Play Your Position With Mary Lou Kayser

Happy New Year, Team PYP! In today's episode, I present to you the voices of my 30 phenomenal guests from the past 12 months who gave us wisdom, encouragement and reminders that it's okay that we don't get it right every time. That we can bounce back. That we can rebuild. That we can build something new from scratch. That like the tide, our lives ebb and flow. And at the core of it all is to remember that you are a leader, and in turn, show up in service and love. Enjoy today's episode, and we'll catch you on the other side. = = = = = My latest book, The Far Unlit Unknown -- is available now! Grab your copy here  Thanks so much for listening and for your ongoing support of my creative work and this podcast! = = = = = The Team here at PYP has put together another uplifting, insightful, and inspiring show for you today. Our goal is to bring you timely, relevant, and useful conversations so that you can experience more success, energy, and life on your leadership journey.  Here are a few ways I can help you: Sh

Tim Tortora started working in Hollywood over 30 years ago as a tape operator in a recording studio and worked his way up through the ranks to CFO by 2008. He learned a lot along the way and worked with some amazing people and some of the biggest companies ( Harpo Films, Mandalay Entertainment, Sony Pictures, Disney, TriStar Pictures, Columbia Pictures). He did it all having no family connection or friends who sat in key positions in the business. Since he started working as a CFO in 2008, the industry changed substantially and his client list migrated to working with content creators who produce indie features, TV movies, feature films, branded content, blogs and online short form series. During his career, Tim has served as Executive in Charge of Production and Finance for Oprah Winfrey’s feature film & TV production arm, Harpo Films, in charge of all aspects of production on such films as “Tuesdays With Morrie” (Jack Lemmon, Hank Azaria), “Amy & Isabelle” (Elisabeth Shue), “The Wedding” (Halle Berr

Brooke Chapman started her career as a television journalist before moving into corporate communications and public relations roles, advising leading brands across the mining, travel, property, recruitment, and not-for-profit sectors. Today, Brooke Chapman is the Executive Director for ThreeBy3 and 9Boxes. Having worked within and alongside marketing teams for over 10 years, Brooke made the transition into strategic marketing roles and has led the marketing functions for leading plaintiff litigation firm Shine Lawyers, disability services provider Endeavour Foundation and most recently, Australia’s largest privately-owned retirement village operator, RetireAustralia. Brooke’s expertise lies in working with boards and business owners, transforming underperforming marketing functions by transitioning organizations out of tactical lead generation and into a strategic marketing methodology aligned with broader business. Brooke has a proven track record delivering strong commercial results for large organizations

The recent release of artificial intelligence apps like Lensa and ChatGPT are casuing a huge commotion across the Internet right now. In today's episode, I focus on the ai photo app Lensa and its widespread implications. Tons of interesting questions we all need to be asking. You won't want to miss this episode! = = = = = Click here to check out the blog post of this episode My latest book, The Far Unlit Unknown -- is available now! Grab your copy here  Thanks so much for listening and for your ongoing support of my creative work and this podcast! = = = = = The Team here at PYP has put together another uplifting, insightful, and inspiring show for you today. Our goal is to bring you timely, relevant, and useful conversations so that you can experience more success, energy, and life on your leadership journey.  Here are a few ways I can help you: Share this episode with one person who could use a boost of inspiration and positivity today. Bring me in to speak at your next event. Book a free call with me today

Zack Booth is the Founder of Driving For Dollars Mastery, where he helps people replicate his success through real estate investing. Just a few years ago, Zack was a window cleaner. You can even find his window cleaning tutorial videos on YouTube with millions of views. He even ended up on the history channel because of those window cleaning tutorial videos. Although he achieved success with his window cleaning business, he always dreamt of being a real estate investor. Taking a leap of faith, he walked away from window cleaning, and within a handful of years, he was making over a million dollars per year from real estate investing. Zack now has his own company, a successful podcast and YouTube channel where he dedicates his time giving back and helping others get started in the competitive game of real estate. This year, Zack launched the Driving For Dollars Mastery podcast and it is already in the top 1% of podcasts in global popularity. Recently on his YouTube channel, he did a 40 day challenge. The goal

