In 2024, flexibility is the word in everyone’s business. In a recent survey, the British Standards Institution asked more than 900 leaders worldwide about their priorities for their companies going forward. The results found that flexibility and well-being were the main concerns across the board. But what does flexibility mean, in practice? Is it a new way to consider our office environment, or a whole new mindset for how we lead our teams? Our guest Jacob Morgan has spent the last 13 years thinking about these questions.

Jacob is a futurist, a keynote speaker and the best-selling author of The Future of Work and The Employee Experience Advantage. He is also the host of his podcast, Great Leadership. Since leaving his corporate job 15 years ago, Jacob has contributed to countless organizations, helping them achieve better collaboration across the board. Today, he is a multi-hyphenated entrepreneur who shows leaders how to get ahead of new strategic and cultural challenges.

So for our mid-season finale, Jacob opens the way into the future of work. From productivity to talent retention, we unpack how to adopt a flexible approach to leadership and collaboration. Together, we uncover how a proactive response to our shortcomings can bring our businesses forward, and keep our teams working well together. We also discuss Jacob’s professional journey, from his early experiences with corporate culture to his latest book, Leading With Vulnerability.

Join Jacob Morgan in conversation, to embrace flexibility and find out how competence and connection pave the path to great leadership.

Highlights:

• Jacob’s experience in the corporate world (3:14)
• Working flexibly as a serial entrepreneur (6:23)
• The changing nature of the office setup (7:49)
• Flexibility as a new business mindset (9:56)
• Solving the talent retention problem with mobility (11:36)
• Why businesses should focus on culture (15:02)
• One team, different ages, different perspectives (17:26)
• Leading with vulnerability (20:07)
• Competence & Connection: what vulnerability looks like in the workplace (22:00)
• Embracing the limits of collaboration (24:28)

Links:

• Cadence Bank Website
• Cadence Bank X (Twitter)
• Cadence Bank LinkedIn
• Jacob Morgan Website
• Jacob Morgan X (Twitter)
• Jacob Morgan LinkedIn
• Jacob Morgan Podcast - Great Leadership
• Jacob Morgan Books - Leading With Vulnerability
• Jacob Morgan Books - The Future of Work
• Jacob Morgan Books - The Employee Experience Advantage
• British Standards Institution Survey - “Evolving Together - Flourishing in the Age Diverse Workforce”

Feedback:

If you have questions about the show or topics you'd like discussed in future episodes, email our producers, Natalie.Barron@cadencebank.com, Eydie.Pengelly@cadencebank.com, or danielle.kernell@cadencebank.com.

According to the national census, there are 16.2 million veterans in the U. S., with over 4 million under the age of 55 years old. Many come back from deployment with a whole life ahead of them, and savings ripe for investment. So where does this new life begin? Our guests today will show you the way.

In honour of Military Appreciation Month, this week, we're bringing back a favorite episode from last season. Remember LDR Growth Partners? They're a veteran-founded, people-focused investment firm, which was built from the ground up over the last decade. Today, we speak with the men behind the success: Rich Sexton and Will Brame. Rich co-founded the firm in 2013, with two fellow veterans, after seven years of service overseas as an Airborne Ranger and an Infantry Officer. Meanwhile, Will’s background is in finance; he worked at JP Morgan for over a decade, before joining LDR as a partner in 2015.

In this episode, Rich and Will give us a lesson in business ownership. They look back on the early days of LDR and its inception in Casper, Wyoming, to reveal how they found their space in the market. With touching authenticity, they discuss their passion for family-owned businesses. They show us how they collaborate with the companies they acquire, and bring their focus on people, first and foremost. And you will hear it at every turn: military leadership continues to inform their business philosophy today.

So join Rich and Will on the front line, for a story of grit that will leave you inspired!

Highlights:

• Rich’s story of grit: the origins of LDR Growth Partners (1:56)
• The deal that put LDR on the map (3:37)
• Finding a competitive edge between Casper and New York (5:48)
• Will’s story of grit: from the trading floor to private equity (7:15)
• Finding a niche with family-owned business (9:49)
• Every Partner plays their part (11:36)
• Why carrying a legacy is important (13:48)
• Understanding who you are working with (15:05)
• The untapped potential of manufacturing companies (18:08)
• Military leadership as a business philosophy (20:36)
• A roadmap to internal restructuring (23:28)
• How to bring in new leadership (25:09)
• “No plan survives first contact” (26:06)
• Collaboration at the heart of LDR (28:11)

Links:

• Cadence Bank Website
• Cadence Bank Twitter
• Cadence Bank LinkedIn
• LDR Growth Partners Website
• LDR Growth Partners LinkedIn
• Rich Sexton’s LinkedIn
• Will Brame’s LinkedIn
• Statistics - “U.S. Veterans 2021, by age and gender”

If you have questions about the show or topics you'd like discussed in future episodes, email our producers, Natalie.Barron@cadencebank.com, Eydie.Pengelly@cadencebank.com, or danielle.kernell@cadencebank.com.

Great business often starts with a need that hasn’t been met. Whether you’re operating in an emerging field, or offering a new service within an established industry, a good niche holds unique potential for your company. Our guest Robert Brawner knows this from experience.

As an environmental consultant and the founder of One Consulting Group, Robert was carrying out health and safety assessments, digging out landfills, and removing asbestos before climate change was on everyone’s mind. He started in his field in the 1990s, when environmental regulations were not a primary concern in real estate construction and development, and built two successful environmental consulting firms in Atlanta, Georgia. Thirty years later, his field is booming and he is still at the heart of the action, with a boutique business and clientele he has intentionally nurtured.

So in this episode, Robert reveals how to identify a good business niche, and dig in! We unveil the strategies that helped him seed his company, and reflect on the forces at play within the environmental industry today. We draw lessons from Robert’s inspiring professional journey to find out how to keep business flowing even through changing partnerships and financial crashes.

Tune in with Robert Brawner for a lesson in motivation and resilience.

Highlights:

• Robert Brawner’s professional background (2:31)
• How to explore your niche and gather information (4:15)
• Unpacking the “Blue Ocean” strategy (5:52)
• Getting into Environmental Consultancy in Atlanta (7:07)
• How Robert became a partner at his first firm (8:43)
• Developing environmental consultancy in the commercial space (10:04)
• Growing your clientele within your niche (11:56)
• Switching gears before the 2008 financial crash (13:15)
• “When you leave a business relationship, don’t burn bridges” (15:05)
• Pivoting in the property development market after 2008 (16:45)
• How the Atlanta Beltline gave One Consulting Group a new lease on life (17:34)
• Property redevelopment: adapting & reusing building sites (19:50)
• The effects of climate change on Robert’s practice (22:08)
• Convenience, consistency, connection: the Japanese approach to client relationship (24:18)
• Advantages of keeping business at a boutique scale (27:22)
• “Now is a great time to grow” (30:02)

Links:

• Cadence Bank Website
• Cadence Bank X (Twitter)
• Cadence Bank LinkedIn
• One Consulting Group Website
• Robert Brawner LinkedIn
• The Atlanta Beltline Website
• Article - Why is Environmental Consulting Booming?

Feedback:

If you have questions about the show or topics you'd like discussed in future episodes, email our producers, Natalie.Barron@cadencebank.com, Eydie.Pengelly@cadencebank.com, or danielle.kernell@cadencebank.com.