Corporate Thought

Adrianne used the expression “Building the airplane mid flight “ which reminded me of the similar metaphor “building the bicycle while riding it”. So I found this. Adrianne told us about her “do not do list”. I had never heard about those before but clearly its a thing. I mentioned Team of Teams to Adrianne. I’ve mentioned the book before but here is an article on the takeaways from the book. Adrianne is a very visual person - She uses Trello and Airtable - she described as a spreadsheet on crack.  Adrianne is a big learner and reader and uses LinkedIn Learning and Medium.com a lot. Adrianne can be reached at www.savivets.org and on LinkedIn @adrinnephilips. You can email her at adrianne@savivets.org

Marc Summe is an amazing entrepreneur and CEO of Minute7, a cloud based time and expense tracking tool. Why do lawyers use 6 minute increments? I found this interesting article about the move away from billable hours for lawyers, Marc is watching Ozark which I caught up on after the episode was recorded.  He just re-watched Back to The Future and reported it is still good after all these years. I mentioned The Breakfast Club, Ferris Buller’s Day Off, The Goonies and Gremlins as also standing the test of time but not Crocodile Dundee. I mentioned John Krasinski’s Some Good News and Curb Your Enthusiasm as funny lighthearted things to watch when life needs something funny. Marc also mentioned The Last Dance the multipart documentary about the Michael Jordan and the Chicago Bulls. Marc mentioned Atlassian the owners of Trello which is one of my go-to tools that I use everyday and Stella Fayman, apparently now Garber.  Her twitter handle is @startupstella Marc can be found by emailing him

There were some connection issues that affected the quality of the recording but in typical Corporate Thought fashion, the episode is presented here with all the flaws so please bear with it as you learn about the impressive Jessica Katz Jessica coaches businesses in Agile. She also talks about the subset Scrum. Here is an overview. Jessica spoke about Gravity Payments and their CEO Dan Price and his decision to make a minimum salary of $70,000. Here is the full story. I asked Jessica about the book Team of Teams which she knew well. It caused her to mention a company called Buurtzorgout of the Netherlands which is disrupting the nursing care industry by creating a teaming approach. I told Jessica about Atomic Habits by James Clear which we featured on our social media posts recently. For learning more about Agile and Scrum Jessica recommended Scrum Essentials by Ken Rubin. I think she meant Essential Scrum by the same author. Jessica is currently reading (actually listening) to Paths of Alir by Melissa McPha

Ritesh and his brother Jigar are clearly both serial entrepreneurs. Ritesh told the story of Justin Kan and the start up of Twitch I taught Ritesh about Oblique Strategies, the card set developed by Brian Eno Ritesh caught up on a show called Humans and he is currently watching Into the Night with his brother and dad. Ritesh and Jigar can be found at theticketfairy.com

This was a deep and very personal conversation with Michele starting in high school and going through her career at Donna Karan and then her own fashion consulting business to raising her autistic son.  Michele does an amazing job of showing how she manages all of the things she deals with and somehow finds the time to do it all. April 19 is the birthday of many including James Franco, Tim Curry and Ashley Judd and anniversary to many events including the American Revolution ("The shot heard around the world was on April 19) and the bombing of the Federal building in Oklahoma City. Michele spoke about the SLP who really helped her understand what it was going to take to  – Speech and Language Pathologist Michele also mentioned how she has a Marriage and Family Therapist, an MFT and how important that is in her life. For more information on our A-HA! Dinners and other Corporate Thought gatherings, please check out corporatethought.com Michele can be found at michelemarrone.com and on Instagram and Pi

Noah is a self-described Recreational Mathematician Our conversation started off discussing the restaurants and features of living in Charlottesville, Virginia. These restaurants included: Ace Biscuit & BBQ, Wayside Chicken and Moose’s By The Creek Noah mentioned The Putnam Competition which he explained is essentially The Smartest Person on the Planet Exam Noah is disrupting the Commodities Markets. Here is a primer on commodities trading (until Noah disrupts it). I jumped on my limited knowledge of commodities markets by citing the movie Trading Places. Thankfully, Noah likes that movie and legitimizes the accuracy of how markets were described in that classic comedy. Noah describes some games in explaining Game Theory.  Battle of the Sexes and The Stag Hunt I made a poor reference to War Games and Tic-Tac-Toe. Another great 80’s movie. Noah can be reached at www.coordisc.comwhere you can learn more information about his project.

