Brain Chatter

Michael Mendola is leading the effort at a 75,000+ employee consulting firm to implement Generative AI strategies for the benefit of their employees and clients. In this episode, Michael shares his insights on the impact Generative Artificial Intelligence is having and will continue to have on workplace cultures. He also shares a wide array of information about Generative AI, as well as some of the AI programs he is currently using the most. 
 
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MORE ABOUT MICHAEL:

Michael Mendola is a Manager at PwC Labs. He is a Certified Public Accountant. He and his wife live in Columbus, Ohio. He holds a Bachelors Degree from Miami University (Ohio) and a Master's of Accounting from Oakland University.  He has also earned a number of certifications and credentials related to Artificial Intelligence from Microsoft and Google. 

EPISODE RESOURCES:
> Michael Mendola on LinkedIn
>PwC's Knowledge Base on Generative Artificial Intelligence
>iNaturalist
>ChatGPT
>Microsoft CoPilot
>Dall-E AI Image Generator

Brain Chatter, a podcast where we listen past the daily noise and explore topics at the intersection of leadership, workplace culture, profit, and sustainability.

Randy Sparkman delves into what an organizational leader needs to know about Artificial Intelligence (AI) right away. Randy is the author of LANGUAGE AI: A Guide for Humans.  It is an "amplifier of opportunity," as Randy puts it and he makes the case for why a leader needs competence on this transformative topic in order to make wise strategy decisions. Randy also makes the case on why and how an organization must ensure their employees are allowed to reasonably experiment with AI. He advocates that the organizational leader needs to find an AI 'sherpa' within their organization, who is capable of actively and rapidly connecting the fast changing tech with organizational strategy at critical points, and then evangelizing adoption where positively transformative.  Throughout this podcast episode, Randy defines various elements of AI and how each practically connects to 'the now' and to the future.  


MORE ABOUT RANDY:

Randy Sparkman is a native of Hartselle, Alabama. He is the author of LANGUAGE AI: A Guide for Humans, available in paperback and as a Kindle book on Amazon.

Randy consults with various companies and other organizations on Artificial Intelligence, linking the technology to the individual organization's mission and strategy.

Since 1985 Randy has worked in Information Technology and Infrastructure for major Federal entities, including as a manager who has led change through multiple rounds of transformative periods ranging from the widespread adoption of personal computers, the internet, e-commerce, social media, etc.

Randy also serves as an elected member of the Hartselle City Schools Board of Education. He is a graduate of The University of Alabama at Huntsville.

EPISODE RESOURCES:
> Randy Sparkman on LinkedIn
>Randy's Book: LANGUAGE AI: A Guide for Humans
>Randy's Bio
>Hartselle City Schools

Brain Chatter, a podcast where we listen past the daily noise and explore topics at the intersection of leadership, workplace culture, profit, and sustainability.

Tom McNany walks us through the role of organizational culture in adoption outcome (success or failure) of new technologies that transform an organization. Rolling out a new technology that changes how business is done is stressful and difficult for all involved. Whether it is an ERP system, manufacturing execution systems, warehouse and inventory software systems, or otherwise. Very rarely on the leader's mind before such a major undertaking is this question: "Is my workplace culture prepped to support this all the way through to success?" But to not first address that question can be perilous and costly. 

Tom outlines the keys to success that lie within successful adoption- and they all reside in the culture of the workplace. He delves into how vital it is to proactively answer the 'why' questions for all stakeholders. Why are we doing this? Why is it important? As well as painting a clear impact picture of how successful adoption will matter to each individual. At the heart of successful adoption is also: consistent messaging from all levels of leadership, accountability, and trust. All of these together result in mutually beneficial results. 

What was at the heart of some digital transformation blunders and failures Tom has observed? Leadership wasn't bought in. Different messaging from leaders. Buy-in and trust were never earned from employees. The impact or end result was never communicated to all stakeholders or in a relevant 'this is how this impacts you' method.

Tom makes the case that to drive change, you have to have a strong culture with respected leaders in place.

MORE ABOUT TOM:

Tom is the Vice President of Information Technology at Flow Control Group. He and his wife Kim live in greater Charlotte, NC. They have two daughters.

