Lou Kerestesy - Podcast Details

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GettingFED™ with Go-To-GuyWhy The Government Hates Reading Proposals, Lou Kerestesy (Insight Summit)Send a text to GettingFED with Go-To-GuyOn October 1, 2024, Lou Kerestesy will share his years of experience with attendees during his breakout session at the Insight Summit presented by Infotrend. Lou's going to discuss Why The Government Hates Reading Proposals, and How To Make It Love Reading Yours, and we dug into it just a little on this episode. Enjoy this conversation, and be sure to join us in Hanover, MD for the Insight Summit and Fiscal New Year's Bash! About LouLou Kerestesy has 30 years’ experience in government, about half as a...2024-09-1429 min

I See What You MeanMastering Transitions. A Life Skill For The Times.I met Justin Jacobs on LinkedIn. We were in an exchange which became testy for some, but not for us. We stayed respectful as we engaged in a sincere exchange about an issue, probing for truth as Justin put it. We followed up by phone and subsequently decided to record an episode. And I've glad we did. Listening to the audio file very closely as I do to edit, I was reminded how blessed I am to have spoken with Justin and so many guests like him. He tells it like he sees it, and by that...2022-08-241h 03

I See What You MeanGetting On Some Uncommon Same Pages: Mentoring and Mergers When Cal Shintani and I discussed recording a podcast episode, it was clear to me we'd talk about mentoring. Cal has a long mentoring background and described some ideas about the same page mentors and proteges get on that I wanted to record. Cool. Then he mentioned his merger and acquisition experience. M&A's are common in the Federal contracting community. What's not common is for a consultant to be involved in several. And what's even less common is for a consultant to connect mergers with mentoring. But Cal had. He'd added mentoring to...2022-08-0948 min

I See What You MeanGentelligence And Generations In The Workplace: Part 2 Of My Conversation With Dr. Megan GerhardtIn Part 2 of our conversation, Dr. Gerhardt and I dig deeper into what it means to be on the same page across generations in the workplace. Her Gentelligence mantra that we each have something to contribute and something to learn was an ahh-ha! moment for me, enough to make me re-think what I think it means to be on the same page! We look closely at generations and organizational culture, ageism, how questions have the power to create Gentelligence, and what it was like writing Gentelligence: The Revolutionary Approach to Leading an Intergenerational Workforce. Here are a few of...2022-08-0333 min

I See What You MeanGenerations In The Workplace Can Be A Source Of Conflict Or Collaboration. And You Get To Decide.Gentelligence - Intelligence produced by inter-generational learning and collaboration. This week's guest and co-authors have added this meaningful word to our vocabulary - also the title of their book - and it's one I predict will be added to dictionaries. The concept's value isn't limited to the workplace, but with five generations of Americans in the workforce, the concept's time has come. Dr. Megan Gerhardt, Professor of Leadership at Miami University's Farmer School of Business, joins me for this episode to discuss ways generations conflict or collaborate at work, and how a...2022-07-2738 min

I See What You MeanChanging Conversations To Change Behavior - Finding Ways To Connect, Part 2In Part 1 of our conversation, Terry Leberfinger and I talked about health and safety issues on the minds of employees, as the pandemic winds down, in a successful battery recycling operation where Terry's Executive Vice President for Human Resources. In this episode we discuss the business case for change as markets and environment, health and safety (EHS) regulations changed over 40 years. We dig into the psychology of change in the workplace, looking closely at how leadership works with employees - who've been on the job for decades - to not only solve problems but to unthink old ways of d...2022-07-0532 min

I See What You MeanChanging Conversations To Change Behavior - Finding Ways To ConnectI've known this week's guest for 25 years. Terry Leberfinger has been a client, a fellow New Orleans Jazz Fest krewe member, a friend and now a podcast guest with uncommon insight into organizational change. Terry's an executive with a long background in transformational change. He's held positions in human resources, environment, health and safety, in settings ranging from offices to global manufacturing operations. He's equally comfortable on shop floors and in executive board rooms - both places where he has a knack for changing conversations which change organizations. We cover a lot of ground in two episodes, and here...2022-06-2236 min

I See What You MeanCan Better Governance Deliver Better Government? And Early In A Career, Can You Contribute?In Part 2 of our discussion, Richard Spires talks about the subject of his upcoming book - running government programs effectively and efficiently. We discuss the importance of governance not only for delivering program results, but also for building relationships and problem solving capability, generally. Richard also explains how cultivating mentor relationships and expertise - two of the 12 traits he wrote about in his first book - can help young professionals make valuable contributions to how programs are run. Visit Richard-Spires.com to check out his first book, "Success in the Technology Field - A Guide Fo...2022-06-0623 min

