Disruptive Leaders at the Forefront of Innovation & Strategy - 2021 | August

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True Leaders

INSPIRE AND EMPOWER, not dominate

L

eadership is all about encouraging others to do their best in whatever job they are in without caring about the results.

It is all about empowerment. As Lord Krishna rightly said to his devotee Arjuna during the war of Mahabharata,

EDITOR’S CORNER

“Let not the fruit of action be your motive to your action. Your business is with action alone, not with the fruit of action.”

In the edition, “Disruptive Leaders at the Forefront of Innovation & Strategy - 2021,” we are talking about the leaders that inspire the workforce to achieve greater results by investing the right effort at the correct time.

Amidst the Covid crisis, when the economy was under serious threat, these leaders didn’t lose hope but emerged as warriors. They have adjusted their business to the new normal and are at the forefront to propel in the entrepreneurial space.

Social Media and Digital Marketing have a prominent role to play in the business world. They have transcended the business spectrum to a great extent, and the business owners have understood this.

In stressful times like the pandemic, when people were losing employment, the leaders have made sure to keep their workforce intact.

With constant motivation, they urge people to not lose hope and be positive towards their goals.

Keeping abreast with the technology and taking care of employees

“If your actions inspire others to dream more, learn more, do more, and become more, you are a leader.

become important to carve a niche in the business world.

Whatever be the situation, a fighter is one who does not kneel down in front of circumstances at any cost like our business tycoons. With determination and persistence, they move forward and break the shackles that are withholding them to advance and succeed.

Challenges are a crucial part of one’s success journey. In any industry or profession, you have to cross roadblocks to be where you are today.

Starting a business from scratch and then sustains it by putting continuous efforts round the clock is not a child’s play. Finding the right talent, managing resources, the right decisions, coping with failures, and team management are all part of an entrepreneurial journey.

If you want to go deeper into the insights of these dynamic leaders at length, read this edition. We have interviewed and weave the stories of their struggle and success in interesting ways.

- John Quincy Adams

RASHI SARAL Managing Editor | 4 | Business Talk August 2021

PUBLISHER HIMANI PARASHAR Managing Editor Rashi Saral

Editorial Contributors

Avishek Singh, Shivani Goyal, Harish Kateghar

Creative Head Rahul Kushwaha

Digital Marketing Manager Jatin Shrivastav

Business Head Shubham Mehra

Corporate Team

Shelly Goyal, Himanshi Sharma, Hemant Negi, Ayushi Taneja

Research Analysts

Anmol Bhatia, Harry Dsena

Finance Head

Girdhar Kumar Thakur

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August 2021 Business Talk | 5 |

Table of

Contents

16

AMANDA BROCK,

CEO, OpenUK

20

BILL JOHNSON

Chairman, The Liberty Company Insurance Brokers

24

BOJAN PADUH

Founder, Electronic Recycling Association

10

BRIAN J. ESPOSITO

Founder & CEO, Esposito Intellectual Enterprises

28

CHRIS FAWCETT Founder, Third Marble

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32

48

JOE CASERTA

DR. SEAN JAMES MILLER

CEO, Caserta

CEO, Pluripotent Diagnostics

36

52

KEVIN GUY STEER

WALTER ROGERS

CEO, One Two One Advisor

KRIS PORIA

COO & Co founder, Early Birds

President, Chairman and CEO of Baker Communications, Inc.

40

ARTICLES

JEFF PENROSE

58

WHAT MAKES A GOOD LEADER, EVERYTHING YOU NEED TO KNOW ?

60

10 BEST LEADERSHIP PODCASTS YOU SHOULD FOLLOW

COO & Co founder, Early Birds

44

62 PRAMOUD RAO

HOW TO BE A LEADER? TOP 10 EFFECTIVE TIPS

MD, Zicom

August 2021 Business Talk | 7 |

Business Talk INTERVIEW Electronic Recycling Association

10

OpenUK

16

The Liberty Company Insurance Brokers

20

Esposito Intellectual Enterprises

24

Third Marble

28

Caserta

32

One Two One Advisor

36

Early Birds

40

Zicom

44

Pluripotent Diagnostics

48

Baker Communications, Inc.

52

| 8 | Business Talk August 2021

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COVER STORY

Your Electronic trash can be someone’s treasure. Donate through the

ELECTRONIC RECYCLING ASSOCIATION to create a difference in a human life | 10 | Business Talk August 2021

“

Everyone can do their part to help reduce electronic waste.

People should avoid, or at least postpone, purchasing new technologies until they truly require them.

Whenever feasible, they can fix equipment rather than discarding them. Users can also trade or recycle their old gadgets before making a new purchase.

BOJAN PADUH

Founder Electronic Recycling Association

B

elieve it or not, the average American home has about 24 electronic items! Do you ever consider what happens when you’re done with these gadgets? Many obsolete electrical products accumulate dust. They end up in dumps or landfills when thrown away. Whenever e-waste is discharged into the environment, pollutants are released into the ground, contaminating the groundwater being used to supply homes and other structures.

When e-waste is merely kept, it poses no risk; but, when it is poorly handled and discarded, the substances it contains represent a significant risk. Not only does poor e-waste disposal allow hazardous chemicals to leak into the soil and groundwater, but it also wastes basic metals that may be recycled. As an informed citizen, we must take efforts to dispose of e-waste in an ecologically responsible manner.

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COVER STORY Bojan steers “Electronic trash will rapidly become one of the world’s fastest increasing waste streams, owing to recent technological advancements and an unending supply of new creative items produced every year. Donating your gadgets for reuse or recycling them at well-managed facilities helps to reduce the risks. Recycling also allows for the reclamation of dependable resources present in electronics, such as recyclable polymers and even gold.”

The Electronic Recycling Association (ERA) is a non-profit organization that was formed in 2004 in response to the rising problem of e-waste and the developing “digital divide.” For over 10 years, ERA has provided simple solutions to assist people and organizations in preventing the early destruction of operating equipment. ERA constantly supplies charity organizations with donated IT equipment while safely managing the retiring IT assets of organizations and people across Canada, with an emphasis on recovery, refurbishment, and reuse.

“We are completely and sincerely focused on reducing unnecessary waste through effective management of retiring electronic and IT equipment. ” Being ISO 9001, ISO 14001 and ISO 45001 certified has helped ERA not only improve its environmental processes and procedures but has also allowed bigger organizations to partner up with them without worrying about credibility.

The Electronic Recycling Association has a clear mission of reducing electronic waste through computer recycling, laptop recycling, and computer donation services. With

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depots throughout Vancouver, Calgary, Edmonton, and all of Canada. ERA provides a great way to recycle electronic equipment safely and securely.

The catalyst to change- building a habit of recycling We’ve been trained to recycle ever since we were children. We can live a more eco-friendly lifestyle by minimizing our trash and recycling or repurposing what we can. As a result, it may come as a surprise to find that not everyone supports recycling.

That’s correct, some organizations are skeptical of recycling’s effectiveness because it takes some effort and storage space. To do away with this habit ERA promotes reusing and effective disposal of electronic waste by offering incentives.

“I would like to personally thank you for your support. Your generosity has made a real difference, and I look forward with great excitement to the positive changes the ERA will continue to make in our communities and for our environment.”

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COVER STORY “Unwanted electronic equipment may be difficult to manage, therefore we have established an association program that offers several advantages while making sure that appropriate disposal of electronic trash is available.

Our members enjoy incentives that enhance their corporate social responsibility and corporate environmental responsibility profiles, in addition to price discounts and priority pickups.” quotes the founder Bojan thinks that reusing before recycling is essential in minimizing computer hardware waste. ERA’s crew has safely reused hundreds of tons of machinery. Because not everything Bojan’s firm gets can be reused, ERA has worked with recognized recycling groups to handle equipment that has reached the end of its useful life.

One of the most significant barriers to reuse, according to studies, is the fear of data being retrieved from obsolete technology. When you use the ERA’s data destruction services, you can be certain that your information is safe and secure.

“We have powerful data wiping and physical destruction capabilities, which we have used in collaboration with Canadian law enforcement authorities to raise awareness of the hazards connected with a lack of vigilance when it comes to personal computing equipment.”

How it all started- The history behind Electronic Recycling Association As a child grows up, everything around them leaves an impact. Friends, instructors, and the things they see while they sit in front of the TV or Internet may all have a role to play. Habits have a significantly greater impact on your life than you may think. They are quite powerful. Our minds hold to them at the expense of everything else, even rational thought. Habits are essential in more ways than one. They become stronger and more automatic as time passes. This is a story of such impact. The positive impact that was created in Bojan’s life when he was given a computer. He shares, “An incident I experienced when I first went to Canada inspired me to create the Electronic Recycling Association.

In 1996, my family and I immigrated from Croatia, but we were unable to carry anything with us. My family and I were members of a religious organization that gave me a computer shortly after we had settled in. This apparently insignificant present had a huge influence on my life.

Armed with this priceless piece of technology, I began to study computer science, which provided me with instant access to knowledge and the capacity to accomplish outstanding school tasks.”

Bojan says that he formed the ERA because he saw a great need for better management of the waste created by electronics. The other reason he believes is that he knew, from personal experiences, how much a donated computer can mean to a family who can’t afford to purchase one.

He is highly grateful to the people who gifted him that computer which has made all the difference. | 14 | Business Talk August 2021

“I would like to personally thank you for your support.

Your generosity has made a real difference, and I look forward with great excitement to the positive changes the ERA will continue to make in our communities and for our environment.”

A good digital citizen Regular access to a personal computer is no longer considered a non-essential luxury. Simple fundamental tasks today need the use of a computer; applying for a job, doing schoolwork, getting in touch with relatives, or even searching up a bus route is impossible without one. To solve this issue, the Electronic Recycling Association has created a charity computer donation program. Becoming a member of the Electronic Recycling Association is a great way to highlight your commitment to giving back to the community while supporting environmentally friendly business practices, feels Bojan.

