CEO Confidential
 

CEO Confidential

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A podcast about the good, the bad and the ugly of launching and growing a business. Each week, Alex Gertsburg gets into it with CEOs and founders about the experiences that transformed them as leaders and the business “do-overs” they wish they could have and why. Listen and learn about the many issues unique to the CEO experience—all the disasters and the delights—from the founders who lived it. Alex Gertsburg is the co-managing partner of Gertsburg Licata, a Cleveland-based business law and strategic advisory firm.

Episodes

Resilience Training - Traci Miller - CEO Confidential - Episode #019

Friday Oct 08, 2021

Friday Oct 08, 2021

When a personal life event negatively affects your business you can choose to let it defeat you or bounce back stronger than ever before. Traci Miller, a woman of resilience and empathy, shares a story of loss and how it affected both her personal life and professional career. We discuss new life mantras, the importance of your mental health, and how a sense of community can change your life.

 

Takeaways 

  • Create a community of people or “tribe” to use as a sounding board, community, and support system.
  • Entrepreneurs have their own language, they tend to understand each other. Having that support, even if it's the lack of judgment.
  • Keep track of your victories. Journaling is a great way to remind yourself of your highs as well as your lows.
  • Questions to live by: “Am I going to regret those words tomorrow?”, “Did I have a positive impact on those around me?”, and “Will they think of me in a way that they were better for having been part of my life?”
  • Imagine that every conversation could be the last words you would share with someone.
  • The criteria for a good leader is to have empathy and consideration for the other people there.
  • “It's about the people. It's about their experience.”

 

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Data, Discipline, and Determination - Chas Moscarino - CEO Confidential - Episode #018

Friday Oct 01, 2021

Friday Oct 01, 2021

Growing your network and surrounding yourself with other entrepreneurs can help you get through the highs and the lows of starting your own business. Over time, Chas realized that creating a constructive and prosperous business culture starts from hiring the correct people that can work together effectively. He started using the Culture Index to identify changes that needed to be made in order to help his employees meet their maximum potential. 

 

Takeaways:

  • Find an experienced mentor who can assist you with the highs and lows of running your own business.
  • Don’t let other people’s expectations of you affect your future. Only you are in control of where you go and what you do.
  • The Entrepreneurs Organization has helped many aspiring entrepreneurs grow their business and feel a sense of belonging.
  • There comes a time when business owners move from using personal intuition to making decisions based on scientific data.
  • Learning how to communicate effectively with different types of personalities is important to the company culture. Understand how to get the right people in the right roles to increase ROI.
  • Don’t shy away from taking chances. Even if it flops, find a way to learn something and pick yourself back up. That, in itself, is a key skill.

 

Shout Outs:

 

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A Successful Family Business - Mark Schnieders - CEO Confidential - Episode #017

Thursday Sep 23, 2021

Thursday Sep 23, 2021

“One big family!” There are benefits to pulling from a pool of people you know when you’re first starting a new business venture. There’s also a lot of risks! What happens when you hire a sibling or a friend of a friend, and your expectations of their capabilities don’t line up? Mark Schneiders has accomplished the almost unimaginable - owning and managing a company where almost everyone is a first-degree connection or “once removed from the family”. Listen to this episode to hear his tips and tricks on this mastery!



Takeaways 

  • “There is an entrepreneurial paranoia, you’re often taking risks… and we find ourselves pushing forward, doing what you have to win, to overcome, to adapt.”  
  • As a business owner & leader, when you take ownership of problems and manage them the business takes off and breeds success.
  • One of the best tools Mark employed is a culture Index. This helped him understand how his employees need to be motivated, led, talked to, and utilized. 
  • Not every employee will think like you or work like you, and that’s a good thing. 
  • Biggest challenges about recruiting and working with family members: especially early on it can feel like you never get a break - 24/7 spouse, kids, parents, siblings, house!
  • Define your process and set your expectations. When you don't, chaos can creep in, and when your employees are your close friends and family, it can lead to friction.
  • Mark’s advice: “Be honest... it’s more than okay to express yourself. It’s okay to say I don’t have the answer and I need your help.”



