Million Dollar Relationships

Kevin Thompson
  • 5.0 (15)
  • Entrepreneurship
  • Weekly

Have you ever been introduced to a person that completely changed the course of your business or your life… so much so, that much of what you have today wouldn't be possible, if not for this person? Each week on The Million Dollar Relationships Podcast, your host Kevin Thompson interviews successful entrepreneurs, founders, and CEOs as they share their personal stories and experience around this very question. Your invitation is to have a seat at the head of the table as they honor and introduce you to the most valuable people in their lives and remind us that relationship capital is the most valuable asset we possess. Each week you'll be inspired and motivated to intentionally create more meaningful, rewarding and profitable relationships in your life so that together we can make a far bigger impact in this world.

  1. 20h ago

    Why Price Hurts the Brain with Phil Barden

    What if the dollar sign on your menu is costing you more than the price ever could? Phil Barden is the managing director of Decode Marketing, a decision science consultancy that applies neuroscience, psychology, and behavioural economics to brand growth. He spent 25 years in brand marketing at Unilever, Diageo, and T-Mobile, finishing as Brand VP for T-Mobile in Europe, and wrote Decoded: The Science Behind Why We Buy. A six-figure research project that produced nonsense data led him to a neuroscientist and a cognitive psychologist who explained his failing ad in two minutes. He quit his VP role to build their business in the UK with no clients and no experience selling. The T-Mobile relaunch they built together helped make Deutsche Telekom the world's largest telecoms brand.   [00:03:09] What Decode Marketing Does The consultancy serves mostly B2C brand owners. It leverages research into human behaviour and influence. Everything is aimed at brand growth. [00:04:13] Two Friends, Two Paths He and a school friend wrote sketches and made a magazine. The friend became an advertising copywriter. Phil wanted something tangible, so he chose product marketing. [00:05:09] Twenty-Five Years Client Side Most of it was packaged goods at Unilever. He moved to Diageo in spirits. His final client-side role was T-Mobile, a service rather than a product. [00:05:35] The Research That Went Wrong He had commissioned a six-figure study across multiple countries. The data came back as nonsense. He was genuinely worried about his job. [00:06:02] The Introduction Someone introduced him to a neuroscientist and a cognitive psychologist. One held a double PhD from Caltech. They had teamed up because their combined knowledge had commercial force. [00:07:20] The Flexed Proposition Customers paid premium run-on rates once a bundle was depleted. Unused texts sat beside exhausted minutes, and people were frustrated. Flexed let value move between bundles, which was revolutionary. [00:08:52] "There's Your Problem" The ad showed a man leaning on a flexing brick wall. Beyond it, a park full of people played ball and picnicked. The scientists said he had been framed as a solitary figure. [00:09:30] "You're Never Alone With a Strand" An old cigarette ad had failed for the identical reason. The implication was that the smoker had no friends. Nobody at the agency or on his own team had spotted it. [00:10:24] "How Come You Don't Know This?" He asked how they knew all of it. They were bemused by the question. They were simply using 200 years of published behavioural research. [00:11:23] The Relaunch Numbers Sales grew 49% and share rose six percentage points. Store footfall doubled within 48 hours. The ad took 41 million YouTube views and spawned 72 Facebook groups. [00:12:17] Why Was Everyone Surprised? The scientists asked why the result shocked anyone. They had encoded known motivators of human behaviour. Phil realised marketing is behaviour change, and had to join them. [00:12:58] Quitting With No Clients He set up the UK arm of their German company. He had no clients and no experience as a vendor. He had total conviction it would work. [00:13:42] Unlearning Unilever Unilever and Procter & Gamble are the two great marketing universities. Some of what they taught him was modified. Some was dismantled entirely and had to be rebuilt. [00:17:12] Closing the Say-Do Gap People say one thing in research and then do another. An implicit methodology from social psychology closes that gap. It captures the automatic processes that dominate decisions. [00:19:24] Consistency Over Reinvention New brand managers change things to make their mark. Brains learn by frequency and repetition. That client's strategy has held for six years and still works. [00:20:42] An 11% Lift From One Symbol A drinks brand wanted a better bar and restaurant menu. Removing the currency symbol lifted revenue 11%. Price activates the insula, which handles pain and disgust. [00:22:33] The Wine Bottle Nobody Buys The most expensive bottle goes first on the list. It serves purely as an anchor for everything below it. Perception is always comparative, never absolute. [00:24:13] Bundle D as Decoy A telco sold plenty of bundles A and B but not C. Decode added a pricier bundle D and reversed the reading order. Bundle C suddenly looked like excellent value and sold. [00:26:14] The Loaded Pizza A pizza company tested adding toppings versus removing them. Starting fully loaded sold more. Removing items relieves pain rather than adding it. [00:28:00] The Rare Gift These Two Have One is Swiss, the other German. Academic papers are impenetrable to anyone outside that community. These two translate the science into "so what" and "now what." [00:31:33] The Bravery He Borrowed Without them he would never have left a VP role with a mapped future. They remain colleagues, friends, and sounding boards. One recently told Phil he had taught him something. [00:36:40] The Semmelweis Reflex Humans default to the status quo and reject the new. New means change, change means risk, risk means possible death. The longer you have been in business, the more ingrained the habits.   KEY QUOTES "The more they explained things to me, the more these sort of veils lifted from my eyes, and I realized these guys know things that we in the commercial world don't." - Phil Barden "Human beings will say something and then do something completely different. If you ask them in research what they're gonna do, they'll tell you something, will make something up, but then their behavior will be quite different." - Phil Barden "Be open-minded, because you will be challenged. Your mental models will shake, and in some cases the foundations will be pulled right out from under them. And that's not a bad thing." - Phil Barden "There's something called the Semmelweis reflex, which is a human tendency to stick to the status quo and reject things that are new, because new implies change, and change implies risk, and risk implies I might not survive." - Phil Barden CONNECT WITH PHIL BARDEN Website: https://www.decodemarketing.com LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/philbarden Email: phil@decodemarketing.com Book: Decoded: The Science Behind Why We Buy - https://a.co/d/09rBd33Z   Thanks for tuning in! If you liked my show, please LEAVE A 5-STAR REVIEW, like, and subscribe! Find me on: Apple Podcasts | Spotify | iHeart Radio | Stitcher

