173 episodes

Every business is in some way a “people business” with success or failure often coming down to how leaders manage the people dynamics of their organization. People Business is a weekly podcast focused on what it takes to build and lead a successful, profitable business by navigating the human element.

People Business w/ O'Brien McMahon O'Brien McMahon

    • Business
    • 5.0 • 54 Ratings

Every business is in some way a “people business” with success or failure often coming down to how leaders manage the people dynamics of their organization. People Business is a weekly podcast focused on what it takes to build and lead a successful, profitable business by navigating the human element.

    Building Community & Personal Brands That Connect w/ Dr. Anna Stumpf

    Building Community & Personal Brands That Connect w/ Dr. Anna Stumpf

    With a career spanning leadership roles in the world's largest company, influential positions in education teaching personal branding and marketing, and a deep understanding of the professional services industry and HR, Dr. Anna Stumpf brings a unique perspective to coaching professionals and organizations through transformative growth. She joins the show to talk about how successful leaders and companies are building community and brands that connect. 
     Mentioned on the Show:
    Collective Energy Coaching: https://www.collectiveenergycoach.com/Connect with Dr. Anna on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/amstumpfComing in June, 2024 - Designing Work for Humans: https://peoplebusinesssummit.com/O'Brien's Dad talked small business on People Business: https://peoplebusinesspodcast.com/chrismcmahon/________________________
    Connect with O’Brien McMahon on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/obrienmcmahon/
    Learn more about O’Brien: https://obrienmcmahon.com/
    O’Brien’s new book—How You Become You—is available now: https://a.co/d/22kZ0sV
    ________________________
    Timestamps:
    (2:04) - Welcoming Anna
    (3:12) - Who are you? What’s your background? What are you doing now?
    (11:09) - Can you talk about how important emotional intelligence is to marketing?
    (14:54) - Has marketing always been about community?
    (21:35) - What have you seen as far as companies using marketing for recruiting?
    (35:28) - How are you seeing leaders brand themselves successfully?
    (41:12) - How important is it to have a personal brand?
    (59:45) - Where can people find you if they want to connect?

    • 1 hr
    The Human Side of Finance: What Makes a Great CFO w/ Pinky Raina

    The Human Side of Finance: What Makes a Great CFO w/ Pinky Raina

    Pinky is the Chief Financial Officer of Ideal Industries, a ~$400M manufacturing company with a global footprint. She leads several enterprise-wise transformation initiatives, enabling the company’s business model to adapt to changing market conditions and disruptive market forces. In her prior role as the CFO & COO at U.S. Soccer, Pinky led the organization through its challenges in a highly-visible media environment, including the Women's National Team Equal Pay Litigation. She was central to the company's most significant commercial, legal, operational, and financial events. In this conversation, she talks about what it means to be a strategic CFO and how she thinks about the human aspects of leading finance. 
    Mentioned on the Show:
    Ideal Industries: https://www.idealindustries.com/us/en.htmlView Pinky's profile at Ideal Industries: https://www.idealindustries.com/us/en/about/leadership/pinky-raina.htmlConnect with Pinky on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/pinkyraina________________________
    Connect with O’Brien McMahon on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/obrienmcmahon/Learn more about O’Brien: https://obrienmcmahon.com/O’Brien’s new book—How You Become You—is available now: https://a.co/d/22kZ0sV________________________
    Timestamps:
    (1:49) - Welcome Pinky!
    (2:39) - What is a CFO’s job?
    (4:15) - What does "accelerating value creation" mean to you?
    (5:56) - What makes a good CFO?
    (8:10) - Do your peers have the same mindset you do?
    (9:48) - How handicapped are you working for a public company?
    (11:29) - Why do public company executives care about short-term market changes?
    (13:43) - Why is there a 3-5 year turnover rate for CEOs?
    (15:40) - How did you develop your mindset?
    (16:47) - How do you coach the people on your team? 
    (22:03) - What’s your mindset and what types of things are you looking for as a CFO?
    (29:42) - Are you verbalizing your plan to your team on day one?
    (32:40) - Who do you use as resources to help you navigate onboarding?
    (34:08) - Can you talk about how you partnered with HR in onboarding?
    (36:34) - Can you tell how you came to be in HR?
    (39:28) - What surprised you the most about taking on an HR role?
    (40:10) - What did you learn from your HR experience?
    (43:26) - How do you plan succession roles?
    (48:50) - As a CFO how do you think about talent and leadership development?
    (55:04) - Do you have any final thoughts you’d like to share?

