Introduction
On this episode of Business Insanity Talk Radio, we first talk to the cofounder of Fast Company who offers fascinating case studies and powerful lessons on how to bring innovation to traditional and even unglamorous fields. Then, we are going to talk about rethinking how to measure your happiness as a small business owner. Also, did you know that there are 12 work-related fatalities every day in the U.S.? Now small business owners have a way to think about what can go wrong before it actually does. Plus, learn about the Work Can Wait pledge that all business owners should take. Finally, learn about a mystery box subscription that actually lets you pick what’s inside, just in time for the holidays.
Listen
Segment 1: Bill Taylor is cofounder of Fast Company, author of Practically Radical, and coauthor of Mavericks at Work. He has published essays and CEO interviews in the Harvard Business Review, and blogs regularly for HBR. He’s written management columns for the Sunday Business section of the New York Times and for The Guardian. He is the author of the new book, “SIMPLY BRILLIANT: How Great Organizations Do Ordinary Things In Extraordinary Ways” (Portfolio; 9/20/16).
2:00 – How to bring innovation to familiar, traditional, and even unglamorous fields.
3:15 – Start by figuring out who you are in the marketplace.
4:45 – Companies that have become unlikely change agents in their otherwise humdrum fields.
6:30 – Do you work as distinctively as you compete?
8:00 – Can we as entrepreneurs and leaders make sure what we know doesn’t limit what we can imagine? Can we learn as fast as the world is changing?
Segment 2: Doug Kisgen is a serial entrepreneur, organizational consultant, and the published author of a book called “Rethink Happy”. His former company, Home Instead Senior Care, was a two-time Inc. 5000 fastest-growing company when he sold it. Doug formed his first corporation right out of college in 1991.
15:15 – Why do small business owners need to rethink happy?
16:30 – When you start a business, prioritize.
17:30 – It’s not about balancing work and life, it’s about integrating them.
18:15 – How do you avoid burnout?
22:00 – How do you integrate your business and your spouse?
Segment 3: Luke Anear is CEO and founder of SafetyCulture. He founded the company in 2004 after spending seven years in the workers’ compensation industry, where he realized how broken the system is.
31:15 – Why is the workers’ compensation industry so broken?
33:00 – A simple way to manage risk and prevent injury is found in your pocket.
34:45 – What applications does this smart checklist have?
35:50 – Think about what can go wrong before it does.
Segment 4: Mercedes De Luca is the chief operating officer at Basecamp, maker of software tools that help teams collaborate and communicate. During her more than 20 years working at tech companies in e-commerce and software, Mercedes served as CEO at MyShape, vice president of global information technology at Yahoo!, and vice president and general manager of internet commerce for Sears.
41:00 – Why work can wait and how Basecamp can help.
42:30 – Why does work martyrdom exist?
43:15 – It starts with management.
43:50 – The Work Can Wait Pledge all small business owners should take.
44:45 – When is it ok to break the pledge?
Segment 5: Robert Rice started 18 months ago with a desire to give people a choice of what they actually want inside of their mystery box subscription, instead of having to settle for what they get.
49:30 – How did you come up with the idea for Big ol Box Of Stuff?
50:15 – Why do consumers want this?
51:15 – What are the most popular items in your boxes?
51:45 – What is hot for the holidays this year?