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Preparing for Success - Christian Klein - CEO Confidential - Episode #016

Thursday Sep 16, 2021

Thursday Sep 16, 2021

Alex talks to Christian Klein, owner of the digital marketing firm Company 119. As one of the first in their field, they experienced explosive growth and learned some hard lessons in the years that followed. Learn about CAP (communication, anticipation, preparation), the core elements of a successful emergency situation, and how it can help you evaluate the decisions facing your business in light of the question, “Is this a risk I’m willing to take?” 

Takeaways 

  • Look at decisions in light of “Is this a risk you are willing to take?”
  • Marketing puts the best face on your organization to the outside world, but every company has problems.
  • Fix the ego element in your company 
  • CAP (Communication, Anticipation, Preparation): the core elements of a successful emergency situation
  • Know these two things and your clients will trust you.
  • Take ownership of your career and turn it into a craft.

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Baking the Business - Bridget Thibeault - CEO Confidential - Episode #015

Thursday Sep 09, 2021

Thursday Sep 09, 2021

Bridget Thibeault went from working for an ad agency to going to culinary school full-time; baking and selling goods out of her small kitchen to opening Luna Bakery and Cafe in Cleveland Heights. With her marketing background and passion for baking, there were lines out the doors--but she wanted to become a better leader and create a company that was not only sustainable but could grow. With 10 years of hard work behind her and many lessons learned, Bridget shares how a shift in mindset helped her become profitable and create a company culture that draws and maintains the best employees.

 

Takeaways:

  • Shift your mindset: Stop working IN your business and start working ON your business
  • Increase your knowledge about running a business by taking advantage of opportunities like Goldman Sachs 10,000 Small Businesses program
  • Become a better leader: take a step back and think about what’s the right way to grow
  • Learn how to stay positive through the ups and downs as a business owner
  • How to “mind the gap” between where you are now and your ideal self
  • “I wouldn’t say my story has an ending because it’s an evolving process. I’m always going to be working on being a better leader and finding a better process.”

 

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Reinforcing Core Values - Terry Walkerly - Episode #14

Thursday Sep 02, 2021

Thursday Sep 02, 2021

Hiring the right people for your organization is key to a successful company and its culture. This weeks’ special guest, Terry Walkerly, joins us to discuss the importance of establishing a company’s core values, personal values, and how to best implement them.

 

Takeaways 

  • Avoid holding onto toxic employees longer than you should. If there is an issue, address it directly and take action.
  • Try to also avoid letting stress and fear impact your decision to make role changes.
  • Be selective with who you place your trust in.
  • It is critical to have your company culture and values stem from the head(s) of the company.
  • Establish your personal values and balance them with your company’s values.
  • See that your employees take pride in their personal lives so that they will take pride in your business and their work.
  • Hire employees that closely match or reflect your company’s core values. Create an interview guide that includes questions that play into your core values.
  • Prepare in advance for an employee departure. Don’t let losing a key employee inhibit your business growth.
  • Connect with your employees for reviews more than once per year. Being transparent and honest will help strengthen the trust and pride in the workplace.
  • Create a communication guide for both employees and your customers.
  • It is not only important to articulate your company’s core values to your employees but to also implement them.
  • Remember that out of every crisis, can come beauty, growth, and evolution.

 

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Weathering the Storm - Dan Charney - Episode #13

Thursday Aug 26, 2021

Thursday Aug 26, 2021

Running a business may seem straightforward to some, but any seasoned veteran understands that the world around us is ever-changing. Changes in our social climate, economic climate, or a new disease can wreak havoc on a new company. In this week’s episode, special guest Dan Charney takes us on his company’s journey of weathering the storm and how moving from one crisis to the next strengthened his company and his leadership style.