Tom serves on the board of directors of Queen City Robotics Alliance and on the board of advisors of NC TECH.

Tom is an accomplished transformational IT leader who has an in-depth industry knowledge of global manufacturing, supply-chain management, and distribution systems. He has proven experience and success in driving business forward with IT led initiatives, system implementations and strategic management. He is a results oriented leader in all aspects of enterprise-wide technology systems and staffing, including strategic planning, enterprise infrastructure and architecture, project portfolio management, application development, and re-engineering business processes.

EPISODE RESOURCES:
> Tom McNany on LinkedIn
>Flow Control Group
>Queen City Robotics Alliance
>North Carolina Technology Association (NC TECH)

Brain Chatter, a podcast where we listen past the daily noise and explore topics at the intersection of leadership, workplace culture, profit, and sustainability.

Nisha Patel explores what it takes to populate an organization with problem solvers and how to be one. Problems at work are most often negatively associated with stress.  Repeatedly, however, problems prove to be gates of opportunities for career catapults, entrepreneurial ventures, and other rewards for those who can leverage creativity, calculated risk, and resilience to solve them. And yet, that only happens in an organization that knows how to find, hire, develop, and empower proactive problem solvers. This podcast episode delves into the how-to of this desired strategy and outcome. 

Nisha is the Director of Wellness and Administration at UAB Heersink Medical School. Previously, one of her roles was as Chief of Staff for the Medical School Dean and CEO of the UAB Health System. UAB is one of Alabama’s two largest employers. She has an undergraduate degree from Middle Tennessee State University, an MBA from UAB and a Masters in Healthcare Administration from UAB. She has also gone through Lean Six Sigma Green Belt for Healthcare certification, as well as being a part of UAB’s Innovation Academy.

EPISODE RESOURCES:
> Nisha Patel on LinkedIn
>UAB Heersink School of Medicine, Office of Wellness
>Wall Street Journal, As We Work Podcast: The Value of Being Invaluable at Work
>Alchemy: The Surprising Power of Ideas That Don't Make Sense
>Brené Brown

Brain Chatter, a podcast where we listen past the daily noise and explore topics at the intersection of leadership, workplace culture, profit, and sustainability.

Many company leaders are asked to serve on boards of directors, whether with nonprofits or for-profits of various sizes. There are many questions and issues to consider before saying yes and after saying yes. It is always an honor to be elected to boards, and it allows someone to have far-reaching positive impact beyond their normal job or company. Board service comes with fiduciary responsibilities and can include personal liabilities and reputation risk. 

In this episode, Laura Gregory, an experienced attorney and now a management consultant associate with KC&A, explores the spectrum of questions we should ask and issues we should evaluate related to board service.

Our leadership is important to nonprofits all around us- industry associations, local youth sports leagues, homeowner associations, school booster organizations, chambers of commerce, hunting clubs, civic clubs, etc. And our leadership can also have far-reaching positive impact on job-creation and economic opportunities with for-profit boards of small, medium, or large companies, whether closely held or publicly traded. 

Laura provides a series of questions and concerns to consider before saying yes, as well as a series of responsibilities and methods to maximize your impact and usefulness on a board after saying yes, including when to stop serving.  She also offers a list of strategies to measure your success in board service, as well as specific, critical, and costly mistakes to avoid.

EPISODE RESOURCES:
> Laura Gregory on LinkedIn
>Laura Gregory Bio
>US Bar Associations' Directories
>West Alabama Community Foundation
>Eagles Wings
>Weekly Leadership Quotes on LinkedIn

Brain Chatter, a podcast where we listen past the daily noise and explore topics at the intersection of leadership, workplace culture, profit, and sustainability.

The Agent of Your Own Life episode contrasts the long-reaching negative impacts of perennial victimhood mentality,  with the never-ending positive impact of being an individual who is 'the agent of their own life.'  As agentic, this individual recognizes that they can take actions and make decisions today that will make their tomorrow better. This contrasts with the perennial victim who always believes someone else's decision controls their access to success.

