Thought Talk

Best-selling author, and branding and marketing strategist Karen Tiber Leland, has engaging conversations with today’s thought leaders from the worlds of business, art, technology, science and entertainment.

Reputation Management and Online Clean Up 05/02/2022

Reputation Management and Online Clean Up Bant Breen is the Founder and Executive Chairman for Qnary, an award-winning executive reputation management and talent branding company. As more people appear online, it’s become clear that their name searches need to be cleaned up and more professional. Qnary’s company grew dramatically during the pandemic because your online presence matters more than ever, and executives understand this. In this episode, Bant talks about what executives should be thinking about when it comes to their online reputation, how to best reduce “bad” instances in your online presence, and why how you show up online really does matter more than you might think. Tips on improving your online presence Do an analysis on how you show up today in the search results. Are you happy with the results? Executives might not think it matters. It does. Future recruits are looking you up! How do you want future employees to see you? Reporters want to cite you as a source, but you need a strong and respectable presence to do that. Do you have your credentials? Do you look reliable? Are your articles/thoughts properly linked? Executives can take advantage of mini videos (which rank more quickly in Google) to improve trustability. These videos can be just 2-3 minutes long. About Karen Tiber Leland Karen Tiber Leland is the founder of Sterling Marketing Group, a branding, marketing, and color strategy and implementation firm helping CEOs, executives, and entrepreneurs develop stronger personal, business, and team brands. Her clients include Cisco, American Express, Marriott Hotels, Apple Computer, LinkedIn, and Twitter. She is also the best-selling author of nine traditionally-published business books that have sold over 400,000 copies and been translated into 10 languages. Her most recent book is The Brand Mapping Strategy: Design, Build and Accelerate Your Brand. She regularly writes for Inc.com and Entrepreneur.com and has had articles published in Self, The Los Angeles Times, American Way, The Boston Globe, and many others. Karen has spoken for Harvard, The AMA, Direct Marketing Association, and Stanford, among others. She has been interviewed on The Today Show, CNN, CNBC, and Oprah. Get in touch with Karen on | | | About our guest Bant Breen was inducted into the Advertising Hall of Achievement in 2010 and has a global marketing and communications background steeped in digital and innovation. Prior to launching Qnary, Bant served as CEO at IPG’s Reprise Media. Bant had previously been President of Worldwide Digital Communications at IPG’s Initiative. Before joining Initiative, Bant served as the Executive Director of the IPG Emerging Media Lab, created Ansible (IPG’s Mobile Marketing Agency), and led Universal McCann’s global digital communications offering. Bant also led IPG’s acquisition of Reprise Media in 2006 and managed IPG’s investments in Facebook, Radian6, and several other digital enterprises. Before joining IPG, Bant was the Founder and President of a strategic marketing and communications consultancy affiliated with Dentsu Inc. Prior to that, he worked at Leo Burnett Worldwide leading their European digital operations and then integrating the Leo Burnett global digital network now known as Arc Worldwide. Bant started his career as a WPP Fellow. Bant also serves as a board member, advisor, and strategic investor to publicly traded companies and startups. Bant has worked and lived in Asia Pacific, Europe, and the U.S. but now lives in New York City with his wife, Carmen, and two sons, Alejandro and Nico. Resources Karen’s book The Brand Mapping Strategy was just produced and released on Amazon’s Audible as an audiobook. You can now get an audio version of the book read in its entirety by Karen. Tweetables and Quotes to Share “In the beginning, Google was the first place and last place to look executives up, but it’s not the most important channel now. LinkedIn is the most important.” PODCAST: @KarenFLeland “Companies jump to PR quickly. Now, it’s really important to get that foundation set before you make a big PR investment.” PODCAST: @KarenFLeland “Writing is artistic, but it’s also quite mathematical. AI systems can read that and be able to understand it and mimic it.” PODCAST: @KarenFLeland “The remote work, due to COVID-19, really accelerated social media’s significance. Thirty percent of people viewed social media presence as more important during the pandemic.” PODCAST: @KarenFLeland /episode/index/show/thoughttalkpodcast/id/22981646

Upcoming Design Trends and The Future of Design 04/18/2022

Upcoming Design Trends and The Future of Design Mushrooms, alternative alcohol, digital health and merch have been four of the fastest-growing sectors for startups and small businesses in the past year. Here 99designs by Vista CEO Patrick Llewellyn talks to Karen Tiber Leland about some of the global trends that have emerged on the design platform and among its customers and community. Trends among fastest growing sectors for startups and small businesses A platform like 99Designs by Vista reaches communities far and wide and it has given people new opportunities that they otherwise wouldn’t have had in their small town. People with disabilities have also found a new purpose. There’s been a surge in design requests from the wellness sector, plant-based alternative foods, and mushrooms! Local businesses are taking opportunities to create merch (which means more need for creative designs!) to increase revenue in their business. Personalized designs that incorporate the brand’s personality are on the rise. People want to see the “who” behind the brand. About Karen Tiber Leland Karen Tiber Leland is the founder of Sterling Marketing Group, a branding, marketing, and color strategy and implementation firm helping CEOs, executives, and entrepreneurs develop stronger personal, business, and team brands. Her clients include Cisco, American Express, Marriott Hotels, Apple Computer, LinkedIn, and Twitter. She is also the best-selling author of nine traditionally-published business books that have sold over 400,000 copies and been translated into 10 languages. Her most recent book is The Brand Mapping Strategy: Design, Build and Accelerate Your Brand. She regularly writes for Inc.com and Entrepreneur.com and has had articles published in Self, The Los Angeles Times, American Way, The Boston Globe, and many others. Karen has spoken for Harvard, The AMA, Direct Marketing Association, and Stanford, among others. She has been interviewed on The Today Show, CNN, CNBC, and Oprah. Get in touch with Karen on | | | About our guest Patrick Llewellyn is CEO of 99designs by Vista, the global creative platform that makes it easy for small businesses to work with professional freelance designers online. 99designs has paid out more than US $400m to its creative community to date, working across brand and logo design, packaging, web design and more. Founded in 2008, 99designs has grown from a small, online forum into a worldwide community of talented designers that is now part of Vista, which includes VistaPrint and VistaCreate. Resources Karen’s book The Brand Mapping Strategy was just produced and released on Amazon’s Audible as an audiobook. You can now get an audio version of the book read in its entirety by Karen. /episode/index/show/thoughttalkpodcast/id/22799933

How to Become a Thought Leader in Your Field 04/06/2022

How to Become a Thought Leader in Your Field Today’s guest is Peter Winick, the Founder and CEO of Thought Leadership Leverage and the podcast host of Leveraging Thought Leadership. In this episode of Thought Talk, Peter talks about, you guessed it, thought leadership! Since it’s easy to have an opinion on social media, it’s so hard to get something good and worthy of substance in today’s fast-paced world. Intentional thought leadership changes that. Thought leadership is a hot topic right now, but it can get a little cloudy on what it really is. Peter shares examples of what thought leadership is, what it is not, and how you can get the most out of it through authentic connections and putting your stake in the ground. Tips on making thought leadership work for you Thought leadership means you have the courage to say something meaningful, profound, and different from the norm. You know you’re doing something right when 20% of the population disagrees with you. A classic mistake thought leaders make — They don’t have a strategy. Thought leadership is a business, at the end of the day. Want to be consistent in your thought leadership? Create an editorial calendar. Collaborate with experts who are also serving similar client demographics. They’re not really competitors! Consider writing a book. It is a great business card for your ideal client. The marketing strategies you do to put your work out there have to make sense for your ideal target market. Are your clients listening to radio? No? Then don’t do radio. About Karen Tiber Leland Karen Tiber Leland is the founder of Sterling Marketing Group, a branding, marketing, and color strategy and implementation firm helping CEOs, executives, and entrepreneurs develop stronger personal, business, and team brands. Her clients include Cisco, American Express, Marriott Hotels, Apple Computer, LinkedIn, and Twitter. She is also the best-selling author of nine traditionally-published business books that have sold over 400,000 copies and been translated into 10 languages. Her most recent book is The Brand Mapping Strategy: Design, Build and Accelerate Your Brand. She regularly writes for Inc.com and Entrepreneur.com and has had articles published in Self, The Los Angeles Times, American Way, The Boston Globe, and many others. Karen has spoken for Harvard, The AMA, Direct Marketing Association, and Stanford, among others. She has been interviewed on The Today Show, CNN, CNBC, and Oprah. Get in touch with Karen on | | | About our guest Peter Winick is the founder and CEO of Thought Leadership Leverage. For the past two decades, he has helped individuals and organizations build and grow revenue streams through designing and growing their thought leadership platforms as well as acting as a guide and advisor for increasing business to business sales of thought leadership products. His clients come from a diverse set of backgrounds and specialties. They include New York Times bestselling business book authors, members of the Speakers’ Hall of Fame, recipients of the Thinkers50 award, CEOs of public and privately held companies, and academics at prestigious institutions such as Yale, Wharton, Dartmouth, and London School of Business. Peter has built his career and Thought Leadership Leverage to serve the needs of these individuals and others like them. Get in touch with him through his website . Resources Karen’s book The Brand Mapping Strategy was just produced and released on Amazon’s Audible as an audiobook. You can now get an audio version of the book read in its entirety by Karen. /episode/index/show/thoughttalkpodcast/id/22702154

Four Foolproof Ways to Stay Crazy Ahead of your Competition 02/18/2021

Four Foolproof Ways to Stay Crazy Ahead of your Competition As I head into my 79th episode of the Thought Talk podcast, I’ve decided to take a break, step back, and do a bit of reworking. The Thought Talk podcast will be back by the end of March and better than ever. So for this episode I wanted to share with you four tips I learned decades ago that can help you ensure that your brand stays crazy ahead of your competition. In all honesty, they are so simple, it’s easy to toss them off. But don’t - they can truly transform your career and business. These four simple things almost certainly ensure your personal, CEO, business, or executive brand will be successful. Tune in today and see you again at the end of March. 4 ways how you show up that matter most #1. Show up — whether it be on social media, a webinar, a conference, or even just being where you say you will- showing up makes the difference between your brand shining or you being forgotten. #2. Show up on-time — whether it means getting on a webinar when it starts, delivering something when you promise, or just plain old being on time for an appointment- showing up when you say you will can elevate your brand. #3. Show up prepared — Taking the time to understand the people, situation, context, and objectives of the situation you are talking to says you have a brand that cares. #4. Do what you say you will. Ultimately, brands are built on trust, trust is built on credibility, and credibility is built on promises kept. The brand bottom line - do what you say you are going to do, when you say you are going to do it. Sounds simple doesn’t it? Think how many people you interact with who don’t do this and how it makes you feel about them. About Karen Tiber Leland Karen Tiber Leland is the founder of Sterling Marketing Group, a branding, marketing, and color strategy and implementation firm helping CEOs, executives, and entrepreneurs develop stronger personal, business, and team brands. Her clients include Cisco, American Express, Marriott Hotels, Apple Computer, LinkedIn, and Twitter. She is also the best-selling author of nine traditionally-published business books that have sold over 400,000 copies and been translated into 10 languages. Her most recent book is The Brand Mapping Strategy: Design, Build and Accelerate Your Brand. She regularly writes for Inc.com and Entrepreneur.com and has had articles published in Self, The Los Angeles Times, American Way, The Boston Globe, and many others. Karen has spoken for Harvard, The AMA, Direct Marketing Association, and Stanford, among others. She has been interviewed on The Today Show, CNN, CNBC, and Oprah. Get in touch with Karen on | | | Resources Looking for more tips? Karen’s latest book, No-Nonsense, offers a practical approach to tackling the kinds of productivity issues we face in today’s technological world. You’ll find practical ways of assessing your relationship with time, avoiding interruptions and distractions by goal-setting, multi-purposing versus multitasking, delegating, managing online and offline meetings, maximizing to-do lists and minimizing unfinished business, embracing personal productivity habits, and right-sizing your social media and email, as well as many more readily actionable tips and tricks to hack your time. Tweetables and Quotes to Share If you just show up for something, you will be more successful than 90% of the people out there. If you want your brand to shine, you have to be visible; you have to show up. PODCAST: @KarenFLeland Think about the people around you that are never on time or arrive unprepared… how much credibility do they have with you? PODCAST: @KarenFLeland Brands are built on trust, trust is built on credibility, credibility is built on kept promises: always do what you say you’re going to do. PODCAST: @KarenFLeland /episode/index/show/thoughttalkpodcast/id/18001694

