Archives: Podcast Episodes

How do some people become master connectors? How can you create more meaningful connections for your life and your work? And, especially, what role does empathy play in forming meaningful connections, particularly in the business world? We’re going to talk about all of that and more today with my guest, Michelle Tillis Lederman. Michelle is known for helping people work better together and advance their individual impact. She is one of my go-to resources for effective networking, and more importantly, effective connections to benefit your own life as well as your work. Listen in as we answer these questions and how you too can be more comfortable and authentic when connecting even if you think it’s not your strong suit.

Key Takeaways:

• Networking is something you do, being a connector is who you are.
• Find a way to keep yourself engaged in the conversation by asking your brain questions around the conversation.
• You don’t have to agree with everyone you talk to. When you disagree, acknowledge and add – that keeps us in a conversation.
• Sometimes the curiosity of trying to understand and being provocative can do something for somebody else because you’re showing interest, and you’re also making them think.

“Look for opportunities to do the things that you can say yes to. If you want a place to start, start by saying, ‘How can I help?’” —  Michelle Tillis Lederman

FREE GIFT Link: MichelleTillisLederman.com/GiftPack

Book Bonuses: TheConnectorsAdvantage.com

Take the Connector Quiz: MichelleTillisLederman.com/Connector-Quiz

About Michelle Tillis Lederman: Michelle Tillis Lederman, one of Forbes Top 25 Networking Experts, is the author of four books including the internationally known, The 11 Laws of Likability, and her latest The Connectors Advantage. Michelle is a connection creator and CEO of Executive Essentials, which provides customized communications and leadership programs for fortune 500, non-profit, university and government clients. A former finance executive and NYU Professor, Michelle is a regular in the media appearing on NBC, CBS, Fox, NPR, the Wall Street Journal, NY Times, CNBC, and others. Michelle is known for helping people work better together and advance their individual impact.

Connect with Michelle:  

Website: MichelleTillisLederman.com

Facebook: facebook.com/MichelleTillisLederman

LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/CommunicationExpertSpeaker

Twitter: twitter.com/mtlederman

YouTube: youtube.com/user/MichelleLederman

Instagram: instagram.com/mtlederman

Don’t forget to download your free guide! Discover The 5 Business Benefits of Empathy: http://red-slice.com/business-benefits-empathy

Connect with Maria: 

Get the podcast and book: TheEmpathyEdge.com

Learn more about Maria’s brand strategy work and books: Red-Slice.com

Hire Maria to speak at your next event: Red-Slice.com/Speaker-Maria-Ross

LinkedIn: Maria Ross

Instagram: @redslicemaria

Twitter: @redslice

Facebook: Red Slice

We have so much work to do in this country, in organizations, higher education, and our world at large around empathy, and bridging – healing – racial divides, inequity, and injustice. Today, I talk with Terri Givens about her own personal story and her experience researching and addressing racial inequity. She’s got so much great information to share with you today about how to start taking actionable steps towards radical empathy, what we need to do to heal our country and our world around racial injustice, and what higher education institutions can do to make sure that they’re paying more than just lip service and providing an inclusive environment that not only welcomes underrepresented groups and minorities but helps them be successful and graduate. Terri is an accomplished speaker and uses her platform to focus on inclusive leadership, and encourages personal growth through empathy.

Key Takeaways:

• Know your history. The history of racism is so critical to understanding where we are today.
• Be humble. Admit when you’re wrong. Listen, try to understand and respond in a way that let’s people know that you listened.
• Fairness is about making sure that people have what they need to succeed, even when that looks different for different people.
• Get to know the person. Get paststereotypes and take some time to get to know your community and the variety of cultures and people in your area.

“It’s wonderful to have empathy. But you have to take those next steps. You have to talke action to create change. That’s radical empathy.” —  Terri Givens

About Terri Givens: 

Terri Givens, Founder Brighter Higher Ed and author of Radical Empathy

Terri Givens founded Brighter Higher Ed after a successful career as a political scientist in immigration and European politics. As a former vice provost and provost, Terri has been a visionary leader in the areas of diversity and innovation in higher education. She is an advocate for improving access and opportunities for students through innovative curriculum and the effective use of educational technology. She is an accomplished speaker and uses her platform to focus on inclusive leadership and encourages personal growth through empathy.

