Productivity Mastery

In episode #157 we welcomed Niklas Hellemann, founder of SoSafe.Listen to this episode and learn:💡How Niklas and his co-founders grew SoSafe to 350+ employees company in 4.5 years?💡What are the 2 North Stars you should have in mind when managing your time?💡How to make a company that is attractive to the most ambitious talent on the market?What are the biggest security threats in 2023 and how you can get better prepared for them?About our guest:Niklas Hellemann is a studied psychologist, Social Engineering expert as well as CEO at SoSafe – one of the leading cybersecurity awareness providers in Europe. Besides his background in Business Administration, Niklas studied psychology – which led him to the human approach in the tech-savvy cybersecurity market.Based on behavioral science and data analytics, SoSafe supports companies in enabling their employees to practice secure behaviors in the digital world and establish a sustainable security culture in their organizations.You can connect with Niklas here:LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/nhellemann/Website: https://sosafe-awareness.com/company/Enjoy listening and #KeepPERFORMing!__________Website:https://stoyanyankov.com/podcast/

In episode #156 we welcomed Rita McGrath, Professor at Columbia Business School.Listen to this episode and learn:💡How to spot and address early warnings?💡What are the 3 types of indicators we use to make (business) decisions? 💡How to look at strategy in 2023? 💡What is "intelligent failure" and how to apply it? 💡How to grow a culture of innovation and experimentation?About our guest:Rita McGrath is a best-selling author, a sought-after advisor and speaker, and a longtime professor at Columbia Business School. Rita is one of the world’s top experts on strategy and innovation and is consistently ranked among the top 10 management thinkers in the world, including the #1 award for strategy by Thinkers50.Rita’s work is focused on creating unique insights. She has also founded Valize a companion company, dedicated to turning those insights into actionable capability.McGrath’s recent book on strategic inflection points is Seeing Around Corners:How to Spot Inflection Points in Business Before They Happen (Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2019). Rita is the author of four other books, including the best-selling The End of Competitive Advantage (Harvard Business Review Press, 2013).You can connect with Rita here:LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ritamcgrath/Website: RitaMcGrath.com.Twitter: rgmcgrath.Enjoy listening and #KeepPERFORMing!__________Website: https://stoyanyankov.com/podcast/

In episode #155 we welcomed Boris Krastev, CEO and Co-founder of RemoteMore.  Listen to this episode and learn:  💡All mistakes and lessons Boris and his co-founder encountered in the early days of the company  💡How Boris manages to executive put up 70 hour working weeks  💡What does Boris do to manage effectively a remote team  💡How to manage crises and difficult situations About our guest:  Boris is a founder and CEO of RemoteMore. Him and his team led RemoteMore to grow over 200% YoY in the last 3 years using tactics of discipline, tenacity, planning and the ability to deliver superior customer service. RemoteMore is a marketplace that helps 1.3000+ companies get connect to a 30.000+ developers and work remotely full-time. They started in 2018 when it wasn't obvioust that remote will be the new way of working. Boris has lived 9 years in Denmark, 2 years in Berlin, and 2 years in Chicago.  You can connect with Boris here:  LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/bkrastev/  Website: https://remotemore.com/about/  Email: boris.krastev@remotemore.com  Enjoy listening and #KeepPERFORMing!  __________  Website:https://stoyanyankov.com/podcast/

In episode #154 we welcomed Greta Lempel, HR Manager at Bedrocan. Listen to this episode and learn: 💡 What are the biggest challenges HR leaders are facing in 2023? 💡 How to thrive as an HR leader in dynamic & turbulent times? 💡 How to change our talent attraction process to be able to inspire the best people to join us? 💡 What are the hottest topics when it comes to up-skilling and corporate training? About our guest: Greta is a multicultural people person, with over 20 years of HR experience. She has worked mainly in large corporations and knows the ins and outs of people processes. She has seen successful changes and adversity to change. She has seen inspiring leaders, aspiring leaders, and those who shouldn’t be leaders. Her passion has always been to find the key to connecting with anyone and through trust and psychological safety enable growth and development. She currently works as HR Manager for a well-established medical company, which is now starting up operations in Denmark. She gets to draw the HR landscape and set the agenda for the kind of leadership they want to be known for. Building an environment and culture where people thrive, spurring innovation and growth. You can connect with Greta here: LinkedIn:https://www.linkedin.com/in/greta-lempel-5683446/ Enjoy listening and #KeepPERFORMing! Website: https://stoyanyankov.com/podcast/

