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Leadership Insights Podcast

Are you a leader or an aspiring leader who truly cares about your organization, people and culture? Then this podcast is for you! We bring you educational, enlightening interviews with today’s most innovative, inspirational leaders. Each episode is filled with inspiring stories, new perspectives and invaluable tools to help you communicate, innovate and lead even more successfully!
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Now displaying: June, 2016
Jun 22, 2016
"I learned how to do everything by doing it wrong the first time" -Kristina Bouweiri Kristina Bouweiri calls herself an accidental entrepreneur. Perhaps this is how she started - by marrying into the business, Reston Limousine - but her success was no accident. Kristina has brilliantly grown the tiny 5-car business to the #13 largest limousine company in the U.S.! All this despite personal and business crises, including divorce from the firm’s founder and periods of economic turmoil! What You'll Learn:
  • Kristina’s amazing story of marrying into the limo business and becoming an “accidental entrepreneur”
  • How she grew Reston Limousine from a tiny 5-car business to the 13th largest limousine company in the country
  • How she managed to succeed as a solo owner of Reston Limousine and single caregiver to four kids and ten pets after her divorce
  • What makes Reston Limousine repeatedly the Best Place to Work (compassion, listening and surveying employees on how to make their lives better)
  • How being a life-long learner and networker has changed her life and business
  • What self-care routines got her through the darkest time in her life and business
  • Why Kristina attributes doubling the size of her company to finally learning to delegate
  • What natural traits female leaders should leverage for competitive advantage
  • How business coaching and master-minding has been transformational for her business
  • How board service has helped Kristina build relationships and dramatically grow her business
  • What Kristina is still working on as a person and a leader
Links & Resources About Kristina Bouweiri  Kristina Bouweiri is the sole owner of the Washington DC metropolitan area’s largest luxury transportation provider. Thanks to Kristina’s innovative business strategies over the last two decades, Reston Limousine and Travel Service, Inc. has enjoyed continued growth despite regional and national economic downturns. Starting with the diversification into wedding transportation in 1990, Kristina has expanded the business into new market segments such as government contracts and group transportation. Even as shuttle contracts led to exponential growth for the company, Kristina created new markets on the charter side, such as the company’s signature wine tours in what is now billed as DC’s Wine Country. Kristina also has led the company’s commitment to implementing the latest in technology trends. The leading private transportation provider in Washington DC when it comes to technology, Reston Limousine utilizes cameras on its bus fleet, GPS in all vehicles and TrafficLand software to monitor DC area traffic patterns. Kristina also has been an early adopter of social media, from blogging to social sharing sites including Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, Google Plus, Instagram and more. Through LinkedIn, Kristina leveraged her international network to launch the company’s global services, which provides worldwide transportation through a vetted affiliate network. An active business community leader, Kristina is a board member of influential civic organizations and business publications such as the DC Chamber of Commerce, SmartCEO magazine, Inova Loudoun Hospital Foundation, and  Enterprising Women magazine, among others. She also is a member of the Dean’s Council of the George Mason School of Business, where she helped launch a Women’s in Business Initiative program to support students, alumnae and other businesswomen. The Washington Business Journal named Kristina one of the 50 most powerful and influential women in Washington and she has been featured in numerous media and trade publications such as The Washington Post, Washington SmartCEO and Enterprising Women. As a woman in a traditionally male-dominated industry, Bouweiri has been committed to supporting other women entrepreneurs. She is the founder of the monthly networking luncheon Sterling Women and the annual Virginia Women’s Business Conference – two programs that have helped hundreds of women entrepreneurs and executives achieve their professional goals. She also is an international speaker on topics ranging from business strategy to the use of social media in growing your business, including at the Global Summit of Women in 2010, 2011 and 2012. Her recent awards include George Mason University Outstanding Leadership Award, Heroine of Washington, Washington Business Journal Power 100, and National Operator of the Year. See below for a complete list of her achievements. ACHIEVEMENTS