Connect with Terri and Brighter Higher Ed:

Website: brighterhighered.com

Website: terrigivens.com

Twitter: twitter.com/TerriGivens

LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/terrigivens/

Facebook: facebook.com/scholargivens

To learn more about and purchase Radical Empathy:

Amazon: https://smile.amazon.com/dp/1447357248/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_i_bJeMFbEJQP0WR

Independent bookstores:

https://bookshop.org/books/radical-empathy-finding-a-path-to-bridging-racial-divides/9781447357247

Don’t forget to download your free guide! Discover The 5 Business Benefits of Empathy: http://red-slice.com/business-benefits-empathy

Connect with Maria: 

Get the podcast and book: TheEmpathyEdge.com

Learn more about Maria’s brand strategy work and books: Red-Slice.com

Hire Maria to speak at your next event: Red-Slice.com/Speaker-Maria-Ross

LinkedIn: Maria Ross

Instagram: @redslicemaria

Twitter: @redslice

Facebook: Red Slice

Can we come together? You may ask yourself this within your team, organization – or perhaps in your community at large. We’ve had so many tough, but necessary, conversations this year about diversity, racial equity, social justice – but some folks still may believe these issues don’t impact their daily lives. In my conversation with Hart today, he shares why we’re all impacted by the social construct of race, how empathy can be a bridge to finding our common humanity, and why empathy is core to social and emotional intelligence if you want to truly be a great leader. 

Key Takeaways:

• In order for us to be able to meet each other and to be able to talk about race, we need to meet on the human level first.
• As a leader and an organization, you set the expectations with the statements you make. There needs to be responsibility and accountability behind every social statement.
• If people feel respected, valued, and trusted, then your employees will be loyal to you and they will bring their friends along. But you must show that you care. 

“We have to get to the point where we can talk about the social construct of race as it affects our individual lives day to day, but from a human perspective. It is possible – I’ve seen it and I’ve worked with groups of people where it does happen.” —  M.E. Hart

About M.E. Hart, JD 

Attorney, DE&I Strategist, Master Facilitator, and Executive Leadership Coach. 

M.E. Hart (who goes by Hart), JD brings a unique blend of training experiences – and expertise as an attorney, professional actor, and certified executive coach – to the design and delivery of highly effective learning solutions in the corporate, government, and not-for-profit sectors. Hart balances “life experience” with cutting edge research to teach critical communications, management, and leadership skills that are unmatched in the adult-learning field.

His career has taken him into Fortune 500 companies across the US and to interesting parts of the world. Hart has helped bridge cultural differences in Moscow and Ukraine; worked with global industry leaders in Belgium; conducted “emergency interventions” for organizations in crisis; produced interactive satellite and videoconference training for members of the federal judiciary; produced award-winning educational broadcast television programming; provided one-on-one executive coaching in the technology, finance, energy, and telecommunications sectors; and led interactive learning events on diversity, feedback & coaching, conflict management, and many other topics.

Hart received his BA in Russian Language and Literature and his Juris Doctorate from the University of Kentucky. He also completed the Senior Executive Leadership Certificate Program at Georgetown University. Hart is certified in the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator, the Emotional Competency Inventory and has consulted using many other organizational assessment tools. He is committed to working with organizations to create inclusive, creative, and innovative cultures that empower people to accomplish their desired business goals while living their values. 

