Understanding the Why Behind the What with Kermit Randa
What's Your Story: How Leaders Tell Stories to Influence and Connect with Audiences
Release Date: 03/28/2019
Building A Business And The Power Of Stories
What's Your Story: How Leaders Tell Stories to Influence and Connect with Audiences
Episode: Building a Business And The Power Of Stories Guests: Hust Williamson, Mary Scott Jameson and Hodges Markwalter Welcome to another episode of What’s Your Story where we host in depth conversations with business leaders to explore how they use storytelling to engage their audiences. Taking on the journey of entrepreneurship is not an easy feat and it’s not for the faint of heart. It takes passion behind your product or service and quite a bit of gusto on how you deliver your messages to investors and potential customers. And today, we have two entrepreneurs joining us: Mary Scot...
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Reigniting Ideas & Strategies with Teams with Keith Wilmot
What's Your Story: How Leaders Tell Stories to Influence and Connect with Audiences
It’s safe to say we all wish we could wake up every day and bring everything we have to the roles we’re in. Each day would be a new day, every agenda a clean slate. But the reality is that many of us are in roles that are a little messier than that. So messy in fact that getting to new ideas or exploring an out-of-the-box concept isn’t easy. In fact, with a pile of problems and challenges in our every day, new ideas can feel impossible. Unless you’ve spent time with Keith Wilmot. In our latest episode of What’s Your Story, Sally talks with Keith about how his agency, , helps leaders...
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Talent, Data & People - The Strategic CHRO with Kim Sullivan
What's Your Story: How Leaders Tell Stories to Influence and Connect with Audiences
We all faced new dynamics and uncharted waters as managers and leaders navigating a pandemic, social unrest and different ways of working. But if you considered the corporate role that felt the most impact, the CHRO, Chief Human Resources Officer, would rank high in terms of the toughest leadership positions over the last few years. And that's why this episode is so timely. In this episode, Sally talks to Kim Sullivan, who has been an HR leader for three global companies and a CHRO for more than six years which means pre-pandemic, post-pandemic and during the pandemic, giving her great...
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Getting Down to Business with Kim Wilson of Lucy's Market
What's Your Story: How Leaders Tell Stories to Influence and Connect with Audiences
Small businesses have gotten a lot of visibility over the last two years. As the world slowed down and dealt with a pandemic, we were more aware of the businesses on the corner that weren’t focused on five-year plans but were focused on next months’ payroll to survive. It brought front and center a look at how small businesses work and interestingly, as the world reset, it seemed to inspire a whole new culture of entrepreneurs and people who’d like to be their own boss. But running a small business isn’t for the faint of heart. As the last two years have proven, the safety net looks...
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Resetting & Reducing Social Distance with Karen Riddell
What's Your Story: How Leaders Tell Stories to Influence and Connect with Audiences
Social distancing is a term that took hold during the pandemic as a descriptive way of creating boundaries from each other. But after two years of distancing and now going back to offices and social settings with colleagues and friends, social distance may take on new meaning. At a minimum, the re-engagement in groups feels awkward at first. We’ve forgotten some of the social norms and feel a little rusty at small talk. In a corporate setting, we realize that Zoom calls didn’t allow for much of a relationship with colleagues. So, we aren’t quickly at ease as a member of the team. Virtual...
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The Mastery of Skills with Kenny Selmon
What's Your Story: How Leaders Tell Stories to Influence and Connect with Audiences
Every day, we talk to people about practice. And we explain that to become effective at communication, you have to work at becoming good at it. And we define mastery of a skill as those who become so good at a skill that you can count on their performance and outcome consistently. And once you begin to talk about performance and outcomes, it’s easy to draw a parallel between mastery of a skill like communication and mastery of sports like the Olympics. And that’s what we’re going to do for you on this podcast: connect the concepts of practice, mastery and outcomes. And accentuate...
