Masterminds Of Business

Show Notes: If you are interested in the limousine and transportation industry, a Mastermind of Business who cares about his community and has the spirit of an entrepreneur, this is the show for you. You will be inspired by Maurice Brewster's determination to succeed and perseverance in spite of obstacles and his constant push to move his business forward.Background:In this episode, Maurice discusses his love of cars and takes us through how he got started in the limousine business.  Maurice Brewster was born and raised in Harlem, New York. He founded Mosaic Global Transportation in 2002. His company has won numerous Supplier of The Year awards.  In 2011, Maurice formed a non-profit industry group called the Minority Limousine Operators of America and in 2014 was selected to meet Barack Obama to discuss the challenges that minority businesses face.  Prior to establishing Mosaic Global Transportation, Maurice held several senior & management positions with DuPont, GTE, SPRINT & MCI. He has a strong background

In today’s episode, Val Lewis and I follow up on our discussion of marketing. If you are interested in an AUSIM marketing campaign, what to do and what not to do then this show is for you. Here is a synopsis of what we spoke about during the show:AUSIM Marketing ProcessAnalysis: • Do your homework • Gather information on your: o Business internals o Customers o CompetitorsUnderstanding: • Learn from the information collected. • Test your marketing assumptions.Strategy: • Develop a plan based on the data collected and the learnings from that data • Validate the plan against its objectivesImplement: • Execute the validated Strategy.Maximize: Taking the above steps will maximize your marketing efforts.AUSIM Marketing Components 1) Situational Analysis      a. Take stock of your company           i. Financially          ii. Competitively         iii. Organizationally     b. Develop a plan2) Offerings Developments.     a. What products will you carry?     b. What services will you offer?     c. How will the produc

In today’s episode, Val Lewis and I discuss marketing basics and Suspect Marketing. If you are interested in learning about marketing, what to do and what not to do then this show is for you. Here is a synopsis of what we spoke about during the show: Marketing Expectations of the Target Consumers See Me: • Acknowledge and welcome your target consumer. • Understand their needs and wants. Speak Me: • Communicate directly with them. • Utilize methods and media that they are familiar with. • Talk to them at the appropriate time and place. Show Me that You Care: • Why are you providing this service or offering this product? • Explain the solutions you have specifically for them. • How it will make their lives better. • Share my values. Marketing Process to Turn Consumers to Customers. Know → Like→Trust Know: • Who are you? • What do you do? Like: • Do I like you? • Do I like what you have to say? Trust: • Are you an expert? • Can you help me? • Have you helped others? Various Stages of Consumer Relationship to you

In this episode of Masterminds of Business Valerie Lewis of VBL Consulting and Leroy Jones CEO of GSI Health discuss his journey from the defense industry to Healthcare IT. They examine the impact of effective leadership to build a successful business. Background Mr. Jones is a technologist by training held a number of software development positions in the defense contracting field. In the mid-1990’s he decided to transition into the healthcare industry and worked for several start up, small business and corporate health care organizations.  In 2003, Mr. Jones decided to take the plunge as an entrepreneur. He founded GSI Health a cloud based software company to unite patients, healthcare payers and care providers of all kinds, enabling “whole person care” to improve patients’ health. GSI Health has been recognized as, Most Innovative Healthcare IT Company–USA, 50 Admired Companies to Watch, Corporate Culture Award, Top 50 Most Promising Healthcare Solution Providers under Mr. Jones’ leadership. Mr. Jones has

Show Overview In today’s show, we explore resources with Melissa Donald. Melissa discusses her journey from a Secretary at commercial collections agency to the President of her own factoring firm. Melissa’s knowledge of business financing and financial matters are a rare gem. She also takes a deep dive into the ins and outs of factoring. if you want to learn about factoring, an alternative form of financing, this episode is for you. Background Melissa began her career working in and then managing a small commercial collection agency in the San Francisco Bay Area.  During her time there, she worked in every area of the business from direct collections to litigation management. In 2001, she took a job with a young factoring company in Walnut Creek, California.  She quickly moved from a Senior Account Executive, to Operations Manager and Vice President. In 2007, she and her partner launched LDI Growth Partners, a factoring firm and focused her efforts in educating entrepreneurs about the benefits of factoring at

Show Overview In today’s show, Mike Auzenne discusses his journey from West Point to podcasting. Mike exudes management and leadership information. Therefore, if you want to be a better leader, this episode is for you. Background A graduate from West Point, Mike Auzenne has always been a business enthusiast. As a Captain in the Army, Mike developed the foundations of his leadership style. After serving seven years in the Army, Mike brought his dynamic leadership skills to corporate America joining Mobil Oil Corporation and then MCI as Information Technology manager. It is during his stint at MCI, where Mike was leading a 500-person IT department, that Mike hired his old friend Mark Horstman to do some consulting work for the company. It was then that Mike decided that Mark’s management techniques needed to be shared with the world and Manager Tools was born. Since the launch of their podcast in 2005, Mike Auzenne and Mark Horstman’s weekly podcast, “Manager Tools,” has attracted a variety of listeners. The po

In today episode, Val Lewis and I continue with our discussion of change management by reviewing the book “Our Iceberg is Melting” by John Kotter. Change management is simplified when you take the necessary steps. First reading John Kotter’s book “Our Iceberg is Melting” and second listening to this podcast. The book is quick and easy to read and incredibility insightful. In a fun and lively manner, we focus on the last five steps of John Kotter’s Eight Step Process of Successful Change and discuss the role of Thinking and Feeling. The fable is about a penguin colony in Antarctica. A group of emperor penguins live as they have for many years then one curious bird discovers a potentially devastating problem threatening their home—and pretty much no one listens to him. The characters in the story, Fred, Alice, Louis, Buddy, the Professor, and NoNo, are like people we recognize—even ourselves. Their tale is one of resistance to change and heroic action, seemingly intractable obstacles and the cleverest tactics f

Book Review In today episode, Val Lewis and I take on the topic of change management by reviewing the book “Our Iceberg is Melting” by John Kotter. The book is quick and easy read and incredibility insightful. If you need to make a change in your business, department, non-profit organization or you are interested in becoming a more effective manager, then this episode is for you. In a fun and lively manner, we focus on the first three steps of John Kotter’s Eight Step Process of Successful Change. The fable is about a penguin colony in Antarctica. A group of beautiful emperor penguins live as they have for many years. Then one curious bird discovers a potentially devastating problem threatening their home—and pretty much no one listens to him. The characters in the story, Fred, Alice, Louis, Buddy, the Professor, and NoNo, are like people we recognize—even ourselves. Their tale is one of resistance to change and heroic action, seemingly intractable obstacles and the most clever tactics for dealing with those

Show NotesIn today episode, Val Lewis and I continue on the topic of negotiation that Kahlil Yearwood started in MOB 3 by reviewing the book “Never Split the Difference – Negotiating as If Your Life Depended On it” by Chris Voss. If you are interested in acquiring new negotiation techniques and becoming a more effective manager, then this episode is for you. In a fun and lively manner, we focus on three of the techniques that Mr. Voss discusses in his book; labeling, bending reality, and creating the illusion of control. Chris Voss provides insight into the concepts and practices of FBI negotiators. He teaches the reader how to effectively use these tools in a business environment. Each chapter starts with a fast-paced story of a hostage negotiation, which is dissected to explain what worked and what didn’t. Afterwards, Chris explains the theories and tools that were used to achieve a successful outcome. This is a ten-chapter reference guide to negotiation where each chapter explores different tactics that ca

Show OverviewIn today’s show, Kahlil Yearwood discusses his journey to law school and then onto Dechert LLP. Furthermore, he tells about us the processes he used to advise Wells Fargo, on its recent purchase of commercial real estate loans valued at US$9 billion in the US, UK and Canada from GE Capital Real Estate as part of an overall transaction valued at approximately US$23 billion. Lastly, Kahlil tells us about several negotiation tactics, he uses on behalf of his clients. Kahlil's Background It’s the speed of his ascent that separates Dechert commercial real estate and financial attorney Kahlil Yearwood from the profession’s other bright stars. Just a decade ago, the California-born Kahlil was graduating from Berkeley Law, picking up an AmJur award for his work on corporate law along the way. He runs Dechert’s California commercial real estate practice and serves as hiring partner for the San Francisco office. Before long, Kahlil was advising the likes of Prudential, Starwood and Wells Fargo on some high

In today’s episode, Val Lewis and I discuss Charles Feltman’s “The Thin Book of Trust – An Essential Primer for Building Trust at Work.” If you are interested in increasing organizational productivity through building trust, becoming more trustworthy and being a better leader, then this episode is for you.  In a fun and lively manner, we review the four distinctions of trust according to Mr. Feltman and other insights from the book.   The Four Distinctions of Trust Sincerity: Is the assessment that you are honest, that you say what you mean and mean what you say; you can be believed and taken seriously. It also means when you express an opinion it is valid, useful, and is backed up by sound thinking and evidence. Finally, it means that your actions will align with your words. Reliability: Is the assessment that you meet the commitments you make, that you keep your promises. Competence: Is the assessment that you have the ability to do what you are doing or propose to do. In the workplace, this usually means

Show OverviewMoctesuma Esparza is a Mastermind of Business who cares about his community, has the spirit of an entrepreneur and will explain the entertainment industry. You will be inspired by the Moctesuma’s determination to succeed and perseverance in spite of obstacles and his constant push to move his community forward. Moctesuma's Movies Before Moctesuma graduated from UCLA with his Masters, he had already won an Emmy. Since his audacious beginning, Moctesuma has worked with stars such as: Robert Redford, Jennifer Lopez, Andy Garcia, Jimmy Smits, Martin Sheen, Robert Duvall and Halle Berry. He produced films many films including Price of Glory” (2000), “Introducing Dorothy Dandridge”(1999), “Selma, Lord, Selma” (1998), “Selena” (1997), “The Disappearance of Garcia Lorca” (1997),“Gettysburg” (1993) and "The Milagro Beanfield War" (1988) among others. Moctesuma's Community Involvement Moctesuma founded the Los Angeles Academy of Arts and Enterprise Charter School. Mr. Esparza is also the Co-Founder of the

Show Notes Welcome to MOB - Masterminds of Business. This is our introductory episode, MOB Triple Zero. We wanted to take this opportunity to introduce ourselves to you and tell you what we hope to accomplish here at MOB before we begin this journey together. Masterminds of Business is an uplifting and informative show. We will focus on the accomplishments and challenges that entrepreneurs and corporate leaders face during careers and examine how our Masterminds overcame the obstacles, that impeded their progress. These leaders, have demonstrated they have what it takes to succeed. They are always perfecting, what we like to call here at MOB, the four building blocks of business: Processes, People, Customers and Resources. We will examine opportunities and adversities that present themselves when trying to profitably manage a company using the four building blocks of business as a guide. Additionally, we will expose you to new insights by introducing you to books, podcasts, articles, or anything tha