The D.FINED ENGAGEMENT BOOKCAST with Doug J. Fine

Paul met a teenage boy of 17 at an orphanage in Niurobe, Kenya. As he was leaving John Maina said, "Never forget me." Paul Higdon never did forget and went back to the slum where he had met John. John was found in short order and their reunion was the beginning of a new and true family relationship for John and Paul.  Paul is now John's father, his wife Linda is now John's mother. Paul's book is dedicated to telling John's life story from being orphaned at the age of 5 and living his life on the streets of Africa's fifth largest slum, until today.    

In this BookCast Paul Higdon and Doug Fine talk about the book and just after that they have a conversation with John Maina all the way from Africa. There are points of inspiration, points of HOPE, points of RENEWAL. Join them in learning about John's life journey and how he is doing today!  We also have the privilege of speaking to a friend of Paul's, Tom Gikunda. Tom tells his amazing story about how he began saving street boys from the slums and giving them everything they need for a successful life.    

This is a conversation that I  would have never dreamed possible. I got to spend some time with the great Tom Peters, one-on-one speaking about things and ideas and experiences that he and I are passionate about when it comes to leadership, workplace culture and environment, and other stuff too.  He was gracious and kind and generous with his time.  That’s who he is. In the beginning of this BookCast I introduce Tom Peters and I share the influence his books and thinking have had on my own work and how I attempted to make a positive humanistic difference at every place that I worked and everything I did. When I read Tom Peters he would inspire me to, in some ways, throw caution to the wind and try new things to make things happen in perhaps unconventional ways.  Speaking with a true business hero of mine was such a treat. I hope that you will enjoy our chat and, most important, begin to learn from Tom Peters via his books, his training, and the amazing resources that he  provides on his website. Thank you Mr. Peters for this once-in-a-lifetime privilege.     

Find all of his books on Amazon. 

In this BookCast Tracy and Doug Fine talk in depth about his two books.  Discussing Engagement MAGIC, Tracy disputes the myth of awful employee  engagement in today's workplaces. It's not as dire as you might hear  about. Actually, Tracy's data show engagement to be stratified in to 4  levels. But common understanding claims that a mere 25-30 are fully  engaged in their jobs and the rest are disengaged. Tracy explains how a  simple look at work groups will dispel any notion that 70% of the  country are disengaged at their work. We also discuss other important  aspects of engagement: That it is a 50-50 proposition, that there is a  data-driven model that, when understood, can help leaders and their  teams better understand and participate in working towards their own  engagement - it's the MAGIC model and you will come to understand the  role it plays in organizations that want to amp up engagement.    Speaking about Tracy's 2nd Book, The Employee Experience, he shares that  most organizations are looking in the wrong place to improve their  customers' experience. The main thing that brings about a great customer  experience, is designing the best employee experiences across the board  in everything that occurs. Delighted customers come from delighted and  nurtured employees. There is a connection with the MAGIC Model here too.  Highly engaged employees will have the best Employee Experience.    We unpack a lot in this BookCast and we think it can help in meeting  your employee engagement, employee experience, and customer experience   goals and objectives.    

Tracy is the CEO of DecisionWise and has over 25 years of consulting  experience and organizational measurement and improvement activities  world-wide.    

You can find out more about Tracy and his company and work here:   

This is Shane Metcalf's and my follow-up conversation about 18 months after our first chat in 2019. We focus on the ups and downs and the challenges he and his company experienced during the COVID-19 pandemic, the aftermath of the George Floyd murder and what they did to keep their noteworthy company culture strong while meeting their business objectives. Shane speaks of the influences he had that molded his thinking about organizational culture and leading people in a way that honors their individual traits and talents while encouraging them to become their best and highest selves both at work and in life. Some of those influences will surprise you, by their unconventionality. They might literally blow your mind as some might say.     

Here are some ways that Shane can be found:   

Safari Jema translates to "Good Journey," and Teresa provides the background and specifics of a very good journey that she made with her husband in Africa. Her book's subtitle is "A Journey of Love and Adventure from Casa Blanca to Cape Town."