“We collaborate with organizations all around the country to supply them with reconditioned gadgets to use in their programs. This provides them with dependable technology while allowing them to focus their resources on what they do best: creating programs to assist Canadians who are dealing with poverty, health issues, or other adversity. We are not associated with any specific charity since the ERA is an advocate for equality. Every year, the ERA donates critical computer equipment to hundreds of non-profit groups.” explains the founder.

The founder believes that new possibilities start with a contribution: With an electronic contribution, one can repurpose their unwanted equipment while also supporting their local community. Electronic donations enable schools, charitable groups, and low-income families to receive equipment that they would not be able to buy otherwise.

Conclusion When you submit your e-waste to an unlicensed garbage collector, you’re participating in the uncontrolled market system. These marketplaces try to remove metals from gadgets in order to resell them, but they may do it with fewer skills per metal and without the required safety requirements. The current global climate problem necessitates that the general public becomes more conscious of their buying habits and participate in responsible waste segregation and management techniques.

Someone else’s garbage is another person’s gold.

Instead of throwing away electrical equipment, consider selling or donating them. Not only will you be decreasing trash, but you will also be assisting others. There are numerous things you can do yourself to protect the environment, but if you need assistance, aid is also accessible outside.

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Meet

AMANDA BROCK

The woman who is reinventing open source technology through OpenUK AMANDA BROCK, CEO

O

pen source is rapidly becoming the de facto software development approach. If you work in technology, you will undoubtedly use open source software at some point in your career.

Amanda Brock, Chief Executive of OpenUK, says that many people recognize the value of open source from a technology standpoint, however, open source has had a far-reaching influence on people, cultures, and communities.

OpenUK is a unique and progressive organization. Having recognized the need to combine the three opens, open source software, open hardware, and open data, OpenUK is the first organisation in this space to formally recognize the need for this amalgamation.

As Amanda says, “in 2021 data is at the heart of everything we do in technology. The lines between Software and Hardware are increasingly blurred. My Board believed that by pulling together the three opens we were able to capture the gambit of Open Technology.”

She says that her team also realized that the UK is not only the leading country in Europe in terms of its contribution to open source software, but also has a very unique position.

The UK not only has homegrown companies in this space, but many skilled and talented individuals based in the UK who are working for international companies or working for non-technology businesses as open source software adoption becomes more and more mainstream. This breadth of employment is why OpenUK is about the business of open technology, bringing all of these people together.

The Rise and Rise of Open Source Business migration to open source is increasing, as many businesses, large and small, turn to open source amid difficult economic circumstances. Despite the ongoing changes in workforce and operations caused by the pandemic, open source is supporting business and industry in lowering costs

and improving their ability to innovate and collaborate.

“This year we have worked on a Report, State of Open: The UK in 2021,’’ says Amanda. “The report shows our sectoral contribution is up to £43.1bn a year to UK GDP.” Amanda believes that the actual figures are much higher and were limited by the data available.

Phase 2 of a survey shared on 7 July surveyed almost 300 UK companies showed that 89% of them are running open source software in their businesses.

“I can’t wait for us to get to Phase Three in October, when we will be looking at how to value the revenue generated and the non-financial and non-obvious benefits of open source software like collaboration, skills development and improved sustainability.” says Amanda.

Amanda believes that in reality to make technology sustainable, it must be open and conform with the Sustainable Development Goals and Digital Development Principles. This technology may be reused and recycled to enable the Member States to scale it.

“We take Sustainability very seriously and this year appointed open source expert and sustainability entrepreneur Cristian Parrino as our Chief Sustainability Officer, ” she shares. We have just shared our first Sustainability Policy and look forward to building our measures and metrics around this.

Looking forward The team at OpenUK will also be sharing some of their work on Sustainability and Open Technology at COP26. Amanda is grateful to their Sponsor Federated Hermes, “ we will be hosting and Open Technology and Sustainability Day at the Skypark Fringe (the nearest venue to the main COP26 event where the world leaders will be meeting) on 11 November.

One of the highlights will be our sharing the Open Technology Blueprint for the Data Centre of the Future that we are collaborating on.”

August 2021 Business Talk | 17 |

OpenUK is building the Blueprint with a number of international and UK partners, including IT Renew and the Sustainable Digital Infrastructure Alliance. The vision uses the three opens, building the technology on open hardware, running open-source software, and making as much of the data as possible open. Doing this dramatically decreases hardware requirements and facilitates a move towards the carbon negative data centre. Of course, it will use sustainable energy sources and we hope to put the heat and generated by it back into the local District for the benefit of local communities whether in reduced bills or in heating local projects like swimming pools and green houses.

Conclusion Open source is gaining traction across the board, not only in operating systems but in every tier of the technological stack, including the database layer. Many people are replacing outdated software with open source software because it offers cutting edge innovation great stability and robustness. Today, there is a strong commercial open source ecosystem, with corporations increasingly devoting IT resources to contribute and participate to open source projects. Communities and businesses are now collaborating sometimes in coopetition.

This accelerates the development and acceptance of open source software.

Meet Amanda Brock - The woman who is reinventing open source technology Amanda Brock is the CEO and Chief Policy Officer of OpenUK. She became CEO, in 2019 and has reinvented the organization with insightful and imaginative leadership to build an innovative and diverse organisation.

Amanda grew up in Scotland and was the first in her family to attend University, going on to achieve three law degrees from the Universities of Glasgow, New York University, and Queen Mary, the University of London. She is also the author of two editions of her first book, EBusiness: The Practical Guide to the Laws and has edited her second book, Open Source: Law, | 18 | Business Talk August 2021

Policy and Practice which will be published towards the end of 2021 by Oxford University Press.

Prior to this position, Amanda worked as a lawyer for 25 years, 20 of them in-house for a variety of companies. She created and led in house legal divisions for the majority of her professional career including as General Counsel of the legal team at open source software company Canonical. She credits her broad-ranging legal career as the basis of her ability to lead on Policy whilst running the organisation in her role as CEO.

www.batterybusiness.in

August 2021 Business Talk | 19 |

Bill Johnson:

Building a Unique Culture that Persuades Excellence

I

n today’s competitive business world, leadership is one of the most crucial aspects of survival. Leaders who primarily focus on control and end goals or targets rather than the team are unlikely to succeed in these highly competitive conditions. The key is servant leadership, where the leader is focused on setting the direction on customer experience, safety, operating excellence, and organic growth.

Bill Johnson, the Founder and Chairman of The Liberty Company, has adopted the philosophy of servant leadership which has, in turn, resulted in continuous success for his team and his company.

After successfully establishing the company, Bill wanted to have an opportunity to explore the creative side of his brain and hence handed the reins of Liberty to his long-time fined Jerry Pickett. From here, Bill went into the film business and after gathering expertise he produced his first major theatrical film in 2004 – Just Friends, starring Ryan Reynolds. Over the next 13 years, his journey in the film industry was astonishing.

He worked on over 30 films starring big celebrities like Brad Pitt, Tom Hanks, Dwayne Johnson aka The Rock, Keanu Reeves, Jason Statham, Nicole Kidman, Margot Robbie, and many others.

Start of the Journey Bill is a graduate of California State University Northridge in 1986, and soon after the graduation, he embarked on his entrepreneurial journey with The Liberty Company, formerly known as the William J. Johnson Insurance Brokers Inc. Back then Bill’s office was sufficed in a desk and a phone which was used to call the clients. He built the business brick by brick turning it into a huge success with 12 years of consistent growth.

In 2017, he took a break from the film industry and travelled the world with his wife and children for a year. The trip was a beautiful experience filled with adventures and reflections on our way of living. After returning to Los Angeles, Bill realized the importance of inner peace and happiness that lies in helping others and deepening relationships and connections with others. He saw a great opportunity at Liberty and soon joined the team as the servant leader with the aim to inspire a special culture at the company.

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“

Since that time, we have done just that, created a truly special culture that is focused on the wellbeing of our staff and as a result, we have experienced tremendous growth and prosperity over the past few years. The experience has been deeply gratifying.

Bill Johnson | Chairman | The Liberty Company Insurance Brokers

August 2021 Business Talk | 21 |

“Since that time, we have done just that, created a truly special culture that is focused on the wellbeing of our staff and as a result, we have experienced tremendous growth and prosperity over the past few years. The experience has been deeply gratifying,” said Bill.

Among the Best in Business The Liberty Company is one of the fastest-growing companies and has managed to win people with its unique servant leadership approach. The same approach is followed with the clients. As brokers, their responsibility is to lead the clients’ risk management efforts by understanding their current operations and arguably more importantly their goals for the future. The team excels at offering great guidance and the company offers nationwide coverage in all aspects of insurance including commercial, personal, employee benefits, and even specialty bonding.

In order to deliver the best in business client experience, the company has assembled a “Client Concierge” team that offers education and training to all client-facing resources that include Zywave, ThinkHR, AMS Client Portal, Modgic, Nurse On Call, and GotSafety risk management training to name a few. By keeping the mission statement in mind—“Promote Peace of Mind, With Great Care”—the goal of the team is to offer matchless services and a standout amongst the crowd with excellent feedbacks. Quoting one such feedback that praises the unique culture at Liberty – Liberty is a Culture that happens to run a business. It’s an amazing company to work for and I am so grateful to have found this special place and to be here.

Appreciating the Efforts A major part of the success of The Liberty Company is due to the culture it nurtures. Bill’s goal was to inspire a culture that not only focuses on employees’ professional growth but also helps them lead healthier, happier lives and find a true passion for their work in an entrepreneurial environment. Over the years, the culture has proven to be one of the biggest assets to the company and the same has been recognized throughout the industries through various awards. Since its establishment, The Liberty Company has been ranked as one of the best workplaces and employees have regularly praised the work environment at the company.

At Liberty, the team members are often felicitated with internal awards at the end of each year to celebrate their accomplishments. These awards equally contribute to the fun atmosphere that Liberty promotes and are also unique such as The Mr./Ms. Wonderful Award, The Captain Liberty Award, The Passion Award, and The Good Vibes Award to name a few. Moreover, Liberty also conducts regular internal meetings on daily basis to appreciate the efforts of the team members.