  2. 3d ago

    Before the Overnight Success with Cameron Herold

    What if the fourteen years nobody asks about are the only part that actually explains the win? Cameron Herold is the founder of the COO Alliance, the global peer community for second-in-command leaders, and host of the Second in Command Podcast. As COO of 1-800-GOT-JUNK?, he scaled the company from $2 million to $106 million in six and a half years. He has written seven business books, including Vivid Vision and The Second in Command. Long before any of it, he ran a College Pro Painters franchise at twenty and went on to coach 120 franchisees. Two of them were Kimbal Musk and Peter Rive. He credits College Pro's founder Greg Clark and his general manager Mary Mowbray with building the real-world MBA that everything since has rested on.   [00:02:34] The First Domino Kevin and Cameron met through Joe Polish and Genius Network. Kevin met Joe in 1995 while running a carpet cleaning business. He had blown through $300,000 in his first year. [00:05:00] Tim Ferriss and Yanik Silver Cameron met Tim Ferriss at a Warren Buffett shareholder event. Tim mentioned Yanik Silver, which Cameron mistook for a car. That introduction led to Joe, and Joe expanded everything. [00:06:08] A Mastermind With No Entrepreneurs The COO Alliance is only for second-in-command leaders. Members come from 17 countries. The largest member company does around $900 million. [00:07:23] Groomed As an Entrepreneur His father and both sets of grandparents ran their own companies. At twenty he had twelve full-time employees painting houses. He was running six homes at the same time. [00:08:20] Two Million to 106 Million He joined his best friend's junk removal company as COO. The Rubbish Boys was being rebranded as 1-800-GOT-JUNK. They hit $106 million in six and a half years. [00:08:41] Where the Idea Came From He was sitting in a Genius Network event looking around the room. Groups existed for entrepreneurs, marketers, engineers, and lawyers. Nothing existed for the second in command. [00:09:50] A Duck With One Strong Wing Growing yourself alone makes you fly in a circle. The team has to grow alongside the founder. The COO Alliance launched in 2016. [00:10:33] Simon Sinek at His Dinner Table Simon sat on his board of advisors before writing Start With Why. He helped Cameron define his core purpose over dinner. Entrepreneurs are flies on a window, missing the shortcut. [00:11:47] Four Million From One Event May Stigler was COO of Organifi, past $100 million in revenue. She credited one three-day event with $4 million in value. The event cost her $6,000. [00:12:30] Member Number One Zach Morrison was COO of Elite SEM, now Tinuiti. The company went from 50 employees to 300 in three years. He later became CEO and scaled it to 3,000. [00:15:48] Greg Clark and the Real-World MBA Greg founded College Pro Painters. Cameron won a franchise at twenty and ran it three years. He then coached 120 franchisees at head office. [00:16:31] Hiring Kimbal Musk Cameron hired Kimbal in 1993, along with cousin Peter Rive. He was a reference for their first Zip2 funding round. They asked for $600,000 and were given three million. [00:18:02] The Mentor He Has Never Spoken About Mary Mowbray was his general manager in year two. She showed him what situational leadership looks like. She held him accountable and cheered him on at once. [00:22:41] Nobody Talks in the Trenches Entrepreneurs only discuss the crisis a year later. In the moment you are too vulnerable and too exposed. Kimbal and Elon slept on their office floor for six months. [00:24:04] The Failures He Rarely Lists They nearly bankrupted 1-800-GOT-JUNK at $100 million in sales. He shut the entire Canadian barter office in a single day. He fired 150 people in Seattle, then another 150 two weeks later. [00:26:00] Walking Each Other Home His tattoo carries the Ram Dass quote in Hindi. The only metric still 100% accurate is the death rate. Employees are all quietly struggling with something.   KEY QUOTES "They don't understand the night before you become the overnight success. Everybody's like, 'Oh, wow, that 1-800-GOT-JUNK.' Yeah, but I'd been running companies for 14 years before I walked into 1-800-GOT-JUNK." - Cameron Herold "Kimbal and Elon used to sleep on the floor of their office and shower next door at the MBA for six months before they raised that first money. But no one talks about that." - Cameron Herold "You need the people around you that have gone through the valley of death a number of times to help you get through it. Most of your friends will never understand. So it makes the journey less vulnerable, makes it less lonely, it makes it a lot more fun." - Cameron Herold CONNECT WITH CAMERON HEROLD Website: https://www.CameronHerold.com COO Alliance: https://www.cooalliance.com LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/cameronherold Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/cameron.herold.77 Email: Cameron@cooalliance.com Podcast: Second in Command   Thanks for tuning in! If you liked my show, please LEAVE A 5-STAR REVIEW, like, and subscribe! Find me on: Apple Podcasts | Spotify | iHeart Radio | Stitcher