We cover a lot of territory in this BookCast: why her and Scott chose the unconventional life of travel adventuring, individual stories about their over- land experiences in Africa in a span of 10 months, and the feelings and emotions that Teresa shares in thinking back on this time of her life. I hope you enjoy this BookCast. It's the first one that I've done with the author of a book that is not related to concrete subjects in the business or personal finance realm. Engagement with life is what we have here and that falls very much in line with the mission of these D.FINED Engagement BookCasts.

Enjoy!

Laurie Ruettimann authored "Betting on You: How To Put Yourself First And (Finally) Take Control Of Your Career."  

Doug Fine and she had a wide-ranging discussion about her book and the things in her life and career that let up to it. This is a book that Laurie wished something like it had existed in her early career as an HR professional. The workplace can be pretty awful at times and even toxic to people, doing real harm with their health, well-being, and family life. But Laurie advocates, even while admitting that reality, that people can improve their work lives by improving their overall outlook towards themselves which includes wellness, personal and career growth, self-leadership and taking better risks. 

Their discussion includes ideas about setting healthy boundaries with work and having a rich and almost unrelated personal life as opposed to the 100% Productive All-The-Time ethos that can exist for some in these times. Laurie calls that "hustleporn." It can also coincide with working people thinking about themselves too much and some needing to be 'on" 24/7. "Always thinking about myself is a terrible place to live," she shares.   

The fundamental premise of "Betting On You" is fixing yourself before you can do anything effective about fixing your work life or work in general. Hers is an action-oriented book which requires doing things rather than merely thinking about things. I know you will enjoy this bookcast and I strongly encourage you to buy the book and give it as a gift to friends and especially to those who are new entrants to the ever-changing world of modern work and workplaces.   

In our final episode Laura and I talk about the overarching theme of her book, It's Not Them, It's You: Why Employees "Breakup" With Their Managers and What To Do About It.

Good positive relationships between managers and employees are the key to any organization's success in meeting their goals, serving their customers, and making sustainable profits. An important foundation to those relationships are regular 1:1 meetings between individual employees and their manager.

These meeting are not merely a "check-in" to see how things are going with specific tasks, goals, or projects. Of course those are important to discuss. But effective 1:1s go much deeper than that. These meeting should be seen as almost "sacred" time between people and distractions and interruptions should be minimized. Managers will need to practice supportive attending skills which includes active listening, proper sitting arrangements, and enough time to build better trusting relationships. Laura's book offers many great questions that a manager can use to help them in having rich, effective, and meaningful 1:1s. 1:1s are NOT meeting for meetings sake. Rather they are the means to build strong partnerships and mutual satisfaction and engagement between a manager and a team member.

We discuss the overarching theme of the book, R-E-S-P-E-C-T, which coincide with the seven leadership traits that Laura's book emphasizes - Relationships, Empathy, Support, Promotion, Empowerment, Consideration, and Trust. Laura explains that the first trait, respect, is woven through all the others traits.   

Many thanks to Laura Sukorokoff for giving of her time and leadership expertise to me and the listeners of the D.FINED Engagement BookCast.

Doug Fine and Laura Sukorocoff talk about the final Leadership trait  covered in her book, "It's Not Them, It's You: Why Employees "Break Up"  With Their Managers and What To Do About It." That trait is "trust." 

She  tells the true story of Tom who, like most people, began his new job  with high enthusiasm. It was a good fit and he believed that he could  learn and grow a lot working from the owner of a small training company.  However it was not long before there were signs that Tom joined a  company that might not have been financially strong enough to support  him as an employee. Tom's trust in the company and his manager was being  eroded by a series a things that happened to him.  Although Tom enjoyed  the work, promises made to him were not fulfilled and his manager was  becoming unreliable and untrustworthy. Tom had to look for another job  as a result.   

Laura emphasizes that you cannot have a effectively operating  organization without sufficient trust between the people and especially  between a manager and her team. There are significant business costs  associated with a low trust work environment. Especially now, in a  global pandemic, foundational physical and safety needs are being  threatened by companies towards their people. Things are particularly  uncertain now and it is extremely important to maintain mutual trust to  weather the storm together.   

Another aspect touched upon in this conversation are actions to take when a manager does or says something to damage trust with their people.  Laura lays out the steps that must occur for there is to be a chance  that trust can be reestablished.     

I continue my fun and informative conversations with Laura Sukorokoff about her recent book, "It's Not Them, It's YOU: Why Employees "Break-Up" With Their Managers and What To Do About It." 