Bill adds, “This habit is infectious and cultivates good feelings throughout the Company and reminds us all to have gratitude for one another.”

Vital Practices behind a Successful Career As a leader, your job is not confined within the cabin but measured on the scale of your company and employees’ growth. This job comes along with its own set of pressures and

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stress which cannot be sustained by many. However, Bill not only sustained the pressure but his leadership has helped The Liberty Company soar to new heights of success. He has not just built a successful career in the insurance industry but has also had a flourishing career in the film industry, making him an astute leader. The secret behind these decades of success is that Bill views his roles and responsibilities as spiritual practice and acts of service.

This spiritual practice has come naturally to Bill due to his 25+ years of Yoga and Meditation practice. Through the practice, he has been able to maintain the good energy in the organization and focus on creating an environment and structure at Liberty where people can thrive. He is inspiring people to pursue their dreams and keep moving forward. “This work has brought me to a place in my life where I have developed more of the qualities that truly matter in a leader—empathy, equanimous mind, and a deep knowing that life is always working for me and unfolding to my highest good,” adds Bill.

Bill has also faced his fair share of failures and the key takeaway has been to learn and grow. Being a veteran, he advises aspiring entrepreneurs to not give up when they encounter failures rather learn and grow. One can always find opportunities in challenging circumstances and it is important to keep the head high to keep looking for those opportunities.

Another important piece of advice is to continually practice Yoga and meditation if one plans to lead a peaceful and healthy life.

The New-Age of Insurtech Digitalization is at par with all industries and the same effect can be seen in the insurance brokerage industry. Bill stated that the two biggest factors driving the industry are the rise of Insurtech ventures and a large amount of Private Equity money. In the coming years, the industry is anticipated to be disrupted with advanced tech while new players lead the companies with peerless strategies. The insurance industry is connected to every aspect of life and business and relationships & people. If one is looking forward to building a successful career in this space, it is important to have passion directed towards this field.

A Great Recipe for Happy Life Bill emphasizes the importance of passion to flourish in any industry. Identifying the passion and then directing all your efforts towards fulfilling that goal is the key. “If you’re not sure what your passion is, look at the topics you are reading about in your free time. What are you excited to learn about?

What are excited to do in your spare time? What are the areas and subjects in which you want to learn and grow? What do you have a burning desire to learn about, grow and do? That’s your passion,” he shares. “Go and learn about that industry, meet the people in that industry and become a recognized expert in insuring that industry. That’s a great way to combine your work with what you love. That’s a great recipe for a happy life.”

Key Takeaway: “I’ve learned that in the most difficult moments, the practice is to stay positive and look for the opportunities.”

August 2021 Business Talk | 23 |

Brian J. EspositoThe founder and CEO of Esposito Intellectual Enterprises and his remarkable Entrepreneurial competence

Have you ever wondered why some individuals are so successful, doing what they set out to do?

From a distance, they may appear to be superheroes whose feats are unrivaled. However, if you look closely, you will find that the same couple of positive behaviors appear in each and every one of these people. Many people wonder how they can become highly successful, not realizing that they hold within them everything they need to achieve all of the success they desire. Successful people are where they are today because of their habits. Habits determine 95% of a person’s behavior.

Everything that you are today, and everything that you will ever accomplish, is determined by the quality of the habits that you form.

This is the story of Brian J. Esposito, serial entrepreneur and dynamic business leader, and founder and CEO of Esposito Intellectual Enterprises (EIE), LLC, who believes strongly in this.

He stresses “When faced with adversity, there is only one thing you can do: go forward. Allowing life’s hardships to shatter you is not a good idea. Allowing these adversities to deter you from pursuing your goals is a mistake. When life throws you to the ground, push yourself to get back up.

Continue to persevere in the face of adversity and take one small step at a time. Moving forward in difficult circumstances is really difficult and demanding. However, when some time has passed, you’ll discover that by taking yet another step after the other, you’ve ultimately surmounted the difficulty.”

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August 2021 Business Talk | 25 |

Given the accomplishments EIE and Brian have achieved, it has undoubtedly been a rewarding journey!

Meet Brian J. Esposito- The Man who changed the dynamics of doing business Brian J. Esposito is the founder and CEO of Esposito Intellectual Enterprises, LLC, (EIE). He is ranked among the world’s Top 10 CEOs for 2020 in The World CEO Rankings Awards by Adria Management, LLC. He is recently renowned for being a core part of an innovative team to build Nodle—the world’s largest wireless network and ecosystem of connected devices. For one of his early businesses, which ranked among The Fastest-Growing Private Companies by Inc. 5000 for six consecutive years, he has been highly acclaimed. In December 2019, he was featured in The Corporate Investment Times, the next-gen investment magazine in the Middle East.

Creating his Own Space Many factors inspire entrepreneurs to follow their ambitions of creating lucrative businesses.

When Brian discovered that he was “making other firms and ideas extremely wealthy, he recognized that he had “no control over the upside of the amazing opportunities he had put together. He was disappointed by the lack of financial compensation he received for his efforts in making firms extremely profitable.

As a result of this experience, he began to form his own businesses, and he began to welcome firms into his world rather than other entities asking him into theirs.

The Inside Story Professional networking can allow you to reach more clients, get more information, and ultimately develop your business and improve revenues. Before you start your business plan, you need to start networking in order to obtain new clients, develop your business, and even learn where not to go wrong or what to do to build your business faster. You’ll be able to create a long-term business using this.

EIE works on the principles of networking. When potential partners approach Brian for help, he matches them with a firm in EIE that will be most advantageous to them. He assists the partner in raising cash by utilizing his extensive network.

Esposito Intellectual Enterprises is an ecosystem where value is created - value for the companies within the holdings.

February 2016- The Incident that shook my world The founder shares a heart-pumping life story of survival and rising back to life “In February 2016 I was hit head-on by a drunk driver. This caused my entire world to fall apart. I am very grateful that this driver hit me, because I am still here, and she could have killed someone and ruined a family. I am also very grateful as my business model was wrong. That jolt to my life in a neardeath experience, as well as losing everything, forced me to look internally as to what I was doing wrong, and make some very tough decisions that allowed me to not only rebuild, but exceed where I once was, and those decisions I still enforce to this day.”

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Looking Forward You’ll discover more and more reasons to enjoy and be happy for everything that comes your way if you start looking forward to things more frequently, believes Brian.

He says, “I look forward to continuing expanding and enhancing the power and strategic influence of EIE. The world and ecosystem that I have created can add tremendous value to start-ups and up to fortune 500 companies from all over the world. I have finally created, and hopefully perfected, a model that can continue to scale, as well as something I find tremendous self-worth and joy doing.”

The Stepping Stones “Survival, ethics, patience, and not acting based on emotions all working together has led me to be at this point in my professional career.” quotes the CEO “To me, these are very important personality and character traits that need to always be intact in order for you to not only achieve great moments but also act accordingly when life hits you with unexpected setbacks or hurdles.”

Brian J. Esposito offers the most amazing piece of advice he’s ever gotten.

“Swallow your pride and ego and when you need help, ask. I find it very courageous and a place of strength when someone asks for help or shows certain vulnerabilities. That’s how we grow, not only professionally, but personally. Make as many mistakes as you possibly can early on so you can learn, and avoid making poor decisions or mistakes later on when you have a lot more to lose. Also surround yourself with exceptional professional services such as legal, accounting, and compliance, and build a strong powerful advisory board. Use resources like LinkedIn, build relationships with individuals in industries you are entering into, and ask them to be an advisor of your company to help you grow and navigate properly.”

www.designworldmedia.in August 2021 Business Talk | 27 |

GET YOUR BUSINESS TO THE TOP OF GOOGLE SEARCH RESULTS AND GENERATE MORE REVENUE WITH

THIRD MARBLE

“

If your vision is to make your business a brand, you can’t afford to be on the second, third, or fourth page of Google search results.

You just won’t meet the right audience to make any impact.

Chris Fawcett- Founder- Third Marble

Chris Fawcett started Third Marble with top engineering affordable Google solutions that help grow your business.

“We have helped clients with almost any kind of budget from $300 to $20,000+ a month with Google Ads. We are trying to make Google Ads and SEO affordable for the average American small business. Our goal is to help local economies grow by providing affordable digital marketing solutions for local businesses” says Chris.

Third Marble specializes in getting businesses on page one of Google with Search Engine Optimization services and Google Ads Management. The company has experience with search, display, remarketing, shopping, and YouTube ads. They also specialize in local search engine optimization and have helped national and e-Commerce website clients grow bigger and stronger in the market. | 28 | Business Talk August 2021

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Chris steers “Our main purpose has always been to help our client’s business grow, to help them bring in more revenue to keep their business open. Our clients rely on us to help bring relevant leads to their website so they can provide for their families, so they can keep their employee’s and those employees can continue to provide for their families. We’ve always looked at our business as a way to help local economies grow all over the country.”

How it all works- The Inside Story Let us say you are a client. When you sign up for the services your account is assigned to an Account Manager. That Account Manager meets with you to understand your marketing goals and disperse that information to the rest of the team. Whenever you need to make a change to your account or update your credit card on file, all you have to do is email your Account Manager. Then the team of Third Marble will figure out the best way to accomplish with Google what you need. With twoway good communication on your leads and changes in your business, the team creates a campaign that will work for you.

“We also have our pricing designed to just perform Google Ads management or SEO work but if the client needs a little extra collaboration or help outside of those areas we have options to make that happen for them too.” Chris quotes.

With all these years of support and experience, the team of Third Marble is so hyper-focused on Google that they know every update and change in the algorithms and new practices.

Their reporting is generated directly from the client’s Google Ads account and presented out in a way that makes sense. It also reflects data fluctuations from the previous month. Thus you can easily track if your cost per click has increased.

