In this episode Todd and Aaron engage in a probing and thought-provoking discussion relevant to every organization that seeks to market and communicate its message, internally or externally, and try to get to the very bottom of human motivation. Are we after solutions to problems, or good feelings? How does this shape our behavior and communication?

This episode is essential for anyone who wishes to improve their communication and persuasiveness, wherever you find yourself in an organization. We both were pushed to think hard with this one and examine our assumptions. Enjoy!

Recorded 7/26/24, includes:

• Can’t be anyone else, y’know?
• A quiet July
• Opportunities on the horizon
• The consultant’s toolkit & a question about Todd’s genius for speaking
• Leadership is about picking up and reflecting strengths back to others
• “Beginner’s Pluck” - Passion grows over time
• You and I are always finding these chicken and egg things!
• We come into a society that’s been figuring out how to serve people for millennia
• Aaron’s journey and new book
• If that’s the only thing you’re here to do it would be enough
• I need to figure out how to get more of that feeling!
• Knack for speaking, knack for writing
• Stories about Aaron’s journey as a writer
• That was panic!  In 1999
• Parallels between writing music and writing words
• Thoughts about the creative process
• Do the words or music come first?
• Topic for the day…
• Book: How to Win Customers and Keep Them for Life
• How do you know when you’re selling a good feeling or a solution to a problem?
• Todd’s bike riding example
• Just another day on the Crushin’ Company Culture Podcast!
• Todd solves problems, but makes people feel incredibly good
• Sacrificing lesser goods to greater ones - the larger patterns of existence
• Aaron’s opinion - solving problems is about creating better feelings
• A story from Todd to corroborate that point
• Todd channeling the ancient philosopher Heraclitus - we only have good feelings because we know what bad feelings are like
• Do Aaron’s clients seek solutions to problems or good feelings?
• Strategy is about solving problems
• We need to make people aware of their pain
• Know like and trust is about connecting through good feeling
• The important challenge of asking for testimonials
• Your clients and customers have a vested interest in your success
• Feelings and problems are tools that we have as benevolent communicators
• Feelings and problems in Aaron’s approach to coaching and consulting
• Creating good feelings makes it likelier that people will continue to support you
• Paul Martinelli’s sales training - rapport vs. commonality
• I need to go and think about this!
• When do you switch to problem-solving mode?
• Work is about expertise
• Todd’s perspective - every organization can improve
• Problems that Todd helps to solve
• Is leadership development about solving problems or creating good feelings?
• This conversation is thought-provoking!
• Takeaways from this conversation - putting a bow on it!
• Comedians are about good feelings, moreso…
• The world’s just one big pain we’re trying to solve!  The pain of existence, the pain of having time to fill, the pain of being in a lesser state and growing toward a greater one
• How do we distinguish between wants and needs?

Learn more about Todd at ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://toddkuckkahn.com/⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠, on ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Facebook⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠, or ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠LinkedIn⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

Learn more about Aaron at ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://aaronjmarx.com/⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠, on ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Facebook⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠, or ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠LinkedIn⁠

NOTE: We are not licensed therapists. If you are struggling with mental health or having thoughts of self-harm, please ask for help right away. This episode offers ways to do that.

In this episode Todd interviews Aaron, and the two have a very honest and probing conversation about how to improve mental health in the workplace and life in general. Mental health is on a lot of people's minds right now, and for good reason. We know more about it than ever and are asking more and more questions about it. Here's our thoughts about the meaning of mental health and how best to approach and improve it. Enjoy!

Recorded 6/21/24, includes:

• “All Ravs are Zorgs”
• Speaking of mental health…
• A hot topic
• What to do if you are struggling - call 211
• A story from Todd
• Can “mental health” be defined?
• The link between depression and high intelligence
• Discerning qualifications in a content-saturated world
• 3 philosophical questions about mental health
• Is the human condition inherently unhealthy?
• Aaron’s 5 Perpetual, Perennial, Problematic Dysfunctions of the Human Condition
• Start by talking about it, even if it’s uncomfortable - if you keep it inside it only gets worse
• “One big support group” - simple, but extremely complicated
• How do you know when you should get help with your mental health?
• How do we improve and who defines improvement?
• How do you get outside your own frame of mind?
• Eckhart Tolle’s interesting observation - “I just can’t live with myself any longer”
• Locating your “actual self”
• Nuancing introversion and extraversion - stepping out of one’s comfort zone - branding & positioning - change is good
• What is the role of the workplace in mental health?
• All points of human interconnection are susceptible to dysfunction
• Is mental health the responsibility of the leader or the individual?
• “For some of these people the workplace is the best part of their day”
• How do we create a culture in which more individuals take an active interest in their mental health?
• It all comes down to culture…
• Every group is built around shared valuation
• I worked up a sweat today!

Bonus clips:

• If you have an issue, reach out to someone
• How do we know dysfunction when we see it?
• What’s the best way for the mind to work?
• How do you know how uncomfortable to be?
• Another inherently unhealthy part of the human condition, the honey-do list
• The moment when the universe became unhealthy…

Learn more about Todd at ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://toddkuckkahn.com/⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠, on ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Facebook⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠, or ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠LinkedIn⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

Learn more about Aaron at ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://aaronjmarx.com/⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠, on ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Facebook⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠, or ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠LinkedIn⁠

This episode gets into Todd's thinking about one of his favorite tools to improve organizational cultures, Culture Teams. Full of helpful perspectives for organizations of all shapes, sizes, and aims. Enjoy!

