Author: michaelfritzius

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Eric Girard

Eric Girard

Bio

Eric is a highly experienced and accomplished learning and development professional who specializes in management and employee development. He has over 30 years of experience helping improve the performance of managers and employees. His specific focus is on new managers and helping them transition successfully to their new role and make their teams as effective as possible while also maintaining high engagement. He’s known for his high-energy, engaging facilitation style.

Eric has designed, developed and delivered leadership, management, and employee training for Nutanix, Apple, Applied Materials, Symantec, and Veritas.

He founded Girard Training Solutions in 2007 and has designed and delivered training for dozens of clients globally in high tech, academia, advertising, healthcare, and education. He has successfully delivered training and improved performance in London, Amsterdam, Copenhagen, Paris, Dubai, Kuala Lumpur, Tokyo, Shanghai, Bangalore, and Cork, Ireland, as well as all over the United States.

His volunteer roles include being the Member Retention Manager for the Puget Sound chapter of the Association for Talent Development (ATD) and the past newsletter editor for the Pacific Northwest Organization Development Network (PNODN). He has been a member of ATD since 1992.

Eric is a certified Articulate Storyline Developer, Thomas PPA Analyst, Blanchard Channel Partner / SLII Facilitator, Crucial Conversations Facilitator, Crucial Accountability Facilitator, Everything DiSC Authorized Partner, Influencer Facilitator, and Extraordinary Leader Facilitator. He holds a Master of Arts in Intercultural Communication Training from Arizona State University and a Bachelor of Arts in Organizational Communication (Emphasis in Training

and Development) from California State University, Sacramento.

A passionate, lifelong learner, he is an Open Water Scuba Instructor and is pursuing the Master Scuba Diver Trainer rating. When he’s not designing or delivering training, Eric enjoys spending time outdoors with his wife and twin 13-year-old daughters.

Topics

  • Management Development
  • Employee Development
  • Team Facilitation

Questions

  • How do I help managers transition from being a high-performing employee to being a great people manager?
  • How do I develop managers?
  • How do I create leaders?
  • What mistakes should I avoid when starting my own consultancy?

Interested in this guest? Drop your info below!


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Christine Gravot

Christine Gravot

Bio

I started my business on Etsy in 2006 but I really didn’t take it seriously and change it from a hobby to a business till 2010. And in 2013 my business grew large enough to move the business from NJ to IL and my husband to be able to help me full time. Etsy gave and still gives the flexibility to be with family easier. As the business grew I knew that it was time to grow outside of Etsy as a brand. Then I started my shop on Shopify. As time goes on things change and I new I had to learn more and more on how Search Engine Opination (SEO) works if I was going to make it without doing Facebook Lives. SEO wasn’t as known as it is now. But it is the key to getting seen not only on Etsy and Shopify but it is a necessity for social media as well. My husband and I still

make signs but I also help other small businesses to grow using SEO and writing good descriptions and website content to attract your perfect customer.

Topics

  • Etsy – how i grew my business to over 19,000 sales selling handmade items and not supplies.
  • Etsy – how i can help other etsy shop owners grow their business with a shop critique.
  • Shopify – how i took my knowledge of growing on etsy to create a gowing Shopify business.
  • Social Media – how i grew my businesses with no ads and not going live on facebook.

Questions

  • How to start an Etsy shop?
  • Why should you start an Etsy business?
  • Etsy is cost effective.
  • Search engine optimization is not as hard as one thinks.
  • Turning a craft into a business.
  • Running a business and managing a family
  • How to optimize social media marketing
  • turn your hobby into a business with or without Etsy

Interested in this guest? Drop your info below!


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Luca Ingianni

Luca Ingianni

Bio

An aeronautical engineer by trade (yes, an actual rocket scientist!), I worked my way up from being a regular software engineer to someone whose focus is much more on understanding how to make engineering teams work together well to create delightful products.

An agilist by necessity and DevOps person by happy accident (I discovered the practices before I discovered the term), I have well-reasoned prespectives and war stories to share on how to organise and run modern product development.

As someone who started out in safety-critical and embedded products, I have ample perspective to share on both.

I also host two podcasts myself, and frequently deliver trainings on a variety of subjects, so like to think I’m reasonably articulate.

Topics

  • Product development
  • Agile
  • Scaled Agile (e.g. SAFe)
  • Modern engineering practices
  • DevOps
  • Safety-critical
  • Mechanical engineering
  • Electrical engineering
  • Software engineering
  • Embedded systems
  • IoT
  • Systems Architecture
  • Team Structures

Questions

  • How to apply Agile?
  • Why should I apply Agile practices (or not)?
  • What’s DevOps?
  • How do I apply DevOps?
  • Typical mistakes in Agile?
  • How do I scale Agile practices across the entire enterprise?
  • How should I structure my teams for maximum success?
  • Does agile work for embedded systems?
  • Does agile work for safety-critical systems?

Interested in this guest? Drop your info below!


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Charles Read

Charles Read

Bio

Mr. Read’s companies have provided full-service payroll services, payroll tax services, and other payroll-related services since 1991.

Charles is an accomplished senior executive and entrepreneur with more than fifty years of financial leadership experience in a broad range of industries and the author of four books.

His latest book “The Payroll Book: A Guide For Small Businesses and Startups” is currently #25 in Small Business Books section on Amazon.

You can view his previous media appearances here: https://getpayroll.com/why-getpayroll/about-charles-read/

Topics

  • Payroll
  • Small Business
  • Accounting
  • Entrepreneurship
  • Veterans Affairs

Questions

  • I received a IRS notice. What should I do now?
  • Top 5 tips to avoid employment tax penalties
  • Why PEO sucks?
  • Payroll Disaster Recovery Plan:11 Point Checklist
  • Chinese Overtime: Is it for your company?
  • 5 Pre-Tax Deductions you should be aware of

Interested in this guest? Drop your info below!