Leaders of people, most often called managers, need important so-called "Soft-Skills" to move a business forward. Laura is an expert in leadership training and she brings the wealth of her experience to this book. Caitlin took pride in her work. She had an "ownership" mentality in her part-time retail setting. She was an expert in the products sold, the customers loved her and they kept coming back for more - to see Caitlin and to spend money!  

But something happened that popped Caitlin's balloon. It was her leader's treatment of her. She soon ended up saying she was going on an extended vacation and never came back, even though she was wanted back. Caitlin's manager showed little consideration for her and you will learn the details in our discussion. Laura uses real-life people and stories to make her leadership lessons speak to all levels that can use the help that her book provides.   

The subtitle of Laura's book is "Why Employees "Break Up" with Their Managers and What To Do About It."   

This episode we talk about Elton and his situation. He gets a new manager who disregards any work and any accomplishments of Elton's team the minute he arrives. So off to a bad start. On top of that, new manager is a classic micro-manager. Laura and I talk about what the natural consequences are when a manager micromanages. Eventually people shut down, and in frustration, stop exercising any individual initiative. They only wait for the next order to be told what to do, and how to do it by the boss. The complete opposite of micromanaging is to empower people to unleash their ideas, innovations, problem-solving abilities, and engagement. We briefly discuss the legendary culture at Zappos and how empowered people make dedicated and long-term employees, even in their call centers. Call centers are notorious for high turnover, miserable management, and awful work environments. Laura and I think the Episode with Elton just might be our favorite of our time together so we hope you enjoy!   

In this BookCast we talk again with Laura Sukorokoff, author of "It's  Not Them, It's You: Why Employees "Break-Up" With Their Managers and  What To Do About It."  

We discuss the story about Percy who hired on to a company and a manager  that had a plan to advance him up in the company and Percy was excited  and eager for more responsibility. It did not turn out that way for Percy for a number of reasons. Percy was primed for promotions that never came, actually through no fault of his own.   

Laura shares the Leadership Trait of "Promotion," what it means and why it is very important to some people. Laura Sukorokoff is a champion of  1:1 regular conversations between managers and employees and advocates that they become a required KPI (Key Performance Indicator) that a  manager is accountable for. Regular conversations that build relationship would have benefited both Percy and his manager. They are  crucial in getting things done and for a manager to know what's really happening on their team.   

Engaged employees that have good relationships with managers help  companies 1) Keep good performers, 2) raise productivity, 3) boost  customers service and loyalty, 4) increase revenue, and 5) build better  work cultures.  

Get Laura's book from Amazon here: 

In this episode we continue our BookCast series with Laura Sukorokoff, Author of It's Not Them, It's You: Why Employees "Break-Up" With Their Bosses and What To Do About It. 

Simone was a highly sought after recruit to an important role. The company quickly shuffled Simone to begin reporting to a manager that told her at their very first meeting, "I don't want you on my team. I never asked for you."  

That manager was a bully boss. He lacked basic respect for people. He was completely lacking in support for Simone and she left that company at the one-year mark. In this discussion Laura Sukorokoff advocates for managers to get along with their people even though they may not even like them. The expectation of every manager towards their team members is to pay them basic respect. Unfortunately some organizations view their people as just resources similar to things like office furniture. Simone's story includes how "HR" added to Simone's lack of support with the advice they gave her.   

We also touch briefly on the importance of self-awareness in managers.  Here's a link to Laura's book. It will greatly benefit a manager / leader at any stage of their career.

Doug Fine meets again with Laura Sukorokoff, Author of "It's Not Them, It's You: Why Employees "Break-Up' with Their Managers and What To Do About It."   

After a few minutes talking about the woeful state of good training and preparation for a management roles, Laura and Doug get to the crux of the episode discussing a very good employee named Emily. She suffered an unfortunate injury and she could not work at 100% for a period of time. Her manager displayed a clear lack of empathy, and Emily began to feel lost and alone on her work team. Laura shares why empathy is a key trait that managers need to have if they want to get the best work from people. But in workplaces where human-centered leadership is not practiced often a manager's response to a vexing issue for an employee is "Suck It Up and Deal." Empathy from a manager towards their people is important because they need to be interested in what is happening in their peoples' lives. Again, regular relationship-building 1:1 meetings with people is the surest way that relationships can grow and empathy for people can be discovered by knowing them better. 

