learning Archives - Training Unleashed

The Symphony of Choices in Business and Life with Gerald Leonard

Welcome to another captivating edition of Training Unleashed. We extend our gratitude to our sponsors, C-suite TV and C-suite Radio, as without them, this show wouldn’t be possible. Today, we’re thrilled to have an extraordinary guest, Gerald Leonard, the CEO of Turnberry Premier. He’s not just your typical CEO; he’s a musician with a fascinating story that intertwines the world of music with the realm of business.

What Does Music Have to Do with Business?

Evan poses a question that sets the tone for the discussion: “Gerald, what does music have to do with business?” Gerald responds with a profound connection between his musical journey, starting at the age of ten, and the valuable lessons he’s applied throughout his career.

“As a musician, you have to practice to get better,” Gerald explains. “You have to practice to learn your instrument and master that skill.” Drawing parallels to the business world, he emphasizes the importance of CEOs focusing on and mastering the essential skills required for their roles.

The Art of Learning and Seeking Guidance

Reflecting on his early years, Gerald shares a pivotal lesson from his childhood. Recognizing his limitations and the need for guidance, he hired his first coach at the age of twelve. This experience taught him the value of seeking mentorship, a principle that carried forward into his professional life.

“I realized I could only go so far by myself, so I needed a coach,” he recounts. This early lesson of seeking support and mentorship shaped his approach to continuous learning and improvement.

The Dance of Collaboration: Lessons from Playing Together

Gerald draws parallels between playing music and working in a business environment, emphasizing the importance of listening. “Just the art of listening is critical in business,” he notes. Musicians learn to listen, understand, and blend their contributions to create a harmonious performance.

“As a CEO, my job is to surrender and lead by example, providing the support everyone needs,” Gerald states. These principles of collaboration and support were instilled in him during his musical journey and are now integral to his leadership philosophy.

How to Find a Mentor: Gerald’s Advice

In response to Evan’s query about finding a mentor, Gerald shares his personal approach. He emphasizes the importance of seeking mentors with a track record of success in areas aligned with one’s goals. Even if you haven’t met them personally, mentors can influence and guide through their works, be it books, online programs, or workshops.

Connecting with Gerald

For those intrigued by Gerald’s insights and keen to explore more, you can connect with him on LinkedIn or visit the Productivity Intelligence Institute website for valuable resources, including downloadable materials on goal setting and project management.

Parting Wisdom: The Pomodoro Technique

As a parting tip, Gerald encourages adopting the Pomodoro Technique—working in short intervals with breaks in between. This technique enhances productivity and allows the mind to refresh, resulting in more focused and efficient work.

Mikayla Takacs2024-01-29T17:34:37-05:00February 7, 2024|

Leading with Encouragement: A Path to a Positive Workplace Culture With John Robertson

John Robertson is the Founder and President of FORTLOG Services. John built his services with a focus on an encouragement-based approach, resolving root causes as opposed to treating crisis and transition in the workplace symptomatically, as is often the practice. In this episode of Training Unleashed, host Evan Hackle and guest John Robertson discuss how wellness is more than not being sick.

Quit playing whack-a-mole

A common practice in most workplaces is to treat a crisis when it arises. This is all done symptomatically. John’s approach centers on analyzing and confronting the root causes of problems. He underscores the significance of leaders’ roles in not just reacting to issues but comprehending why they arise in the first place. Instead of jumping up and whacking the “mole”, you need to stop talk about what the cause is.

Instead of playing the game, unplug the machine.

The Power of Encouragement

The conversation takes an authentic turn as the significance of genuine encouragement is explored. John emphasizes that effective encouragement requires leaders to be authentic and transparent in their interactions. He also highlights the challenge of time in a fast-paced work environment, where patience and encouragement may be undervalued.

Encouragement creates a culture where individuals can learn from mistakes and grow, without fear of punitive reactions.

About Our Guest

John’s been a trusted thinking partner with 30+years of assisting individuals and organizations in managing all forms of crisis/change. He leverages a values-anchored ethos as a leadership development specialist, helping organizations and individuals to define the new norm and thrive.

Mikayla Takacs2023-11-17T15:48:19-05:00September 27, 2023|

Choice of software an expression of company values with Ian Robinson

Ian Robinson is founder of Enliven Design, a company he started in 2012 to create highly functional business software. In a recent Training Unleashed podcast, Ian and host Evan Hackel discussed the art of creating software that enhances all aspects of doing business, including training.

Taking the Pain Out of Software Development

Many people have come to accept the idea that developing new business software has to be difficult, frustrating . . . and painful. But Ian believes that software development should be a positive experience.