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James Arnold

James Arnold

Bio

Change agent, adventurer, dog father, elite nerd, and drunken cooking master chef with a knack for finding purple squirrels, kine grindz, and hidden happenings.

Topics

  • Talent Acquisition
  • Job/Career Coach
  • Remote Working
  • Robotics
  • AR/VR
  • Gaming

Questions

  • How to get noticed by recruiters.
  • What to do when you get laid off.
  • Anything job search related.

Interested in this guest? Drop your info below!


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TJ Vorva

TJ Vorva

Bio

My Name Is TJ Vorva. I am a marketer with a background in digital marketing. In my free time, I coach high school and NCAA men’s volleyball for various teams in the St. Louis area. I am going into year 5 in the marketing industry. I have had many different clients in different industries including large companies, small businesses, politicians, unions, authors, sports teams, toy companies, and many more. Through my experience, I have learned that each client has a set of needs and challenges. A cookie-cutter marketing approach will not work. With the digital landscape changing every day, marketing efforts should also adapt.

Topics

  • Marketing trends
  • Small business marketing
  • Digital Marketing
  • Digital marketing trends
  • New software or tech in the marketing industry
  • Social Media Marketing
  • Volleyball

Questions

  • Why is social media marketing important?
  • How do I create a social media marketing strategy?
  • What social platforms are best?
  • What is event marketing?

Interested in this guest? Drop your info below!


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Derek Rowe

Derek Rowe

Bio

Some facts about me

I grew up on a farm. My father taught me what hard work is all about and I’m very grateful for the lessons, I love soccer and I’m a huge Liverpool supporter..

I was expelled from school at 14. Over the next 2 years I was in and out of different schools, I have no formal education from school.

I was infatuated with drug dealers since I was a young boy. The Reality of my life was, I didn’t like myself so I created a persona. I loved the hard work on my father’s farm, I was good at it but by the time I was 18, I could make way more from drugs I chose easy over hard.

At 21, I bought a house and left full time work to become an armchair drug dealer, using my phone to set all the deals up… I consumed cocaine most days as I was so unhappy with my life It looked like I had everything, flashy cars, clothes , money but on the inside, I had nothing..

I got to travel the world on vacations every few months in my twenties, thinking that would make me happy, it didn’t. Most days I had thoughts of suicide I lost everything by age 29 from gambling. I checked in to a treatment center for 10 months. By age 31 I was operating a successful personal training gym.

I went back taking cocaine. At age 32 I had my beautiful boy Leon. My self sabotage pattern was to build something successful, then destroy it on repeat over the next few years.. I was still unhappy everyday, until I met someone who changed my life at age 36, my mentor and now a close friend and confidante.

It has taken 3 years of hard work to start operating consistently at a decent level, especially mentally. I can’t express how important it is to invest in yourself, and invest into people who can open your eyes to the possibility of life’s offerings… I’m now 39 and becoming the man I know I can be, and always wanted to be. I have and will continue to lead and guide people to transforming their lives, through my skills and valuable life experience..

Life experience is so valuable. I have a PHD in it without the papers. Never give up; use your adversities to your advantage. The day will come when you can share your story and not be ashamed of your past. Use it with the best intentions to lead others in a positive way..

I always thought my life was over but now realise it’s only the beginning. Start your journey with an honest review of your life, it’s a good starting place. Build on it from there, failure is your biggest opportunity to keep going until you succeed. If I can do it, so can you…

We all have our own unique experiences. Life’s lessons may be harsh or maybe they are a test to see what we are made of. It takes some of us many years to realize we are worth more than how we think, speak, and operate in the world. Those who know they are destined for more will win eventually.

Have faith, you will succeed.

Topics

  • Empowering people. to transform their mind through mental fitness
  • Empowering people to use Training and Nutrition methods to experience themselves in their best shape.
  • Drug dealing and crime
  • Family life
  • The power of using social media to expand your business.

Questions

  • Tell them how your life story can inspire others to transform their lives.
  • How do your methods and principles change lives?
  • How do you effectively set goals and achieve them

Interested in this guest? Drop your info below!


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Teaching Artist Podcast

Teaching Artist Podcast

Show Description

Through conversations with teaching artists, an art educators’ support group, and resources like lesson plans and workshops, we are building community and sharing stories to connect our islands and make equitable liberatory teaching the norm.Teaching Artist podcast was started by Rebecca Potts Aguirre, an artist and educator. She interviews practicing artists who are also educators in K-12 and community settings. This podcast is dedicated to discussions of teaching art, making art, and how those things overlap and feed each other.

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Back 2 Brick LEGO Podcast

Back 2 Brick LEGO Podcast

Show Description

The Back 2 Brick LEGO Podcast focuses on, well, LEGO. I talk with fellow LEGO builders from around the world about their work and what inspired them to build. I also talk about the LEGO news each week (Bricking News) to catch up on all things the LEGO Group came out with during the week. But the overall goal is to talk about imagination and creativity. LEGO is a wonderful tool to encourage it, but what else in life does? I want to inspire people to realize that being creative is part of life, and that we need to keep the imagination alive!

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What’s Your Excuse?

What’s Your Excuse?

Show Description

I interview people who have overcome adversity or thrived in spite of difficult life circumstances; people who have struck out on their own to start unusual new businesses; people who have real world tested advice that helps my listeners get unstuck; and people that I personally find interesting or inspiring. My goal is that by the end of the show my audience will be saying to themselves if that person can do it, then what’s my excuse?

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