Connect with Hart:  

Hart Learning Group website: HartLG.com

Twitter: twitter.com/corporatepoet

Poetry: hartofapoet.com

Thriver’s Quest Book: amazon.com/Thrivers-Quest-M-Hart/dp/1618460552

Don’t forget to download your free guide! Discover The 5 Business Benefits of Empathy: http://red-slice.com/business-benefits-empathy

Connect with Maria: 

Get the podcast and book: TheEmpathyEdge.com

Learn more about Maria’s brand strategy work and books: Red-Slice.com

Hire Maria to speak at your next event: Red-Slice.com/Speaker-Maria-Ross

LinkedIn: Maria Ross

Instagram: @redslicemaria

Twitter: @redslice

Facebook: Red Slice

In today’s episode, we are going to go back to Empathy 101. With a wide range of experience as a licensed psychologist and advisor, today’s guest, Susan Spinrad Esterly, and I will be discussing Susan’s work with individuals, groups, and companies to achieve their highest level by bringing humanistic values, insights, and principles into consciousness. We explore the meaning we make of what happens in our lives and delve deep into what empathy actually means, how we define it, and why some people have more empathy than others. Never fear, though, because empathy can be taught and is a skill that we can all practice to strengthen individual empathy through one of the three access points we, as humans, have to empathy. 

Key Takeaways:

• As a leader with an empathic stance, your mission is to find out how you can make the people you’re leading be their best, look their best, and do their best.
• Empathy is a muscle that can strengthen. It may feel a little fake at first, but the more you do it, the more natural it becomes.
• Shared understanding, especially in the workplace, is worth its weight in gold. That shared understanding serves as the framework for empathy.

“When people feel heard, they feel less vulnerable and they feel like they can connect a little better. We all like to be heard, we all like to have a witness.” —  Susan Spinrad Esterly, Ph.D.

About Susan Spinrad Esterly, Ph.D.:

Susan Spinrad Esterly, Ph.D.

Psychologist and Advisor

Ph.D., Clinical Psychology, University of California Los Angeles

B.A., Human Biology, Stanford University

I grew up in a family that valued science, ideas, and intellect. My father was an accomplished computer scientist, high tech pioneer, and thought leader. He was Director of Xerox PARC during its heyday in the late ’70s and ’80s, and I witnessed close-hand the development of famously ground-breaking innovations in personal computing and technology. My own penchant for growth and invention started early. As a teenager, I co-created an overnight-success start-up with my mom and brother – selling Rock Woogies crafting kits to retailers in the Los Angeles area. I have come to realize that power of mind, so highly regarded by my family and certainly a key element of our essence, comprises only a part of our personal story – when we nurture and honor our mind, body, heart, and creative spirit altogether we open the floodgates to our full life force.

As a Licensed Psychologist and Advisor, I bring 30 years of wide-ranging experience to my work. I have been a clinical consultant, academic researcher, and instructor at Stanford University, UCLA, and the Department of Veterans Affairs, and I was Clinical Training Director for the Masters in Counseling Psychology Program at the Institute of Transpersonal Psychology. I am expert in and make frequent use of the Enneagram, a personality typology that is a powerful instrument for personal and leadership growth.

I offer individuals, working groups, and companies the tools to achieve their highest level by bringing humanistic values, insights, and principles into consciousness, elevating how we engage with one another, and exploring the meaning we make of what happens in our personal and work lives. I maintain a vibrant, varied private consulting practice in Palo Alto and I am a Leadership Coach at The Center for Excellence in Nonprofits. Additionally, I work pro bono for A Home Within, a nonprofit that provides free psychotherapy services to current and former foster youth, and I serve on the Board of the nonprofit Acknowledge Alliance, dedicated to providing social-emotional learning to students and educators in the SF Bay Area. 

I keep my right-brain in shape by creating and recording music with my long-time rock & roll bandmates, with whom I have been writing, singing and playing guitar since 1998. In 2019 I co-founded the record company, Magiscope Records. 

Connect with Susan:  

Website: MagiscopeRecords.com

LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/susanspinradesterly

Don’t forget to download your free guide! Discover The 5 Business Benefits of Empathy: http://red-slice.com/business-benefits-empathy

Connect with Maria: 

Get the podcast and book: TheEmpathyEdge.com

Learn more about Maria’s brand strategy work and books: Red-Slice.com

Hire Maria to speak at your next event: Red-Slice.com/Speaker-Maria-Ross

LinkedIn: Maria Ross

Instagram: @redslicemaria

Twitter: @redslice

Facebook: Red Slice

More and more, companies are learning that simply bragging about features and functions is not enough. Customers, especially those in the younger generations, want real value and a brand and story they can believe in. Today’s guest, Gina Hortatsos, is one of the modern marketing leaders that know how to make time to stay connected to the changing customer needs, even under constant pressure. In our conversation today, Gina shares how an empathetic, authentic culture attracted her to the company she is with now and how they continue to leverage those values for positive leadership and a high performing team. 