  3. Oct 23

    Becoming Unmuted with April Pertuis

    What if the thing you have been hiding is the exact thing that would draw people to you? April Pertuis is a storyteller, speaker, author, and podcaster who founded Lightbeamers after a 25-year career in journalism, video marketing, and digital storytelling. She helps women leaders and entrepreneurs harness their own story through books, stages, podcasts, and social media. Her own path was opened by two people: a TV station mentor who refused to let her stop doing public appearances, and Cecil Stokes, a man she met at a Monday night networking event in Charlotte who brought her into HGTV, DIY, and Food Network.   [00:03:49] The Introduction From Fabi Paolini Fabi emailed both of them with a reason to connect. Neither looked the other up on LinkedIn first. Trusting the source removed the need to vet. [00:07:38] Teaching Women to Be Seen Her entire career has lived in storytelling. She works with women leaders, entrepreneurs, and change-makers. The goal is helping them become genuinely visible. [00:08:29] The Step Most People Skip People are confident about their expertise. They skip sharing their own journey. Most prefer the polished, branded version of themselves. [00:09:36] The 60/40 Split About 40% believe they have no story worth telling. They assume a normal life holds nothing interesting. The rest have a story they are reluctant to tell. [00:11:00] Both Camps Stay Muted Either the story or its absence holds power over you. It keeps people quiet and small. She calls the alternative being an unmuted woman. [00:11:43] Moth to a Flame Stories do not scare people away. Others are sitting with the same shame. Verbalizing it attracts people rather than repelling them. [00:12:21] Harnessing It Instead Owning the story strips its power. You stop letting circumstances hold you hostage. That is the moment someone becomes unmuted. [00:14:05] Kevin's 1997 DUI He kept it quiet for years out of embarrassment. The two years afterward were ugly and cost around $10,000. Only the people who absolutely had to know were told. [00:14:30] The Blog Post That Changed It He wrote the entire story out and published it. Friends responded saying they had DUIs too. It became one of his most responded-to posts ever. [00:16:43] "Nothing to Prove and Nothing to Hide" His friend Jesse said that line at their first meeting. Jesse encouraged him to write the story out regardless. He said Kevin would be met with open arms. [00:19:00] Not Every Detail Is Public She does not advocate sharing every private thing. Her marriage, parenting, and family stay private. Someone else's story is never hers to tell. [00:22:00] Dawn Gets on Video A real estate agent of 20 years joined her community. Getting on video at all was a major hurdle. She signed up and started anyway. [00:25:07] From Gun-Shy to Global Stages Dawn resisted the idea of speaking on stage. April fed her small opportunities to get her feet wet. She now speaks at massive real estate conventions worldwide. [00:33:23] The Mentor Who Would Not Let Her Quit She asked to stop doing community appearances. Her mentor said leaders get called on to speak. "You might as well learn how to do it on our dime." [00:36:19] It Was Never About Her She had been worried about her own performance. Speaking is about willingness to make an impact. Letting go of self-focus made it easy. [00:38:30] A Monday Night in Charlotte Elise Williams took people around to meet decision-makers. April met Cecil Stokes at one of those nights. She decided to just be herself and own the room. [00:40:00] The Shot That Fed Twenty Years Cecil brought her into HGTV, DIY, and Food Network. She produced television and did some on-camera work. One decision led to the next thing for two decades.     KEY QUOTES "This is when you learn to start to harness the power of your story, and therefore, the story no longer holds power over you, and that's freeing. You are no longer letting the circumstances, the people, the experience hold power over you, and that's when you become unmuted." - April Pertuis "Leaders need to be able to speak with confidence. Whether you see yourself as a speaker or not, you need to have that ready." - April Pertuis "I was making it all about me, and I was making it about my performance, which I think is where a lot of people get tripped up on speaking. Speaking has nothing to do with that. Speaking is really more about your willingness to make an impact." - April Pertuis CONNECT WITH APRIL PERTUIS Website: https://www.lightbeamers.com Substack: https://substack.com/@lightbeamers LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/lightbeamers Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/apriladamstv Email: april@Lightbeamers.com   Thanks for tuning in! If you liked my show, please LEAVE A 5-STAR REVIEW, like, and subscribe! Find me on: Apple Podcasts | Spotify | iHeart Radio | Stitcher