The Art of a Better Photograph with the iPhone Diva 02/10/2021

The Art of a Better Photograph with the iPhone Diva Today’s guest, Lynette Sheppard is also known as the iPhone Diva. Lynette joins the show from the highly photographic island of Molokai in Hawaii to give us some insight on how we can best use our phones to practice creativity through photography. Lynette Sheppard has taught iPhoneography throughout Europe, Canada, and the United-States. She is known for her out-of-the-box imaginative uses of taking photographs and making images with an iPhone. When you take a photograph, is the app doing all the work? Does it still count as art? Our discussion covers what makes art, how art can help you know yourself better, and some of the best apps for making great images with your phone. Tips for better photos Taking a better picture with your phone: Train your eye, look at tons of pictures to find out what you like Use the native camera: on the iPhone it’s great; take tons of pictures Learn about composition What’s in the frame When do you push the button Editing — use the right tools Managing your photo collection — sort through your pictures quickly after having taken them, for multiples, pick one and delete the rest. If you want to show photos to people, pick your 10 or 15 best. Creativity — We are all creative, even if we don’t believe it. The iPhone allows us to play and all art starts as play. Feeling intimidated? Try Snapseed Printing — certain apps save at high resolution (Snapseed) but some others cut down on resolution (Diana Photo). The Big Photo app can let you know what kind of resolution you may have lost after editing. Unsure about intellectual property rights? Begin with found objects. Lynette touches on how she will use details of a painting to use as an overlay in a way that makes it unrecognizable. If it is recognizable and modern, she says that artists are generous, and often asking for permission is enough. About Karen Tiber Leland Karen Tiber Leland is the founder of Sterling Marketing Group, a branding, marketing, and color strategy and implementation firm helping CEOs, executives, and entrepreneurs develop stronger personal, business, and team brands. Her clients include Cisco, American Express, Marriott Hotels, Apple Computer, LinkedIn, and Twitter. She is also the best-selling author of nine traditionally-published business books that have sold over 400,000 copies and been translated into 10 languages. Her most recent book is The Brand Mapping Strategy: Design, Build and Accelerate Your Brand. She regularly writes for Inc.com and Entrepreneur.com and has had articles published in Self, The Los Angeles Times, American Way, The Boston Globe, and many others. Karen has spoken for Harvard, The AMA, Direct Marketing Association, and Stanford, among others. She has been interviewed on The Today Show, CNN, CNBC, and Oprah. Get in touch with Karen on | | | About our guest Writer, artist, and blogger, Lynette’s first published work was a terrible little poem. She was ten years old. She didn’t publish again until she became a registered nurse, but she never stopped wanting to tell stories. Now she makes up stuff all the time and occasionally tells the unvarnished truth. [email protected] Get in touch with Lynette through her || Mentioned Resources Karen’s book The Brand Mapping Strategy: Design, Build and Accelerate Your Brand was just produced and released on Amazon’s Audible as an audiobook. You can now get an audio version of the book read in its entirety by Karen. /episode/index/show/thoughttalkpodcast/id/17886461

COVID-19 has Changed Real Estate, maybe forever... 02/03/2021

COVID-19 has Changed Real Estate, maybe forever... Today’s guest is Theresa Souers, managing broker at Corcoran Global Living. Theresa has been in the real estate business for the past 25 years. On this episode of Thought Talk we discuss the impact of COVID-19 on the broader real estate market and the implications for buyers, sellers, and investors alike. You will want to take notes as Theresa shares her impressions on this seller’s market, the trends that are here to stay, as well as the things we can expect to see in the future. Theresa also shares a treasure trove of tips for investing smart and buying right. Tips on making sure buying or selling is for you Prioritize — sit with your family and make sure everyone’s needs are met; do you need to be near organized activities (sports, dance, music); what about educational needs? Test — visit the communities that interest you and stay there a while; you can find out by living there for a while if the location is right for you. Don’t get caught up in the real estate frenzy — look at your budget, your projected income, your lifestyle and desired amenities. Avoiding buying mistakes — do your homework, look at the value of the property you’re buying, look into the neighborhood, into potential resale, how long will it take to recuperate your investment; are you paying above market? Ask the right questions. Avoiding selling mistakes — ask yourself why you’re selling, and if you do sell, where are you going to go? Get the most out of the sale of your home. Most people shop online, you have one chance to make that first impression. Invest in a professional photographer and a 3D video walkthrough. Stage your house, empty rooms don’t do well in photographs. Give each place in the home a purpose. Make sure the REALTOR® you work with has an extensive marketing program. About Karen Tiber Leland Karen Tiber Leland is the founder of Sterling Marketing Group, a branding, marketing, and color strategy and implementation firm helping CEOs, executives, and entrepreneurs develop stronger personal, business, and team brands. Her clients include Cisco, American Express, Marriott Hotels, Apple Computer, LinkedIn, and Twitter. She is also the best-selling author of nine traditionally-published business books that have sold over 400,000 copies and been translated into 10 languages. Her most recent book is The Brand Mapping Strategy: Design, Build and Accelerate Your Brand. She regularly writes for Inc.com and Entrepreneur.com and has had articles published in Self, The Los Angeles Times, American Way, The Boston Globe, and many others. Karen has spoken for Harvard, The AMA, Direct Marketing Association, and Stanford, among others. She has been interviewed on The Today Show, CNN, CNBC, and Oprah. Get in touch with Karen on | | | About our guest Theresa Souers has more than 25 years of experience in the real estate industry and is currently partners with Corcoran Global Living based in South Lake Tahoe, California. Founded on the principle of putting people first, the Souers Team and Corcoran Global Living serve the California and Nevada markets with 25 strategically located offices. Consistently in the top 1% of REALTORS® in the South Lake Tahoe area for more than two decades, Theresa and her team have received a number of professional recognitions including: REALTOR® of the Year — South Tahoe Association of REALTORS® Distinguished Service — South Tahoe Association of REALTORS® Presidential Award — South Tahoe Association of REALTORS® Get in touch with Teresa through the website Resources Karen’s book The Brand Mapping Strategy was just produced and released on Amazon’s Audible as an audiobook. You can now get an audio version of the book read in its entirety by Karen. /episode/index/show/thoughttalkpodcast/id/17807588

Overcoming Multitasking Madness For a More Efficient Workflow 01/27/2021

Overcoming Multitasking Madness For a More Efficient Workflow Overcoming Multitasking Madness for a More Efficient Workflow Karen’s latest book, is now available for order on Amazon. Today, Karen tackles one of the topics addressed in the book, a problem all of us face: multitasking madness. Studies have found that when people switch back and forth between tasks, they experience substantial losses in efficiency and accuracy — in some cases as much as 50%. In today’s non-stop tech world overcoming multitasking is a critical part of learning to work from home efficiently. Tips Turn off your tech — the frequent bells and whistles coming from your devices can easily lead you to stray from the job at hand- stop it before it even starts. Try airline mode or even software that prevents access for a certain period of time. Create task times — set aside specific time windows to do one task, or one type of task- i.e. your phone calls, your emails, etc. Make the most of mornings — spend your first hour doing a task that requires focus, and don’t check your email before then. Track your to-dos — build a capture system to write down all your to-dos instead of trying to do them right away. Desktop inbox — create a space on your desk where you can temporarily place items that need attention so you can easily find them. Plan open space — Give yourself space and time to catch up on new things that have come in or to process late to-dos. Leave 15 minutes between each Zoom call. Don’t multitask, multi-purpose — listen to a business book while driving, catch up on reading while on the treadmill, do some paperwork in your various appointment waiting rooms, etc. About Karen Tiber Leland Karen Tiber Leland is the founder of Sterling Marketing Group, a branding, marketing, and color strategy and implementation firm helping CEOs, executives, and entrepreneurs develop stronger personal, business, and team brands. Her clients include Cisco, American Express, Marriott Hotels, Apple Computer, LinkedIn, and Twitter. She is also the best-selling author of nine traditionally-published business books that have sold over 400,000 copies and been translated into 10 languages. Her most recent book is The Brand Mapping Strategy: Design, Build and Accelerate Your Brand. She regularly writes for Inc.com and Entrepreneur.com and has had articles published in Self, The Los Angeles Times, American Way, The Boston Globe, and many others. Karen has spoken for Harvard, The AMA, Direct Marketing Association, and Stanford, among others. She has been interviewed on The Today Show, CNN, CNBC, and Oprah. Get in touch with Karen on | | | Resources Karen’s tenth book, , was written with her former business partner Keith Bailey. The book offers a practical approach to tackling the kinds of productivity issues we face in today’s technological world. You’ll find practical ways of assessing your relationship with time, avoiding interruptions and distractions by goal-setting, multi-purposing versus multitasking, delegating, managing online and offline meetings, maximizing to-do lists and minimizing unfinished business, embracing personal productivity habits, and right-sizing your social media and email, as well as many more readily actionable tips and tricks to hack your time. Find it in print on and other online retailers. Mentioned , by Rubinstein, Meyer, and Evans , by Julie Morgenstern Tweetables and Quotes to Share The ding of the email, the ping of the text, I know those things can seem harmless but they can really tempt you to stray from the job at hand. PODCAST: @KarenFLeland Set aside a particular set of time to do all your phone calls, your emails, your errands, to work on your project. PODCAST: @KarenFLeland Capture your to-dos in writing, any system will work, but make sure you have one to keep that kind of track. PODCAST: @KarenFLeland Instead of booking every minute of every day, leave some time open where you can actually catch up on things that come in, or process items that have been hanging around. PODCAST: @KarenFLeland Multitasking is really defined by the switching back and forth, and it’s the switching of your attention back and forth that creates a problem. PODCAST: @KarenFLeland You don’t want to multitask, but you do want to multi-purpose. PODCAST: @KarenFLeland /episode/index/show/thoughttalkpodcast/id/17707943

