Discovering Leadership Potential: How L3 is Empowering Local Leaders

Intro: Broadcasting live from the Business RadioX studios in Atlanta, Georgia. It’s time for High Velocity Radio.

Joshua Kornitsky: Welcome back. This is Joshua Kornitsky professional EOS implementer and host here today on High Velocity Radio. I’ve got two great guests with me today. Mark O’Donnell and Misti Burmeister, co-creators of the Lewes Leadership Luncheon, also called L3. Mark is a certified EOS implementer with a background in scaling entrepreneurial organizations. He brings practical, hands on experience in vision, alignment and accountability. Misti is an award winning executive coach, speaker, and author, and she’s known for transforming cultures, elevating communication, and really igniting engagement. Together, they launched the Lewes Leadership Luncheon to provide local leaders with an authentic space to connect, learn, and grow without the egos or fluff of traditional networking events. Their goal in sparking is sparking meaningful conversations that inspire action and build a thriving leadership community in Lewes, Delaware and beyond. Well, welcome, Misti. Welcome, Mark. It’s so nice to see you.

Misti Burmeister: Nice to be seen. Nice to see you, too, Joshua.

Joshua Kornitsky: There. There you go. Well, um, Misti, I know you’ve spent years working with organizations on engagement and culture. What inspired you to get with Mark and, uh, and put this together for the Lewes, Delaware area?

Misti Burmeister: So there’s nothing like this here in Lewes. What inspired me to get together with Mark, specifically, I’ll start with that is because he’s one of the most kind, generous, loving teddy bears of a person, um, who’s just always happy to help whoever shows up. I love his generosity and also I appreciate his humility. So those are the two things I look for in anybody I spend any time with. And he’s got both of those in spades. So, uh, and then what inspired me to want to do the L3 is there isn’t anything here like it. There’s, there’s I started something very similar in the Washington, DC area more than 20 years ago where people could come together and simply share strategies. Leaders could come together and share strategies for success. Um, and it didn’t cost anything. All they had to do was pay for their lunch, right? So as a result, we had people from within the group sharing, like literally leading us and sharing the things that have worked and the things that haven’t worked created a nice bond between people. And it also created, um, those companies that were there that were struggling with retention and engagement and all the things we’re looking for were able to easily turn to somebody else and ask them, hey, how can I do this differently in Delaware? It’s there’s a problem with attracting talent here, and there’s a real problem with retaining it. And there’s a concept that there’s just not enough good people out there. Nobody wants to work hard. And it’s a concept that’s not true. There’s plenty of people out there. We have to have some clarity around vision. So there’s lots of need for conversations around leadership here and the chambers of commerce. Joshua. They don’t provide this. Like me and Mark both went to them and said, hey, we’re both subject matter experts. We’ll do a talk for your group for free. And they said, well, if I gave you that opportunity, I’d have to give everybody that opportunity.

Joshua Kornitsky: And chambers can be a challenge.

Misti Burmeister: And you should do that.

Joshua Kornitsky: Right.

Misti Burmeister: And so instead, Mark and I have gone off and created a platform where he and I and others in the community can do just that. So that’s my what and why.

Joshua Kornitsky: I mean, it certainly sounds like you’re filling, uh, you’ve identified a gap, both of you, in your local community, and you’re stepping up to to fill that gap. And Misti, I’m going to come back to you in a minute. But, Mark, I want to ask you obviously you the sheer admiration Misti expressed for your teddy bear like qualities makes you.

Misti Burmeister: I’m never gonna live that one down.

Joshua Kornitsky: No, but that’s okay. But truthfully, uh, I know Mark personally, and I know that he’s a kind and generous man, but. But, Mark, uh, aside from the the the gap that Misti identified, what are some of the things that drove you to to looking at this community now? Uh, have you both been in in the area for a long time?

Mark O’Donnell: Well, I’ve been in this area for a little bit over five years now.

Joshua Kornitsky: Okay.