“Our business is built around the Henry Ford assembly line concept. We have specific departments that perform specific tasks in accounts. This allows us to be efficient with our work, which keeps our overhead costs down and keeps our pricing affordable for our clients. On average our retention rate is around 95%, which leads us to believe we are on the track.”

Aah factor! The Story behind the brand ‘Third Marble’.

Chris shares the motivation behind starting Third Marble.

“It started when the owner of my favourite local pizza shop asked me to build a website. I agreed and after the website was up and running for a while, the pizza shop owner said he wasn’t getting any phone calls from his website. I told him he needed to do some online advertising. “If you build it, they will not come.”, I said. “Having a website without advertising is like printing business cards and not handing them to anyone.

A few weeks later, the pizza shop owner called me with some questions about a contract he was about to sign. The pizza shop owner was approached by a salesperson from an online advertising company that wanted to charge him $1200 a month on a 12-month contract for Pay per Click advertising.

I couldn’t believe it. There was no way that there would be that many searches for pizza in one month for that small of a geographic area.

So I advised the pizza shop owner not to sign that contract and began advertising the pizza shop’s new website myself. I tried numerous different strategies to advertise the pizza shop online, including search engine optimization, email marketing, social media, and pay-per-click on Google, Yahoo, and Bing. | 30 | Business Talk August 2021

After only a few weeks, it became very obvious that there was only one truly effective strategy – one that was cost-effective and didn’t consume hours of the owner’s time each week – Google Ads. For such a small company, Yahoo and Bing didn’t generate enough clicks to make the management of the campaigns worthwhile. Facebook and email marketing were too time-consuming for the owner and didn’t help generate many new customers. Since Google Ads was generating 80% of all the traffic to the website, and budgets and resources were limited for the pizza shop, we decided to drop all other online marketing except for Google Ads. What fascinated me the most was – I had a hard time even spending $300 per month, let alone $1200. How could that “reputable” company charge a little pizza shop $1200 per month? Were there other small businesses that needed this kind of help too?

So I started asking other local business owners if they ever get business from their websites and if they ever had a positive experience with an online marketing company. Their experiences varied, but there was one common response – “No”. So I started advertising a few more local companies online using Google Ads and the results were the same as the pizza shop – more new customers and positive ROI. Seeing the opportunity to start a small business that could help small business owners everywhere, I left my job and started Third Marble Marketing. After a while, it became very obvious that there are too many internet advertising companies out there that are taking advantage of small business owners. So I vowed to make Third Marble Marketing a resource to help the small, local business owners grow their business by providing an affordable internet marketing strategy that effectively generates customers, NOT “traffic”.

Conclusion Google is the first place millions of people across the world look for answers to their large and little queries. If they’re smart, they’ll discover them among the first few results. As a result, websites on the top of Google’s search engine results receive enormous traffic than the ones lower down the order.

More than three fourth of all Google users never go past the first page of a Google search. Thus you must rank on page 1 of Google. A strong SEO presence has the potential to attract inbound traffic and help your company thrive for years to come.

BUILD A TEAM OF EXCEPTIONAL LEADERS Get trained by top business thought leaders and implement time-tested methodologies that will transform your business and result in real-time ROI.

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learn@growthinstitute.com

GrowthInstitute August 2021 Business Talk | 31 |

| 32 | Business Talk August 2021

CASERTA

INTELLIGENCE POWERED BY DATA TO UNCOVER NEW INSIGHTS

If a company wants to survive and stay competitive, they must evaluate their data and extract data strategically. More companies are starting to realize how important that is, and we not only create data solutions, but we counsel our clients on innovative ways to maximize their data. That data insight can increase sales, retain customers, sell products, and even make patients healthier.

JOE CASERTA CEO, CASERTA

D

ata is all around us. Every day, we generate a massive quantity of data. More data is being preserved as companies produce it and storage prices continue to fall. Second, organizations that have had success with data analytics now want to go beyond monitoring performance indicators and metrics to leveraging data as a fundamental component of their business activities. They believe that using data to create better processes, products, and organizations has enormous potential.

“A lot has been said about how data analytics may help an organization uncover new insights into customer experience, enhance operational excellence, and launch new goods and services based on a better understanding of patterns and potential revenue.

This is where the team of Caserta steps in as a professional,” said Mr. Caserta.

August 2021 Business Talk | 33 |

Caserta is an award-winning data intelligence firm with a reputation for creating bold, state-of-the-art solutions. It is an industry leader that can help maximize data value and understand how best to utilize it. Their business is built around creative thinking and harmonious collaboration with their clients. The team provides transformative data strategies and solutions to advance analytics-driven businesses.

Joe explains, “Each of our solutions is custom designed, built, and implemented to fit a unique business challenge. Our product-agnostic approach and innovation expertise guarantee the best analytics advancement. We specialize in Big Data, Data Warehousing, Business Intelligence, Data Visualization, Data Management, Cloud Computing, Data Governance, Data Integration, Architecture & Design, Implementation Services, Change Management, Strategic Technical Consulting, Training & Education, Application Innovation, and Cloud Management.”

Meet Joe Caserta Joe was born and raised in NYC and educated in Database Application Development and Design at Columbia University in New York. He has about 30 years of experience creating data solutions. Joe started in 1986 mostly trying to extract data out of transaction systems, and then in 1996 discovered dimensional data modeling and data warehousing. In 2001, he founded his own company doing data warehousing, business intelligence, and data analytics. Later he co-authored “The Data Warehouse ETL Toolkit,” which became an industry bestseller and has become the standard for preparing data integration for analytics. In 2009, Joe discovered “big data” and modern data engineering technologies. Over three decades he progressed from transaction systems to dimensional data warehousing to big data analytics to innovative and advanced data analytics applications.

“These transitions were all natural progressions that made a lot of sense to me. I became fully invested in all these paradigms and assembled a stellar team of strategists and technologists to perpetually push the status quo to take data intelligence to the next level.”

The Stepping Stones Joe met with a catastrophic car accident that he says changed his life and career path forever.

“If it wasn’t for that accident, I most likely would not be in data technology today and definitely would have not been in the position to launch Caserta in 2001. Prior to the accident, I was a construction worker/laborer. I sustained massive permanent injuries to my back and could not do physical labor anymore. I needed to change my career and studied Database Architecture and Design at Columbia University and the rest, as they say, is history.”

The personality trait that makes Joe so successful Joe has a fantastic piece of advice for all leaders.

“I would tell leaders to not view obstacles as hurdles. Embrace each challenge as a learning opportunity. See perceived roadblocks as opportunities to find or create a new path. As a leader, you must believe in your instincts; never allow others to dictate how you run your business. Listen to new ideas,

| 34 | Business Talk August 2021

but always do what feels right to you. Take calculated risks: if you’re not willing to take risks, you are giving up your chance of reward.”

Looking Forward “We need to continuously be a step ahead in data intelligence advancement, and we will be because it’s in our veins,” believes Joe. The CEO says that the industry needs to continue to expand data intelligence solutions so that they can eventually have machines doing the analytics for them. This will be the biggest stride in the evolution of data over the next couple of years.

The CEO states, “Soon we will see a lot of new innovation where the average person within business and the average person within IT will be able to easily ask a chatbot, ‘What are my sales going to be next year compared to what they were last year?’ As tools mature, as people using data matures, and as the technology ecosystem matures, data intelligence is going to be easier and more accessible.”

The Ladder of Success Today Caserta has made it into the Forbes 5000 list for the fastest-growing private companies and is acknowledged in the Gartner Market Guide to BI and Advanced Analytics Service Providers. In healthcare, they have built a custom solution to effectively interrogate electronic medical record details, which has helped thousands. The team also built a new data analytics platform including a scalable high-performance engine to detect chronic disease. They also earned the award of Top 20 Healthcare Analytics Solution Providers in 2015 and the Top 10 Fastest-Growing Big Data Companies in 2016. The CEO shares, “At Caserta, we have an internal Innovation Laboratory that fulfills our curiosity needs and proves – and sometimes disproves – our theories. Some current projects include the convergence of Data Intelligence and Blockchain that uses machine learning to derive Smart Contracts. Our rare combination of being highly technical, having executive-level business acumen, while at the same time possessing sincere client empathy enables us an unrivaled advantage to continue to lead, and eventually dominate, the data industry for years to come.”

Conclusion The CEO believes that the Data Industry has gone through unprecedented disruption over the past several years, and there is much more to come. The most compelling part of the evolution of data is the convergence of analytics and insights with business applications.

“We have gone from a very reactive state where we performed transactions, analyzed the data, and made changes to affect future transactions. We are now performing analytics in realtime to influence transactions as they are occurring… and the best part is customers love the enhanced experience!” says Joe Caserta.

June 2021 Business Talk | 1 |

www.businesstalkmagazine.com August 2021 Business Talk | 35 |

ONE TWO ONE ADVISOR Providing InsurTech & FinTech solutions for Insurance, Takaful & Banking sectors using Artificial Intelligence

If a time traveller came in 2021, he would be amazed at how we move around with our smartphones, how virtual digital assistants answer our questions and be perplexed by our addiction to social media platforms. What is now commonplace for us and driven by AI would be completely alien to our time travellers. There’s no denying that artificial intelligence is a part of our everyday life and technology will continue to grow in all facets of life offering new opportunities creating new employment and changing the way the world works.

Leaders have always wanted to know what the future holds. In six months, a year, or two decades, what will thrill customers?

What external forces will have an impact on their respective industries? What technologies are likely to irritate them?

Kevin Steer, a dynamic leader, recognized the changing nature of AI and machine learning, understood AI’s future importance, and stayed alert in logically evaluating the longterm consequences. He was convinced that new technology will completely transform customers’ perceptions of the finance and insurance industries.

Kevin Steer saw a future demand for secure financial services with complete transparency and founded One Two One Advisor in 2010 intending to create innovative FinTech and InsurTech solutions that would provide the financial and insurance industries a new dimension.