  4. Oct 20

    Never Underestimate the Power of a Handshake with Li Hayes

    What if the deal you cannot close over email is sitting half an hour away, waiting for you to show up? Li Hayes is the founder of Go Leeward, where she connects world-class business speakers directly with event planners and executives, cutting the agencies out of the middle. She also coaches emerging speakers through her podcast, Path to the Main Stage. Her business began the day she had nothing left to do. After two years spent closing a pharmaceutical division, author Mike Michalowicz asked her to answer his phones for twelve weeks. Ten years later her small, focused stable includes Jesse Cole of the Savannah Bananas.   [00:04:07] Serving Many Masters Ninety percent of her work is getting speakers onto stages. She serves event planners, owners, bureau agents, and speakers. The goal is the right person on the right stage. [00:05:00] Teaching the Business of Speaking She also brings emerging speakers up. Many assume speaking is a quick buck. It is a serious business that takes years. [00:06:30] The Sunday Phone Call She was a director of HR at a large pharmaceutical company. A Sunday afternoon call asked her to come in immediately. The whole division was closing. [00:07:27] Two Years of Firing People She began terminations the next morning. She had to keep the remaining staff motivated throughout. Everyone knew their turn was coming. [00:08:00] "Would You Answer My Phones?" With nothing left to do, Mike Michalowicz reached out. His exclusive agency arrangement had just ended. He asked for twelve weeks of help. [00:08:30] Twelve Weeks Became Ten Years She took a new corporate job but kept working for Mike. Evenings and weekends went to his speaking business. Then Mike handed her another speaker, and another. [00:11:05] The Client Who Sold For Her A Chicago placement went extremely well. Carrie called back with a speaker who needed an agent. She wanted the introduction because it would help Li. [00:13:00] Representing Jesse Cole She has worked with him since the Coastal League days. He now owns six teams and a championship series. He can only speak about twenty times a year. [00:14:28] What a Bureau Cannot Do A bureau that has never met Jesse will promise anything. The client then fails without knowing why. Knowing her speakers lets her engineer the yes. [00:17:58] Her Love Language Is Gifts For her a gift is not an object. It is the excitement of something happening. Getting a speaker onto their dream stage is the gift. [00:19:00] Mike Michalowicz Changed Everything He was her very first speaker. He introduced her to the entire world of speaking. Simon Sinek calls him the patron saint of entrepreneurs. [00:20:00] Profit First From Day One She built her business on his financial model. Her first dollar went into a profit account. She has never had a negative bank balance. [00:22:00] One Sentence From Josh Jubal Her former corporate boss is now at Yale. He told her never to underestimate the power of a handshake. That single line has put her on planes ever since. [00:23:00] The Atlanta Drop-In A bank there had passed on hiring from her once. She emailed, asked to pop in, and showed up. Chris had forgotten entirely, then gave her half an hour. [00:25:30] The Private Jet Detour She placed the This Old House host at a flooring event. Her contact Bill introduced him to a manufacturer. A private jet, a factory tour, and a TV segment followed.   KEY QUOTES "Never underestimate the power of a handshake. And because of that one line, I have put my fanny on planes and gone to customers' offices and met them, not knowing anything was gonna come out of it, and something always came out of it." - Li Hayes "AI has its place. It can definitely do rote tasks, but it doesn't care. It doesn't care about my clients, it doesn't care if they're successful or not. I care. So I wanna meet people." - Li Hayes CONNECT WITH LI HAYES Website: https://www.goleeward.com Podcast: https://www.pathtothemainstage.com LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/li-hayes Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/li.hayes.1 Email: sid@goleeward.com   Thanks for tuning in! If you liked my show, please LEAVE A 5-STAR REVIEW, like, and subscribe! Find me on: Apple Podcasts | Spotify | iHeart Radio | Stitcher

