“Cost structure is a process; it’s about applying managerial cost concepts to the restaurant industry.” Mark Kelnhofer My guest is Mark Kelnhofer, president and CEO of Return on Ingredients LLC. Mark is an international speaker and author on recipe costing and menu Engineering. He has more than 25 years of experience in bottom line, boosting accounting. After graduating from Ohio Dominican University with his undergraduate degree, he immediately went into manufacturing Academy. He spent eight ye...
Sep 12, 2022•48 min
"Improv is not about being a solo performer. It's about relationships." Peter Margaritis Leaders who lead with an Improv Leadership Style have a foundation of respect, trust, and support for their organization and people. These leaders know how to prepare in advance and, at the same time, empower the people who are under them to shine. These leaders understand that it is not only about themselves and what they bring to the table; it's also about their leadership in delegation and listening to th...
Sep 05, 2022•8 min
"If I can attract people because they feel I'm serving their needs, confirming their dreams, and helping them get there, that actually makes more money for my shareholders." David Savage What does collaboration mean to you? David Savage believes that most people use the term without really fully understanding it and therefore aren’t able to access the full potential of true collaboration. Our guest today, David Savage, is the author of several books, including Breakthrough to Yes. Over a ten-yea...
Aug 29, 2022•46 min
“Ego leadership is outdated because it generates behaviors that are no longer tolerated in today's workplace.” Peter Margaritis Vulnerability, empathy, and the willingness to let go of our ego matter when it comes to developing the kind of leadership capacity our employees, peers, and other stakeholders deserve from us. Crucial to the development of dynamic, admirable leadership is learning to communicate in a way that doesn't negate the experiences of others. Listening and presence exercises ca...
Aug 22, 2022•11 min
"People who want to help people further their business and solve their problems." Stacey Rodgers In today's episode, we welcome Stacey Rodgers to the podcast. Stacey is the executive director of people and culture at Cohen & Company CPA firm based in Cleveland, Ohio. Stacey offers a unique perspective when it comes to helping the firm to develop and maintain outstanding client service teams. As a former auditor who built her career within Cohen & Company, she has a dual understanding of ...
Aug 15, 2022•47 min
"The collective knowledge outside your office far exceeds the collective knowledge inside your office." Peter Margaritis We all have an ego. Some egos are underdeveloped, others are well developed, and yet others are overdeveloped. Overdeveloped egos can, in some cases, ultimately transform into full-blown narcissism. Conversely, when a person's ego becomes overdeveloped, they can begin to operate from the perspective that the world revolves around them. More often than not, narcissistic leaders...
Aug 08, 2022•10 min
“Accounting is all about how hard one works at it, and it is a skill more than it is something that someone is born with.” Anne Gannon In today’s episode, I welcome Anne Gannon. Anne is a certified public accountant who specializes in providing a monthly accounting and tax service that works for the business owner, not just the accountant. What makes Anne unique is that she is anything but your stereotypical accountant. After all, she spent her earlier years chasing the dream of professional gol...
Aug 01, 2022•40 min
"Great leaders inspire and motivate through empathy, not ego, agenda, and emotion." Peter Margaritis It can be hard to teach leaders to flip the script when it comes to being more empathetic and even vulnerable if those leaders are wearing thick protective armor over their humanity in the workplace. Two-face, empathy-devoid leaders take pride in their distance. But unfortunately, their aloof and impersonal workplace behavior starts degrading relationships, and then projects begin to fail. Self-a...
Jul 25, 2022•16 min
"As a leader, you have to know your people and be aware when their behavior changes." Karl Ahlrichs In today's episode, we are joined by Karl Ahlrichs. Karl specializes in helping professionals make order from chaos. He's a national speaker, author, and consultant presenting on people issues in all industries and is often quoted in the local and national media. Karl's experience is ideally suited for times of organizational change, as he pulls up on risk management and organizational development...
Jul 18, 2022•38 min
"Every single day in our role as leaders, we encounter situations where empathy would serve us and others well." Peter Margaritis There are dozens of remarkable leaders and scholars singing the praises of empathy in the workplace. For example, in his book, Geoff Colvin, the Fortune Magazine Senior Editor, argues that as workplaces evolve and leadership models change, the most important skill that leaders must possess is empathy. Similarly, an article published in the Harvard Business Review afte...
Jul 11, 2022•11 min
‘It's not the people that quit and leave your organization that you have to worry about, it is the people that quit and stay.’ Dr. Hope Zoeller My guests today are Dr. Hope Zoeller and Dr. Joe DeSensei. Dr. Hope is the founder and president of Hope LLC. Hope stands for Helping Other People Excel, and it is a firm that specializes in facilitating leaders’ success at every level of an organization. For 14 years of her professional career. Dr. Zeller worked at UPS in a variety of roles including cu...
Jul 04, 2022•51 min
"Leaders of organizations tend to be controlling, but the ability to let things go and see where the journey takes us can be more powerful." Peter Margaritis This is an excerpt from the book, Off Script: Mastering the Art of Business Improvisation. Leadership is not about self-promotion, being the center of attention, talking as much as you can, speaking in the third person, always being right, even when you're wrong, disrespecting others, or being a narcissist. However, in some organizations, t...
Jun 27, 2022•11 min
"To get what you want as a sales professional, you have to connect with the person who has it, and that person is your client." Lon Graham My guest is Lon Graham, who's a speaker coaching advocate. Lon speaks to sales teams, coaches, and sales leaders and is an advocate for sales professionals. He is also an award-winning sales and leadership professional. His message of getting the sales you want comes from over 25 years of experience in healthcare, corporate programs, events, and the airline i...
Jun 20, 2022•44 min
"Any gathering of individuals, no matter how large or small, is an opportunity to meet someone." Peter Margaritis If the thought of networking makes you sweat, it's time to rethink what networking is. Anytime you are at an event or even in a meeting where you don't know someone, you have the opportunity to network. It's about introducing yourself and getting to know someone. This involves having the right attitude, believing in yourself, having a plan, and remembering to smile. By taking just a ...
Jun 13, 2022•8 min
"We have to do a better job of providing kids with the foundation of financial literacy so we can set them up for success in the future." Rory Henry My guest was Rory Henry has 15 plus years of experience working in tax and, most recently, financial advisory professions. He's built a program AFO Wealth Management Forward, that works with accounting firms to implement holistic Wealth Management Services. Rory is a technology enthusiast at heart and adept at finding ways to improve the client expe...
Jun 05, 2022•40 min
"By injecting humor and levity into our work lives, we give ourselves an opportunity for human connection." Peter Margaritis According to some recent research, adding more laughter to the workplace helps improve the organization's culture. Humor allows people to cope with stress and build relationships and is associated with intelligence and creativity. Workplace humor is about a positive, light-hearted, open attitude and a playful mindset. One of the best ways to create a competitive advantage ...
May 30, 2022•8 min
“The idea of burning the ladder is a shifting mindset, and building bridges is the action that creates opportunities to build relationships.’ Dr. Alan Patterson My guests today are Dr. Alan Patterson and Jenny Knuth. Alan has more than three decades of international business experience. In 2006, he formed Mentore, a consulting practice specializing in leadership and organizational development. Many global and national businesses and organizations have tapped his expertise, including Anheuser Bus...
May 23, 2022•50 min
“People's perceptions of you are their reality, so pay attention to what you want their reality to be.” Peter Margaritis The way we show up does make a big difference, whether in person or virtually. Perception is reality, and the perceptions we create with others, especially with decision-making executives, really matter. People want to interact with humans they can see, hear and experience in person, whether remotely or in person. When we can see and hear each other, we see and feel the energy...
May 16, 2022•9 min
“The beauty of good leadership is having the ability of having a wonderful platform to impact someone that you may never know how so.“ Ruben Minor Our guest today is Ruben Minor, who is the president of RAM Consulting Group, an organization that focuses on speaking training and coaching individuals and groups regarding leadership, team dynamics, relationship building, diversity, equity and inclusion, fundamental business philosophies, and business and personal branding. Reuben is a leader with a...
May 09, 2022•43 min
“Emotional Intelligence helps you connect with your feelings, turning that into action, and making informed decisions about what matters most to you.” Peter Margaritis To succeed in the highly competitive world of financial consulting, accounting professionals must possess the right mix of technical experience and soft skills, or think of them as power skills, or better yet, emotional intelligence — EI. EI plays an increasingly significant role in today's business environment. Therefore, you mus...