Mark O’Donnell: And, uh, so and to your question that you asked Misti, like, why do I really want to work with Misti? Because one is very optimistic. Very, um, I just every time I see her interacting with people, she’s always genuinely interested in them, always building them up, making them feel really, really good about themselves. And she’s always been that encouragement person. Like, when I see you talk to people very encouraging to other people, so just makes them feel really good. Well, we met at the Lewes Farmers Market. We both volunteer at the farmers market. So, um, so Misti sells farmer’s market insulated bags.

Misti Burmeister: Would you like to buy a beautiful bag?

Joshua Kornitsky: I very well.

Misti Burmeister: Sexy.

Joshua Kornitsky: It only if it’s from. Is it from Lewes, Delaware? Yes. A stone’s throw from Washington, D.C. and Annapolis.

Misti Burmeister: That’s right.

Joshua Kornitsky: Then. Then I’m in.

Misti Burmeister: Good.

Mark O’Donnell: I sell t shirts at the market, so. And then, you know, it’s the idea about bringing smiles to people’s faces, right? Making them feel good and just enjoying life in general. But I will tell you the need. Of course, I’m on board the same thing with Misti about seeing a need in this area where you know so it’s about there is there are hidden treasures here within people. Not only you’re probably out there in the ocean, but.

Misti Burmeister: Definitely out there in the ocean.

Mark O’Donnell: But there are hidden treasures within people, right within people. So we want to we want to discover where they are, discover that treasure and help people actually see that where they’re hidden potential really lies. And so we we felt like opening this up to people, giving them the sometimes the floor to talk about different things, sharing those treasures with each other. It’s really going to be really impactful.

Joshua Kornitsky: I think at a high level, the concept speaks directly to a a need in your community, but also a need for entrepreneurs and for business people. Right now, there are many, many wonderful peer, um, organizations at every level out in the universe. But having one that’s community based, I think could make a very different impact. And and what I’d like to do, if I may, is just to understand a little bit about each of you personally. I just want to ask about your journeys that kind of brought you to where you are now. So, Mark, if you don’t mind, I’ll ask Misti first, just out of courtesy to go back and forth. Misti. Tell us a little bit about your background and how you arrived at this abundance mindset that you’re demonstrating helping others.

Misti Burmeister: Wow. This abundance mindset. Well, that’s an interesting mindset to begin with. Uh, and I would say I have a lot of work to do on my abundance mindset and have it hit all areas of my life would be great. Um, but this you’re talking about the abundance mindset related to the L3, uh, which I would say when I started the the Ypg’s what it was called back 20 years ago. There’s plenty for everybody. And I just knew back then, and I know now that I, I want to share and if I want to share, then other people probably also want to share. And it starts Joshua. It starts with the abundance mindset toward myself. If I’m getting really honest right now. I love to speak and I love to coach, and I want to give myself more opportunities to do that. And I remember I used to say, I feel like I’m a Lamborghini, like inches off the ground. And I thought for a long time, like, I want somebody else to give me that opportunity, right. Locally. Give me that. I’ve been all around the, the country and but locally. And instead of waiting for somebody else to give me that place to stand, I’m giving myself a place to stand with the L3. Right? So starting it gives me a place to, uh, to share my gifts. Now, I’ve started with myself, and I believe everything on a leadership level is an inside out job. If you want to give other people opportunities, we have to have our own opportunities to do the same. So that’s that is the short answer to the well, I don’t know.

Joshua Kornitsky: Well, and the other piece and I just want to understand so that folks that are listening can understand what is what is your coaching and facilitation. You’re speaking. You’re an author. What is it you help your clients with so that they understand that what you’re bringing to L3 is proven and real, rather than just a very educated opinion.

Misti Burmeister: Yeah. Thank you for that question. My expertise lies in leadership communication. So what I tactically do is help leaders and teams to use their difficult conversations to drive engagement. Most leaders avoid those conversations. I show them how to use those conversations. It’s like 20 plus years ago when I started this company, my main focus was generational diversity. So I was helping young and seasoned professionals understand how to communicate with one another. My first book is on that topic. From Boomers to Bloggers is the name of that book.

Joshua Kornitsky: Wow.