Recorded 5/31/24, includes:

• Getting a haircut is the one thing Aaron doesn’t overthink
• What’s the one thing you want to be sure to do this summer?
• It’s all the little things
• Connected to my momentum
• The new book Aaron is working on about Commerce Theory
• Trying to get through May…
• The program Todd is working on for businesses about “Culture Teams”
• Why C-suite executives are nervous about Culture Teams and losing control
• The power of Culture Teams for employees throughout the organization
• Why Todd believes in Culture Teams
• Mindset work for individuals vs. impact on the greater workplace
• “Culture is mindset”
• Culture Teams are a product Todd can offer to organizations
• Culture Teams can make a difference for talent attraction and retention, and preventing the “Sunday scaries 😱”
• Why culture is like a garden
• “So friggin’ intangible!”  How do you measure the improvement of a culture?
• Transactional vs. transformational
• It seems like only the good leaders take courses on improvement
• You can never be too good at communicating, and you can always find more places where communication is happening
• “Their brains are smoking!”
• What Todd and Aaron see when they go into a new organization
• Why C-suite leaders sometimes fear bringing in Culture Teams and why the fear is unfounded
• The importance of representation and inclusivity in Culture Teams
• Putting together a congress
• Why the Central Wisconsin Symphony Orchestra always has a member of the orchestra on the board and Family Health Centers has at least 51% clients on their board
• How Culture Team meetings work and liaison with the Executive Team
• Calling into question traditional notions of hierarchy - titles are less important for some people
• What is driving these cultural shifts and the influence of younger generations on the workplace
• Speculating about the tension between hierarchy and democratic organization through history
• You still need people in the C-suite, but must balance it with the input of the Culture Team
• Todd’s work experience wish
• What Todd would do on the first day as CEO, and what his office would look like
• Why it’s important to know how team members are feeling as functioning as people
• For some people the workplace is a haven
• Why Todd and Aaron are both (unlicensed) therapists
• The power of listening and caring enough to ask
• “I noticed she was off” - Todd’s superpower for sensing interpersonal and group dynamics
• Aaron’s sensitivity and instinct for listening to people and ability for asking very insightful questions
• Why do C-suite executives spend so much time in their offices, away from the team?
• We don’t do enough training in leadership
• Priorities and 4,000 handwritten birthday cards
• Is Todd the “CEO whisperer?”  He’s on a mission to revolutionize company culture
• Culture is EVERYBODY’s responsibility, but it must be part of your strategic plan
• Culture often gets dumped on the HR person




PLUS...

• One of Aaron’s other content conversation partners
• Feeling a whole lot better 😌
• On the next episode of Crushin’ Company Culture!

Learn more about Todd at ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://toddkuckkahn.com/⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠, on ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Facebook⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠, or ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠LinkedIn⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

Learn more about Aaron at ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://aaronjmarx.com/⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠, on ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Facebook⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠, or ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠LinkedIn⁠

Todd and Aaron met to discuss their different approaches to habits, disciplines, goals, resolutions and more. The result ended being surprisingly and incredibly inspiring and affirming to them both, in spite of significant differences in their psychology and the nature of their days.

Recorded 2/9/24, includes:

• I know you!  That means I’ve been branding it well.
• A good result
• I’m here for it, but I don’t know where it’s gonna go…
• I don’t put much thought into it, I just let it ramble out of my mouth
• One of the few times in my life I’ve actually set goals
• I really can’t control that outcome, only the things that lead to that outcome
• Every month we bet $50 each, and we’ve each had to pay
• If I change my habits it will help me to focus on my priorities
• Todd’s list of daily habits
• Learning styles are a huge thing!  What does it mean to learn and what should we learn?
• I wasn’t growing my knowledge base
• I’ve got my Sundrop - I’m ready!
• Is it restrictive?
• I thought I was an effective procrastinator…
• By this time in my life shouldn’t I have things figured out? 
• Everyone’s a personal brand expert because of social media
• I don’t know what results to improve until I start talking to people
• A new best
• CEO time in our businesses
• How did you discern the correct disciplines and habits?
• Habits and disciplines as a solopreneur vs. an employee
• Benefits of the DISC assessment, the importance of followthrough
• Aaron’s central questions regarding habits and routines
• The difference between being employed and being in business for yourself
• Always questioning whether you are using your time correctly
• A deeper level of satisfaction
• Executing routines in spite of self-doubt and fear of failure
• Whose dream are you living?
• Intrapreneurs vs. entrepreneurs
• Habits and routines for Aaron…”a very organic human”
• Not a job, but…a piece of art
• Aaron’s priority: what is the muse asking of me today?
• A transactional approach
• Always thinking about thinking, ways to think differently, ways to think better
• Two different but good approaches servant leaders and raising people up
• A very intentional way of flowing
• Results come from thinking.  How do we improve results?  Think about the thinking!
• How does Aaron take a break?
• Two examples that illustrate how Aaron is always “on”
• What does it mean to be human?  How do we improve the results of being human?
• Now he does that with his son too!
• Yes, Aaron DOES have routines 🙂
• Todd has never heard of ASMR
• You want your body to work right
• Working on the business vs. in the business
• Internal guidance vs. external guidance
• We never go in a straight line 😄
• This is especially uplifting!
• How should larger organizations think about goals, habits, and routines?
• Hard skills vs. human skills
• Businesses must be both transactional and transformational - we need love in the workplace

