Built On Purpose

Alexander McCobin - CEO of Conscious Capitalism

Alexander McCobin is the CEO of Conscious Capitalism. His life's purpose is perfectly aligned to the purpose of Conscious Capitalism - to elevate humanity through business. In this episode, Alexander shares experiences and stories from his life including: his experience joining the wrestling team in 7th grade, his choice to pursue undergrad and graduate degrees in both economics and philosophy, and how a simple idea led to a global student movement known as Students for Liberty, Meeting his wife and the now hilarious story of the morning of their wedding day,Joining Conscious Capitalism as the Co-CEO and the transition to the sole CEO and the elements that make the Conscious Capitalism movement so powerful.

Alexander’s passion for liberty and free enterprise in undeniable. For every business leader out there, get ready to experience the inside story of Alexander McCobin and the rise of Conscious Capitalism.

Listen to this podcast interview and more episodes from the Built On Purpose Podcast at http://yscouts.com/podcast

Rob Kelly - CEO & Co-founder of Ongig

Rob’s purpose can be summed up pretty succinctly - “Rob believes everyone should love business and entrepreneurship”. Why does this simple statement summarize Rob? Well, he believes in creating value for others, and he sees business and entrepreneurship as a direct path to achieving it. Rob’s journey may very well be a perfect example of how many of our journeys look.

His current passion, helping employers create and promote their career opportunities with job ads that don’t suck, Rob and the team at Ongig are turning talent acquisition into the marketing focused activity it’s meant to be. This episode is, what I would call, organized chaos. There’s a potpourri of wisdom, stories, and opinions on everything from going to college, to starting a business, to swimming with dolphins, and even a little music trivia sprinkled in.

Listen to this podcast interview and more episodes from the Built On Purpose Podcast at http://yscouts.com/podcast

Garry Ridge - CEO of the WD-40 Company

Garry Ridge joined WD-40 in July of 1987, and became the CEO in 1997. One look at their financial performance and even the most skeptical on the topic of purpose-driven and servant-based leadership will begin to take notice. In this discussion, Garry shares his wisdom on: why empathy should always trump ego, why the most important leadership lessons date back to kindergarten, the reason Garry and the WD40 team refer to themselves as a Tribe, the WD40 Maniac Pledge that all tribe members sign, Garry’s advice to all current and future leaders and, of course, this episode wouldn’t be complete without a few stories of the uncommon uses for WD-40.

This episode is chock full of amazing lessons on leadership, culture, how to sustain high-octane performance, and some ripping good yarns along the way.

Listen to this podcast interview and more episodes from the Built On Purpose Podcast at http://yscouts.com/podcast

Cameron Herold - The CEO Whisperer

Cameron Herold wasn’t the smartest kid in school. In fact, if he would have allowed his C-average in school determine his fate, he would not have achieved the level of success he has so far. From his earliest days, Cameron was destined to become an entrepreneur. He built and led several businesses — many you may have heard of, including College Pro Painters and 1-800-Got-Junk. He admittedly suffers from ADHD and believes this form of neurodiversity has allowed him to see the whole picture when confronted with everyday business challenges. He’s the author of three high-impact business books, “Double Double,” “Meetings Suck,” and the “Miracle Morning for Entrepreneurs.” Cameron has been called the "best speaker" by Forbes magazine publisher Rich Karlgaard. He’s also spoken in 28 countries around the world.

This episode also happens to the first episode I’ve recorded live in our studio in Scottsdale, Arizona. It was an absolute blast. I decided to take the in-person opportunity and swerve into some lesser-publicly known interest areas about Cameron, including his Burning Man experiences, his fascination with art, and our shared love of music. This is a great conversation with the man known as the CEO Whisperer. Enjoy this one-of-a-kind episode with Cameron Herold.

Listen to this episode and more from the Built On Purpose Podcast at yscouts.com/podcast.

Luke Larson - President of Axon (TASER International)

Luke Larson is the President of Axon, formerly TASER International. There’s no doubt the news media has been sharing what seems like a massive increase in the deteriorating relationship between law enforcement professionals and the communities they are paid to protect and serve. An element of the story that gets very little attention, if any, is the way in which technology is helping our law enforcement professionals do their jobs better, especially given the fact that our world is being disrupted in every way imaginable.

Enter Axon. In my conversation with Luke, he articulated the purpose behind Axon — to make the bullet obsolete. Think about that for a moment — think about a world where law enforcement professionals don’t have to rely on the bullet to keep order and peace. Imagine a world where technology can replace the almighty bullet with something less lethal, and more powerful. In this very special episode, Luke Larson shares:

• The often untold story of how TASER, now Axon, came to be
• We touch on Luke’s two tours in Iraq and how that experience has helped him in his role as president of Axon
• The evolution of a product-manufacturing company to a SaaS and technology company
• The power of assembling a great team and the importance of clear & concise Values to guide the behaviors
• The way in which law enforcement is positively impacted by technology

I’m really excited about this episode — and I hope you enjoy hearing Luke Larson's story as much as I did.

Listen to Luke Larson and more Built On Purpose Podcast guests at yscouts.com/podcast.