Fine Tune Your Business Goals With Less Excuses & More Adjustments 01/13/2021

Fine Tune Your Business Goals With Less Excuses & More Adjustments On my most recent Peloton bike ride, the gentleman leading the session said something that I found applies to so many aspects of our professional lives: “Less excuses, more adjustments.” In today's short episode, I will share five ways for you to fine-tune your business goals by doing just that. Oftentimes when we work on our time management, personal brands, marketing plan, or business development we throw up our hands and give up when things don't go as planned. Today’s podcast is all about making small adjustments in your business goals as you go along so that you don’t feel the need to tackle everything all at once or get it perfect the first time out. Fine-tuning tips toward achieving your business goals One small thing at a time — when something isn’t working, don’t try to fix everything at once: try changing just one element as a starting point in achieving your business goal. Brick by brick — you’re not building the whole wall at once, you’re making a brick: every small action you take towards your business goal helps get you there. Be less critical — don’t judge things you did wrong in the past: focus on the small changes that can take you forward in your chosen business goal. Find the holes — find the little things that may be missing in your overall business goal plan and fix those. What can you do that will bring the most value for the least amount of effort (check my 80/20 rule podcast for tips on identifying those areas of improvement: )? About Karen Tiber Leland Karen Tiber Leland is the founder of Sterling Marketing Group, a branding, marketing, and color strategy and implementation firm helping CEOs, executives, and entrepreneurs develop stronger personal, business, and team brands. Her clients include Cisco, American Express, Marriott Hotels, Apple Computer, LinkedIn, and Twitter. She is also the best-selling author of nine traditionally-published business books that have sold over 400,000 copies and been translated into 10 languages. Her most recent book is The Brand Mapping Strategy: Design, Build and Accelerate Your Brand. She regularly writes for Inc.com and Entrepreneur.com and has had articles published in Self, The Los Angeles Times, American Way, The Boston Globe, and many others. Karen has spoken for Harvard, The AMA, Direct Marketing Association, and Stanford, among others. She has been interviewed on The Today Show, CNN, CNBC, and Oprah. Get in touch with Karen on | | | Resources If you’re looking to optimize your time, be more productive, and fine-tune your routine, I invite you to pre-order my latest book . Tweetables and Quotes to Share It’s really all about seeing what’s working, what’s not, and making fine-tuned adjustments as we go. PODCAST: @KarenFLeland When something isn’t working, don’t try to fix everything at once, try changing just one element at a time. PODCAST: @KarenFLeland You’re not building the whole wall at once, you’re making a brick. PODCAST: @KarenFLeland If we move away from the dialogue of “It’s bad,” “it’s wrong,” “We should have done it a different way,” we actually move much faster. PODCAST: @KarenFLeland Listen to the podcast here: [smart_track_player url="<enclosure url="https://traffic.libsyn.com/secure/thoughttalkpodcast/TTP_Episode_075.mp3" length="7453284" type="audio/mpeg" ></enclosure>] /episode/index/show/thoughttalkpodcast/id/17522411

Why Creating A Team Brand Might Be Your Best Bet In 2021 With Karen Tiber Leland 12/30/2020

Why Creating A Team Brand Might Be Your Best Bet In 2021 With Karen Tiber Leland Even as we sit on the verge of bringing an end to COVID-19 with the new vaccines, the trend towards a decentralized workforce seems likely to be an integral part of the new normal. With that in mind, in this episode I talk about going beyond team building to team branding. Team branding is essentially about defining a given team’s brand and then translating that brand into a strategy, a code of conduct, and a series of actions. If you do it right, it can have a powerful impact on a team’s alignment, effectiveness, and engagement. Pre-COVID I always did team branding work in person - usually on off-sites. However, I’ve found a variety of interactive ways to get a group engaged on video conferencing. Do you need a team brand? Does your team need a deeper alignment or commitment to their current project or overall strategic direction? Does your team want a closer relationship with their team members and a clearly defined code of conduct? This is especially important if you’ve found that working remotely has broken team cohesiveness. Does your team need a renewed engagement with the team or renewed inspiration for a project or departmental purpose, as we move into 2021? Does your team struggle with the resolution of ongoing issues or disagreements you want to see solved? Are you having difficulty getting your team members to embrace change - either personally or as a group? Do you have an upcoming project, new team member, or have you recently had major changes in your team players? Have you recently gone through organizational, market, or team changes that would make a revision of your current team brand important? If you find yourself having answered any of these affirmatively, there is a good chance a team branding might be your best bet in 2021. Take a look at my book or contact me directly at [email protected] for a free consultation. About Karen Tiber Leland Karen Tiber Leland is the founder of Sterling Marketing Group, a branding, marketing, and color strategy and implementation firm helping CEOs, executives, and entrepreneurs develop stronger personal, business, and team brands. Her clients include Cisco, American Express, Marriott Hotels, Apple Computer, LinkedIn, and Twitter. She is also the best-selling author of nine traditionally-published business books that have sold over 400,000 copies and been translated into 10 languages. Her most recent book is The Brand Mapping Strategy: Design, Build and Accelerate Your Brand. She regularly writes for Inc.com and Entrepreneur.com and has had articles published in Self, The Los Angeles Times, American Way, The Boston Globe, and many others. Karen has spoken for Harvard, The AMA, Direct Marketing Association, and Stanford, among others. She has been interviewed on The Today Show, CNN, CNBC, and Oprah. Get in touch with Karen on | | | Resources If you think a team brand might be something that would be good for your organization or your department, then I invite you to reach out to me at [email protected] and set up a free consultation call where we can discuss your team needs and the possibility of generating a team brand. The other thing you can do is look at my book , available on Amazon which has a whole chapter on team branding. /episode/index/show/thoughttalkpodcast/id/17366939

Applying The 80/20 Rule for a Winning 2021 With Karen Tiber Leland 12/23/2020

Applying The 80/20 Rule for a Winning 2021 With Karen Tiber Leland Today I am talking about a great principle you should be applying to your business for the coming year. I’ve been using the 80/20 rule for years and regularly suggest it to my clients, and although most of you may already know of the 80/20 rule, very few know where it comes from and how broadly it applies. In 1897, an Italian economist, Vilfredo Pareto identified that 80% of the wealth was owned by 20% of the population. This may seem too broad, but listen in for a breakdown and actionable tips on how this rule applies to different aspects of your business and how you can put it to use for the new year. All of the 80/20 rules are mentioned in Karen’s . Tips 80% of your goals are driven by 20% of your tasks — identity which items on your to-do will take you closest to those goals. 20% of your efforts produce 80% of your results — learning which of your labors make the most effective use of your time is important. 80% of the value you receive from your business reading comes from 20% of the material that you read — carefully select the publications that consistently produce the most value for your time. 20% of your business relationships give you 80% of the support you need — identify who has your back and return the favor in kind: make it a priority to maintain your relationships with the people that make your life easier. 80% of the value your clients receive is a direct result of 20% of what your company does — make sure to know what that 20% is and improve it at every opportunity. Find more information on this last tip in my new : 20% of your time management habits cause 80% of your productivity problems — most of your productivity issues can be boiled down to a few bad habits, identify the worst of them and make a commitment to work on those in the coming year. About Karen Tiber Leland Karen Tiber Leland is the founder of Sterling Marketing Group, a branding, marketing, and color strategy and implementation firm helping CEOs, executives, and entrepreneurs develop stronger personal, business, and team brands. Her clients include Cisco, American Express, Marriott Hotels, Apple Computer, LinkedIn, and Twitter. She is also the best-selling author of nine traditionally-published business books that have sold over 400,000 copies and been translated into 10 languages. Her most recent book is The Brand Mapping Strategy: Design, Build and Accelerate Your Brand. She regularly writes for Inc.com and Entrepreneur.com and has had articles published in Self, The Los Angeles Times, American Way, The Boston Globe, and many others. Karen has spoken for Harvard, The AMA, Direct Marketing Association, and Stanford, among others. She has been interviewed on The Today Show, CNN, CNBC, and Oprah. Get in touch with Karen on | | | Resources All of the tips mentioned above are available in my 10th book — — which will be out on December 31st through Career Press. It’s a practical book about being more productive and achieving better time management in an age where many of us are working from home. /episode/index/show/thoughttalkpodcast/id/17307158

To Reach Peak Performance Find Your Inner Calm with Barbra Schulte 12/09/2020

To Reach Peak Performance Find Your Inner Calm with Barbra Schulte I recently renewed my long time passion for horseback riding and met today’s guest — Barbra Schulte — at the C Lazy U dude ranch in Granby, Colorado where she was teaching peak performance on and off a horse. Barbra is a Professional Cutting Horse Trainer, personal peak performance coach, and Equine Consultant. She is a Cowgirl Hall of Fame inductee and, this January, Barbra will be awarded the prestigious Women of the West Award given by Western Horseman Magazine. Barbra joins me on the podcast to discuss how she became interested in optimal human performance and to share some of her tips on finding your path to peak performance. Listen in to learn the connection between positive and negative emotions and their impact on performance and to gain some serious tips on how to move past your hurdles and get yourself to your highest peak performance level. The 3 biggest hurdles to peak performance and how to move past them Blame — even self-blame — is a way to trick your mind into taking the pressure off of yourself in a situation — “who cares, I’m not putting any more energy into this”. It is the most difficult emotion to get past to achieve high performance. Anger — unlike blame, anger has some measure of energy and so you can propel yourself towards peak performance with it; make sure to watch the direction of this energy, steer it away from blame. Nerves/anxiety/fear — nerves are the closest emotion to shifting into that positive emotional mindset and peak performance. How to shift away from negative emotions and find your calmness: Recognize your current state and name it Get calm — conscious breathing (inhale for four, exhale for four) — take the time you need to lower your heart rate; it takes practice. Direct your energy and move forward. Over time, you can work to condition the calmness by adding a physical trigger. About Karen Tiber Leland Karen Tiber Leland is the founder of Sterling Marketing Group, a branding, marketing, and color strategy and implementation firm helping CEOs, executives, and entrepreneurs develop stronger personal, business, and team brands. Her clients include Cisco, American Express, Marriott Hotels, Apple Computer, LinkedIn, and Twitter. She is also the best-selling author of nine traditionally-published business books that have sold over 400,000 copies and been translated into 10 languages. Her most recent book is The Brand Mapping Strategy: Design, Build and Accelerate Your Brand. She regularly writes for Inc.com and Entrepreneur.com and has had articles published in Self, The Los Angeles Times, American Way, The Boston Globe, and many others. Karen has spoken for Harvard, The AMA, Direct Marketing Association, and Stanford, among others. She has been interviewed on The Today Show, CNN, CNBC, and Oprah. Get in touch with Karen on | | | About Our Guest Barbra Schulte is a Professional Cutting Horse Trainer, Personal Performance Coach, Author, Clinician, and Equine Consultant. Barbra has been involved with horses her entire life. Beginning in early childhood and continuing through college, she helped market and show many of her family’s 500 head of horses. She competed in western pleasure, reining, horsemanship, and cutting. After high school, Barbra went on to gain a Master’s degree in Speech Pathology and Audiology. In a few short years, she became an administrator at the Arizona State School for the Deaf and taught at the University of Arizona in Tucson, Arizona. In 1983, Barbra’s love of horses led her back to the competitive arena where she embarked on a career as a Professional Horse Trainer. In 1986, after reading Mental Toughness for Sports, by Dr. James Loehr of LGE Sports Science, Inc., she began to incorporate his training techniques into her regimen. You can learn more about Barbra Schulte on her Mentioned Resources We are almost at the end of 2020 and one of the things you want to think about is the kind of brand you want to be building for 2021. Because of COVID-19 and where we are technologically, there are more eyeballs than ever looking at people online. How you look and how your brand looks online really makes a difference in how you get and convert clients. If you feel like you might want some help planning your 2021 personal or business brand, you should consider a session. That's a one-hour session I do with you to take a look at where you are with your brand, where you want to be, and how to get there. If you’re interested, just reach out to me at . /episode/index/show/thoughttalkpodcast/id/17123732

