BL 78 - Reduce Stress and Build a Better Life with Steve Whitney

Colonel Jon "BigDogg" Rhone was born into the Air Force and had the privilege of growing up and being influenced by parents and siblings who loved the Air Force.  After graduating from the USAF Academy, he was honored to serve and lead Airmen for 24 years. He hopes to continue serving by enthusiastically unlocking others’ full leadership potential. Through his experiences and relationships with young servicemembers, He has learned many yearn for a stronger connection to, and with, senior leaders.  BigDogg's now building better leaders through his new entity Rhone Coaching & Consulting Group.  He is excited to launch his leadership podcast in February. The intent of the “Leadership Domain Podcast” is to provide a forum for world-class leaders to share their lived experiences and professional insight. Jon hopes this podcast serves as a bridge between leaders regardless of generation labels. While most of the guests and stories are rooted in military service, I believe they are universally applicable to experienced and young leaders in the public and private sectors.  You can learn more at his website: https://www.rhoneccg.com/ He is an incredible leader, mentor to many and personal friend.  Enjoy this episode. All the best, Dave

If you find your niche you can change the world.   For 20+ years Carolyn O'Byrne worked with people supporting their physical and emotional health. About 7 years ago she turned her focus toward truck drivers. Her husband is a second-generation truck driver. His dad passed away hundreds of miles from home from a preventable health condition (when her husband was 20). Carolyn doesn't want that to happen to anyone else, unfortunately, it happens very often. Overall as a society, our health is more compromised than ever before. Carolyn works with truck drivers and their families supporting them toward optimal physical and emotional health. Via over the phone coaching, my book, "Gut Instinct," and my online strategies, Driven To Health, Driven To Peace, and Driven To Stop. Value? We think we have crazy schedules, try the life of a truck driver. Their schedules change daily. Sometimes they drive in the day and sometimes at night. There are so many factors that go into a truck driver's job and schedule. Traffic, load cancels, delivery and pick up hours, etc. Not to mention the difficulty to be there for their own health and family. It is very common for a drivers' schedule to drastically change at a moments notice. These avenues bring them to the awareness that it is all about their mindset while educating them on the true path to health. Showing them the power they have to be in control of their circumstances. Her biggest challenge she has to overcome is herself. She stands in her way. Carolyn continuously tries to reevaluate herself to be sure that she am not the issue at hand. Carolyn saw that projects would be moving right along then life would happen and it would seem as if someone threw a wrench into her plan and life came to a screeching halt. It would take forever to get her momentum back up and going. Becoming aware. This is the hardest part. when you are on the inside looking out, you don't see the obstacles. She talks to people about this all of the time concerning their health.  Carolyn loves the people she works with. Truck drivers have a very special place in her heart. Carolyn is excited to bring them the products they need to overcome the many obstacles in their life. She has found her niche and is saving lives, keeping us safe and taking bold steps to help grow U.S. trucking companies.

In this episode, we are kicking off the new year celebrating small business leaders with BOLD goals for 2020. Steven Whitney is an energetic inspirational human being. He loves to get other people excited about becoming healthy, re-wiring their brains or simply to go throw a Frisbee.  He loves music and is very supportive of the Colorado music scene. Steven has a wonderful dog named Memphis. He loves being outdoors and is an adventure freak. If it's tough he does it. Steven loves to laugh and most importantly love to get other people to laugh. Life is to short to not be living in the present and he just wants to help support people to be comfortable and confident in doing that.

We are ready to release season 4 and we are focused on solopreneurs and entrepreneurs.  2020 is almost here and we will be interviewing BOLD business owners, telling their stories and motivating you for the rest of the year.

It's that time of year again.  Work is slowing down and you have time on your hands.  Over the next few weeks, reflect on your performance over the last year then focus on the future.  Define your BHAG!  

https://www.businessknowhow.com/startup/badpartnership.htm If you're in a business partnership or a longstanding working relationship that isn't working, ask yourself these questions. Then, if you need to change or end the partnership, follow these five steps. A client, we'll call her Susan, had a business that was struggling financially and operationally. She was totally disgusted because her partner of 10 years was no longer carrying his weight and didn't seem to understand the gravity of the situation. She was so stressed she was seriously considering liquidating the business if things couldn't be changed for the better in a very short time. What to do? Her first commitment had to be to herself. Susan was able to realize that it was up to her to take command of this situation. She was coached to create some measurable goals with timeframes. She decided she wanted to give the business and her partner one last chance. Susan knew she must bring her partner, and eventually her staff, into the picture in order to get their buy-in. She created Job Roles for herself, her partner and each of her staff (Office Manager, Buyer and 2 Salesmen). Because of the longstanding relationship between her and her partner, we agreed it was best if I met with the partner and her to present things up to this point. Preparing for this was anxiety-producing for Susan, but also liberating. NOTE: Using a third party (like a coach or consultant) can offer a different perspective to a known problem. The partner was cordial and listened politely, as had been expected. But, of course, he didn't really GET IT that things had to change. Susan gave it three months under the new plan. Unfortunately, she had to bite the bullet and make the decision to liquidate the business. Fortunately, she was able to see the handwriting on the wall way in advance and gave herself six months to finalize the liquidation. Susan is in the process of purchasing a new business which will be hers alone. She could only do that once she realized she didn't actually need a partner. She had been carrying the business alone for several years anyway. If you're in a business partnership or a longstanding working relationship that isn't working, ask yourself why you got into the relationship to begin with. Many times people just don't feel ready to take on the full responsibility of running a business so they look for anyone who is interested and willing to work with them. Having the wrong partner is the basis of many partner problems. How to find the right partner is, of course, the topic for another article. If you can answer yes to one or more of the following it may be time to take command of your business and make the necessary changes. You're feeling like you're carrying more than your share of the work. Your partner seems to have lost interest in the business. You find more and more to disagree about. There have been changes in your partner's life that are interfering with his ability to function in the business. Your interest in the direction of the business is different from that of your partner. Here are the steps I suggest you take if you're seriously considering making changes to your partnership arrangement. Let’s discuss 5 partnership tips that will remove stress and resolve conflict. <st

