From the Corner Office

From college athlete to CEO: Lessons in leadership with Holly Clifford Corral

On this week’s episode, we are speaking with co-founder and CEO of PRESS PR + Marketing, Holly Clifford Corral. Holly founded PRESS in 2007 and has since become a go-to marketing and PR firm for dozens of entertainment, sports and food and beverage clients, from Outback Steakhouse to the Tampa Bay Lightning.
Holly shares leadership lessons from her time as an collegiate athlete, techniques for finding and hiring top people and why the concept of imposter syndrome has never dented her ability to be successful. Additionally, Holly re-emphasizes age-old classics like “if you’re not early, you’re late” and “lead by example, roll your sleeves up and get it done.”
3 Takeaways:
(12:07) Care about your team as people
(15:07) Culture is the #1 aspect we are concerned about 
(21:00) Confidence can overcome a lot
Timestamps:
(00:30) Introducing Holly
(01:50) How PRESS was started
(05:25) Leadership lessons from college sports
(08:05) Dealing with conflict as an athlete
(09:55) How did you grow as a leader in this business?
(13:00) Leading younger people
(16:05) When should you provide feedback?
(18:00) Leadership mentors?
(20:45) What do you look for when hiring leaders?
(22:50) Have you experienced imposter syndrome?
(25:05) Hot seat questions
Join us every week as we interview business leaders to learn what makes them great, what they look for in growing leaders, and much more.
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A window into PGT Innovation CEO Jeff Jackson’s leadership style

Jeff has been CEO of Venice-based PGT Innovations, a national leader in impact-resistant windows and doors, since 2018. Jeff joined the company, one of the region’s largest private employers, in 2005 and led its IPO in 2006. The company now does nearly $1.5 billion a year in revenue. 
Join us as we speak with Jeff about his roots in accounting and how that experience helped him in his roles at PGT. We also discuss how Jeff maintains a strong corporate culture at a company that has thousands of employees mixed between office and factory positions.
3 Takeaways:
(12:35) Build relationships with your customers.
(22:10) Being a leader requires being able to execute vision.
(25:05) Everyone has their strengths and uniquenesses. Growing a business is about catering to those strengths and uniquenesses. 
Timestamps:
(00:00) Introducing Jeff Jackson
(01:40) Jeff’s path to becoming the leader he is today
(11:55) Learning about customer relationships from former CEO, Rod Hershberger
(14:40) How PGT takes care of employees
(20:20) What characteristics does Jeff look for in leaders when promoting or hiring?
(22:25) Making difficult decisions
(24:30) Leading different aged employees
(28:15) Hot seat questions
Join us every week as we interview business leaders to learn what makes them great, what they look for in growing leaders, and much more.
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Soap, suds and surviving Hurricane Ian with Deanna Wallin

This week’s guest is Deanna Wallin, founder and CEO of Naples Soap Co. She has a classic entrepreneur story: she sought a product, soap for her daughter’s sensitive skin. But no one sold one she liked. So in 2009 Deanna, a former nurse, created the soap on her own. Then she started to sell it. After a decade, with lots of twists and turns, she’s at the helm of an $11 million publicly traded company that mixes a dozen or so stores with flourishing ecommerce options, selling a line of self-care products.   
Join us as we speak with Deanna and delve into her solution-oriented mindset, leveraging technology in the hiring process, the experience of taking the company public, and more.
3 Takeaways
(03:58) If you see a problem, solve the problem
(07:30) In order to delegate, have trust in your team, set the expectations, and have deadlines for deliverables.
(12:50) When beginning a difficult conversation, start with “may we speak candidly?”
Timestamps:
(00:25) Interview starts
(01:25) Deanna shares how she got started
(04:35) Taking Naples Soap Company public
(06:35) How Deanna has grown as a leader
(09:25) Building a 20,000sqft warehouse and corporate office
(10:50) What do you look for when hiring other leaders?
(12:20) Having difficult conversations as a leader
(14:52) Utilizing technology and Predictive Index
(16:30) Hiring in the current market
(18:15) Any leaders you look up to?
(21:08) Recommended reading from Deanna
(23:20) Parent bragging
(26:50) Hot seat questions
Join us every week as we interview business leaders to learn what makes them great, what they look for in growing leaders, and much more.
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The lost art of the hand-written note — and other leadership nuggets from Chris Tomasso