Key Takeaways:

• It is important to lead with confident vulnerability, communicate effectively, and not be afraid to model that vulnerability. 
• The role of a CMO is to drive change forward and help everyone in the organization understand the WHY of what the company does.
• An empathetic person knows the humanity behind a purchase decision – people buy with their hearts, not with their heads. 
• Empathy and purpose enable you to resist short-term pressures to achieve long-term success, with both employees and customers.

“It makes my job so much easier that our team truly feels like they can bring their authentic selves to work because it gives us a constant calibration that we wouldn’t have otherwise.” —  Gina Hortatsos

About Gina Hortatsos: Gina Hortatsos is the Chief Marketing Officer at LogicGate, an agile governance, risk, and compliance process platform. A servant leader, Gina brings 22 years of enterprise software marketing leadership experience to LogicGate. Prior to LogicGate, Gina served as VP of Marketing at FourKites, Inc., where she built and scaled the Marketing function for a high-growth start-up. As AVP, Global Marketing at Hyland, Gina oversaw global programs, field marketing, operations, events, and demand center. Outside of the office, Gina loves to cook, read, and travel (though not currently). She lives in Chicago with her husband Mike and their three sons. 

Connect with Gina and LogicGate:  

Website: logicgate.com/

Twitter: twitter.com/LogicGate

Facebook: facebook.com/LogicGate.Platform

LinkedIn: linkedin.com/company/logic-gate/

LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/ginahortatsos/ 

Don’t forget to download your free guide! Discover The 5 Business Benefits of Empathy: http://red-slice.com/business-benefits-empathy 

Connect with Maria: 

Get the podcast and book: TheEmpathyEdge.com

Learn more about Maria’s brand strategy work and books: Red-Slice.com

Hire Maria to speak at your next event: Red-Slice.com/Speaker-Maria-Ross

LinkedIn: Maria Ross

Instagram: @redslicemaria

Twitter: @redslice

Facebook: Red Slice

We all have a platform and we all have a story. What many of us don’t realize is the power that is in our stories and in our vulnerability. All of our stories matter and there are so many different ways in which we can tell our stories. Today, I get to have a conversation with LeRon Barton, an author, a speaker, and an essayist whose topics cover racism, mass incarceration, politics, gender, and dating. As we discuss his story, we spoke about why many diversity and inclusion programs don’t work, why it is important to share your story, and we delve into race relations and the misunderstandings between different cultures and different races.

Key Takeaways:

• It’s cool to be inspiring – we can all live in a way that inspires others.
• We need to create ongoing diversity practices, not single moments treated as a trend. Diversity without equity is useless. 
• Just because you have a spot on the team, doesn’t mean you’re a player and it doesn’t mean you’re changing the system. 
• When you listen to people, that is when true learning starts. 

“I refuse to dumb down or water down our experiences. My job is to layout my truth, my experiences. I’m not here to sway you to one point or another. The truth is out there. It is up to you to decide if you want to do something with it.” —  LeRon Barton

About LeRon Barton: LeRon L. Barton is a writer from Kansas City, Missouri currently living in San Francisco, CA. A graduate of Paseo Academy of Fine Arts, LeRon is the author of two books, Straight Dope: A 360 degree look into American Drug Culture and All We Really Need Is Love: Stories of Dating, Relationships, Heartbreak, and Marriage. In addition to his books, LeRon is an essayist whose topics cover racism, mass incarceration, politics, gender, and dating.  These works have appeared in Black Enterprise, Salon, The Good Men Project, Your Tango, Media Diversity, Raconteur, Elephant Journal, East Bay Times, and MoAD. LeRon is an international speaker who has given multiple talks and appeared on TEDx, Al Jazeera, the University of San Francisco, Speakers Who Dare, Glide Memorial Church, Los Altos Chamber of Commerce, and Defy Ventures. In his spare time, LeRon enjoys mentoring African-American youth, teaching Creative Writing at the San Francisco County Jail, and backpacking around the world.