    • 57 min
    Improving Manager/Employee Relations w/ Secchi Founders Mike White & Ken DeBauche

    Improving Manager/Employee Relations w/ Secchi Founders Mike White & Ken DeBauche

    Mike White and Ken DeBauche are Co-Founders of Secchi, an employee relationship management tool for manufacturing, healthcare, and other shift work environments. In this conversation, they share how the lessons they learned working in these environments influence how they are now trying to make work better for both leaders and employees. 
    Mentioned on the Show:
    Learn more about Secchi: https://secchi.io/Connect with Mike White on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mike-white-secchiConnect with Ken DeBauche on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ken-d-3b584110________________________
    Connect with O’Brien McMahon on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/obrienmcmahon/
    Learn more about O’Brien: https://obrienmcmahon.com/
    O’Brien’s new book—How You Become You—is available now: https://a.co/d/22kZ0sV
    ________________________
    Timestamps:
    (2:38) - Introducing Mike and Ken and the Secchi origin story.
    (8:28) - Can you talk about the "Us vs. Them" dynamics often associated with manufacturing and warehouse environments?
    (11:57) - How do you see health care issues translating into a warehouse environment?(17:02) - How do you start skill building for supervisors to encourage them to adopt this new system?
    (21:17) - In what format are the employees getting the recognition?
    (23:42) - How do you get the supervisors to adopt recognition?
    (26:30) - What other elements allow employers to influence their supervisors and front-line workers?
    (30:51) - How do you reward employee points?
    (38:18) - What other elements managers and supervisors are tracking with your systems?
    (41:40) - What does a goal look like for these employees?
    (52:36) - Where can people find out more about Secchi?

    • 55 min
    The Evolution of Work w/ Brent Kedzierski

    The Evolution of Work w/ Brent Kedzierski

    Brent Kedzierski is a sought-after keynote speaker and a leader of connected-worker ecosystems at Hexagon, an international data company working in industries from oil and gas to AI and manufacturing. He is focused on improving the human condition at work and creating a seamless collaboration between humans and machines. Brent has been involved in human performance trends in significant government and commercial industries, including the Department of Defense, executive and judicial branches of the US Government, aviation, healthcare, and nuclear industries. 
    Mentioned on the Show:
    Connect with Brent on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/brentkedzierskiLearn more about the concept of "cobotics": https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cobot________________________
    Connect with O’Brien McMahon on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/obrienmcmahon/Learn more about O’Brien: https://obrienmcmahon.com/O’Brien’s new book—How You Become You—is available now: https://a.co/d/22kZ0sV________________________
    Timestamps:
    (2:05) - Welcoming Brent
    (2:43) - What is your take on the state of employment these days?
    (12:59) - Why should companies invest in people skills (soft skills) for their employees, especially if those skills are transferrable to other employers?
    (20:17) - What are "cobotics"?
    (24:37) - What recommendations do you have for business leaders today to prepare for the transformation from our current work setting to a work setting with generative AI?
    (27:58) - What are the key traits from organizations that do training on new technology or business processes well?
    (35:22) - What in your mind is the purpose of business? 