Someone who is the agent of their own life is a person who makes the choices that takes them where they want to go, overcoming disappointments, unfortunate hardships, and failure, by seeing each as an opportunity to learn. They never come back from a bad experience without having learned something important they apply today or another day in the future. 

A person who is the agent of their own life retains their power and control over their attitude and future, and is empowered and emboldened to see themselves as unstoppable with their goals because of their grit.  Contrast this with the perennial victim who is stuck, bitter, and angry, believing that the decisions made by others has complete control over their life. This person has surrendered control of their life and future to someone else. 

 All of this has immense impact on modern workplaces, families, and society. As a leader, can you help lead someone from victimhood mindset to being an agent of their own life? Dr. Chapman says yes, and explains how in this episode. How can each of us self-assess, accurately, to determine if we are effective agents of our own lives? Dr. Chapman also walks through practical strategies for this in the episode. This thirty minute episode answers many other questions related to this topic, as well. 

EPISODE RESOURCES:
 
>Bio of Ken Chapman, Ph.D.
>Follow Ken Chapman & Associates, Inc. on LINKEDIN
>Follow Ken Chapman & Associates, Inc. on FACEBOOK
>Safety Beyond The Numbers (book and seminar)
>Podcast interview with Tony Orlowski about Safety Beyond The Numbers
>Wall Street Journal Jonathan Haidt Article (referenced in episode)

Brain Chatter, a podcast where we listen past the daily noise and explore topics at the intersection of leadership, workplace culture, profit, and sustainability.

How are current high school students being prepared for the US workforce at a time when employers are desperate for qualified workers? What are the students' pathways and options? Are schools getting the input from local industry about what those companies need most in foundational skills as well as developed skillsets? Do schools want involvement from local employers?

This episode takes an in-depth look at current high school education and workforce preparation with someone on the front lines. Grayson Lawrence is principal of Winterboro High School in rural Talladega County, Alabama. Grayson explains what College and Career Readiness means on a practical, measurable level and what it looks like for the students, educators, and future employers.

Winterboro High has been a recipient of of the "National School Change Award", presented to six or fewer schools nationwide annually as a joint program of the National Principals Leadership Institute and The School Superintendents Association. It recognizes schools that have significantly improved, such as Winterboro, which has raised graduation rates from around 60% to close to 100%, among numerous other gains. And, 100% of Winterboro graduates leave school with a personalized career plan mapping out what steps to take to achieve their personal goals. 

EPISODE RESOURCES:
> Winterboro High School website
>Grayson Lawrence on Twitter
>Winterboro High on Twitter

Brain Chatter, a podcast where we listen past the daily noise and explore topics at the intersection of leadership, workplace culture, profit, and sustainability.

At the same time as historic unemployment, there has never been a greater number of well-qualified disabled people who want to work. These prospective employees are sitting on the sidelines. John D. Kemp, CEO of the Lakeshore Foundation and author of a new book entitled “Disability Friendly, How to Move from Clueless to Inclusive” talks practical strategy in this episode.

How can an employer find, hire, and retain qualified workers who happen to be disabled?  What do disabled employee prospects want? Who is considered disabled? Why do some employers avoid disabled prospects altogether? What accommodations are required? John even tackles the often undiscussed question, 'what if you have to fire a disabled person for lack of meeting performance requirements'? What are the strengths that disabled people bring with them to a new workplace? Where does an employer, particularly a small to mid-sized company, even start with becoming a workplace that welcomes disabled applicants?

>John's Bio
>Connect with John on LinkedIn
>Lakeshore Foundation
>Links to purchase John's book:
Amazon
Barnes & Noble

Brain Chatter, a podcast where we listen past the daily noise and explore topics at the intersection of leadership, workplace culture, profit, and sustainability.

What does it take to last 100 years? Nancy Meadows, CEO of BridgeWays, shares her insights on how and why her organization has lasted almost a century. She discusses necessary organizational pivots of mission, programs, branding, and more that BridgeWays has made over the decades. So, how do you know what or which pivots to make (or not make)? What's the appropriate timeline for successful pivots? Should the process be fast or slow? What types of data and analysis is useful when it comes to decisions about large and small changes? How do you select the right people to surround yourself with in order to accomplish successful pivots?   

