunning upset victory at the 2000 Sydney games when she came from behind to break the American record and win the 200-meter butterfly. Recognized as a pioneer in the sport for her innovative underwater dolphin kick, she won 13 U.S. and five NCAA national titles.
Hyman is recognized as one of the most inspirational athletes of our time. Her knowledge of the sport, gained from two decades of competitive swimming for two of America’s top swim coaches, coupled with her friendly and encouraging personality, have made her one of the country’s leading swim instructors.
She is the former Senior Assistant Coach for the Arizona State University swimming program and offers personalized and private coaching at The Sanctuary Resort in Paradise Valley, AZ. She also hosts clinics and camps throughout the United States. As a motivational speaker, Hyman helps athletes, students, and corporations alike set and reach seemingly unattainable goals.
In this episode, Misty shares her story and discusses topics ranging from facing challenges, to finding balance, to surrendering to imperfection, and how she evaluates life and success.
Our guest is Russ Perry, the founder of Design Pickle - a subscription-based, on-demand graphic design service based in Scottsdale, AZ. Russ recently released his new book, The Sober Entrepreneur.
Russ is a 3rd generation Arizonan with roots in the historic Copper Triangle mining area. Our conversation not only covers his personal story, but includes insights on a wide range of issues affecting your personal and professional life. Russ also shares a powerful story about a Pepsi vending machine...you will not want to miss that story or the moral of that tale.
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This week our guest is Shiva Planjery - the co-founder and CEO of Codelucida, a Tucson-based company working to improve error-correction solutions for everything from flash drives to hard disk drives. Shiva shares his story which took him from the US to South Korea to India to Canada and, ultimately, to Tucson. He not only shares insights about life and work stemming from his formative years, but how they help inform how he approaches his life as an entrepreneur.
It’s another great story coming out of Tech Launch Arizona at the University of Arizona...I know you will learn from our conversation.
This week our guest is Jordan Lancaster - the co-founder and Chief Scientific Officer of Avery Therapeutics, a Tucson-based company working to solve the problem of heart tissue regeneration. Jordan comes from a long line of cardiologists and has found himself focused on the research side of the heart…and now is leading an entrepreneurial endeavor to bring scientific innovations to make the next leap forward in cardiac care.
Jordan, who cycled for the University of Arizona and rode his first El Tour de Tucson at the age of eight, discusses topics ranging from mentoring, to building a culture of teamwork, to bringing research into the entrepreneurial space.
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Avery Therapeutics on LinkedIn
McGuire Center for Entrepreneurship - Eller College of Management - University of Arizona
Hickman's Family Farms podcast
Reach us at contact@azoriginals.net
Check out what is happening at the AZ Chamber
This week our guest is Mac Perlich - the president and publisher of ON Media Publications. Mac shares what I believe are two of the best life lessons we can all learn from and discusses her journey from nursing into publishing. I know you’ll enjoy her insights and her passion for everything she is involved with from publishing, to the Culture Pass program, to the Act One Foundation.
We cover a wide range of topics from how to develop meaningful and mutually-beneficial business relationships, to thoughts about retirement, and much more.
Follow us on our new social media channels - Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook (thanks to Beth Lewellen for all her help on this)!
Joann MacMaster brought extensive background in entrepreneurship and startups to her position as the Director of Business Development for the University of Arizona's Tech Launch Arizona. In addition to having three successful exits (including one IPO) in private enterprise, she has served as Director of the Arizona Center for Innovation (AzCI) technology business incubator, Program Director for the UA McGuire Center for Entrepreneurship, and is a UA Academic Leadership Institute Fellow.
Among the many topics we cover, Joann discusses how to create a healthy corporate culture, mentorship and building mentor networks, and changes in the culture of entrepreneurship.
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Art of the Start 2.0 by Guy Kawasaki
The Power of Moments by Chip Heath and Dan Heath
The Rainforest - by Victor Hwang
John Phelps is the CEO and executive director of the State Bar of Arizona, an organization focused on improving the administration of justice and the competency, ethics, and professionalism of lawyers in Arizona.