Melanie is a leading expert in Tax Lien Investments.  You can learn more about tax lien investing from her great white paper.  You can download it. Melanie talks about fear and how it can hold you back.  She talks about zero confidence and about grinding it out for purposes of putting a roof over her and her son’s head and food on the table. Melanie talks about her mentor Ken who helped her start her company and the need to have a mentor…a “Ken” in their life. I told Melanie about Yuval Harari, the author of Sapiens and Homo Deus.  These are both amazing books. Melanie loves How to Win Friends and Influence People by Dale Carnegie. I am re-reading it. A code of ethics and a moral compass is very important to Melanie and she has a zero tolerance policy at her company. Melanie likes to listen and is inspired by the stories told on the podcast, Startup Hustle and she also listens to Startup Grind. Melanie taught me about the “Saucemoto” which brings silly happiness to people Melanie can be fo

This was a fantastic conversation and I love how Mario navigated his life into finding and pursuing his passion. Mario’s reference to three movies that influenced him: 1.  Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory 2.  The Wizard of Oz 3.  Dumbo I stumped Mario with an old school Food Network show staring Bobby Flay and Jack McDavid – Grillin’ and Chillin’. Mario would come home from school and watch Great Chefs of America and Great Chefs of the World.  Here are all the episodes. Mario is impressed with Jose Andres and his Instagram show. Mario pivoted to weight loss coaching and was encountered with the question “What do I eat?” So, he wrote a book…The Good, The Bad, The Cookbook Mario can be pen/paper or organizes ideas on the computer using the program Workflowy. I write long form articles using Scrivener. Okay – here it is, Kraft Spaghetti. I proclaimed Mario a real life Pete Schweddy. Mario talked about his original 10 minute podcast concept and the GIO method – Gratitude, Intentionality a

Marsha’s early jobs included being a California Raisin.  I couldn’t resist this. Marsha drops a lot of books and articles worthy of our attention: Phoenix Project by Gene Kim, Kevin Behr and George Spafford Booster Rockets in the Workforce – article by Phillip Shoemaker Marsha’s recommendations – never use password123! or anything similar.  She references 2 Factor Authentication – Here is more if you are lost on this.  Also password managers. Trusted Advisor by David Maister is the first book that new team members at ScaleSec are asked to read ScaleSec uses Gusto.com as their HR portal I told Marsha about the Savannah Bananas and their owner, Jesse Cole. Marsha told me about a small book that I was compelled to read right away - The Difference by Subir Chowdhury Marsha’s last book recommendation is How to Talk So Kids Will Listen & Listen So Kids Will Talk by Adele Faber Marsha is on LinkedIn or you can email her at marsha@scalesec.com

Marc is joined by his daughters Annalee and Emerson to discuss what school might look like int eh fall as well as social media platforms and the power of influencers on Generation Z.

Don is a successful author of two books – Sell or Don’t Eat and The Blueprint of God Don was instrumental in the creation of the EPIC In Business Conference Don is an avid reader and believes that leaders should be lifelong learners and readers.  He mentioned many books as recommendations including: Start with Why by Simon Sinek The Infinite Game also by Simon Sinek The 21 Irrefutable Laws of Leadership by John C. Maxwell As a Man Thinketh by James Allen The Gifts of Imperfection by Brene Brown Daring Greatly also by Brene Brown Awakening the Giant Within by Tony Robbins Think and Grow Rich by Napoleon Hill The Go-Getter – by Peter Kyne.  If you tell us more about you, we will share a copy with you for free. The Magic of Thinking Big by David Schwartz Don spoke of Tony Robbins’ course Unleash the Power Within.  I took this course following the recommendation from Don of being so instrumental in his life. Don also mentioned The Authentic Women Series, published by his daughter Ashton but now ren

This is the final episode of the special summer series of conversations between Marc and his daughter Annalee.

Today, Annalee Marling and Alexandra Kerr, hosts of The Ketchup Sesh join me to discuss social media, the future of Tik Tok, how Gen Z communicates and the effects of the Cancel Culture on history.

Marc is joined by a very special guest, his daughter Annalee Marling.  They discuss the effects of the Corona Virus Pandemic on the lives of teenagers as well as her thoughts on race relations in the United States.

Starting July 1, please join us with special guest Annalee behind the microphone discussing life from the viewpoint of a teenager.  We will return at the end of July with new conversations with entrepreneurs and business leaders but we believe hearing from Generation Z is important and provides a more varied and enriched collection of voices as we develop businesses to meet the needs of many.