Misti Burmeister: At the end of the day, people of all different generations want the same basic things. They want to feel like what they do matters. They want some form of feedback and opportunities for growth. So if you can create the platform for all, for all generations, people of all differences to thrive, well then we don’t have to worry so much about our differences. In fact, we can leverage our differences. So when we. When I talked about generational differences, having them go from a, from a, from a liability, these differences to an asset, we have to have some basic pieces. And inside of those basic pieces is hard conversation. Hard conversation, hard conversation. Right. How do I how does what I do matter? Where are we going? What are we trying to achieve in this organization? Uh, feedback and opportunities for growth. Like we have to keep pushing the envelope to grow. And if you’re in a if you’re in a leadership position, you don’t know how to challenge people, you’re never going to get their greatness out of them, right? So I love to teach and show people how to use those conversations to grow.

Joshua Kornitsky: Thank you. That I think that lends insight for folks to understand what you’re bringing. In addition to establishing the platform with Mark to how you can help and facilitate in that environment. Now, Mark, I know and I thank you for your service. I know you’re a veteran, and I know that long before you became an EOS implementer, you worked with leadership teams in in a different way. So can you share a little bit about your background and a little bit about EOS, so that folks understand what you’re going to bring to L3 to help them grow?

Mark O’Donnell: Yeah. Well, I tell you what, I it’s funny because I started my leadership journey, I didn’t really know that I was a leader until I was in the military. I went in the Air Force basic training. Right. So I’m in basic training, and and I got called to the, you know, the drill instructors office. You know, I thought, boy, I’m in trouble. I don’t know what I did, but he’s like, Mark, you know, I’ve been watching you. I see the way you interact with the other men here, and they respect you and you’re very, very influential with them. He says, I want you to be one of our leaders. I’m like me. He goes, yes, you. He said, I see the way you help other people. You’re kind of like a servant leader, if you will. And I’m like, so I did that. And in the process, I didn’t realize that one of the key ingredients that he pointed out to me is because I failed an inspection and everybody else passed. And he said, you forgot about yourself first. He said, I want you to make sure that you get it right first.

Mark O’Donnell: Like, you know, with oxygen mask comes down. You put it on first so you can help others. Well, I, I was thinking about others first before myself. So I wanted to make sure that, you know, that didn’t happen. So so in as I kind of grew as a leader, you know, I always made sure that I was equipped, fully equipped, like I do a lot of reading, do a lot of reading of personal development books and etc. on leadership. And so I learn I learned tools that I can use to teach other people. Right. And so through the years, I’ve learned how to, uh, see the potential that is in people. So, um, when I grow project teams. So moving from the military to the corporate environment, uh, I developed, team developed. Uh, and so in the process of developing teams, it’s actually looking at the strengths, the qualities and the potential in people and helping them to be the best they can be. In other words, I want to help them be successful because then in turn, I will be successful. It helps me to be a better leader and manager.

Joshua Kornitsky: Sure.

Mark O’Donnell: Uh, and if I can equip them to be a better leader and manager themselves.

Misti Burmeister: So what you teach, you get.

Mark O’Donnell: More of what I teach, you know? Yeah, exactly. So. And then as I kind of gravitated through the years of expanding my business and expanding the, you know, the people, I, it was a great fit for me to go into EOS to work with teams. So leadership teams of businesses, so small entrepreneurial businesses, uh, and I worked with their leadership teams to help them, you know, and we say that and get everything they want out of their business. But it’s actually I want to teach the leaders so how they can also recognize the leaders that are in within their company and they can help and develop them. So ultimately, you know, you own a business, you want to either sell it or have somebody else take it over. So or you want to have more time for yourself, for other passions. Yeah. So it’s.

Misti Burmeister: To grow the business.

Mark O’Donnell: And train up other people so you can delegate things to them. That’s the key. Yeah. Right. So I don’t know. I’ve been working on that for for years, and I’m still working on it.

Joshua Kornitsky: Well, so it sounds like anyone that decides they want to attend the L3 event is bringing the ability to have challenging conversations to the forefront, but also a focus on helping people just communicate better. Mark’s bringing the structure, the discipline, the accountability, but also at the team side in addition to the leadership side. What is it that you’re hoping that the participants in L3 are going to take away? What is it you want to help? Because it’s not you’re not asking for specifics from them. You want them to take and learn from the information you’re sharing. What is your hope? What does success look like for those who attend in in an ideal state? Mhm.