Here's how to get to know Laura:  

Meet Laura Sukorocoff, author of It's Not Them, It's You: Why Employees "Break-Up" With Their Managers and What To Do About It.  We briefly discuss whyt Laura wrote this book and her need to help leaders keep their employees highly engaged and delivering great results in their work. The book is story-based and each story conveys a real-world work experience of a real person. Today's discussion is about Rosalie's experience and what happened to change her from a  high-performing contributor to spending company time looking for a better job. Positive relationships are key between bosses and their people. Laura provides a vital practice for manager that will build and sustain strong relationships with their team members. 

Our fourth and final episode with Trish Tagle covers the concept of TRUST between a manager and their people and teams. Trish conveys a story where a silly little demonstration of hierarchy within a company had a new team member wondering if she made the right choice to join this company. We also explore when a senior executive does something that no credible leader should ever do - that is, fail to defend their team in response to false allegations about them that were political in nature. Something that led to the situation was also pointed out - the failure of the leader came from them not knowing the real work of the team in order to push back on the criticism.  

 I hope you enjoyed this 4-Episode series with Trish Tagle, author of Everyone Knows You Suck - Bad Boss Stories - A Succinct Guide.   

You can find Trish here: www.trishtagle.com   

Trish Tagle is the author of Everyone Knows You Suck: Bad Boss Stories - A Succinct Guide.

In this episode she and I discuss two sub-topics under the third Pillar of her book - "Think."  The sub-topics are "Countenance" and "Freedom." Having an appropriate countenance means a leader is not going to blow their top in anger or yell at people, especially people on their team. Trust in a leader can be immediately lost if they do. There is a better way - communicate in a manner to get your message across and don't attack the person, attack the problem together. Also, a leader does not have to yell to damage a relationship with someone. Just providing inappropriate and cutting feedback will do the job too.

In our discussion about freedom Trish explains that once a good foundation is provided to a team member a manager should let their people do their jobs - give them the freedom and autonomy that allows them to get to the goal their own way. Freedom is the polar opposite of micromanaging. We also discussed how it is important for a leader to keep learning from the people that do the work. There are many ways to do it - engagement happens and the best ideas can arise when employees are asked for their ideas about a project, initiative, a problem, etc.

This is the second episode of our BookCast review with author Trish Tagle. We are discussing her book, "Everyone Knows You Suck: Bad Boss Stories: A Succinct Guide."The second pillar in the book is "Teach" and our discussion focused on two aspects of "Teach," The Fish Philosophy and Feedback. In a very short period of time we talk about cross-training, making yourself redundant, promoting from within and asking for feedback from the people you manage. Trish is a no-nonsense BS Assassin and her advice to Bosses is clear and unambiguous. There is a lot of learning to be had from this episode. Enjoy! 

Trish Tagle's contact info: www.trishtagle.com

email: info@trishtagle.com

Trish Tagle is a speaker, business efficiency expert, author, and consultant... and is a straight-shooter in all of those roles. In our first discussion about her book, Everyone Knows You Suck: Bad Boss Stories: A Succinct Guide, you will learn why she wrote the book and how it can benefit a manager at any stage in their career development. In this episode we discuss a few things that fall under the first pillar, Truth. The concepts of 'Fairness" as well as "Saying I Don't Know" are discussed. You will note the depth of Trish's experience in helping leaders perform better. I hope you will invest in the time to get to know about Trish's thinking and approach to business relationships that lead to winning performance.

We have come to the conclusion of BELONGING FACTOR: How Great Companies and Great Leaders Inspire Loyalty, Build Community, and Grow Profits. In this episode we cover some highlights of Chapter 11 - A Practical Approach to People, Process, and Profits. 

According to Devin, here's the thing: it is people that deliver business or organizational result. Nobody else. So leaders at every level need to make people their first priority, and the rest will take care of itself. Focusing on people's abilities and their needs will win every time. Devin shares a couple of real-life stories of this principle that gave him a personal experience from which to draw from. We also discuss The Belonging Factor Podcast which actually began before the book. His guests are diverse and exceptional, so we include the link to his podcasts below. Finally, in closing, you get to hear the talented drummer that is Devin Halliday at episode's end. Rock On Mr. Halliday!   

