#58 - Lessons from the Drive-Thru Ft. Monica Rothgery

John Boudreau might just be the most intelligent individual to grace the Frontline Industry Podcast. You will learn more in these 48 minutes than you may learn at any other time in your week. Take a listen to learn more about how:

• People can (and should be) be THE competitive advantage for organizations.
• Many leaders lack the necessary frameworks and models to effectively manage and leverage their people.
• Leaders should take ownership of people-related responsibilities and develop evidence-based approaches to decision-making. Decision frameworks and models can help leaders navigate uncertainty and make better decisions about talent.
• Leaders need to change their focus and prioritize understanding the decision frameworks for talent.
• The deconstruction of jobs and understanding the impact of automation can help organizations plan for the future of work.
• Continuous upgrading of skills and being adaptable to change are crucial in the evolving work landscape.

She's the founder and CEO of the Devon Group and one of the most widely respected voices in HR. In this episode, Jeanne Achille covers topics like 1) how to have effective communication and boundaries at work, 2) prioritizing employees’ holistic wellbeing, 3) positive trends in workplace tech that you should consider, 4) the dynamics of working with her daughter every day, and much more.

Meg Bear, former President and Chief Product Officer at SAP SuccessFactors, a leading HR software company, joins us on this new episode. She shares her efforts to bridge opportunity gaps, advocates for embracing diversity with courage, and discusses leveraging individual strengths for collective impact.

Key Highlights:

• Embrace diversity and be brave in your endeavors

• Identify and utilize your unique strengths to serve others

• Prioritize self-care and take time for reflection to align with your aspirations

• Seek support and offer feedback to gain clarity on your strengths and influence

Don't miss out on recognizing and maximizing your unique talents to contribute to a more equitable world. Tune in to this episode with Meg Bear!

Thomas is a VC investor, noted former executive at SAP SuccessFactors, and ongoing advisor of top HR tech companies. In this episode, Thomas discussed the origin story of his lifelong learning (he has more degrees than a thermometer), whether or not we should view the explosion of AI through a doomsday lens, the criteria VCs use when investing in a startup, top moments in his career, and much more.

Influencers are everywhere these days, and Steve Goldberg is a leading influencer in the HR Tech space. He joins Joel to talk about his unusual childhood, the impact of losing his family at 33 years old, how HR can deliver strategic value to their organizations, and much more.

Don't miss mentions of Al Sharpton, blind mountain climbing, and money laundering in this great episode!

J.J. Cutler, Partner at Heidrick and Struggles, joins Joel for his second time around on the podcast.

In this episode J.J. shares:

1. The key to managing someone older than you
2. What the “clay layer” of management is in your company and why it matters (HUGELY important to understand and work through)
3. What you can learn from his mistakes throughout his career
4. What really makes a "good" manager

Don't miss it.

The legendary Monica Rothgery (first woman to become COO for KFC in the US) literally wrote the book on frontline leadership. 

In this episode, Monica:

• Unveils a sneak peek into her brand new book written directly to frontline managers. 
• She gives her Top 2 reasons you should become a restaurant GM
• The REAL secret to reducing your turnover (shocker!)
• And gives YOU a special gift just for you listening to this podcast! 

If you care at ALL about customer experience, you must listen to this episode.

Joe Pine is an internationally acclaimed author, speaker, and management advisor to Fortune 500 companies and startups, and he obsesses over customer experience.

He write books about it.
He lectures about it.
It's his claim to fame.

You won't want to miss this episode, as Joe explains:

1. How companies really get customer experience wrong (and how to get it right)
2. How the best customer experiences leverage the theater of the Freytag Diagram
3. The 3.5 phases of transformation

Joining the podcast is Derek Tufts, VP of HR at SpartanNash, a food solutions company committed to fostering a people first culture, with over 17,000 associates! 

Derek gives his best advice on:

1) How to stand out to get promoted
2) The importance of active listening
3) Heartwarming stories about fatherhood 
4) How to choose to see the best in others (seeing innocence) 
...and much more.

In this final 2023 episode, Joel has a meaningful, heartfelt conversation with the delightful Esther Lee, VP of Global Learning and Development at McCann WorldGroup. For Joel,  this episode is one of his absolute favorites in 2023. Esther gets vulnerable and talks about a hard situation that made her cry for weeks as a special ed teacher in the Bronx, the impact of her faith in her professional life, why you should train empathy and kindness in your org (and how!), and much more.

If you listen to any podcast this year, make it be this one.