Misti Burmeister: Well do you want me to go.

Speaker5: Go ahead.

Misti Burmeister: I would, I would say hands down relationships right. So yes we can get into the content. Uh, what I’m talking about this Thursday is the art of empowerment. But really, I’m facilitating conversation. I have some expertise in this area. Yes, but it’s not really all about me as the facilitator. It’s about helping to create a conversation around this idea of empowerment. And I’ll be having them asking and answering some questions in one on one and in the whole group. Uh, that will allow for some deepening of relationship. See, because when things happen in their businesses or in their careers, they will have somebody that they’ve gotten to know a little bit that they can call up and say, I’ve had this experience. What do you think? So my I would say our bigger goal here is to build community around leadership. And the content that gets delivered and shared about is just the icing on the cake.

Joshua Kornitsky: That’s a that’s a much better way to frame it, right? Because the truth is, the power is in that connection far more than the content. And, uh, you know, as you’re getting the local community to understand that it’s okay to rely and, and trust and be open and honest with one another. Um, have you thought through how you get that ball rolling? Because I imagine that it’s sort of like anytime you’ve got a group of folks together and you ask for a volunteer, everyone becomes camouflage. They all sink back and dissolve into their chairs. So are you going to volunteer them or are you gonna. How are you going to get the folks to come out of their shells?

Misti Burmeister: Because I got a story for you that’ll please this question. So a couple of days ago, I get this email from somebody who’s, uh, interested in L3. Asked me if he could take me to lunch. Absolutely. So we go to lunch yesterday, and at some point during the lunch, he says to me, so how are you going to get the people in this room to just want to get to know each other without titles. Now, this is a guy that, when he first came into the restaurant, was really guarded, very guarded. And by the time he asked this question, all I had to do was look at him because we had some laughs together by this point. Right. Just like I did with you. That’s right. Right. So it’s how we are being. That’s why Mark and I are on the same page about how we introduce ourselves isn’t going to be I’m the best selling author of the yada, yada, blah blah, blah. And Mark’s not going to go with all of his credentials, right? We’re going to step forward with what are we most passionate about right now. Or one of our greatest passions. Right. So that we can lead the way with that. And I would say to a greater, more specific answer to your question is we lead with vulnerability. So I will be sharing in my talk on Thursday some stories that will prompt a lowering of the guard. Right. So it’s all in how we lead it and how we facilitate the conversations among the members. I’m not interested in forcing anything. So if nobody wants to say anything, well, then I’ve got. I’m ready to go. I’ve got other ideas and things I can I can toss at them. Okay, so.

Joshua Kornitsky: So it sounds like if if I’m a little reticent to attend, it sounds like I’m not going to be pushed into anything. Um, but I’ll have the opportunity to connect and meet and and also learn a little something.

Misti Burmeister: Yeah, exactly.

Mark O’Donnell: Yeah. You know, it’s interesting because Joshua, I was doing a, uh, a young professionals workshop, uh, just recently, not too long ago. And in that process, it’s about, you know, opening up and sharing, being vulnerable and sharing, you know, your goals, your aspirations and things like that. And, you know, obviously, you know, I know initially people are going to be a little bit hesitant, but eventually, I think just creating that space, creating that environment where I just share my stories in a sense where if I can just be vulnerable in front of them, I think that will that encourages them to do the same. Right?

Misti Burmeister: Absolutely.

Mark O’Donnell: Yeah.

Joshua Kornitsky: Absolutely. And I think the impact of, of both of you being willing to put yourself out there to, to folks to whom many of whom will be new to you and you to them, goes a long way to lowering the barrier, but establishing the trust and getting the mindset that this is an okay space. Um.

Misti Burmeister: And it’ll take time too, because, I mean, people are accustomed when they hear leadership or, or event or networking or they think networking, they have a perception of what that is, which is why the guy yesterday is like, how are you going to get people to actually want to get to know each other? I’m like, oh my God, that’s what we actually want to do, right? Right. If we could just lower our fears. Right. So Mark and I are going to lead the way with that and give people permission.

