TEC Live - Business and Leadership Insights

In this episode Raj Narayan, founder and CEO of Emajin Golf, delves into the concept of combining business with a shared passion, in this case, golf. This innovative approach to strategic networking provides a fresh perspective on building authentic and meaningful business connections.

Gain valuable tips on how to build strategic relationships, including the importance of authenticity, the right timing for making an ask, and creating high-value connections. Raj's RICH referral recipe (Right people, Intuitive environment, Creating a friendly environment, High-value connections) is particularly insightful.

Raj outlines a clear framework for effective networking, focusing on three pillars: access, learn, and grow. This structured approach helps listeners understand how to leverage exclusive opportunities, gain valuable knowledge from industry leaders, and expand their professional network.

Simon Hunter, writer, director, and producer with over 30 years of experience in the film industry discusses the intersection of storytelling and leadership in business.

Simon explains how the Hero's Journey, a narrative structure found in mythology and films, can be applied to personal and professional development. He emphasises the importance of authenticity and self-awareness in leadership and encourages individuals to reflect on their own stories and motivations. He also highlights the power of storytelling in business, as it allows leaders to connect with their clients on a personal level and create a meaningful impact.

Warren Hogan brings an Insightful Economic Analysis and makes the complex simple. As a prominent figure in the Australian business community, his insights directly impact businesses of all sizes, providing practical implications for navigating economic challenges and opportunities.

He delves into the implications of government policies, offers credible forecasting and provides a long-term perspective on demographic and technological shifts. Whether you're a business owner, investor, or simply interested in understanding the economic landscape, this episode gives listeners a unique opportunity to gain valuable economic insights, stay informed about relevant policy developments, and enhance their understanding of the broader economic landscape's implications for business and society.

Join Stephanie Christopher and special guest Ashton Bishop in a deep dive into the world of marketing budgets and strategies. In this episode, we uncover the critical balance between short-term performance marketing and long-term brand building. Hear why allocating 60% of your marketing budget to brand and 40% to short-term efforts is crucial for sustainable growth.

From the importance of differentiation versus distinctiveness to the role of market segmentation in targeting the right audience, this podcast provides actionable strategies for mid-size businesses aiming for exponential growth. Find out how to measure the effectiveness of your brand efforts and strike the perfect balance between short-term gains and long-term success.

Whether you're a startup looking to establish your presence or a mid-size business seeking to scale, this episode offers invaluable advice on crafting a winning marketing strategy. Tune in and gain the confidence to invest in your brand's future while driving short-term results.

In this episode, Ingrid Maynard and Stephanie Christopher discuss the challenges in sales, from overcoming stereotypes to addressing the talent shortage. Ingrid delves into the skills deficit within sales teams, the significance of observable behaviours and the untapped potential of sales functions as incubators for broader organisational strategies.

Business leaders will gain insights into the motivations of salespeople and practical strategies for transforming sales mindsets and fostering a positive sales culture.

 

Sophie Pank is an authentic marketing professional with a knack for simplifying the complexities of marketing. This episode focuses on two key areas for business leaders wanting to ramp up their marketing efforts.  It may be just the right time to review marketing strategies and ensure you have alignment and collaboration across your business.

Two top takeaways are:

• The critical need for alignment between sales and marketing teams. Sophie emphasises the importance of shared goals, open communication, and collaboration between these two functions
• The fundamentals of effective lead generation, emphasising the significance of understanding the ideal customer profile. She encourages businesses to actively engage with their audience, seek feedback, and adapt their marketing strategies based on real-world insights.

Debbie Haski Leventhal is an accomplished Professor of Business Management and the MBA Director at Macquarie University in Sydney, Australia. She is well-published with over 60 academic articles, five books, and a TED Talk, dedicated to creating impact and enabling others to find meaning and purpose.

In this fascinating podcast, Debbie Haski Leventhal's talks about her childhood and upbringing in the Kabbalah Centre, a cult-like environment, highlighting the challenges, control mechanisms and the twisted rituals that were practiced, her escape and the difficulties faced by those trying to leave such organizations.

