Change Your Mindset

We were all thrown into this virtual world kicking and screaming—virtual meetings, virtual presentations, and virtual happy hours suddenly becoming the norm. There are a few things to keep in mind when facilitating a virtual meeting or presentation, as well as things to consider when part of the audience. I have eight tips you can use to make sure your virtual meetings and presentations don’t suck. If you follow these tips, you should be well on your way to giving a better and more engaging virtual presentation. To learn more, and for the complete show notes, visit: petermargaritis.com Resources: conferences.io Change Your Mindset is a production of Crate Media Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Would you describe your balance sheet as a fortress? Are your products and services properly priced at a profit or are they actually the silent killer of your business? Would you consider yourself someone who can see the future?” If you’re not sure about the answers to any of these questions, you really should be — and Ken "Mr. Biz" Wentworth is going to help you get there. Ken developed his business expertise during 20+ years in leadership positions, advising businesses, from Fortune 15 companies to startups, on how to establish a solid financial path. He is also the author of two bestselling business books that have helped thousands upon thousands of businesses:  “Pathway to Profits” and "How to Be a Cash Flow Pro." If you aren’t sure about the state of your balance sheet, or if you just need to cut down on expenses, Ken has a process you can go through to evaluate it: First, if you don’t have a working balance sheet, create one and put the systems in place to keep it updated. Go through your expenses, li

What makes a company or corporation great? What makes them truly stand out amongst their competitors? The answer is excellent, innovative, and effective communication. This kind of communication provides productivity, adaptability, stronger relationships, and successful negotiations — and it brings an end to the tired, useless jargon that derails, distracts, and limits every situation. What organizations need is an innovative approach that creates open and effective communication, both internally and externally, during your organization's day-to-day workings. And, believe it or not, that innovative approach is found in the principles of improvisation. It creates a unique, powerful approach that promotes a simpler, more positive, and effective way to communicate, collaborate, and cooperate as a team. To learn more, and for the complete show notes, visit: petermargaritis.com Resources: linkedin.com/in/petermargaritis Change Your Mindset is a production of Crate Media Learn more about your ad choices. Visit

When was the last time you performed a random act of kindness? Allison Clarke is a certified speaking professional and an expert in leadership and influence. She’s helped thousands around the world break through the barriers to boost profitability, improve productivity, and increase team cohesion. Not your average speaker, Allison consistently challenges both her speakers and herself daily. For over five years, she’s carried out daily acts of kindness with strangers, colleagues, friends, and family. Allison walks her talk. To learn more, and for the complete show notes, visit: petermargaritis.com Resources: allisonclarkeconsulting.com Read: “The Kindness Habit” facebook.com/kindnesshabit linkedin.com/in/allison-clarke-csp-ab53b913 Change Your Mindset is a production of Crate Media Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