Mark O’Donnell: Um, you know, the here’s one of the keys, too, is just, uh, it’s just something I just was thinking about the other day as I was reading, uh, that that, you know, people, like, say, well, they’re not going to really study leadership or attend anything about leadership until they become a leader themselves. Right. And the idea is, you know, do it now.

Misti Burmeister: Do it.

Mark O’Donnell: Now. Because you know what I mean? It’s it’s like because you can have a CEO of a company, you know, VP level, you can be a senior director, or you could be a mid-level manager. You’re a leader at any level. You don’t need a title to be a leader, right? You’re at any level. You’re a leader even even on the production floor. Even as a server in a restaurant, you’re still a leader in some way, shape or form, right? So we’re encouraging everybody to come. You don’t have to be the CEO of an organization.

Joshua Kornitsky: Well, and I think thank you for pointing that out. Right. Because that we we live in a business environment where you say leader. Oh, well, you know, owner of the company or leadership team of the company. But you’re right, because leadership has demonstrated every day by example. And it can be someone who has no title in the world. That doesn’t mean they’re not a leader. It just means they’re not part of a defined hierarchy. You know, there are community leaders. Are there religious leaders? There are all kinds of people that that others pay attention to. And and that paying attention is something that you both just touched on. You you have to refine that. But but it takes a certain point before you have the awareness that there is the existence of leadership. Mark, you pointed out in your own story that you hadn’t noticed it yourself. So it’s got to get recognized, but then you’ve got to have that self awareness. And it sounds like you guys are really looking to foster that awareness and and help others recognize it, not only in themselves but in their community.

Misti Burmeister: You’re touching on the topic I’m speaking of.

Joshua Kornitsky: Oh, sorry.

Misti Burmeister: I love it, I love it. It’s reminding me of this story. Uh, just a few years ago. I’ve been doing this for 22 years. Right. And just a few years ago, I was getting ready to go give a talk to a group of executives, and I was really nervous. I called a mentor of mine who’s in her 80s. She’s not got much time left to live. She’s got a double pacemaker on and on. And I asked her, like, what do you do to deal with your nerves and anxiety? I mean, not right now, but in general. What did you do? And she said, well, tell me a little bit about your talk. And I so I did, and at 20, 30 minutes later she goes, you know, it’s just that you’re one of the best of the best. And it’s just a shame that you don’t already know it. And she and then she followed that up with, I mean, I’m not blowing smoke up your ass. I’m just this is true. This is just the truth. And I was like, it changed my life. Joshua.

Mark O’Donnell: Sure.

Misti Burmeister: It changed my life. I believed her that day.

Joshua Kornitsky: There’s a there’s a massive difference. As as we all hopefully learn at some point between confidence and arrogance. And that confidence comes from from repetition and building skill over time. And I think both of you have demonstrated just in this discussion that you aren’t going about this endeavor for your glories, respectively. It really sounds like you’re trying to help your community, and I think that that’s something that that the universe certainly inside out.

Misti Burmeister: Yeah. You say your community. I’m going to be really honest with you here. It’s good for me, it’s good for Mark, and it’s good for our community. Yeah. So it’s it’s it’s a service to our gifts and it’s a service to the gifts of those in our community.

Joshua Kornitsky: My father always taught me you had as much to learn from the guy pushing the broom as you do from the CEO of the company. And what you have to have is the self-awareness to ask, um, so where do you guys hope L3 will go long term if, if, if you make these connections? Um, are you looking to do this with with frequency? Are you looking to to bring it on the road. Where? Where do you hope to be able to take the Lewes leadership luncheon?

Misti Burmeister: So I can’t go too big. I’ll have to stay small, because already this takes a lot of courage for me. I don’t know about you, Mark, but it takes courage for me to do this. But I will tell you, more than 20 years ago now, I won this award, the Peter Drucker International Essay Contest. And I’m only telling you that.

Joshua Kornitsky: Okay.

