Follow Your Different
142 Extreme Life, Extraordinary Meaning w/ Marine Combat Vet Akshay Nanavati
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Welcome to an amazing episode with Combat Veteran and US Marine Akshay Nanavati. He’s a speaker, entrepreneur, ultra runner, non-profit founder and best selling author.
We have a stunning conversation about why overcoming extraordinary challenges is the key to a successful life, why we should all pick worthy struggles and the power of “earning your life.” Further, we also touch on why the most important skill is having a positive relationship to suffering and so much more.
Body Not Built For Combat
Standing at 5”7’and weighing just 138 pounds, Akshay enlisted himself to join the Marines. He was a druggie and an alcoholic at the time when he watched the movie Black Hawk Down. It triggered something within him and in a snap, he found himself reading military books and life in combat genres.
It was also shortly after the 9/11 tragedy that moved him and made him ask question himself.
“What kind of human beings would knowingly put themselves in a situation like that and sacrifice their lives for somebody else?” – Akshay Nanavati
True Calling To Serve
Akshay sharest to Christopher that he felt at that time that he was called to serve. Nothing can stop him, even his pre-existing conditions such as depression, self-destructive tendencies, blood disorder, scoliosis, flat footedness and much more.
“It took me about a year and a half to take in all these medical waivers, but that was the turning point. That is why I wanted to join, to serve an institution where the good of the group matters more than you, the well being of the group. You serve for the people next to you and everything is your men and the mission and that’s beautiful.” – Akshay Nanavati
Experiencing Humanity at Extremes
Akshay shares his inner desire to go back in his previous assignment because there was something intriguing, unusual and beautiful when you experience humanity in its most extreme form.
“I mean, part of it is an addictive thing, part of it, you cannot experience and understand and taste the human experience at its fullest, unless you experience it at the most extremes.” – Akshay Nanavati
His experiences led him to write his book, Fearvana. The Dalai Lama endorsed his book, saying “Fearvana inspires us to look beyond our own agonizing experiences and find the positive side of our lives.”
To hear more on Akshay’s thoughts on self-development like: “follow your passion” and more about his book, Fearvana, download and listen to this episode.
Bio:
Akshay Nanavati (born October 15, 1984) is a United States Marine veteran, speaker, entrepreneur, ultra runner and author.
He served in Iraq during Operation Iraqi Freedom and was later diagnosed with post traumatic stress disorder. His book Fearvana was endorsed by the Dalai Lama and Jack Canfield.
Links:
141 The Real DEA Narcos Javier Peña & Steve Murphy Part 2
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Welcome to part two of our dialogue with the real DEA Narcos Javier Peña and Steve Murphy. These are the two real American heroes who partnered with Colombian Law Enforcement to take down the world’s 1st Narco Terrorist, Pablo Escobar, and their story is the basis for the Netflix smash hit Narcos.
In this second episode, you hear the conclusion of how Murph and Javier bring Escobar to justice. We also dig into their thoughts on leadership, management, and life.
The End of Pablo Escobar
In this riveting conversation, we hear about how Murph and Javier bring Pablo Escobar to his end. They were honest enough to say it was a story of revenge, especially thinking about how many innocent people were killed, some are personal friends of the two .
Javier further recounted what transpired the moment Pablo got out of prison in 1991. They had a bounty of 5 million USD to take him down. Eventually, through the initiatives of the Columbian National Police, Pablo Escobar faced his death.
“If you watch the show Narcos, the part that I was on the roof when Pablo was killed, that’s not true, that’s Hollywood. That night, we were expecting retaliation attacks because of the death of Pablo. It was the quietest night I have even spent. I mean, there was nothing. It was quiet. The next day, Javier was back in the country.” – Steve Murphy
Narcos Netflix Series
Javier and Murph, in all of their appearances, wants to get the record straight that the Columbian National Police was the one who took down Pablo Escobar. The two also share how some of the scenes in Narcos were made dramatic. There were a lot of fictional events that were added to the stories to appeal to the audiences.
It was surely effective because the show was embraced not only in the US but in Europe, Australia, Asia and even in Latin America.