What challenges do you have in building your team? Is your team focused solely on completing tasks? Is the group cohesive together and work together as a well-oiled machine? The landscape of business as we know it continues to change rapidly. What worked today may not work tomorrow, and almost certainly won’t ten years from now. Having the best team to accomplish the fast-paced demands of marketing, productivity, and customer service requires leaders that attract and embody more than just the technical and operational mindset. What’s needed is inspiration, motivation, and creativity. Enter: The improvisation mindset. To learn more, and for the complete show notes, visit: petermargaritis.com Resources: Braveheart Speech: https://youtu.be/TME0xubdHQc Change Your Mindset is a production of Crate Media Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Have you ever thought about being an entrepreneur and your business model is documenting your life with your girlfriend and two dogs—and earning a living? Sounds crazy, maybe even impossible… but it’s not! Jordan Kahana has, over the last four years, created content traveling the world with his girlfriend and two pups, Zeus and Sedona (AKA the Adventure Squad), producing photo, video, and interactive digital campaigns with both boutique and major corporations, such as ESPN, NFL, and Pepsi. He shares how consistent work over time was the key to his success, which ultimately allowed him to quit his job and travel for work. To learn more, and for the complete show notes, visit: petermargaritis.com Resources: Instagram: @jordankahana Instagram: @sunnithewestie YouTube: youtube.com/c/JordanKahana Change Your Mindset is a production of Crate Media Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Are you looking for a new way to generate ideas to solve your problems? Do you have the culture in place that accepts that all ideas are important ideas? Do you think of yourself as a creative person? What about your team?  David Kelly, CEO of the legendary design firm IDEO, tells us about the importance of building creative confidence. In an experience in elementary school where a classmate was ridiculed by a peer during a project, that classmate shut down and quit the project. We often opt out of creativity due to experiences like this. We tell ourselves we aren’t creative. But it’s not true. It is important for us to understand that we are all creative, and David is here to help remind us. To learn more, and for the complete show notes, visit: petermargaritis.com Resources: "Withum's 2013 State of the Firm Music Video - WS+B Jump On It" Change Your Mindset is a production of Crate Media Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Have you ever decided to take a new job during a chaotic period—like a pandemic? How do you transition a team from working in an office to working from home? How determined are you to meet your goal, even if it takes you an extra 100 days? Don Craig, Chief Financial Officer at the engineering firm of Haley & Aldrich, is going to share his story as it relates to those questions. He made the decision to become the CFO of Haley & Aldrich in the mindset of a pandemic, and he talks about the challenges associated with that, including jumping into a team while being completely remote and what they are doing as an organization to work through those challenges. To learn more, and for the complete show notes, visit: petermargaritis.com Resources: linkedin.com/in/doncraig haleyaldrich.com/about-us/our-people/don-craig Change Your Mindset is a production of Crate Media Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Everyone has an ego. Some are underdeveloped, others are well developed—and then there are the overdeveloped egos. An overdeveloped ego can, in some cases, ultimately transform into narcissism. Many CEOs have well-developed egos, and businesses need that in their leader. But what if your CEO is narcissistic? A narcissistic CEO stops listening to those around them and does things to feed their ego at the expense of the company. Let’s discuss how you can practice shelving your ego in order to be more collaborative and respectful. To learn more, and for the complete show notes, visit: petermargaritis.com Resources: peter@petermargaritis.com Change Your Mindset is a production of Crate Media Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Racism is something you learn over time through your family, your culture, and your environment. The reality of it is that—as hard and shameful as it is to admit—at one point in my life, I was a racist. As I recognized that improv was a leadership philosophy and way of life, my awareness, attitudes, and beliefs changed even more dramatically. The improv concept of “Yes, and” teaches us to suspend our judgment, park our ego, listen to understand, and to be empathetic. It is not about pushing forward a belief just because it’s the way things have always been done. Being silent and not enacting positive change is not the way to create change. We need to hear the conversation for what it is, take the improviser’s mindset to search for a solution instead of creating a divide for our own self-interests. To learn more, and for the complete show notes, visit: petermargaritis.com Change Your Mindset is a production of Crate Media Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

What can we learn about leadership from someone who grew up in a small town? Natalie Siston is the founder of Small Town Leadership. She takes the lessons she’s learned from small town living and applies them to achieve significant business success. Whether you’re a corporate leader looking for an effective way to motivate today’s workforce, a manager striving to bring out the best in each individual, or someone hoping to make sure your work matters, big success starts by thinking small. To learn more, and for the complete show notes, visit: petermargaritis.com Resources: smalltownleadership.com linkedin.com/in/nataliesiston instagram.com/nataliesiston Change Your Mindset is a production of Crate Media Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

We all get distracted when we need to be focused. In improv, being present is critical to the success of the ensemble, and in leadership, being present is critical to the success of the business. It’s impossible to remain focused every minute of the day, but there are exercises you can do to become more focused and a better listener, which will in turn make you a better leader. I outline three of these exercises you can do with your teams to be more present. To learn more, and for the complete show notes, visit: petermargaritis.com Resources: Harvard Business Review: "How to Practice Mindfulness Throughout Your Work Day"  Read: "Scale or Fail" Change Your Mindset is a production of Crate Media Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Eric and Rebecca Scott are a married couple with the perfect combination of math and writing skills. Eric is a licensed CPA in Kentucky and is a Tax Senior Manager at Ernst & Young, focusing on a wide variety of technical topics. Rebecca, who was an autism behavioral intervention specialist before staying home to raise her two children, is now an accomplished author. Her book “Sensational Kids, Sensational Families: Hope For Sensory Processing Differences” chronicles the research, interventions, and mindset shifts that helped their family through their son’s sensory processing disorder diagnoses. She also directs a local homeschool cooperative organization in which she works hard to accommodate all special needs. And when you think about it, choosing to adapt to an unexpected challenge is the embodiment of improv and creating a supportive community for special needs individuals requires great leadership — so there’s a lot to learn from Eric and Rebecca even if you don’t have any children at all. If you have a