John's introduction to Arizona came when his father was stationed at Ft. Huachuca in Sierra Vista, Arizona. Ultimately, John became a second generation career Army officer where he also became an intelligence officer before pursuing a law degree from the University of Arizona and joining the US Army's JAG corps. Following his 25-year career in the Army, John served in the Arizona Office of Homeland Security, the Grand Canyon Chapter of the American Red Cross, and as the chief of staff at the US General Services Administration.
John discusses topics ranging from the challenges of leading in a "zero-defect" environment, balancing "gut feelings" with data, leading in non-profits and government organizations, surrounding yourself with trusted advisers, and so much more.
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Good to Great and the Social Sectors by Jim Collins
Hamilton by Ron Chernow
We’re joined by three generations of leaders from Hickman’s Family Farms - Bill Hickman, Sr., Glenn Hickman, and Branden Hickman. Each one shares stories and insights I know you will enjoy and learn from.
They share some unique insights to being part of a family business, engaging with community, the importance of education, and how they approach changing production requirements in response to customer demands for products such as cage-free eggs.
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Arizona's Future of Education Vision event on 12/12/17 (Glenn mentioned in the podcast)
Dirty Jobs w/ Mike Rowe at Hickman's Family Farms (Season 4, Episode 25)
David Kolbe - the CEO of Kolbe Corp - shares insights into how they help individuals and companies thrive, how leveraging technology can grow your audience and simultaneously reduce costs, and how seeking feedback from users can lead to new product offerings.
Additionally, David shares his story which takes him from Brophy College Prep to the Wharton School at University of Pennsylvania. After a brief stop on Capitol Hill, he returned to Arizona to attend law school at Arizona State University, practice law, and ultimately join Kolbe Corp.
David’s mother, Kathy Kolbe, founded Kolbe Corp in Phoenix in 1975. Kolbe Corp helps businesses and individuals identify, understand, apply, and leverage their unique instinctive strengths so they can be more productive and more fulfilled.
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This week we talk with Justin Gray, the CEO and founder of LeadMD, co-founder of PaidSuite, co-owner of Greyson Organics (an organic farm in rural Missouri), and co-founder of Six Bricks.
Justin, who grew up in Fountain Hills and attended the University of Arizona, talks with us about his passion for entrepreneurship and modern-day marketing - topics he has written and spoken about extensively. Justin has been published over 300 times in industry publications and holds his own column, Tribal Knowledge in Inc., as well as featured contributor statuses with Entrepreneur and others.
We cover a wide range of topics including how he approaches writing (and why it is important for marketers to hone this skill), when should founders get out of the way, the importance of culture and values governing behavior, his views on unicorns and hiring, empathy, and the concept of 1+1=4.
Also, check out Justin's podcast - Driven & Co. - which examines guests' "unconventional roads to leadership." Great stuff!
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Todd Belfer is the managing partner of the venture capital firm Canal Partners. Todd shares his early entrepreneurial days when he bused fraternity and sorority students to Laughlin and later found himself founding software companies, restaurants (Ra Sushi Bar), and supplement and herbal tea companies. Today, he and his partners focus on helping entrepreneurs and founders, in a defined stage of their growth, flourish.
Todd touches on a number of topics of interest to founders, entrepreneurs, college students, and each one of us who have a passion for what we do. In fact, he really dissects the subject of "passion" and gives some great insights we can all learn from on that and many other topics.
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Jiro Dreams of Sushi - Official Site
Ambassador Barbara Barrett joins us for this week's conversation. She currently serves as the Chairman of the Board of Trustees for The Aerospace Corporation and as the CEO of Triple Creek Ranch. Ambassador Barrett has served as the US Ambassador to Finland, the Deputy Director of the Federal Aviation Administration, the President of the Thunderbird School of Global Management, and the CEO of the American Management Association, just to mention a few.
Our conversation covers not only her story, but her passion for education, lifelong learning, problem solving, and leading through significant change and rebuilding of an organization. Ambassador Barrett discusses her passion for supporting the military, advocating for space exploration and aerospace, and giving back to the community. She also shares some poignant thoughts on legacy, influence and why she does not embrace the concept of a "bucket list" (and what she and her husband, Craig, use instead). Undoubtedly, you will benefit personally and professionally from what she has to say.