This week’s guest is Chris Tomasso, CEO of First Watch. A word many people use to describe Chris’ management style is “authentic.” From eating lunch in the break room to delivering Gatorade to stores in preparation for their busiest day, Chris tries to lead by example. Chris joins us to speak about leading through the pandemic as a new CEO, taking First Watch public, recognizing outstanding employees and the lessons he learned from an important mentor — the company’s co-founder, Ken Pendery.
3 Takeaways:
(03:07) “Treat people with respect”
(13:45) Authenticity and being kind will go a long way
(14:23) Lead by example
Timestamps:
(00:00) Introducing Chris Tomasso
(01:50) Navigating the pandemic as a new CEO
(03:55) Some of the benefits First Watch provided during the pandemic
(05:13) How did you keep the bottom line in consideration during this time?
(06:43) Learning from examples
(08:33) How Chris grew with First Watch
(11:50) What Chris learned from First Watch co-founder Ken Pendery about leadership
(13:22) Leading with authenticity
(15:30) Writing handwritten notes
(18:05) Leading First Watch through an IPO
(20:20) Why is culture so important to First Watch?
(21:48) Hot seat questions
Join us every week as we interview business leaders to learn what makes them great, what they look for in growing leaders, and much more.
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Leading with Care, Candor and Curiosity with Audrey McGuckin

This week’s guest is Audrey McGuckin, CEO of the McGuckin Group. Audrey grew up in a mining village in Scotland, where she started her career working in a sand quarry. She took some risks, seized opportunities and grew her career quickly, rising to become chief talent office at St. Pete tech giant Jabil.  
Now at the helm of the McGuckin Group, Audrey and her team collaborate with organizations worldwide. They offer expertise in talent strategy, leadership development, DEI initiatives, culture cultivation, and much more. A conversation with Audrey reveals both her practical and provocative insights into leadership and building and maintaining successful teams.  
Relevant Links:
Women On Their Way Summit - August 24
McGunkin Group Website
3 Takeaways:
(5:05) Your mindset can be more important than the “steps” you should take to succeed.
(10:20) Ask for what you need.
(11:40) Empathy is the #1 aspect of leadership that is in high demand and short supply. 
Timestamps:
00:55 - Growing up in Scotland, working at a factory, and leadership philosophy
03:30 - How do you find leaders in your organization?
05:05 - The importance of self efficacy, strong internal locus of control, and abundance mentality
08:18 - Mentoring, Audrey’s mistakes and turning them into a superpower
11:30 - Leading with empathy
13:55 - Introducing Women On Their Way
15:55 - Managers, give women the same feedback as men
17:00 - Help women dream bigger
18:45 - Audrey’s book, “Reclaim the Fire in Your Belly”
20:30 - Giving honest feedback
21:55 - Lead with care, candor, and curiosity
24:45 - Hot seat questions
Join us every week as we interview business leaders to learn what makes them great, what they look for in growing leaders, and much more.
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Lessons in Leadership with OfficeMax Founder Michael Feuer

Join us as we extend a warm welcome to OfficeMax Founder, Michael Feuer, on the inaugural episode of the Business Observer's From the Corner Office Podcast. Prepare for an engaging conversation as Michael delves into the essence of effective leadership, shares invaluable lessons from his tenure at OfficeMax, and recounts a bold encounter when he cold called none other than Jack Welch, one of America's most esteemed business executives, in pursuit of an investment.
3 Takeaways:
(16:05) "More 'we' and less 'me'"
(21:00) "Everyone in this world has something to prove"
(29:20) "Some people fall in love with ideas, I fall in love with success"
Timestamps:
01:10 - Michael Feuer introduces himself
02:13 - Michael is an “opportunist”
03:30 - Michael’s childhood
04:13 - How Michael got started
05:16 - Seize the opportunity… and be lucky
05:55 - “I’m America's worst employee”
06:30 - To be a CEO…
07:50 - “Do things you understand and know” - Starting OfficeMax
09:40 - Understanding your customer
11:29 - “You need to stand for something”
13:10 - Cold calling Jack Welch
16:15 - What makes a good leader?
18:35 - Finding leaders at OfficeMax
19:18 - You have to take ownership of everything you do
20:45 - Dig deep when interviewing people
21:40 - Following up with clients
25:20 - You can't bore people
26:45 - I try to give people memorable lessons
27:30 - Mistakes you made while running OfficeMax?
30:35 - Hot Seat Questions
31:30 - Taking customer complaints
 
To learn more about Michael Feuer, read the written article here.
Join us every week as we interview business leaders to learn what makes them great, what they look for in growing leaders, and much more.
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Welcome to the Business Observer’s From the Corner Office Podcast

Welcome to the Business Observer's From the Corner Office podcast. Join us every week for exclusive interviews with accomplished business leaders, where we delve into their unique experiences and insights. Gain valuable lessons from their expertise that you can apply to your own business.
 
For more information visit: www.businessobserverfl.com/