Learn more about Todd at ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://toddkuckkahn.com/⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠, on ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Facebook⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠, or ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠LinkedIn⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

Learn more about Aaron at ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://aaronjmarx.com/⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠, on ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Facebook⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠, or ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠LinkedIn⁠

A super-fun chat about company culture, depth of conversation, and Aaron’s new comprehensive theory of human commerce.

Episode Links:

⁠DEFINITION OF COMMERCE⁠

⁠AARON'S "COMMERCE THEORY"⁠

⁠5 WAYS TO BECOME A MORE VALUABLE WRITER⁠

⁠INDO-EUROPEAN LANGUAGE FAMILY⁠

Recorded 1/12/24, includes:

• Listening to “Pinnacle of Success” by Airae
• Aaron’s Business X-Change at the PCBC
• “It almost sounds like our conversations are negotiations”
• “Merriam-Webster, I’ve heard of that!”
• Everything we do is commerce!
• “There’s an exchange here too”
• You have relationships with everyone in the world
• A productive, disruptive confusion
• I talked about more metaphysics in Commerce Theory than I’ve ever talked about before!
• Reading Think and Grow Rich for the 4th time with Paul Martinelli
• There are no new ideas
• It’s had the same shape since the beginning of humans
• Ping-pong tables are one of the bright, shiny new objects
• Signal is not the same as cause
• Who can guess how many years ago Todd was in college?
• The yin and yang of vision and culture
• Now, next, later? Culture is all the time!
• Culture is based on intention
• The roots of the word “culture”
• Culture must be sustained
• About Aaron’s new Commerce Theory
• “This is hard to do in 25 words or less!”
• Maybe you can’t help but to worship
• “All human behavior follows that basic shape”
• I’ve got 15,000 questions to ask you and we’ve only got time for 1!
• Todd’s word for 2024
• Psychology dances with what is sacred - humans are theological
• Whatever you’re doing is what you believe to be the most valuable thing to do with your time and space
• Todd is an understated genius
• Where does Aaron’s fascination with words come from?
• The etymology of “leadership”
• A meta-etymology
• That stuff shapes your thinking and you don’t even realize it!
• Why do people think ping-pong tables will improve their company culture?
• Taking conversations below the surface - making them meaningful and deep
• The boat is very special and meaningful, but you can’t start with the boat
• The length of time to transformation - the actions become more automatic
• For deep alignment, see your company culture chiropractor
• They were yelling at me about how much I’ve changed in a year!
• Do you get into resolutions?
• Resolutions vs. Habits
• Outcome goals vs. process goals

Learn more about Todd at ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://toddkuckkahn.com/⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠, on ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Facebook⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠, or ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠LinkedIn⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

Learn more about Aaron at ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://aaronjmarx.com/⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠, on ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Facebook⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠, or ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠LinkedIn⁠

A really fun, stimulating conversation about culture, and whether culture or vision is primary.

Recorded 12/6/23, includes:

• “That’s a scary thought…”
• “If I don’t notice I get in trouble”
• The world of Marx
• Where does your heart go?  Aaron did not pass out!
• Pauses feel interminable
• Cross-fertilization feels like part of your niche
• “There’s another word for fertilizer”
• The time between Thanksgiving and Christmas
• You’re keeping the spotlight on me
• A month is made up of 4 weeks and the weeks go very fast
• I don’t get away that easy?
• What are you most excited about for 2024?
• Planting all different kinds of seeds
• The weeds got taller than the corn!
• So, culture…was that a question?!
• Some provocative thoughts about culture
• “If I was going to boil culture down to one word…”
• Is the culture the goal, or is the culture a means to a bigger goal, or both/and?
• “Designing” cultures?  Why does that word feel wrong to you?
• Maxwell: Leadership is influence, nothing more, nothing less.
• It’s about relationships, feeling, and personality

• Outcomes come down to…why does it feel that way?
• Motivational mismatch
• Outcomes show you how to improve the culture
• The 9 elements of Speak Your Peace
• Posters on the wall - they’re just there…
• “I would speculate it doesn’t just stay on the wall”
• Culture is generative - an ongoing act of (co)creation
• How do you TRULY change a culture?
• Culture is a living document
• “Culture eats vision”
• Culture is neither top-down, nor bottom-up
• “The third bricklayer says I’m creating a place for people to worship the Lord”
• Boom!  There’s that culture/vision thing - do you make 4 by adding 2 and 2 or 3 and 1?
• A chicken-and-egg thing
• If you have a good vision but a bad culture, and vice versa…
• Part of a good culture is understanding the proper role of fun
• The problem with “fun”

• “That’s really just a bunch of friends!”
• Why Kwik Trip and Culver’s feels better than McDonald’s - can culture be systemized?
• “The customer doesn’t come first, the employee does.”
• Final thoughts about culture
• Culture is just caring about people
• I think culture is actually everything - it’s what we’re all looking for
• How some companies try to “design” culture, and cueing up a sequel!
  