Valerie Hayes is on a mission to help small businesses beat the odds and push through the roadblocks to become an industry leader. She helps overburdened entrepreneurs, small business owners, and CEOs run their companies like a high-performance sports car. Fast and effective. As a Fractional COO, Valerie helps untangle everything that’s not working smoothly, sorts it all out, and puts it back together. No more late nights stuck at your desk trying to figure it all out. Valerie’s background as a business owner, human resources professional in Fortune 500 companies, and coach/mentor for high achievers enables her to bring a multi-faceted, collaborative approach to every aspect of business, and she’s passionate about sharing her actionable insights with audiences around the world. Valerie is convinced that fewer businesses would fail if people knew more about how to run their business well and how easy it can be. Her direct, down-to-earth approach takes the mystery out of running a business. = = = = = My latest

Jack Tompkins is the owner of a consulting firm with the best name ever: Pineapple Consulting Firm. Based out of Charlotte, NC, Jack absolutely loves helping small businesses become data-driven! Originally from Connecticut, Jack spent years after college in Corporate America with roles ranging from analyst to partnership manager, but moved down to Charlotte and started his company, Pineapple Consulting Firm. Now he and his team help small businesses become more data-driven by creating KPI (Key Performance Indicator) dashboards with visual representations of their performance along with analytical support to fully tell the story of their business. My latest book, The Far Unlit Unknown -- is available now! Grab your copy here >>> www.maryloukayser.com Thanks so much for listening and for your ongoing support of my creative work and this podcast! = = = = = The Team here at PYP has put together another uplifting, insightful, and inspiring show for you today. Our goal is to bring you timely, relevant, and useful c

When you think about a work environment, what immediately comes to mind? For many people, their work environment is a physical place -- an office, a renovated closet, even the kitchen table. My guest today talks about another kind of work environment -- our digital spaces, where many of us spend considerable time as well. Ian Robinson and his team at Enliven design and build highly functional, collaborative web apps for expert operational and project management processes. Ian works with established professional services firms - from construction to accounting - which have a unique worldview and proprietary operations to build a sustainable and healthy culture of expertise through the ongoing practice of product development. While Ian’s natural bent toward process improvement and the development skills he has cultivated over the years make him an astute leader, it is his genuine desire to help companies create healthier workplaces through custom software that sets him apart from a largely sterile sector. For I

Content Anxiety Syndrome is the name of a disorder I made up to explain what's happening to a lot of people. It is yet another unnecessary and heartbreaking side effect of the Internet Age plaguing far too many amazing people who have fallen into the trap of thinking they must “make more content” or else risk irrelevance. If you are experiencing too much time on your laptop or phone making content to share on the social channels; if your kids are telling you to get off the computer; if you have headaches about or fears that somehow you aren't putting out enough content compared to everyone else, you will want to listen to this episode.  = = = = = My latest book, The Far Unlit Unknown -- will be available later this fall wherever books are sold. Be sure to check it out and get a copy! Thanks so much for listening and for your ongoing support of my work and this podcast! = = = = = The Team here at PYP has put together another uplifting, insightful, and inspiring show for you today. Our goal is to bring you time

Carol Sanford is an award-winning business educator, summit Producer, podcaster, and author. She is a consistently recognized thought leader working side by side with Fortune 500 and new economy executives in designing and leading systemic business change and design. Through her university and in-house educational offerings, global speaking platforms, multi-award-winning books, and human development work, Carol works with executive leaders who see the possibility to change the nature of work through developing people and work systems that ignite motivation everywhere. For four decades, Carol has worked with great leaders of successful businesses such as Google, DuPont, Intel, P&G, and Seventh Generation, educating them to develop their people and ensure a continuous stream of innovation that continually deliver extraordinary results. Carol is the author of The Regenerative Business, The Responsible Entrepreneur, The Responsible Business, and No More Feedback: Cultivate Consciousness at Work. Her books hav

