Culture Eats Strategy For Breakfast with Michael Kiolbassa, CEO Kiolbassa Smoked Meats E124

I tend to shy away from podcasts about culture and leadership as they drift into soft and fuzzy feelings and are light on facts and practicality. So for those reasons, I was hesitant to interview Michael Kiolbassa, President of Kiolbassa Smoked Meats, about this topic.  I am not too proud to admit that I was dead wrong! What you are about to hear is one man's personal journey into vulnerability, humility, and fear of failure which in turn created a profound and transformational moment throughout his company that catapulted Kiolbassa into 4X growth. Get ready.

• Origin story
• Business model - club and retail
• He sensed he could be a better leader
• Value-based leadership - Charlie Luck - https://www.kenan-flagler.unc.edu/news/values-based-leadership-in-family-business/
• Ken Blanchard program - https://www.kenblanchard.com/
• Great game of business - Jack Stack https://www.amazon.com/Great-Game-Business-Expanded-Updated/dp/0385348339
• The scariest moment created the pivot point
• Daring Greatly - Brene Brown https://brenebrown.com/book/daring-greatly/
• Discovering WHY
• Employees decided to solve the problems for him!
• Links of love program - a tradition of giving https://kiolbassa.com/links-of-love/
• Top grading https://topgrading.com/resources/topgrading-ebook/
• "Culture Eats Strategy for Breakfast" is a Peter Druker quote https://strategiesforinfluence.com/peter-drucker-coaching-tips/

Connect with Michael Kiolbassa on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/michael-kiolbassa-666037a/

Kiolbassa: https://kiolbassa.com/

About your Host Tony Moore and the Winning at Work podcast:

• Are you looking for a fun and light-hearted podcast to stay current on the trends shaping the $1.6 trillion food and beverage industry? My totally awesome brands featured here take us deep into the world of sustainability, plant-based, food tech, CBD, and good for you. Want to learn how to grow a brand? Scale a brand? I've got you covered. 
• Join me on my mission to discover what makes these companies different, better, and special.
• Episode 124 is sponsored by: Timpl Search - National Food and Beverage headhunters for sales, marketing, innovation, and operations. https://www.joynussearch.com/
• Contact: Tony Moore. 404-904-9235. Follow me on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/differentbetterspecialbrands/

Music from Uppbeat:
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