Connect with LeRon Barton:  

Website: LeRonBarton.com

Twitter: twitter.com/MainlineLeRon

Facebook: facebook.com/LeRonLBarton

Instagram: instagram.com/leronlbarton

LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/leron-barton-cwna-2b700b1

Don’t forget to download your free guide! Discover The 5 Business Benefits of Empathy: http://red-slice.com/business-benefits-empathy

Connect with Maria: 

Get the podcast and book: TheEmpathyEdge.com

Learn more about Maria’s brand strategy work and books: Red-Slice.com

Hire Maria to speak at your next event: Red-Slice.com/Speaker-Maria-Ross

LinkedIn: Maria Ross

Instagram: @redslicemaria

Twitter: @redslice

Facebook: Red Slice

Allyship at work is how each and every one of us, on an individual level, can support and empower underrepresented groups to ensure everyone can thrive at work – and that only leads to more goodness for the company. Today, author, speaker, and inclusive workplace expert Karen Catlin and I discuss how to be a real ally, what allyship means, and a shocking new way to look at privilege in your life. She shares practical tips on how to be an ally in your everyday interactions, thus creating a more engaged, inclusive workplace.

Key Takeaways:

• Being an ally is very simple – it is using your position of privilege to create an opportunity for somebody else.
• Privilege doesn’t mean you didn’t work hard, it is just something we have because of the social groups we belong to. 
• You can have a ripple effect in your own company. Pick a couple of things and just get started, others will pick up those behaviors and act in a different way as well. 

“The first step to being a real ally is understanding that someone else’s situation may be different from yours, and you can’t discount it just because you’ve never experienced it yourself.” —  Karen Catlin

About Karen Catlin, Author of “Better Allies”: After spending 25 years building software products and serving as a vice president of engineering at Macromedia and Adobe, Karen Catlin witnessed a sharp decline in the number of women working in tech. Frustrated but galvanized, she knew it was time to switch gears. Today, Karen is a leadership coach and an acclaimed author and speaker on inclusive workplaces. She is the author of three books:  “Better Allies: Everyday Actions to Create Inclusive, Engaging Workplaces,” “The Better Allies™ Approach to Hiring,” and “Present! A Techie’s Guide to Public Speaking.”

Connect with Karen:  

Website: KarenCatlin.com

Twitter: twitter.com/betterallies & twitter.com/kecatlin

LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/kecatlin

Instagram: instagram.com/betterallies

Check out all of Karen’s books: BetterAllies.com 

Don’t forget to download your free guide! Discover The 5 Business Benefits of Empathy: http://red-slice.com/business-benefits-empathy

Connect with Maria: 

Get the podcast and book: TheEmpathyEdge.com

Learn more about Maria’s brand strategy work and books: Red-Slice.com

Hire Maria to speak at your next event: Red-Slice.com/Speaker-Maria-Ross

LinkedIn: Maria Ross

Instagram: @redslicemaria

Twitter: @redslice

Facebook: Red Slice

Today I have a great conversation with Patrick Morrissey, whose previous and current experience gives him an insight into how empathy can lead any sales and marketing team to success. In this episode, we talk about how empathy is a success trait in marketing and sales, what role it plays in effective storytelling, and how empathy is required to adapt to your customer’s changing needs, as well as how marketers can leverage empathy to more effectively support salespeople. He also shares how to flip the model of selling to one that is more customer-centric,  and what executives need to do to strengthen empathy to create more trust and help their teams outperform

Key Takeaways:

• As marketers, we need to transition from “What’s my strategy for the customer?” to “What is my customer’s strategy and how can I help?”
• Your job in marketing is to help sales sell. To do that, you need to be in contact with your customers and sales force. 
• Help the customer buy in the way they want to buy, not just in the way you want to sell. 
• Empathy is the bridge to trust.  It comes from a place of understanding what a someone is going through, and even if you don’t, being genuinely curious to find out.