May 02, 2022•13 min
“In rapidly changing times, dexterity to speed is your key to adaptability.” Rod Collins In today’s episode, we are joined by Rod Collins, a returning guest. Rod’s initial episode was released on February 14th, 2022. The topic of conversation was ‘The Benefits of Flat Organizational Structures.’ Today, our discussion focuses on the strengths of running a collective intelligence workshop when you're trying to solve problems or coming up with new ideas. If you have not listened to the earlier reco...
Apr 25, 2022•28 min
“Go write those stories, prepare and practice. And then if the occasion calls, go off script.” Peter Margaritis This excerpt from the book “Off Script: Mastering The Art of Business Improv.“ The Silent Killer of business is ultimately a lack of financial acumen. The death knell of a company comes from having leaders who are empowered to make important decisions and who don’t understand the fundamentals of Accounting and Finance. Leaders need this understanding and knowledge to make more informed...
Apr 18, 2022•8 min
“There is a real direct application to being human with what you learn in theatre and Improve.” Robert Bendetti Today, our guest is Robert Bendetti, Jr., CPA, who is the Senior Vice President and Chief Financial Officer of Life Cycle Engineering. As CFO, he is responsible for all financial operations of the company and accounting contracts, purchasing, Process automation, and IT. Before Life Cycle Engineering, Robert served as VP of Finance at Galey and Lord and CFO of the Coastal Logistics Grou...
Apr 11, 2022•27 min
We are in the people business and we need to treat our people and customers with the respect that they deserve.” Peter Margaritis Saving a few pennies is not worth losing a customer. In this era of social media, bad reviews, pictures of disappointing meals, and word of mouth can significantly impact your business. While we must always watch our costs in order to make a profit, it is important to realize that it is the revenues that drive that profit. If we don't get a return business, we lose re...
Apr 04, 2022•8 min
Leadership has many attributes associated with it, such as perseverance, vision, inspiration, motivation, and service, to name a few. A leader is there to serve, and my uncle Dean was a great leader who served his country. Retired Colonel Dean Danos passed away on January 27, 2022, after a valiant and brave battle with pancreatic cancer. He served in the Vietnam war, where he flew over 300 combat missions in the AC-47 Gunship, known as Spooky. After serving in Vietnam, he was stationed in the Pa...
Mar 28, 2022•9 min
“When it comes to cybersecurity, the effort level on the part of the bad guy is not any different, regardless of whether it is a large entity or small entity.” Chris Barber My guest today is Chris Barber. Chris is the Chief Nerd at Cheaper Than A Geek IT service provider. They have demonstrated a history of providing award-winning support in the IT service industry. Cheaper Than A Geek helps small businesses save money with a smart managed IT service. As an industry leader Cheaper Than A Geek ha...
Mar 21, 2022•27 min
“It's really about understanding what is your way that you uniquely contribute to your business, and most of the time, it's not going to be where you're spending most of your time.” Courtney DeRonde Today, my guest is Courtney DeRonde, a CPA and managing partner of TDT CPAs and Advisors— the boutique advisory and accounting firm for small businesses and nonprofit organizations. The company helps overwhelmed, successful leaders, understand and maximize financial information to achieve better resu...
Mar 14, 2022•27 min
“Higher education needs to change how accounting is taught and align it with the critical power skills required to succeed in today's business climate.” Peter Margaritis As an accountant, understanding how to sell yourself, both in an educational setting and in the workplace can help you succeed professionally. Technical accounting skills are the foundation of accounting education. However, in today's accounting profession, technical skills are not enough to grow your career by themselves. You n...
Mar 07, 2022•9 min
“I truly believe that every person you meet has the power to change your life, and you have the power to change theirs.” Jen Nash My guest today is Jen Nash, The Connector in Chief. Jen helps people add more meaning to their lives through connection. She's a master facilitator, passionate about masterful storytelling, corporate training, and an author and sought-after executive coach. With over 20 years working as an entrepreneur building a multimillion-dollar real estate portfolio, and offering...
Feb 28, 2022•28 min
“Learning how to listen effectively is a critical part of communication and building stronger connections.” Peter Margaritis Being an active listener creates many advantages in life and work. However, mastering the art of active listening is easier said than done. Active listeners pay attention to what others are saying without thinking about how they will respond or how the conversation might affect them. They listen to a big difference in what the other person is saying – not what they hear. W...
Feb 21, 2022•10 min
