por Devin Frosheiser
Dr. Tim Tenneriello started as the Principal of a low-performing charter school with teachers who'd been in classrooms longer than he'd been alive. He had no blueprint, just the weight of 55 people looking to him for answers he didn't have yet. Four years later, they were the top-performing school in the network. Then he ran multiple schools. Then the whole network. He bought the company with no family money and no connections, just seven months of obsessing over how to find $4 million he didn't have. He sold it and got into wealth management. On this episode of Talk Real Shift, we covered: → How to survive the "temporary period of incompetence" every new role brings → Why imposter syndrome is just a signal that you're growing, and how to beat it back → The DISC profile that showed Tim he has zero natural tendency to care about people, and what he did about it → How to buy a business when you have no money and nobody in your life who's ever done it → Why letting your team fail on purpose is one of the most important things you can do as a leader Thank you Tim for being as honest about the hard parts as with the wins!. Chapters 0:00 - Intro 1:00 - Dr. Tim's background: from classroom discipline to charter school principal 5:15 - Getting the doctorate and MBA 6:19 - Imposter syndrome at every level 9:00 - Building a network by saying yes 10:36 - When saying no is the right call: priorities vs. ambition 13:08 - Buying a company with no money and no connections 18:20 - How to earn trust fast: start with the small, visible wins 20:05 - Leadership clarity: vision, focus, and avoiding shiny objects 23:14 - The generational wealth transfer and opportunity in M&A 27:46 - What it actually takes: work, luck, and the preparation that earns it 38:05 - Where it went wrong: the transactional years and the shift toward people 44:45 - The DISC profile, the "I have no S" moment, and learning to lead intentionally 52:39 - Building teams from scratch at every stop, and why that worked 58:45 - Advice to 25-year-old Tim 1:02:11 - On luck vs. preparation, and five graduate degrees 1:07:03 - Final advice: build great people and then get out of their way ~~~ This episode is powered by TeamSense TeamSense is the AI-powered shift intelligence platform that automates attendance, connects every worker, and drives performance across your operation — all through text. Ready to see how leading manufacturers and logistics teams keep every shift covered? https://teamsense.com/ Prefer to listen? https://pod.link/1896826304
Joe LaRussa spent his career in automotive. Promotions, a patent, industry recognition. He was winning at work but walking into chaos every night. He talks about how the industry downturn swept up his position. He was a new dad with toddler at home and no plan. On the drive home that day, with nothing left to schedule and no meetings to run, it hit him: Every system he used at work was usable. He built a household balance sheet, a family mission statement, spending thresholds, and a calendar. Now he's a small-city mayor, and people trusted him with that office because of how his household runs. In our episode we covered: → Why work-life balance is a myth and what work-life blending looks like in practice → The family mission statement that ended the dinner argument → Running your home like a balance sheet → The Japan trip that came after ten flopped blending attempts → Why your problem at home is almost always the system Thank you, Joe, for Talking Real Shift! -- PROMOS MENTIONED -- https://homegrownleadership.net/wmm Use promo code REALSHIFT for $20 off (expires 8/31) Use promo code REALSHIFT99 for $100 off Insight to Action workshop. Chapters 0:00 Teaser 0:48 From automotive leadership to Homegrown Leadership 3:08 The drive home that changed everything 6:19 Running the household like an operating machine 7:34 Building a five-month reserve, the household balance sheet 11:08 Getting aligned, the family mission statement 15:11 The vulnerable moments behind the anger 19:48 Get hold of your time first 24:58 Work-life balance is a myth, try blending 35:25 Good leaders lift other leaders up 44:23 The sledgehammer and the velvet hammer 54:45 Course-correcting a broken culture at home 59:48 The one resource you can't make more of 1:00:00 What he'd tell his 25-year-old self 1:01:48 Where to start and the closing invite ~~~ This episode is powered by TeamSense TeamSense is the AI-powered shift intelligence platform that automates attendance, connects every worker, and drives performance across your operation — all through text. Ready to see how leading manufacturers and logistics teams keep every shift covered? https://teamsense.com/ Prefer to listen? https://pod.link/1896826304
Terry Rhadigan spent 36 years at General Motors. He started answering phones on an 800 number in Troy, Michigan, fielding angry customers in an era when Detroit's quality reputation was taking hits. Communications was the goal, but it took nine years of dealer visits, district service calls, and floor-level learning before he got there. On the other side of a GM crisis, he became VP of Global Communications at one of the largest companies in the world. In our episode we covered: → Why transparency is your best crisis tool, and what happens when you don't use it → How to redirect a conversation without lying → What 15 different roles at one company teaches you about communicating → What it will take to keep Detroit's momentum going → What Terry would tell his younger self about balance, kindness, and the long game People who can communicate well under pressure aren't born that way… they earn it in the hard roles nobody wanted, before anyone trusted them with the big ones. Terry, thank you for sharing your story with our audience! Chapters 0:00 - Introduction to Terry Rhadigan 1:30 - Career Beginnings: Nine Years to Get Into Communications 4:00 - Breaking Into GM Communications and Learning the Business 5:00 - The