Creating Audience Engagement On Video Conferencing With Karen Tiber Leland 12/02/2020

Creating Audience Engagement On Video Conferencing With Karen Tiber Leland A lot of us are still spending quite a bit of time on Zoom and other video conferencing platforms— a trend that does not look like it will go away any time soon. As a virtual facilitator and webinar leader I’ve found several things that help foster audience engagement so that participants are attentive and interactive while on video conferences. In today's podcast, I’ll share some tips and tools you can use to immediately start engaging your audience more interactively on video conferencing. While we all know that the foundation of a great video conference or webinar is content, other things such as keeping all channels open and getting audience feedback make the difference. Tips Keep all communication channels open — different people like to work on different platforms, and building flexibility into your communication channels will enable this for them and ensure optimal attendance and participation. Keep your audience engaged — keeping people’s attention for long periods on video isn’t easy, but one good way is to keep them interacting with you on your virtual activity. Every five minutes or so, try asking them to answer a question verbally or put up something in chat, raise their hands, or to do a thumbs up/down virtually. Encourage feedback — one really important thing in virtual facilitation is to use information from the participants. You can use a poll right before or after the event (mentee.com is a good tool) and I like to ask people to put comments and questions in chat. People like feeling heard and useful, it will keep them coming back. Make it personal — use people's names. I know that sounds incredibly simple, but just saying the person's name in a session is important because it makes them feel like they're recognized as individuals, rather than you're speaking into this sea of meaningless people. Content is queen; it always was — if your content is strong and designed engagingly, it will transcend any technological issues you or others may have. About Karen Tiber Leland Karen Tiber Leland is the founder of Sterling Marketing Group, a branding, marketing, and color strategy and implementation firm helping CEOs, executives, and entrepreneurs develop stronger personal, business, and team brands. Her clients include Cisco, American Express, Marriott Hotels, Apple Computer, LinkedIn, and Twitter. She is also the best-selling author of nine traditionally-published business books that have sold over 400,000 copies and been translated into 10 languages. Her most recent book is The Brand Mapping Strategy: Design, Build and Accelerate Your Brand. She regularly writes for Inc.com and Entrepreneur.com and has had articles published in Self, The Los Angeles Times, American Way, The Boston Globe, and many others. Karen has spoken for Harvard, The AMA, Direct Marketing Association, and Stanford, among others. She has been interviewed on The Today Show, CNN, CNBC, and Oprah. Get in touch with Karen on | | | Resources If you are interested in a complimentary consultation on either your CEO brand or your business brand, please feel free to contact me at or go to . I will be delighted to schedule an appointment with you to take a look at how and what you’re doing and give you some advice on how you can convert your social following to customers a bit better. /episode/index/show/thoughttalkpodcast/id/17033690

The Career Skills You Need To Succeed Post-Pandemic with Mark Herschberg 11/25/2020

The Career Skills You Need To Succeed Post-Pandemic with Mark Herschberg Today on Thought Talk, I welcome Mark Herschberg, author of The Career Toolkit: Essential Skills for Success That No One Taught You. Mark has spent his career identifying and studying the skill gap that exists for what he calls firm skills, including networking, negotiating, communicating, leading, and career planning. We tend to think of many of these as situational skills, but Herschberg says they are really life skills — none of which are formally taught in school. Join me for an interesting discussion on how leveling up your firm skills can lead to higher ROI than you ever expected and how a little bit of training goes a long way to creating a killer career. Getting Your Skills Up to Par Networking is about building relationships and not just exchanging business cards. Negotiation is all around us everyday — not just with vendors and employees. Leadership isn’t just a title — it’s about influencing others, having a vision, and convincing others to go along. You can lead from whatever chair you sit in. About Karen Tiber Leland Karen Tiber Leland is the founder of Sterling Marketing Group, a branding, marketing, and color strategy and implementation firm helping CEOs, executives, and entrepreneurs develop stronger personal, business, and team brands. Her clients include Cisco, American Express, Marriott Hotels, Apple Computer, LinkedIn, and Twitter. She is also the best-selling author of nine traditionally-published business books that have sold over 400,000 copies and been translated into 10 languages. Her most recent book is The Brand Mapping Strategy: Design, Build and Accelerate Your Brand. She regularly writes for Inc.com and Entrepreneur.com and has had articles published in Self, The Los Angeles Times, American Way, The Boston Globe, and many others. Karen has spoken for Harvard, The AMA, Direct Marketing Association, and Stanford, among others. She has been interviewed on The Today Show, CNN, CNBC, and Oprah. Get in touch with Karen on | | | About Our Guest Mark Herschberg is the author of The Career Toolkit: Essential Skills for Success That No One Taught You. From tracking criminals and terrorists on the dark web to creating marketplaces and new authentication systems, Mark has spent his career launching and developing new ventures at startups and Fortune 500s and in academia. He helped to start the Undergraduate Practice Opportunities Program, dubbed MIT’s “career success accelerator,” where he teaches annually. At MIT, he received a B.S. in physics, a B.S. in electrical engineering & computer science, and an M.Eng. in electrical engineering & computer science, focusing on cryptography. At Harvard Business School, Mark helped create a platform used to teach finance at prominent business schools. You can learn more about Mark Herschberg on his | Mentioned , by Mark A. Herschberg Resources Do you need a LinkedIn or online presence upgrade? One of the easiest ways to do that is to book a session. During this one-hour, high-impact consulting call we get to the heart of your social media and LinkedIn issues and you’ll come away with very specific recommendations for how you can upgrade and improve your online presence. For more information or to book a session, contact me directly at [email protected] or visit . Tweetables and Quotes to Share "If you have a company of very good negotiators, you’re going to do better with your vendors, with your customers, with your partners and even intra-team dynamics in your company." — Mark A. Herschberg PODCAST: bit.ly/39o0yer @KarenFLeland We think of these [negotiation, networking, leadership, communications] as situational skills, but they’re really life skills, and that’s a really interesting way to think about it. — PODCAST: bit.ly/39o0yer @KarenFLeland "You can lead every day from whatever chair you’re in." — Mark A. Herschberg PODCAST: bit.ly/39o0yer @KarenFLeland "Most people have never had any formal training on how to interview others. But if you talk to a manager they will tell you that people are the hardest part of the job, hiring the right people is a key part of the job and your primary tool for hiring is interviewing." — Mark A. Herschberg PODCAST: bit.ly/39o0yer @KarenFLeland /episode/index/show/thoughttalkpodcast/id/16949678

The Secret To Making Your Videos More Watchable with Michael Dutcher 11/18/2020

The Secret To Making Your Videos More Watchable with Michael Dutcher Video content has exploded in recent years and shows no signs of slowing down as a major marketing medium. But making watchable, engaging videos that are on-brand requires training and practice. I’m pleased to be joined today by Michael Dutcher, CEO and co-founder of bspoketv — a streaming TV channel that creates 30-minute episodes from proven YouTube influencer content. With Michael’s help, we’ll explore watchability. What it is, why it’s important, and how to increase it on your own videos. We’ll also discuss why you need outside eyes to give you feedback on your videos, how to stay consistent in your video brand, and which platforms will best suit your video needs. Video can be daunting in the beginning, but Dutcher believes that you don’t need to be newscaster-perfect and that no one is great right out of the box. Tips to produce better videos Consistency is key — create a recognizable style and keep it. Publish at the same time every time, even if you only make videos at two-week or one month intervals. Start small — bite-sized content works fine and allows you to practice. For longer videos, have a script — no one can speak extemporaneously for 10, 20, or 30 minutes. The frame is two-thirds empty and one-third you — don’t center yourself in the frame and be intentional about your background. Watch yourself — or have a friend watch you and work on reducing your ticks (tugging your shirt, fixing your hair); they can become distracting for viewers. Subtitle your videos — it might make the difference between someone watching or not. Understand your objective — What do you want people to do after watching your video? About Karen Tiber Leland Karen Tiber Leland is the founder of Sterling Marketing Group, a branding, marketing, and color strategy and implementation firm helping CEOs, executives, and entrepreneurs develop stronger personal, business, and team brands. Her clients include Cisco, American Express, Marriott Hotels, Apple Computer, LinkedIn, and Twitter. She is also the best-selling author of nine traditionally-published business books that have sold over 400,000 copies and been translated into 10 languages. Her most recent book is The Brand Mapping Strategy: Design, Build and Accelerate Your Brand. She regularly writes for Inc.com and Entrepreneur.com and has had articles published in Self, The Los Angeles Times, American Way, The Boston Globe, and many others. Karen has spoken for Harvard, The AMA, Direct Marketing Association, and Stanford, among others. She has been interviewed on The Today Show, CNN, CNBC, and Oprah. Get in touch with Karen on | | | About Our Guest Michael Dutcher is CEO and co-founder of bspoketv, a streaming television channel that creates 30-minute episodes from proven YouTube influencer content. Prior to bspoketv, Mr. Dutcher was the Executive VP in charge of content acquisitions at WhereverTV where he is still a Strategic Advisor. You can learn more about Michael Dutcher on his | Find on ||| Mentioned Crowdfunding Resources Do you feel you need some help figuring out your CEO or business brand for 2021? Are you thinking about writing a book or redoing your website for 2021? Basically if you want to take a serious look at your branding and marketing in the coming year, you might want to consider booking a session. During this one-hour, jam-packed, and intense consulting call, we get to the heart of your branding and marketing questions. For more information or to book a session, contact me directly at or visit . /episode/index/show/thoughttalkpodcast/id/16857716