“The writers, directors are phenomenal. They are extremely intelligent. When I get to the writer’s room at Hollywood to work with them, they had a library of books there. I thought I knew everything about Escobar and the cartel, they had books that I never even heard of.” Javier Pena
On Leadership and More
Javier and Murph had some interesting thoughts on life, leadership and more. For instance, Javier shared the importance of going on the field and listening to the field men who report their surveillance first hand.
“When I retired, one of my men says, ‘Boss, I respected you because you went on the field with us’ even though I’m in the background.” Javier Pena
To hear more about the real DEA narcos Javier Pena and Steve Murphy, download and listen to this episode.
Bio:
You may have seen TV shows and documentaries, or read books about the world’s wealthiest, and most violent drug trafficker, but now you have the opportunity to hear the real story of what happened in the investigation of Pablo Escobar and the Medellin Cartel.
DEA special agents Javier Peña and Steve Murphy were assigned as the lead investigators targeting Escobar and his organization.
These true American heroes provide a first-hand lesson in history as they discuss their efforts bringing down the world’s first narco-terrorist, the challenges they faced in oftentimes hostile and life-threatening environments, and the innovative strategies they employed to successfully end the reign of terror of the world’s most wanted criminal.
Their presentation is followed by a Q&A opportunity during which Javier and Steve will entertain questions related to their investigation, the making of Narcos, what history changing investigation is next for them, and more.
Links:
We hope you enjoyed this episode of Follow Your Different™! Christopher loves hearing from his listeners. Feel free to email him, connect on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and subscribe on iTunes!
141 The Real DEA Narcos Javier Peña & Steve Murphy Part 1
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Welcome to our super, special two-part dialogue with the real DEA Narcos Javier Peña and Steve Murphy. In this first episode, they take us behind the scenes of how they came together, from the US to Columbia, and worked for six years, to get Pablo Escobar.
We learn, what it feels like to have a $300,000 bounty on your head and how they dealt with the emotional ups and downs of this long-term, often very lonely and of course extraordinarily dangerous mission.
Street Deals to Cartels
Javier and Steve are two real American heroes who partnered with Colombian Law Enforcement to take down the world’s 1st Narco Terrorist, Pablo Escobar. Their story is actually the basis for the Netflix smash hit Narcos.
Javier recounts how he used to work in Austin Texas, where he runs after street dealers. From street buys to surveillance, he never expected he will be sent to Columbia. It has been months before their superiors transferred them to handle the cartels and Pablo Escobar.
“Pablo Escobar is one of the richest traffickers in the world. He built his empire on terrorism, on violence and its something we had never seen before. This is why we weren’t really ready when we started going after Escobar, cause we had never seen this type of tactics before.” – Javier Peña
Narcoterrorism
Javier and Steve recounted this different kind of terrorism that promulgated in Columbia. Pablo Escobar had orchestrated car bombs, which ranged from 10-15 a day which slowly escalated to 50 per day.
“He wanted to kill as many innocent people as he could because this was his fight against Columbia. We try to explain that he challenged his country and we like to say that he actually won.” Steve Murphy
He also had a bounty on the head of police officers. In fact, the DEA agents caught a 15-year old hitman who shot 10 police officers. The kid took home 100 USD per police officer he kills and he was able to feed and provide shelter to his impoverished family.
Listen to how Murph and Javier had to bend and break the rules and why they think the courage of the Colombian people and why they think their partners in Colombian Law Enforcement ate the “real heroes.” You’re also going to hear in their voices, the powerful bond, and friendship that has developed between them.
In part two, you’ll hear the dramatic conclusion of how they ultimately brought Escobar to justice. We also dig into their life and leadership lessons. We touch on their book, Manhunters and their lives today as public speakers and teachers.
To hear more about the real DEA narcos Javier Pena and Steve Murphy, download and listen to this episode.
Bio:
You may have seen TV shows and documentaries, or read books about the world’s wealthiest, and most violent drug trafficker, but now you have the opportunity to hear the real story of what happened in the investigation of Pablo Escobar and the Medellin Cartel.
DEA special agents Javier Peña and Steve Murphy were assigned as the lead investigators targeting Escobar and his organization.
These true American heroes provide a first-hand lesson in history as they discuss their efforts bringing down the world’s first narco-terrorist, the challenges they faced in oftentimes hostile and life-threatening environments, and the innovative strategies they employed to successfully end the reign of terror of the world’s most wanted criminal.
