Brain Chatter – Details, episodes & analysis

What impacts do effective onboarding and career pathing have on the health of a company culture? And what does such onboarding and career pathing look like? Patrick Frazier, Director of Organizational Development at ME Global (Tempe, Arizona) discusses the culture inside their foundries in Arizona and Minnesota. Working in metal foundries is hard, hot work. How do you continue to find, keep, and provide advancement opportunities for team members? How do you ensure you attract and retain team members who are the right fit for the organizational culture of an action-oriented, successful foundry company?
 
EPISODE RESOURCES:

>Connect with Patrick Frazier on LinkedIn
>ME Global
>American Foundry Society

Brain Chatter, a podcast where we listen past the daily noise and explore topics at the intersection of leadership, workplace culture, profit, and sustainability.

KC&A's David Stanfield explores the life and career of one of the NBA all-time greats, Tim Duncan (San Antonio Spurs). The focus in this episode is on the 'walking the talk' examples Tim Duncan provided throughout his basketball career, by focusing on wins for the whole team and other teammates, cool-headed calmness, sharing credit, being coachable, accepting accountability and mentorship, and showing gratitude to teammates, fans, family, and coaches. All the while, consistently being humble.

EPISODE RESOURCES:

>Connect with David Stanfield on LinkedIn
>David Stanfield Bio
>Tim Duncan Stats on ESPN
>Biography of Tim Duncan on Wikipedia
>Tim Duncan's Retirement Letter (on Sports Illustrated)
>Air Alamo article referenced in episode

Basketball sound effects used by authorization of https://uppbeat.io

Brain Chatter, a podcast where we listen past the daily noise and explore topics at the intersection of leadership, workplace culture, profit, and sustainability.

How are current high school students being prepared for the US workforce at a time when employers are desperate for qualified workers? What are the students' pathways and options? Are schools getting the input from local industry about what those companies need most in foundational skills as well as developed skillsets? Do schools want involvement from local employers?

This episode takes an in-depth look at current high school education and workforce preparation with someone on the front lines. Grayson Lawrence is principal of Winterboro High School in rural Talladega County, Alabama. Grayson explains what College and Career Readiness means on a practical, measurable level and what it looks like for the students, educators, and future employers.

Winterboro High has been a recipient of of the "National School Change Award", presented to six or fewer schools nationwide annually as a joint program of the National Principals Leadership Institute and The School Superintendents Association. It recognizes schools that have significantly improved, such as Winterboro, which has raised graduation rates from around 60% to close to 100%, among numerous other gains. And, 100% of Winterboro graduates leave school with a personalized career plan mapping out what steps to take to achieve their personal goals. 

EPISODE RESOURCES:
> Winterboro High School website
>Grayson Lawrence on Twitter
>Winterboro High on Twitter

Brain Chatter, a podcast where we listen past the daily noise and explore topics at the intersection of leadership, workplace culture, profit, and sustainability.

At the same time as historic unemployment, there has never been a greater number of well-qualified disabled people who want to work. These prospective employees are sitting on the sidelines. John D. Kemp, CEO of the Lakeshore Foundation and author of a new book entitled “Disability Friendly, How to Move from Clueless to Inclusive” talks practical strategy in this episode.

How can an employer find, hire, and retain qualified workers who happen to be disabled?  What do disabled employee prospects want? Who is considered disabled? Why do some employers avoid disabled prospects altogether? What accommodations are required? John even tackles the often undiscussed question, 'what if you have to fire a disabled person for lack of meeting performance requirements'? What are the strengths that disabled people bring with them to a new workplace? Where does an employer, particularly a small to mid-sized company, even start with becoming a workplace that welcomes disabled applicants?

>John's Bio
>Connect with John on LinkedIn
>Lakeshore Foundation
>Links to purchase John's book:
Amazon
Barnes & Noble

Brain Chatter, a podcast where we listen past the daily noise and explore topics at the intersection of leadership, workplace culture, profit, and sustainability.

What does it take to last 100 years? Nancy Meadows, CEO of BridgeWays, shares her insights on how and why her organization has lasted almost a century. She discusses necessary organizational pivots of mission, programs, branding, and more that BridgeWays has made over the decades. So, how do you know what or which pivots to make (or not make)? What's the appropriate timeline for successful pivots? Should the process be fast or slow? What types of data and analysis is useful when it comes to decisions about large and small changes? How do you select the right people to surround yourself with in order to accomplish successful pivots?   

Nancy also discusses their organizational role in bridging "where youth are" and "where they can be" as it relates to life and career preparation. She explains BridgeWays focus on Social and Emotional Learning, including interpersonal skills building, goal setting skills, exposure to healthy teamwork, conflict resolution skills, and other skillsets sometimes illogically termed 'soft skills' that, in reality, are often deemed as "critical skills" by employers.

This episode also includes discussions about “Hindsight Bias,” alternately called “Knew-It-All-Along Phenomenon,” as it relates to the perception that successful pivots in the past were much more obvious than they actually were in real time.

RESOURCES:

>BridgeWays website
>Nancy Meadows' Bio
>BridgeWays Facebook Page
>Pauline Fletcher's Story
>Camp Fletcher


 

Brain Chatter, a podcast where we listen past the daily noise and explore topics at the intersection of leadership, workplace culture, profit, and sustainability.