Nancy also discusses their organizational role in bridging "where youth are" and "where they can be" as it relates to life and career preparation. She explains BridgeWays focus on Social and Emotional Learning, including interpersonal skills building, goal setting skills, exposure to healthy teamwork, conflict resolution skills, and other skillsets sometimes illogically termed 'soft skills' that, in reality, are often deemed as "critical skills" by employers.

This episode also includes discussions about “Hindsight Bias,” alternately called “Knew-It-All-Along Phenomenon,” as it relates to the perception that successful pivots in the past were much more obvious than they actually were in real time.

RESOURCES:

>BridgeWays website
>Nancy Meadows' Bio
>BridgeWays Facebook Page
>Pauline Fletcher's Story
>Camp Fletcher


 

Brain Chatter, a podcast where we listen past the daily noise and explore topics at the intersection of leadership, workplace culture, profit, and sustainability.

How does absenteeism and presentism impact a company's effectiveness and sustainability? Does my company need a wellness program? What are the goals of company wellness programs? How do corporate wellness programs work? How do you create a workplace wellness program? What are the organizational leaders' responsibility to workforce wellness programs when it comes to program success? What are the bottom line costs of a workforce with unhealthy habits? What are the wellness and nutrition impacts on US worker's massive chronic disease rates? What has elevated the workplace wellness movement in recent years?

Wellness expert, Registered Dietitian, retired state public health leader, and Samford University School of Public Health adjunct faculty member Mim Gaines is this episode's guest. She answers all of these questions and more. 

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 RESOURCES:

Connect with Mim Gaines on LinkedIn

Article: "The Business Benefits of a Healthy Workforce" (Harvard University)

Good Choices Programs

Healthy Vending, Alabama

Scale Back Alabama

Wellness Council of America

WELCOA Getting Started Checklist

CDC: Workplace Wellness Programs

Community Foodbank of Central Alabama

Brain Chatter, a podcast where we listen past the daily noise and explore topics at the intersection of leadership, workplace culture, profit, and sustainability.

Tony Orlowski provides an overview of the new book on workplace safety, Safety Beyond The Numbers, co-authored by he and Dr. Ken Chapman. The two of them wrote the book based on their 80+ years of leading change in workplaces in the US, Canada, and in locations across the globe. What can be achieved beyond basic workplace safety compliance and why does it matter?

What is the responsibility of a front-line worker, front-line supervisor, safety manager, department manager, or executive to other people's safety? What can be done to maximize the outcome of everyone in the workplace going home safe and whole to their family and friends each day? What is compliance? What is beyond compliance? What is the moral factor? What does safety ownership mean and how does it work?
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 RESOURCES:

>SafePath Solutions (Book & Seminar info)

>Anthony Orlowski's Bio

>Connect with Anthony on LinkedIn

Brain Chatter, a podcast where we listen past the daily noise and explore topics at the intersection of leadership, workplace culture, profit, and sustainability.

Shannon Allen walks through how mentorship works, sharing her experiences of both having mentors and serving as a mentor herself.  What makes successful mentorships mutually beneficial to both participants? Who should seek out mentorships? What are the expectations of mentors and mentees? Should both participants be from the same industry? Should you choose a mentor much older than you? What should the mentor have in common with the mentee to maximize success? How long should mentorships last? What's the difference between mentors and role models? What are common misconceptions about mentoring? What causes mentorships to fail? How can you approach someone if you want to ask if they'll serve as your mentor? If you think you can add value to someone's career growth or life, what's the best way to approach them and offer mentorship? 

EPISODE RESOURCES:

Connect with Shannon on LinkedIn

Brain Chatter, a podcast where we listen past the daily noise and explore topics at the intersection of leadership, workplace culture, profit, and sustainability.