Misti Burmeister: I was the first American to receive this award, so they sent me to Austria to receive it. And I’m only telling you that because I think my place, my place. Fifth, they took the top ten and took us to Austria. I’m telling you that because what I wrote the essay about was, I imagined the difference it would make in the world at that time. If all of the teachers in the world could, in our country, could receive the same kind of coaching as the CEO of General General Electric. That was the example I gave. And. And so for me, when I think of the long term of this, it’s providing that same thing that I talked about in my essay. It’s creating a space in our little tiny micro world where it doesn’t matter what your title is, you can come in here and learn how to be better at leading other people from the inside out. So we’re going to have people here that are going to speak on leadership and politics, on leadership and health. We’ve got Mark talking about leadership and delegation, uh, talking about empowerment. We’ve got somebody talking about leadership in AI. I mean, how do you use AI to get better in your leadership? I think it is remarkable. I can’t wait to hear what he has to say. Sure. Um, so. Yeah. Does that answer your question?

Joshua Kornitsky: Absolutely. It sounds like. Sorry.

Mark O’Donnell: Mark, let me jump in here.

Speaker5: Yes, please. Sorry. Your turn. Taipei. Over here.

Mark O’Donnell: Well, would you guys probably don’t? I don’t know, because I have on my vision board. Okay. At home and I put it on there 15 years ago. Is a training center at the beach. Oh, okay. And it and I have the whole floor layout on the I have it all. I have I’ve written about it. And it’s a place where people can come like the Lewes leadership luncheon, and they can come and network and and learn from each other. We’re going to we’re going to conduct, uh, different workshops there. It’s a place where people can come, uh, have conversations, have private coaching as well, have meditation rooms. So we’re going to have all that. And this is a this is a, as I say, a ten year target for me in a sense to have a training center at the beach. And I believe that this is the beginning of creating something.

Misti Burmeister: Some buzz around that. Not. Yeah.

Joshua Kornitsky: That’s fantastic.

Misti Burmeister: Yeah. Yeah. That’s awesome. Did you. Did you just get inspired by that vision?

Joshua Kornitsky: I can tell you that. I could see it in my mind’s eye. And I know that that’s the that’s that’s that’s that’s the first step to making it reality.

Misti Burmeister: Conversations with real people. Can you get better than that? The beach and real conversations.

Joshua Kornitsky: Sounds pretty good to me. So let me ask the obvious question when and where is the Lewes Leadership luncheon?

Misti Burmeister: It’s always going to be on the second Thursday, except for October, the second Thursday of the month. Okay, we’re doing on a Friday. Um, but the second Thursday of the month, our very first one is September 11th, two days from this current recording. Okay. And I’m so excited for it. We’re doing it over at Ferguson heating and Air Conditioning is the full title HVAC.

Mark O’Donnell: Facility.

Misti Burmeister: Facility? Um, just right across from, uh, right across route one. And so on the other side of route one from downtown Lewes.

Mark O’Donnell: Over by that trampoline.

Misti Burmeister: Over by that trampoline store. How do you call the jump?

Mark O’Donnell: It’s like, I don’t know what it is, but jump.

Misti Burmeister: You jump there.

Mark O’Donnell: A lot of the people who have kids know where that is. They do.

Joshua Kornitsky: So how do you find out? Uh, time and specific address and location. Is there a website? Is there a social link?

Misti Burmeister: Um, so we can give you a link that you can share with. We will, but they can email me directly. Misti at Misti burmeister.com, and I’ll send them the link. Um, or they can go to Misti Burmeister. Com and on the, um, on the top right hand side there’s more. And then L3 is underneath that.

Joshua Kornitsky: May I ask you to spell Misti Burmeister?

Misti Burmeister: Yeah. M I s t I b u r m e I s t e r.com.

Joshua Kornitsky: Perfect. And, Mark, how would people reach you?

Mark O’Donnell: Well, I mean, people can reach me on my email. That’d be Mark P as in Philip O’Donnell. O’donnell at EOS worldwide.com. That’s my email address.