Dirk van Reenen is the founder and CEO of BERGflow, a company that specializes in helping small and medium sized businesses build better teams to grow faster, with higher profits, and more time freedom. Dirk is an award-winning entrepreneur, international consultant, trainer, and former CEO of an $800 million a year sales organization. After a decade of experience in building fast growing companies by focusing on building strong teams, Dirk made some huge life changes in 2017. Since 2017, Dirk has been focused on his real passion with BERGflow in working with ordinary small and medium sized business owners that really want to elevate their business and life by focusing on their people. Learning how to hire the right people based on company culture, values, and vision, and then building collaborative teams in the workplace. It’s the X Factor of growing and scaling successful business today, and it’s what he specializes in. = = = = = My latest book, The Far Unlit Unknown -- will be available on October 30, 2022

My personal experience with self-promotion isn't exactly the poster board for how to do it well. Like most people, I'd rather spend my time doing just about anything else besides telling the world about myself. Unfortunately, there is a direct correlation between how effective our self promotion efforts are and how many zeroes are in our bank account. In today's episode, I share some tips about how to self promote, and provide an example of a self promotion piece I'm sharing on my LinkedIn feed this week. You can see how I used my self promotion piece on my website here  And speaking of self promotion -- my latest book, The Far Unlit Unknown -- will be available on October 30, 2022. So be sure to check it out and get a copy! Thanks so much for listening and for your ongoing support of my work and this podcast!

You still have made a choice. What is it costing us to not make decisions? I explore this quesiton in today's solo episode of the Play Your Position Podcast. Musical excerpt from "Freewill" thanks to RUSH Enjoy! === ***My latest book The Far Unlit Unknown launchs on October 30th!!! Stay tuned for details!!!*** = = = = = The Team here at PYP has put together another uplifting, insightful, and inspiring show for you today. Our goal is to bring you timely, relevant, and useful conversations so that you can experience more success, energy, and life on your leadership journey.  Here are a few ways I can help you: Share this episode with one person who could use a boost of inspiration and positivity today. Grab your copy of my leadership playbook that teaches you the 11 skills you can quickly master to become an exceptional leader.   Buy one of my books on Amazon and leave me a 5-star review. How's your writing these days? Is what you write and say more "ho-hum" than "oh ya!" Let's work on making your writing w

Anthony "Tony" Wall is the founder and president of Noēsis, a non-profit dedicated to issues of human sustainability, to examine evolutionary influence upon modern behavior, and to one day free humankind from the churn of perpetual conflict. Wall, who comes from a family of nine, graduated from the William Penn Charter School in Philadelphia. He then moved on to Chicago, where he graduated from Lake Forest College. Wall credits his Liberal Arts education as the catalyst for his ongoing interest in existential philosophy. He spent two decades of his career in the financial services industry. He found himself always drawn back to the study of humankind. In 2019, Wall established Noēsis. He created a series of educational videos to describe the immensity of evolutionary influence upon modern behavior. Wall describes a notable paradox. The primitive compulsions that kept evolving humans safe now combine to block humanity’s arrival into a sustainable future. = = = = = The Team here at PYP has put together another

Do you remember the first time you sat down to use the Internet?  I do. I was teaching high school English at the time. It was the mid-90s and I already knew my students knew more about this wild thing than I or any of my colleagues did because I’d seen groups of them gathered around clunky laptops on the floor gawking at their screens. A palpable buzz filled the air. We all knew things were going to be different from now on. We just didn’t know how different things would be.  What didn’t happen that day was getting a pamphlet, playbook, or sheet of paper with stick figure drawings on it walking me through how this thing works. It came with no operating instructions. Still doesn’t. Not in any organized way, anyway. In today's episode, I explore a leadership question that has no simple answser, but needs to be asked again and again: How do we develop the capacity for living simultaneously in two worlds -- the virtual world (where seemingly anything goes) and the natural world (where universal laws rule the roo