Devin Halliday would love to hear from you and he invites you to hunt him down to build a new professional relationship and become an ally in bringing a stronger sense of belonging to your life and work.   

Devin  Halliday and Doug Fine discuss some highlights of Chapter 7 of  BELONGING FACTOR - "A Case for Belonging in A Brand." They discuss the  incredible story of SJC Drums of which Devin is a faithful customer and a  raving fan and part of a special community known as the "SJC Family."  SJC Drums are hand-and-custom-made for their customers. Their drum are  of premium quality, are legendary, and they are not inexpensive. Devin  describes how SJC Drums builds a community that is "beyond loyal." There  are many lessons and inspirations that organizations and businesses can  take away from this BookCast and the book, BELONGING FACTOR. We hope  you enjoy!

My series of interviews with Ted McLyman starts today. We'll be discussing his book, Discover Your Money Temperament: A Common Sense Guide to Financial Security. Ted starts with the premise that money drives most of us crazy and most of us are not very good with money. That would include me.

Ted and I will be discussing his book chapter by chapter in the coming weeks. The podcasts will be short and manageable for everyone.

This one starts with Ted's Introduction to his book. 

I describe  Wally Bock as a "humble sophisticate." He is an accomplished  blogger,  business-book writing coach, and leadership expert. In this   D.FINED  Engagement Webcast "EXTRA"  interview Wally shares about his  background  and the career and where it led him. I loved learning about  his  mothers and her non-traditional role as a "preachers wife." He also   takes being fire once or twice in stride. He is an amazing person and   I'm so happy that he gave me this time to get to know him.

This is the "Extra" version of my interview with Michael Wade. We cover lots of ground and he shares his thoughts about a number of things that drive workforce engagement via the MAGIC Model. Michael is a modern day Renaissance Man who estimates reading 50 books a year. His blog, Execupundit.com, has a world-wide readership and is chock full of his insights, book and movie reviews and recommendations, good humor and reasoned opinions about things past and present. Enjoy that blog! So many do. Michael is currently writing his first novel. 

Michael is the chief management consultant with Execupundit Consulting LLC in Phoenix. He has advised a wide array of organizations on leadership, management, ethics, and equal opportunity issues for over 40 years. His thoughts on leadership and life can be found at the Execupundit.com blog.   

Reach Michael here:   linkedin.com/in/michael-wade-450637a  

Business: www.execupunditconsulting.com  

Email: michael@execupunditconsulting.com  

Phone: (602) 510-3881

Amazon links to two of Michael Wade's books:

Doug Fine and Shane Metcalf are both in San Francisco and go deeper  during this long-form interview. Shane is the Co-Founder and Chief  Culture Officer of 15Five, a continuous performance management software  platform for companies with knowledge workers. 15Five makes continuous  employee feedback simple to drive high performing cultures. Shane  discusses his background and operating philosophies and practices that  help 15Five's client and makes their own workplace and culture  extraordinary. How many companies in the world would pay for a ticket to  Burning Man for their people?  I would venture, only one.  15Five did  that. Come to our interview with an open and receptive mind and I think  you will really enjoy this interview. You will see the mindset that this  young entrepreneur has and how he manifests it in his live and in his  business.    

Doug Fine joins Shane Metcalf in San Francisco for a rapid fire  interview. Shane is the Co-Founder and Chief Culture Officer of 15Five, a  continuous performance management software platform for companies with  knowledge workers. 15Five makes continuous employee feedback simple to  drive high performing cultures. Shane discusses the basics of this  business as well as advocates for building more human business cultures  through all the conversations had within an organization. I think you  will really enjoy this interview. 

Doug Fine has a rapid-fire interview with Julia Wojnar. She is the  Founder of Unleash Your Presence which bridges the gap between  executives' brilliant ideas and their ability to communicate them  powerfully. She has been a featured speaker and presenter on  world-recognized platforms such as Entrepreneurs’ Organization (EO), and  has been cited as an “authority builder” by The Huffington Post. Julia  holds a B.S. in Communication Management and Design from Ithaca  College’s Park School, has fifteen years of stage experience, and has  been featured on outlets such as Thrive Global, iHeartRadio, and  numerous podcasts.   

