Breakfast Leadership Show

Interview with Teresa Cain, Author of Solving Problems in 2 Hours

Teresa is an author, speaker, entrepreneur, and technology executive with over 15 years of overseeing global product and user experience teams. Teresa has diverse experience leading product management, product design, research, strategy, and innovation for digital solutions and as a consultant for startup technology firms.
Teresa is the Director of Product, UX, and Design at TreviPay, where she drives vision, strategy, and UX for multiple FinTech products and teams. She is the Founder of Lucid Startup Consulting where she coaches startups and serves as an advisor for Central Exchange, a women’s nonprofit, and DevStride, a project and portfolio management solution.
Teresa is the instructor of the highest-rated and bestseller course for design sprints on Udemy, 2-Hour Design Sprints: Learn how to solve problems and design products in just 2 hours vs. 5 days using Figma FigJam. Her book Solving Problems in 2 Hours: How to Brainstorm and Create Solutions with Two-Hour Design Sprints released in April 2023 is a Best Seller and #1 New Release in Business Technology Innovation Books.
Teresa regularly speaks at conferences on design thinking, customer experience, and product innovation. Teresa received a prestigious Emerging Scholar Award in 2023 from the International Conference on Design Principles and Practices including presenting her research "Putting Into Practice Evolving Design Thinking Methods at Technology Firms: The Evolution To 2-Hour Design Sprints.” She was also a 2022 Women in IT Summit & Award Series Finalist for Advocate of the Year.
Teresa has completed many certifications during her career in product, customer experience, agile, project management, and process management including Pragmatic Marketing Certified III ©, Net Promoter Certified Associate, Certified Scrum Product Owner, Certified Scrum Master, Project Management Professional, and Lean Six Sigma Green Belt. She also completed Northwestern University's Kellogg School of Management Executive Program for Product Strategy Methods, a program with a focus on discovering, developing, managing, and marketing products as a business. 
Teresa earned a BS in Journalism from the William Allen White School of Journalism and a BA in English from the University of Kansas. She earned an Executive MBA from Rockhurst University and is studying for a second Master's degree in Integrated Innovation for Products and Services at Carnegie Mellon University, focusing on product and user experience design principles.
Buy Teresa's book:  https://amzn.to/3zMMjM2
Udemy Course: Learn How to Solve Problems and Design Product in 2 Hours vs. 5 days using FIgma FigJam
https://www.udemy.com/course/2hourdesignsprints/?referralCode=3D0350BD6C05D09D290F
 
Website: https://www.2hourdesignsprints.com
 
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/cainteresa/
 

Stop Being Stuck! Interview with Rebecca Babcock

83% of Americans feel powerless, overwhelmed, frustrated, and stuck professionally and personally, and 76% have no idea how to change their situation and believe they have to stay where they’re.
Rebecca is the founder of The Babcock Method, a proven system that helps busy professionals stop feeling stuck and start building fulfilling careers and purposeful lives within 90 days.
Many top executives and emerging leaders have used the Babcock Method at every stage of their career to align purpose and passion with their career, resulting in sustainable financial abundance, increased productivity with zero burnout, professional success, stronger family relationships, and much more.
Before becoming a coach, Rebecca worked as Senior Sales and Marketing Executive for 20 years at global blue-chip companies and ad-tech leaders, including Conde Nast (VOGUE, GQ, LUCKY, and Glamour), eBay, and Taboola.
She also felt stuck while working her corporate jobs but managed to build a successful life and career while battling ulcerative colitis, a chronic autoimmune disease that between 2017 and 2019, caused her to undergo emergency surgery to remove her entire colon and five other life-threatening and extremely complicated surgeries.
Rebecca is a proud #nocolonstillrollin warrior and a graduate of the Institute for Professional Excellence in Coaching (iPEC), one of the world’s foremost coaching schools accredited by the International Coaching Federation of Professional Coaches.
Rebecca shares her links on the show: website, linked in, and the free clarity call session
Social media:
Website: https://www.rebeccababcockcoaching.com/new-pageLinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/rebeccababcock1/Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/rbc.coaching/Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/rebeccababcock78
Listener Offer:Listeners get a free 15-minute clarity call and from there a free 90-minute session.15 min call booking link: https://calendly.com/rbc-coaching/rbc-clarity-call?month=2022-07Strategy Call booking link: https://calendly.com/rbc-coaching/90-minute-rbc_consultation?month=2022-07

Featured Interview with Brandon McKee

Brandon's primary role as COO, at Win BIG Media is to plan, direct, coordinate, and oversee operations within the organization. He works to ensure the development and implementation of efficient operations and cost-effective systems meet the current and future needs of Win BIG Media.
Brandon's professional experience stems from a demonstrated history of working with teams to improve process and create winning cultures. His skills include People Management, Payroll Management, Cost Control, Recruiting, Business Development, and Human Resources.
Prior to joining the rapidly expanding WBM team, Brandon was involved in various roles in the fitness industry for more than a decade. Brandon has his Senior Professional in Human Resources certification from HRCI and is a strategic planning guru.
He grew up in the DC area and currently lives in Arlington, VA. When not at work, you can usually find him at the dog park with his rescue puppy Bruno and his partner Paul.
Social Media Links:
https://www.linkedin.com/in/brandon-mckee-sphr-b742a860/