Do you listen to respond… or do you listen to understand? In my introduction to improv, I realized I was not that great of a listener. This was largely due to my inflated ego. To be a good listener, you need to adopt the “Yes, and” philosophy. Instead of pulling a conversation away from somebody else and back onto yourself, you need to add to it. There’s no room for ego. Active listening is hard. It takes intention, time, and effort. Start working on strengthening your listening skills every single day. As each day passes, you will become closer to becoming a better listener, developing better relationships, and having more significant impact on the world. To learn more, and for the complete show notes, visit: petermargaritis.com Resources: YouTube: It's Not About The Nail Change Your Mindset is a production of Crate Media Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Brannon Poe, the founder of Poe Group Advisors, has been facilitating advisors’ successful accounting practice transitions throughout the US and Canada since 2003. He’s also the creator of Accounting Practice Academy, an eight-week virtual workshop for accounting practice owners. He’s the author of the Account Practice Insights blog and hosts the Accounting Flight Plan podcast with other top thought leaders in the profession. He is also the author of several books, including “Accountant’s Flight Plan” and “On Your Own.” Poe’s company buys and sells CPA firms, which he’s been doing for 17 years now. We talk about why a partner would want to sell their firm, why there’s so much demand for buying and selling right now, as well as a peek inside his Accounting Practice Academy. To learn more, and for the complete show notes, visit: petermargaritis.com Resources: poegroupadvisors.com linkedin.com/in/brannon-poe-65984012/ Accounting Practice Academy Listen: Accounting Flight Plan podcast Read: “Accountant’s F

Leadership and improv are not opposing forces—in fact, improv is a strategic component of good leadership. It’s been proven by science. The key principle of improv is these two powerful words: “Yes, and.” Leadership in Hyperdrive: Powered by Improv™ and the power of “Yes, and,” is a way of adapting to a changing landscape, becoming more creative and collaborative, and showing that you do appreciate the people that you work with by taking time to listen and show empathy to them. It will produce the most significant results for your business today and moving forward. To learn more, and for the complete show notes, visit: petermargaritis.com Resources: "‘Oh, My God, Where Is This Going?’ When Computer-Science Majors Take Improv" "Improv Training: The Power Of Funny Business" Change Your Mindset is a production of Crate Media Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Is your marketing strategy centered around clicks, funnels, artificial intelligence, and driving traffic to your website? Shouldn’t marketing be more human-centric? Instead of funnels, maybe we can lead people on a journey. That’s what Jürgen Strauss, the founder and chief innovator of InnovaBiz, joins us to discuss. InnovaBiz is a marketing firm helping organizations by building visibility, professional authority, and connecting with their ideal clients. They work to turn your business into a client magnet by building and making the most of your marketing—making your marketing human again. To learn more, and for the complete show notes, visit: petermargaritis.com Resources: Learn more: http://innovabiz.com.au/ LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/jurgenstrauss Change Your Mindset is a production of Crate Media Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Do you put the needs of your team before yours? Do you engage with them or just deliver orders? Do you encourage them to do their best in a non-threatening matter? Do you get mad and let it fester or get over it quickly? David Veech joins us to discuss those questions and more. He’s had many different roles in life: infantry officer, husband, father, author, student, farmer, grandfather, and teacher. David now teaches organizations how to obliterate their obstacles, accelerate innovation, and elevate performance by teaching leaders how to love, learn, and let go. Leaders who apply his lessons achieve higher productivity, higher preferability, and higher professionalism as they build great workplaces. To learn more, and for the complete show notes, visit: petermargaritis.com Resources: Learn more: leadersights.com Read: “The C-4 Process” Read: “Leadersights" Email: david.veech@leadersights.com Change Your Mindset is a production of Crate Media Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/a

Are you having trouble finding the time to focus on your most important work in order to move your business forward? Jake Kahana is a designer, entrepreneur, and teacher — and he’s going to address the above issue. He’s the founder of Caveday, a group of people (known as Cavedwellers) working on their most important work for a focused period of time — called a sprint. Cavedwellers start with the hardest things first, they monotask, and eliminate all distractions. It’s a fascinating process and it’s amazing how much important work you can get done during the allotted time frame. Jake shares the tips you need to know to get into a flow state and focus on your most important tasks without distraction. To learn more, and for the complete show notes, visit: petermargaritis.com Resources: caveday.org jakekahana.com linkedin.com/in/jakekahana nstagram.com/jakekahana facebook.com/jake.kahana twitter.com/jakekahana Change Your Mindset is a production of Crate Media Learn more about your ad choices. Visit meg

Do you want to inspire friends, family, and strangers for the greater good? What impact are you making on your community? How do you rise when you fail? How do you deal with change in an uncertain environment? And do you know your personal why? These questions and more will be discussed by Ruben Minor, the president of RAM Enterprises, an organization that focuses on speaking, training, and coaching individuals and groups regarding leadership, team dynamics, relationship building, fundamental business properties, discovering your personal why, and business and personal branding. We discuss the moment Ruben realized how important leaving a legacy was and how your personal story can be used to inspire others. To learn more, and for the complete show notes, visit: petermargaritis.com Resources: Learn more: rubenminor.com Listen: RAM Podcast Series LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/minorr Change Your Mindset is a production of Crate Media Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices