The Everything or Nothing Podcast with Brian Jones

This episode represents a special step for the EoN podcast: our first video podcast.  The most enthusiastic person Brian has ever met, Steve Wilmer stopped by the studio today (safely social-distanced), and we turned the cameras on.  While we were safe from contagions, we were not safe from the contagious nature of Steve's personality. Steve is a leading consultant and sales trainer, and he gets accused of being a motivational speaker (he is, kind of, but that's only a third of the story), and he talked about his life's journey from the projects to the Marines to Bally's Las Vegas.  Oh, and why he's never stepped foot in the great state of Ohio.

If you are looking for the Most Interesting Man in the World, listen to today's podcast starring Scott Rogowsky.  Scott is best known as Quiz Daddy for HQ Trivia, but of course Brian met him when he stumbled onto Scott's Instagram page @QuizDaddysCloset.  This is Scott's effort to get rid of his dangerous thrift shop hoard built over twenty years and change the world at the same time.  This podcast meanders into themes like stories of bad leadership, good steroids, and what business leaders can learn from stand-up comedians.

EoN podcast hall-of-famer Anna Catalano stopped by today to talk mentoring.  Of course, Anna is a professional board director and advisor to CEO's, and while Brian wasn't sure if they could add anything new to this already over-addressed topic (his opinion), Anna convinced him that there was still ground to be plowed.  And of course she was right.  Brian and Anna discuss how to formally mentor others, how to informally mentor others, and how to be mentored.  Anna talks about her first experienced at being mentored -- walking around her dad's lab as a child, and Brian gets to share the process he uses when someone reaches out to him to be mentored.

On today's podcast we learned that there are about a million open jobs in tech.  Good news.  Not so good news: only 20% of those positions will be filled by women.  Our guest today is Ellen Twomey.  Ellen lived this 1 million/20% gap as a woman in tech, and she decided to do something about it.  She founded You Are Techy, a company dedicated to helping moms get the skills needed to fill these tech jobs.  When Brian heard about what she is doing, he knew he had to have her on the podcast, and she didn't disappoint.  Ellen tells us how she coaches women in tech, whether there is any hope or not for closing the gap, and how she got her start teaching tech to high school students, in both boys-only and girls-only schools.

Anna Catalano has been on Brian's radar for a while.  She is a legendary corporate advisor and board member extraordinaire (Brian has counted dozens of companies on which she has served as a board member).  She has seen a lot of leadership, and she let us know what she looks for in top leadership, how a cohesive board makes all the difference, and most importantly, how she got her start selling tires in North Dakota.  You are going to love this conversation because Brian was totally nerding out talking to this fountain of wisdom and governance guru. 

Today Brian welcomed in Andres Cantor.  Andres is the lead soccer, er, futbol announcer at NBC Telemundo.  He's also the guy who yells "GOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOAAAAAAAAAAAAAALLLLLLLLLLLLL” after successful scores during matches he is calling.  Mercifully for Andres, Brian did not ask him to recreate this -- it's more fun when he does it live in response to a thrilling goal being scored, not on-demand in a studio.  Not a soccer fan?  You're still going to love this interview as Andres teaches us about what he has learned in nearly four decades of calling live sports, leadership lessons he picked up from an icon, and what kind of royalty checks you get after being on “The Simpsons” (you'll be surprised).  

Ever wondered why a sports team with very good players still doesn't win?  In sports, just having good players doesn't always equal championship rings.  On today's podcast, meet Pat Richie, the consultant who helps your favorite sports team get healthier.  Pat consults with college and pro sports teams on how to have better-functioning cultures.  Oh, and be very afraid if he is consulting with your most-hated sports rival.  He will make them better.

Today we welcomed Mark Gandy into the podcast.  Not only does he share a client with Brian, he also shares Brian's love for mid-80's baseball and coaching executives.  Mark shares his wisdom from 30 years in finance including his current work coaching CFO's and the coaches who coach them.  Yes, we unpack all of that on the podcast.

Today Deb Burdick, ghostwriter extraordinaire, stops by the podcast to tell us about the everyday life of a book editor.  Deb is Brian's editor, and if you have ever read anything good that Brian has written, odds are high that Deb edited it.  She was also ghostwriter/editor of Brian and Pam's book "Ordinary Greatness."  Most notably, she helps answer the number-one question Brian gets asked, "How do I get a book published?"  If you've ever thought about writing a book, you need to listen to this podcast. Deb tells you exactly what to do.

Ray Warren is our guest today.  Ray started his career in the 70's at ABC Sports, and he has lots of stories involving Wide World of Sports, Monday Night Football, and Howard Cosell.  Brian felt a strong affinity to Ray because while Ray was creating all of this sports content, Brian was gobbling it up as a youngster.  Today Ray is President of NBC Sports Telemundo, and he tells us his leadership lessons and also how to run a sports network when there is no sports.  Ray has embraced vulnerability-based trust as a leader, and this is a must-listen for all leaders.