The best approach, he believes, is to start by creating a very specific work environment that is imbued with the company’s world view and culture. That environment will help companies create software that is just right for them.

Then when the worldview of the company is expressed in the software that a company uses, it becomes easier to onboard new employees and to train people to perform in ways that express the company’s deeper values.

Advantages of Using Custom, Not Off-the-Shelf, Solutions

If your company has only a small number of employees to train to perform a particular function, off-the-shelf software might be your best, cost-saving option. But you have to remember that off-the-shelf training software was designed to be used by as many companies as possible, and it typically bundles training on more functions than you need. “It wasn’t created for you,” Ian explains, “it was created for people like you.”

One Tip for Members of the Training Unleashed Audience

The most important underlying goal is to create software that is reassuring.

Ian explains, “An architect once said, `The one job in architecture is to make a space that’s reassuring on at least a subconscious level.’ So if a human is in a space, they should be subconsciously reassured. I think that’s a great way to look at software implementations and custom software builds. Put yourself in the place of your employee and create something that’s reassuring.”

Empathy is at the root of all these good practices.

About Our Guest

Throughout a successful career in software development, Ian Robinson has been sought out as a trainer and speaker for numerous engagements in the US and abroad and has interacted with a broad spectrum of clients and projects. These experiences have helped him cultivate his vision for Enliven Design, which he founded in 2012.

Enliven was founded with a mission to create highly functional business software that doesn’t compromise on creative design or user experience.

Janet Brideaux2023-09-27T13:47:57-04:00April 11, 2023|

New realities of post-Covid training with Hilmon Sorey

Hilmon Sorey is an author, keynote speaker and . . . incredibly . . . a man who has trained more than 15,000 people and 5,000 senior executives around the world. He is also Co-Founder of ClozeLoop, a consulting firm based in New York, Houston, Silicon Valley, and Johannesburg.

Hilmon has written eight top-selling books, including 46 Reasons Why Your Cold Calls Fail. . . and How to Fix Them Fast.

You will want to listen to this empowering discussion between Hilmon and Evan Hackel, the host of Training Unleashed. But before you do, please read these excerpts from their conversation . . .

Hilmon on What Is New in Training

In only five years, Hilmon’s training company ClozeLoop has gone from being a startup to one of the most watched training development companies in the world. So what is new in the world of training? Hilmon is in a position to know.

“There is so little being done right now in the area of advancing training,” Hilmon told Evan. One of the obstacles is that many people are still working remotely from home, which has made it difficult for companies to deliver uniformly high-level, high-quality training to large groups of employees.

“So the bottom-line thing here is technology,” he summarizes. “Technology has become the force that catalyzes training in the broad respect, because you need technology to train people who are distributed across the organization.”

Hire the Right People Before You Train Them

“A lot of folks begin to construct the training they need only after they have hired the person who needs to be trained,” Hilmon told Evan. “Instead, they need to step back ahead of time and use what we call a competency matrix to hire the right people. That might mean saying, `I understand I have three roles to fill that might be critical: for the distribution of my product; the sale of my product; and the ongoing development of my product going forward.’”

And then you hire the right people because you have defined the competencies you need them to have.

“Then I can actually imbue these people with information that results in significant performance gains,” Hilmon notes, “but a lot of people don’t take this step before they hire.”

Overcoming Resistance to Cold Calling

Hilmon pointed out many salespeople hate to make cold calls, for many reasons. Some of them feel that cold calling is “beneath them.” Others say they will do it but make it a very low priority and avoid it.

Remember, Hilton wrote the book 46 Reasons Why Your Cold Calls Fail. . . and How to Fix Them Fast, and you will want to hear what he has to say about cold calling in this Training Unleashed podcast.

A Special Offer

Hilmon is offering a free trial version of his coaching/training platform COACH/CRM to members of the Training Unleashed Podcast community. As part of your free trial, you will also receive a complimentary free session with a member of the COACH/CRM staff. Sign up here.

About Our Guest

Hilmon Sorey is Co-Founder of CoachCRM sales coaching software for managers. He has coached and consulted high performing teams in companies that range from early-stage startups to Salesforce, Box, SurveyMonkey, Bill.com, and some of the fastest-growing companies in the world totaling over $600B in valuation and market cap.

He is also Co-Founder of ClozeLoop, a management consulting firm based in New York, Houston, Silicon Valley, and Johannesburg. He is Partner in 2.12 Angels, a seed-stage venture capital firm.

Hilmon has written eight top-selling books on sales, sales management, and coaching.

Janet Brideaux2023-02-27T10:48:42-05:00February 27, 2023|