Play Your Position with Mary Lou Kayser

Brands these days invest a lot of time and money into making sure their customer service departments deliver exceptional experiences for customers. Why? Because customers won't stick around for long if they feel like companies don't care about them.


In today's final installment of the Expectations Mini-Series this week, Mary Lou explores what can happen when we intentionally set out to exceed the expectations we have of ourselves, and some simple ways to do that.

 

 

Enjoy and Thanks for listening! 

Direct download: ExceedingExpectations.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 9:14pm EST

If you’ve ever caught yourself saying to yourself or someone else, “I thought I’d be farther along than I am today in… having a relationship, building a business, getting fit, etc…

 

Then you are familiar with the darker side of not meeting expectations we set for ourselves. In today's episode of the Play Your Position Podcast, Mary Lou shares ways to set and manage our own expectations so that life is more fulfilling and less stressful and disappointing.

Direct download: SettingExpectations.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 1:09pm EST

In today's episode of the Play Your Position podcast, Mary Lou talks with Josh Fonger who helps business owners considerably reduce their stress levels. If you are a business owner or know one you care about, have a listen to what Josh shares about making running a business a joy again.


Bio:

Josh Fonger is a consultant, coach, and speaker who is recognized as the leading authority in Business Performance Architecture. With his unique ability to develop and implement systematic solutions to complex business problems, Josh has personally consulted or coached over 600 business owners from more than 100 industries, from small startup businesses to large $500M enterprises. Due to his phenomenal success rate, and a mountain of client testimonials, he has quickly become one of the most in-demand small business consultants in North America.

 

In 2011, Josh connected with Sam Carpenter after reading Sam’s book Work the System: The Simple Mechanics of Making More and Working Less. Recognizing their shared vision of helping business owners get unstuck using systematic solutions, Josh and Sam partnered to co-manage consulting firm Work the System, which has now attracted over 100,000 business owners from over 50 countries.

 

One of Josh’s greatest strengths is helping businesses properly organize and systematize their operations so they can achieve exponential growth. Using the Work the System methodology, Josh has inspired hundreds of success stories among small business owners around the world. Many of Josh’s clients acknowledge that his ideas and coaching have increased their profits by millions of dollars.

 

Josh graduated from the University of Michigan with a bachelor’s in architecture before getting his MBA from Arizona State University. When he’s not coaching or consulting to business owners, Josh enjoys setting up “personal systems” to maximize his time with his wife and three boys.

 

 

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Direct download: Josh_Fonger.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 3:30am EST

The world is grieving and trying to make sense of the loss of Kobe Bryant, a man, a father, a basketball superstar, and a symbol of all that is good about being human and playing our positions throughout our lives. The world is also grieving the loss of his 13-year old daughter Gianna and seven other passengers who died tragically in a helicopter crash on Sunday, January 26, 2020. 

 

Today's episode is a tribute to Kobe Bryant who exemplifies all that this show stands for. May his sudden and unexpected passing be yet another part of his tremendous legacy and inspire all of us to love harder, grow stronger, and be better for each other and for the world moving forward.

🏀 ❤️ 💯

 

 

Direct download: Kobe.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 3:30am EST

This week on the Play Your Position Podcast, Mary Lou dives into the topic of expectations and the role they play in our lives. Expectations for ourselves -- expectations of and for others. Some of the questions she will explore include:

 

  • What are expectations? 
  • How do they play a role in us playing our positions? 
  • What happens when we don’t meet our expectations or others don’t meet what we expect of them? 
  • What are some expectations beyond the playing field we can consider for developing a sound leadership practice and experiencing a higher quality of life?

 

Expectations play a huge role in how we think and act. They play a big role in our overall quality of life, how satisfied we feel. When we take the time to sit down and think through the expectations we’ve set for ourselves and others, we can begin to pinpoint what's causing us to feel dissatisfied and then -- if we want to improve -- we can make strides to replace them with ones that lead to feelings of more satisfaction.

 

Thanks so much for listening!

 

 

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Direct download: Expectations1.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 3:30am EST

In today's episode of the Play Your Position Podcast, Mary Lou shares the story of when she first learned about looking at life through the lens of it being one big experiment...and the impact doing that has had.

 

 

She also shares some of the lessons she's learned from publishing PYP 5x a week and what she sees in the show's future. 

 

 

What topics would you enjoy hearing Mary Lou tackle in future episodes? Share your thoughts via Twitter or Facebook! Or write to us here coach@pypodcast.com 

Thanks for listening!

Direct download: Experiment.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 3:30am EST

How many of the images we see on our daily social media feeds have been altered via one filter app or another? What are all these filters doing to us psychologically and emotionally? Does the use of filters on photos we share make us less authentic?