Joan mentioned that her lack of management skills when she and her husband first started out in business.  She uttered the phrase “Adapt or die”.  I found this book on leadership with the same title and plan on reading it. Joan used to own the Starling Diner in Belmont Heights, California and it appears the menu has not changed much.  One of my favorite breakfast spots in the country. In describing the menu items, Joan spoke of Sacred Cows on the menu.  She wasn’t suggesting a lack of beef on the menu.  Rather, the idiom “Sacred Cow” - a firmly held belief that is rarely questioned and is largely exempt from criticism or opposition.  Here is an interesting take on questioning everything and not getting caught up with Sacred Cows. Here are several sites for how to do water marbling including Step by Step Instructions and this site about Suminagashiand this explanation of Turkish Ebru. Joan is learning to play the ukulele via YouTube, including lessons on Harvest Moon and Hallelujah.  Here are covers of Harvest

Incidentally, the bells you hear in the background are from The Tide, light rail train that runs past my new office!  Please let me know if it is distracting. Nicole and I started discussing what is social media and ways to utilize it including her use of LinkedIn. We plugged Zack Miller and his book, Anomaly.  He was on my podcast – check out his episode. Context and tone in texting is an issue and we lamented those who don’t pick up the telephone to talk. Nicole let us know she is good at pushups.  Here is how to do them with proper form. Here is Nicole’s video on Full Service vs. Triple Net leases. Nicole and I had a great discussion about regions (specifically Norfolk/Virginia Beach) lacking identity and its factor in social media and the newest attempts to create branding. I love using Evernote and since recording this episode I am using the product as a regular part of my system. I recommended Atomic Habits by James Clear to Nicole. Nicole was excited to talk about Public Policy and how i

Maya and I had a great conversation almost initially about the books sitting on her nightstand, all of which I will be reading too: Becoming by Michele Obama Scaling Up by Verne Harnish Rise and Grind by Daymond John The Holy Bible Maya mentioned a Facebook Group she started for small business owners, Leading through Crisis.  It is described as a private group for small business owners and entrepreneurs to gain the tools, support, community and inspiration to effectively lead in times of uncertainty. Maya commented that “Sometimes our darkest moments inspire brightest ideas”  I found numerous variations on this quote and also this article. I loved Maya’s idea about recording herself to perfect her pitch.  Others have been using this concept to improve themselves as well. Maya told me all about 1 million cups and indeed it is nationwide. Maya told me about trying to crowdfund using ifundwomen.com. Also, I guessed wrong about April/May as this episode is finally being released in June! We had a g

We discussed not working for the weekends and the question of work/life balance along with the question of pursuing a paycheck (job) vs. passion.  See this TED talk too. We talked about pricing models and 6 minute increments (Time & materials) vs. widget pricing (unit basis).  Here is a detailed dive into pricing. Dan used the opportunity of money he inherited from his Grandfather as the cushion allowing him to “jump” which he calls stupid financially but really isn’t. Dan plays the lottery which he thinks is financially stupid but he does it anyway.  Check out this podcast. Dan talks about the loss of structure in setting up his own business so is building back structure by renting studio space.  He also books appointments early in the day to force structure to his life. Here are other ideas. Dan is always in learning mode.  He believes that is one of the nice factors of the photography industry in sharing knowledge.  He mentioned the following organizations: Professional Ph

Please excuse some of the background sounds evident in this episode. Almarie mentioned liking Live with Kelly & Ryan.  I don’t watch daytime television so I have nothing to add here. Definition of Normal according to Merriam-Webster Almarie mentioned 50 Shades of Grey Almarie was excited to discussed Competing Values Framework.  Here is a primer. Almarie is currently reading Diagnosing and Changing Organizational Culture: Based on the Competing Values Framework Definition of Recalcitrant according to Merriam-Webster Peter Drucker was indeed the father of business management I spoke of reading The Heart of Darkness by Joseph Conrad in high school. Almarie mentioned the business book, Who Moved My Cheese by Dr. Spencer Johnson Almarie mentioned the concept of Hitler as a Great Leader albeit with a horrible agenda.  This is a section of the US Holocaust Museum website on rise of Hitler as a leader. We discussed the concept of Values Based Leadership. Almarie can be found at @almariedonaldson o