  5. Oct 16

    Failure Is An Option with Mike Grossman

    What if the six companies you sold had less to do with your talent than with the two people who told you to go? Mike Grossman has run six venture-funded technology companies over thirty years, every one of which was acquired. He now sits on four boards, informally coaches close to ten first-time CEOs, and wrote Failure Is An Option: Reflections of a Silicon Valley CEO. The two relationships he credits most sit on either side of his life. Bill Campbell, the Silicon Valley coach who led Intuit and advised Apple and Google, met with him weekly for a decade and gave him the advice that saved a company sale. And his wife, whom he met by accident in Melbourne, is the reason he became a full-time entrepreneur at all.   [00:04:19] Three Constituencies His career centers on venture-funded early-stage software. He serves customers, employees, and shareholders. The aspiration is "best company I've ever worked at." [00:05:29] Half Accident, Half Intention He knew as a teenager he wanted to build things. His first company sold art wear T-shirts in his mid-20s. It held the exclusive license to Norman Rockwell's art. [00:06:30] The Twist at Forty He spent ten years as a full-time entrepreneur. After an acquisition, his co-founders were unavailable. He was recruited in as CEO of a pre-revenue company. [00:07:37] Entrepreneur Versus CEO An entrepreneur builds momentum out of nothing. A recruited CEO inherits momentum built over years. The CEO role leans toward culture and priorities. [00:10:06] The Shift He Did Not Expect Early on, building something new was the thrill. Now developing people's careers motivates him more. That shift would have surprised him decades ago. [00:11:35] Why the Exit Was Good His last company sold for many hundreds of millions. The outcome followed from the culture, not the reverse. Customer satisfaction and employee passion were both high. [00:12:06] The Common Thread Across six companies, results varied widely. Industries and circumstances were very different. Every one had a strong values-driven culture. [00:13:30] Still in the Game He coaches close to ten first-time CEOs. He sits on four boards and still brainstorms ideas. He expects to run at least one more company. [00:14:42] Meeting Bill Campbell They met when Mike worked at Intuit, where Bill was CEO. Bill became his coach at his first tech company. They met one to two times a week for ten years. [00:16:00] The Clause He Missed An acquisition opportunity arrived for the company. A contract he signed a year earlier held an ambiguous clause. Read the wrong way, it blocked the sale entirely. [00:16:43] Against the Board's Instruction Bill advised confronting the issue head-on. The board had told him not to. He convinced the counterparty to release the agreement. [00:17:06] One Week Later Dun & Bradstreet spotted the clause and flagged a problem. Mike could answer that the contract no longer existed. That is how the company sold and how he bought his house. [00:17:43] The Melbourne Accident A roommate spotted a poster for an Australian law firm. He was assigned Brisbane, then switched to Melbourne. He met his wife within a week of arriving. [00:18:49] Two Years, Two Continents He was in Boston while she was in Melbourne. There was no email, text, Zoom, or FaceTime then. They kept it going and got married. [00:23:45] Leaving on the Day She Went Into Labor His wife's pregnancy forced the entrepreneurship question. She said to start the company and offered to fund insurance. He left his job the same day she went into labor. [00:27:51] Luck and the Limits of Control Luck plays an enormous role in outcomes. People focus too heavily on results. You control the effort, not the result.   KEY QUOTES "The reason the outcome was so good is because of all of these other pieces, and that's what I'm most proud of." - Mike Grossman "Much of what I do as a CEO, I learned from Bill. The reason I'm sitting in this house that I'm in as I talk to you is thanks to advice that Bill gave me at a very critical juncture." - Mike Grossman "Everything about my life now really is connected to that largely random event of meeting her in Melbourne." - Mike Grossman "People focus too much on results, and really, we don't have that much control over results. We have a lot of control over the input, over the effort we make. But what ends up happening is often unpredictable." - Mike Grossman CONNECT WITH MIKE GROSSMAN Website: https://www.failureisanoption.com LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/migrossman Email: mikegrossman86@gmail.com Book: Failure Is An Option: Reflections of a Silicon Valley CEO   Thanks for tuning in! If you liked my show, please LEAVE A 5-STAR REVIEW, like, and subscribe! Find me on: Apple Podcasts | Spotify | iHeart Radio | Stitcher