I See What You MeanOrganizations Might Benefit By Zero Trust For IT Security, But They Need A Trusted Environment For IT Projects. Part 1 Of My Conversation With Richard Spires.If you're not a technologist (I'm not), you might think success in a technology field hinges on technical knowledge. Technologists know exactly which technical knowledge and skill is required for success, and they know there's more. Working with people? Check. Understanding business needs? Check. Listening, negotiating, problem solving? Checks all around. And my guest this week will tell you that's not all. Richard Spires is an accomplished technologist who will tell you that in every leadership position he's held, getting people on the same page was key to success. It wasn't the only key. But t...2022-06-0140 min

I See What You MeanCan A "Same Page" Emerge If We Manifest It With Others? Susan Parente Says, "Yes." When I teased Susan Parente about the eight designations behind her name - eight! - her response said a lot about her. She laughed and said she not only loves learning, but she teaches subjects which lead to certifications. So all the letters are a selling point for students who would think it fun to take a class from someone who loves certifications. And that about sums it up. Astute. Insightful. Self-aware. Passionate. Susan's sees black and white with an engineer's mind, while helping students find their way through their own gray areas, with a lot of...2022-05-2548 min

I See What You MeanAnother Admirable Bundle of Contradictions - Part 2This episode begins with Lola Stith and I recounting a time when, as a company exec, I turned down an offer of help from her in a way that made her wonder if being a woman of color was one of the reasons. We talk about how she sorted that out for herself at the time, and what we learned discussing it years later. We discuss key attributes of misunderstandings between people, and how those attributes take on different nuances in different situations. We discuss respect for oneself and others, and how getting on the same page in situations...2022-05-0533 min

I See What You MeanAnother Admirable Bundle Of Contradictions - Part 1Meet Lola Stith and she's quiet, unassuming, cooperative, hard to read. Know Lola and she's focused, determined, uncannily perceptive, catch-you-off guard funny, and perceptive. Said that twice, didn't I. Because she is, twice. I had the privilege of working with Lola 10 years ago. We caught up recently when I called to ask if I ever exhibited gender bias toward her. That question came up in preparation for an episode with Karen Newnam, and I reached out to ask women who'd worked for me. Lola's answer surprised me and we had a great conversation about it (w...2022-04-2726 min

I See What You MeanI Might Have A Master's Degree In Conflict Resolution, But This Guy's A Master At Resolving Conflicts!I love knowing people who don't fit typecasts. Analytic types good with emotion. Tough leaders who care for their people. I love working with them when I can, and interviewing them for podcast episodes! Enter Rami Hago. I had the pleasure of working with Rami a few years ago, and here's my version of his short bio: Laughs easy. Penetrating thinker. People person. Laser-focused. Easy to work with. Won't settle for less than individual and team best. I could go on but you get the idea. He's living proof that being a bundle of contradictions can make y...2022-04-2048 min

I See What You MeanWe've Talked Politics, Religion, Work and Relationships. With Rum. And Lived To Tell About It - Part 2In Part 2, Dan Morford and I pick up our discussion of power, control and the nature of honest, open dialogue. We talk about how bad our country's divisiveness might get, and what it will take to climb out the hole we've dug for ourselves - for our kids. Quick fixes won't do. "Sides" can advocate all they want, but real solutions will take time, compromise, and some amount of inconvenience, pain and sacrifice. But what are our options? More divisive rhetoric? The solutions we need - solutions that work for our democracy and country - will come from our dif...2022-04-1325 min

I See What You MeanWe've Talked Politics, Religion, Work and Relationships. With Rum. And Lived To Tell About It.Political discussions can be unenlightening and uninspiring. Two or more yammer on sounding vaguely like Charlie Brown's teacher.... loving the sound of their our own voices and ideas.... and not learning because no one is listening. But not discussions with this week's guest. Dan Morford and I have been friends for 22 years. We've worked together, volunteered in our community, raised families, cooked a lot of food, listened to a lot of blues, and have occasionally fallen into a barrel of rum. Over the years we've spent many hours talking about politics, as we do in t...2022-04-0633 min

I See What You MeanLeading Others To A Same Page From Her Own, And Theirs. What One Woman Learned.Karen Levy Newnam is a smart, funny, deep-thinking, artist-turned-business woman, self-described goofball. If you think that covers it, it doesn't. At all. Woven through experience as a writer, actor, producer, college instructor, retail manager and marketing manager are threads of self-discovery, self-awareness and self-improvement. A conviction that bringing one's best self to others is the starting place for getting on the same page. That becoming one's best self is work. Our life's work. And at work we cross paths with others on their journeys. This episode gets personal with Karen's characteristic ho...2022-03-301h 07

I See What You MeanDesigning A Better Workplace Roots Out Bias. And It's There For You To Find, If You Look.Mika Cross is passionate about people and missions. Especially about figuring out the best way for people to deliver a mission. From her military and civilian service to her consulting today, Mika's mission is to help organizational leaders get that right. And this year's International Women's Day theme - #BreakTheBias - is the perfect backdrop for our discussion about how to position people to contribute their best work - or not. Bias is in the news a lot, today, with coverage of it in law enforcement, education, hiring and compensation, hostile workplaces, emotional intelligence, and unconscious bias a...2022-03-2347 min