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The Art of Coaching - How to Choose the Right Coach with Francie Schulwolf
What's Your Story: How Leaders Tell Stories to Influence and Connect with Audiences
In the last year, millions of workers took early retirement, which created a band of less-experienced managers and leaders in most companies. It’s a great career opportunity and accelerated promotions for several managers. But it also pushes a less-experienced leader to learn how to drive while the car is moving, and it can create risks within a company when someone is leading who doesn’t have a bank of experiences to draw on. That’s why coaching is a hot commodity. A Coach becomes a trusted advisor to a new leader. A good Coach becomes a sounding board… and a confidante. A good Coach...
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The Big Pitch with Rachel Spasser
What's Your Story: How Leaders Tell Stories to Influence and Connect with Audiences
This episode's topic is The Big Pitch. And it’s a discussion of one of the most important presentations you may ever give. It has a definitive and measurable impact. It’s rarely shared with a large audience. And while the audience may be small, they are a critical one. Because their interest and reaction to the presentation may change the future of a company. And in fact, that’s actually the point. Today, we’re going to talk about “pitch” presentations. Those opportunities when a start-up, mid-size or even a large corporation wants to be acquired. The Big Pitch is a different kind...
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Disrupted! A Talent Acquisition Perspective
What's Your Story: How Leaders Tell Stories to Influence and Connect with Audiences
Disruption happens every day across the corporate world. As employees, we experience reorgs, layoffs and acquisitions, and as disrupters ourselves we move cross country, chase ideas and challenge norms. But amidst all the disruption we all experience, some of us seem to thrive in times of turmoil. These are the communicators who have mastered the two secret arts hidden within corporate disruption: learning how to establish a compelling brand and build an intriguing career narrative. They are skills that take time to perfect, but they’re the differentiator factors between those who are cast...
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Disrupted! A Talent Development Perspective
What's Your Story: How Leaders Tell Stories to Influence and Connect with Audiences
Disruption happens every day across the corporate world. As employees, we experience reorgs, layoffs and acquisitions, and as disrupters ourselves we move cross country, chase ideas and challenge norms. But amidst all the disruption we all experience, some of us seem to thrive in times of turmoil. These are the communicators who have mastered the two secret arts hidden within corporate disruption: learning how to establish a compelling brand and build an intriguing career narrative. They are skills that take time to perfect, but they’re the differentiator factors between those who are cast...
info_outlineToday, we’re going to be chatting with Kermit Randa about the power of story and the struggles leaders must endure during the first 90 days at a new company. How do leaders settle into their roles and what sorts of pressures do they feel? What strategies are most important to implement in the first three months?
As Chief Executive Officer of Kaufman Hall’s Software division, Kermit Randa oversees all product development, sales, implementation, training, and support functions for the firm’s Axiom and Peak Software products.
Kermit has more than 20 years of experience spanning healthcare and software. His areas of expertise include enterprise software insights and adoption, business transformation and innovation, strategic partnership cultivation and management, and risk identification, monitoring, and mitigation. Prior to Kaufman Hall, he served as Chief Growth Officer with Waystar, and Chief Executive Officer for PeopleAdmin.
Kermit received his M.H.A. from Xavier University. He completed the Advanced Management Program at Harvard Business School and is a Fellow of the American College of Healthcare Executives.
Kermit is a strong supporter of data gathering and utilizing information to guide decision-making processes. In today’s episode, Kermit will explain that power behind surveys and offer us a glimpse into how he and his team sorted nearly 90k data points into condensed, actionable intelligence. How do top leaders utilize modern technology and fast communication? Find out more on today’s episode.
- 3:25 How did Kermit get started? What was most important to learn about the business? How did surveys play into this discovery process?
- 8:30 Learn to listen and be disciplined in what you’re listening for. Are leaders asking the same things throughout their information collection process? Why does it matter?
- 11:35 How did Kermit and his team break down more than 89k data points into actionable information in under three months? Which facets of business have been guided by this information?
- 14:00 How did Kermit take all of the information he gathered then synthesize it into what he wanted to say to employees?
- 24:09 How do leaders determine how much context to give to employees? How do you offer them clarity? Kermit asks himself, “What does this sound like at the kitchen table?”
- 27:25 How has Kermit personalized himself to his employees through the power of story? Kermit tells his story and explains how he knows this story works. “Opportunity doesn’t come from a thing… Opportunity comes from a person.”