North Fulton Business Radio, Episode 702)
Andy Kalajian, Founder and President of Fort Leadership and Sales Consulting, joined host John Ray on North Fulton Business Radio to share his work in leadership and character development. Andy discussed leadership and workforce challenges businesses face today, the proportion of the workforce millennials comprise, what that proportion suggests about successful leadership, developing a personal and professional development curriculum, and much more.
North Fulton Business Radio is broadcast from the North Fulton studio of Business RadioX® inside Renasant Bank in Alpharetta.
Fort Leadership and Sales Consulting
Fort Leadership and Sales Consulting, LLC is a professional education & training company that helps high commission sales professionals, small business owners, and entrepreneurs get the most out of their teams through character development, leadership training, and practical application.
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Andy Kalajian, Founder and President, Fort Leadership and Sales Consulting
Andy Kalajian is the Founder and President of Fort Leadership and Sales Consulting based in Alpharetta, GA. Andy founded Fort Leadership in 2019 after a 33-year career in Medical Device Sales and Marketing Leadership; 25 of those years were with Zimmer (NYSE ZBH) formerly a division of Bristol Myers Squibb (NYSE BMY).
Andy’s journey began at 9 years old when he started in Cub Scouts with his dad and his younger brother. His parents constantly reinforced the Scout lessons of Character and Integrity. Andy continued in Scouting and at the age of 16 he earned the rank of Eagle Scout. At 17 his mom handed him the book, How to Win Friends and Influence People by Dale Carnegie. Andy credits that book with igniting his passion for learning how to get along with people. From Hill, to Covey, from Peale to Ziglar and Maxwell, Andy became a voracious reader of books about Leadership, Character, Communication and Teamwork.
After 5 years working as a golf caddie, Andy was the recipient of the prestigious Evans Scholarship Award (www.wgaesf.org). This full academic and housing college scholarship is awarded in recognition of a strong work ethic as a golf caddie, and strength of character, integrity, and leadership. Andy used his scholarship to earn a B.S. in Medical Technology from Michigan State University.
In 1985, Andy loaded up his car with nothing more than his resume, a sport coat and tie, $2500, a big dream and faith that God was going to fill in the gaps. He moved to Atlanta GA in pursuit of a medical sales career where he could leverage his passion for medicine to serve people. Andy grew his medical sales business well into 7 figures by applying the leadership, character, communication, and teamwork lessons he learned from reading books and listening to thought leaders. As Andy continued to advance in his career, he was invited to speak to organizations and train teams on those lessons learned throughout the United States and Puerto Rico.
Andy founded Fort Leadership to continue speaking, training, and coaching individuals and teams in leadership and character development. These skills foster growth in corporate leadership, communication, and teamwork. His corporate experience and insights train leaders to develop healthy corporate cultures with team members who are motivated, engaged, and purpose-driven, resulting in increased employee retention, team performance, and revenue growth!
Andy and his wife, Sherrie, live in Alpharetta, GA and have four adult children. They are members of Pastor Andy Stanley’s North Point Community Church (www.northpoint.org) where Andy is a small group leader in the North Point Men’s Ministry. Andy serves on the Greater North Fulton Chamber of Commerce Board of Directors at Avalon (www.gnfcc.com) where he started the successful Member 2 Member Business Roundtable.
Questions and Topics in this Interview:
- What is your background and how did you come around to starting Fort Leadership and Sales Consulting?
- How does Fort Leadership and Sales Consulting help businesses out there today?
- What challenges are you hearing about in the business community?
- What’s causing these business challenges?
- Why is it so important for business owners today to understand the Millennials?
- Can you tell us why it’s so important for Millennials to enroll in a personal and professional development curriculum?
- What is the experience like to work with you and Fort Leadership?
North Fulton Business Radio is hosted by John Ray and broadcast and produced from the North Fulton studio of Business RadioX® inside Renasant Bank in Alpharetta. You can find the full archive of shows by following this link. The show is available on all the major podcast apps, including Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google, Amazon, iHeart Radio, Stitcher, TuneIn, and others.
Renasant Bank has humble roots, starting in 1904 as a $100,000 bank in a Lee County, Mississippi, bakery. Since then, Renasant has become one of the Southeast’s strongest financial institutions with over $13 billion in assets and more than 190 banking, lending, wealth management, and financial services offices in Mississippi, Alabama, Tennessee, Georgia, and Florida. All of Renasant’s success stems from each of their banker’s commitment to investing in their communities as a way of better understanding the people they serve. At Renasant Bank, they understand you because they work and live alongside you every day.
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