“If you’re looking at upping your sales game in a difficult market, it’s about looking at people, problems, and potential.” —  Patrick Morrissey

About Patrick Morrissey: SVP & GM, Enterprise Sales & Marketing Business Unit – Upland Software

Patrick Morrissey is the SVP and GM of the Revenue Optimization business at Upland Software focused on helping Global 2000 companies unlock digital sales transformation and deliver customer outcomes. Before taking on this role, Morrissey was Chief Marketing Officer at Altify, responsible for all aspects of marketing as well as channels and alliances. Previously Morrissey was CRO of Simpplr, where he managed sales, marketing, and customer success, delivering 100% annual growth. Prior to joining Simpplr, Morrissey held multiple executive positions at Salesforce.com, Business Objects, and Scient. When not fighting software crime, you can find him and his family in the mountains in Lake Tahoe. 

Connect with Patrick Morrissey & Upland Software:  

Website: UplandSoftware.com

LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/patrick-morrissey-40b161/

Twitter: twitter.com/PatMorrissey

Podcast: revenueoptimizationradio.com

Don’t forget to download your free guide! Discover The 5 Business Benefits of Empathy: http://red-slice.com/business-benefits-empathy 

Connect with Maria: 

Get the podcast and book: TheEmpathyEdge.com

Learn more about Maria’s brand strategy work and books: Red-Slice.com

Hire Maria to speak at your next event: Red-Slice.com/Speaker-Maria-Ross

LinkedIn: Maria Ross

Instagram: @redslicemaria

Twitter: @redslice

Facebook: Red Slice

In this world where zipcodes and timezones don’t matter for collaboration, it is more important than ever to understand the human side of being an entrepreneur. Entrepreneurs are both born and made, and they come in many different types. By understanding these different archetypes of entrepreneurship (both for yourself and for those around you), there is an advantage to be gained throughout the different stages of your business. In my conversation today with Susanna Camp and Jonathan Littman we discuss these archetypes, why teams should be complementary not clones, and the passion people have for different things that brings humanity to business. 

Key Takeaways:

• Entrepreneurship is a team sport. The smartest leaders are not looking for clones of themselves, but for complementary types of people. 
• No matter how small the team, every team should have a Collaborator. 
• It’s a journey – every project and every company goes through stages that need different types of leaders. 

“Everyone brings their own identity as shaped by their unique experience, circumstances, and lenses of understanding. That’s why leaders need to celebrate diversity and give agency to the people on their teams.” —  Susanna Camp

About The Entrepreneur’s Faces:

The Entrepreneur’s Faces: How Makers, Visionaries, and Outsiders Succeed, the new book by bestselling Innovation scribe Jonathan Littman and Wired pioneer Susanna Camp, is the story of ten authentic entrepreneurs. Are you the Athlete, Outsider, Guardian, or Accidental?  That’s for you to mull over as you experience their Awakening and Shift, watching as they tackle what we call the 7 Stages of Growth. 

The Entrepreneur’s Faces will help you identify the ten essential entrepreneurial types to propel your professional growth and better gauge potential partners on the journey. The ten individuals profiled in the book are real-life success stories, each characterized by an emblematic type, people who master challenges with a characteristic approach and echo the models and behaviors of renowned innovators and entrepreneurs. They’re archetypes, or Faces, and we know from our workshops that you’ll be drawn to find yourself in a few of these Faces, to identify with our protagonists’ strengths, in their profiles, stories, and enduring lessons. 

Jonathan Littman collaborated with IDEO on the bestsellers The Art of Innovation and The Ten  Faces of Innovation (more than 650,000 copies sold worldwide in 12 languages). The author of ten books, five of his works have been optioned for films. His award-winning journalism has appeared in Playboy, the LA Times, and Forbes.  