Ben Brooks - Founder & CEO of PILOT

I am Brian Mohr, co-founder and Managing Partner of Y Scouts, and today I am interviewing Ben Brooks, the founder & CEO of PILOT, a career-management company designed to facilitate positive results for both business leaders and employees, with the end goal of making work more satisfying and fulfilling. Ben discusses his professional history, ranging from assuming great leadership and responsibility roles through top-tier companies like Lockheed, Enterprise, and Oliver Wyman.  After years of high-profile consulting work, Ben transitioned from management to human resources and began to delve into his passion for working with people, developing a fascination with psychology, influences, and motivations. He then decided to focus of his professional work exclusively in HR, and derived several important lessons about human engagement and performance. Ben eventually founded PILOT, a project that has truly and efficiently married his extensive HR and career-coaching experience. Ben is currently focused on providing a powerful coaching technique that helps thousands of employees empower their own jobs and careers. Ladies & gentleman, Ben Brooks.

 

For this episode and more on the Built On Purpose Podcast, please visit yscouts.com/podcast.

Craig DeMarco - Founding Partner of Upward Projects

Today I'm interviewing Craig DeMarco, one of the founding partners of Upward Projects, which is better known for its family of restaurants including Postino Wine Cafe, Joyride Taco House, Windsor, Churn, and Federal Pizza. In this spirited discussion, Craig shares stories related to:

• Lessons learned watching his entrepreneurial father
• The power of venturing off the beaten path, when visiting new places
• The underrated quality of having a beginner’s mindset
• Challenges of growing a neighborhood-focused business and the creativity that comes from hard times
• The amazing power of True Hospitality
• Why having a purpose beyond profit leads to more profit
• And, some other odds and ends that involve a VW Rabbit, and Alpine Stereo, Skateboarding, and a Playboy wall installation

If you live in the Phoenix area, you’ll love this episode. If you don’t live in the Phoenix area, you’ll want to listen in so you know where to eat the next time you visit the Valley of the Sun. And, if you have no plans to be in Phoenix any time soon, well, this episode is a great example of an inspired leader who wakes up every day with one purpose in mind: to raise vibrations. Ladies and gentlemen, enjoy this conversation with Craig DeMarco.

Listen to this episode and more interviews on the Built On Purpose Podcast at yscouts.com/podcast.

Katharine Halpin Podcast Interview

I am Brian Mohr, co-founder and Managing Partner of Y Scouts, and today I am interviewing Katharine Halpin, president & CEO of The Halpin Co. Katharine grew up in the “mad men” era of Mississippi in the 1960s, assuming a great amount of leadership responsibility at a very young age through the oversight of her four siblings, and through her working hands-on with clients at her father’s small CPA firm. She carried the knowledge she gained when she "escaped" Mississippi to work with Touche Ross in Dallas, which is now part of Deloitte.

Katharine believes we’re born with innate and unique skillsets, and that leadership, creativity, and innovation are her personal strengths. She’s always been itching to channel them appropriately, and this desire lead her to the significant work with which she’s currently engaged. Centered around the concept of organizational-wide alignment, Katharine wrote and published “Alignment for Success: Bringing Out the Best in Yourself, Your Teams and Your Company” in which she offers advice about the importance of leadership and self-diligence and how these things contribute to successful and positive business results. She presents several helpful ideas about time-management and self-care, and how they both have a profound effect on business and organizational efficiency. Currently, Katharine is overseeing The Halpin Co., where she focuses on dynamic team-building and cementing sustainable practices into businesses.

Listen to this episode and more interviews from the Built On Purpose Podcast at yscouts.com/podcast.

Paul Spiegelman - Chief Culture Officer at Stericycle

Today I am interviewing Paul Speigelman, the chief culture officer for Stericycle, a globally traded public company with over 25,000 employees. Prior to that, he was the founder & CEO of BerylHealth, a company that won nine awards as a best place to work. Paul is a New York Times bestselling author of three books about culture and employee engagement, and he speaks often on the topic to convince other businesses about the power of values-driven leadership and the ROI of culture. He also acts as CEO of the Small Giants Community, a membership organization of small-business leaders who believe that as a business you don’t have to be big to have a big impact.

Paul says the relationship between culture and building a great business has become a passion for him, discussing his journey from leaving a career at a law firm to collaborate with his two brothers to create a revolutionary new company. He reflects on the values his parents instilled in him and his brothers, and how it renders them kind, caring people with good core values and a strong potential for leadership.

Paul genuinely believes culture lies in both the grassroots origins and the outreach strategies of the business. He also feels companies flourish by selling who they are, not what they do. This episode is full of endearing lessons about family, teamwork, and genuine leadership that everybody will appreciate. Enjoy this interview with Paul Spiegelman.

Listen to this and more episodes of the Built On Purpose Podcast at yscouts.com/podcast.

Danielle Harlan - Founder & CEO, Center for Advancing Leadership & Human Potential

Danielle Harlan is the author of “The New Alpha: Join the Rising Movement of Influencers and Changemakers who are Redefining Leadership.” She's also the Founder & CEO of the Center for Advancing Leadership & Human Potential.

Growing up in a small oceanside town in California, Danielle’s perspective was slowly shaped by the conglomerate of open-minded, thoughtful people surrounding her, inciting her to question how she can go above and beyond individual success to truly benefit her community. Before pursuing a masters and PhD, Danielle worked for Teach for America and taught special education in a fairly under-resourced area of San Jose. She feels like she derived purpose and also gave back to her community through this area of strenuous, yet rewarding, work.

Danielle says leadership and human potential have been woven into everything she’s done, right down to her doctorate-level dissertation for a Stanford PhD in political science. After earning several degrees as the first person in her family to graduate from college, Danielle wrote and published her book, as well as founded The Center for Advancing Leadership and Human Potential. Danielle’s work as both an author and CEO focuses on what our responsibilities as human beings are to others, and how we can maximize our impact on others and the world through leadership.