Core Rule of Crisis Communication: Own It 7:00 - Redirecting the Narrative: How Product Launches Changed GM's Story 8:45 - Using Communication Skills in Your Personal Life 11:15 - Life After GM: Four Boards, One Consultancy, and Detroit's Momentum 13:15 - The NFL Draft, the Sports Commission, and Detroit's Image Shift 17:00 - Michigan's Automotive Industry: Fighting to Stay at the Top 25:00 - The EV Crossroads: Where the Industry Goes From Here 38:15 - When Shift Hits the Fan: Inside the GM Crisis 44:50 - Leading at 22: Managing 70 People Through a Company Crisis 50:35 - Advice to My 25-Year-Old Self 52:05 - About TeamSense ~~~ This episode is powered by TeamSense Prefer to listen? Spotify → https://open.spotify.com/show/033oapRSFlbJrOYMyW2IVS?si=d552ddefbc0c4c10 Apple → https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/talk-real-shift/id1896826304 TeamSense is the AI-powered shift intelligence platform that automates attendance, connects every worker, and drives performance across your operation — all through text. Ready to see how leading manufacturers and logistics teams keep every shift covered? https://teamsense.com/
Bill Currence is a West Point graduate, former Army officer, and the guy companies call when everything is on fire. They got tired of watching big consulting firms walk in, bill millions, and leave nothing behind but a PowerPoint deck and a bigger problem. So they built CCO Brands instead. But getting there cost him. Bill watched himself lose his values in a plant he was trying to save, pushed by someone who called his leadership into question. When he was fired, he says it was the best thing that ever happened to him. We covered a lot of ground in this conversation: → Why pride is the single obstacle keeping companies from getting fixed → How Bill turned around 30 plants in 4 years → The physics-based approach that reveals where a plant is losing money in real time → What it means to truly save someone's livelihood Bill cares more about the people on the plant floor than the numbers on the report. And because of that, the numbers always get better too. Bill, thank you for your time and being so open in sharing your story with our listeners! Chapters 0:00 - Introduction 3:28 - Bill's First Job After the Military: Cintas and Lessons in Operations 5:45 - The Six-Year Grind: From Quality Manager to Every Role in the Plant 7:20 - Climbing to Plant Manager and the Decision to Roll the Dice 9:12 - Scientific Injection Molding and the $250M Plant at Lear 14:19 - CCO Brands Is Born: Anti-Consulting and the Problem with Big Firms 20:31 - The Pride Problem: Why Companies Wait Too Long to Ask for Help 24:04 - Leadership Lessons: Football, West Point, and the Human Element 27:24 - The Moment Bill Lost Himself as a Leader (and Got Fired) 32:34 - What CCO Actually Does and Why It Works 38:00 - The Physics Framework: How to Find a Plant's True Bottleneck 48:18 - The Case for Manufacturing: Why Trade School Is Winning 53:30 - The Monterrey Moment: Why This Work Is Worth It 1:00:55 - Advice to 25-Year-Old Bill: Start Five Years Earlier ~~~ This episode is powered by TeamSense Prefer to listen? Spotify → https://open.spotify.com/show/033oapRSFlbJrOYMyW2IVS?si=d552ddefbc0c4c10 Apple → https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/talk-real-shift/id1896826304 TeamSense is the AI-powered shift intelligence platform that automates attendance, connects every worker, and drives performance across your operation — all through text. Ready to see how leading manufacturers and logistics teams keep every shift covered? https://teamsense.com/
Amy Wang has spent 20+ years building things from nothing. She helped open a hospital as the ninth employee and scaled it to 2,500. She wore a hard hat over a business suit, slept in her car, and worked 120 hours a week to make sure her team delivered on time and on budget. She learned, the hard way, that success in silence isn't success at all, and that bringing people along on the journey matters just as much as (if not more than) the destination. In our very first episode, we covered: → Why being the best at your job isn't enough to get ahead, and what you actually need to do instead → How Amy made a grown man cry without yelling once → The real price of always being the calm one in the room → What she would tell her 25-year-old self about over-proving and boundaries → Why young talent today is making smarter choices than the generation before them My big takeaway was how often organizations reward visibility over substance. Amy consistently took on more than expected and carried a significant amount behind the scenes, but she wasn’t someone who felt the need to constantly broadcast it. Amy, thank you for being my very first guest on Talk Real Shift! You rock and so does your story! Chapters 0:00 - Welcome to Talk Real Shift 1:04 - Introducing Amy Wang 1:53 - Amy's Background: From Pre-Med to HR Executive 6:27 - What Built Amy's Career: Restaurants, Lean, and Calm Under Pressure 10:12 - Employee #9: Building a Hospital From the Ground Up 13:21 - The Real Lesson: Working Hard in Silence Gets You Overlooked 16:37 - How to Bring People Along on the Journey 19:53 - Standing Up for Your Work: The Boardroom Confrontation 23:16 - Being Labeled "Too Emotional" as a Leader 30:05 - The Real Cost of Executive Leadership: Family and Sacrifice 37:55 - Why Younger Talent Is Making Smarter Choices Today 43:05 - Setting Boundaries When You're a Natural Giver 49:27 - What Amy Would Tell Her 25-Year-Old Self 51:02 - Amy's New Company and How to Follow Her Connect with Amy https://www.linkedin.com/in/amywang168/ https://www.ssonetwork.com/ ~~~ This episode is powered by TeamSense TeamSense is the AI-powered shift intelligence platform that automates attendance, connects every worker, and drives performance across your operation — all through text. Ready to see how leading manufacturers and logistics teams keep every shift covered? https://teamsense.com/