Learn more about Todd at ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://toddkuckkahn.com/⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠, on ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Facebook⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠, or ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠LinkedIn⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

Learn more about Aaron at ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://aaronjmarx.com/⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠, on ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Facebook⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠, or ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠LinkedIn⁠

Aaron and Todd connect after Todd's Live2Lead event in Central Wisconsin for a wide-ranging conversation.

Recorded 11/1/23, includes:

• Get your butt in here!
• I’m glad we’re batchin’ together today - basking in the feeling of not knowing where to begin
• The conversation is the content
• Why do we like to be coached?  Always room for improvement
• How do you reconcile delighting in differences with finding common ground?
• They’re Todd’s friend!  They’re Todd’s friend!  They’re Todd’s friend!
• Attracting and cultivating diverse following
• It shows me how much I don’t know about networking!
• Live2Lead 2023 - a special event for Todd
• From executives to front lines
• Celebrate every unsubscribe
• Aaron’s takeaways from Live2Lead and assessment of the speakers
• Different takes on John Maxwell
• Love and flourishing
• People say you’re philosophical?!
• The worst way to determine how tall someone is

• What would you do if you knew you could not fail?
• Why aren’t you dreaming bigger, going for it more, moving forward, failing faster?
• “Chasing failure can take you farther than success ever could.”
• Did you have hot chocolate?
• Books, written and unwritten
• What about leaving something for your grandchildren?
• What Aaron is proudest of about attending Live2Lead - always keeping you on your toes
• Aaron’s vision for a creative retreat
• Some of Aaron’s recent events
• About Aaron’s new book
• Events - overplanning vs. underplanning, expectations vs. reality
• Todd’s thoughts about Aaron’s new book
• Deep thoughts - there is no self
• What Todd finds most fascinating about Aaron’s ideas
• Self-awareness and revisiting core values
• There’s a place for all of us
• Thriving on interactions with others
• What’s next for Aaron’s book
• Online courses
• Don’t wait until it’s perfect!
• Aaron’s most expensive domain purchase to date and his second book
• Commerce Theory
• A final question we should all think about more
• Do you care about the flourishing human, or just the bottom line?

Learn more about Todd at ⁠⁠⁠⁠https://toddkuckkahn.com/⁠⁠⁠⁠, on ⁠⁠⁠⁠Facebook⁠⁠⁠⁠, or ⁠⁠⁠⁠LinkedIn⁠⁠⁠⁠

Learn more about Aaron at ⁠⁠⁠⁠https://aaronjmarx.com/⁠⁠⁠⁠, on ⁠⁠⁠⁠Facebook⁠⁠⁠⁠, or ⁠⁠⁠⁠LinkedIn⁠

Aaron and Todd reconnect after a couple months out in the wild and catch up.  Includes, among other things, in in-depth discussion about the difference between leadership and management.

Recorded 4/6/23, includes:

• “Recording in progress - in the digital flesh”
• Aaron’s hair and the lowest price Todd remembers for a gallon of gasoline
• Doing better than I was 5 years ago - Todd’s milestone - in alignment
• Keeping a positive attitude, about the benefits of Aaron’s coaching
• Why Todd has more energy than EVER at 65!
• “The alternative stinks!”
• Reevaluating introversion and extroversion
• Talking energy
• The depth of Aaron’s posts
• Personality type and a path to personal growth
• “It’s like putting everyone’s blood type out there…”
• The technical knowledge that helps you build a better culture
• “We’re legit podcasters now!”
• Listener feedback
• Avoiding people on the negative side of the balance sheet
• The universe is an energetic system
• How many university departments could use a seminar in company culture?
• Dealing with negative energy
• There is a beauty to our trauma, but it’s not the same thing as being negative
• Not everyone will keep pace with you
• Todd’s trip to the Maxwell Leadership Conference
• The amazing positive energy of live events
• The difference between management and leadership
• Leadership is about influence - is that a bad thing? - It’s ultimately an interpersonal process
• Growth vs. advancement in organizations
• You need people to have production
• “Now I’m nervous!”
• Why Todd often works with middle management - managers/leads/supervisors
• Why even executives can benefit from leadership training
• The importance of succession planning
• Are some people better suited for leadership than others?
• Theories of success - it all leads back to personality!
• A quick overview of the DISC personality system
• Are certain personality types better suited to leadership and/or management?
• Why managers benefit from becoming better leaders
• How personality type has helped Aaron’s marriage
• Leadership is often about conflict and change - chess, not checkers
• The best basketball coach isn’t necessarily a great player
• “When I go into a new company I spend very little time learning about the industry”
• Our lives are a path to growth

Learn more about Todd at ⁠⁠⁠https://toddkuckkahn.com/⁠⁠⁠, on ⁠⁠⁠Facebook⁠⁠⁠, or ⁠⁠⁠LinkedIn⁠⁠⁠

Learn more about Aaron at ⁠⁠⁠https://aaronjmarx.com/⁠⁠⁠, on ⁠⁠⁠Facebook⁠⁠⁠, or ⁠⁠⁠LinkedIn⁠

A short conversation to wrap up our series on trust.

