When a quality publishing house releases only one book a year, you know it will be a blockbuster.

That’s always been the case with award-winning Bard Press, which has brought out 18 business bestsellers over the past 25 years.

This year the business boutique imprint has tapped authors Ed O’Malley and Julia Fabris McBride. Their book, When Everyone Leads: The Toughest Challenges Get Seen and Solved, offers a revolutionary model that allows everyone to claim the mantle of “leader,” no matter how high up or low down they are on the organizational chart.

In When Everyone Leads, the authors lay out their five core tenets of leadership.

1. Leadership is an activity, not a position
2. Anyone can lead, anytime, anywhere
3. Leadership starts with you and must engage others
4. Leadership is risky
5. Leadership is about your toughest challenges

Ed and Julia know the genuine mechanisms of leadership.

The two authors honed their insights into leadership at the Kansas Leadership Center, which they launched in 2007. Ed’s background was in government and politics. Julia was an actor turned leadership coach.

Working from the premise that the quality and quantity of leadership is the key determinant

to prosperity, health, and success for organizations and communities, under their guidance the Kansas Leadership Center has empowered more than 15,000 individuals to set aside outdated concepts of leadership and anoint themselves pathfinders.

As Ed and Julia explain to host and award-winning author Dean Rotbart, anyone can lead, anytime, anywhere. Is it your turn to step up?

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Bard Press — founded by the incomparable Ray Bard and now piloted by veteran author, literary agent, editor, and blogger Todd Sattersten — picks winners. Among its most-recognized titles:

The Gift of Struggle: Life-Changing Lessons About Leading by Bobby Herrera 

The ONE Thing: The Surprisingly Simple Truth Behind Extraordinary Results by Gary W. Keller and Jay Papasan

Little Red Book of Selling: 12.5 Principles of Sales Greatness by Jeffrey Gitomer

The Wizard of Ads: Turning Words into Magic and Dreamers into Millionaires by Roy Williams

When Everyone Leads will soon take its place among the pantheon of Bard Press success stories.

Photos: Julia Fabris McBride and Ed O’Malley, When Everyone Leads
Posted: January 30, 2023
Monday Morning Run Time: 50:49

The Phillipses have a combined five decades of experience evaluating the wisdom of investing in so-called “soft skills,” including employee training, human resources, community outreach, and DEI - Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion.

Companies large and small pour hefty sums into these and similar programs, but do they get their money’s worth?

The Phillipses know the answer and in their latest book, Show the Value of What You Do, they make ROI Methodology accessible and easy to implement for every business owner and executive, whether assessing an existing program or planning new projects.

As host and award-winning journalist Dean Rotbart says, “At last when directors or supervisors demand, ‘Prove to me the value’ of your projects, you can do exactly that, thanks to Jack and Patti.”

Photos: Jack and Patti Phillips, ROI Institute
Posted: January 23, 2023
Monday Morning Run Time: 47:57

At the peak of his popularity in the 1980s, electronics retailer “Crazy Eddie” was better known for his screaming and gesticulating television commercials promoting “insane” prices than were then-Mayor Ed Koch and President Ronald Regan.

Thousands of customers would flock to store openings, hoping to nab a free t-shirt and get a glimpse of the unhinged pitchman.

Behind the scenes, however, Eddie Antar — the real Crazy Eddie, not the TV actor who portrayed him in the commercials — was a thieving, lying, cheat who defrauded just about everyone who ever trusted him, and was ultimately sentenced to eight years in prison.

Veteran investigative reporter Gary Weiss has written a page-turning biographical exposé of Eddie Antar: Retail Gangster: The Insane, Real-Life Story of Crazy Eddie. This week Gary and host Dean Rotbart explore both the genius and insanity of Crazy Eddie, a business crook unlike any other in American history.

Photo: Gary Weiss, Retail Gangster
Posted: December 5, 2022
Monday Morning Run Time: 41:45

[November 29th is Giving Tuesday, a day for lending your support to worthy non-profits. This week’s podcast opens with a brief interview with Lisa Weyer, executive director of the All Kids Bike campaign and its parent, the Strider Education Foundation. All Kids Bike is on a mission to teach every child in America how to ride a bike in kindergarten PE class.]

Michael Beckley, an author and professor of political science, has briefed high-level policymakers, military leaders, and members of the U.S. intelligence services on his judgment that China is a nation on the descent, and that is likely to lead America into a direct conflict with the People’s Republic much sooner than anyone expects.

Beckley is the co-author — along with Hal Brands — of Danger Zone: The Coming Conflict with China.

This week, Beckley explains the thinking behind his assessment and why business owners and entrepreneurs, not just policy wonks and the political class, would be wise to recognize the threat China poses and take steps now to prepare for the coming clash.

Beckley is interviewed by Dean Rotbart, host and award-winning journalist.

Photo: Michael Beckley, Danger Zone
Posted: November 28, 2022
Monday Morning Run Time: 52:40

Forty days remain in 2022. Forty days to wrap up unfinished business and set course for the New Year.

What can you accomplish between now and year-end to further your goals and check worrisome tasks off your to-do list?

Dr. Sarah Reiff-Hekking answers, “Plenty.” 

Dr. Sarah, a psychologist with more than 20 years of experience, is one of the nation’s preeminent experts on coaching entrepreneurs and professionals on how to get past their sense of being overwhelmed and the procrastination that often results. She is the founder of True Focus Coaching, which offers a variety of time management programs and consulting designed to get even the most time-challenged procrastinators unstuck.

In working with clients over the years, Dr. Sarah has zeroed in on five steps that can bulldoze through the obstacles that undermine our productivity, keep us from achieving our goals, and set us on a negative emotional spiral.