Joshua Kornitsky: All right. Well, I can’t thank you both enough for sharing this with me. Uh, it sounds like it’s going to be a really great time, and there’s going to be a fantastic opportunity to connect and get some lunch, uh, and learn. And at the end of the day, I think what you are both facilitating is something that that, uh, aligns with the concept of the rising tide that lifts all ships. So I think it’s a wonderful thing that you’re doing. I wish you nothing but success. And as you continue to grow, we’ll have you back on so that we can see how things are going. Um. Misti Burmeister, Mark O’Donnell. One last thing.

Misti Burmeister: Yeah. I just wanted to put my phone number out there.

Joshua Kornitsky: Oh, please.

Misti Burmeister: Sometimes that’s easier to get in contact with people. I love it when people give me a shout. That’s fine too. (240) 401-4397. Once again. Or 014397.

Joshua Kornitsky: Fantastic.

Misti Burmeister: Thank you so much, Josh.

Joshua Kornitsky: Oh, absolutely. Thank you both. And like I said, we’ll have you back on, uh, as L3 grows so that we can share new things and upcoming events and, uh, as it evolves and changes and grows, uh, it’ll be exciting to learn and follow.

Mark O’Donnell: That’d be.

Joshua Kornitsky: Great. So thank you again. Uh, I’m Joshua Kornitsky professional EOS implementer and a host here at High Velocity Radio. Thank you for joining us. We’ll see you next time. Cool. What’d you guys think?

Mark O’Donnell: Love it.

Misti Burmeister: I loved it. It was a lot of fun. I think, uh, I think you’re brand new to this. Is that right?

Joshua Kornitsky: Uh, six months in at this point, but video is new.

Misti Burmeister: You did such a great job.

Joshua Kornitsky: Thank you. Um, what.

Misti Burmeister: Got you into it?

Joshua Kornitsky: So I’m a cigar smoker. And for the last two years, I’ve been smoking cigars with a guy who owns Business RadioX. And we were sitting there one day, and he’s like, you know, I really want to focus on growing and scaling my business. I need somebody to take over my show. And I said, hey, how about me? Uh, I’ve had more fun with it than anything else, but it’s real intention. It’s purpose is top of funnel activity to invite on EOS prospects and get to know them. And I can tell you that it it has yet to result in a client, but I have had 50 conversations that I never would have had. I’ve connected with new connectors, uh, and it’s definitely got positive momentum all the way around. So Business RadioX has 255 media properties in 19 markets. So this will get national exposure. Um, but the real purpose behind it is we give our interviewees the content to use however they want. They don’t do video. I’m bringing video in. In fact, I did my first test of it today with with my radio show that I do live on Tuesdays. Um, and there’s no question it’s the direction we have to go. Zoom is good, but if I can have folks in the studio because I’ve actually got a studio that they provide. The dynamic is fantastic. So absolutely. Come on down to Atlanta.

Mark O’Donnell: Uh, I’ll bring you a cigar this time.

Joshua Kornitsky: Ah, there you go. Um.

Mark O’Donnell: I owe him one.

Misti Burmeister: Uh.

Joshua Kornitsky: I don’t even remember what I brought you, but I know I brought you something. We see each other on occasion at a quarterly meeting. Um. All right.

Misti Burmeister: Ask another question.

Joshua Kornitsky: Anything?

Misti Burmeister: Okay. So why do you do this work?

Joshua Kornitsky: Why do I do?

Misti Burmeister: Why are you an implementer? Why did you choose to be an implementer?

Joshua Kornitsky: So, uh, without giving you my full iOS backstory, I was part of a leadership team in 2015 that had hit a ceiling, and they brought in an implementer, and I kind of lived it, and it helped us grow so much that I co-founded a software company, and I ran my company on iOS. So I was nine years in before I ever became an implementer. So I and I’ve seen it used really well and I’ve seen it abused its it’s kind of like the, the old adage about a tool, right. You can use a hammer to build a home, or you can use a hammer to kill somebody. Ios is just a tool. And if it’s misapplied, which I’ve seen, it’s an incredibly effective way to lie, cheat and steal. But if it’s used the way it’s intended, it’s a great leveler of the field and it turns the lights on for everybody. Um, how you use it comes down ultimately to who you are as a human being. If you’re the kind of person that is going to use it to lie, cheat, and steal, iOS is just the tool du jour. You know, I can’t change that. I always go into it with the understanding that that most of the world isn’t that disposition, particularly the entrepreneurs, the type of people we work with. And I know you know who they are. Um, you know, they may be hard headed, but they’re almost, almost never malicious in their intent.