Their presentation is followed by a Q&A opportunity during which Javier and Steve will entertain questions related to their investigation, the making of Narcos, what history changing investigation is next for them, and more.
Links:
We hope you enjoyed this episode of Follow Your Different™! Christopher loves hearing from his listeners. Feel free to email him, connect on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and subscribe on iTunes!
140 Built, Not Born w/ Self-Made Billionaire Tom Golisano, Founder Paychex
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Today, we speak with self-made Billionaire, Founder of $30B market cap, Paychex. You’re gonna love this guy! He has a new book: Built, Not Born: A Self-Made Billionaire’s No-Nonsense Guide for Entrepreneurs. We dig into the book and his insights on why and when you start a company. He also talks about how to build a long-term, successful business and what important steps to take before marriage.Encourager of Entrepreneurs
Tom found himself as an encourager of entrepreneurs. He understood why people evaluate whether they want to become an entrepreneur or not. He knew that there are a lot of things to take into account, such as risk and hardships exclusive to entrepreneurship. As risks would be evident in any career, Tom shares that sometimes it is even riskier to work for somebody than it is to be your own entrepreneur. Besides, a business can serve as an heirloom or an asset that one can resell.“If your business concept is well thought off, and you are very well qualified to run your little company, your medium-sized company, whatever. then I think that’s the best of both worlds.” – Tom Golisano
Wise Words For Entrepreneurs
Aside from a winning concept for an enterprise, Tom shares entrepreneurs must have industry knowledge. Before launching Paychex, he used to sell accounting machines while working for a payroll processing company that caters to large corporations. He believes this industry knowledge affected his success.“Anybody who is considering being an entrepreneur, the first thing that I would ask is ‘what’s your industry knowledge?’ You know about this industry, you’re getting into that you could absolutely make a difference or are you gonna end up getting a very serious or costly education because you got into something you really did understand?” – Tom Golisano
Sales Management is a Must
For Tom, Sales management is one of the biggest issues with entrepreneurs. Most entrepreneurs mask the issue, saying its a “cashflow problem” but in reality, the company is not making enough sales. Tom advises entrepreneurs to start making calls and to immerse themselves as much to learn about the sales process.“You’re not gonna be able to develop a good sales team unless you have that knowledge yourself. You might as well dig right into it. start making sales presentations and sales calls, and if you still don’t think you’re the right person to be doing that, at least you’ll be in the position to train somebody you hire to perform that function.” – Tom GolisanoTo hear more about Tom’s stories about what it’s like being married to Tennis Legend, Monica Seles, philanthropy, investment strategy and many more, download and listen to this episode.
Bio:
Thomas Golisano — entrepreneur, philanthropist, and civic leader — is the founder and chairman of the Board of Paychex, Inc., headquartered in Rochester, New York. With more than 12,000 employees and 100 office locations nationwide, Paychex is a leading national provider of payroll, human resource, and benefit outsourcing solutions for more than a half-million small and medium-sized businesses. Tom Golisano served as Paychex’s president and chief executive officer from 1971, when he founded the company, until October 2004. Mr. Golisano and Paychex have consistently been recognized by the business, financial and national media. Mr. Golisano was listed among the FORBES top 10 bosses in the U.S. for three consecutive years, beginning in 2002; the annual ranking is based on chief executives who provide the best balance between their compensation and shareholder return. In February 2020, his first book, Built, Not Born was launched, providing Tom Golisano’s trademark direct and often humorous style, and no-nonsense advice across all phases of business ownership. Mr. Golisano has demonstrated an ongoing dedication and commitment to a variety of civic issues and organizations. In 1985 he launched his first philanthropic endeavor by establishing the Golisano Foundation, which awards grants to organizations providing opportunities for those with intellectual disabilities. His philanthropic contributions, both personal and through the Golisano Foundation, have totaled approximately $300 million helping hospitals, educational institutions and many other organizations. In recognition of his achievements and endeavors, Golisano has received numerous awards and holds honorary doctorate degrees from five different colleges and universities. Mr. Golisano is a member of the board of directors of several private companies and institutions. He is the former owner the Buffalo Sabres of the National Hockey League, which he purchased on March 14, 2003, demonstrating his commitment to Western New York and the region’s economic climate. Mr. Golisano said that it was important to keep the team in Buffalo because it is an economic and community asset. Mr. Golisano sold the team in 2011 with the stipulation that the team remain in Western NY. Born in Irondequoit, New York, Mr. Golisano graduated from Alfred State College in 1962 with a degree in general business management. He was presented an honorary doctorate of humane letters, at his alma mater’s commencement ceremony, on May 17, 2009. Mr. Golisano is married to Monica Seles, professional tennis player and member of the International Tennis Hall of Fame. He has two children and several grandchildren.Links:
Tom Golisano We hope you enjoyed this episode of Follow Your Different™! Christopher loves hearing from his listeners. Feel free to email him, connect on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and subscribe on iTunes!139 World Without Waste w/ Steve Pratt CEO of AI Startup Noodle
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This is our second in our two-part series on Digital Business, with Steve Pratt, CEO of Noodle.AI, the remarkable startup on a mission to changing global manufacturing and supply chain business.
