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Commanding Business

The challenge with growth is that the habits that got you here become the limitations that prevent you from getting there. Growth not only requires us to learn new habits. It requires that we unlearn old ones. I’m Tim Hamilton, CEO of Praxent and host of the Commanding Business podcast. Each week, I interview authors, experts and real world leaders about how they grew their teams, their organizations and ultimately themselves. From leadership to management and marketing to innovation, we’ll cover a variety of topics with an aim to uncover actionable takeaways you can implement in your own organization today.
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Commanding Business
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Now displaying: October, 2015
Oct 27, 2015

Joining together the formidable pattern recognition abilities of the human mind with the agility of data-driven simulation modeling is a company's best option for overcoming challenges. Business Laboratory captures information from experts in your organization to gain insights and systematically inserts the scientific method to create a living model of your business.

 

Key Takeaways:

[1:48] Building simulation models for companies with lots of moving parts

[4:28] Modeling is mimicking real life in a simulated world

[6:38] Pattern recognition in the human mind is visual

[9:24] Information from experts is key

[10:37] Augmenting humans with computer models

[11:45] A hackathon example from Praxent

[16:28] Data is the fuel for scientific investigation

[17:32] Legacy industries can benefit from analytics - Moneyball example

[20:21] Which came first the data or the hypothesis

[25:38] Applying the scientific method to business

[31:04] Debates driven by data are essential to today’s businesses

[32:45] Programmers are excellent problem solvers

[34:53] Hiring techniques for problem solvers are outdated

[37:30] Revealing thought processes

[38:11] The analytical sandbox is a place for talented people to play

[41:13] Contact information for George

 

Mentions:

Business Laboratory

Profit from Science

Praxent

Moneyball

Great by Choice

The Progress Principle

 

Oct 20, 2015

Who handles recruiting within your organization? If the responsibility currently resides in Human Resources, it might be time to re-think your recruitment strategies. Knowing the qualities and attributes the open position requires will assist you in finding the right person. Start by developing a profile of the role you want the hire to play within your company. Consider the qualifications, the skill set and the experience the person needs to make a smooth transition into your company's structure. Recruiting can be expensive but not as expensive as hiring the wrong person.

 

Key Takeaways:

[1:10] Kelly helps companies acquire “A” players

[2:00]  “A” players are the top 10% of candidates available for a role

[3:08] The importance of building out your recruiting strategy

[4:40] Pay for a premium account on LinkedIn

[6:31] An example scorecard - Using metrics in order of importance

[10:04] Develop a description of the role in which you are seeking to fill

[17:30] What are the requirements your company truly needs in a hire

[20:30] The best question to ask for any role

[21:35] Capturing the information you find on LinkedIn

[23:10] Breaking through the noise of recruiting solicitations

[29:10] Streamlining the interview process through behavioral questions

[33:17] Educating yourself on best recruiting practices

[37:00] Recruiting should be part of your daily business life

[41:16] Finders, Minders and Grinders

[41:57] Re-designing the org chart

[45:50] One person should not be doing all of the recruiting efforts

[47:41] Contacting Kelly for consulting

 

Mentions:

Praxent

LinkedIn

Who: The A Method for Hiring

Traction

Get Geary

 

Oct 13, 2015

To become a financial asset for your company a brand needs to have an essence, a promise and a personality. Building your brand requires sustainable differentiators, scientific research and most importantly, focuses on your customer’s point of view. Your brand should also closely resemble the strategy of the business to benefit your end customer. There are three questions your organization needs to answer to achieve top of mind awareness within your business sector. When you have answered the three questions you have the criteria for the top of your brand value pyramid.

 

Key Takeaways:

[1:26] A brand is a financial asset

[2:56] The #1 predictor for brand success is

[3:36] Brand essence

[5:26] Meaningful differentiation

[8:22] Brand promise - Your vision of your client’s future

[10:02] Whole Foods breaking down the brand

[12:44] The 3 big questions of branding

[15:51] Making intangibles concrete

[18:40] Business strategy and business brand are synonymous

[20:20] Your brand should benefit your end customer

[23:37] What is a brand personality

[25:57] What language do you use to communicate with your clients

[26:53] Brand archetype

[30:05] Playing the brand archetype game

[34:03] Scientific research brings a quantitative aspect to it

[36:40] Tim takes part in a brand value pyramid exercise

[42:53] Today’s option packages are tomorrow's standard equipment

[48:03] Contacting Deb

 

Mentions:

Sol Marketing

Praxent

Investor Pitches

The Hero and the Outlaw

Brand Asset Management

 

Oct 6, 2015

Hiring a business coach may seem expensive and time-consuming for your organization but an outsider's perspective may be exactly what your team needs. Leaders may be in need of self-awareness coaching and managers probably need to learn more effective communication skills. A coach will help to identify core values and translate those into a 3 to 5-year strategic plan. Leadership skills are often self-taught practices which could use a little polishing.

 

Key Takeaways:

[1:23] Communication breakdowns led Gary from judge to private sector

[2:52] I help organizations develop strategies with 3-5 year plans

[5:15] Content and process conversations

[7:36] Telling someone one time doesn’t always get you the desired outcome

[9:19] Senior leaders need a strategic plan

[11:04] A one page plan helps flush out company goals for this month, this quarter & this year

[13:27] Identifying core values

[15:19] Figuring out the puzzle in a small timeframe, what’s it look like done

[19:04] Get out of your business to start working on your business

[20:27] Males learn best from pictures, women from talking it out

[22:26] A family or organization, handle both the same

[23:40] Leadership versus technical work or subject matter experts

[27:04] Do colleges teach leadership skills

[31:26] Full circle into self-awareness

[32:01] When there’s no one to prep the new generation

 

Mentions:

Gary Minor

Petra Coach

Gazelles

Praxent

Emyth

 

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