Meet Kevin Guy Steer- The Man who built One Two One Advisor - A multi-million estate | 36 | Business Talk August 2021

Kevin Guy Steer is CEO of One Two One Advisor Sdn Bhd providing FinTech & InsurTech responsive mobile sales, distribution solutions, and services for Insurance, Takaful, and Banking. For the past 20 years, he has been involved in the design and implementation of innovative IT solutions in the Asia Pacific Region including Malaysia, India & China, delivering highly scalable multi-lingual enterprise solutions.

The Inside Story Today, Kevin’s firm, One Two One Advisor is working with several banks and insurers & Takaful to modernize traditional financial services and insurance models. His firm specializes in integrating technology into the banking and insurance sectors and offers innovative solutions. Referral Management with Marketing Automation, Mobile Point of Sale, Online Direct Selling, Enterprise Product Configurator, Online Claims, Agency Distribution, Online Customer Service Portals, and Corporate Websites are some of the current offerings.

“AI, big data, machine learning, chatbots, Robo Advisors, and robotic process automation will have a huge influence on the FinTech and InsurTech industries to drive their growth,” he says. One Two One Advisor will continue to promote our game-changing AI solutions to banks, insurers, Takaful companies, and investment firms.”

Kevin recognizes his job as a leader and inspires his entire team to come up with fresh and innovative ideas. He feels that a group’s influx of fresh ideas is critical to a company’s exponential growth. Kevin’s role as a “techie” is to assist his

“

We specialize in both online cloud services and mobile app development. Our staff is familiar with Personas and how to use them to activate Marketing Automation processes

August 2021 Business Talk | 37 |

team in understanding banking and insurance procedures and the creation of data models. The staff is well-versed in financial services and insurance procedures, allowing them to quickly adopt innovative solutions. One Two One Advisor has a fantastic staff of 35 individuals.

“We specialize in both online cloud services and mobile app development. Our staff is familiar with Personas and how to use them to activate Marketing Automation processes,” says Kevin.

The Rise and Rise of One Two One Advisor The firm successfully carried out an innovative referral management solution to two banks under his direction, which was a very successful endeavour. The firm also launched websites that included Marketing Automation and Campaign solutions as part of this. The team also launched an online portal where consumers can review their policies and change their information, saving time and effort.

For improved customer service, every firm is investing in chatbots. Kevin didn’t want to leave any stones unturned, either. Multilingual Chatbots & Robo Advisors, as well as AIbased Predictive Analytics / Machine Learning, were deployed to forecast New Products, Churn / Lapsation, Fraudulent Claims, and future projections for Investment Funds.

“We believe that with the introduction of u12know, it will become a revolutionary information site that provides advice on lifestyle, financial, and (in the future) health goals. This will assist them in identifying their requirements and developing a strategy to help them achieve their lifestyle and company financial goals. This will be translated into the local language for each country.” he quotes.

Winning over the Pandemic With the ongoing epidemic, One Two One Advisor realized the need to provide financial and health services online, as well as lifestyle financial and health counselling.

Kevin adds, “In Malaysia, we established u12know ( www. u12know.com), a knowledge platform that offers lifestyle and financial guidance (for single, married, family, retired & my business). This will be expanded to incorporate lifestyle financial objectives as well as financial and business product suggestions, including our multilingual chatbot and Robo Advisor (which provides advice on financial goals). With the onset of Covid-19, the FinTech & InsurTech sector started to include digital online sales, where we included online digital services to buy insurance.”

One Two One Advisor has grown exponentially over the last decade. Here’s a look into the growth over the last 10 years. The blue bar indicates the customer and the orange bar represents the products and services.

He believes that in the future, u12know will include health and wellness calculators to advise people on their health and what they need to work on to get healthy; this will also include a “total health score”, based on the health calculators to indicate whether they are very healthy, healthy, unhealthy or at risk.

Looking forward Kevin through his experience has seen that most millennials in the Asia Pacific do not understand financial planning and frequently max out their credit cards and go into debt. He thus feels that there is a need to educate them on their financial objectives and propose items that they may buy online.

Before signing off the conversation, he was generous enough to share his tips on being a successful entrepreneur. He says, “a leader is someone who has foresightedness and prepares for the different types of risks that can crop up and assess the impact of those risks to be ahead in the race. Someone who can do this frequently will be more successful.”

| 38 | Business Talk August 2021

www.rankkeepers.com

August 2021 Business Talk | 39 |

EARLY BIRDS

connecting together early adopters and innovators to address real-world business challenges.

“

We’ve reached the point where we’re not searching for anything to do for ourselves, but rather how we can give value to our society.

The idea and solution we have built, has come from the market challenge faced by both the founders.”

-Kris Poria

O

rganizations that recognize and act on possibilities for change via innovation in a highly unpredictable business environment can not only survive but also thrive in the most difficult of economic situations.

Such businesses will employ innovation as a technological and strategic instrument to foster a flexible innovation culture and efficient business operations.

Early Birds is an innovation ecosystem that connects together early adopters and innovators to address real-world business challenges. EarlyBirds was built as an inspiration by combining experiences, enthusiasm, and services with the objective of providing higher value to society. Kris and his co-founder, Jeff Penrose, have identical backgrounds

| 40 | Business Talk August 2021

KRIS PORIA

CEO and Co founder

JEFF PENROSE

COO and Co founder

August 2021 Business Talk | 41 |

in terms of working in the private sector and living and working in numerous countries. They collaborate closely and see the importance of combining their expertise and passions while really knowing what they want to accomplish and the value they can provide.

Engaging Society in Actionable Innovation!

Kris had this new concept while working for a big Australian systems integrator. At the same time, Jeff Penrose, whom he knew from his time at Oracle was working in a startup. Jeff’s firm provided a unique idea that may have helped Kris with his assignment.

However, due to a desire not to use an off the shelf solution, the company Kris worked for implemented its own solution by building it from scratch, which ended up being a waste of time and not enough value for money for the client. After the encounter, Kris and Jeff saw a gap in the market and recognised the potential to establish an open innovation ecosystem that would bring together disruptive startup, scaleup and mature innovators with early adopters, and subject matter experts. The company’s name refers to the benefit that the platform offers to early adopters of startup, scale-up, and mature breakthrough technologies.

“To help organisations on their journey we have created ‘Edzlity’ as a framework to assist organisations to become Self-Learning organizations. Edzlity was born out of a desire for organizations to gain a commercial or technological edge while also having the agility to change with the market and capitalize on disruptive developments. We will continue to build capabilities and align our services to meet these aims using our platform, products, and programs.” quotes Kris Poria - CEO and Cofounder Challenger and Explorer EarlyBirds provides the market with two options: a selfservice platform subscription where customers can find Innovators to help them identify solutions or innovations to their problems, and SME-assisted programs that deliver a solution to any business or technical challenge or ongoing innovation as a service.

The assisted programs are known as Challenger and Explorer. The Challenger program is designed to tackle a single business or technological issue in a short period of time, whereas the Explorer program delivers continuing innovation as a service to the entire organization.

The EarlyBirds platform now has over 1 million worldwide innovators, over 100 SMEs, and over 500 organizations enrolled. The unbreakable faith of the clients comes from being true partners in the journey of continuous improvement and solving business challenges together. This also means EarlyBirds is pivoting with its customers to remain relevant and be an integral part of their innovation strategies and programs. | 42 | Business Talk August 2021

Looking Forward “The future objective of EarlyBirds is to realize its vision of ‘Engaging Society in Actionable Innovation.’ Using the Edzlity (Edge and Agility) framework, we hope to achieve this goal. Through a variety of innovation efforts, this was designed to aid organizations in becoming SelfLearning organizations. We will continue to develop solutions and align our services to meet these aims using our platform, products, and programs. As our civilization steadily automates the majority of fundamental human requirements, innovation will become increasingly essential, and we will continue to develop to enable it.” adds Jeff Penrose - COO and Co-founder Both Kris and Jeff believe that there is much to do in their roles to achieve their vision and goals. Kris adds that some of the more important things to do include engaging with true Early Adopters who fully understand the benefits of being innovative. This means moving on from ‘business as usual’, challenging yourself and your organisation to actively work on gaining a business Edge and defining what it means to be truly Agile.

“When we meet these people there is instant chemistry and a shared understanding of what is possible. Once we achieve this understanding and engagement we can provide them with the capabilities they need to achieve their own vision and goals.” shares Kris One of the things that sets the firm apart is that, despite the fact that it faces competition, it does not place a high priority on it. They continue to concentrate on how they can help their clients solve problems and alter and grow their thinking. They provide continual assistance to clients on how to improve their work performance and productivity, and as a result, they change their solutions to better support customers and everyone else involved in the business ecosystem.

EarlyBirds focuses on the insights they receive from their clients’ and they’re always trying to learn and pivot as needed to enhance their customers’ requirements.

Words of wisdom EarlyBirds aspires to build products and provide solutions that demonstrate clear value to businesses and startups. Kris feels the success behind the rise of a firm lies in understanding whom you are delivering to, respecting and listening to your stakeholders – Customers and your teams.

“Once you think that you are here to serve them and make their life better, you don’t need to think much about what you need to do.” believes Kris Poria

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Pramoud Rao: One of the Influential Leaders of the Times

Pramoud Rao | MD | Zicom

“Leadership is the capacity to translate vision into reality.”

-Warren Bennis

A

true leader works round the clock to convert his/her dreams into reality without thinking about failures or challenges. Pramoud Rao is one such inspiring leader who has carved a niche in the entrepreneurial space with perseverance and determination.

Let’s explore the professional accomplishments of the maestro.

About the Entrepreneur Pramoud Rao is a first-generation entrepreneur having over 32 years of business experience. Pramoud Rao is the Promoter & Managing Director of Zicom Group. Under his aegis in 1994, Zicom pioneered Electronic Security & in 2013, Spearheaded the concept of SaaS: Security as a Service leveraging the power of AI & IoT. In his earlier days as an entrepreneur, he introduced Fax Machine and coffee-tea makers in the late eighties.

Moreover, he is the Past President of the Fire and Security Association of India (FSAI) and currently on the advisory board. The entrepreneur was also associated with Schneider

as their Security Ambassador and on the board of several other companies.