Recorded 2/24/23

• Wedding music: Is Todd going to read all this?  A familiar theme…
• Nothing happens without trust - it’s the thing people need to rest into
• Patrick Lencioni - the 5 Dysfunctions of a Team
• Existence itself is built on trust
• Fox News vs. MSNBC, presidents, and trusting political leaders
• How do we know enough to trust a president?
• Approaching differences with respect to discover who we are
• Trusting the institution vs. trusting the person
• Trust creates freedom
• The 9 fruits of trust
• Building trust - chicken or egg?

Learn more about Todd at ⁠https://toddkuckkahn.com/⁠, on ⁠Facebook⁠, or ⁠LinkedIn⁠

Learn more about Aaron at ⁠https://aaronjmarx.com/⁠, on ⁠Facebook⁠, or ⁠LinkedIn

This is the second part of a very careful, thoughtful, intentional, and reflective conversation about trust.

Recorded 2/10/23, includes:

• Todd is nervous!
• Aaron is getting busy
• Achieving instead of merely creating activity
• Todd’s word of the year and starting to say “no” to things
• Aaron hasn’t missed a Mission Networking session
• “You don’t know it because it will come back to you, you do it because it’s right”
• Helping others to help yourself to help others to help yourself to help…
• Education as the metaprofession
• It’s important to keep your WHY
• Attractive in the abundant sense
• Collective reevaluation of the concept of retirement
• The pandemic was a seismic shift for the workplace
• The pandemic as a laboratory for human behavior
• The human condition and Aaron’s 2 -rations, comfort zones, and fear
• New opportunities for Todd
• The universal shape of our conversation
• It’s important to share our message
• “I’ll drop your name anywhere”
• Update on Todd’s family
• How do you know when trust is absent or deficient?
• Culture and trust are tied together through communication
• It always comes down to communication
• You can’t ever communicate too well or build too much trust
• Thoughts from Patrick Lencioni
• Is it possible to communicate and not build trust?
• Automation, AI, canned messages, and trust
• Efficiency and trust
• Looking at communication like Sherlock Holmes
• Communication is inevitable - is it building trust?
• Not acting on your values negates them
• What do you have to put your time into so that people trust you more?
• Trust and personality styles
• It’s just a birthday greeting…
• The simplest and most profound question any of us must answer
• Praying by rote vs. spontaneity
• The little things affect trust
• Integrity is doing the right thing when no one is watching
• Trust comes from authenticity
• What is this thing that generates trust?
• People have a sense of authenticity, and trust is built through this
• The distaste of overpromising, and creating trust through humility
• Authenticity and standardization: building trust at scale
• Marketing vs. internal communication
• Building trust through SOPs and reliability
• “I don’t know those people at all”
• Generic is not the same thing as inauthentic
• Authentic vs. personal
• “We are SEEKING trust”
• Vulnerability and integrity
• “Even their thank you reply notes are canned!!!”
• “I know who you are”
• Trust and corporate hierarchies
• Trust is about knowing the WHY
• Trust and economics in small businesses vs. large organizations
• You can’t forget where you came from
• Willing the best for the other - servant leadership
• Can relationships ever be truly balanced?
• Trust can always be improved, but never perfected - the sublimated absurdity of the ideal of imperfectability
• Many ways to play with words!
• A recipe for trust

Bonus morsels:

• Wagner, alliteration, the fat lady with the horns
• Love to connect!
  

Learn more about Todd at ⁠⁠https://toddkuckkahn.com/⁠⁠, on ⁠⁠Facebook⁠⁠, or ⁠⁠LinkedIn⁠⁠

Learn more about Aaron at ⁠⁠https://aaronjmarx.com/⁠⁠, on ⁠⁠Facebook⁠⁠, or ⁠⁠LinkedIn⁠

We're catching up and bouncing around a bit.

Molly’s wedding, public speaking, balancing giving and getting, setting goals, authentic sales, and more!

Recorded 1/25/23, includes:

• Lots to catch up on!
• An interesting exercise - not a true wedding, not a true vacation - all about Todd’s daughter Molly’s wedding in Jamaica
• The toughest speech Todd ever gave
• The shape of the son-in-law relationship
• Aaron’s Business X-Change at the PCBC
• Energy is the most metaphysical everyday conversation we have
• A shift in Aaron’s life
• Todd’s public speaking - “I need to weave facts into the story, not weave the story into facts”
• Playing the networking long game
• Aaron’s upcoming speaking career
• A fun Law of Attraction story
• Give to get - “Is God trying to give me a message here?”
• Boundaries around professional services - “It’s gotta be a good fit both ways”
• Is time scarce? - Priorities and time management
• New Year’s Resolutions - How do you establish your goals?
• “Isn’t that what we’re all here to do, find as much meaning as possible?”
• Turning priorities into habits - If I form the right habit the rest should fall into place
• “The One” - If I was to say at the beginning of the year I’m going to do it 365 times I would say you’re crazy
• Process goals vs. Outcome goals
• Energy sovereignty
• Did you always have that kind of energy, or did you have to develop it?
• The tension between authenticity and growth
• Skiing vs. networking events
• “Some days wearing pants is a big deal for me too.”

