“One of the things that I've learned is that that's actually OK to have a messy life story. I've been told that our life is like a tapestry. . . It's this beautiful piece of art that we can really only understand when the time is right for us to understand. ” – Paul Fehrenbacher

Paul Fehrenbacher is the Co-founder and CEO of Mutt Jackson as well as a Junto Institute alum. Life has thrown some major curveballs his way and Paul opens up about how he’s dealt with multiple tragedies in a short amount of time. Through all the hardships, Paul has stayed true to himself and is living life on his terms.

“The greatest things in my life have come from the intersection of two random connections. And you can't have those unless you take the chance and invest in the relationship.” – Mike Schopin

Our second interview today is with Junto mentor and partner at Zenfinity Capital, Mike Schopin. Sharing feelings doesn’t come easily to Mike so today he opens up about how he’s learned to slow down and be nicer to everyone he encounters. Mike also shares how parenthood has helped him keep calm.

• [01:16] - Welcoming Paul Fehrenbacher, Co-founder, and CEO of Mutt Jackson
  • [02:48] - Emotion wheel
  • [04:38] - Paul's first recollection of leadership
  • [07:06] - Losses and transitions
  • [19:39] - Facing mental illness as an entrepreneur
  • [26:54] - The importance of relationships
  • [30:32] - Growing potential
  • [32:07] - Closing appreciations
• [35:04] - Welcoming Mike Schopin, Partner at Zenfinity Capital
  • [36:12] - Emotion wheel
  • [37:24] - Mike's first recollection of leadership
  • [40:03] - Closet cheerleader
  • [44:19] - Becoming a better advisor & mentor
  • [51:21] - Finding balance through shared experiences
  • [1:00:40] - Sharing through the lens of others
  • [1:04:41] - The calming experience of parenthood
  • [1:07:29] - Closing appreciations

The Junto Institute is the only place where leaders and their companies grow together, helping them get to their desired next stage. Its leadership programs are built on a proven system of deep mentorship, emotional intelligence training, and teams learning together.

If you'd like to receive new episodes as they're published, please subscribe to Flourishing Together in Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Spotify or wherever you get your podcasts. If you enjoyed this episode, please consider leaving a review in Apple Podcasts. It really helps others find the show.

This podcast episode was produced by Dante32.

“I would say having confidence is really key. Making sure that you're feeling comfortable talking about the technology and being confident in what you're actually talking about…Also confident that you're going to probably be the only woman in the room most of the time.” – Nikki Martin

The telecommunications industry is dominated by men. In addition to the difficulty of the actual work, women holding leadership positions in the telecommunications space also have to deal with unwanted interactions. Nikki Martin, a Junto alum and Client Happiness Officer at Eclipse, breaks down what it’s like as the only woman in the room and also speaks candidly on her struggles with anxiety.

Next, Chad Cooper, CTO of LandscapeHub and Junto mentor, talks about how having kids helped him achieve clarity and balance in his working life. Chad mused, “In a startup, you’re going to have a list longer than you can ever achieve. But if you have clarity, you can achieve the right things.”

One of the key themes running through both conversations is the idea of active, generous listening. Being a generous listener is the trait that has helped both Nikki and Chad cultivate happy, efficient teams.

• [01:07] - Welcoming Nikki Martin, Client Happiness Officer at Eclipse
  • [01:49] - Emotion wheel
  • [03:30] - Nikki's first recollection of leadership
  • [05:25] - Emerging in a male-dominated industry
  • [12:53] - Coping with anxiety
  • [18:21] - Active listening
  • [24:29] - What men can do to help women excel
  • [28:55] - Closing appreciations
• [30:24] - Welcoming Chad Cooper, CTO of LandscapeHub
  • [31:11] - Emotion wheel
  • [33:20] - Chad's first recollection of leadership
  • [35:33] - Love for coding
  • [37:05] - Solving problems as a technologist
  • [40:06] - Co-founding Landscape Hub
  • [42:55] - Bringing the family together on the farm
  • [47:42] - Achieving clarity
  • [48:55] - Improving communication
  • [52:24] - The importance of leadership
  • [58:05] - Closing appreciations

Nikki Martin is the Client Happiness Officer at Eclipse and a Junto Institute alum. Prior to her time at Eclipse, she worked at It’s Just Lunch.

Chad Cooper is the CTO and co-founder of LandscapeHub and a long-time Junto Institute mentor. Chad was previously CTO at Grubhub and GiveForward.

The Junto Institute is the only place where leaders and their companies grow together, helping them get to their desired next stage. Its leadership programs are built on a proven system of deep mentorship, emotional intelligence training, and teams learning together.

If you'd like to receive new episodes as they're published, please subscribe to Flourishing Together in Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Spotify or wherever you get your podcasts. If you enjoyed this episode, please consider leaving a review in Apple Podcasts. It really helps others find the show.

This podcast episode was produced by Dante32.

Have you ever felt like an outcast? Most people have at one point or another, but for Kris Krisco, Chief Customer Officer at Buildout, feelings of being an outsider made him feel disconnected from family and friends. In time, he realized this was a strength. For our first conversation, Kris reflects on how feeling strange helped him better understand employees and customers on a human level.

For our second conversation, we’re talking to Paul Pagel, CEO of 8th Light and Junto mentor. There have been times when, as a leader, Paul has wanted to dole out advice to help his team get unstuck. But advice isn’t as memorable as shared experience. For Paul, the memory of stories through shared experience stays with him and he is able to call upon those lessons more readily than on regular advice given.

Today, Flourishing Together dives into the power storytelling plays in our lives before moving to a discussion of finding purpose and cultivating craft. Join Raman, Kris, and Paul as they parse out how leaders can impart knowledge in ways that are both memorable and accessible.

• [01:49] - Welcoming Kris Krisco, Chief Customer Officer at Buildout
  • [03:19] - Emotion wheel
  • [05:26] - Kris' first recollection of leadership
  • [09:03] - The difference between "I" and "You" statements
  • [12:35] - The origin of Kris' motivations
  • [14:30] - Win Forever
  • [16:24] - Picture journaling
  • [22:57] - Harmonizing family background with growth & development
  • [28:05] - Closing appreciations
• [31:38] - Welcoming Paul Pagel, CEO of 8th Light
  • [32:50] - Emotion wheel
  • [34:40] - Paul's first recollection of leadership
  • [38:24] - Using shared experiences
  • [43:11] - How Paul became CEO of 8th Light
  • [46:38] - The pursuit of mastery
  • [51:13] - Bringing the value of learning into the home
  • [54:45] - Developing leadership and business savvy
  • [58:11] - Closing appreciations

Kris Krisco is the Chief Customer Officer at Buildout, a commercial real estate software firm. Kris is also a Junto Institute alumnus and finds great purpose in nurturing both his team members and customers while delivering world class customer service.

Paul Pagel is the CEO at 8th Light, a custom software development service. He is also a popular mentor at The Junto Institute. Paul is passionate about training and developing leaders, developers, and designers to create higher caliber software that makes the world a better place.

The Junto Institute is the only place where leaders and their companies grow together, helping them get to their desired next stage. Its leadership programs are built on a proven system of deep mentorship, emotional intelligence training, and teams learning together.

If you'd like to receive new episodes as they're published, please subscribe to Flourishing Together in Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Spotify or wherever you get your podcasts. If you enjoyed this episode, please consider leaving a review in Apple Podcasts. It really helps others find the show.

This podcast episode was produced by Dante32.