  6. Oct 13

    From Hard-Headed to Innovator with Rodney Ridley

    What if the only thing that changed between being called stubborn and being called visionary was the world, not you? Dr. Rodney S. Ridley Sr. is the chief economic, community and strategic development officer at Alvernia University, founding dean of its College of STEAM, and COO of the O'Pake Institute. A materials engineer by training, he holds 27 US patents and spent two decades in semiconductors before higher education. For years he sat on the industry side of the table, frustrated that universities made partnership so difficult. When his startup folded in 2008, he walked into one of those universities to find out why. The two people he credits most are his grandmother, who had a fourth-grade education and called him hard-headed, and Frank Wells, who busted a city kid into rooms he was not supposed to be in.   [00:02:47] The Chain of Introductions John Loyack introduced Rodney and Kevin. Ryan Smith had introduced Kevin to John. The call felt like reconnecting with an old friend. [00:05:35] An Administrative Mutt No standard job exists for his mix of experience. John built the position around him, not the reverse. By training he is a materials engineer in semiconductors. [00:06:42] The Guy on the Other Side His company offloaded future research to universities. He ended up running university relations. The operation spent roughly $100 million across sites. [00:07:43] "Universities Suck at This" He would go home and tell his wife they were doing it wrong. He was trying to give them money and partner with them. They made the process needlessly hard. [00:08:20] The Tsunami of 2008 He lost his startup in the 2008 collapse. He joined Wilkes University, where he met John. He arrived with a corporate, innovation-first mindset. [00:09:02] Right and Wrong at the Same Time They really were doing it wrong. But they faced pressures invisible from outside. That insight reshaped how he works. [00:10:43] So Good At It, It Looks Free Teenagers come back as functional 22-year-olds. Surgeons, engineers, and coders come out the other end. Higher education markets this achievement terribly. [00:12:56] Transformation Is the Addiction Watching a teenager become functional is magical. That student may return at 24, then 27 with a doctorate. He now works with high school students too. [00:15:35] The Student Who Would Not Talk Michelle was an introvert who barely spoke. She became his graduate assistant running daily operations. Bringing her along was his only condition for the Alvernia job. [00:17:50] The Son of Reading Adonis Fleming applied for an admin role with no relevant resume. Two minutes in, they started interviewing him for a job that did not exist. He became a graduate fellow instead. [00:20:07] Ninety Breakfasts Reading met the university with local pride and resistance. When Adonis asked for a meeting, people said yes. Together they built what is now the Cultural Coalition. [00:23:36] The Wisest Person He Ever Met His maternal grandmother had a fourth-grade education. She was not academic, just deeply wise. Her sayings still run in his head today. [00:24:44] Hard-Headed Becomes Tenacious She called him hard-headed as a child. At 45 the same trait is called tenacious. At 55 it gets called innovative and successful. [00:28:36] Picked Last, Then First Teams left him off over his SAT score. The first competition rewarded problem solving, not testing. By week two he was the number one pick every time. [00:30:35] The Obstacle John Moved Headwinds blocked his push to commercialize a cancer detection system. John recognized some obstacles could simply be removed. He hired Rodney into his cabinet to transform the place. [00:35:55] "You Were Right, I Was Wrong" A Wilkes president had told him it could not be done. Years later he visited Alvernia to admit Rodney was right. He asked to write the case study himself.   KEY QUOTES "What got you in trouble when you were little makes you unique when you're older if you embrace it. But you gotta embrace it. You can't be somebody else" - Rodney Ridley "My grandmother had instilled in me how to solve problems. You might know the numbers, but I know how to solve the problem" - Rodney Ridley "Sometimes there's obstacles before you that somebody just moved that obstacle" - Rodney Ridley "Don't be curtailed by your own thinking. Think bigger than your wallet, think bigger than your surroundings" - Rodney Ridley CONNECT WITH RODNEY RIDLEY Website: https://www.alvernia.edu O'Pake Institute: https://www.alvernia.edu/opake-institute LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/rodney-ridley-715a182 Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/rodney.ridley.92 Email: Rodney.Ridley@Alvernia.edu   Thanks for tuning in! If you liked my show, please LEAVE A 5-STAR REVIEW, like, and subscribe! Find me on: Apple Podcasts | Spotify | iHeart Radio | Stitcher