Chicago Reflections

This is a different podcast episode, that's unedited (sorry, Chris!), but I felt needed to be shared.
Twenty years have passed since I left the Windy City, and as I returned, I couldn't help but experience a mixture of nostalgia and trepidation. Once a source of exhilaration, the cityscape now evokes apprehension in me. Not only had the city changed, but so had the entire world around us. Everywhere I glanced, I observed people struggling to keep up with the rising demands of life, while battling inflation, a fast-paced world, and an ever-growing list of stressors.
As the Chief Burnout Officer at Breakfast Leadership Network, I have personally witnessed the pervasive effects of burnout, and it grieved me to see these issues so prevalent in my hometown. Inflation has harmed American families, making it difficult for many to afford even the most fundamental necessities. In Chicago, I observed people juggling multiple jobs and responsibilities to remain afloat as they attempted to navigate the economic difficulties.
In spite of the chaos, I was also captivated by the people's resilience and resolve. As is the case with the majority of Americans, Chicagoans are no strangers to adversity. And despite the growing number of stressors, a sense of community and willingness to support one another persist. In my position at Breakfast Leadership Network, I have witnessed the impact of providing assistance and encouragement to those who feel overburdened by life's difficulties.
Reflecting on my return to Chicago, I am reminded of the significance of self- and other-compassion. It is crucial that we recognize the stressors in our lives and seek the assistance necessary to overcome them. At Breakfast Leadership Network, we endeavor to provide individuals and organizations with the resources and tools necessary to combat burnout and preserve their health. By doing so, we aim to foster a future in which people can not only survive adversity but also thrive.
 
https://FreeFromBurnout.com
https://BreakfastLeadership.com
 
 

Interview with Travis Steffen

Are you a growth-stage CEO? Want to absorb the high-level superpowers of other top 1% CEOs? Get in touch 👉 travis@highgrowthleaders.com 🚀My name is Travis Steffen.I'm the founder of High Growth Leaders, and I've started, scaled and sold 8 companies in the past 14 years. I'm also a mentor for Silicon Valley's top accelerators, I work with several venture funds, and I've been featured in the majority of the major business publications you've heard of.After getting my last company, GrowFlow, onto the Inc 500 (#312) in 2021, things were moving so quickly, and I was craving clarity from others who had been where I was. When we sold that company in early 2022, I made it my mission to help other CEOs get that same level of clarity - WITHOUT spending any time in their busy day getting it.In an instant, I help growth-stage CEOs (7 figures or more in revenue and growing rapidly) leverage the most powerful superpowers of others just like them, and unlock them for themselves.Are YOU already an elite performer and want to continue growing alongside top elite performers? Let us prove ourselves to you.
 
https://www.linkedin.com/in/tsteffen/
https://twitter.com/TravisSteffen
https://www.instagram.com/travissteffen

Interview with BizBash Founder David Adler

BizBash founder David Adler, author of the forthcoming book, Harnessing Serendipity (April 24). Adler is a veteran media, marketing, and event industry entrepreneur. He founded BizBash in 2000, overseeing its growth as the largest B2B media company for the event industry with over 2.5 million user sessions annually.
 
In the podcast interview, Adler explains the mysterious dynamics and challenges of getting people to collaborate. For Harnessing Serendipity, he spoke to a wide array of people—more than 60 individual “collaboration artists, conveners, and connectors” and duos across a variety of sectors—from charities to corporate cultures and from theater and music to diplomatic and political arenas. In a world that often feels divided and conflicted, these people have had extraordinary success at getting people to gather and work together.
Adler presents tips from Wynton Marsalis, Jason Alexander, Sarah Brown, Colin Cowie, and more. Each of them works differently, but all excel at harnessing the serendipities that humans inevitably present. The book builds on the realization that together, we can be more powerful than we are individually, and the observation that collaboration is fast emerging as an essential critical skill in all walks of life and endeavors.
https://www.bizbash.com/
https://harnessingserendipity.com/
 
 

Interview with Brian Lundberg

I help my clients identify and articulate their life's goals and aspirations and then design financial strategies they can employ to successfully move into their future with confidence and peace of mind.If you would like me to Serve as your Chief Advocate in reaching your goals and aspirations I would be honored to speak with you.Let's connect and begin this amazing journey together.
https://www.linkedin.com/in/brianlundberg/
 

Interview with Craig Alford

In this podcast episode of the Breakfast Leadership Show, host Michael Levitt interviews geologist Craig Alford about the increasing demand for lithium due to the shift toward electric vehicles. They discuss the impact of the war between Russia and Ukraine on the mining industry, the investment of automakers in lithium mining, and the potential risks of relying on a single source of resources.
They also emphasize the need for government and private sector investment in lithium mining to ensure a stable supply and production. Craig discusses his company, FE Battery Metals, and their portfolio of projects in Ontario and Quebec, and believes that his company is undervalued.
 
Mr. Alford holds a Bachelor of Science (Hons) and a Master of Science in Geology. He is a registered Professional Geoscientist (P.Geo) in Ontario and a Qualified Person, as defined in National Instrument 43-101. During his 30 years of experience worldwide, Mr. Alford has designed, managed, and provided technical direction for projects throughout North and South America, China, Central Asia, Russia, Australia, and Africa. Mr. Alford’s experience has included senior positions for several large mining companies including, Zijin Mining Group, China Railway, and Teck Mining Ltd.
During Mr. Alford’s tenure with the Zijin Mining Group he was part of the team that was responsible for an approximate $80 million investment in Pretium Resources Inc. Pretium now has production targeted for its Northern BC, Canada site in 2017. The other significant investments Mr. Alford was involved with at Zijin were the $298 million investment into the Barrick Gold Porgera mine and the $412 million investment into Ivanhoe Mines Ltds’ Kamoa Copper Project.
The Kamoa project is expected to be one of the biggest copper mines in the world. He has directly negotiated with several Heads of State, as well as assisted the World Bank and the China-Africa Development Fund in tax policy, planning, and investment risk.
 
https://febatterymetals.com/