Susanna Camp is the Editor-in-Chief of SmartUp.life. A journalist specializing in emerging technology, she was an early team leader at Wired magazine, and has also been on the staff of  Macworld, PCWorld, and Outside magazines.

Connect with The Entrepreneur’s Faces:  

Website: TheEntrepreneursFaces.com

Book: The Entrepreneur’s Faces: https://amzn.to/3ieDikD

Quiz to Find Out Your Entrepreneurial Type: https://www.theentrepreneursfaces.com

Connect with Susanna Camp:  

LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/susanna-camp

Twitter: twitter.com/susannacampSF

Connect with Jonathan Littman:  

LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/jonathan-littman-0619325

Twitter: twitter.com/jonlittman

Don’t forget to download your free guide! Discover The 5 Business Benefits of Empathy: http://red-slice.com/business-benefits-empathy

Connect with Maria: 

Get the podcast and book: TheEmpathyEdge.com

Learn more about Maria’s brand strategy work and books: Red-Slice.com

Hire Maria to speak at your next event: Red-Slice.com/Speaker-Maria-Ross

LinkedIn: Maria Ross

Instagram: @redslicemaria

Twitter: @redslice

Facebook: Red Slice

In today’s episode, I have the opportunity to speak with brand leader and CMO Rodney Hutton. In his 25 years of experience with some of the world’s most notable brands, he has honed his full expertise in business management, design, merchandising, creative development, and global marketing strategies. Rodney shares his unique journey into leading some of those global brands, and how he has done so through honest conversations with his team regarding business, crisis, and race. We discuss why brands can take a stand and do the right thing, and the difference between being “political” and simply being humane.

Key Takeaways:

• Call out the discomfort, call out the not knowing. The ability to be unsure is okay. The power in attempting to connect and showing personal and professional vulnerability is priceless.
• The business of business is meeting and interacting through honest dialogue and candid conversation.
• In today’s highly polarized society, the way for companies to rise above it is to default to their humanity.

“Leadership is about getting it done, but it isn’t about ‘you’ getting it done. Successful leaders leverage the talent at their disposal to get it done. How you do that is stylistic, philosophical. It’s the blend of elevating somebody who works with you to a thought leader position, being an arbiter of open and comfortable discussion, and creating an environment where dialogue is encouraged and candid to be able to leverage your team.” —  Rodney Hutton

About Rodney Hutton, Chief Marketing Officer, Ethan Allen:

Rodney Hutton is an entrepreneurial product-driven brand marketing executive. Hutton’s full suite of expertise in business management, design, merchandising, creative development, and global marketing strategies, have been groomed over 25 years of working with some of the world’s most notable brand marketers including Ralph Lauren, Giorgio Armani, Karl Lagerfeld, Ann Klein, and Iconix Brand Group, amongst others. In 2007, Hutton founded Fashion Iconic LLC, a consulting firm that offered private equity groups strategic insights and options into brand value in both pre- and post-acquisition considerations.  In 2015, Hutton, in partnership, founded Simon James London & Empire Beauty Group, an innovative boutique fine fragrance and beauty company that designs, manufactures, markets, and distributes a growing portfolio of unique licensed fine fragrance and organic beauty brands. Since 2019, Hutton has served as the CMO of Ethan Allen Interiors Inc., one of the nation’s largest furniture and interior design companies, and has been instrumental in driving the brand’s growth and modernization efforts working closely with legendary Chairman and CEO Farooq Kathwari. Hutton holds a Bachelor of Arts in business and political science from the City University of New York.

Connect with Rodney Hutton:  

Twitter: twitter.com/_FashionIconic

LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/rodneyhutton

Don’t forget to download your free guide! Discover The 5 Business Benefits of Empathy: http://red-slice.com/business-benefits-empathy

Connect with Maria: 

Get the podcast and book: TheEmpathyEdge.com

Learn more about Maria’s brand strategy work and books: Red-Slice.com

Hire Maria to speak at your next event: Red-Slice.com/Speaker-Maria-Ross

LinkedIn: Maria Ross

Instagram: @redslicemaria

Twitter: @redslice

Facebook: Red Slice