How To Take Your Virtual Presentations From Good To Great with Dewitt Jones 11/11/2020

How To Take Your Virtual Presentations From Good To Great with Dewitt Jones On today’s Thought Talk, I speak with my good friend Dewitt Jones about the power of virtual presentations. Jones is an international Keynote speaker, former National Geographic photographer, and the founder of Celebrate What’s Right With the World. Dewitt went from speaking at dozens of in-person events with thousands of attendees pre-COVID to pivoting to virtual keynotes. He is currently gearing up for his first 130,000 person talk. We will discuss the keys to a great virtual presentation, what type of backgrounds work (and don’t), how to address the camera in a way that feels like you are speaking to an audience, and how best to keep your audience’s attention. Tips for a better virtual presentation: Mind your space — there is such a thing as too far and too close on the camera. Find your ideal space for connection. The camera picks up on the smallest facial expressions so it’s critical to train and practice your presentation. Keep your talking portion below 30 minutes and add visual support to remain engaging — images get to the heart and gut of the audience in a way that words can’t. There is more than one right answer — look for solutions, and remember that the key to creativity is embracing change. About Karen Tiber Leland Karen Tiber Leland is the founder of Sterling Marketing Group, a branding, marketing, and color strategy and implementation firm helping CEOs, executives, and entrepreneurs develop stronger personal, business, and team brands. Her clients include Cisco, American Express, Marriott Hotels, Apple Computer, LinkedIn, and Twitter. She is also the best-selling author of nine traditionally-published business books that have sold over 400,000 copies and been translated into 10 languages. Her most recent book is The Brand Mapping Strategy: Design, Build and Accelerate Your Brand. She regularly writes for Inc.com and Entrepreneur.com and has had articles published in Self, The Los Angeles Times, American Way, The Boston Globe, and many others. Karen has spoken for Harvard, The AMA, Direct Marketing Association, and Stanford, among others. She has been interviewed on The Today Show, CNN, CNBC, and Oprah. Get in touch with Karen on | | | About Our Guest Dewitt Jones is one of America’s top professional photographers. Twenty years with National Geographic photographing stories around the globe has earned him the reputation as a world-class photojournalist. As a motion picture director, he had two documentary films nominated for Academy Awards before he was thirty. Speaking to audiences across the country, Dewitt is recognized as a renowned lecturer. His genuine style and ability to communicate with audiences make his presentations truly outstanding. Dewitt’s inspirational messages are further discussed in his best-selling training programs. In the business community, Dewitt’s work is also well known. He has produced seven best-selling video training programs, distributed by Star Thrower Distribution. These films are used every day by corporations, schools, churches, hospitals, and consultants — inspiring thousands to find their “next right answer” and to “celebrate what’s right with the world”! Dewitt has published nine books including California! and John Muir’s High Sierra. His most recent book, The Nature of Leadership, was created in collaboration with Stephen R. Covey. Dewitt graduated from Dartmouth College with a B.A. in drama and holds a Master’s Degree in filmmaking from the University of California at Los Angeles. You can learn more about Dewitt Jones on his || To book him for a keynote visit his Mentioned Resources Do you think you might benefit from one-on-one personal, CEO of business branding and marketing consulting? If so, you might want to consider booking a session. During this one-hour, high-impact consulting call we get to the heart of your branding and marketing questions. For more information or to book a session, contact me directly at [email protected] or visit . Tweetables and Quotes to Share In my experience, background appearance does make a difference. If you’ve got all these boxes behind you and you’re talking about serious issues, those boxes are going to be a distraction. @KarenFLeland PODCAST: https://bit.ly/36t9LyW “I’m okay with the occasional cat that walks through the frame, but some of the backgrounds people have chosen are just awful: so distracting you can’t even watch the person.” - Dewitt Jones PODCAST: https://bit.ly/36t9LyW “My basic message about seeing things differently hasn’t changed [since COVID-19], it’s just that people need it more.” - Dewitt Jones PODCAST: https://bit.ly/36t9LyW “I want to give people four to five things they can hang onto, to switch their lens just enough to start celebrating what’s right. As we come back to a new workplace environment, people need that.” - Dewitt Jones PODCAST: https://bit.ly/36t9LyW /episode/index/show/thoughttalkpodcast/id/16758941

Is It Time For You To Embrace Mental Toughness? with Dr. Ellen Reed 11/04/2020

Is It Time For You To Embrace Mental Toughness? with Dr. Ellen Reed Dr. Ellen Reed is the co-author of Relentless Solution Focus; she’s worked side-by-side with Dr. Jason Selk for 15 years and has extensive experience in mental training for consistency, accountability, and execution in business, athletics, academics, and the performing arts. She joins the show today for an in-depth discussion on achievement and how to stay consistent. We touch on how heart rate affects performance and how our brains are wired for seeing problems (problem-centric thought), and share tips on how to cultivate mental toughness, which is abnormal. Tips Interrupt problem-centric thought patterns with the 60-second technique — give yourself 60 seconds before moving on from a problem to a potential solution (use the RSF tool described below). Use the Relentless Solution Focus (RSF) tool — a ‘living’ question to ask yourself in the face of any problem: what is one thing I can do that could help make this better? Build mental toughness — follow the three-step process: Recognize when your mind is focused on a problem — anytime you experience a negative emotion is a clue that you are focusing on a problem. Replace — use the RSF tool to find one thing you can do to make it better. Retrain — use the two following tools every day: The centering breath, breathe in for six, hold for two and out for seven. The daily success log, write down: Three things you did well in the last 24 hours One thing you want to improve in the next 24 hours One thing you can do to help make that improvement About Karen Tiber Leland Karen Tiber Leland is the founder of Sterling Marketing Group, a branding, marketing, and color strategy and implementation firm helping CEOs, executives, and entrepreneurs develop stronger personal, business, and team brands. Her clients include Cisco, American Express, Marriott Hotels, Apple Computer, LinkedIn, and Twitter. She is also the best-selling author of nine traditionally-published business books that have sold over 400,000 copies and been translated into 10 languages. Her most recent book is The Brand Mapping Strategy: Design, Build and Accelerate Your Brand. She regularly writes for Inc.com and Entrepreneur.com and has had articles published in Self, The Los Angeles Times, American Way, The Boston Globe, and many others. Karen has spoken for Harvard, The AMA, Direct Marketing Association, and Stanford, among others. She has been interviewed on The Today Show, CNN, CNBC, and Oprah. Get in touch with Karen on | | | About Our Guest Dr. Ellen Reed has worked side by side with Dr. Jason Selk for over 10 years, and she has extensive experience in mental training for consistency, accountability, and execution in business, athletics, academics, and the performing arts. Dr. Reed helps numerous athletes, students, and business leaders reach their peak performance through developing the mental toughness necessary for success. Dr. Reed utilizes her in-depth knowledge and experience in athletics and the performing arts to help athletes and teams from the student to the professional level overcome obstacles and outperform the competition. Dr. Reed also has substantial teaching experience in the University setting, and her background in both academia and the performing arts allows her to apply mental training techniques to success in business and academics. You can learn more about Dr. Ellen Reed on her || Mentioned Resources Do you think you might benefit from one-on-one branding and marketing consulting? If so, you might want to consider booking a session. During this one-hour, no-holds-barred consulting call you can bring up any marketing, social media, PR branding, business development, or content marketing issue you have that you might want some insight on. You will walk away with actionable items and very specific information about your branding or marketing issue. For more information or to book a session, contact me directly at or visit . /episode/index/show/thoughttalkpodcast/id/16673612

How Critical Thinking Can Change Your Life with Helen Lee Bouygues 10/28/2020

How Critical Thinking Can Change Your Life with Helen Lee Bouygues On this episode of Thought Talk I am joined by Helen Lee Bouygues the Founder of the Reboot Foundation an organization that funds and publishes research on improving critical thinking. Helen is joining us from Paris where she lives for a conversation on the importance of critical thinking in a world where search algorithms and social media are designed to feed us more of the same of what we already believe to be true. Tune in for a fascinating discussion on why critical thinking has become one of the top three traits employers look for as well as how you can practice and hone this important tool for success and how scenario planning can and will make you a better leader for the future. Tips to improve your critical thinking Overcoming online misinformation — these are tips to make sure your information and opinions are well-researched: Keep your sources varied, combat the algorithms. Triangulate your information by finding it at multiple sources. Verify who the authors are and what institution the information originates from so you are aware of the interests they serve. Follow the S.H.A.R.P. scenario planning method — be more aware and better prepared for the future. S — slow down, give yourself time to think. H — hone and practice your critical thinking skills. A — accumulate information. R — reason and cross-check. P — ‘perspectivise’, try to see things through to their logical conclusions. Tips to improve critical thinking in your children Critical thinking can become second nature when we start it young — find the on the Reboot Foundation website. Foster free expression and open-mindedness. Encourage children to think out loud. Ask why — a lot — probe their thoughts. Teach emotional management — the part of the brain responsible for emotional management is the same as that for critical thinking, give it room. Teach your kids the right way to do internet searches. About Karen Tiber Leland Karen Tiber Leland is the founder of Sterling Marketing Group, a branding, marketing, and color strategy and implementation firm helping CEOs, executives, and entrepreneurs develop stronger personal, business, and team brands. Her clients include Cisco, American Express, Marriott Hotels, Apple Computer, LinkedIn, and Twitter. She is also the best-selling author of nine traditionally-published business books that have sold over 400,000 copies and been translated into 10 languages. Her most recent book is The Brand Mapping Strategy: Design, Build and Accelerate Your Brand. She regularly writes for Inc.com and Entrepreneur.com and has had articles published in Self, The Los Angeles Times, American Way, The Boston Globe, and many others. Karen has spoken for Harvard, The AMA, Direct Marketing Association, and Stanford, among others. She has been interviewed on The Today Show, CNN, CNBC, and Oprah. Get in touch with Karen on | | | About Our Guest Helen Lee Bouygues is one of the most successful women in business transformation. She has served as interim CEO, CFO, or COO for more than a dozen companies. She is the founder of the Reboot Foundation, a columnist at Forbes, and working on a book on critical thinking. A former partner at McKinsey & Company, Bouygues has helped transform more than 25 firms. Over the course of a twenty-year career, she has raised hundreds of millions of dollars in capital, renegotiated billions of dollars in debt, and brought dozens of companies into the black. Bouygues has lectured around the world. She sits on multiple boards, including those of companies in the retail, manufacturing, oil and gas, renewable energy, and automotive-parts sectors. She graduated magna cum laude from Princeton University and earned an MBA from the Harvard Business School. You can learn more about Helen Lee Bouygues on her | Mentioned Resources My 10th book — — will be out on December 31st through Career Press. This book contains the results of decades of studies I’ve done on time management and applies it to today’s environment: working from home, video conferencing, and time, productivity, and energy management. . /episode/index/show/thoughttalkpodcast/id/16578809

Converting Followers into Customers With Karen Tiber Leland 10/21/2020

Converting Followers into Customers With Karen Tiber Leland “I have a big social media following but it does not seem to be translating into new customers/clients.” I hear this comment all the time from potential clients who call me up wondering how to make their social media a more effective business development tool. The first step in gaining a greater conversion from your social media is understanding that social media is just one out of a necessary six to eight touchpoints to convert a potential customer, and so expecting social media alone to close a client is not reliable. To increase the chances of you converting someone who likes your social media into a paying customer or client, there are four things you need to ensure are happening as part of your sales funnel: Tips on improving your conversion rate Have a direct call to action — put up a direct link in the social post that leads to a dedicated landing page, white page, or download (special offers, promo codes and limited time offers work well). Show, don’t tell, your trustworthiness — too many businesses speak generally about why they’re trustworthy. For example: Saying “we are professionals with a great deal of experience” is a general “tell” description. Instead say “we have worked with more than a hundred companies in 20 countries around the world including American Express, AT&T, Apple, and more”, as it is a lot more tangible and “show” oriented. Focus on thought leadership and high-quality content. Social media will get people interested in you but it’s the quality of your content that will close the deal. Blog posts, LinkedIn articles, white papers, podcasts, ebooks, etc.: these all provide additional touchpoints for potential customers and help make you the provider of choice. Put a lead-nurturing campaign in place. A prospect who clicks through your social media or dedicated landing page enters into your sales funnel but they’re not necessarily ready to make the purchase yet so keep them engaged, interested, and on the path to being a customer. Try setting up what’s called “gated content”: this is free, high-value content the visitor to your website gets in exchange for providing their contact information. About Karen Tiber Leland Karen Tiber Leland is the founder of Sterling Marketing Group, a branding, marketing, and color strategy and implementation firm helping CEOs, executives, and entrepreneurs develop stronger personal, business, and team brands. Her clients include Cisco, American Express, Marriott Hotels, Apple Computer, LinkedIn, and Twitter. She is also the best-selling author of nine traditionally-published business books that have sold over 400,000 copies and been translated into 10 languages. Her most recent book is The Brand Mapping Strategy: Design, Build and Accelerate Your Brand. She regularly writes for Inc.com and Entrepreneur.com and has had articles published in Self, The Los Angeles Times, American Way, The Boston Globe, and many others. Karen has spoken for Harvard, The AMA, Direct Marketing Association, and Stanford, among others. She has been interviewed on The Today Show, CNN, CNBC, and Oprah. Get in touch with Karen on | | | Resources If you are interested in a complimentary consultation on either your CEO brand or your business brand, please feel free to contact me at [email protected] or go to . I will be delighted to schedule an appointment with you to take a look at how and what you’re doing and give you some advice on how you can convert your social following to customers a bit better. Sharing (Tweetables and Quotes) In today’s crowded market, credibility and trust are the core of converting visitors to your social media into customers. @KarenFLeland You have to start thinking of social media as one touchpoint, not the only touchpoint. @KarenFLeland The bottom line is that trust comes from social proof such as links to testimonials, media mentions, influencers and endorsements. @KarenFLeland The more you can quantify that you are a trustworthy choice for your customer, the better. @KarenFLeland Studies show that it takes an average of six to eight touchpoints to create a viable sales lead. @KarenFLeland Don’t spam people with offers. I think we all know that less is more and value is what’s key. @KarenFLeland /episode/index/show/thoughttalkpodcast/id/16473713

For Greater Productivity Stop Interrupting Yourself With Karen Tiber Leland 10/14/2020

For Greater Productivity Stop Interrupting Yourself With Karen Tiber Leland Today I want to talk about something that universally impacts our productivity: self-interruption. If you work in an office, it’s obvious that other people are sources of interruption. While those may be less of a productivity problem when working from home – kids, friends, partners, and even pets can easily provide sources of distraction – interruptions by others are only a part of the story. A great deal of the interruptions we experience are self-interruptions. Here are a few of the most common ways this happens. You are working on a project and suddenly remember an item to add to your to-do list. You stop what you are doing to write it down - or worse, you stop to do it. An idea pops into your head and you start exploring it on the Internet - stop what you were doing and shift your attention to the thoughts circling your brain. You get a ping on your social media and go down the rabbit hole of reading recent posts - an immediate productivity killer. According to one study, 40% of the time when we’re interrupted we don’t return to the original task and instead wander off in a new direction. For the sake of productivity in these challenging times, here are four easy tips to greater productivity and avoiding self-interruption. Four tips to enjoy greater productivity by staying focused and on task, and by avoiding Self-Interruption Block out your calendar to focus on a particular project — 20 to 45 minutes is optimal. Make a commitment to ONLY work on that project during that time. Time yourself — if your ability to focus has diminished, timer apps can help keep you focused on one thing at a time. I usually set mine for 15 minutes at a time and commit to doing nothing else but what I have planned for that period. Keep pen and paper at the ready — this way when an idea pops in, you won’t have to remember it, but you can also steer clear of putting it into an electronic device, which can lead to more distractions. Do your hardest task later in the day — a recent study showed that contrary to popular belief, self-interruptions tend to diminish as the day progresses. Tweetables and Quotes on Productivity Self-interruption involves stopping a task before it’s finished because you’ve switched your focus to a different task or you’ve gotten distracted by something. @KarenFLeland According to a study by Gloria Mark, 40% of the time when we’re interrupted we don’t return to the original task and instead wander off in a new direction. @KarenFLeland To stop interrupting yourself, try blocking out a defined window of time on your planner to focus on a particular project. @KarenFLeland If your ability to focus has diminished in direct proportion to the way you use social media, timing apps can really help strengthen your attention span. @KarenFLeland My 10th book — — will be out on December 31st, pre-order it today. @KarenFLeland Always keep pen and paper at the ready, it’ll help you be quick about jotting down notes and it’ll keep you away from electronic distractions. @KarenFLeland About Karen Tiber Leland is the founder of , a branding, marketing, and color strategy and implementation firm helping CEOs, executives, and entrepreneurs develop stronger personal, business, and team brands. Her clients include Cisco, American Express, Marriott Hotels, Apple Computer, LinkedIn, and Twitter. She is also the best-selling author of nine traditionally-published business books that have sold over 400,000 copies and been translated into 10 languages. Her most recent book is The Brand Mapping Strategy: Design, Build and Accelerate Your Brand. She regularly writes for Inc.com and Entrepreneur.com and has had articles published in Self, The Los Angeles Times, American Way, The Boston Globe, and many others. Karen has spoken for Harvard, The AMA, Direct Marketing Association, and Stanford, among others. She has been interviewed on The Today Show, CNN, CNBC, and Oprah. Get in touch with Karen on | | | Resources My 10th book — — will be out on December 31st through Career Press. It’s a practical book about being more productive and achieving better time management in an age where many of us are working from home. /episode/index/show/thoughttalkpodcast/id/16387487

Preventing Zoom Fatigue with Karen Tiber Leland 10/07/2020

Preventing Zoom Fatigue with Karen Tiber Leland I lead a webinar called How to Look Better, Feel More Comfortable and Be More Productive When Video Conferencing and something that’s brought up by a lot of executives, salespeople, and entrepreneurs I’m talking to is Zoom fatigue. Today I want to talk about why and how Zoom fatigue happens as well as five easy ways to nip it in the bud. 5 Tips to avoid video call fatigue Stop staring at yourself — You look fine, you sound fine, use the app’s functionality to only see others in the call Take a break between calls — schedule a 10-15-minute break between calls, get up, and walk around. Go audio-only, try the Walk-N-Talk and really try to stick to the timing of the call. About Karen Tiber Leland Karen Tiber Leland is the founder of Sterling Marketing Group, a branding, marketing, and color strategy and implementation firm helping CEOs, executives, and entrepreneurs develop stronger personal, business, and team brands. Her clients include Cisco, American Express, Marriott Hotels, Apple Computer, LinkedIn, and Twitter. She is also the best-selling author of nine traditionally-published business books that have sold over 400,000 copies and been translated into 10 languages. Her most recent book is The Brand Mapping Strategy: Design, Build, and Accelerate Your Brand. She regularly writes for Inc.com and Entrepreneur.com and has had articles published in Self, The Los Angeles Times, American Way, The Boston Globe, and many others. Karen has spoken for Harvard, The AMA, Direct Marketing Association, and Stanford, among others. She has been interviewed on The Today Show, CNN, CNBC, and Oprah. Get in touch with Karen on | | | Resources Do you feel you or your team could benefit from some training to look better, feel more comfortable, and be more productive when video conferencing? I have a great hour or hour-and-a-half video webinar to help you hack your video conferencing calls. In this webinar, we not only cover how to avoid Zoom fatigue but also lighting, camera placement, colors, and clothes to wear as well as how to create more engagement. Feel free to reach out at or go to my website and fill out the contact form at . /episode/index/show/thoughttalkpodcast/id/16305497

Why CEO Branding is a Necessity With Karen Tiber Leland 09/30/2020

Why CEO Branding is a Necessity With Karen Tiber Leland I often get called by CEOs who are interested in the added value of having a CEO brand that is separate from – but connected to – their businesses. In today’s Thought Talk podcast,, I’ll be discussing the three biggest mistakes I see when it comes to CEO branding as well as the three thought leadership categories CEOs sort into when it comes to their personal brands. Tips for better CEO branding CEO branding can’t be done as a transactional relationship. You can’t delegate the crafting of it to a marketing director. It requires your direct participation and engagement. CEO branding isn’t just PR — It requires not only reputation management, but also thought leadership, content marketing strategy, and last but not at all least, executive presence. It takes work and effort, but not necessarily a great deal of time. Don’t underestimate its value, and don’t let your CEO brand be decided by default. About Karen Tiber Leland Karen Tiber Leland is the founder of Sterling Marketing Group, a branding, marketing, and color strategy and implementation firm helping CEOs, executives, and entrepreneurs develop stronger personal, business, and team brands. Her clients include Cisco, American Express, Marriott Hotels, Apple Computer, LinkedIn, and Twitter. She is also the best-selling author of nine traditionally-published business books that have sold over 400,000 copies and been translated into 10 languages. Her most recent book is The Brand Mapping Strategy: Design, Build, and Accelerate Your Brand. She regularly writes for Inc.com and Entrepreneur.com and has had articles published in Self, The Los Angeles Times, American Way, The Boston Globe, and many others. Karen has spoken for Harvard, The AMA, Direct Marketing Association, and Stanford, among others. She has been interviewed on The Today Show, CNN, CNBC, and Oprah. Get in touch with Karen on | | | Resources Has this podcast inspired you to get your CEO brand in better shape? Fill out the contact form at and I will be happy to provide a complimentary consultation and discuss ways we might work together. /episode/index/show/thoughttalkpodcast/id/16199636