 

 

These are some of the questions Mary Lou wrestles with on today's episode of the Play Your Position Podcast. What do you think about filters? Share your thoughts via Twitter or Facebook!

Direct download: Filters.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 3:30am EST

Sports fans are pretty much guaranteed of hearing snippets from a handful of iconic rock songs when they attend live events. Songs like "Thunderstruck" by AC/DC; "We Are the Champions" by Queen; "I Am Iron Man" by Black Sabbath.

 

 

In today's episode of the Play Your Position Podcast, Mary Lou explores the philosophical question:

 

Is it time to retire "I Am Iron Man" from live sporting events? What should replace this long-time favorite let's-get-the-fans-riled-up list of rock-n-roll songs?

 

 

What do you think? Can a hockey be a hockey game without an excerpt from an AC/DC song rocking the rink? Share your thoughts with me via Twitter or Facebook!

Direct download: WhentoRetireIronMan_mixdown.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 3:30am EST

What can a former Wall Street High Roller teach us about playing our position with more dignity, grace, and courage so that we experience more success and satisfaction?

 

Turns out, plenty.

 

Twenty years, Geoff Blades was sitting in his Wall Street office and asked himself the question that would ultimately change his life.

 

 

“Is this what I truly want?”

 

 

The answer to that question led Geoff on a personal transformation quest that he’s still on today. 




In today's episode, Mary Lou talks with author and former Goldman Sachs superstar Geoff Blades about how to design your life so that you can do what you want. Geoff's story about visiting the self-help section at Barnes and Noble for the first time is sure to put a smile on your face, as is his overall enthusiasm for life. Get ready for a boost of high energy! Geoff brings everything to this conversation and leaves nothing on the field. :-) 



Bio: Geoff Blades is the author of several books including Do What You Want In Your Career and Do What You Want On Wall Street. After leaving a prestigious job at Goldman Sachs, Geoff spent years researching how people can achieve success and fulfillment in their careers and life. Today along with writing, he teaches masterclasses about living a fulfilling life through personal and professional development.

 

 

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Walden

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Direct download: Geoff_Blades.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 3:30am EST

Have you ever wondered why some people seem to grow year after year experiencing more success while others remain in the same place for decades? Fortune favors the curious! In today's episode, Mary Lou shares 5 ways to outperform yourself in 2020 and beyond. 

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Remember -- the only person we should be competing against is ourselves! As you know more, you can do better. As you think bigger, your results will become bigger. Last year’s championship season is this year’s starting point. Stay hungry. Stay curious. Energy is the currency of life and is more valuable than intellect. So is cultivating massive belief in yourself. When you believe you can outperform yourself and experience different, more satisfying results, you can!

 

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Direct download: OutperformYourself.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 3:30am EST

Today’s episode is part of a new series here at the Play Your Position Podcast about the effects of social media on how we play our positions in life and work.

 

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The goal of this series is to advance the conversation about how social media exposure impacts us and ways we can develop the skills needed to effectively navigate life in a hyper-connected world. 

 

 

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What are some strategies and skills you've developed to help you navigate a social media world? What is your approach to interacting with bad news you read on social media? Write to us here >>> coach@pyppodcast.com

 

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We'll share some listener insights on future episodes of PYP!

 

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Thanks for listening and being part of Team PYP!

Direct download: BadNewsSocial_mixdown.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 2:30pm EST

In today's episode, Mary Lou talks about Social Listening -- what it is, why it matters, and how you can use this technique to build your brand, grow your business, expand your network, find your next career opportunity. 


Social media can be a fantastic goldmine of connections, insights, and ideas. Mary Lou shares how she used social listening to create an info product that she now sells on Amazon. When we learn how to use it effectively and intentionally, it can open new doors for us on so many levels! 


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The Jealousy Journal

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Direct download: SocialListening.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 6:37pm EST

Happy New Year, Team PYP! Today's episode kicks off a new year and a new decade at the Play Your Position podcast with a preview of the guests who will be sharing their stories and insights in the coming weeks, as well as Mary Lou's book and movie recommendations for anyone looking to expand your reading and viewing lists.

The 2020s offer an incredible opportunity to become even more of who you are and to share your leadership with the world! Let's commit to practicing the best of who we are together as the new year unfolds.

Are you ready for kick-off? Let's go!



Links and Resources



Write It Down, Make It Happen

The Dutch House (audio version)

Leadership Limericks

Take that Leap

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Direct download: BONUS_Audible_Happy_New_Year_2020_mixdown.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 7:11pm EST