Keith Richards explores the importance of a strong company culture and purpose in building a strong restaurant and franchise business with unusually high team member retention. He and his wife Amy founded fresh-casual restaurant Taziki's in 1998, which now has 90 locations in 15 US states. More recently, they have started a second restaurant business, Greek Street. Keith served as President from May 1998 until December 2012, and then served as the Chief Franchise Officer from June 2012 till 2017. Keith has returned to manage the flagship market in Birmingham, AL, and continues to lead their culinary R+D and the HOPE project, Taziki's signature charity. Before creating Taziki’s, Keith Richards worked under the direction of Frank Stitt at Highlands Bar and Grill- which won the elusive 2018 James Beard Foundation Award for the most outstanding restaurant in America. Today, Keith and Amy and their two sets of twins live in Birmingham, AL, where Keith serves on the Shelby County Chamber of Commerce Board and advances the cause of employing special needs students in metro Birmingham and across the country.

EPISODE RESOURCES:

• Taziki's website
• Greek Street website
• Taziki's HOPE Project
• Keith's bio
• Connect with Keith on LinkedIn
• Taziki's Franchising

Brain Chatter, a podcast where we listen past the daily noise and explore topics at the intersection of leadership, workplace culture, profit, and sustainability.

Tommie Goggans III, husband, father of eight, president of The Goggans Group, Financial Advisor, active community volunteer, and dedicated physical fitness devotee, delves into the ever-challenging topic of "Balance & Planning in Leadership and Life." On a day-to-day basis, Tommie helps his clients with planning. With a large family of his own, his own company, and multiple leadership roles in the community, he actively practices balance in his own life. So, what are the strategies and pathways to success in finding balance, keeping balance, and effectively planning out our days, weeks, months, years, and decades ahead? 

EPISODE RESOURCES:

• Connect with Tommie Goggans on LinkedIn 
• Read Tommie Goggans's Bio
• Visit the Goggans Group website
• Tommie's In-Episode Book Recommendations:
  • Salt Sugar Fat: How the Food Giants Hooked Us, by Michael Moss
  • 15 Secrets Successful People Know About Time Management, by Kevin Kruse

Brain Chatter, a podcast where we listen past the daily noise and explore topics at the intersection of leadership, workplace culture, profit, and sustainability.

In this episode of Brain Chatter, Derek reads The Speed of Trust, a chapter from the book The Leader's Code authored by Dr. Ken Chapman. The chapter defines the Speed of Trust,  identifies why it is critical to high functioning teams and organizations, provides examples, and outlines strategies for developing and growing The Speed of Trust in an organization. 

Brain Chatter, a podcast where we listen past the daily noise and explore topics at the intersection of leadership, workplace culture, profit, and sustainability.

Deborah Boswell, communication consultant, coach, and author, examines the practical side of effective communication in the workplace. Ask your peers and direct reports, 'do we do a good job with communication here?' How do they respond? Are you surprised? Ineffective communication costs organizations big money while it also costs trust in leadership. What's the fix? How many moving parts are there to just one sentence communicated from one person to another? How can we each do what we can to communicate better? And what does Deborah advise about the new 'great debate' about cameras-off vs cameras-on in virtual meetings and why?

EPISODE RESOURCES:

• Connect with Deborah on LinkedIn 
• Deborah Boswell's Company Website
• Deborah's Book: Become a Confident Business Communicator

Brain Chatter, a podcast where we listen past the daily noise and explore topics at the intersection of leadership, workplace culture, profit, and sustainability.

Dr. Ken Chapman discusses the imperative of accurate self-reflection in organizational leadership and success. In fact, at the heart of almost every leadership issue in an organization, is the lack of accurate self-reflection on the individual level. 

What is practical self-reflection? Why is it important?  What are best practices? What tools and strategies are helpful? How do you self-reflect accurately without doing so neurotically? How can one help a leader who is unaware of their own deficit or avoidance of self-reflection? How often is failure at self-reflection by leaders tied to failure in overall business success? 

Dr. Ken Chapman founded Ken Chapman & Associates, Inc. (producer of this podcast) almost 40 years ago. He has since worked on 4 continents in over 500 electric generating stations, foundries, manufacturing facilities, corporate headquarters, banks, nonprofits, and more. He is the author of 5 books, the mostly widely distributed of which is The Leader's Code. He is a graduate of Emory University and Colombia University. 