6 Ways to Measure Your Brand Reputation 09/23/2020

6 Ways to Measure Your Brand Reputation My guest today is Eddie Hull, the Associate Strategy Director of FutureBrand and he is here to help us understand the biggest takeaways from this year’s FutureBrand Index for entrepreneurs and small businesses. To gain insight on how strong brand reputations are perceived and managed, listen for the six dimensions that are used for the study, as well as how the pandemic has changed how brands are seen. Tips For A Brand With Staying Power Thought leadership — Move your thought leadership outside closed doors; companies highly placed in the index highlight their leaders. Authenticity — Connect with your customers and build trust. People are starting to challenge the legitimacy of institutions and brands are no exception. Trust — Building trust requires consistency and a clear purpose. Adopt and integrate tech — You will need it to walk into the fourth industrial revolution. About Karen Tiber Leland Karen Tiber Leland is the founder of Sterling Marketing Group, a branding, marketing, and color strategy and implementation firm helping CEOs, executives, and entrepreneurs develop stronger personal, business, and team brands. Her clients include Cisco, American Express, Marriott Hotels, Apple Computer, LinkedIn, and Twitter. She is also the best-selling author of nine traditionally-published business books that have sold over 400,000 copies and been translated into 10 languages. Her most recent book is The Brand Mapping Strategy: Design, Build, and Accelerate Your Brand. She regularly writes for Inc.com and Entrepreneur.com and has had articles published in Self, The Los Angeles Times, American Way, The Boston Globe, and many others. Karen has spoken for Harvard, The AMA, Direct Marketing Association, and Stanford, among others. She has been interviewed on The Today Show, CNN, CNBC, and Oprah. Get in touch with Karen on | | | About Our Guest Eddie Hull is the Associate Strategy Director of FutureBrand where he develops brand and communication strategies for companies such as Ford Motor Company, Allstate, Fidelity, and the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. You can learn more about Eddie Hull on his . Mentioned Resources Are you interested in firmly establishing your CEO or executive brand, expanding your influence, or becoming more of a thought leader in your field? Consider my personal process. For more information on how we can work together to design and implement your personal CEO or Executive brand, give me a call for an initial consultation at no charge at 415-260-4615 or you can reach out to me at . /episode/index/show/thoughttalkpodcast/id/16109351

The Seven Myths of Personal Branding With Karen Tiber Leland 09/09/2020

Consistent Video Content Can Grow Your Business With Nina Froriep 09/03/2020

Consistent Video Content Can Grow Your Business With Nina Froriep Video marketing has the capacity to create a connection and tell a multifaceted story that just words or audio can’t always accomplish. I’m joined today by Nina Froriep from Clock Wise Productions to discuss what it takes to drive a successful video marketing campaign for a small business, why you need to be creating video and the biggest mistakes to avoid. Tips For Successful Video Marketing Online Shorter is better — 90 seconds is ideal for a marketing video. Choosing a platform — First, find out where your potential audience goes for their information, then show up there. Biggest video marketing mistakes — Inconsistency, investing in too much equipment, and being too high-concept. People like real people — be authentic, talk about what you know, be consistent, and give potential customers a feel for what it might be like to work with you. About Karen Tiber Leland Karen Tiber Leland is the founder of Sterling Marketing Group, a branding, marketing, and color strategy and implementation firm helping CEOs, executives, and entrepreneurs develop stronger personal, business, and team brands. Her clients include Cisco, American Express, Marriott Hotels, Apple Computer, LinkedIn, and Twitter. She is also the best-selling author of nine traditionally-published business books that have sold over 400,000 copies and been translated into 10 languages. Her most recent book is The Brand Mapping Strategy: Design, Build, and Accelerate Your Brand. She regularly writes for Inc.com and Entrepreneur.com and has had articles published in Self, The Los Angeles Times, American Way, The Boston Globe, and many others. Karen has spoken for Harvard, The AMA, Direct Marketing Association, and Stanford, among others. She has been interviewed on The Today Show, CNN, CNBC, and Oprah. Get in touch with Karen on | | | About Our Guest Nina has seen it all from the early days on independent features, to big national TV commercials, corporate mega-shows, and many documentary films, including one she wrote, directed, and produced about Muslim kids in New York, called . In short, there’s no film- or video-production scenario she hasn't taken care of. Along the journey, she’s met many, many awesomely wonderful people and a few bad-asses. She’s worked with stars like Sophia Loren, John Malkovich, and Wynton Marsalis, she’s interviewed Fortune 500 CEOs, she’s worked on Emmy award-winning and Emmy-nominated documentaries, and produced hundreds of videos for uber-corporate shows. She’s negotiated with teamsters, clients (big and small), actors, crew, children, police officers, a few dogs, and one snake. You can learn more about Nina on her . Mentioned Resources Do you think you might benefit from one-on-one branding and marketing consulting? If so, you might want to consider booking a session. During this one-hour, no-holds-barred consulting call, I promise to get to the heart of your marketing, social media, PR branding, business development, or content marketing question. The feedback I give is to the point and precise: you will walk away with actions and solutions. For more information or to book a session, contact me directly at or visit . /episode/index/show/thoughttalkpodcast/id/15870686

Navigating the Gig Economy With Moves’ CEO, Matthew Spoke 08/26/2020

Navigating the Gig Economy With Moves’ CEO, Matthew Spoke Most people who choose independent work in the gig economy do so because they are pursuing career fulfillment, independence, and flexibility. But the trade-off is that you need to fend for yourself: withholding and remitting taxes, putting money aside for health insurance, retirement or paid sick leave, etc. This can be overwhelming, but today I welcome Matthew Spoke, CEO of Moves Financial, to the show. Moves is a startup dedicated to helping independent workers achieve their financial goals. We discuss what the gig economy is exactly, how it was expected to grow, and how COVID-19 impacted the timeline. We also touch on the increased demand for interim C-level executives and what the biggest pitfalls are for gig workers and the people who hire them. Get to know the gig economy Growing labor force trends: Economic and industry instability — More people will choose independent work as a primary choice or to diversify income in the coming decades. Increasing selection — More skills are being brought into the online marketplace every day. Tips for Gig workers: Diversify — Make sure you have profiles on every platform to avoid your reputation being held hostage. Financial hygiene — Understand your income and live below your means so you can put money aside. Tips for hiring gig workers: Do your due diligence — Investigate reviews to avoid the most common pain points. About Karen Tiber Leland Karen Tiber Leland is the founder of Sterling Marketing Group, a branding, marketing, and color strategy and implementation firm helping CEOs, executives, and entrepreneurs develop stronger personal, business, and team brands. Her clients include Cisco, American Express, Marriott Hotels, Apple Computer, LinkedIn, and Twitter. She is also the best-selling author of nine traditionally-published business books that have sold over 400,000 copies and been translated into 10 languages. Her most recent book is The Brand Mapping Strategy: Design, Build, and Accelerate Your Brand. She regularly writes for Inc.com and Entrepreneur.com and has had articles published in Self, The Los Angeles Times, American Way, The Boston Globe, and many others. Karen has spoken for Harvard, The AMA, Direct Marketing Association, and Stanford, among others. She has been interviewed on The Today Show, CNN, CNBC, and Oprah. Get in touch with Karen on | | | About Our Guest Matthew Spoke is the Founder and CEO of Moves, a fintech company for the gig economy, and the Open Foundation, a not-for-profit designed to steward the Open Application Network (The OAN). For many years, Matthew has been a leading advocate for the potential social benefits of decentralized technologies in the world. Matthew has been an entrepreneur for five years, through which he’s had the opportunity to serve as a founding board member of the Enterprise Ethereum Alliance and a founding director of the Blockchain Technology Coalition of Canada. He’s also served as an advisor to governments on the regulatory implications of new technologies like blockchain on the future world of finance. You can learn more about Matthew Spoke on and Mentioned Resources Do you think you might benefit from one-on-one branding and marketing consulting? If so, you might want to consider booking a session. During this one-hour, no-holds-barred consulting call, I promise to get to the heart of your marketing, social media, PR branding, business development, or content marketing question. The feedback I give is to the point and precise: you will walk away with actions and solutions. For more information or to book a session, contact me directly at or visit . /episode/index/show/thoughttalkpodcast/id/15753422

Reinventing In-Person Events for a Sustainable Future With Plamen Russev 08/19/2020

Reinventing In-Person Events for a Sustainable Future With Plamen Russev My guest today is Plamen Russev, Founder of Webit, author of Power to the People — the New Marketing and the man who successfully rebranded a whole city — not a small feat in any capacity. I’ve had the privilege to be both a panelist and a moderator at Webit’s events and I am always quite impressed by the quality and level of the people that agree to participate. I’m very excited to finally have a chance to talk to Dr. Russev about how he came to be so well connected, what it took to shift a 20K attendee event to virtual in a matter of days, what it really takes to run successful events as well as the need to be more responsible to ensure a sustainable future for humanity. Tips Having a strong team can make or break a launch — keep the right people around you and rely on their expertise. Community, team, and platform are the three most important aspects of a successful virtual event. Growing a network is hard work — Giving back, forgetting your ego, and trying to make a difference play a large part. Don’t put your reputation and health at risk for an in-person event. When it comes to social media, it’s all about authenticity and being yourself. About Karen Tiber Leland Karen Tiber Leland is the founder of Sterling Marketing Group, a branding, marketing, and color strategy and implementation firm helping CEOs, executives, and entrepreneurs develop stronger personal, business, and team brands. Her clients include Cisco, American Express, Marriott Hotels, Apple Computer, LinkedIn, and Twitter. She is also the best-selling author of nine traditionally-published business books that have sold over 400,000 copies and been translated into 10 languages. Her most recent book is The Brand Mapping Strategy: Design, Build, and Accelerate Your Brand. She regularly writes for Inc.com and Entrepreneur.com and has had articles published in Self, The Los Angeles Times, American Way, The Boston Globe, and many others. Karen has spoken for Harvard, The AMA, Direct Marketing Association, and Stanford, among others. She has been interviewed on The Today Show, CNN, CNBC, and Oprah. Get in touch with Karen on | | | About Our Guest Dr. Plamen Russev is a Bulgarian serial entrepreneur, investor, and philanthropist with over 25 years of experience in tech and innovation and founder of one of the world's largest and impactful communities of innovators, digerati, and world leaders — Webit. He currently serves as the executive chairman of the Webit.Foundation — the organization behind the fastest growing tech events, Webit.Festivals. With the power of Webit and his personal global network, Dr. Russev is changing narratives about cities and entire countries, building one of the most powerful marketing and rebranding campaigns. Plamen Russev was featured in hundreds of international and local media and blogs including The Economist, Entrepreneur.com, Bloomberg, CNBCe, Forbes, Venture Beat, CNN to name a few. His diverse background in education and investments includes digital health, AI, blockchain, exponential technologies, building global brands, empowering women in business and politics, creating and developing self-sustainable and growing entrepreneurial ecosystems, and establishing cities and countries as innovation hubs, talent magnets, and investment destinations. You can learn more about Plamen Russev on ||| Book: , by Plamen Russev Mentioned Resources Are you looking to firmly establish your CEO or executive brand, expand your influence, or become more of a thought leader in your field? Consider my personal process and book a 30-minute complimentary . For more information on designing and implementing your personal CEO or executive brand, contact me at . /episode/index/show/thoughttalkpodcast/id/15667457