Bonus morsels:

• Talking shop
• So let it be written, so let it be done
• Are you on the downside of this cold?
• Sounds good brother!
  

Learn more about Todd at ⁠https://toddkuckkahn.com/⁠, on ⁠Facebook⁠, or ⁠LinkedIn⁠

Learn more about Aaron at ⁠https://aaronjmarx.com/⁠, on ⁠Facebook⁠, or ⁠LinkedIn

This is the first part of a very careful, thoughtful, intentional, and reflective conversation about trust.

Recorded 12/21/22, includes:

• “You’re a shovel enthusiast!” & anticipating snowpocalypse
• Reliving our story
• Here’s Trust, Part 1, everyone!
• Rediscovering trust
• Every core value is like a good book
• Patrick Lencioni and the absence of trust
• “It’s your tendency to trust people unless you’re given a reason not to”
• Levels of trust - there is general trust, but trust can grow
• Reflections on Martin Luther King Jr.
• Would they have been as famous if they had survived?
• Whatever you want to achieve, trust is the first step
• Todd’s list of 18 ways to build trust
• Hard to build, easy to knock down - building trust is like weight loss
• Trust is improved through self-awareness
• Can you negotiate your way to deeper trust?
• All growth happens out of your comfort zone
• Trust is ALWAYS a risk
• The one thing that can build trust quickly - why some businesses fail at this
• How to more effectively build trust within an organization
• A job description needs to build trust quickly - how to do it
• A valuable lens for leaders
• Tradeoffs of trust?
• Zero-sum trust and the political game
• Building trust through setting expectations
• Trust can’t ever be perfect, but can always be deepened
• Looking for a threshold
• Trust is sacred
• How do you know when trust is absent?

Bonus morsels:

• High-wire act
• I’m super offended!
• You never put a 🎀 on trust…
  

Learn more about Todd at ⁠https://toddkuckkahn.com/⁠, on ⁠Facebook⁠, or ⁠LinkedIn⁠

Learn more about Aaron at ⁠https://aaronjmarx.com/⁠, on ⁠Facebook⁠, or ⁠LinkedIn

Recorded 12/7/22, includes:

• Passion, or a senior moment?
• Posthumous degree question
• Todd’s aura entrainment vs. dispassionate talk on Zoom
• Does networking happen at funerals?
• Pearl Harbor Day vs. 9/11
• Even Todd gets cynical sometimes, but it’s exhausting 🙂
• Generations
• Todd is a former history teacher
• Who would you rather have on your team? (Roosevelt, Churchill, Hitler)
• The moral responsibility of teaching strengths
• Strengths are morally neutral
• Beasts (Jessie Owens & smoking)
• Todd’s beast is lack of consistency but Aaron doesn’t see it
• Orient your life to be associated with the strength that is the opposite of your weakness
• Aaron’s beast
• Being salesey on LinkedIn
• I’ll get up in front of a group of chipmunks and talk
• Aaron is exceptionally thoughtful and thought-provoking
• Aaron’s awkward intensity
• Nobody but you knows what you’re going to talk about
• Coaching and high performing friends
• Speaking in a finite amount of time
• “Two too many things” - We don’t like murdering our children (creative children)
• “You’re accountable to the consequences”
• Todd’s consequence-oriented masterminds
• Results show what you can do, process shows if you’re the right one
• How much do you improve your strengths vs. improve your weaknesses?
• What’s the one thing you would focus on?
• Why does Todd like speaking so much?  How did he know it was what he wanted to do?
• Why does Aaron like coaching so much?

Learn more about Todd at ⁠https://toddkuckkahn.com/⁠, on ⁠Facebook⁠, or ⁠LinkedIn⁠

Learn more about Aaron at ⁠https://aaronjmarx.com/⁠, on ⁠Facebook⁠, or ⁠LinkedIn

A short conversation about technology, insecurity, history, geopolitics, economics, privilege, and intergenerational trauma in the workplace. Todd and Aaron get unexpectedly philosophical on a Friday afternoon 😄

Recorded 9/23/22

• Nothing is untouched by technology

• Not a LOT of B&W TV shows…

• A funny story about Heidi…

• Being unsure how people feel about you/wavelength

• Fearing people don’t like you and not overthinking it

• Do you guys like me?

• Fears in the post-Haber world - Rejection is the new starvation

• Thriving while others are in crisis

• Redistribution vs. the entrepreneurial spirit

• How stable and secure are we really?

• We have good lives in spite of everything

• Look for the little ways you can help people

• Philosophy is a rich man’s sport

• Awe of the human condition

• How do we solve persistent problems?

• Giving people hope in the workplace

• Intergenerational trauma flowing through the workplace

• Great leaders work on 5 levels

• I feel like I have to pray all the time.  Good work is praying.

