Are your customer service representatives ducks or eagles? 

An excerpt from Monday Morning Radio with Host Dean Rotbart

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You might say (or even sing) that Beth Kendall and her husband Bill are as lucky as lucky can be.

The couple, after all, have co-owned All Out Chimney Sweep in Charlotte, North Carolina for the past 35-plus years.

With all due respect to Mary Poppins and her friend Bert, successfully running and maintaining a 21st Century chimney sweep business in the face of advancing technologies and changing consumer tastes is no song and dance.

This week Beth, who earlier this year was elected as the first female president of the North Carolina Chimney Sweep Association, takes host and reputation coach Dean Rotbart up where the smoke is all billered and curled, and shares some smokin’ lessons that any business owner can readily profit from.

Photo: Beth Kendall, All Out Chimney Sweep
Posted: March 25, 2018
Monday Morning Run Time: 33:05

Since he co-wrote The One Minute Manager in 1982, Ken Blanchard has rarely been off the bestsellers list, having authored or co-authored 60 books and landed a spot in Amazon.com’s  Hall of Fame, as one of the 25 top revenue generators of all time.

One of Dr. Blanchard’s favorite topics over the years has been customer service and how businesses can excel at it. He recently reissued his 2005 book, The Simple Truths of Service, which has sold more than 5 million copies. This week he joins host and reputation coach Dean Rotbart to share some of the common-sense wisdom that the book imparts.

By the way, Dean, who teaches the Reputation Tool Chest workshop at Wizard Academy, took the opportunity with Dr. Blanchard to make a couple of his own reputation recommendations to the legendary author. No one ever said that Dean, a former investigative reporter, isn’t dogged.

Photo: Dr. Ken Blanchard, Author
Posted: March 18, 2019
Monday Morning Run Time: 28:44

This week’s special guest, Matt Mason, was recently appointed by Nebraska Governor Pete Ricketts to be the state’s official poet.

It’s a position whose roots date back to 1921 and highlights the fact that the Cornhusker state is quite fertile ground for literary creativity.

For almost ten years, Matt has served as executive director of the Nebraska Writers Collective, a nonprofit group that promotes poets in the schools and organizes quality poetry programs for adults.

As the Nebraska State Poet, Matt plans to travel the state – from schools to prisons – sharing his love of poetry, supporting the state’s writers, and inspiring Nebraskans from all walks of life to express themselves creatively.

As Monday Morning Radio host and reputation coach Dean Rotbart – himself a Pulitzer Prize nominee when he wrote for The Wall Street Journal – points out, Matt joins a lengthy honor roll of Wizard Academy graduates who have been recognized globally for their creativity and professional excellence.

Rotbart explores the role of creativity in society with Matt and asks him to explain why the arts matter.  You’ll want to hear his answer.

And, you’ll also want to hear his exclusive reading of a chapter from his latest book, The Baby That Are Cincinnati. So be sure to listen – or if time is short, skip – to the end of this week’s episode.

Photo: Matt Mason, Nebraska State Poet
Posted: March 12, 201
Monday Morning Run Time: 38:22

For a business to be truly successful, it requires executives who excel at managing their employees and, according to Andy Singer, employees who excel at managing their executives.

Andy is the founder and CEO of Singer Executive Development, a Florida consultancy that trains both executives and employees on ways to maximize their performance, including managing each other well.

As Andy tells host and reputation coach Dean Rotbart, employees who “manage up” are not suck ups – they’re savvy career strategists who understand that when their bosses look good, their career prospects look even better.

Photo: Andy Singer, Singer Executive Development
Posted: March 4, 2019
Monday Morning Run Time: 36:11