The Story Exchange Is Your Business Ready for Summer Vacation Time? Ask These 3 Questions It's that time of year, when sunshine beckons. If you or your employees plan to take time off, now's a good time to assess your vacation policy. May 21, 2019 By Barbara Weltman It’s vacation time, for you and your employees. (Credit: Lance Asper on Unsplash) In the next several weeks and months, employees will be taking time off from work for summer vacations. According to a survey by Bankrate.com, about 38% of employees with paid vacation days plan to use them all this summer. Other findings: 59% plan to use more than half 5% plan to use less than 25% of their days 6% won’t use any time Now is a good time to determine what your company’s needs will be this summer. Also, given the tight job market, it’s a good time to assess your vacation policy. Here are three questions to ask: 1. Have you planned for a reduced work staff? Determine what will need to be done during the time when you/employees are off. Do what’s possible in advance. For me, this always means working double time for weeks in advance to satisfy the work deadlines that fall during my vacation. If possible, discuss with customers and clients about scheduling work after your/your employees’ vacations. Employees in your company may or may not fall within the survey’s findings mentioned earlier. Make sure you’re covered for any problems that need to be addressed while you are away. This can be done by giving an employee added responsibilities. Also, see that employees can cover for each other when needed. If necessary, hire temporary workers to fill in gaps in your staffing. With temporary workers, you pay the agency a fee for their services; they remain the employees of the agency. Summer interns may be helpful too. 2. What’s your vacation policy? How many vacation days do you offer? Federal law does not mandate that you give any paid time off, but you’d be hard-pressed to hire and retain good workers without a paid vacation policy. <a href= "https://

“Kids watching television tend to accept it as a reflection of reality anyway,” Dr. David Hill, a pediatrician who is program director of the American Academy of Pediatrics’ Council on Communications and Media, told Healthline. “Until they’re about 8 years old, it’s very difficult for them to do any significant reality testing. That’s why kids under that age are much more accepting of Santa Claus. Kids already struggle with testing what’s real or not, and then reality television is advertised as being real.” This is a problem, according to Nancy Molitor, PhD, a clinical psychologist and assistant professor of clinical psychiatry and behavioral sciences at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine, because kids often become desensitized to what they are seeing. “There is this appeal to these shows that comes down to making people feel superior to others,” Molitor told Healthline. “You see contestants being laughed at, rejected, voted off, made fun of. And watching these shows makes kids feel superior as well. It’s reinforcing all kinds of negative behavior that we don’t want to see in our kids, including relational aggression.” Today we are going to discuss 2 shows that distort reality and are creating a selfish  employee culture What show’s motto is outwit, outlast, outplay? Is this the mentality we want for our employees or leaders? How about this one recently posted on twitter “If you don't have haters, you're not doing something right.” Do you want employees walking in the door of your company thinking this is an appropriate way to behave.   Unfortunately what we believe is reality is actually somewhat scripted to drive emotional responses.   As leaders we must notice the signs of unhealthy behaviors and actions within our organization. You need team players, focused on team goals to grow exceptional companies.  Do not let your company fall into the trap of reality tv.

Inc. Magazine sat down with Chamath Palihapitiya a former VP of user growth at Facebook. Have you ever created something that you thought would help people, only to discover that it would harm them afterward? In an unexpected turn of events, the former Facebook executive spoke with the Stanford Graduate School of Business about his feelings of guilt and regret of helping found a company that has been fundamentally detrimental to the way people interact today. Palihapitiya first began at the social media company in 2007, three years after its founding by Mark Zuckerberg in 2004. At the time, Palihapitiya recounted that few really considered the negative effects of a platform like Facebook. But as Facebook's popularity grew, it the negative consequences of constant, excessive social networking became clearer. And the problem became much bigger than Facebook as merely an online platform -- it changed the way people interact on a day-to-day basis and restructured an entire existing social structure, something few people could have foreseen after the advent of texting.   "It literally is a point now where I think we have created tools that are ripping apart the social fabric of how society works. That is truly where we are," he said. "The short-term, dopamine-driven feedback loops that we have created are destroying how society works: no civil discourse, no cooperation, misinformation, mistruth. And it's not an American problem. This is not about Russian ads. This is a global problem."   Over the next 2 episodes, we are going to discuss the impact of social media and reality tv on your company.   Are social media platforms like Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and Snapchat killing communication? Are companies losing productivity because their employees are always connected? How do business leaders grow a positive culture in a social media focused world? We are responsible for our actions.  It seems to me that civility is dying in exchange for likes, retweets, and followers.  The crazier it is the better.

Trust is the foundation of any great team.  If you want to build a successful team you must create an environment of trust.  You must be vulnerable and willing to listen and you must eliminate behaviors that force a lack of trust in the organization. If you don’t trust your teammates or your leadership you are destined to fail.   Today we are going to discuss the five behaviors of a cohesive team and give you some tips on how to build a stronger organization. The five behaviors of a cohesive team include: Trust, Conflict, Commitment, Accountability and Results How does trust or a lack of trust impact an organization? Is conflict within an organization a good thing? Is the team committed to the goals for a company and why does this matter? Do you hold yourself and teammates accountable and what is the impact Do your results align with your goals and what are you doing to ensure that this happens.