I See What You MeanWhy Is It So Hard For Government Programs To Deliver Results?The US Federal government runs more than 3500 programs, each designed to deliver a benefit to citizens or other customers in the US and around the world. Each is a collaborative effort with state and local governments, NGOs and sometimes other counties. And each relies on actors at the end of many delivery chains, far from where programs are planned and managed. Teachers. Inspectors. Law enforcement. War fighers. Diplomats. VA doctors and nurses. And many more. So how can the Federal government ensure its programs deliver the right benefit to the right beneficiary, in the right w...2022-03-1647 min

I See What You MeanIs A Statement Of Work The "Same Page" Government Officials and Contractors Need To Get On? The government's solicitation is its best attempt to define a problem. A contractor's proposal is its best attempt to define a solution. When faithfully executed, both should combine to meet a mission requirement. But can they? Contracts of even moderate complexity can obligate contractors to meet scores of requirements performed in dozens of activities over a 1 to 5 year period. Issues, priorities, budgets, personnel and conditions will change. So how can executing a statement of work written 12-18 months before work even began, meet a mission requirement? Greg Giddens says the answer is performance management. Not i...2022-03-0957 min

I See What You MeanCommunicating Across Generations - Or What A Boardgame Might Teach The BoardroomMy friend and colleague, Brenda Blackman, opens this episode with a funny story about how the communication of clues in a card and boardgame was challenged by differences in the players' ages. It's a telling story, too, because with five generations in the workforce, how much work communication is affected by age? In what ways? Is getting on the same page affected? Brenda and I discuss these questions and what she does about them. With 28 years in the Air Force and another 10 consulting, not only is leadership important to Brenda but so is mentoring. Mentoring i...2022-03-0241 min

I See What You MeanRetrospective: Looking Back At Episodes 1 - 20In this week's episode of I See What You Mean, I highlight ideas and insights from the first 20 episodes. Several guests discussed what they think it means to get or be on the same page. Each guest discussed ways they get people there in the work they do. Below are time-stamps and guest names so you can jump to their summaries or search for their full episodes. I want to thank each guest for taking time to record an episode with me, for freely sharing their knowledge and experience in the hope that a listener w...2022-02-2320 min

I See What You MeanCan Better Marketing Create Better Value In Federal Contracting? This Former Contracting Official Says "Yes!" For a retired Fed-turned-contractor who claims to not have a sales bone in his body (I'm not sold!), William Randolph knows how to market. After 25 years in government contracting, he not only knows what the government is looking for - he knows where they're looking for it. And it's not just in proposals. In this episode, William and I discuss how government contractors - especially small businesses - can use social media to distinguish themselves from their competition and build a brand that's not only seen by contracting officials but is looked to as worth meeting, before a...2022-02-1644 min

I See What You MeanCommunication And The Art Of Project Management. Or Is It The Other Way Around? My friend Joe Launi has been in the project management business for 35 years. He's been a team member, project manager, and trainer. And if you ask him the secret to project management success he'll tell you it revolves around communication. He'll tell you there's more to it than that. But he'll also tell you every project challenge can be worsened by poor communication or managed by good communication. In this episode, Joe talks about getting on the same project page from the trenches, not the textbooks. Yes PMs need to know how to build a work breakdown...2022-02-1158 min

I See What You MeanGetting On The Same Page With Yourself First... And Others, AfterWhen Andy Robinson said he wanted to discuss being true to oneself as a prerequisite to getting on the same page with others, I knew we'd have a great conversation. And we did. We start by discussing what it means to be true to oneself, and how one does that with and through work. We discuss what it means to lead at work being true to oneself, to lead others to a similar experience through inspired individual and team performance. We conclude by discussing how major career change calls us to settle accounts as citizens of the universe, or...2022-02-021h 01

I See What You MeanCreating The Art Of The Possible, In The Simplest Way PossibleIn any situation each of us sees certain things (and not others), sizes up what we see in certain ways (and not others), and decides what to do (and not something else) as a means to some end (and not some other). Being clear on these things yields our rationale - the answer to the question of why we do what we do in some situation. The same explains others' rationales, which is where things get interesting. My friend and colleague Alex Porfirenko knows this. He figured it out by experience, by trial and error, by study. He...2022-01-2646 min

I See What You MeanSchool Boards And Legislatures: One Public Servant's Lessons In Leadership And ListeningFlorida State Rep. Susan Valdes knows a few things about getting people on the same page. She's served the greater Tampa area in elected positions for almost 20 years. First as a school board member for the country's 8th largest school district, and today as a Democrat in a substantially Republican House of Representatives. And yet after so many years on the front lines of politics, public policy, budgets and strong public opinion, Rep. Valdes looks to me like the calm eye of a storm. She's warm and welcoming. She focuses on the person to whom she's speaking, e...2022-01-191h 01