Best Seller Podcast

On this episode of Best Seller TV, author Deanna Singh sits down with host Taryn Winter Brill to discuss her book “Actions Speak Louder: A Step-by-Step Guide to Becoming an Inclusive Workplace.” Singh is known as a Chief Change Agent which reflects her belief that everyone has the ability to – not just make change, but create positive change. Singh believes that her “purpose is to shift power to marginalized communities” and her books are a reflection of the work she does and the different ways in which she’s accomplished that. She adds, that the idea that if we’re doing things that allow for more people to show up, and do so fully, we can all create and build things to make the world a better place. 

Singh also recalls that she wrote the book due in part to the massive response she received about wanting to build an inclusive workplace but did not feel like they knew how to accomplish that. The book is more than a roadmap, it’s a step-by-step guide to create and make a more inclusive workplace where everyone can show up as their whole, and true, selves. There was an old adage that when people came to work, they left their families, communities, and other components of their social identity behind. However, Singh argues, the shift that has taken place in today’s work environment is not brand new. She says that people should be able to show up for work as their true selves not having to wear a mask in order to conform to preconceived norms to be successful.

To write this book, Singh brought together history, sociology, and theoretical parts – all blended into practical and actionable steps, ready to be immediately implemented to today’s changing landscape. There are also plenty of personal anecdotes that proved crucial to weaving the narrative and making it all come together. Singh also cautions that there has to be a genuine approach to becoming more inclusive, otherwise, no progress will be made. She adds, “DEI in the charity bucket is not sustainable.”

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On this episode of Best Seller TV, author Jeremy Boerger sits down with host Taryn Winter Brill to discuss his book “Rethinking Information Technology Asset Management”. Boerger begins by identifying, in layman’s terms, what information technology asset management – or ITAM, is. He said ITAM is “a segment inside service management that deals with getting the most value out of your hardware, software, server, systems necessary for modern businesses to function.”   

Asset management at its core is trying to fight a two-front fight – spending money on IT vs lowering costs. Nowadays, it’s hard to imagine any business existing without an IT infrastructure in place; however, that doesn’t mean businesses should spend money frivolously. Boerger argues that we spend money on cybersecurity tools, photo production tools and even telecommunications, but do we stop to ask what is our ROI? Is there a better way to spend our dollars? Perhaps on employees, salaries and stock returns?  

This is where the ‘rethinking’ part comes into play. Boerger explains that according to a 2016 Gartner article, medium-to-large organizations can lower their software spending by about one-third. That can be accomplished with three things: 

1. Recycling already purchased licenses instead of buying more
2. Ensuring the software features being bought line up with the work that’s being done
3. Having a system in place that measures how the work is being done so you don’t get penalized by software publishers conducting software audits

However, there are other ‘flaws’ that plague the industry, such as having two main operating methodologies: transactional and accountancy. Boerger describes the first as “nothing happens without a receipt” and the latter as “comparing what’s on the left hand side of the ledger with what’s on the right side of the ledger.” In the book, he describes a third methodology to be used – epistemology. Boerger argues that asset management is an exercise in epistemology, which he defines as the study of learning. 

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On this episode of Best Seller TV, Scott Miller, author of “Media Matters: How to Leverage the Media to Grow Your Business.”  

sits down with host Taryn Winter Brill to discuss his new book. As someone who has been fully immersed in media for over two decades, Scott Miller wrote the book because along the way he discovered how people are always interested in media, but don’t necessarily know how it all works. He says, “There’s more content available today than in the history of mankind.” 

The objective of the book is to unpack all of the necessary information so business owners can walk away with the necessary knowledge to make smart decisions with their marketing dollars. They will also come away with a clearer picture about the demographics they are trying to reach with their money. He adds that each book chapter is comprised of a particular part of the media with all its terminologies to familiarize readers with what it all means and how that impacts businesses.

Miller is surprised by the number of businesses that don’t take the time to look at the Google analytics available to them. He claims this is one of the biggest mistakes businesses make. The other is thinking media is going to happen overnight. Media, he says, it’s about frequency and consistency. Media is also about content and having a sound content marketing strategy. Miller says, “Every business is a media company today.” He continues to say that every entity should be thinking about the type of content they create – whether it’s written, videos, or podcast. However, the content created needs to add value to your business (and customer). Value also adds trust and credibility and makes you a thought leader within your industry. 

In the end, media is not a race, it’s more of a long-term process. And the sooner business leaders understand how to better reach their audience, the more their businesses will thrive.

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On this episode of Best Seller TV, Scott Conant, author of Peace, Love, and Pasta: Simple and Elegant Recipes From a Chef’s Own Kitchen sits down with host Taryn Winter Brill to discuss his fourth book which is his most personal to date. He wrote the book as a direct result of the question he is asked most often by fans and people he encounters: “what do you cook at home?” The book is meant to show a variety of delicious ingredients, things his kids and wife love to eat, and also to show that not everything is about caviar or truffles. It also shows the evolution of his career.