In episode #153 we welcomed Sergiu Negut, Co-founder of FintechOS.Listen to this episode and learn: 💡What it takes to grow a fintech startup from the ground to a 300+ people company  💡How to accept and thrive in uncertainty as a founder  💡3 things you should focus on in times of crisis and why we sometimes forget them as leaders  💡The 2 traits Sergiu looks for when hiring a new person About our guest: Sergiu is a reputed entrepreneur, angel investor, speaker, and lecturer at the Maastricht School of Management. He has a positive track record of business growth in different roles (adviser, board member, angel investor, manager) and across different industries (healthcare, IT&C, financial services, HR, consulting). Committed to building powerful teams and backed by a broad experience in business development, including M&A & startups, Sergiu co-founded FintechOS, a company that deploys its technology in more than 20 markets on 4 continents and is backed by some of the most reputable VCs in Europe. Sergiu coordinates Finance & Investor Relations, HR and Operations, bringing his strong contribution to the overall strategy and development of the FintechOS. The company’s centerpiece technology, FintechOS, puts automation and personalization at the heart of innovation, allowing financial services providers to transform the digital customer experience quickly and affordably. In 2020, FintechOS was recognized as Europe’s hottest fintech startup and ranked among the most well-funded VC-backed tech companies in Europe (CB Insights). You can connect with Sergiu here: LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/sergiu Website:https://leap.fintechos.com/speakers/sergiu-negut/__________Website:https://stoyanyankov.com/podcast/

In episode #152 we welcomed Cynthia Zhai, Voice Coach, Professional Speaker (CSP), and Best-Selling Author.Listen to this episode and learn:💡How to develop a powerful voice as a leader?💡What is the BAR model and how it can help you develop your full voice?💡What is the connection between colors, emotions and your voice?💡How to overcome the fear of speaking in public and become an influential presenter?About our guest:Cynthia is a Voice Coach, Professional Speaker (CSP), and Best-Selling Author. She’s also a TEDx speaker. She has helped professionals from 46 countries across 6 continents to speak with a powerful voice. Cynthia has been a professional speaker and coach for the past 21 years and her engagement spans 5 continents in 21 countries.You can connect with Cynthia here:LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/cynthiazhai/Website: https://www.powerfulexecutivevoice.com/Enjoy listening and #KeepPERFORMing!__________Website:https://stoyanyankov.com/podcast/

In episode #151 we welcomed Marilyn Zakhour, CEO & Founder of Cosmic Centaurs.Listen to this episode and learn:💡How to strengthen your decision-making process?💡How to collect and organize data in order to make quality decisions?💡Practical frameworks to help you be a better decision-maker?💡How to decide how much time to allocate for making a decision?About our guest:Marilyn Zakhour is the CEO & Founder of Cosmic Centaurs, an organizational development consultancy, helping leaders make better decisions about work and the workplace and implement sustainable organizational change.Having spent 10 years in the startup world, building and running digital native companies, and previously the CMO of EMAAR as well as the Head of Dubai Opera, Marilyn knows how to bring the agility of small startups to big corporations. Marilyn also holds an executive MBA from INSEAD.You can connect with Marilyn here:LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/marilynzakhour/Enjoy listening and #KeepPERFORMing!__________Website:https://stoyanyankov.com/podcast/