Kevin Buck is a collaborative leadership and executive coach, leveraging  more than 30 years of consulting experience to guide organizations  through self-transformation. He is the founder and President of Emergent  Success in Southern California whose mission is to assist individuals, teams, and organizations in 'co-creating' the optimal conditions for  success to emerge. We take a deeper dive into Kevin's background and his career accomplishments. Kevin and Doug were actually undergraduates students of Theology together and do a little bit of reminiscing together. Enjoy this long-form EXTRA version of the D.FINED Engagement Podcast. 

You can find out more about Kevin Buck here:  

Kevin Buck is a collaborative leadership and executive coach, leveraging  more than 30 years of consulting experience to guide organizations  through self-transformation. He is the founder and President of Emergent  Success in Southern California whose mission is to assist individuals,  teams, and organizations in 'co-creating' the optimal conditions for  success to emerge.  -This is our "rapid fire" short-form interview where Kevin speaks about his ideal clients and the problems that he collaborates with them to solve.  

You can find out more about Kevin Buck here:  

Doug Fine, Principal at D.FINED Performance Solutions, provides a  long-form interview with Devin Halliday, speaker, author, consultant and  all-around impressive individual. Devin makes his home in Pittsburgh,  PA and is the founder and leader of Rudiment Solutions. Devin shares  some of his path in becoming an expert in belonging, organizational  culture and leadership. He got a bit of a challenge when he was asked to  provide his interpretation of an engagement model which includes  MEANING, AUTONOMY, GROWTH, IMPACT, and CONNECTION (i.e. MAGIC). He was  given a grade at the end! 

Doug Fine, Principal at D.FINED Performance Solutions, provides a  rapid-fire interview with Devin Halliday, speaker, author, consultant  and all-around impressive individual. Devin makes his home in  Pittsburgh, PA and is the founder and leader of Rudiment Solutions. This  interview focuses on the specific help that Devin can provide to  clients willing to take their people, products, profits and culture to  the next level. 

You can learn more about Devin here:  

Ted McLyman is a,Entrepreneur, business owner, author, speaker, trainer,  Lt Col, USMC (Ret), and Ironman All World age group triathlete. Among  the many things he does, he specializes in helping individuals and  businesses think about money in a whole different way. Ted also a  retired Lieutenant Colonel in the United States Marine Corps.   In this "EXTRA" long-form interview Ted speaks about how our  brains are  wired to deal with money, each in our own unique way. We have emotional  connections with money and those connections manifest themselves in our  behaviors as we spend and as we save.   

Ted McLyman is a,Entrepreneur, business owner, author, speaker, trainer,  Lt Col, USMC (Ret), and Ironman All World age group triathlete. Among  the many things he does, he specializes in helping individuals and  businesses think about money in a whole different way. Ted also a  retired Lieutenant Colonel in the United States Marine Corps.   

In this "EXTRA" interview, Doug Fine and Kevin Eikenberry have the time  to go deeper into Kevin's career as a leadership development trainer and  consultant. Kevin shares from his vast experience in helping  organizations develop effective leaders, and, as a result, improve a  company's performance through its people.

Doug Fine and Kevin Eikenberry share a rapid fire interview where Kevin  speaks about the basics of his business, The Kevin Eikenberry Group.  Kevin is world-know for his leadership training and has authored a  number books to help people become effective and caring leaders. You  will enjoy this dialog immensely.   

Doug Fine and Jason Lauritsen share a free-wheeling time touching on all kinds of topics relating to what we both do and some things about what we know. It's a deeper conversation. Jason is a pro and someone that adds lots of value to his clients. You can just tell. And his advice for people like me: "Keep going." Sage advice indeed.  

Here's how you can get in touch with Jason:  

Doug Fine and Jason Lauritsen come together for a brief chat about his  best (ideal) clients and how he helps with developing higher engagement,  more empowered managers and a healthier workplace culture. His gift is helping leaders build organizations that are good for both people and  profits. I know you will enjoy this rapid fire webcast. Jason has deep  knowledge that works in the real world. He's and expert and I was very  fortunate to spend a little time with him.    

Here's how you can get in touch with Jason: