Monday Morning Radio

When it comes to running a competitive company, Bob Moog doesn’t play games. Well, actually, he does. Daily.

Bob is co-founder and president of University Games, the largest independent game company in the world.

For almost four decades, Bob has gone up against the biggest players — including Hasbro and Mattel — and found a way to beat them at their own game. Pun intended.

In fact, University Games distributes more products in more outlets and more markets than any other company focused on board games. 

The company now has six divisions: University Games (board games), Great Explorations (science and learning/glow-in-the-dark products), BePuzzled (puzzles and brainteasers), Briarpatch (preschool games and puzzles), U-Create (crafts and activities), and Front Porch Classics (classic games, built to last a lifetime).

University Games’ philosophy has always been to offer games that encourage social interaction and imagination through gameplay, with learning sprinkled in to spice it up. 

Bob’s story will inspire anyone who competes against entrenched giants. He’ll also share the management philosophy that has proven a game winner for just shy of four decades.

Monday Morning Radio is hosted by the father-son duo of Dean and Maxwell Rotbart.

Photo: Bob Moog, University Games
Posted: March 11, 2024
Monday Morning Run Time: 51:10
Episode: 12.36

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He’d be the oldest man ever to run for president, even as calls grow louder and louder for him to step aside.

Joe Biden?

No, William Henry Harrison, the successful 67-year-old Whig Party candidate back in 1840. 

Tying yesteryear to current events is Ron Shafer’s specialty. His contributions to The Washington Post’s Retropolis history column form the basis of two of his engaging books, Breaking News All Over Again and the forthcoming A Half-Naked George Washington.

Now retired, Ron spent nearly 40 years with The Wall Street Journal as a reporter, columnist, and political features editor, based out of Washington, DC.

On this week’s program, he makes clear that business owners and entrepreneurs can glean a lot of helpful information about where we’re headed if they only take the time to review where we’ve been. 

Monday Morning Radio is hosted by the father-son duo of Dean and Maxwell Rotbart.

Photo: Ron Shafer, Author
Posted: March 4, 2024
Monday Morning Run Time: 48:00
Episode: 12.35

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Most people fail to say their own name correctly.

Odd as that may sound, Laura Sicola explains her assertion in a YouTube video that is approaching 7 million views.

Dr. Sicola earned her PhD from the University of Pennsylvania in educational linguistics and taught there from 2001-2013. She has more than two decades of experience teaching good vocal habits to executives at companies including Comcast, IBM, and Vanguard. 

She is the author of Speaking to Influence: Mastering Your Leadership Voice.

As Dr. Sicola explains on this week’s episode, how leaders introduce themselves, whether from a speaker’s podium or meeting someone for the first time one-on-one, will help determine how effectively they convey the messages that follow.

How well do you articulate your name?

Monday Morning Radio is hosted by the father-son duo of Dean and Maxwell Rotbart.

Photo: Dr. Laura Sicola
Posted: February 26, 2024
Monday Morning Run Time: 48:00
Episode: 12.34

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Each year, roughly 700,000 American businesses or individuals submit a trademark application. That may sound like a considerable number, but Andrei Mincov — a superstar trademark lawyer based in Dubai, says it's far less than it should be.

Before starting The Trademark Factory, his global consultancy that provides start-to-finish trademark registration services, Andrei worked for Baker & McKenzie, one of the world's largest international law firms. His clients there included Apple, Microsoft, Sun, and Dell, which turned to Andrei to help them avoid the pitfalls of filing and defending their marks.

Andrei’s client base now includes many small and mid-size companies that frequently do not file formal trademarks or fail to file them for all their brands. That, as he explains, is a significant and potentially very costly oversight.

Learning about trademarks is not only valuable for every business executive and entrepreneur, but it’s also fascinating to discover the most common trademark landmines and how to avoid them.

Monday Morning Radio is hosted by the father-son duo of Dean and Maxwell Rotbart.

Photo: Andrei Mincov, The Trademark Factory
Posted: February 19, 2024
Monday Morning Run Time: 56:46
Episode: 12.33

This week, enter the inner sanctums of Microsoft Corp.’s executive suite and discover the tech wizards and vipers who worked there.

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Our guest is Jane Boulware, author of Worthy: From Cornfield to Corner Office of Microsoft. Over the course of her career, Jane launched three billion dollar businesses, was VP of the largest merger in U.S. history, and became one of the ten highest-ranking women at Microsoft by the time she turned 40.

On her climb up the corporate ladder, Jane was hit on, spit on, and actually shot at.

Listen closely as Jane — who grew up poor in rural Iowa and is donating 100% of her proceeds from sales of Worthy to Boys & Girls Clubs — shares practical insights that every owner and entrepreneur can utilize — good and bad — from her experience. 

Monday Morning Radio is hosted by the father-son duo of Dean and Maxwell Rotbart.

Photo: Jane Boulware, Worthy: From Cornfield to Corner Office of Microsoft
Posted: February 12, 2024
Monday Morning Run Time: 47:15
Episode: 12.32

From her base in far-off Christchurch, New Zealand, Rebecca Davison — who spent 13 years in banking, five as a financial advisor to multimillionaires — has built a global, cult-like following among female entrepreneurs, including top business leaders.

Rebecca, founder of The Intuitive Life Academy, has the knowledge to advise her followers on ways to earn more money and leverage their investments.

But that’s not her proprietary system.

Instead, Rebecca — a self-described empath — teaches clients how to experience spiritual and monetary abundance through the development of their intuition and ability to communicate with the universe.

Whether or not you buy the notion of metaphysical pathways to success, there is no denying that Rebecca’s methods are delivering results for a large and growing audience.

Monday Morning Radio is hosted by the father-son duo of Dean and Maxwell Rotbart.

Photo: Rebecca Davison, The Intuitive Life Academy

Posted: February 5, 2024

Monday Morning Run Time: 55:43
Episode: 12.31

Phebe Trotman knows the thrill of victory and the agony of defeat in both the sports and business arenas.

A former MVP Canadian college soccer star and member of the championship Vancouver Whitecaps professional soccer club, Phebe has had plenty of bad days and opportunities to bow out. She’s never taken them.

Phebe is the author of Never Quit on a Bad Day, a compendium of inspiring stories of resilience relayed by Phebe and a dozen contributors, including business leaders, entrepreneurs, couples, and athletes.

Phebe retired her cleats and now coaches business clients in British Columbia on the importance of resilience, having a positive attitude, and leading a competitive team. 

This is one episode of Monday Morning Radio you want to listen to now and download to revisit when you’re having a terrible, horrible, no good, very bad day.

After all, you can’t score goals if you aren’t on the field.

Monday Morning Radio is hosted by the father-son duo of Dean and Maxwell Rotbart. 

Photo: Phebe Trotman, Never Quit on a Bad Day
Posted: January 29, 2024
Monday Morning Run Time: 39:23
Episode: 12.30

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Leading business schools and best-selling leadership authors seldom compare the skills required of for-profit CEOs and non-profit fire chiefs.

Yet, the two professions share a lot in common. Indeed, battling blazes is excellent preparation for dousing the many firestorms business owners, executives, and entrepreneurs face.

This week’s guest, Clive Savacool, devoted 25 years as a Northern California firefighter before retiring his chief’s helmet and stepping into the boots of a full-time startup CEO.

Clive is the founder and CEO of LogRX, which created and sells an advanced mobile app designed to help firefighters, paramedics, law enforcement personnel, and others who administer and are legally bound to keep track of controlled substances in their work.

As a firefighter, Clive fought numerous structure fires and one of the largest wildfires in California history. As a startup CEO, he faced the challenge of bootstrapping a company with an untested app and zero outside investment.

Both entailed risk and required courage.

How does a fire chief's experience in life-or-death decisions benefit a CEO facing a corporate crisis? In this episode, Clive shares his unique perspective and strategies for staying cool-headed under extreme stress.

Monday Morning Radio is hosted by the father-son duo of Dean and Maxwell Rotbart. Dean’s book, Dedication and Service, showcasing the Genesee, Colorado, fire department, can be purchased in a digital version here or paperback from Amazon.

Photo: Clive Savacool, LogRX
Posted: January 22, 2024
Monday Morning Run Time: 37:05
Episode: 12.29

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After 16 years as a wedding photographer, Ryan Erickson concluded he was barking up the wrong tree. 

He was making decent money but didn’t have a passion for his work.

It was risky, but Ryan decided to try his hand at fine art photography, and he’s been so successful early on that he’s thinking of expanding his fledgling enterprise nationwide.

Ryan’s discerning clients are willing to pay up for his portraits that accentuate the eyes and subtleties of his subjects’ faces. Rather than ask his subjects to come to him, Ryan brings his workspace and state-of-the-art equipment to them in a mobile studio.

But that’s not the most unique aspect of Ryan’s enterprise. That would be the free belly rubs he happily gives to each of the retrievers, shepherds, bulldogs, beagles, and other canines who pose for him and his Fetch Photo Truck.

“It’s so much easier and enjoyable working with dogs,” Ryan confesses. To which every active wedding photographer in the world responds, “Amen.”

Monday Morning Radio is hosted by the father-son duo of Dean and Maxwell Rotbart.

Photo: Ryan Erickson, Fetch Photo Truck
Posted: January 15, 2024
Monday Morning Run Time: 37:19
Episode: 12.28

To show your appreciation for Monday Morning Radio and keep it commercial-free, we encourage you to contribute using this link. Donations of all sizes are welcome.

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Can you imagine what it would have been like to have an exclusive four-hour audience with the late Charlie Munger? 

The billionaire businessman, who died in late November at age 99, never got as much press as his close friend and partner Warren Buffett. But many people credited Munger with helping secure Berkshire Hathaway’s decades-long stellar investment performance.

Just weeks before Munger passed, The Wall Street Journal veteran reporter Gregory Zuckerman visited Munger in the investor’s Los Angeles home and came away with some unique and actionable insights. 

This week, award-winning author and Monday Morning Radio founder Dean Rotbart interviews the last journalist to interview Munger. That makes everyone who listens to this week’s episode only three degrees of separation from Munger and four degrees from Buffett.

It’s always nice to know people who know people. And, importantly, to learn what they know.

Monday Morning Radio is hosted by the father-son team of Dean and Maxwell Rotbart.

Photo: Greg Zuckerman, The Wall Street Journal
Posted: January 8, 2024
Monday Morning Run Time: 37:06
Episode: 12.27

To show your appreciation for Monday Morning Radio and keep it commercial-free, we encourage you to contribute using this link. Donations of all sizes are welcome.

A New Year’s Quiz:

What do the following have in common: Leadership, Economics, Side Hustles, Online Retailing, Business Exit Strategies, Military Contracts, Bras, Walt Disney, Firefighters, and Worms?

Answer: 

Each was featured on one of Monday Morning Radio’s ten most popular 2023 episodes.

This week, the podcast revisits the highlights of the year past and shares an audio preview of our first Monday Morning Radio book, All You Can Eat Business Wisdom — an anthology featuring 25 of our most savvy guests over the years.

The book isn’t due until late March or early April, but listeners can begin profiting from its wisdom to help kick off a prosperous New Year.

2023 Episodes Highlighted In This Week’s Year-in-Review

Cathy Nesbitt — January 2nd

Ed O’Malley and Julia Fabris McBride — January 30th

Eric Johnson — March 18th

Nick Loper — May 21st

Mac Lackey — July 2nd

Ricky Howard — July 16th

Genesee Fire Rescue — September 2nd

The Walt Disney Company — October 16th

Carina Ramirez Cahan — October 22nd

Matthew Stafford — November 27th

Monday Morning Radio is hosted by the father-son team of Dean and Maxwell Rotbart.

Photo: Dean and Maxwell Rotbart
Posted: January 1, 2024
Monday Morning Run Time: 35:52
Episode: 12.26

To show your appreciation for Monday Morning Radio and keep it commercial-free, we encourage you to contribute using this link. Donations of all sizes are welcome.

A Christmas Day Miracle, by Dean and Talya Rotbart, is adapted from their 2020 biography of Margaret and Riyaz Adat, titled Improbable Lives: A Scot, A Tanzanian, and Their Canadian Love Story. 

A true-life, inspirational adult yuletide tale, A Christmas Day Miracle offers a universal message — regardless of readers' religious beliefs — about the wonder and power of life’s unexpected blessings.

Since the book was first published two years ago, it has become a perennial holiday favorite.

We hope you enjoy it.

Chris McShanag has enjoyed a long and productive career in the healthcare field, working alongside two physician entrepreneurs to build a thriving business providing off-site virtual assistants to doctors, dentists, and even veterinarians.

Their company, MedVA, founded in 2020, provides medical and dental virtual assistants and has done an admirable job of helping their clients improve quality of care while simultaneously boosting the bottom line of their practices.

In fact, MedVA has proven such a success with clients that Chris and his partners figured their methods could work for any company across a broad spectrum of small businesses. So a year ago, they launched BizVA, delivering virtual assistants capabilities to the entire business community, both domestically and internationally.

BizVA’s pledge is that it will help companies get more done at a fraction of the cost.

This week, Chris, president and CEO of both MedVA and BizVA, shares his insights about the many advantages of relying on virtual assistants, and the logistics of successfully transferring the knowledge gleaned in one business niche to another.

Monday Morning Radio is hosted by the father-son team of Dean and Maxwell Rotbart.

Photo: Chris McShanag, BizVA and MedVA
Posted: December 18, 2023
Monday Morning Run Time: 40:01
Episode: 12.24

To show your appreciation for Monday Morning Radio and keep it commercial-free, we encourage you to contribute using this link. Donations of all sizes are welcome.

Many innovative business concepts fall through because the cost and logistics of pulling them off just wouldn’t work.

Uzair Ahmed, a Canadian chemical engineer, recognized all the missed opportunities and figured he could design technology and automation to make unworkable business models workable.

Uzair, founder of Cottonwood Automation, tested his high-tech, low-overhead system by launching a service that sends car mechanics to the homes or offices of customers. Guess what? It succeeded wildly.

While Cottonwood Automation generally focuses on making home service businesses easier to operate, Uzair believes that his method — which brings together automation, AI, global talent, and other digital technologies, can help businesses in almost every industry cut their costs by up to 60%.

Best of all, perhaps, it allows owners and CEOs to do more while working less.

Monday Morning Radio is hosted by the father-son team of Dean and Maxwell Rotbart.

Photo: Uzair Ahmed, Cottonwood Automation
Posted: December 11, 2023
Monday Morning Run Time: 37:29
Episode: 12.23

To show your appreciation for Monday Morning Radio and keep it commercial-free, we encourage you to contribute using this link. Donations of all sizes are welcome.

If you truly could experience your website or bricks-and-mortar store through the eyes of your customers and prospects, you could do a great deal to increase sales and customer satisfaction.

Satyam Kantamneni is the founder of UXReactor, a company whose entire focus is on user experience, referred to as UX. His mission: to design or transform businesses to prioritize — above all other considerations — how customers interact with them. 

With more than 60 employees spread across three continents, Satyam has enabled his clients to generate hundreds of millions of dollars in bonus income thanks to user-centric innovation.

As he explains, the most powerful differentiator in today’s highly competitive business world is the customer’s experience. Master it and you win.

Monday Morning Radio is hosted by the father-son team of Dean and Maxwell Rotbart.

[Purchase your copy of Satyam’s book, User Experience Design: A Practical Playbook to Fuel Business Growth, here.] 

Photo: Satyam Kantamneni, UXReactor
Posted: December 4, 2023
Monday Morning Run Time: 43:37
Episode: 12.22

To show your appreciation for Monday Morning Radio and keep it commercial-free, we encourage you to contribute using this link. Donations of all sizes are welcome.

Every day, 3,000 eager entrepreneurs jump into the online sales arena. Ninety percent of them will never make a single sale.

Matthew Stafford, co-founder and CEO of Build•Grow•Scale, knows what goes wrong and how to fix it. He and his team use sophisticated analytics to help business owners and entrepreneurs achieve online sales success. 

Matthew’s passion lies in empowering others to achieve their goals - whether scaling an existing business or starting from scratch with a new venture altogether.

Build•Grow•Scale’s proprietary formula for increasing internet-based sales has nothing to do with driving more traffic to your website or Shopify store. His approach succeeds by getting those prospects who are already visiting a website to click “buy” more often.

In a wide-ranging interview, Matthew reveals the technical aspects of online sales but also his broader approach to helping online retailers succeed, how Build•Grow•Scale has successfully adapted to evolving technologies, and his strategies for hiring solid employees and managing a successful consulting firm.

Monday Morning Radio is hosted by the father-son team of Dean and Maxwell Rotbart.

To show your appreciation for Monday Morning Radio and keep it commercial-free, we encourage you to contribute using this link or scan the QR code below. Donations of all sizes are welcome.

Photo: Matthew Stafford, Build•Grow•Scale
Posted: November 27, 2023
Monday Morning Run Time: 35:25
Episode: 12.21

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Bronson Hill took it to heart when Warren Buffet warned investors that they will work the rest of their lives if they don’t find a way to make money while they sleep.

Bronson became a zealous student of passive investing and, in 2018, with zero prior experience, raised a comparatively tiny $200,000 to form his first real estate syndicate.

Today, Bronson, founder and CEO of Bronson Equity, is a general partner in more than $200 million worth of real estate. He is also the author of the recently released book, Fire Yourself: Replace Your Working Income with Passive Income in 3 Years or Less.

This week, Bronson reveals his successful passive investing strategies and his approach to raising tens of millions of dollars through syndications.

Monday Morning Radio is hosted by the father-son team of Dean and Maxwell Rotbart.

To show your appreciation for Monday Morning Radio and keep it commercial-free, we encourage you to contribute using this link. Donations of all sizes are welcome.

Photo: Bronson Hill, Bronson Equity
Posted: November 20, 2023
Monday Morning Run Time: 41:27
Episode: 12.20

Jeff Kikel helps business owners and entrepreneurs attain what he dubs their “Freedom Day,” that juncture in their lives when work becomes optional, not a financial necessity.

Jeff has helped many people who believed they’d have to work until retirement, and perhaps beyond, get their finances and investments under control, freeing them from financial worries.

His formula for reaching “Freedom Day” begins with a mindset shift in relationship to money: It should work for you, not vice versa.

If the idea of working for pleasure, not for survival, appeals to you, you absolutely don’t want to miss a minute of this week’s Monday Morning Radio.

Monday Morning Radio is hosted by the father-son team of Dean and Maxwell Rotbart.

To show your appreciation for Monday Morning Radio and keep it commercial-free, we encourage you to contribute using this link. Donations of all sizes are welcome.

Photo: Jeff Kikel, Freedom Day Wealth Management
Posted: November 13, 2023
Monday Morning Run Time: 39:41
Episode: 12.19

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Three years ago, Nick Barrett had an idea — and little else. He envisioned a new, weighted, portable gadget that could keep cords and wires from getting entangled.

Nick’s CordBrick is only a tad longer than a large paperclip and about as thick as a quarter. At this year’s National Retail Federation trade show in New York, one of the largest consumer products showcases in the nation, CordBrick was named “coolest product,” nabbing a $10,000 prize.

Nick’s experience launching CordBrick mirrors that of many first-time entrepreneurs. He’s made mistakes, learned from them, had the support of friends and mentors, and is now steadily growing his business.

Other inventors and entrepreneurs can learn a lot — and save themselves big headaches — by discovering how Nick went from pitching his innovative home and office gadget at flea markets to being a major Amazon and retail success story. 

You don’t have to be an entrepreneurial rookie to benefit from Nick’s inspirational story and to relive the magic of starting your first business. 

Monday Morning Radio is hosted by the father-son team of Dean and Maxwell Rotbart.

To show your appreciation for Monday Morning Radio and keep it commercial-free, we encourage you to contribute using this link. Donations of all sizes are welcome.

Photo: Nick Barrett, CordBrick
Posted: November 6, 2023
Monday Morning Run Time: 40:23
Episode: 12.18

Zeynep Ekemen has ridden the rollercoaster of COVID-19 and its impact on small businesses.

She is the founder of Silver Defender, a company that sells antimicrobial-protected film for high-touch areas — such as door bars and handles, elevator buttons, and guide rails. She launched her business in 2018.

When the COVID-19 pandemic hit less than two years later, her sales took off like a rocket, stretching her company’s production and distribution capabilities to the max.

But now, as demand has waned, Zeynep is fighting to avoid the fate of so many other businesses that were whipsawed by COVID-19. It's a common dilemma for many small businesses when a product or service they provide experiences a surge in popularity and then fades almost as quickly.

Zeynep herself is determined to demonstrate that what comes down can always go back up.

Monday Morning Radio is hosted by the father-son team of Dean and Maxwell Rotbart.

To show your appreciation for Monday Morning Radio and keep it commercial-free, we encourage you to contribute using this link or scan the QR code below. Donations of all sizes are welcome.

Photo: Zeynep Ekemen, Silver Defender
Posted: October 30, 2023
Monday Morning Run Time: 34:42
Episode: 12.17

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