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The Disappearing Spoon by Sam Kean
Heidi Jannenga is the president and co-founder of WebPT, a SaaS company providing support to physical therapists, occupational therapists, and speech-language pathologists.
WebPT has been on the INC 5000 list of fastest growing companies in the US for five years straight and is one of Arizona's fastest growing companies.
Our conversation takes us from Heidi’s days playing basketball to finding her passion in the profession of physical therapy. She then explains how seeing a huge problem led to the creation of WebPT. We talk about corporate culture, engaging your customers, the fear of failure, generational issues, and so much more.
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Special Episode with Michael Lorsch - Vision v. Behavior
Special Episode with Michael Lorsch - Overcoming Failure
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This week Jeffrey Pruitt, founder and CEO of Tallwave, joins us for a fascinating conversation about his journey from accountancy to entrepreneurship and from "running through walls" to leading smarter.
An Arizona native, Jeffrey explores taking ideas to market, finding capitol for those ideas, and building a strong organization based on values and strategy. You will want to have your notebook ready for this conversation, especially as he talks practically about how Tallwave strives to be a friction-less workplace.
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The Untethered Soul by Michael Singer
Arizona Chamber of Commerce and Industry
Contact us at the podcast: contact@azoriginals.net
This week, Colleen Jennings-Roggensack returns for the second installment of our conversation. When she last joined us in Season One, we left her in Colorado, and today we hear the rest of the story.
In addition to her journey, Colleen addresses topics each of us can learn from. Those range from mentoring, to life-long learning, to taking risks, and finding balance in life. You will also want to hear her story about one particular cast of the show "Evita" and the lessons we can learn about excellence and accountability.
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Noorderzon - Performing Arts Festival - Groningen
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Jason Pistillo is the president of the University of Advancing Technology in Tempe, Arizona. Our conversation takes us from Jason building his first computer game at the age of eight, to becoming a network engineer at 21, to his 23-year career at UAT. He has been recognized as a leader in business and was most recently given the East Valley Institute Technology's "Sam and Olga Bender Award" for being a strong community partner over the past decade.
We cover a wide range of topics ranging from building a "fast, fun, friendly and smart" culture, instituting rigorous hiring practices, maintaining motivation and focus, investing in the community, and empowering staff. Jason also discusses why their culture of vulnerability among staff has made their team stronger, and so much more.
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University of Advancing Technology
Alignment For Success by Katherine Halpin
The Fifth Discipline Fieldbook by Peter Senge
S*** My Dad Says by Justin Halpern
Arizona Chamber of Commerce and Industry
Contact us at the podcast: contact@azoriginals.net
Greg Head has spent most of his professional life in the world of software, including being part of the startup and growth stages of two major Arizona companies and as the chief marketing officer for Chandler-based Infusionsoft. Today, Greg consults founders and CEOs, curates Gregslist (an active list of Arizona-based software companies...over 300 strong), and has more projects and initiatives on the way.
In our conversation, Greg shares thoughts on not only marketing, but focus, intensity, scaling your business, Arizona's technology mindset, and what it means to transition your business from being ADD to OCD. You will want to take notes!
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Arizona Chamber of Commerce and Industry
Contact us at the podcast at contact@azoriginals.net
Our first guest of the new season is Brian Mueller - Chairman, President and CEO of Grand Canyon University. Our conversation begins in Milwaukee, WI where Brian grew up along with his parents and seven siblings. We then look at his years as a teacher and basketball coach and ultimately to his move into leading two major higher education institutions.
President Mueller discusses everything from finding purpose and passion to the importance of focusing on planning and preparation. He talks about the time in his life he received the best training for leading businesses, and discusses his decision checklist when it comes to running a publicly traded company. We also talk about partnerships, team building, and so much more.
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Arizona Chamber of Commerce and Industry
Contact us at the podcast at contact@azoriginals.net