We have a real conversation about how the combination of Machine Learning / AI, The Cloud, IoT and deep data analytics can come together to reduce both economic and environmental waste.
In case you missed the first part of this two-part series with Business Guru Big Ben Rewis, check it out: Episode 138.
Missionary CEO
Christopher has known Steve for over 30 years. He has a vast and impressive experience in digital marketing, starting with the creation of CRM business for Deloitte. He was also the founder and CEO of the InfoSys Consulting Practice and he also led IBM Watson’s initiatives.
Steve has deep experience in building and managing massively successful, deep technology businesses. He has some powerful insights, through his company Noodle.Ai, into how modern technology can reduce economic and environmental waste. This is what Christopher calls a great example of a missionary CEO, where the E stands for Evangelist.
“The intention of the company is to apply data science to create a world without waste. We reject this notion, historically, that you had to choose between profits and the planet.” – Steve Pratt
World Without Waste
Steve shares how companies have scaled things right now. They have created amazing hyper-growth for their companies, but have also accumulated huge amounts of waste.
“We have over 500 billion dollars of excess inventories sitting in warehouses. We got 50% of trucks driving around, empty. We have about 400B dollar of stuff, that is thrown out in the manufacturing process because of quality defects. These are all preventable.” – Steve Pratt
A lot of people analyzed where the waste is in the world and over 90% of the waste in the world is due to manufacturing and logistics. Steve points out that due to bad computations, companies are manufacturing trillion dollars of goods and let it sit in their storage, because they couldnt get it out to the market.
Environmental Sustainability
Steve shares about steel manufacturing company Big River Steel, which they granted a lead certification for environment sustainability.
“With our applications, that consumption to reduce inventory levels, reduce quality defects and they are the most profitable, per employee, the highest profit per mil hour, the lowest environmental impact of any steel known in the world.” – Steve Pratt
Christopher and Steve then discussed that companies should analyze data that is readily available to them. This is can easily be achieved through the help of various technologies available.
To hear more about how digital businesses can achieve a world without waste and other insights of Steve, download and listen to this episode.
Bio:
Stephen is an instigator, agitator, and pioneer in creating world-class technology services organizations.
He has spent his career building innovative ways to create value for the world’s most important organizations.
Prior to Noodle, he was responsible for all Watson implementations worldwide for IBM Global Business Services.
He also was the founder and CEO of Infosys Consulting, a Senior Partner at Deloitte Consulting, and a technology and strategy consultant at Booz, Allen & Hamilton.
He twice has been selected as one of the top 25 consultants in the world by Consulting Magazine.
He has Bachelors and Masters degrees in Electrical Engineering from Northwestern University and The George Washington University focused on Satellite Communications.
For fun, Steve plays competitive tennis, races sailboats, and formerly was a crazed rugby player. He enjoys playing acoustic guitar for his children (not ready for prime time).
Links:
We hope you enjoyed this episode of Follow Your Different™! Christopher loves hearing from his listeners. Feel free to email him, connect on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and subscribe on iTunes!