Being an inspiration for millions, Pramoud Rao is a motivational speaker and conducted several sessions on Personal Branding & Changing Technologies in Electronic Security. He is a hardcore optimist and takes fitness as one of his top priorities.

Zicom: The brainchild of Pramod Rao Zicom provides unparalleled Electronic Security Services to our country. It offers a unique range of products and services to keep businesses and homes safe and secure at all times.

Having specialized in Designing, Manufacturing, Distribution, Sales & Service, they offer exceptional products and services.

These products, solutions, and services are powered by AI and IoT and are backed with a service network spanning over 1100 cities & 24*7 Command & Control Station.

Now they aim to protect every individual through a range of Safe T Series products –Contactless Temperature Measurement & Alarm System with Access control & Face Recognition capabilities to assist in COVID – 19 control.

August 2021 Business Talk | 45 |

Trust Matters the Most Maintaining an unbreakable faith with clients is of utmost importance in today’s business scenario. Pramoud Rao states, “In our business, the word trust matters the most.

Whenever we deal with our customers, we ensure that trust levels are always maintained. In the last 27 years, many of our customers continue to be a part of our business growth story.

In our business DNA, customer service is mission-critical; our entire organization is sensitized to ensure we deliver quality customer service 24*7 / 365 days.

What sets you apart from your competitors?

In this age of thriving competition, you ought to be unique and different from your rivals. Customers will notice you when you bring innovation in your technologies and services.

For Zicom, the thought-provoking leadership and not to lead with a herd mentality make them different from the rest. Zicom has always been the pioneer in launching new technologies, be it introducing the concept of Command & Control Station or launching products and services in the domain of AI & IoT. Zicom will always remain at the forefront of the technology curve.

Synchronizing with the Current Trends If you are not keeping abreast with the marketing trends, you’re doing great harm to your business. Keeping an eye on your competitors and the changes in the market is imperative to progress.

On the same notion, at Zicom, they attend international security shows while keeping a close watch on the latest technology used across the globe. Various committee meetings are held to discuss their internal technology and what they are doing to improvise it. Pramoud Rao says, “Since we do not claim to invent any technology, we adopt these technologies to satisfy Indian consumer needs.” They also design their services keeping in mind Indian consumer preferences & choices, price points & lifestyle.

Encouraging Creativity “Creativity is inventing, experimenting, growing, taking risks, breaking rules, making mistakes, and having fun.”

-Mary Lou Cook The Managing director says, “Creative and disruptive thinking is the new mantra. My leadership team is equally involved in building the culture of creative thinking in the organization, as Invention is the natural outcome of creative thinking.”

For the sake of innovation, they at Zicom conduct internal competition between employees to bring new ideas to the table and then reward the creative minds.

The leadership team also meets weekly for small brainstorming sessions on how creatively they can do activities for a positive impact on business.

Challenges in the Route “You should never view your challenges as a disadvantage.

Instead, you need to understand that your experience facing and overcoming adversity is one of your biggest advantages.”

-Michelle Obama

| 46 | Business Talk August 2021

Zicom has also seen a multitude of hurdles before achieving success. Nothing was easy for it.

Their business in the Middle East stumbled due to falling oil prices, which also took a toll on their Indian business. From abundance, they were then facing scarcity. “And it took us a long effort of 7 years to steer the company to safety. The biggest challenge has been to fight scarcity and avoid possibilities of existential crisis.”

Success Mantra Pramoud Rao states, “I used my common sense which is not so common. Having no formal education both in management and technology, I used the power of my common sense to lead the company in the best possible manner, and so far we have done reasonably well.

Currently we are charting our aggressive growth plan both on our products and services powered by AIoT.” In the Future The main goal is to re-establish Zicom in its new strategic positioning as an AIoT Services Company. They strongly believe the future will belong to AIoT both on products and services. Hence, they will launch a slew of products powered

by AI and IoT and backed by 24x 7 Command & Control Station services. With the Indian Government emphasizing Make in India, the manufacturing of Security Products in India is another goal, which Zicom wishes to establish.

Pramoud Rao says, “Once our products start rolling out of the manufacturing plant, “Productization of Services” will be our new mantra to give our valued customers a new wow experience of security and safety services.”

August 2021 Business Talk | 47 |

| 48 | Business Talk August 2021

Meet

Dr. Sean James Miller The Man Who is Bringing a Revolution in Eliminating Genetic Diseases

“

“At PDx, we can provide wholegenome sequencing with ten times coverage. Fifteen years ago, this was not feasible. PDx is excited to witness new technologies aid in the medical industries.”

D

r. Miller has researched neurodegenerative diseases for over a decade to acquire and build an evolving team of scientists and staff at PDx. They create the most comprehensive patient-specific profile utilizing an interdisciplinary approach incorporating Artificial Intelligence, Machine Learning, Genetics, Medical Brain Scans, and Clinical Reports. The team continues to make groundbreaking scientific discoveries to help the everyday person.

Meet Dr. Sean James Miller Dr. Sean James Miller grew up with a single mother who cared for himself and his siblings in Reading, Pennsylvania in one of the poorest and most violent places. His childhood was problematic and brought him to a state-regulated facility with a majority of his education. The birth of his daughter, Yasmine Elizabeth Miller, is what he calls his turning point. This was a key time in his life and a chance to improve his life.

Looking back Motivated by his high school calculus teacher, Mr. Robert Neiswender, he applied to schools in Pennsylvania and was accepted to Drexel University’s Organismal Physiology program with an academic scholarship. At Drexel, Dr. Miller needed an income stream to support himself and his family. With perseverance, Dr. Miller took an opportunity with Dr. Aleister J. Saunders to research the molecular pathology of Alzheimer’s disease in human cells and fruit flies. This is ultimately where Dr. Miller found his passion for neurosciences, particularly in neurodegeneration.

August 2021 Business Talk | 49 |

“The biggest factor contributing to my success is the environment in which I grew up. The negative experiences living in a poor and crime-ridden area motivated me to move forward and never look back. Since then, I have accepted this past and allowed my experiences to serve as motivation through my academic career and creation of PDx.”

Concluding his freshmen year, he was accepted into the fully-funded STAR (Students Tackling Advanced Research) program at the Pennoni Honors College. During this summer, Dr. Miller and colleagues developed the first Alzheimer’s disease transgenic fruit flies that can still be used for drug screening.

Ground-Breaking Advancements In an accelerated three years, Dr. Miller graduated from Drexel University. Passionate about neurodegenerative medicine, he ventured to Harvard Medical School and Massachusetts General Hospital to join the laboratory of the Alzheimer’s pioneer, Dr. Rudolph E. Tanzi. In Dr. Tanzi’s laboratory, he made ground-breaking advancements in the understanding of functional neurogenetics related to neurodegeneration.

The Rise and Rise of Dr. Miller During this time, Dr. Miller published a co-first author publication in the renowned journal, Science. Determined to find a cure for neurodegenerative diseases, Dr. Miller matriculated into the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine doctoral program in Cellular and Molecular Medicine.

At Johns Hopkins, he performed his doctoral dissertation under the mentorship of Dr. Jeffrey D. Rothstein at the Brain Science Institute and ALS Packard Center. In four and half years, Dr. Miller completed his Ph.D. with publishing over 10 international manuscripts with 7 being first-authored in journals: Science, Nature, Nature Neuroscience, Neuron, and more, an international patent on treatments for neurological disorders with brain-penetrating nanoparticles, National Science Foundation doctoral fellow, international presentations, and awarded by the Society for Neuroscience.

Birth of Pluripotent Diagnostics In 2018, Dr. Miller entered the post-doctoral program at Stanford University School of Medicine in the Department of Neurology under the mentorship of Dr. Tony WyssCoray. At Stanford, Dr. Miller spearheaded his research on understanding the breakdown of the blood-brain barrier in aging-associated disorders, such as Alzheimer’s disease.

During this time, Dr. Miller was awarded a post-doctoral fellowship from the American Federation for Aging Research and the Glenn Foundation to perform his research. One year later, Dr. Miller finished his postdoctoral program by publishing a solo-authored manuscript, currently one of the top-cited papers in the journal Frontiers. This is the moment that Dr. Sean James Miller founded Pluripotent Diagnostics in his apartment in Silicon Valley. | 50 | Business Talk August 2021

Pluripotent Diagnostics (PDx) is focused on eliminating genetic diseases completely with the knowledge that the complete lack of early disease diagnostics is hindering the ability to provide early therapies and cures to patients. The founder steers “PDx provides completely encrypted, HIPAA, CLIA, and CAP compliance to ensure the overall privacy and safety of their services. Additionally, PDx provides direct consumers to Dr. Miller’s communications. When clients contact PDx, they are in direct contact with the scientist behind the genetic testing which ultimately offers a unique personalized experience for each consumer.”

Looking forward PDx is driving towards finalizing their machine learning ALS/Lou Gehrig’s disease classifier and submitting it to the FDA for approval, with their international patent, “Methods to Detect Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis”.

“At PDx, we can provide whole-genome sequencing with ten times coverage. Fifteen years ago, this was not feasible.

PDx is excited to witness new technologies aid in the medical industries.” quotes the founder In parallel, PDx is developing their gene therapy programs and optimizing their Artificial Intelligence algorithms for Alzheimer’s disease prediction from medical imaging scans: MRI, PET, DTI, and fMRI. Additionally, PDx is expanding to an international audience, developing an “at home” test for specific mutations, and working with insurance companies to help more clients.

“At Pluripotent Diagnostics (PDx), we believe in a world free of genetic disorders, ‘’ says Dr. Miller.

Statistically, 7 out of 10 people die of a genetically related disease. PDx proprietary patented solutions enable early genetic diagnoses at all ages to create customized person-specific therapeutic interventions. Ideally, this can improve and prolong lives, even prevent diseases altogether.”

