The Create and Grow Podcast

We know that the Power of the Pause is a creative skill but it is also a cultural competence and leadership skill. Knowing how to pause to get your executive function back online, ground yourself and assess the situation with clear observation is a key skill in this future of work. Kim, who has led many senior leaders and organizations to success, talks about this simple strategy that has profound effects. Listen in for gems to reset your focus, improve your creativity and strengthen your relationships. Just pause and listen!

Kim Groshek is an elite business strategist and mental health coach known as the “Pause Lady.” Kim works with high-achieving professionals to become more successful and happy through a simple pause that helps ignite more focused results. Kim's professional journey includes 35 years of leadership, innovation, and corporate transformation. She has excelled at project management, organizational design, and leadership coaching across diverse sectors, including healthcare, banking, credit unions, higher Education, manufacturing, government, and start-ups, showcasing her ability to drive impactful organizational changes and establish robust systems and processes.

To learn more about Kim Groshek, visit:

https://www.amazon.com/stores/Kim-Groshek/author/B00325XE44?ref=sr_ntt_srch_lnk_2&qid=1704277617&sr=8-2&isDramIntegrated=true&shoppingPortalEnabled=true &

https://soundbits.simplecast.com

https://kimgroshek.com & https://journal.happyheartzone.com

To learn more, visit:

https://caffestrategies.com/

Listen to more episodes on Mission Matters:

https://missionmatters.com/author/genein-letford/

For Women's History Month, we are asking the question, 'Why should you be like a pineapple?' Annie Meehan, an international speaker, eight time author and inspirational coach talks with Genein about the skills needed to thrive in an ever changing world. Thinking metaphorically is a creative skill so Annie brings in her metaphor of being a pineapple to encourage leaders, and our listeners, on how to bring their top game to the workforce. She gives insightful tips for becoming a national speaker as well. Join us for her gems of wisdom and be inspired to pineapple your way to the top.

OUR GUEST:

Annie Meehan, Professional Speaker CSP, Certified Coach and Award Winning Author. An author of eight personal development books, her work includes the award-winning ‘Be The Exception’ book. One of her books, The Pineapple Principle, offers hospitality and a sweet journey to an exceptional customer experience. Today, her passion is to share her "H3 Cultures" concept with companies to help them create a Hopeful, Healthy, and Happy workplace that retains an engaged workforce! Meehan has three adult children and lives in the Orlando, FL, area, with her husband Greg. She enjoys being an active member of her community by volunteering, going on adventures with her family, and taking Leo, her beloved pup, for strolls.

To learn more about Annie Meehan,visit:

https://www.anniemeehan.com/

https://www.amazon.com/stores/Annie-Meehan/author/B018UWZAOU?ref=sr_ntt_srch_lnk_1&qid=1705351345&sr=8-1&isDramIntegrated=true&shoppingPortalEnabled=true

To learn more, visit:

https://caffestrategies.com/

Listen to more episodes on Mission Matters:

https://missionmatters.com/author/genein-letford/

Being able to build elements of your world is a part of being imaginative. Budsies is a company that allows children and adults to send in images or a selfie and create a 3 D plushie and bring their story to life! I talk with Scott Meier, the CEO of Budsies, about his creative adventures, social innovation methods and how he feels Budsies is a perfect way to address the emotional and mental health challenges society is facing today. Listen in for great examples of what it means to ‘create the life you want;.

OUR GUEST:

Scott Meier, CEO of Budsies, Petsies, and Stuffed Animal Pros. As owner / CEO of the Budsies Companies, Scott Meier brings a forward-thinking perspective on creativity, content creation, and IP to the world of toys and customization. Scott Meier has directed, been a showrunner, produced, and marketed film and television projects including features, short films, music videos, and documentaries in Spanish and English-speaking markets for over 15 years.

To learn more about Scott, visit:

Website: Budsies.com

Website: MyPetsies.com

Website: StuffedAnimalPros.com

Website: Waggables.com

To learn more, visit:

https://caffestrategies.com/

Listen to more episodes on Mission Matters:

https://missionmatters.com/author/genein-letford/

Anne Jacoby is on a mission to cultivate creativity at work. A professional performer turned MBA and entrepreneur, Anne has been building businesses and driving positive culture change within organizations for over 20 years. She's the CEO and founder of the culture consultancy Spring Street. Her new book, Born to Create, shares how you can apply creativity to spark connection, innovation, and belonging in our new world of work.