138 Digital Business Guru Big Ben Rewis
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This is our first in a special two-part series on Digital Business. The legendary Big Ben Rewis joins us today to have a real, powerful conversation about digital businesses today and how big data can contribute to sustainability.
In our next episode, watch out for Steve Pratt CEO of Noodle.AI, the remarkable startup changing global supply chains.
Surfer, Snowboard, Advisor
Big Ben is one of the most extraordinary adventure athlete’s of this time. He is a skier, snowboarder, sailor, and surfer. In fact, one of his first few sponsors were Jake Burton, the founder of Burton Snowboards.
Today, when he’s not surfing or on some kind of adventure, Ben Rewis would most likely be dishing digital business advice to Fortune 100 companies and startups in Silicon Valley. He has deep experience in building and managing massively scalable digital business and payments infrastructure.
Digital Business Guru
Just to name a few of Ben’s contributions, he created the Internet e-Commerce team for Visa. He was also Head of Security & Fraud Technology for First Data and he’s an advisor to a startup Verdant Robotics, a startup doing amazing things with AI & Machine Learning in the smart agriculture category.
“I think there’s a lot of themes, there’s a lot of organizational and technical similarity across all of them. The whole notion of data in the digital business is just fascinating, what’s happening in the industry today. Cause you know, like the industry quote ‘software is eating the world.’” – Ben Rewis
Digital Business is the Future
Digital businesses are not brand new, as they have been around a long time.Ben now shares that people are realizing the by-product of their digital business can infect more businesses.
“Digital businesses don’t necessarily have new value-added services that are data-based. They may have a legacy product or service, that is digital and they realizing that the data that is produced by that service can help them generate new revenues, or cut costs.” – Ben Rewis
To hear more about how digital businesses can greatly influence sustainability efforts for the future and other insights of Ben, download and listen to this episode.
Bio:
Ben Rewis was raised in New England north of Boston, the eldest son of two high school teachers.
After graduation from The Stowe School in VT., he moved to San Francisco, CA at age 17 and have been in technology ever since.
Today, he’s an advisory consultant to startup CEOs, and a deep payments expert with solid leadership and innovation skills.
Facilitator, speaker, communicator, thinker and doer, able to bring different constituencies together around a common digital business vision and set of deliverables.
Able to drive from big picture down to concrete initiatives. Passionate about helping teams solve challenges for strategic alignment.
In addition to his business involvement with major companies, he has decades of wilderness and group leadership experience, becoming an Outward Bound instructor at age 21, and taking part in numerous adventure expeditions around the world.
He’s crossed deserts and canyons, sailed the Tasman Sea, and climbed mountains like McKinley.
He enjoys just about all board sports, competed in the first world championships for snowboarding, and learned to surf at age 40.
Ben co-founded the Drop In Coalition, and is an Advisory Board Member of the Save The Waves Coalition, and was honored in 2019 as a Royal Geographic Society Fellow.
Links:
We hope you enjoyed this episode of Follow Your Different™! Christopher loves hearing from his listeners. Feel free to email him, connect on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and subscribe on iTunes!
137 Sex & Intimacy w/ Alice Little #1 Companion At Moonlite Bunny Ranch
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This is a very special episode and a very different episode. Part 1 was with Intimacy Coach Allana Pratt. Today, for Part 2 in our series on Intimacy and Sex, we welcome Alice Little, legal sex worker and #1 Luxury Companion at the Moonlite Bunny Ranch in Carson City, Nevada USA.
We get into it! Why Alice loves her job, why she says it’s all about connection, communication, and intimacy, what it’s like to use her service and why nothing is too kinky!
Job Unlike Any Other
Alice describes herself as a legal sex worker, sex educator, and intimacy expert. She used to travel in the Midwest, educating about sex until she was introduced to brothels. She found out that brothels are a unique place to work. All other sex workers have different work experiences from each other
“My job very much so isn’t just sex. It’s so much more than that. It’s communication, connection, intimacy and teaching people how to love themselves.” – Alice Little
Radical Self-Acceptance
From a different perspective, she shares that one of the things she does is to teach people how to connect to their bodies, through radical self-acceptance. Through the acts of connection with clients, Alice shares it gives them the ability to connect deeper with themselves and appreciate who they are.
