Sloth & Fear
Posted On September 29, 2023
Every day. Every single day. —– A friend told me that every day waiting for us at the foot of our bed is sloth and fear. Our eyes open, our brain turns on, and sloth and fear are right there. On the bed. Waiting. Our first challenge every day is to get past them. And she’s not wrong. Sloth and fear work together. They’re different mental states but they support each other. I’m afraid of what might happen today or sometime in the future so I won’t move, I’ll stay right here in bed. It’s predictable here, we say. And… Read More
Categories: Libsyn2
Cold-calling for sales isn’t dead — if it’s done right
Posted On September 26, 2023
Cold-calling for sales is dead, people will tell you. Brian Tanner says that’s hogwash. Tanner, our guest in a recent episode of “What’s Working with Cam Marston,” is the Managing Principal at the Birmingham, Alabama, office of EPIC Insurance Brokers and Consultants, a commercial insurer that is the 15th largest in the nation. And he says cold-calling, when done right, is the best way to drum up new business. How do you do cold-calling right? Tanner has three tips: Always stand up. “If you’re sitting down, they can hear it,” he said. “They know you’re flat. You don’t play sports… Read More
Categories: Blog, What's Working with Cam MarstonThe Art of Leading a Team of Craftsmen – Hastings Read Runs a High-End Custom Woodworking Shop
Posted On September 25, 2023
A circuitous route delivered Hastings Read from England to Mobile, Alabama where he learned custom woodworking after a successful career in management consulting. Today he leads the team at Oakleigh Custom Woodworks as they build beautiful doors, windows, and shutters, employing a team a craftsmen who take great pride in their work. Deadlines matter but the work of a craftsman should not be rushed. Hastings details his story, how he’s applying his lessons as a consultant to his own small business, and how he leads a small team that builds exquisite products. Show Sponsors: Roy Lewis Construction E3 Termite &… Read More
Categories: Libsyn
Maintaining a workforce in a revolving-door industry
Posted On September 19, 2023
Panini Pete and Cheryl Blohme, the brother and sister team who run a collection of restaurants as the PP Hospitality Group, say that the restaurant industry is a bit like a pet dog. You love it and it loves you unconditionally, but occasionally it’s going to chew up your sneakers. You do what you can to minimize the chaos it creates – such as keeping your sneakers off the floor, but you understand that a certain bit is to be expected. “You shouldn’t freak out,” Pete says, “about a dog being a dog.” So it is with hiring and retaining… Read More
Categories: Blog, Recruiting, What's Working with Cam Marston, WorkplaceCommercial Insurance, Cold Calling, and Brian Tanner – Explanations on Rate Increases and Old School Sales
Posted On September 18, 2023
If you buy commercial insurance you’ve certainly noticed the rate increases. Brian Tanner is Managing Principal at EPIC Insurance’s Birmingham, Alabama office and is our monthly Business Alabama magazine deep dive interview. He explains why rates are up, how AI is making creative crooks more clever, and why the art of cold calling is not dead. Brian is high energy and this interview is a thrill. Enjoy. Show Sponsors: E3 Termite & Pest Control Allison Horner – State Farm Agent Trey Langus – Transworld Business Advisors Angelo DePaola – The Coastal Connection Realty Roy Lewis Construction Persons Services Corp First… Read More
Categories: LibsynWarriors
Posted On September 15, 2023
Warriors need to be praised. —– Young men have always been warriors. They’d go fight the battles while the elders sat around the campfire. The elders decided if fighting was the right thing and when and how to do it. The warriors executed the plan. When they returned, they were glorified for their success, or they were coddled in their loss. Either way, they were praised for their efforts. Most old men don’t seek glory like young men do. Something happens after about forty years old, where glory no longer drives behavior. Old men prefer instruction and guidance. Not glory…. Read More
Categories: Libsyn2
Hiring the workforce of the future in today’s tight labor market
Posted On September 12, 2023
Hiring employees is difficult enough these days. If you’re looking to hire a workforce that’s forward-looking toward the future, you’re probably going to have to handle some of their training yourself. So says our guest in a recent episode of “What’s Working with Cam Marston.” Elizabeth Crofoot is a senior economist with Lightcast, a labor market analytics firm, and she sees three primary types of skills that employers are looking for as they prepare their workplaces for the challenges ahead. Digital skills – familiarity and expertise with new technologies and their applications. Transition -driven skills – soft skills and specific… Read More
Categories: Blog, Recruiting, What's Working with Cam Marston, WorkplaceExpertly Keeping Employees in Historically High Turnover Jobs – Panini Pete & Cheryl Blohme of PP Hospitality Group
Posted On September 11, 2023
Foodservice is typically full of high turnover. Unless you work for PP Hospitality Group. Panini Pete and his sister, Cheryl Blohme, have created a rapidly growing organizaiton due, in part, by their ability to find and keep good people in jobs typified by high turnover. Pete and Cheryl and their leadership team have figured something out. It begins with Pete, Cheryl, and the leadership team living and breathing and acting out the culture they preach. No one can deny they don’t mean it or that their culture is just words on paper. It’s evident to the customers and, most importantly,… Read More
Categories: LibsynGettin’ Through it Together
Posted On September 8, 2023
It’s been a tough few weeks. This commentary offers no specifics, but I’ve learned some things. —– Many years ago, my neighbor in Charlotte, North Carolina knocked on my door one weekday afternoon. His wife had just told him she’s leaving. She climbed her car and drove away. He was dumbstruck and he needed to talk. My wife and I had just moved in. I hardly knew him. I didn’t know what to say or what to do. I froze. To my everlasting shame, I rushed our conversation so he’d stop making ME feel uncomfortable. I realized years later he… Read More
Categories: Libsyn2Revealing Insights into the Labor Market – Elizabeth Crofoot, an Economist with Lightcast, and I Dig Deep
Posted On September 4, 2023
There is a big difference between a skills shortage and a labor shortage. Employers used to worry about lack of applicable skills. Today employers just need people with some of the skills demanded. Elizabeth Crofoot is an economist with Lightcast. Based in DC, Elizabeth knows how to mine the data our Federal Government provides and “read the tea leaves.” She and I talk about the tops skills employers are searching for today, how these skills are becoming “disruptive skills” and how workplace leadership is needing to change to accomodate these new skill demands. Show Sponsors E3 Termite & Pest Control… Read More
Categories: Libsyn