  7. Oct 9

    You Don't Have a People Problem with Kerri Roberts

    What if the hardest part of your business has nothing to do with people? Kerri Roberts spent more than twenty years in corporate human resources before founding Salt & Light Advisors, a consulting firm built for businesses that never built an HR foundation. She is also the host of Don't Waste the Chaos and the author of The HR Easy Button. Her career was built on people who said yes before she had the resume to justify it. A distribution company hired her with no HR experience. A boss taught her to read HR through the P&L. And the firm she served as COO became her first client when she asked to go out on her own.   [00:03:40] Who She Serves Salt & Light Advisors focuses on HR consulting and advisory work. Her clients are not defined by size or industry. The common thread is a missing HR foundation. [00:04:37] Why Smaller Firms Stay Stuck Most HR firms are large and well-known. Smaller businesses fear the cost and time commitment. Without an HR person, someone in the office inherits the work. [00:05:22] One Pitch, One Yes She sat on the idea for six or seven years. She pitched it to a single business as a concept. They said yes within 24 hours, so she formed an LLC. [00:06:00] The Fractional Model As a COO she heard "we need a you, but we can't afford it." Fractional and project-based work closes that gap. Owners get to hand off the HR worry entirely. [00:07:19] The Comprehensive HR Audit Engagements open with a month-long audit. She reviews hiring, payroll technology, compensation, and benefits. A gap analysis shows what exists and what should. [00:08:06] Compensation Data Studies She benchmarks every employee against percentile data. The results expose overpay, underpay, and wrong job titles. Misclassification often surfaces too. [00:10:19] The Indeed Trap A competitor's hourly rate tells almost nothing. That employer may offer remote work or paid leave. Matching a range is not a compensation strategy. [00:12:56] Flying Blind People start businesses because they are good at a craft. A solid business foundation rarely comes with it. Without a partner who knows that piece, the road gets harder. [00:13:30] The Law Firm That Felt Misread The CEO sensed low energy but could not name the cause. Rather than guess, Kerri surveyed the employee population. The survey revealed low trust in leadership. [00:15:37] An 18% Jump Satisfaction scores rose 18% in twelve months. No large pay raises were involved. Clear communication and expectations did the work. [00:17:54] A Process Problem in Disguise Clients often say managing people is the hardest part. To Kerri that signals broken processes. Clarity and accountability make management easier. [00:20:30] The Company That Took a Chance The hospital HR department turned her away for lack of experience. A distribution company interviewed her anyway. They hired her, and she has been in HR ever since. [00:21:20] The Boss Who Taught Her the P&L Her first job was insurance billing reconciliation. Her boss framed it as a major line item on the P&L. That lens shaped how she has practiced HR since. [00:24:53] Her Former Employer Became Client One She proposed moving from W-2 to hourly contractor. They called back within 24 hours, open to it. Three and a half years later the business is flourishing. [00:27:28] Six Clients From One Talk A near-stranger invited her to a low-budget women's event. She said yes and brought her A game anyway. Six clients, new speaking dates, and an audit followed.   KEY QUOTES "I think you get into business because you're a really good attorney, or a really good contractor, or a really good dermatologist. It's not necessarily because you have a really solid business foundation. And if you don't bring a partner in or hire someone that knows that piece, you're just kind of flying blind" - Kerri Roberts "Making data-driven decisions instead of emotional, fear-based decisions around compensation is huge. And it's usually the largest line item on the P&L" - Kerri Roberts "If someone opens something up for you, you've got to give it your very best. Bring your very best self to it, because you just never know what's on the other side of it." - Kerri Roberts "You have to have those doors open to you, and you've gotta be a person worth opening the doors for. You have to be there for people just as much as they're there for you." - Kerri Roberts CONNECT WITH KERRI ROBERTS Website: https://www.saltandlightadvisors.com Personal site: https://www.kerrimroberts.com LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kerrimroberts Email: kerri@saltandlightadvisors.com Podcast: "Don't Waste the Chaos" - https://open.spotify.com/show/0nmxuIYEmqpbqZxzoxgiMY?si=b4560375dcf54b1b   Thanks for tuning in! If you liked my show, please LEAVE A 5-STAR REVIEW, like, and subscribe! Find me on: Apple Podcasts | Spotify | iHeart Radio | Stitcher