Concluding Thoughts “As a leader, it is important to change the perspective of what a leader is. It is not what your team can do for you, it is what you can do for your team. Get to know each individual and truly utilize the position to provide mentorship and growth. The specialized focus will drive the most from the team and allow the leader to leave an impact. Also, do not let your background and environment determine your future.

You determine your future and when you find your passion, continue forward.” quotes the CEO Dr. Sean James Miller.

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WALTER ROGERS: Disrupting the World of Sales Training and Transformation.

WALTER FOUND HIS DIRECTION AT AN EARLY AGE, AND HE CONTINUES TO PURSUE IT RELENTLESSLY TO THIS DAY...

“

We will be relentless in our pursuit for perfection. We won’t ever be perfect – but in the process we will achieve greatness.

-VINCE LOMBARDI

S

uccess can never be achieved without traveling roads that are full of obstacles. But with perseverance and resilience, almost everyone can achieve their dreams. Success comes when we learn from our failures, stand back up, and correct our course to a new heading. It’s that stubborn pursuit that leads us to success. And it’s that relentless pursuit that made Walter Rogers one of the most dynamic entrepreneurs of our time.

Even his company’s tagline reflects his view on hard work and relentless pursuit: World-class performance never happens by accident.

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Walter Rogers has become a leading entrepreneur after finding his direction early in his career and then pursuing it relentlessly.

This paragon of leadership began with several odd jobs before becoming a top-notch business executive. At the age of 12, Walter began his career by selling newspapers door-to-door.

He says, “From that point on, I always knew I was going to run my own thing.” With an entrepreneur’s instinct in his heart, Walter plunged into selling VHS and Betamax recorders at a video store. Rogers was fascinated that he could create his own income based purely on his willingness to understand people and work hard. “From that moment forward I knew that nothing happens until something is sold.”

WALTER ROGERS

President, Chairman and CEO of Baker Communications, Inc.

From there, he continued to flourish, and in the early 90’s he got involved in the sales force restructuring work at IBM. It was at that point that Walter developed his love for technology.

That love of technology, along with strong, supportive encouragement from his mentors, led Walter to launch his first company.

“Once you have one company under your belt, it’s hard to stop!”

Walter Rogers: A Business Entrepreneur In the next several years after that first success, Walter went on to successfully fund, build and sell two software companies to publicly traded companies. But he wasn’t done yet.

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Fast forwarding to today, Walter Rogers has now created two new businesses that operate in 13 countries and on 3 continents. At present, he is the President, Chairman, and CEO of Baker Communications, Inc. And simultaneously, Walter Rogers is also the Chairman and Co-Founder of CloudChomp, a software company that helps businesses and government agencies quickly and efficiently migrate to the cloud in order to modernize while achieving substantial savings. Both businesses are disruptive in their approach to helping their clients achieve success. To find out more about CloudChomp, please visit www.CloudChomp.com.

What is Baker Communications About?

Baker Communications, Inc. (BCI) is a consulting firm that helps enterprises create, implement, and sustain sales effectiveness programs for companies like Amazon Web Services, SAP, Honeywell, and many others. Since the establishment of BCI in 1979, the Company has helped over 1.5 million individuals reach their maximum potential in the workplace.

The company uses innovative training solutions based on data, not opinion, that include proprietary, custom, virtual and physical workshops, as well as a full line of services and tools that provide advanced insights into each seller and sales leader’s capabilities. Moreover, an online Sales Mastery Video Library, and several other new learning reinforcement applications, like SkillBursts, are continuously under development. Baker Communications helps sellers and leaders reach their full potential using data science, which allows Baker to individualize training and coaching paths, e-learning, and many more solutions that help sales teams unlock world-class performance. Walter Roger says, “We offer individualized in-person, virtual, and self-directed training, as well as one-on-one coaching to support our client’s ability to achieve their sales goals.”

Synchronizing with Market Trends When you’re an entrepreneur, it is crucial to keep an eye on market trends. And this is the mantra that has guided Walter and his companies on the path to success.

Curiosity and Innovation drive Baker Communications to continuously keep abreast of changes in the market. Keeping that curiosity alive about their customers, markets, community, and environment, helps the company spot trends as they emerge. In many cases, BCI has stood at the very front end of those changes to better serve their customers. They started ‘virtualizing’ the delivery of their courseware in 2003, long before COVID forced the world to jump forward into virtually led workshops. To expand the dimensions of the organization, in 2007 they introduced sales coaching to help individuals and managers excel, well before sales coaching became a de-facto standard for achieving higher levels of sales performance.

Walter Rogers, BCI’s CEO states, “We now have more innovative projects to launch and expect to remain ahead of the curve as a result.”

Stand Out in the Crowd Whatever Walter did in his career, he tried to add a touch of uniqueness and authenticity into it to differentiate his approach from his competition. He felt that this aspect was ‘magical’ when it came to getting smart, innovative people to notice you.

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Capitalizing on that same notion, Baker Communications sees the Data-Driven Sales Enablement approach to training and coaching as a “secret sauce” that companies have needed for decades. With technology being so prevalent in our lives, it only makes sense to use technology to help individuals become better sellers. Hiring the right people from the beginning shuts off the flow of sellers that were not a good fit for the type of sales role a company is trying to fill in the first place. Then, by assessing the team’s skill gaps, companies can easily adapt the training to rectify each specific skill gap to improve their performance and move one step closer to creating a worldclass team.

The Challenges Overcoming obstacles can oftentimes make you stronger.

You need to decide whether you’re going to embrace them or simply ignore them in hopes they’ll go away.

One of the biggest challenges that Baker Communications sees the industry needing to overcome is the “one-size-fits-all” world of training. The question, “How can we make training more engaging for everyone we train?” keeps haunting their entrepreneurial minds.

Walter Roger remarks, “Over the years we have learned that not everyone will respond to the same approach and that each seller has certain strengths and areas in need of improvement.

So, with that in mind, how can we make the training customized to each individual participant? How can we meet each person “where they are” to provide them with the best solution to transform their performance? That is when we started looking at technology and data to help us solve the problem. And after years of testing and improvements, we feel like we are in a great place to share our discoveries and innovations with teams and organizations around the world.”

In the Future The goal for the future is to transform sales training and sales enablement from an art into a science. Using data to scientifically determine a sales force’s actual performance needs allows BCI to target specific gaps rather than use a one-size-fits-all approach to sales performance improvement.

In doing that, Baker shortens the training cycle and time to productivity. Walter states unemphatically that Baker Communications will lead this next evolution in training.

Walter went on to illustrate his assertions, “Using data science to help make these decisions is like the diagnostic tests the medical profession uses to home in on your specific medical problem. If you take those tests away, you’re left with only someone’s best guess. I don’t know about you, but when it comes to medical opinions, I’m more comfortable when I see the data that supports those opinions.”

Walter then went on to say, “Why not use data science to help customers with their hiring, onboarding, training, and coaching decisions? Let the data identify a seller’s strengths and weaknesses. Then map training and coaching to just the skill gaps that we find. That shrinks the time to top performance and gets the sellers out of the classroom and back out selling.

“That’s what we’re all about now. If customers give us a chance to prove to them the science behind the data, we’re convinced they will become customers for life. And that’s what our free Tailored Fit Analysis is all about.”

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LEADERSHIP

APPROACH

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58

WHAT MAKES A GOOD LEADER, EVERYTHING YOU NEED TO KNOW ?

60

10 BEST LEADERSHIP PODCASTS YOU SHOULD FOLLOW

62

HOW TO BE A LEADER? TOP 10 EFFECTIVE TIPS

August 2021 Business Talk | 57 |

WHAT MAKES A GOOD

LEADER EVERYTHING YOU NEED TO KNOW ?

The current world moves at a breakneck pace and is driven by technology. So, strong leadership is more essential than ever. But what actually makes a leader suitable? And what makes a good leader influence the workplace? Some of the answers can help you avoid popularity contests and advance your education using a degree in management program, which can surprise you.

1. Keep your communication strategies clear Handling a group of people in a workplace starts foremost as what makes a good leader with good communication. Whether it is providing face-to-face feedback and an e-mail, good leaders speak out about what they mean and are accurate with what they say. These leaders are not passive-aggressive, and also they do not shy away from addressing significant challenges directly.

2. Keep your passion for your work high Good leaders absolutely love what they do, and they are not very afraid to express that opinion. Of course, you can keep being a good leader even if your personal and professional interests do

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not fall into a perfect match. You should think about what works the most in your work environment and develop your enthusiasm around that aspect. You may even find yourself managing things into a greater workplace satisfaction overall.

3. You should not care about being popular If your first apprehension is whether everyone likes you, you will come out less effective. Whether it is giving brutal criticism or searching for a practice that you think is unethical. You should learn what makes a good leader and get comfortable saying or doing things that are most effective to you and your organization, even if it makes you unlikeable on a temporary scale.

4. Keep your mind open when approaching employees Another characteristic what makes a good leader is being receptive to new ideas. Instead of resisting a change, good leaders and highly adaptable and flexible. These leaders are also very approachable and allow different ideas that do not match their domain.

5. You should work for your employees Managers can answer higher-ups, but great leaders also recognize their real mission is to ensure that the employees have adequate resources to work efficiently and effectively while providing the direct support they require to excel in the environment.

6. You keep things positive and encourage your employees Good leaders try to uplift their group, and they praise their employees when they do their job well. Taking a little time to train and coach your employees can significantly reduce any mistakes in performance. In good and bad times, great leaders help bring out the best performance from their employees by encouraging the very best behaviors.

7. You should respect the decisions of others From peer-to-peer clients and high-up reports, good leaders treat everyone like they prefer being treated. Strong managers do not feel threatened by the statement of others. They do not guard their territory and constantly try building bridges with others. A reliable leader realizes the value of beneficial relationships that are mutual and actively seeks these people out.

8. You should try building reliable relationships The ability to form productive connections is the fundamental quality of a good leader. Strong managers do not feel threatened

by others. They do not guide their territory but constantly build lasting bridges with others. A good leader realizes the value of beneficial relationship on a mutual scale and actively seek them out.