How does absenteeism and presentism impact a company's effectiveness and sustainability? Does my company need a wellness program? What are the goals of company wellness programs? How do corporate wellness programs work? How do you create a workplace wellness program? What are the organizational leaders' responsibility to workforce wellness programs when it comes to program success? What are the bottom line costs of a workforce with unhealthy habits? What are the wellness and nutrition impacts on US worker's massive chronic disease rates? What has elevated the workplace wellness movement in recent years?

Wellness expert, Registered Dietitian, retired state public health leader, and Samford University School of Public Health adjunct faculty member Mim Gaines is this episode's guest. She answers all of these questions and more. 

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 RESOURCES:

Connect with Mim Gaines on LinkedIn

Article: "The Business Benefits of a Healthy Workforce" (Harvard University)

Good Choices Programs

Healthy Vending, Alabama

Scale Back Alabama

Wellness Council of America

WELCOA Getting Started Checklist

CDC: Workplace Wellness Programs

Community Foodbank of Central Alabama

Brain Chatter, a podcast where we listen past the daily noise and explore topics at the intersection of leadership, workplace culture, profit, and sustainability.

Tony Orlowski provides an overview of the new book on workplace safety, Safety Beyond The Numbers, co-authored by he and Dr. Ken Chapman. The two of them wrote the book based on their 80+ years of leading change in workplaces in the US, Canada, and in locations across the globe. What can be achieved beyond basic workplace safety compliance and why does it matter?

What is the responsibility of a front-line worker, front-line supervisor, safety manager, department manager, or executive to other people's safety? What can be done to maximize the outcome of everyone in the workplace going home safe and whole to their family and friends each day? What is compliance? What is beyond compliance? What is the moral factor? What does safety ownership mean and how does it work?
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 RESOURCES:

>SafePath Solutions (Book & Seminar info)

>Anthony Orlowski's Bio

>Connect with Anthony on LinkedIn

Brain Chatter, a podcast where we listen past the daily noise and explore topics at the intersection of leadership, workplace culture, profit, and sustainability.

Shannon Allen walks through how mentorship works, sharing her experiences of both having mentors and serving as a mentor herself.  What makes successful mentorships mutually beneficial to both participants? Who should seek out mentorships? What are the expectations of mentors and mentees? Should both participants be from the same industry? Should you choose a mentor much older than you? What should the mentor have in common with the mentee to maximize success? How long should mentorships last? What's the difference between mentors and role models? What are common misconceptions about mentoring? What causes mentorships to fail? How can you approach someone if you want to ask if they'll serve as your mentor? If you think you can add value to someone's career growth or life, what's the best way to approach them and offer mentorship? 

EPISODE RESOURCES:

Connect with Shannon on LinkedIn

Brain Chatter, a podcast where we listen past the daily noise and explore topics at the intersection of leadership, workplace culture, profit, and sustainability.

Keith Richards explores the importance of a strong company culture and purpose in building a strong restaurant and franchise business with unusually high team member retention. He and his wife Amy founded fresh-casual restaurant Taziki's in 1998, which now has 90 locations in 15 US states. More recently, they have started a second restaurant business, Greek Street. Keith served as President from May 1998 until December 2012, and then served as the Chief Franchise Officer from June 2012 till 2017. Keith has returned to manage the flagship market in Birmingham, AL, and continues to lead their culinary R+D and the HOPE project, Taziki's signature charity. Before creating Taziki’s, Keith Richards worked under the direction of Frank Stitt at Highlands Bar and Grill- which won the elusive 2018 James Beard Foundation Award for the most outstanding restaurant in America. Today, Keith and Amy and their two sets of twins live in Birmingham, AL, where Keith serves on the Shelby County Chamber of Commerce Board and advances the cause of employing special needs students in metro Birmingham and across the country.

EPISODE RESOURCES:

• Taziki's website
• Greek Street website
• Taziki's HOPE Project
• Keith's bio
• Connect with Keith on LinkedIn
• Taziki's Franchising

Brain Chatter, a podcast where we listen past the daily noise and explore topics at the intersection of leadership, workplace culture, profit, and sustainability.

Tommie Goggans III, husband, father of eight, president of The Goggans Group, Financial Advisor, active community volunteer, and dedicated physical fitness devotee, delves into the ever-challenging topic of "Balance & Planning in Leadership and Life." On a day-to-day basis, Tommie helps his clients with planning. With a large family of his own, his own company, and multiple leadership roles in the community, he actively practices balance in his own life. So, what are the strategies and pathways to success in finding balance, keeping balance, and effectively planning out our days, weeks, months, years, and decades ahead? 

EPISODE RESOURCES:

• Connect with Tommie Goggans on LinkedIn 
• Read Tommie Goggans's Bio
• Visit the Goggans Group website
• Tommie's In-Episode Book Recommendations:
  • Salt Sugar Fat: How the Food Giants Hooked Us, by Michael Moss
  • 15 Secrets Successful People Know About Time Management, by Kevin Kruse

Brain Chatter, a podcast where we listen past the daily noise and explore topics at the intersection of leadership, workplace culture, profit, and sustainability.