In episode #150 we welcomed Chris Williams, Microsoft's Former VP of HR.Listen to this episode and learn:💡How Chris rose from starting with only an assistant to being promoted as a VP of HR at Microsoft, being responsible for 30,000+ people and a $2,2 Billion payroll💡Leadership lessons Chris learned from working closely with Bill Gates and having regular 1-1s with him.💡What do all great leaders have in common?💡Career advice for the young, aspiring leaders of todayAbout our guest:Chris Williams is a leadership advisor with over 45 years of experience building and leading teams. He’s written software, built teams at scale, and been the VP of HR at Microsoft.Now he’s an advisor who works with executives to help them become better and smarter leaders.Chris shares leadership videos on social media with over a quarter-million followers and is a regular contributor to Business Insider magazine.You can contact him and find his leadership resources at CLWill.com.You can connect with Chris here:LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/theclwill/Website: https://clwill.com/Enjoy listening and #KeepPERFORMing!__________Website:https://stoyanyankov.com/podcast/

In episode #149 we welcomed Mark C. Crowley, the author of “Lead From The Heart: Transformational Leadership For The 21st Century". Listen to this episode and learn:💡How to get over the feelings of "not good enough" and create a new, more empowering story about yourself💡What does it mean to "lead from the heart" and why is it, not just the right thing to do, but also effective in today's business world?💡How to balance "mind" and "heart" and create a culture of peak performance?And also tons of great stories and examples from Mark's extensive leadership experience. About our guest:Mark C. Crowley is the author of “Lead From The Heart: Transformational Leadership For The 21st Century,” and his mission is to fundamentally change how we lead people in workplaces around the globe. Mark is a regular columnist for Fast Company Magazine and has been published in USA Today, Reuters, Forbes, the Stanford Social Innovation Review, the Huffington Post, Gallup, The Financial Times, CEO Magazine, Great Britain, and the Seattle Times. His two LinkedIn Pulse articles on inspiring a 21 st Century workforce and managing millennials have been read well over a million times. Before writing his book, Mark spent over 20 years in the dog-eat-dog world of Financial Services. He held two national-level positions at one of America’s largest financial institutions where he was named leader of the year. Quite untraditionally, Mark proved that deeply caring about and supporting people, and thereby positively affecting his employee’s hearts had a profound effect on motivating their sustained engagement, loyalty and productivity. New and breakthrough medical research Mark introduces in his book proves that the heart is actually the driver of optimal human performance. A leadership pioneer, Mark shows us that, rather than weak or soft management, leading from the heart is the most informed and enlightened thing a manager or organization can do. Indulge in this insightful conversation between Stoyan and Mark and try to take as much from it as you can! You can connect with Mark here:LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/markccrowley/Website: markccrowley.com Enjoy listening and #KeepPERFORMing!__________Website:https://stoyanyankov.com/podcast/

In episode #148 we welcomed Melissa Rosenthal, CCO at ClickUp.Melissa came back to the podcast after her first appearance in 2020.Listen to this episode and learn:💡How Melissa organizes her schedule as an executive?💡What leadership lessons she learned from working closely with 3 very different CEOs?💡How to build a productive and creative team culture?About our guest:Melissa Rosenthal is a highly accomplished and innovative creative professional, with extensive experience in the media industry. She is widely recognized for her exceptional talent in developing and executing creative strategies that captivate audiences and drive business growth.Melissa began her career at BuzzFeed, where she quickly rose through the ranks to become the Vice President of Global Creative. During her time at BuzzFeed, Melissa played a critical role in shaping the company's creative vision and developing groundbreaking campaigns that resonated with millions of viewers worldwide. She was also responsible for managing a team of talented creatives and overseeing the production of multimedia content across various platforms.Following her success at BuzzFeed, Melissa took on the role of Chief Revenue Officer at Cheddar, a media company that focuses on delivering business news and other content to young audiences. In this role, Melissa helped Cheddar expand its reach and diversify its revenue streams, while continuing to push the boundaries of creativity and innovation.Most recently, Melissa has taken on the position of Chief Creative Officer at ClickUp, a productivity software company that helps businesses streamline their workflow and increase efficiency. In this role, Melissa has leveraged her extensive experience in creative strategy and digital marketing to help ClickUp develop a compelling brand identity and grow its user base.Indulge in this insightful conversation between Stoyan and Melissa and try to take as much from it as you can!You can connect with Melissa here:LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/melissarosenthal5Instagram - https://instagram.com/lifeofmelro?igshid=MzRlODBiNWFlZA==Enjoy listening and #KeepPERFORMing!