EPISODE RESOURCES:

• Dr. Chapman's bio
• The Leader's Code book
• The Hero With A Thousand Faces, Joseph Campbell

We'd love to hear your feedback on the podcast, as well as topics you'd like us to explore in a future episode. Email podcast@leaderscode.com 

Brain Chatter, a podcast where we listen past the daily noise and explore topics at the intersection of leadership, workplace culture, profit, and sustainability.

Kyle Roed is Global HR Manager for CPM Holdings, based in Waterloo, Iowa. He discusses the massive costs of team member turnover. How can you start to measure these often unrecognized, un-reported, and siloed costs, both financial and cultural? How can you minimize them? What are some top strategies to retain top human capital talent? Are you asking the basic questions? Do you conduct 'stay interviews' in addition to exit interviews? Does your human resources department have operational and business clout to help with solutions? 

EPISODE RESOURCES:

• Kyle's LinkedIn
• CPM Holdings
• Kyle's Rebel HR Podcast
• SHRM eLearning
• SHRM Article:  “To Have and To Hold” 
• Bill Conerly Article in Forbes: "Dollar Cost of Employee Turnover"
• US Bureau of Labor, Recent Data
• Gallup Article: "Fixable Problem Costs Businesses a Trillion"

Brain Chatter, a podcast where we listen past the daily noise and explore topics at the intersection of leadership, workplace culture, profit, and sustainability.

Dr. Isabel Scarinci, Associate Director at O'Neal Comprehensive Cancer Center, psychologist, and polio survivor, discusses The Power of Thankfulness. How powerful is a genuine sense of thankfulness in our daily lives with co-workers, friends, and family? How does expressing thankfulness change our relationships with others? How can we make authentic thankfulness habitual? What is the science behind gratitude? And how does daily meditation on thankfulness impact our sleep?

This episode is a conversation with Dr. Isabel Scarinci who survived polio as a child in Brazil. That experience led her into a life of service to others. As a child, between surgeries she went door-to-door with her mother encouraging complete strangers to vaccinate their children against polio. Her efforts prevented untold other children from suffering.  Now she works as an administrator and psychologist in cancer prevention with one of the world's leading cancer centers. She is a leader in an effort between the O’Neal Comprehensive Cancer Center, Rotary International, and the Health Ministry of Sri Lanka to eradicate any type of cancer (in this case cervical cancer) from an entire country for the first time in human history. 

EPISODE RESOURCES:

• O'Neal Comprehensive Cancer Center
• Isabel's Bio
• Connect with Isabel on LinkedIn
• Rotary International's END POLIO NOW Campaign
• Sri Lanka Cervical Cancer Eradication Effort
• Maya Angelou Quote referenced by Isabel (Forbes article)
• Honorary Consul of Brazil for Alabama article
• "How to Cultivate Gratitude, Compassion, and Pride on Your Team" Harvard Business Review article 

We'd love to hear your feedback on the podcast, as well as topics you'd like us to explore in a future episode. Email podcast@leaderscode.com 

Brain Chatter, a podcast where we listen past the daily noise and explore topics at the intersection of leadership, workplace culture, profit, and sustainability.

Nate Pizzini, Asst GM of Kennedy Valve Co. in Elmira, New York has spent 2020 leading a manufacturing plant through an unprecedented modern pandemic. What has he learned along the way? Where did he have to pivot?  What did he do right from the start? Who have been his partners along the way? What changes made during the pandemic will likely be permanent? Which leadership skills  has he leaned on most heavily?

EPISODE RESOURCES:

• Connect with Nate on LinkedIn
• Read Nate's Bio
• Kennedy Valve Co website
• CDC's Crisis & Emergency Risk Communication Manual 
• Wharton Magazine : "Applying Crisis Management Lessons to Covid-19"
• Books Referenced by Nate:
  • The Advantage by Patrick Lencioni
  • The Ideal Team Player by Patrick Lencioni
  • Three Signs of a Miserable Job by Patrick Lencioni
  • The Five Dysfunctions of a Team by Patrick Lencioni
  • Dare to Lead by Brené Brown
  • Good to Great by Jim Collins
  • Built to Last by Jim Collins 

Brain Chatter, a podcast where we listen past the daily noise and explore topics at the intersection of leadership, workplace culture, profit, and sustainability.