    • 38 min
    Combatting Ageism & Utilizing All Your Talent w/ Patti Temple Rocks

    Combatting Ageism & Utilizing All Your Talent w/ Patti Temple Rocks

    Patti Temple Rocks is the author of I’m Not Done: It’s Time to Talk About Ageism in the Workplace, which was ranked as one of the 9 books Every Professional Should Read in 2019 by INC Magazine. Kirkus Reviews said, “Rocks writes succinctly but convincingly about the proliferation of age bias and its damaging, insidious, and demoralizing effects on businesses and employees alike.” She recently released a second edition called I’m STILL Not Done because of the impact she saw the pandemic have on older workers and the way they are treated.
    Mentioned on the Show:
    I’m Not Done (book): https://a.co/d/hVSVdmeI’m Still Not Done (book): https://a.co/d/dTtNayzLearn more about Patti Temple Rocks on her website: https://www.pattitemplerocks.com/Connect with Patti on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/pattitemplerocks/________________________
    Connect with O’Brien McMahon on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/obrienmcmahon/Learn more about O’Brien: https://obrienmcmahon.com/O’Brien’s new book—How You Become You—is available now: https://a.co/d/22kZ0sV________________________
    Timestamps:
    (2:15) - Welcoming Patti.
    (2:58) - What is Ageism? 
    (4:06) - Has Ageism always been a problem?
    (7:00) - Do you have examples of how this shows up differently for people?
    (9:21) - How does Ageism show up differently for men and women?
    (17:10) - Don’t people get less creative as they get older?
    (22:17) - Why should employers care about ageism?
    (26:26) - What do you think of the reasoning that the cost of the business requires it to replace older employees with younger ones?
    (35:51) - How do we blend having difficult conversations and providing opportunities for young people?
    (42:40) - What are things you see employers doing to get creative around retirement?
    (46:20) - Are you not a fan of mandatory retirement?
    (47:48) - Can you talk about mixing up social events?
    (50:52) - Patti's final message. 

    • 54 min
    Never Not Working w/ Malissa Clark

    Never Not Working w/ Malissa Clark

    Malissa Clark is an Associate Professor of Industrial-Organizational Psychology at the University of Georgia and Director of the Healthy Work Lab. She is the author of Never Not Working: Why the Always-On Culture Is Bad for Business—and How to Fix It. 
     Mentioned on the Show:
    Never Not Working (book): https://a.co/d/3xGh9q0
    Malissa’s website: https://www.malissaclark.com/Connect with Malissa on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/malissa-clark-0387991a/________________________
    Connect with O’Brien McMahon on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/obrienmcmahon/Learn more about O’Brien: https://obrienmcmahon.com/O’Brien’s new book—How You Become You—is available now: https://a.co/d/22kZ0sV________________________
    Timestamps
    (2:03) - Welcoming Malissa.
    (2:24) - How did you come to study workaholism?
    (3:41) - How do you define workaholism?
    (10:48) - How much of workaholism is about the action work versus how you feel about the work? 
    (13:21) - It’s normal for achievement to take a lot of sacrifice.  Don't we have to be workaholics to succeed?
    (15:31) - What is "introjected motivation"?
    (19:43) - How can we determine the difference between interjected and intrinsic motivation?
    (24:05) - What impact does workaholism have on your health and relationships?
    (28:46) - How influential are our phones and technology in fostering workaholism?
    (31:08) - Can you explain what "working light" is?
    (32:47) - Why is working light bad?
    (34:47) - How do we break the cycle of responsiveness?
    (48:05) - How do we let go of the guilt of not being productive?
    (49:18) - What’s an example of a mastery experience?
    (54:34) - Can you dispel the myth of needing employees to be workaholics for a company to succeed?
    (1:00:49) - What one or two things someone struggling with workaholism should do to start?

    • 1 hr 3 min

Customer Reviews

5.0 out of 5
54 Ratings

54 Ratings

kwebs14 ,

Great Listen

Not a single episode where anyone in the business of people won’t pick up a nugget or three.

Well worth the listen!

Ryan Hyman ,

Great listen

OBrien does a great job of consistently having interesting guests and thought provoking conversations. Always a good use of time to tune in!

Refah Ali ,

O’Brien McMahon Is A Must Listen!

O’Brien McMahon absolutely delivers on robust conversation, educational topics, and inspirational takeaways! I love how O’Brien’s brain works - a must listen!

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