9. Try leading by example The best managers realize that what makes a good leader is setting good examples. You can put a few more hours into a significant project but treat others with kindness and respect. If you are a respectable leader, you should be willing and ready to do anything your employees ask.

10. You should never stop learning The most essential characteristic of a good leader is being a consistent learner. You should put knowledge before anything else and try building your skills informal learning like management degree programs. Your willingness to know more should always be the foremost thing you look for when diving into any project’s world.

These ten tips for what makes a good leader can be as valuable for you as you let them be. Although you should remember that change does not take place in a single day. Every thought and action are parts of a habit and can help you do better things with almost no effort.

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10 BEST

LEADERSHIP PODCASTS YOU SHOULD FOLLOW | 60 | Business Talk August 2021

For successfully running a business, you need strong guidance from the people who are at the helm.

Therefore, the best way to get guidance is by listening to podcasts from the most renowned business leaders in the world. In this article, we’ll discuss the top ten leadership podcasts you must subscribe to.

Top 10 leadership podcasts are: 1. THE TIM FERRISS SHOW It is one of the most popular leadership podcasts in the world, and it’s simple to see (or hear) why. For every episode, Ferriss questions a guest who’s at the field top and breaks down the techniques and routines they’ve managed to climb there.

Ferriss draws from every field for his guests and in an hour and a half, he dives deep into what pushes each of them to excellence.

2. ENTREPRENEURIAL THOUGHT LEADERS Entrepreneurial Thought Leaders podcasts are extremely helpful. Each episode focuses on a new speaker who has walked on the path to business success. Some of the questions involve how to sustain during startup grind, what you can discover from ‘unicorns’, and how to thrive as a woman in tech.

3. HOW I BUILT THIS In this podcast, Guy Raz talks to founders and innovators and discusses why and how their businesses came to be. Raz concentrates particularly on ideas that lead to new startups. Every episode concentrates on a diverse business and the people who made it possible.

4. BEHIND THE BRILLIANCE Lisa Nicole Bell calls herself an entrepreneur, artist, and snacks lover. Her episodes feature writers tend to be particularly appealing, and when she’s not carrying out interviews, she responds to listeners’ questions during in-depth solo recordings.

5. HBR IDEACAST The Harvard Business Review is a magazine delivered by the university’s subsidiary. It’s a notable publication that covers all kinds of topics including management, finance, strategy, and more. IdeaCast is one of the leadership podcasts that come under the HBR. It focuses on interviewing business leaders, and every episode focuses on a distinct aspect of what makes that guest a success.

6. THE NICE GUYS ON BUSINESS Nice Guys talk to startup founders, entrepreneurs, best-selling authors, or other successful, self-made figures. Every guest on their roster is awesome, but even more so is the fact that they issue five new episodes every week.

Every episode concentrates on a distinct aspect of business or management that you can improve, which should make The Nice Guys on Business a central fixture in your library.

7. EAT SLEEP WORK REPEAT This leadership podcast concentrates on how you can make use of your time spent on the job and balance it with your life. Host Bruce Daisley interviews several interesting guests, involving entrepreneurs, psychologists, and ‘workplace experts’. They include a range of topics from how to promote meetings to the gig economy.

It’s fantastic to listen if you’re an employee, but even more relevant if you’re a business owner. Studying how others have built their business practices better and further how to boost your leadership skills.

8. STARTUP The startUp is one of the rare leadership podcasts.

Instead of talking about founders and businessmen, it follows more of a documentary approach. The podcast looks back through history to some of the most exciting periods in the business world.

In between documentary episodes, the hosts also get the time to talk to celebrities, famous athletes, and the occasional CEO. If you’re involved in podcasts with fun formats, StartUp is probably the right one for you.

9. BUSINESS WARS Every company competes with another. Some of those conflicts are legendary, and Business Wars is all about chronicling the most vicious fights in the arena.

Business Wars produce episodes on famous rivalries like Boeing vs Airbus, Facebook vs Snapchat, Ford vs Chevrolet, and many other names. Instead of dedicating a particular episode to each rivalry, they usually create three-to-six-part series.

One common critique of this podcast is its dramatizations of historical events. However, it depends upon your personal preferences, Business Wars could make for an excellent listen if you want to discover how to win over your competition.

10. MASTERS OF SCALE Masters of Scale is a leadership podcast that talks about the journey, from startup to dominating in your field. The most notable names on the podcast involve Marissa Mayer, Ariana Huffington, and Brian Chesky – all, in their right, leaders of business empires.

If you want high-level advice about leading your team to success, Masters of Scale is a masterclass.

CONCLUSION There are several moving parts to consider while operating a successful business. It’s your responsibility to improve your knowledge so you can promote your brand and its employees. Leadership podcasts present you with an opportunity to listen to some of the best entrepreneurial brains in the world, even when you’re on the go.

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HOW TO BE A

LEADER ?

TOP 10 EFFECTIVE TIPS

W

henever we come across the term leadership, the first thing that comes to our mind is management.

We couldn’t agree more that a leader can be anyone who desires to be, despite their position in an organization. Furthermore, several managers do not own the leadership qualities that would make them actual leaders. So in this post, we will learn how to be a leader and 10 effective tips to become one.

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HOW TO BE A LEADER It does not matter whether you are a junior member or a senior of a team as we have already mentioned that position does not make a difference. In leadership what makes you a good leader is the ability to motivate and support your teams in moving ahead and eventually achieving their goals.

If we talk in a wider sense then leadership can go beyond the workplace, in any community with which you might be connected (for instance, a spiritual community, a volunteer community, or a normal community). Even if your influence sphere is relatively small, you can still play an indispensable role in leading the organization to victory.

So without any further ado, let’s move forward and look at the top 10 effective tips that will help you become a leader.

THE TOP 10 EFFECTIVE TIPS TO BECOME A LEADER

1. VISION Vision is the important quality you need to instil in yourself if you want to become a leader. Vision allows visualizing the big picture like where the organization or team is going and where they are heading, what they are capable of, and what it will take them to be there.

2. PATIENCE & TENACITY A good leader understands how to take a long way, be it a strategy, a condition, or a goal. Being capable of taking bumps in the road and remaining persistent without getting frustrated or upset is key—from small projects to corporate vision, tolerance is a trait that is crucial to strong leadership.

3. INSPIRATION Inspiration is as important as other leadership qualities.

When you have the ability to make your team visualize the end goals and make them passionate about them. It further involves keeping positive yet realistic behavior within the organization and encouraging team members to stay motivated and involved and make them realize what they are working on.

4. OPEN-MINDEDNESS & CREATIVITY Being a good leader means being exposed to new ideas, possibilities, and perspectives, and knowing that there’s no “right” method to do things. Leadership requires knowledge that success comes to those who are willing to understand how things are done. Further, they always bring in fresh perspectives to spur new ideas and try to think out of the box as much as possible. Leaders must listen, recognize, and be ready to change direction whenever required.

5. RESPONSIBILITY & DEPENDABILITY The most crucial quality a leader is having is a sense of responsibility and dependability. It means demonstrating those traits in your work but also showing them in your interactions with others. Your team members need to understand that they can depend on you to get the fair share of work. Further, they know that you will support them in

tough times, and encourage them to meet both shared and individual goals.

6. FLEXIBILITY Leadership also involves being flexible and nimble whenever the situation demands it. We all know that nothing ever goes according to plan - whether you confront minor roadblocks or large obstacles, you will have to be ready to stop, reassess, and discover a new course of action. Good leaders will welcome the ever-changing nature of business and face challenges with a flexible attitude - and be able to instil that same willingness into those who are around them

7. STRATEGIC & CRITICAL THINKING A great leader is one who thinks critically about the organization or team. They act within and have a clear understanding of its strengths, flaws, opportunities, and threats (and how they work individually to support or defeat these). They are capable of implementing coursecorrect measures whenever necessary and be competent to evaluate the work they decide and how it fits into overall organizational strategy and goals.

8. INTERPERSONAL COMMUNICATION Good leaders need to interact with other people that feel genuine. But it does not imply that you have to be an extrovert or a people person to become a leader. Remember, many top leaders self-identify as introverts! It involves being able to show empathy, engaging in active listening, and developing meaningful working relationships with those around you, whether they are a companion or a direct report.

9. AUTHENTICITY & SELF-AWARENESS One of the best ways to become a prominent leader is to be self-aware enough to recognise your strengths and your flaws and to develop an authentic leadership style that shows you who you are and how you do your work. If you want to become a leader then try to embrace the things that present who you are, and that will easily translate into you forming an authentic leadership style.

10. CONTINUOUS IMPROVEMENT Real leaders understand that perfection is a myth - there is always room for improvement on each level, from the individual to the team to the whole organization. They’ll always be ready to support team members to discover ways to acquire new skills or work upon a weakness, be prepared to recognize and implement strategies for supporting the organization as a whole grow, and, perhaps most importantly, be able to see inward and recognize the areas they would like to act on - and then work on them.

WRAPPING IT UP In this post, we have seen how to be a leader and if you want to become an effective leader then you need to follow these tips. After reading this post you will get an overview of the qualities a leader must possess.

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The Liberty Company Insurance Brokers libertycompany.com info@libertycompany.com

Promoting

“

We have created a truly special culture that is focused on the wellbeing of our staff and as a result, we have experienced tremendous growth and prosperity over the past few years.

The experience has been deeply gratifying.

– Bill Johnson

Founder, Chairman, and CEO of The Liberty Company

PEACE OF MIND with GREAT CARE. | 64 | Business Talk August 2021

BUILDING A UNIQUE CULTURE THAT PERSUADES EXCELLENCE Liberty has established offices across the country by partnering with leaders who fit our culture and are driven by our mission of Promoting Peace of Mind with Great Care and our core values of Integrity, Excellence, Caring, Kindness, Fairness, Teamwork, Good Feelings and Fun! Liberty aims to create value for all stakeholders by managing their risks with great care and providing industry best practices and counsel. As a company, we embrace change and welcome new voices as the best way to thrive and grow.

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