A former singer, actor, dancer, and storyteller, Anne Jacoby spent the beginning of her career in the performing arts before taking a full-time job at a start-up. As employee #7 at Axiom, she helped launch the firm globally across 14 different offices. After spending nearly 13 years at Axiom, Anne moved to RGP where she was VP of Learning, Development, and Culture, partnering to activate its refreshed corporate brand and transforming the business to prioritize learning. With an MBA from NYU's Stern School of Business, Anne is passionate about helping tams work more effectively and adopt a creativity culture. She is an advocate for arts education for young people and proudly supports her alma mater, the Los Angeles County High School for the Arts. Anne lives in Southern California with her husband and two creative kids. Her book, Born to Create, helps individuals and companies spark more creativity to achieve more connection and fulfillment in work and life.

To learn more, visit:

https://caffestrategies.com/

Listen to more episodes on Mission Matters:

https://missionmatters.com/author/genein-letford/

Everything around you can influence your mindset and creativity. Mark McCormick is an avid observer and storyteller and his field of work ahas put him front and center of some of the most biggest influencers. During this podcast, we talked about how personal surroundings affect creativity. We also discuss his role in the book, ‘Bye Bye Barry’ about the retirement of superstar athlete Barry Sanders during his prime. One of the greatest thought leaders in the journalism field, Mark shares his perspective on story, justice and allowing people to shine bright with creative thinking.

Mark McCormick is a NY Times bestselling author with nearly 30 years of experience as a journalist. I was a daily newspaper journalist for about 20 when I had to reinvent myself and become the top executive in a museum with a state-wide reach. I’m now Deeply Executive Director for the ACLU affiliate in Kansas. And believe that Democracy is more than voting. It is about belonging. I have chapters in two textbooks used in universities nationwide. Two of my recent projects (under the same name, “Bye, Bye Barry”) are number one on Amazon and Prime respectively.

To learn more about Mark, visit:

Kansasreflector.com

https://bmecommunity.org/

To learn more, visit:

https://caffestrategies.com/

Listen to more episodes on Mission Matters:

https://missionmatters.com/author/genein-letford/

Creativity is now one of the top skills needed in the world and it is imagination that will drive that creativity. Dr. Ackerbauer discusses how creativity development will take shape in this next future of work. From balancing rocks in his free time to cultivating creative thinking in the top teams in corporate, Dr Ackerbauer shares his wisdom on how to foster this innate gift in all of us for this future of work.

Michael Ackerbauer is a Business Transformation Leader for IBM Client Engineering. He partners with organizational leaders to humanize their digital transformation. A seasoned innovator and intrapreneur, Michael makes complex leadership concepts easy to understand and simple to apply. He holds a master’s degree in Applied Imagination and a doctorate in Creative Leadership and recently published his first book. Macker is also a certified rock balancer, which is now a TEDx talk.

Michael Ackerbauer is a Business Transformation Leader in the IBM Sales Client Engineering organization, where he links business leaders to cloud technology solutions to accelerate their digital transformation. As a seasoned innovator and intrapreneur, Dr. Macker specializes in making complex concepts easy to understand and simple to apply to maximize creative capability. He holds a master’s degree in Applied Imagination and a doctorate in Creative Leadership for Innovation and Change. He recently published his first book, In the Cave of Adullam: Songs of Lockdown - Reflections on the Psalms and Proverbs. Dr. Macker is also a certified rock balancer.

To learn more about Michael Ackerbauer, visit:

https://ibm.biz/macker-tedx

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NUXr42uvEEQ&t=300s

To learn more, visit:

https://caffestrategies.com/

Listen to more episodes on Mission Matters:

https://missionmatters.com/author/genein-letford/

NeuroSomatic Creativity® is an important component of leadership. So we invited a thought leader in Neuro-Somatic Intelligence to highlight how the body is connected with the mind and brain. She lectures and teaches on Neurotheology - How our belief systems live in our nervous systems. She unites the contemporary science of her 30 years as a healthcare provider specializing in the vagus nerve with the ancient science of how we embody the planets, stars, and the enduring stories associated with them.