  8. Oct 6

    The Five Minute Call That Changed Everything with Aaron Vaccaro

    What if a stranger who had no idea what you did decided to introduce you anyway, purely on a feeling? In this episode, Aaron Vaccaro, President of Singularity University and Managing Director at West River Group, shares how a lunch he asked for in a college cafeteria led to a five minute phone call that shaped his entire career. Aaron helped take Topgolf from $90 million to over a billion in revenue as chief of staff to the CEO. He now leads the organization he first heard about on a podcast in college, teaching executives, governments, and militaries how to think clearly about AI and frontier technology. This conversation covers why most companies grab the wrong tool, and why the man who introduced him to his mentor did not even know what business the guy was in. [00:04:55] What He Does and Who He Serves President of Singularity University, where he has been for three years Founded almost 20 years ago by Peter Diamandis and Ray Kurzweil Delivers executive education for corporate, government, nonprofit, and military leaders Covers 17 technology areas including AI, quantum, biotech, and space [00:06:35] What Inspired Him Originally First heard about Singularity on a podcast in college in 2012 The insight was that leaders learn finance and strategy but not frontier technology The goal was teaching the best and brightest to solve global grand challenges Not building another app, but building companies that address hunger, water, and poverty [00:08:16] Why the Idea Fit Him Perfectly Was a physics then math major who also ran an investing club Originally wanted to study nuclear energy Loved entrepreneurship and the power of science to make breakthroughs Singularity seemed to combine both into the best of all possible worlds [00:08:40] From Investor to President Joined venture capital firm West River Group straight out of college Years later Singularity came across their desk raising capital At about 25 he pushed the firm to invest because he already knew the organization After the pandemic restructuring, West River became majority owner and he was drafted to lead [00:10:00] What Inspires Him Now Technology can create as many problems as it solves if not guided well Points to social media, misinformation, and cheaper fossil fuel extraction Still believes in the possibility technology creates Now focused on helping leaders implement it wisely and avoid leaving people behind [00:12:30] The Surreal Part Read Bold, Abundance, and The Singularity in college and saw the authors as celebrities Those same people are now on his speed dial and on the board he reports to Compares it to a Lakers fan ending up working in the front office Twenty-two year old Aaron would not have believed the path was possible [00:14:00] Why He Got Those Opportunities Every organization needs people willing to show up and run things Sometimes it is as simple as raising your hand and saying you care He volunteered for investments, capital raising, financial modeling, and the COVID restructuring He was learning most of it for the first time but was willing to do it [00:15:45] Be Genuinely Nice If you are smart, willing to solve problems, and people like working with you, it is not complicated Authenticity comes through, especially online where anyone can position themselves as anything People sniff out authenticity quickly Better to actually care about people than to perform caring [00:16:51] Client Impact: Bringing Executives to Silicon Valley Brings executive teams from the US, Spain, London, and Chile to the Bay Area Combines lectures and workshops with visits to Nvidia, Amazon, Microsoft, and startups First goal is awareness of what is actually happening on the cutting edge Second goal is foundational understanding of what these technologies can and cannot do [00:20:17] Start With the Problem, Not the Tool When you have a hammer, every problem looks like a nail AI is the big shiny hammer right now First figure out whether you are dealing with a nail, a screw, or a staple Use a hammer on a screw and you will get there, but you will damage a lot on the way [00:21:37] The UK Financial Firm Brought their entire executive team out for a few days Paired them with startups building agents for wealth managers The CEO believed they would be gone in five or ten years without change His leadership team believed everything was fine, so he brought them to be shaken up [00:23:31] Culture Change Down the Layers Now building an education program for the entire company The culture has both resistance to change and a lack of awareness Teaching principles of exponential change and how to look ahead With exponential technology you cannot know exactly where the puck is going [00:25:36] Ask What Is Not Going to Change Borrows a framework from Jeff Bezos Amazon assumed customers would always want better selection, fast delivery, and low prices No future customer will ask for slower delivery or less selection Optimize for the constants and let everything else evolve [00:28:12] Why Foresight Stays Flat Change accelerates every year on an exponential curve But at any point on that curve, our forward view remains linear People recognize the pattern behind them and still fail to project it forward We overestimate one year and underestimate ten [00:29:22] The Opposite Problem: The AI Happy CEO Working with an energy company whose new CEO is gung ho on AI They invested in an AI startup without knowing what they would do with it The incoming head of technology brought Singularity in to separate hype from noise The energy and willpower are there; it just needs direction [00:31:41] Building the Scariest Program Possible Works with branches of different militaries focused primarily on risk Technology companies now rival or exceed governments in cybersecurity capability He could build a program that leaves you optimistic or one that terrifies you For national security clients, he deliberately builds the frightening one [00:33:50] The $1.3 Million Phishing Scam A friend's business lost $1.3 million to social engineering Their bookkeeper was convinced the callers were the FBI and Treasury Department Money was wired out through a fraudulent account They recovered roughly $400,000 through the bank and FDIC [00:37:02] The Relationship That Changed Everything: Eric Anderson Aaron asked a university board member to lunch during his senior year That man said he knew an investor in Seattle but did not know what he did He made the introduction purely on a feeling that they would get along That investor was Eric Anderson, founder of West River Group [00:39:12] Five Minutes in the College Library The first call lasted less than five minutes Eric asked directly whether he needed money, a job, or an internship Aaron said an internship and Eric said come work with me this summer Two weeks later someone called to arrange it [00:40:44] The Call That Turned Into a Career After the summer he went to a master's program and was recruiting elsewhere Eric called in October offering a job as his right-hand man He had taken over Topgolf as CEO after a major investment Aaron worked part-time until graduation, then joined full-time in Seattle [00:41:50] From $90 Million to Over a Billion Served as chief of staff for about six years Covered finance, strategy, operations, and growth Topgolf grew from $90 million in revenue to just over $1.1 billion before being sold to Callaway Eric gave him agency to make mistakes, join boards, and get his hands dirty [00:43:00] Luck Paired with Work Says the people who influenced him most are his parents and then Eric They still speak nearly every day Calls it a crazy lucky break of meeting the right person at the right time But he worked 60 to 80 hour weeks for five-plus years to take advantage of it [00:44:47] Final Word: Step Away From the Chat Window There is enormous pressure to be on top of every new AI tool You will never keep up, and he calls that pressure total crap Tools are a means to an end, not the end themselves Go touch some grass, read a physical book, and think about the problem you are actually solving   KEY QUOTES "We should be teaching the world's best and brightest not to be building apps like Twitter, but instead building companies that leverage these technologies to solve bigger problems in the world." - Aaron Vaccaro "Technology has the capacity to create as many problems as it solves if not implemented or guided correctly." - Aaron Vaccaro "When you have a hammer, every problem looks like a nail, and right now we have this big shiny hammer in AI." -  Aaron Vaccaro CONNECT WITH AARON VACCARO Website: https://www.su.org LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/aaronvaccaro   Thanks for tuning in! If you liked my show, please LEAVE A 5-STAR REVIEW, like, and subscribe! Find me on: Apple Podcasts | Spotify | iHeart Radio | Stitcher

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About

Have you ever been introduced to a person that completely changed the course of your business or your life… so much so, that much of what you have today wouldn't be possible, if not for this person? Each week on The Million Dollar Relationships Podcast, your host Kevin Thompson interviews successful entrepreneurs, founders, and CEOs as they share their personal stories and experience around this very question. Your invitation is to have a seat at the head of the table as they honor and introduce you to the most valuable people in their lives and remind us that relationship capital is the most valuable asset we possess. Each week you'll be inspired and motivated to intentionally create more meaningful, rewarding and profitable relationships in your life so that together we can make a far bigger impact in this world.

Information

  • Creator
    Kevin Thompson
  • Years Active
    2022 - 2026
  • Episodes
    434
  • Rating
    Clean
  • Copyright
    © 2022 - All Rights Reserved
  • Show Website
    Million Dollar Relationships

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