This week, Dr. Sarah shares with host and award-winning journalist Dean Rotbart the proprietary system she relies on to get things done when there are simply too many things to do.

Photo: Dr. Sarah Reiff-Hekking, True Focus Coaching
Posted: November 21, 2022
Monday Morning Run Time: 47:01

In the third season of Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, B-List actor Robert Kerbeck played a Cardassian soldier, unrecognizable under facial prosthetics and heavy makeup.

But the alien disguise was child’s play compared to the many real-life guises Robert adopted over his long career as a highly paid corporate spy, absconding with invaluable, private intelligence so detailed it would make the CIA proud.

Business-on-business spying is a huge industry — full of deceit and lies. No company is too small or unimportant to be confident that its competitors aren’t deploying snoops to extract valuable, actionable, proprietary information. 

Robert is the author of RUSE: Lying the American Dream from Hollywood to Wall Street. In the book, he regales readers with his adventures as a corporate spy - pretending to be someone he wasn’t to coax people inside giant corporations to reveal information and secrets that could lead to their downfall - and land Robert in jail for a long, long time.

This week Robert shares the secrets of the dark art of corporate spying with host and award-winning author Dean Rotbart. If, that is, you can believe Robert isn’t just running some kind of grand con on us.

Photo: Robert Kerbeck, RUSE
Posted: November 14, 2022
Monday Morning Run Time: 49:56

As a veteran manager of hundreds of employees, London-based author Jim Edwards would grade himself only a solid “B” as a supervisor.

So why do business owners and entrepreneurs on both sides of the Atlantic turn to Jim in impressive numbers for his recommendations on how they can perform better in leadership roles?

The reason, says Jim, the author of Say Thank You For Everything, is that you don’t have to be a management superstar to be good enough to outperform your peers and competitors.

Jim, a talented reporter and writer, gleaned his insights in his previous supervisory roles, including managing editor at Adweek, founding editor-in-chief at Business Insider UK, and editor-in-chief at Insider.

Alyson Shontell, editor-in-chief of FORTUNE, describes Jim’s book as “equal parts smart, funny, blunt and helpful.” Adds Eric Schurenberg, former editor-in-chief of Inc. magazine: “Jim knows how the leadership game is played and, better yet, he knows how to coach his readers to play it as well.”

Monday Morning Radio host and award-winning author Dean Rotbart promises that Jim’s organizational insights will leave you nodding your head and asking, “Why didn’t I think of that?”

Photo: Jim Edwards, Say Thank You for Everything
Posted: November 7, 2022
Monday Morning Run Time: 53:34

Todd Mitchell is an award-winning author of novels for young readers. He teaches writing and literature at Colorado State University and has worked with thousands of writers.

But Todd is much more than a university professor. He’s a creativity sherpa for all writers, artists, musicians, actors, entrepreneurs, and innovators who, at times, experience doubt, struggle, and failure.

While Todd’s latest book, Breakthrough, speaks most directly to those who call themselves writers, he notes that the challenges writers face — and can overcome — resemble the challenges that almost everyone faces when they send their creations out into the world to be admired, criticized, or ignored.

[Todd’s paradigm is similar to that of Craig Archibald, who was featured on a popular episode of Monday Morning Radio in June 2022. Craig, a well-established acting coach and author, posits that the mindset necessary to be a successful actor and a successful business person is pretty much one and the same].

The subtitle of Breakthrough is “How to Overcome Doubt, Fear, and Resistance to Be Your Ultimate Creative Self.”

Todd wrote the book after he was nearly defeated by the psychological demons that haunt many creatives. He found his way back to a happier, more fulfilling life and now shares his playbook for other creatives to follow.

“Trust me when I say that Breakthrough is an inspirational book, one that has the potential to change your life,” says host Dean Rotbart, an award-winning journalist and author. “Todd offers the ‘cure’ for those of us who are achievement addicts.”

Photo: Todd Mitchell, Author, Breakthrough: How to Overcome Doubt, Fear, and Resistance to Be Your Ultimate Creative Self
Posted: October 31, 2022
Monday Morning Run Time: 50:26

Sitting in jail - facing a 13-year sentence - Rob Lohman had plenty of time to review his past: alcohol and drug addiction, gambling, bankruptcies, and even a suicide attempt. 

That was in 2012.

Since then, Rob, who was released from prison after less than a year, has not only turned his life around, he’s used savvy self-marketing to build a for-profit business guiding thousands of other men and women who’ve hit rock bottom — be it in their personal or business lives — to a fresh start.

As Rob tells host and award-winning journalist Dean Rotbart, his life story teaches that the same character traits that feed personal failure can be harnessed to rebound and achieve unprecedented success.

Pick up a copy of Rob’s book: The Addition IntERvention.

Photo: Rob Lohman, Lifted From The Rut
Posted: October 24, 2022
Monday Morning Run Time: 42.23

The title of Chris De Santis’s new book is sure to resonate with employers and employees alike: Why I Find You Irritating: Navigating Generational Friction at Work.

Many business owners and veteran company employees find their younger colleagues irritating —  failing to share their values and work ethic.

Guess what? The feeling is mutual, as Millennials and GenZers often lack respect for their older co-workers.

Chris, an organization expert and former director of training and development for the American Medical Association, has studied generational differences for 18 years. He's discovered that — when well understood — the generational conflict that is so prevalent these days can be leveraged to the benefit of the organization and all its staff.

Who buys that theory? Among Chris’s clients, you’ll find Google, Microsoft, Adobe, Lilly, and Bank of America.

This week, Chris shares with host and award-winning author Dean Rotbart his take on what most companies get wrong and how to avoid squandering the value inherent in generational diversity.

Photo: Chris De Santis, Why I Find You Irritating
Posted: October 10, 2022
Monday Morning Run Time: 42:05