When asked what it is liked to have sex with her, Alice nonchalantly shared it’s life-changing.
“Oftentimes it changes the entire way people have sex moving forward. Like when is the last time you asked your partner and say ‘show me what feels nice’ and people say ‘oh shit, I have literally never uttered those words in the bedroom. I barely had sex with the lights on, let alone had a conversation while getting into that’ and I enable people to do that. It is really eye-opening.” – Alice Little
Stigma With Sex
Alice continued to share her views about sex, and she says it is something highly stigmatized in this country. A brothel is a safe place for Alice, where people can ask questions and expect not to be judged. Nothing is taboo and there is no judgment in brothels.
“I’m very, very comfortable helping people and enabling them to explore things that they probably couldn’t in their day to day lives.” – Alice Little
Alice shared a lot about the process of booking appointments, touring the ranch and the types of experiences she offers. Pay special attention to her advice on how we can improve our sex lives. She even talks about how she markets herself and her marketing advice for you.
To listen more about Alice’s advice on intimacy and sex, download and listen to this episode.
Bio:
Alice Little is the highest-earning sex worker in the United States. Little wrote in a Huffington Post op-ed that she makes $1 million per year from working in Nevada.
Little is a native of Ireland and moved to the U.S. at the age of 5 and grew up in Lond Island, New York. Thanks to her 2017 article, “A Week as a Legal Sex Worker In Mound House, NV, On A $267,000 Salary, and appearances on Tim Ferris’s podcast, Little has become a well-known advocate for sex workers across the world.
Little began her career as a sex worker at the Sagebrush Ranch in 2015. In 2017, Little moved to the Moonlite Bunny Ranch where she was the most booked sex worker in the United States for two years in a row.
Links:
Youtube: Moonlite Bunny Ranch Tour with Alice Little
We hope you enjoyed this episode of Follow Your Different™! Christopher loves hearing from his listeners. Feel free to email him, connect on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and subscribe on iTunes!
136 Intimacy & Sex w/ Allana Pratt
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Yup, we’re doing it! For this week, we have a two-part special on Intimacy and Sex. In this episode, everyone’s favorite intimacy guru and coach, Allana Pratt.
This conversation is a wonderful, magical mystery tour about intimacy, pain, pleasure, how we actually feel through our hearts, and a lot more! Pay special attention toward the end, when Allana gives her ideas for some fun things to do with your partner on Valentine’s day!
Next episode, watch out for Alice Little, the two-time, #1 Companion of the Year at Nevada’s Moonlite Bunny Ranch. It is everything you ever wanted to know about her profession and what she thinks you can do to spice up your sex life.
Valentine’s Day is Stupid
The conversation started off with Allana sharing her thoughts about the upcoming Valentine’s Day. As much as it feels like an obligation for couples to spend, she also shares its a good holiday to make an extra effort for partners.
“I think Valentine’s day is a manufactured, stupid-marketing-hiccup-the-prices-of-roses-and-restaurants and it generally pisses most people off as it feels like an obligation, right?” – Allana Pratt
Every day is Valentine’s Day
Valentine’s day is a great opportunity to remind ourselves that we might have been taking our partners for granted. Allana further shares that if you don’t take time and energy to plan romantic things with your partner, it’s gonna wither. Because of this, she looks at the blessing of Valentine’s day as a reminder.
Christopher also shared his love story in this episode, about how she met her wife Kari and how a similar experience in their lives brought them together. Christopher admits its Valentine’s every day when he is with Kari.
Pain, Heart Over Brain and Others
Allana shares a lot more interesting insights in this episode. Why it is better to feel pain and be humbled earlier in your lives. What intimacy means and how self-love can define how intimate you can become. She also touches a part about the importance of feelings to be able to tap unto different kinds of powers such as strong intuition.
“You can’t think your way to coherence, harmony, kindness, love. You have to feel your way there. That is also been scientifically proven.” – Allana Pratt
To listen more about Allan’s advice on intimacy and sex, download and listen to this episode.
Bio:
Intimacy Expert, Allana Pratt inspires open-hearted, unapologetic living with delicious sass.