 

Takeaways 

  • The strength of a firm or company is not always seen in the good times but is clearly visible during the bad.
  • Even CEOs can suffer from Imposter Syndrome.
  • A more diverse client base is a great way to expand your business and can also help you weather multitudes of economic storms
  • By “making mistakes faster” you can see what potential threats your business could incur and work around them.
  • Properly research opportunities, focus on the good ones and don’t throw every dollar at every idea.
  • There is no “CEO Playbook” that helps us get to where we are or want to be. Competition is a healthy diving force for personal growth.
  • Be flexible, always keep an eye on the economy, and learn to shuffle resources so that your business can survive a crisis.

 

Shoutouts

 

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Principles of Leadership - Alex Gertsburg - Episode #12

Friday Aug 20, 2021

Friday Aug 20, 2021

Host, Alex Gertsburg, is interviewed by fellow podcaster, Casey Cheshire of Ringmaster Conversational Marketing and shares an important story of ego and how to not let it affect your personal and professional life. Alex dives into his personal growth on handling insecurities, staying vulnerable, and creating a successful work environment.

 

Takeaways:

 

  • When a professional relationship becomes toxic to your work environment, it is okay to sever ties.
  • Mindfulness training and meditation have helped many professionals with stress and anxiety levels.
  • Attitude is a choice. Gratitude is the enemy of anxiety and fear 
  • If you are going to have partners, who you want to be empowered and considered equals, be transparent and communicate to build trust.
  • Be flexible and listen to your peers. Try to remove yourself from thinking “what should have been?”
  • “The best way to be a leader, partner, and advocate is by being totally vulnerable, open, and transparent.” - Alex
  • Failure is healthy and a learning opportunity.
  • Fun Fact: Alex was born in the country of Moldova

 

Shout-Outs:

  • “The Laws of Lifetime Growth” - Dan Sullivan
  • “Man’s Search for Meaning” - Viktor E. Frankl
  • Podcast — The Tim Ferriss Show
  • “The Success Principles” - Jack Canfield
  • Breathwrk - App
  • “Getting to Yes” - Roger Fisher and William Ury

 

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Consistent to the Core - Michael Cantor - Episode 11

Thursday Aug 12, 2021

Thursday Aug 12, 2021

Trust in your partners is essential to promote a healthy and productive work environment. Michael Cantor, Managing Director of Allegro Real Estate Brokers & Advisors, shares how the cultural fit for his company was failing due to conflicting core values between his partners. In this episode, Michael discusses the transition into a team-oriented business that values putting clients first. 



Takeaways:

 

  • Ensure that your core values and purpose match with your partners’. This avoids conflicts of interest and allows goals to be achieved efficiently. 
  • Corporate culture is key in professional services environments. It is important for employees to be excited to serve customers, and steer away from being money-oriented. 
  • You need to have employees that are growing with you and developing to help clients.
  • If your cultural values do not align with your partners, adjust your business to what is best for your company. Michael and his team used their power to remove two untrustworthy partners who were primarily focused on money and activity.
  • Put clients first, do it right, be dependable, and always improve. These are the core values that Michael’s company shares that brought the business to success. 
  • Evaluate employees based on the core values of the company. This ensures that everyone in the company is heading in the same direction.



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A Team First Focus - Randy Carver - Episode #10

Thursday Aug 05, 2021

Thursday Aug 05, 2021

As a business owner, it takes practice to put your ego aside and trust your employees to accomplish the tasks you delegate. Randy Carver, CEO of Carver Financial Services, discusses how he transitioned from a CEO focused business to a team business in three phases. Learn how to hire the best employees and develop them as leaders for the success of your business.



Takeaways:

 

  • When it comes to financial service businesses, it is important to be service-based providers. When someone hires you, they are not hiring you for financial planning or investments, they are hiring you to pay for retirement, college, a trip, etc.
  • The most important transformation a business can make is the transition from a CEO-based business to a team business. 
  • If you make yourself as a leader less important, your business will grow
  • You need to delegate some of the things you’re doing. Look at your strengths as a business owner, and delegate the rest. 
  • Hiring is not all about technical skills, it is about fitting in culturally with the rest of the team. Figure out if they have the same vision and mission as the company. 
  • It is important to hire people who don’t agree with everything you say or do because it makes you better as a company. At the same time, you are still the CEO and there has to be a line drawn in order to maintain control over your company. 



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