Conant recalls how the first twenty years of his career weren’t the easiest. At the time, he did not get paid for months on end, which gave him the opportunity to focus on his craft. Despite all the complexities and challenges of the time, those gave way to the simplicity he currently enjoys. He explains that “There’s a new appreciation for simplicity the older you get.” Simple relationships and the simplicity of life are the ultimate luxury, Conant muses.

Despite the difficulties faced, Conant was not in the profession for the money. What was most important to him was being able to cook the type of food he wanted. This book is a balance of the ‘then’ as well as the ‘now’ – an evolution of sorts of over three decades as a chef. Conant wanted to achieve that balance – not just with the timeline, but with the types of recipes, he included in the book. He did not want the recipes to be fancy, but “craveable.” He adds, “It’s touching being part of someone’s dinner table at home.” Conant tested all the recipes from the book on his kids – especially his youngest daughter, who he describes as an “incredibly picky” eater. Both his daughters, he says, are tougher critics than the New York Times and he describes their opinions of his food as “humbling.” In this episode, he divulges one of his favorite recipes in the book, which happens to be one of his classic dishes, and what his ‘grand slam’ recipe is.

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On this episode of Best Seller TV, host Taryn Winter Brill sits down with Bill Humbert, author of Expect Success: The Science of the Over 50 Career Search. Humbert’s extensive career has led him to the realization that many job applicants are going about their job search the wrong way. His four decades of experience – twenty-six of those years coaching professionals on how to find their next career – gives him the credibility and expertise needed to help many figure out the ‘science’ behind it all. 

Humbert says there are four types of ‘science’ that most are unaware exist during their job search. Those are: mathematics, computer science, psychology, and sociology. Mathematics is applied because there are algorithms at play as well as salary negotiations, computer science involves artificial intelligence (AI), psychology pertains to what both the candidate and the manager are thinking and feeling, and sociology takes care of determining if the candidate is a good fit, culturally, for the company.  

Humbert reiterates that “HR is not your friend” and that candidates need to network their way in. He continues to say that only eight percent of jobs are filled through online postings, while seventy-five (or seventy-six) percent of jobs are filled by networking. He also reveals the trap that most job seekers fall into and that is the ‘marketing’ done by sites like Indeed or LinkedIn. That’ll make people “post and pray” they get a call for an interview when what they should do is use those sites to find the job, then go around them, network, find the managers, and talk to them. The book is a ‘101’ for anyone who may be a bit rusty writing resumes and feeling overwhelmed by the many changes taking place in the job search market.

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Dr. Deepak Chopra, author of Abundance: The Inner Path to Wealth, sits down with host, Taryn Winter Brill to talk about his latest book which is about the seven levels of fulfillment, money being one of them. The “wealth” described involves material, emotional, spiritual, and relationship wealth and the combination of all areas is what creates a sense of well-being. Throughout the book, there is a constant connection between wealth and yoga. Chopra argues that yoga has four goals – money, pleasure, purpose, and freedom, all of which also relate to money. As a long-time yoga scholar, he says that if you connect with yourself, you have infinite creativity, abundance, and are capable of finding opportunities even in the midst of distress.

Chopra says the book took root in a Bob Marley lyric at the beginning of the pandemic, “some people are so poor, all they have is money.” That resonated with him and made him examine all the wealthy people he knew and how many did not feel safe and secure in their current environment despite having plenty of financial wealth. Money is the biggest source of stress for most people because “they spend money they haven’t earned, to buy things that they don’t need, to impress people they don’t like.”

Chopra explains how the key to wealth is being in your ‘dharma’ – which stands for meaning, purpose, and passion. He adds that people will know when they’re ‘on target’ when they get a PHD: Passion, Hunger, and Drive. During this interview, the best-selling author also delves into the formula for happiness, why “abundance is a state of awareness,” the two choices we make every single day, and whether our personalities are shaped by nature or nurture.

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Chris Westfall, author of Easier: 60 Ways to Make Your Work Life Work for You recalls that this book wasn’t one that he set out to write, but one that he felt he needed to write. Throughout his career as a coach and consultant, he wanted this book to reflect the evolution of what he was seeing in the workplace and what his clients were experiencing as well. The book is a reflection of his experience coaching others as well as being coached in today’s corporate world. He emphasizes the book is a dialogue between an incredibly frustrated client and a coach. The client is fed up with his current job and is looking to find the courage to quit, so he hires a coach to help with that situation. What the client doesn’t realize is that in five days, he will be fired. Being fired is what Westfall refers to as a “life after career death story.”