Melanie Weller is a neurotheologist with a lot of helping healthcare professionals and organizations identify and transform how their belief systems live in their nervous systems. She is a licensed Physical Therapist, a Certified Athletic Trainer, and is a Board-Certified Orthopedic Clinical Specialist.

Melanie is the host of the Fearless Presence podcast and the co-creator of Neuro-Somatic Intelligence where she trains coaches and healthcare professionals. A new collaboration, Neuro Readiness Experts, is bringing a leading-edge suicide prevention program to the military. Melanie hosts Neurotheology retreats where she bridges modern and ancient science for radical transformation. Her book, Fearless Presence, will be out in 2024.

She lives on the parade route in New Orleans with her husband and occasionally her two adult children.

To learn more about Melanie Weller,visit:

https://www.melanieweller.com/

To learn more, visit:

https://caffestrategies.com/

Listen to more episodes on Mission Matters:

https://missionmatters.com/author/genein-letford/

Talking about diversity and inclusion has taken on an interesting spotlight in the last few months. Shakil Choudhuryis a thought leader in the space and has an interesting take on teaching inclusion as a skill. With an educational background, his approach to helping people with the skills of increasing cultural competence resonates with Intercultural Creativity.
Shakil Choudhury is an award-winning educator, consultant and author with over 25 years of experience in the field of racial justice, diversity and inclusion. He coaches executive teams and has worked with thousands of leaders across sectors in Canada and the United States to help improve their equity outcomes. Shakil also facilitates dialogue processes to resolve inter-group conflict, having led projects internationally as well as with organizations locally. He is the author of Deep Diversity: A Compassionate, Scientific Approach to Achieving Racial Justice. Written in an accessible, storytelling manner, many have called it a “breakthrough” book on issues of systemic racial discrimination due to its non- judgmental approach that integrates human psychology with critical race perspectives. Shakil’s most challenging and rewarding management experience, however, involves his two high-spirited children repeatedly teaching him the humble lessons of fatherhood. To clear his head during the week, Shakil loves to run the beautiful ravine trails near his home in Toronto.
To learn more about Shakil, visit:
https://animaleadership.com/
https://greystonebooks.com/products/deep-diversity
https://www.linkedin.com/in/shakil-choudhury-71a38b19b/
To learn more, visit:
https://caffestrategies.com/
Listen to more episodes on Mission Matters:
https://missionmatters.com/author/genein-letford/

Empathy drives so many of our decisions, especially our creative thinking. Dr. Joe discusses the importance of building empathy in leadership and why it is a critical component of Intercultural Creativity® and Prismatic Leadership.

Joe Pazmany, Ed. D., CEO of Innovade Inc., Professor of Leadership Studies at Chapman University

To learn more, visit:

https://caffestrategies.com/

Listen to more episodes on Mission Matters:

https://missionmatters.com/author/genein-letford/

We are whole beings. So in order for people to thrive, their whole selves need to be attended to. This includes our mental health, which is a top concern for the workplace. It is also a large concern for our creative health as well. Terence Tillman is a thought leader and coach in the areas of mental health, men’s emotional regulation and human development.

With a charismatic presence in the world of podcasting, Terence leverages the medium to spark conversations that inspire change. Through “Conversations Of The Heart”, Terence engages listeners in meaningful dialogues about mental health, personal development, and societal transformation.

Committed to mental health advocacy, Terence raises awareness and breaks down barriers through informative talks, articles, and community engagement. Drawing from personal experience, Terence fosters empathy and encourages men and women to inventory their gifts and abilities, strengthen their internal tools and live their best lives. Listen to the wealth of wisdom that he shares!

Terence Tillman, Podcast Host, Certified Life Coach, Talent Acquisition Professional, Speaker & Mental Health Advocate.

To learn more about Terence visit:

https://www.youtube.com/@conversationsoftheheart

https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/conversationsoftheheart

https://www.ttillinspires.com

To learn more, visit:

https://caffestrategies.com/

Listen to more episodes on Mission Matters:

https://missionmatters.com/author/genein-letford/