• All we can do is start the ripple

• The Kindness Factor - Why do we have to make a business out of kindness?!

• I just get on the call with you!  We don’t really need a topic - it doesn’t take any effort to have a conversation with you.

• It’s all integrated in the Realm of Purpose

• Unexpected beauty

Learn more about Todd at https://toddkuckkahn.com/, on Facebook, or LinkedIn

Learn more about Aaron at https://aaronjmarx.com/, on Facebook, or LinkedIn

This episode was recorded before Thanksgiving of 2022, just after Aaron went through one more core values exercise led by Todd. Take a listen to hear the results. Todd and Aaron conclude that they have much to be thankful for!

At one point Aaron references professor John Vervaeke's 50-part lecture series about philosophy, religion, and cognitive science called "Awakening From the Meaning Crisis". Learn more and watch the series at: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLND1JCRq8Vuh3f0P5qjrSdb5eC1ZfZwWJ

Recorded 11/21/22, includes:

• Setting up a convo about core values
• Todd’s first experience with core values
• Live to Lead and Lead Transformed
• Faith and Family are the glue
• Remembering Todd’s core values
• Basking in Todd’s aura
• The sun doesn’t try to shine - it just does
• Todd’s core values create his aura
• “It has your name on it, Todd.”
• When I leave this room I’m gonna wonder the entire way home whether you like me or not!”
• Leaving People With an Impression of Increase
• There’s a 5-foot sphere around Todd
• “I’m glad it’s an aura and not an aura”
• “You have to give to get” (Todd’s secret to networking)
• Aaron’s top core value - is there a word stronger than “curiosity”?!
• What Aaron is grateful for in 2022 - better conversations with more people
• What brought us here, to the present moment?
• Aaron’s brand shift
• Curiosity has driven all of it
• Todd’s keynote
• Aaron’s core values and the story his conversations tell
• A crisis of meaning
• Healing in the workplace
• Why not make a Monday feel like a Friday?
• Meaningful engagement
• The only sacred thing is sanctity itself
• An obligation to discern
• What’s your top core value?
• It’s more important to be right than fast
• It’s mysterious how we know the right answer…
• Can core values change?
• Leaning into your core values
• It should hurt a bit
• I feel like this is a sacred thing we’re talking about
• Individual vs. organizational core values
• Personality conflicts in the workplace
• Honoring the trueness of the individual - where trust comes into play
• You can enact healing and positive transformation in hundreds of ways
• Many permutations - how many combinations are possible?
• Giving Thanks - Aaron’s conversations and Todd’s inner circle
• Happy Trails!  Generational Differences
• Fun ending things

Learn more about Todd at ⁠https://toddkuckkahn.com/⁠, on ⁠Facebook⁠, or ⁠LinkedIn⁠

Learn more about Aaron at ⁠https://aaronjmarx.com/⁠, on ⁠Facebook⁠, or ⁠LinkedIn

This episode, recorded immediately following Todd's successful keynote address through the Portage County Business Council (PCBC), covers the experience of the keynote address and Aaron's early attempts at discerning his core values.

Please note, Clearly Simple is no longer accepting new clients. Anyone interested in working with Aaron should visit and inquire through https://aaronjmarx.com/. Todd can be found at https://toddkuckkahn.com/.

Recorded 5/10/22, includes:

• Todd’s cool bike ride
• Todd’s keynote address for the Portage County Business Council (PCBC)
• Vistage
• What Aaron got out of Todd’s keynote
• Did Todd get paid?
• Why Todd wanted to help with the promotion - his network helped to fill the room
• “If nothing else, the breakfast was good”
• A point of alignment
• The PCBC’s yearly keynote
• Todd’s signature talk - his first time putting everything together in 3 hours
• Testing presentations, speaking as performance
• What entrepreneurs can learn from standup comedians and musicians
• Introvert or extrovert?  Energized by speaking or not?
• Todd’s star quality
• Impostor Syndrome
• How Aaron experiences speaking
• How to be a relatable speaker
• Walk among your people
• A story about Tommy Thompson
• Network Development
• Todd’s networking tips
• Commercial 
• Networking on LinkedIn
• Aaron’s successful mailing list strategy
• Aaron’s core values - Some people seem to do it faster than others
• Details Todd remembers
• A quick connection - it cuts through all the crap
• The tone is immediately aspirational
• You don’t think of a meat manufacturer as the type to get into core values…
• Introduce yourself as who you are, not what you are
• “You can’t read the label from the inside of the jar”
• Aaron’s who statement
• “It helps you believe in yourself”
• A productive disagreement
• Culture or vision - difference between large organizations and small businesses?
• The importance of belief systems
• Final congratulations to Todd!

Learn more about Todd at https://toddkuckkahn.com/, on Facebook, or LinkedIn

Learn more about Aaron at https://aaronjmarx.com/, on Facebook, or LinkedIn

Todd and Aaron dive deep into one of their favorite topics, core values. They go through and explore Todd's core values, and prepare to help Aaron narrow his down. Tune in next time to see how THAT goes!

Recorded 4/5/22, includes:

• Todd’s core values
• Todd’s process of first discerning his values
• Faith and family as overarching metavalues
• 100 to 20, 20 to 5
• Todd’s core values in detail
• Optimism
• Trust
• Dealing with broken trust
• Honesty
• Aaron’s mind lingers in darkness more
• Everybody Lies
• Google is SUPER honest!
• Lies, damn lies, and statistics
• “There's something about you that makes me want it to be true!”
• Enthusiasm
• Teamwork
• “I don’t think you can do things without teams.”
• Basketball story
• Teams endure
• Solopreneurs consultants and their different teams
• EVERYTHING we do is a team effort!
• LIfting each other up
• Exercise: List all the teams you’re a part of
• Aaron’s beginning explorations with core values
• How to narrow down core values

Learn more about Todd at https://toddkuckkahn.com/, on Facebook, or LinkedIn

Learn more about Aaron at https://aaronjmarx.com/, on Facebook, or LinkedIn

Todd and Aaron have a wide-ranging talk about all the ins and outs of personality type.

Recorded 11/11/22, includes:

• Why personality type is the most important concept Aaron has ever learned
• Personality type is about our differences and similarities
• “They both feel like superpowers to the other person”
• We should be focusing on our strengths and finding others to complete us
• Preferred personality systems
• They all tell the story in their own ways
• Expanding upon Myers-Briggs
• How Aaron got interested in personality type
• Some fun personality type in popular culture
• How knowledge of  personality type helps Aaron get better results in his life
• “I always feel like you’re analyzing me…”
• Awareness of social dynamics, power, and agreements
• Creating more meaningful, engaged, respectful relationships
• How Todd “flexes” his style to maximize harmony and productivity
• How personality type helps everyone to lean into their strengths
• How personality type aligns with core values
• “I never get bored”
• Nothing is cookie cutter
• Human beings never get boring
• Growth mindset is a choice, and personality type is a leadership topic
• The personality type equivalent of picturing the audience naked
• How Todd likes to start his corporate trainings
• Do you ever wish you could unlearn personality type?
• Would you want to be a different personality type or style?
• It’s exhausting to be what you’re not
• Personal development is about becoming more of who you are
• It can be exhausting and vulnerable to be who you really are
• Is it better to lean into your strengths or improve your weaknesses?
• Advice based on John Maxwell’s Power DISC
• Why Todd and Aaron get along so well
• How many times have we imagined the crowd in their underwear?  How could the crowd determine whether your message is wrong?
• Some of Aaron’s favorite personality systems
• Personality type is a deep, significant topic that provides endless insights about how people work together
• A couple poetic final thoughts - St. Paul & 8 billion types

Learn more about Todd at https://toddkuckkahn.com/, on Facebook, or LinkedIn

Learn more about Aaron at https://aaronjmarx.com/, on Facebook, or LinkedIn

Todd and Aaron chat about the power of dirty jokes, Todd's latest Live to Lead facilitation, and get into a detailed discussion about the nature of intergenerational communication in the workplace and life.

Recorded 10/26/22, includes:

• “What happens in the VIP Room stays in the VIP Room”
• Dirty jokes and breaking the ice
• A story from Aaron’s college music experience
• A story from Todd’s college - Can I get paid to go into a bar and drink beer?
• There’s always the parts of the job you don’t wanna do
• Todd’s sixth Live to Lead - How it works & the guest lineup
• Todd’s clever and useful ACT system of taking notes
• It’s amazing what people will tell you - leadership and the integration of human experience - boundaries are unclear and it’s impossible to disentangle it all
• Baggage goes into the workplace and baggage comes out of the workplace.  It’s all about meaningful engagement.
• Tim Elmore and generational diversity in life and the workplace
• Todd and Aaron’s generations
• Generations and differing work ethics, major events, outlooks
• The nature of purpose
• Communication and value differences between generations
• Aaron’s kids and their generational communication style
• What schools and school districts need to remember
• “That’s where we’re going” and a prediction for the year 2050
• How long will it be before people are living on the sun?
• More about Live to Lead
• Purpose does not happen in a day - it’s daily
• Do you ever get tired of personal growth?  Todd’s answer
• Do you ever get tired of personal growth?  Aaron’s answer
• It’s a hard thing to measure
• Is economics abundant or zero-sum?
• Have you impacted anyone in the last 5, 10, or 15 years?
• Don’t stop doing it!
• Each of us has something the world needs.
• There are people out there who should be doing what we’re doing.
• The next Live to Lead
• Something about the way our conversations go
• Hilarious jokes
• NSFW
• The power of (dirty) jokes
• Doris Kearns Goodwin and what presidents did to get away from it all

Learn more about Todd at https://toddkuckkahn.com/, on Facebook, or LinkedIn

Learn more about Aaron at https://aaronjmarx.com/, on Facebook, or LinkedIn

A short conversation about Leadership, John Maxwell, J.S. Bach, the challenge of self promotion.  Oh, and radishes too 🙂

Learn more about Todd at https://toddkuckkahn.com/, on Facebook, or LinkedIn

Learn more about Aaron at https://aaronjmarx.com/, on Facebook, or LinkedIn