Misti Burmeister: Um, so are you still running that software company? Sorry.

Joshua Kornitsky: No, I sold out, and that’s actually what funded my franchise of iOS. Uh.

Misti Burmeister: Is this the sole thing you’re doing now?

Joshua Kornitsky: That. And now I’m. What I do with Business RadioX. I’m not compensated for. The intent is, is to use it as top of funnel activity. Um, but that being said, this week or last week, I had a guest on that I think is going to buy a radio show. Uh, so because that’s Business RadioX business. They and they actually aggressively pursue coaches because it is great, um, connection material. And that’s kind of cool that I was able to help them. I’m trying to get them to embrace iOS, but they’re a it’s two owners and they’re 25 years in and probably not going to happen.

Mark O’Donnell: Yeah.

Misti Burmeister: Gotcha, gotcha.

Joshua Kornitsky: But I love it.

Misti Burmeister: Wow.

Mark O’Donnell: Yeah.

Misti Burmeister: Well, I have 1,000,001 questions more, because that’s who I am. But I’m going to wait and ask you those questions when you and I can be what I want.

Joshua Kornitsky: Absolutely. And, um, I’d already made this offer to Mark, which is kind of what led to this dialog. I, I am happy to to interview you both individually to promote your practices. Mark, I’ve actually now done three implementers and have the full blessing of Business RadioX to continue on that path. Um, because they full transparency, they want to build the use case to go to, you know, to go to us worldwide and say, hey, look, you know, this works. Um.

Mark O’Donnell: Yeah, I because I was going to ask you a question. Uh, you know, have you ever thought about interviewing Mark?

Joshua Kornitsky: Well, you and I talked about that, and you were going to facilitate an introduction around people.

Mark O’Donnell: I will do that.

Joshua Kornitsky: Can you remind him?

Mark O’Donnell: I will definitely remind him. And by the way, so our microsites, we’re revamping them, right?

Joshua Kornitsky: Yes. And you’ll need content. That’s why I’m.

Mark O’Donnell: Saying I need content of like you interviewing me. That would be.

Joshua Kornitsky: Great. Yeah, absolutely. And that’s why I’m. I’m trying to help that way. Um, and what’s really cool is, even though I’m an implementer, you heard all I do is say it at the beginning. At the end, I. The three that I’ve done so far, I kind of let them tell their story and then ask them. I know how to ask the right questions about EOS. Um, but nobody wants to hear the same show over and over again. But there’s enough to talk about that. It keeps us busy. Um, well, I’m gonna I’m gonna drop and I’m going to get this edited, and I will upload. Well, what did I say? I’ll actually upload the entire video and just send you guys the link so that you can watch it and give me start and end times, and I’ll cut the clips out. I, I will ask for it to get published before September 11th. It’s pretty close. Um, but at least you’ll have the content and you’ll have it for next time, and you’ll have it to use between now and then. Um. Did you? Did I ask for. It should have been when you registered that we asked for headshot, bio and and links. Did you guys send me that? Can you? So I’ll send you both an email right now. I need a professional headshot for each of you. I need your bios, and I need whatever links you want to share so that we can publish them. And if you guys can stop and do that now, I will get the audio over right now and I’ll upload the video.

Mark O’Donnell: Okay. Okay.

Joshua Kornitsky: All right.

Misti Burmeister: Perfect. I got five minutes to get to. Perfect. Well, actually ten minutes. So perfect.

Joshua Kornitsky: Plenty of time. What was a genuine pleasure? Uh, Misti. Nice to meet you, Mark. Always a joy. Uh, and I’ll see you both again soon.

Misti Burmeister: All right.

Joshua Kornitsky: Joshua. Thanks. Good luck with L-3.