This experience informed her views about the importance of critical thinking which led to her academic and professional pursuits, and the significance of corporate social responsibility in making a positive impact. Her work as a professor, focuses on corporate social responsibility and the positive impact that companies can make beyond their regular business activities. She cites examples of social enterprises and companies that can make a real difference in the world.

  The podcast features a conversation with David Jenyns, who became a systems devotee after systemising his own business successfully in 2016. He founded systemHUB and SYSTEMology with a mission to free business owners from the daily operations of their businesses. The discussion covers various aspects of systemising a business, the importance of repeatability, the impact on scalability, and how to get started with creating and implementing systems and processes. David emphasises the value of falling in love with the idea of owning a systemised business and building up your systems muscle over time to achieve business growth and success.

8 tips to improved efficiency, scalability, and overall success in business.

1. Systemise Your Business: Systemising your business can free you from daily operational tasks, allowing you to focus on more strategic aspects of your company.
2. Identify Critical Systems: Start by identifying the critical few systems that have the biggest impact on your business's success. These are the systems you should focus on first.
3. Delegate and Repeat: Delegate tasks to lower-skilled team members, making them repeatable and standardized. This helps free up higher-skilled team members to work on more valuable tasks.
4. Keep It Simple: Don't overcomplicate your systems. Focus on creating systems that are simple, clear, and easy for your team to follow.
5. Cultural Change: Changing the culture inside your organisation is a crucial part of systemisation. Teach your team the value of systems and processes and how they can lead to personal and professional growth.
6. Fall in Love with Systemisation: Understand the importance of systemisation and commit to the process, even if you don't particularly enjoy creating documentation. Focus on the benefits it brings to your business.
7. Start Small and Build: Begin by identifying and systemizing just one or a few key processes. Building your "systems muscle" gradually will lead to long-term success.
8. Celebrate System Wins: Recognise and celebrate small wins in systemisation during your weekly meetings. This reinforces the importance of systems within your company.

In this episode Trudy MacDonald and Stephanie Christopher tackle this rich and relevant topic, uncovering the evolving landscape of work and leadership challenges - a must listen podcast for all business leaders.

Over the past few years, there has been a shift from "The Great Resignation" to "The Great Renegotiation" and ultimately "The Great Exhaustion." Leaders are facing burnout in an environment where they are under more pressure than ever before.

Trudy highlights four key reasons contributing to burnout:

1. Ways of Working: Hybrid and remote work models are here to stay, impacting relationships and connections within teams.
2. Role Clarity: Leaders have taken on too many responsibilities, leading to role compression and overwhelming workloads.
3. Changing Demands of Leadership: Leadership now requires a more humanistic approach, balancing empathy and accountability, which can be challenging.
4. Culture: Creating a culture of psychological safety where toxic behaviours are not tolerated is crucial, especially in remote or hybrid work environments.

Trudy emphasizes that this shift in leadership requires leaders to be visible, accessible, and empathetic. By building trust and a sense of belonging within teams, leaders can create a culture where accountability and support go hand in hand. Starting with the leadership team and modelling the desired behaviours is essential for implementing these changes effectively.

Hear how leaders can help themselves and their teams to mitigate burnout and become a high performance team.

Melo Calarco, the author of Beating Burnout, Finding Balance. He's a mindfulness and high performance expert, a keynote speaker and corporate programs facilitator. Melo teaches others how to stay energized, perform at their best, and conquer burnout.

Melo's lessons draw on his three decades of professional experience and on his life of cycling and trekking more than 30,000 kilometers across five continents, of course. His work has been described as truly transformational. 

In this podcast you'll hear insights about: self-awareness, self-regulation, thinking about yourself as a person and as a leader, and then thinking about your teams as well. As a leader, teaching people about preventing burnout and being more mindful in their work, will also lead to greater productivity