Hoosier Hometown Heroes

009 Indy Author Pres Maxson Talks About His Latest Book Pigeon

Pres Maxson is the most interesting Indy author you don't know yet.  By day he is a Senior Copywriter for Salesforce, but by night "THE PRESS IS ON!!" Whether he's writing and performing music, writing the next great mystery, or just hanging out with family and friends, Pres is always the life of the party.

We were so lucky to get about an hour of Pres Maxson all to ourselves!  He joined Hoosier Hometown Heroes to talk about his latest book Pigeon, which is available on Amazon .   The book is whimsically fun and the mystery within makes for a quick, very enjoyable read!  If you love fun, if you love mystery, if you love Paris... you simply must pick up Pigeon today!

 

008 Chris the Brain Hoyt - The Smartest Guy in the Room

Chris the Brain Hoyt is one of our most fascinating interviews to date.  Chris is a local Marketing Strategist with a gift for words and creative concepts.  Chris is also the Owner of Apprenace - a forward-thinking internship and apprenticeship company.

• Started Fat Atom Marketing with a partner.
  
  
• Is a naturally introverted person.
  
  
• Being a "smart person" can be a threat to others.  Chris' person is a way to diffuse the situation and poke fun at himself, thus disarming naysayers.
  
  
• Chris doesn't think that he is "better than everyone else," but that we all have our own special gifts.
  
  
• There is currently much pressure in society to be like everyone else.  Chris prefers the term "Hypernormalization" to describe this.
  
  
• Tony mentioned Abraham Loncoln's 1859 speech to the Wisconsin State Agricultural Society, also known as the "Mudsill Speech."
  
  
• Chris' podcast is called "Post-Modern Living," and is his way to vent about "all the lies adults tell children."
  
  
• He went into marketing because it's the place he "saw the most chaos and disorder in the world."
  
  
• Apprenace - Chris has always loved working with young people, and had lots of great experience with internships.
  
  
• Tony mentioned that Chris would enjoy learning more about John Taylor Gatto
  
  
• Apprenace is not a college alternative.

007 - Three Pillars to Marketing Success with Neil Richmund

Neil Richmund is a long-time Indianapolis business personality best known for his deep understanding of modern marketing.  Our deep conversation with Neil should help any business owner understand where to start and how to excell with their own marketing plan.  To learn more about Neil, visit his website: www.neilrichmund.com 

• Neil is originally from Australia, but has been here in Indianapolis for well over a decade.
• We are inundated with online marketing strategies, but few know how to actually implement them.
  
  
• Keep marketing simple - it doesn't need to be rocket science!
  
  
• Neil is a big fan of Wordpress for building business websites.
  
  
• Instead of a "Contact Us" form, consider using a chat application like Drift.
  
  
• Neil is working on an online course that will teach his marketing philosophy and techniques.

006 - Can-Do Spirit - Curt Whitesell Starts Real Estate Company From a Bicycle

Whatever your situation, it will be difficult for you to complain after hearing this interview with Curt Whitesell, founder of WKRP Indy Real Estate.  Curt started his company before he owned a car!  Think you can't sell real estate from a bicycle?  Well, you're wrong!

• The name WKRP Indy had nothing to do with the popular television series.  In fact, Curt had never seen it.  The letters stand for "Whitesell Kids Retrement Plan."
  
  
• Curt had to specialize geographically because he didn't have reliable transportation.  Yes, he would arrive to a closing on a bicycle.
  
  
• WKRP recently redesigned their logo.
  
  
• Curt is a master of social media, and it's about all he does to promote his business.
  
  
• Curt always teaches his agents how to leverage social media to promote themselves.
  
  
• Nobody, except Curt, seems to "think small" in real estate.  Curt is not a believer in scaling up to something huge.
  
  
• Curt enjoys branded apparel as a way to promote his company.
  
  
• WKRP currently has six agents.  
  
  
• One of the secerets to social media is to "just do it."  It's not like it takes a bunch of time.  Curt trains his agents to post generally at 10am and 2pm.

005 Business Turnaround Strategy With GOSPA Guru Monty Riffer

Monty Riffer is the kind of guy you want in the business trenches with you.  He's got years of invaluable experience, his track record is proven and documented, and he's just such a joy to be around.  Monty specializes in start-ups, turnarounds and restructuring, and a little-known strategy methodology called "GOSPA" is how he creates a business road map to success.

• Monty Riffer grew up in Pittsburg, PA where he learned the value of structure and hard work
• Football is Monty's first love, and the love of teaching/coaching the game is infused into his business coaching style.
  
  
• GOSPA represents Goals, Objectives, Strategies, Plans and Actions.
  
  
• Monty uses GOSPA to help a company become strategic and INTENTIONAL.
  
  
• Monty helped Promethius Consulting, an Indianapolis Managed Service IT Company, develop a new strategic plan with great effect.
  
  
• God and faith are a critical part of Monty's life.

 

004 Eliminate Unplanned Downtime With Anurag Garg, CEO of Dattus Inc.

Anurag Garg is Co-founder and CEO of Dattus Inc., which provides predictive, prescriptive and preventative technology to reduce or eliminate the cost of unplanned downtime.