Tweeting Your Way To The Top With Karen Tiber Leland 08/12/2020

Tweeting Your Way To The Top With Karen Tiber Leland Today Karen talks about tweeting your way to the top — how you can use Twitter to build your business, your book, or your brand online. When you consider that 44% of Twitter users are between 18 and 34, that 69% are moms, and that 72% who follow a brand are likely to buy, it’s an opportunity you might not want to pass over. But like all social media, effectiveness boils down to a few factors that Karen breaks down in a comprehensive way for this short, informative episode. Tips for Tweets Relationships — Connect, expand, and maintain. Generate leads and get attention — Twitter can give you access to people in your field, otherwise impossible to reach. Branding and image building — Use Twitter to gain perspective on your own image. Buzz and promo — It’s a great place to build some excitement over a new product. Consistency is key — Posting should be done 2 to 4 times a day, 5 days a week. Using Twitter strategically can be a real boon for marketing a book, business, product, or brand. If you find that it’s a good fit for you but you’d like more information after listening in to this podcast, feel free to reach out to [email protected] for a great little 30-minute audio workbook called Tweet Your Way to the Top. About Karen Tiber Leland Karen Tiber Leland is the founder of Sterling Marketing Group, a branding, marketing, and color strategy and implementation firm helping CEOs, executives, and entrepreneurs develop stronger personal, business, and team brands. Her clients include Cisco, American Express, Marriott Hotels, Apple Computer, LinkedIn, and Twitter. She is also the best-selling author of nine traditionally-published business books that have sold over 400,000 copies and been translated into 10 languages. Her most recent book is The Brand Mapping Strategy: Design, Build, and Accelerate Your Brand. She regularly writes for Inc.com and Entrepreneur.com and has had articles published in Self, The Los Angeles Times, American Way, The Boston Globe, and many others. Karen has spoken for Harvard, The AMA, Direct Marketing Association, and Stanford, among others. She has been interviewed on The Today Show, CNN, CNBC, and Oprah. Get in touch with Karen on | | | Mentioned /episode/index/show/thoughttalkpodcast/id/15572444

The Importance of Philanthropy During COVID-19 With Miracle Foundation’s Caroline Boudreaux 07/29/2020

The Importance of Philanthropy During COVID-19 With Miracle Foundation’s Caroline Boudreaux Today I have the pleasure of speaking with Caroline Boudreaux, a social entrepreneur and the Founder of the Miracle Foundation. The Foundation is committed to a family for every child in our lifetime. Caroline and I take some time to talk about philanthropy and charity in trying times, the three Ts of philanthropy as well as the challenges nonprofits face compared to for profit businesses. Tips In 1989, the U.N. ratified the Rights of the Child — 12 measurable things kids need to reach their full potential and the life skills training the Miracle Foundation provides for children to activate their rights. The three “Ts” of philanthropy — Caroline details the ways you can help even in times of financial instability. The little girl on the wooden bed — Sheebani is the child that began it all 20 years ago, she is now in nursing school. The double standards faced by nonprofits — paying for marketing and talent is called overhead. About Karen Tiber Leland Karen Tiber Leland is the founder of Sterling Marketing Group, a branding, marketing, and color strategy and implementation firm helping CEOs, executives, and entrepreneurs develop stronger personal, business, and team brands. Her clients include Cisco, American Express, Marriott Hotels, Apple Computer, LinkedIn, and Twitter. She is also the best-selling author of nine traditionally-published business books that have sold over 400,000 copies and been translated into 10 languages. Her most recent book is The Brand Mapping Strategy: Design, Build and Accelerate Your Brand. She regularly writes for Inc.com and Entrepreneur.com and has had articles published in Self, The Los Angeles Times, American Way, The Boston Globe, and many others. Karen has spoken for Harvard, The AMA, Direct Marketing Association, and Stanford, among others. She has been interviewed on The Today Show, CNN, CNBC, and Oprah. Get in touch with Karen on | | | About Our Guest Caroline Boudreaux is a social entrepreneur and Founder of the Miracle Foundation. In May 2000, on Mother’s Day, Caroline’s life changed forever as she visited India for the first time and met a group of more than 100 orphaned children. The children were bald and filthy with empty-looking eyes — yet she saw their incredible potential. Since that day, she has committed her life to help orphaned children realize that potential. Caroline is a firecracker Cajun who was born and raised in Lake Charles, Louisiana and attended Louisiana State University where she earned a Bachelor of Science in Psychology. Prior to her nonprofit work, she had a successful career in media advertising. For her achievements with Miracle Foundation, Caroline was presented with the Hope Award in 2005, the Impact Award in 2008, and the United Nations Humanitarian Award in 2017. Caroline is a Young Global Leader with the World Economic Forum and has completed executive programs at Harvard’s Kennedy School of Government, Yale’s Jackson Institute for Diplomacy, and the India School of Business. Caroline often speaks to heads of states, the press, and companies around the world. Find out more and get in touch with Caroline on her ||||| Mentioned /episode/index/show/thoughttalkpodcast/id/15384230

Holistic Financial Planning — Finding Your Financial Quarterback With Joanna Burish 07/22/2020

Holistic Financial Planning — Finding Your Financial Quarterback With Joanna Burish Joanna Burish joins the show today to share her expertise as a licensed holistic financial planner with Northwestern Mutual. Her family office focuses on three ways for her clients to have more power and control over their finances. We discuss the importance of listening to your financial advisor, the difference between good debt and bad debt, the three things you absolutely need to have a handle on during this COVID pandemic, and how having a financial quarterback can really help keep you on track. Tips Holistic VS siloed planning — The difference between having a quarterback or not for your team. Finding the right holistic financial planner — Joanna explains what the right feeling should be between too safe and not safe enough to identify your holistic financial planner. Short- and long-term plans — in times of COVID, make sure your fight-or-flight response is mitigated and you keep making decisions that align with your long term plan. The three things you need to have a handle on right now — 1. Keyman insurance, 2. tax-free, tax-deferred, and whole life insurance and 3. portfolio allocation and diversification. About Karen Tiber Leland Karen Tiber Leland is the founder of Sterling Marketing Group, a branding, marketing, and color strategy and implementation firm helping CEOs, executives, and entrepreneurs develop stronger personal, business, and team brands. Her clients include Cisco, American Express, Marriott Hotels, Apple Computer, LinkedIn, and Twitter. She is also the best-selling author of nine traditionally-published business books that have sold over 400,000 copies and been translated into 10 languages. Her most recent book is The Brand Mapping Strategy: Design, Build and Accelerate Your Brand. She regularly writes for Inc.com and Entrepreneur.com and has had articles published in Self, The Los Angeles Times, American Way, The Boston Globe, and many others. Karen has spoken for Harvard, The AMA, Direct Marketing Association, and Stanford, among others. She has been interviewed on The Today Show, CNN, CNBC, and Oprah. Get in touch with Karen on | | | About Our Guest In 1997 Joanna Burish and her business partner launched a family business office delivering financial, legacy planning, and liability protection planning services to professional athletes and those in the Hollywood industry. Joanna joined Fleming Development, working on a $350 million golf course community project in 2002 as Vice President and managed land planning and development, financing, marketing, and team building. In 2008, she joined Welton Enterprises Inc., a $130 million real estate company as Director of Finance and Development and became CEO in 2011. Joanna was introduced to Karl Dettmann of Northwestern Mutual in 2015 and the two merged their practices into the family business office they have today. This full-service team offers business owners, artists, entrepreneurs, family businesses, and individuals a holistic and sustainable strategic planning process for business and personal family life and legacy goals. Joanna is passionate about giving back to her community. In 2011, she founded The Brauds, a non-profit organization of female leaders mentoring and empowering each other. She graduated from the University of Wisconsin — Madison with a Major in Accounting, with a focus on Finance and Real Estate and in 2011 earned her MBA in Executive Business Management from here as well. Find out more and get in touch with Joanna on her || or call her direct line 608-662-3919. Mentioned , by David McKnight Resources Today’s most successful CEOs, executives, and enterprises set their sights on developing a long-term rather than a short-term strategy for building their personal and business brands. Do you think you might benefit from one-on-one CEO branding, marketing, and consulting? If so, you might want to consider renting for a session. During this one hour, no-holds-barred consulting call, I’ll get to the heart of your CEO brand marketing, social media, PR, and business development questions. The feedback I give is to the point and precise: you will walk away with actions and solutions. To schedule a CEO brand session go to or email me directly at . /episode/index/show/thoughttalkpodcast/id/15298919

Surprising Solutions to Magical Thinking Messing up Our Productivity 07/15/2020

Surprising Solutions to Magical Thinking Messing up Our Productivity Surprising Solutions to The Magical Thinking Messing up Our Productivity Today’s episode is a little different. Instead of interviewing a guest, I’m going to share about something I’ve recently encountered with clients and that I’m dealing with myself. After a call with a CEO client, I realized that many overachievers suffer from the same productivity issue: magical thinking. Like many of us, my high-performing CEO client expected herself to be at her maximum amount of productivity all the time, no matter the circumstances. I invite you to take a moment to consider how to overcome this common issue during a short episode that gets to the source of the problem and that also provides concrete actions you can start taking, as of today, to inject a dose of reality into your daily to-do list. Tips Be aware of the impact of circumstances on focus and productivity — top of mind are upcoming elections, COVID-19, unemployment, economic uncertainty, working from home, and social unrest. Keep in mind that tasks are never singular — Most seemingly two-step tasks are in reality four to eight-step ones. Inject some reality into your daily routine by lowering your productivity bar. About Karen Tiber Leland Karen Tiber Leland is the founder of Sterling Marketing Group, a branding, marketing, and color strategy and implementation firm helping CEOs, executives, and entrepreneurs develop stronger personal, business, and team brands. Her clients include Cisco, American Express, Marriott Hotels, Apple Computer, LinkedIn, and Twitter. She is also the best-selling author of nine traditionally-published business books that have sold over 400,000 copies and been translated into 10 languages. Her most recent book is The Brand Mapping Strategy: Design, Build, and Accelerate Your Brand. She regularly writes for Inc.com and Entrepreneur.com and has had articles published in Self, The Los Angeles Times, American Way, The Boston Globe, and many others. Karen has spoken for Harvard, The AMA, Direct Marketing Association, and Stanford, among others. She has been interviewed on The Today Show, CNN, CNBC, and Oprah. Get in touch with Karen on | | | Resources Karen’s new book No Nonsense Time Management: 50 Tips to Hack Your Time and Get Everything Done will be coming out in paperback and Kindle on December 1st, 2020, but it is available for preorder right now. This book will help you fight distraction and find your focus, go for your goals, and master online life. Take a moment to check it out . /episode/index/show/thoughttalkpodcast/id/15208682

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