Westfall wants others to see themselves in the story and see new possibilities, even after experiencing the ultimate (career) low. He wrote the book from a place of service and to make people realize that possibilities exist even when the road is paved with obstacles. Westfall’s focus was writing a book that felt organic to the current climate. In fact, he made a pact with himself that the only stories that would be included in the book would be those that fit the narrative organically. That, to him, is what being authentic is all about. He also wanted to dispel the myth that people don’t have to go at it alone, arguing that entrepreneurs tend to fall into that trap. In the end, “Anything of value involves other people.”

Watch the episode: https://c-suitenetwork.com/tv/video/chris-westfall-easier/

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Peter Margaritis, CSP, author of Off Scr!pt: Mastering the Art of Business Improv, tried his hand at improv in graduate school and, by his own accounts, he wasn’t “very funny.” However, he realized that improv can become a very powerful, and useful, leadership tool. Margaritis says that improv changed his life, his business, and his way of being. He hopes it helps others realize that improv isn’t about being funny, but it’s a great leadership tool to develop in today’s business landscape.

In the book, Margaritis writes about the ‘seven foundations of improv’ which starts with a foundation of “respect, trust, and support.” He adds that as long as people trust those who they work with – and they trust you, you must continue to cultivate that trust. Also, leaders should be doing everything in their power to support their teams with the right skills and tools to succeed, but if any of the three elements is missing, everything crumbles.

There is one key feature, or the glue “that holds it all together.” Those two words are “yes…and.” Margaritis says that “yes/and is about agreement but not always agreeing. It’s about empathy, collaboration, leaving your ego behind, and making it about your team.” Margaritis says people should learn to “listen to understand, not listen to respond” because “the business that we’re all in is the people business, first and foremost.” Without people we have no business.

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Elijah Stacy, author of A Small If: The Inspiring Story of a Story of a 17-Year-Old with a Fatal Disease and A Mission To Cure It began writing his book at the age of 16 to show people how they can overcome their adversity and develop better mindsets. Despite his Duchenne muscular dystrophy disease diagnosis, he maintains a positive mindset and he says that the “small If” from his book comes from something his doctor told him when he was faced with the prospect of spinal surgery to correct his scoliosis. He adds that when you’re in a wheelchair, people often think you can’t do something, which motivates him to prove them wrong. 

Stacy says that writing the book made him learn so much about himself. This book will also help anyone dealing with adversity to become more resilient, more hopeful, inspired and motivated to live more fulfilling lives and push themselves towards greatness. The book includes 13 life lessons he has learned through his diagnosis including improving his self-image. Stacy says that one of the major lessons he learned was how it was possible to see himself as a smart, confident individual capable of doing great things and not as a disabled person. His tough mental attitude can be credited to his parents. He adds, “I just don’t see the logic in being pessimistic. I see the logic in being a realist but I also see the logic in being an optimist because optimism leads to things being innovative, being accomplished…which is super important.” 

His optimism is contagious, despite being diagnosed with a fatal disease that has a life expectancy of 25 years. Stacy adds that “Every adversity is an opportunity to improve your character and be a stronger person.”

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On this episode of Best Seller TV Tom Fox, author of The Compliance Handbook: A Guide to Operationalizing Your Compliance Program, Second Edition, addresses what best practices can be put in place for companies to run more efficiently and generate more profits. Fox, who began working in the compliance industry in 2007, was a lawyer by trade but felt compelled to switch careers because he saw an opportunity to help make a difference and help corporations be more efficient. Fox says the United Nations estimates that $3 trillion is lost annually to corruption. He saw the opportunity to help corporations build first-class best practice compliance programs by complying with the law and run the business side a lot smoother.

He defines compliance as setting up systems, processes, and procedures that comply with law and/or regulation. With laws constantly changing, Fox wrote the second edition of the book to instruct readers on the latest compliance laws that might affect them on a regular basis. Since his first edition in 2018, there has been a 40 percent change in laws, especially after the SEC (Securities and Exchange Commission) and the Department of Justice made significant changes to the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act. The pandemic also helped exacerbate many more changes.

Fox says the book is for a wide variety of readers, starting with compliance professionals, laying out a blueprint on how to build world-class compliance programs or enhance currently existing programs. The book is also for c-suite and senior executives to help educate them on the benefits of compliance and how to stay out of trouble. The compliance industry has evolved significantly in the last decade or so. Fox adds that right now, the industry is more data-driven and, “When you have data, you can actually improve business efficiency.” He continues to say that the backbone of compliance is internal controls, which are financial controls but are not often called that. If you look at them from a compliance perspective and tweak them enough to have both controls, you can make enough headroom in making a company run more efficiently, leading to greater profitability.

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