Doing the next right thing can be easy -- or the hardest challenge we've every faced. Today's guest William Gammon is an accomplished senior executive, advisor, thought leader, author, and mentor coach with more than 50 years of success across the airline, securities, and insurance industries who knows a thing or two about taking the next right step. William has held a leadership position as a financial advisor and Vice President for Ameriprise Financial Services Inc. He also founded Gammon and Associates where he assisted clients formulating clear goals and plans with processes and pathways to achieve and surpass them. For his exceptional leadership, he has been recognized for the Ameriprise Circle of Success Award from 2012 to 2015. Prior to that, he was a top award-winning performer at three former Broker-Dealers. William obtained his Bachelor of Business Administration in Marketing and Finance from the University of Iowa, Henry B. Tippie College of Business. As a sales executive, financial advisor, busine

James Davis is the owner of Tech Commandos, a company on the forefront of the new era of hybrid workforce solutions which has been singled out by Goldman Sachs as a visionary business in the IT sector. When the pandemic hit, much of the world’s workforce went online, creating a demand for reliable cloud based solutions. James noticed that smaller companies were at a disadvantage and didn’t have access to these solutions because of funding constraints. Tech Commandos was born to level the playing field. From protecting data, giving employees access to everything they need wherever they are, to attracting employees on a wider geographic footprint—James and his team make it easy and affordable. James understands the needs of the hybrid workplace and is passionate about providing actionable insights to help business leaders navigate this new world. He is the go-to resource within the hybrid workplace space. = = = = = The Team here at PYP has put together another uplifting, insightful, and inspiring show for you t

Delegation is something every leader must learn how to do. Today's guest, Emily Morgan, shares with us what goes into learning this critical skill, and perhaps more importantly, how to get really good at it. Emily Morgan is an entrepreneur with an innate heart for supporting others. Her mission is to create freedom and energy for people to do what they love by helping them master delegation. Emily speaks nationally on the topics of delegation, automation, remote workforces, and flexwork culture, and she has been featured in Forbes as a Top 50 Remote Employer, contributed articles to the Huffington Post, and highlighted in the NY Times. As the leader of Delegate Solutions, she and the team focus on helping entrepreneurial leaders better manage their time and priorities. Their virtual executive support program includes their proprietary delegation system as a service that provides fractional executive support coupled with proven delegation strategies to help leaders leverage themselves more effectively. Emily r

What makes some videos "watchable" while others are major snooze fests?Today's guest, Zack Slingsby, takes us inside the world of memorable video production, and how anyone can grow their companies and lead their content marketing initiatives with high quality videos. Zachary Slingsby is a writer, short film creator, and founder of Human Factor Media, an award winning branded storytelling company that has worked with leading brands and publishers to create videos people actually want to watch. Zack graduated from Fordham University, received his MFA from the New School and has published in over a dozen creative and industry publications. He believes the ingredient that makes a literary story great is the same that makes for a great video. His company is based between Nashville, where he lives, and New York City, collaborating with brands to create stories and films instead of ads and interruptions. = = = = = The Team here at PYP has put together another uplifting, insightful, and inspiring show for you today.

Mary Ann Pruitt is the CEO and President at Mosaic Media, a collection of media buying experts and creative strategists who negotiate, purchase, and monitor advertising space and airtime. Mary Ann started her career in media by working as a senior sales executive for some of the nation’s largest media outlets. After discovering her talent and love for all things media strategy, she founded Mosaic as a way to provide niche expert experience to agencies and marketing departments across the country. Her hard work and savvy strategy skills have led Mosaic to year-over- year growth, and has expanded her impact as an industry leader in all things traditional, digital, and everything in between. Reflecting this is a 2020 award from Cynopsis Media naming her as a Top Woman in Media. Mary Ann has helped develop effective marketing strategies for agencies of all sizes, small businesses, service businesses, private educational institutions and legal and professional services businesses along with many others. She is pas