• The next "industrial revolution" is here thanks to companies like Dattus.
  
  
• Dattus is all about reducing or eliminating unplanned down-time, which can be very costly.
  
  
• The Dattus technology reports ahead of time that a machine will fail, via use of real-time reporting and continuous data collection.
  
  
• The Dattus systems will learn over time and will get better and better at predicting failure.  "Just like humans, the more data the system sees, the more it learns."
  
  
• This process is called "Machine Learning."
  
  
• The cost of down-time is huge and can change industry to industry.
  
  
• Continuous monitoring vs. "run to failure" mode.
  
  
• In some cases, using "nanotechnology" devices.  But the overall solution is "sensor-agnostic."
  
  
• Anurag was born in India and raised in Thailand.

003 Understanding DISC and Behavior Styles With Communications Guru Amy Woodall

Amy Woodall is a Communications and Customer Service Trainer with Trustpointe.  Amy is an absolute master of DISC and behavior styles, and in this episode, Amy helps us grasp the importance of understanding other people and how they operate.

• It's common for people to want to be a "high D" on the DISC profile.
  
  
• DISC gives you a snapshot of what your behavior style is and how you appear to other people.
  
  
• DISC assessments are generally amazingly accurate.
  
  
• Many people like to read their DISC results, but then "put it away" and don't put it to use.  This is a big mistake!
  
  
• Tony is a "High I," and generally finds it very easy to "be around people."
  
  
• Amy helps people grow in areas they need to master to be effective.
  
  
• DISC does not measure what people can and cannot do.
  
  
• "High D" people generally are impatient problem-solvers who like to move at a fast pace.
  
  
• We tend to marry our opposites, but at work, we often clash with our opposites.
  
  
• The most successful people are those that learn how other people work, and how they want to be treated. (Not all successful people are "High D.")

Amy's Twitter Handle: @AmyWoodall

002 Hiring the Very Best Talent with "Talent Thief" Jeff Boucher

Attracting and hiring the best talent is a challenge for any organization.  Jeff Boucher is Director of Talent Services at Titus Talent Strategies, and in this episode he shares some of the secrets for attracting the very best talent to your organization.

Jeff is often called "The Talent Thief," which of course is provocative, but also describes very well the value he brings to any company struggling with talent acquisition.  The Titus model ingeniously includes focusing on "passive candidates," meaning those candidates who are not actively looking to make a job change.  

It makes sense.  The very best talent in any field are usually valued by their current employers and enjoy great job security.  In other words, the best people aren't out scanning the "want ads" for a new position.

As always, this episode is sponsored by Promethius Consulting - the nicest guys in IT - providing computer support and consulting in the Indianapolis area.

Show Notes:

• Jeff is the first "repeat guest" on Hoosier Hometown Heroes.
  
  
• Jeff has not yet been to the Indy500 (but Tony will do his best to drag him to qualifications this year).
  
  
• Jeff often refers to himself as a "Talent Thief."
  
  
• Normally works with companies with annual revenue up to $500,000,000.
  
  
• Titus coaches clients to be more "proactive" with their talent acquisition strategy (build a pipeline of talent).
  
  
• Focus on "Passive Candidates," which are generally where you find the best talent.
  
  
• Not a fan of the "Post and Pray" approach to filling a job.
  
  
• Tutus Talent Strategies will help "sell the position" to the candidate.
  
  
• Charged at an hourly rate rather than a percentage of salary.  (75% savings compared to the traditional recruiting model).
  
  
• Promethius Consulting is working with Schmidt Peterson Motorsports to support all their computer technology at the Indy500 this year.

001 Denise Rezsonya - Christian Author and Speaker

Denise Rezsonya is an Indianapolis-based Christian Author and Speaker, and has recently published Be The Light - A Christian-based Reference Book for Today's Youth.

The book is a great way to "wade" lightly into scripture while exploring/solving real-life problems such as bullying, self-image and stress.  

• Writing has always been a passion of Denise's.  Publishing a book the the fulfillment of a dream.
  
  
• Denise will be producing a television show called "Be the Light," geared toward teenagers, which will air on Hamilton County TV starting in September of 2015.
  
  
• The book is not so much rigidly "Christian" as it is "Faith Based."  
  
  
• Rather than a book you read "cover to cover," this book is more like a "work book" or "devotional."  When a child is facing a particular challenge, she can read the table of contents to find a reading that can shed light on the particular issue.
  
  
• Tony and Denise walk through a couple different pages to demonstrate how the book works.
  
  
• The book is a very "non-intimidating" way to introduce biblical topics to kids and young adults.
  
  
• Denise's website is www.denisemrezsonya.com and contains all her social links, links to purchase the book, etc.
  
  
• The book is available on Amazon
  
  
• Be The Light is also a great workbook for entire families.  A great conversation starter if nothing else.
  
  
• Faith is what propelled Denise to undertake this project.
  
  
• There is a "Volume II" in the works.