  • 2015 Outstanding Leadership Award, George Mason University School of Business
  • 2015 Heroines of Washington (Professional Services)/March of Dimes
  • 2015 Power 100 (Connector)/Washington Business Journal
  • 2015 Top Women-Owned Businesses in DC/Washington Business Journal
  • 2015 Top Executive Transportation Services in DC/Washington Business Journal
  • 2015 Legacy Entrepreneur of the Year/EPNET
  • 2014 National Operator of the Year/LCT Magazine
  • 2014 Most Admired CEO/Washington Business Journal
  • 2014 Washington SmartCEO Future 50
  • 2013 Barcelona Chamber of Commerce, International Women Entrepreneurs Challenge Award
  • 2013 Washington SmartCEO Future 50
  • 2009-1013 Washington SmartCEO Top 100 CEOs
  • 2012 DC Chamber of Commerce, Business Leader of the Year
  • 2011 NOVA EXEC, Top 20 InNOVAtors:
  • 2011 Loudoun County Good Scout Award (first woman to receive the award)
  • 2010 Ernst & Young, Entrepreneur of the Year Finalist
 
Jun 7, 2016
“Love is a verb. It’s not what we say, it’s what we do that matters.” – Mark Bergel Few business conversations center on love, but love is exactly what drives Dr. Mark Bergel every moment of every day.  His mission is “simply” to end poverty. It may seem like a lofty goal but when you hear this amazing interview, you’ll know that if anyone can end poverty, it’s Mark and his extraordinary team! In 2001, Mark, then teaching at American University, volunteered along with his students to deliver food to families living in need in the D.C region. He found himself in homes with no beds, no dressers and no living room furniture at all. As a result, Mark pMark with stuffed animalsrofoundly changed his life along with the lives of thousands of children and adults living in need. With no seed money, but a strong conviction that we could do better for those living in poverty, he converted his living room into a nonprofit office and founded A Wider Circle. Today the organization is housed in a 25,000 square-foot facility and is planning to expand! To date, A Wider Circle has served more than 125,000 individuals, with more than 10,000 volunteers coming each year to support the effort. What You'll Learn
  • Optimized-IMG_3353What is the difference between living a small and a big life (I know, it got deep!)
  • What inspired Mark to leave his job in academia and give up the life he was planning in Sedona to tirelessly pursue his mission to end poverty
  • What drives mark to work 14-16 hours a day 365 a year and wake up energized after 4 hours of sleep (kids, don't try this at home!)
  • How to create an organizational culture centered on love and find staff who both have the heart and the skills to get the job done
  • How to leverage others’ talents to balance out your strengths and weaknesses as a leader
  • What is enlightened selfishness?
  • Why Mark's believes that we can end poverty in 20 years and how we can do it
  • How to do seemingly impossible (beyond ending poverty) - get others to care and to instill a sense of possibility in skeptical people
  • How do we get others to engage in your cause
  • This and so much more you’ll learn in this incredible conversation with Mark!
Links & Resources
  • A Wider Circle the amazing organization that will end poverty.  If you live outside of the D.C. area please Google “poverty / community service / volunteering to find an organization that needs you in your region
About Mark Bergel Dr. Bergel founded A Wider Circle in 2001 and has emerged as a leader in the movement to end poverty. He is a nationally acclaimed speaker in the fields of poverty, health, and social connection and has been featured on national television and radio programs. Mark earned a B.A. from Northwestern University and went on to receive both Masters and Doctoral degrees from American University. In 2014, Mark was selected as a CNN Hero, bringing much-needed attention to the movement to end poverty in our nation. The result of this honor has been to bring many more people from across the country to our efforts - and to help us answer the call to help our neighbors in need. Mark has also been voted one of People Magazine and Major League Baseball's "All Stars Among Us" and he has received the Dr. Augustus White III Award for Civic Engagement and Service, the Andrea Jolly President's Award, the Essence of Leadership Award at the Greater DC Cares Business and Nonprofit Philanthropy Summit, and the Community Foundation for the National Capital Region's Linowes Leadership Award.  
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