Her inspiring vulnerability and courage has landed her a featured weekly column on the GoodMenProject, featured as an Icon of Influence, and as Guest Expert on The Jenny McCarthy Show, Huffington Post, People Magazine, Forbes, CBS, TLC and FOX.
This cum laude graduate of Columbia University is the Author of 4 books, has interviewed Whoopi Goldberg, Alanis Morissette and Dr. Bernie Seigel and Hosts the edgy Podcast “Intimate Conversations” where listeners learn to thrive after heartbreak and find the relationship they deserve.
A certified coach, Allana was asked by Leeza Gibbons to coach her during Dancing with the Stars. With over 4 million viewers on YouTube, Allana is the go-to authority when struggling to trust again after a harsh breakup so followers can create healthy, thriving intimate relationships with themselves first, which naturally attracts their ideal match.
Links:
We hope you enjoyed this episode of Follow Your Different™! Christopher loves hearing from his listeners. Feel free to email him, connect on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and subscribe on iTunes!
135 Restoring the Soul of Business w/ Rishad Tobaccowala
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Today, we feature another great author in this series. Rishad Tobaccowala is the Chief Growth Officer at Publicis Groupe, an advertising and communications firm with 80,000 people! He has a brand new book, Restoring the Soul of Business.
We talk about how business leaders are overly focused on spreadsheets, why the best companies are like religions, the importance of being human beings at work!
Spreadsheet, Story, and Soul
Over the last few years where things are moving extremely fast because of technology, data, financial and twitchiness of time, Rishad shares that companies have started tilting towards the spreadsheet side of the business, which is measurable, data-driven and financial.
However, for Rishad, a successful company is one who can marry both the spreadsheet side of the business and the story of the business, which is about the culture, the purpose, values, emotion, and talent of the company.
“The soul of the business is when you combine the story and the spreadsheet in a way that you have a viable growing business with viable growing people, in a community that is also viable.” – Rishad Tobaccowala
Business Is For Citizens
Rishad believes that its time to optimize the business for the citizen, and not for the consumer. He discussed about this during his talk last January 2019, addressing professionals from Apple, Amazon, Google and Facebook.
“What we’ve created is something incredible in both the empowerment, the connections, and the wealth creation opportunities. At the same stage, there is a downside, which is, increased inequality, increased polarization and to a great extent, a break down of trust. Could it be, that in chasing just the data side of the spreadsheet side, we lost the souls of our businesses?” – Rishad Tobaccowala
The Purpose of A Company
The first one is to ensure that its four constituencies are looked after. The four are
(1) people who they serve – customers, members, users, consumers
(2) the talent that works in the company
(3) community in which the company or the companies offices and factories are based and
(4) the country in which that particular segment of the company is based.
Rishad shares that the 2nd part of the company’s reason to be.
”To generate financial profit which basically allows the company to both reinvest in all those first four criteria, as well as continue to grow because to me, growth is an important thing, but growth measured across those four indicators.” – Rishad Tobaccowala
The third one is how companies create purpose, value, meaning, and connections for life.
To listen more about Rishad’s advice to restore the soul in the business, download and listen to this episode.
Bio:
Rishad is Chief Growth Officer and member of the Management Committee of Publicis Groupe, the world’s third largest communication firm with 80,000 employees.
BusinessWeek named Rishad as one of the top business leaders for his pioneering innovation and TIME magazine dubbed him one of five “Marketing Innovators.
Rishad’s first book “Restoring the Soul of Business: Staying Human in the Age of Data” will be published globally on January 28, 2020.
Re-Inventing blog features some of his writings.
Prior to his current role, Rishad was the Chief Strategist and Member of the Directoire/+ of Publicis Groupe.
Before his corporate role, Rishad was the Chairman of DigitasLBi and Razorfish. Publicis Groupe owns these two global firms, with over 10,000 employees around the world focused on marketing and business transformation.
Rishad has 36 years of experience around the world and helped grow, founded/co-founded or incubated a variety of companies including VivaKi, Leo Burnett, Starcom, SMG Next, Starcom IP, Giant Step, Play, and Denuo.
Rishad has a BS in Mathematics from the University of Bombay and an MBA in Marketing and Finance from the Booth School of Business at the University of Chicago.
Links:
Book: Restoring the Soul of Business: Staying Human in the Age of Data
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