Building a One-Page 

Marketing Strategy

Tuesday, January 14 at 12 noon ET

Marketing is a huge part of moving any business forward. More than having a “marketing department”, or outsourcing your marketing to a third-party, it needs to be embedded into every part of your business – from tech to HR to digital. 

But when not every employee is a “marketer”, how can this be achieved? This episode will lean into:

•  How do you collaborate with your marketers?  
•  How does your organizational vision get transmitted?
•  When do you rely on “the experts” and when do you veto with your “gut”?
•  How to set marketing priorities? (It all takes time, after all…)

Business Growth

Hacking Lab

Tuesday, February 4 at 12 noon ET

You’ve grown to a certain level, but breaking through to the next is new ground. What changes must be made in Marketing? Tech? People? Would a new approach to business development open up new markets? And how about the ROI of your current investments: events, email database, website, social media, CRM, amongst them. And the list goes on.

It’s likely that your approach – however good – might benefit from a fresh perspective… and put-into-action-now new ideas.  In this fast-paced session, Randall addresses these.

This session would be of interest to businesses looking to grow their sales, and associations/not-for-profits looking to grow membership and non-dues revenue.

Building a One-Page 

Marketing Strategy

Tuesday, January 14 at 12 noon ET

Marketing is a huge part of moving any business forward. More than having a “marketing department”, or outsourcing your marketing to a third-party, it needs to be embedded into every part of your business – from tech to HR to digital. 

But when not every employee is a “marketer”, how can this be achieved? This episode will lean into:

•  How do you collaborate with your marketers?  
•  How does your organizational vision get transmitted?
•  When do you rely on “the experts” and when do you veto with your “gut”?
•  How to set marketing priorities? (It all takes time, after all…)

Business Growth

Hacking Lab

Tuesday, February 4 at 12 noon ET

You’ve grown to a certain level, but breaking through to the next is new ground. What changes must be made in Marketing? Tech? People? Would a new approach to business development open up new markets? And how about the ROI of your current investments: events, email database, website, social media, CRM, amongst them. And the list goes on.

It’s likely that your approach – however good – might benefit from a fresh perspective… and put-into-action-now new ideas.  In this fast-paced session, Randall addresses these.

This session would be of interest to businesses looking to grow their sales, and associations/not-for-profits looking to grow membership and non-dues revenue.

Yes, traditional change management has its place, but in this session, we will go beyond, and explore a number of additional concepts:

•  The impact and role of a multi-modal approach to change management: Communication/Coaching/Training/Monthly reinforcement/Events/etc.

•  Internal vs external execution: When to use – and not use – external resources.

•  Getting to neutral vs getting ahead: Using change management to drive competitive differentiation, impact, and growth.

In this session, we’ll explore high-performance leadership:

•  Using accountability to drive leadership
     performance

•  Better leadership, better relationships,
      better results

•  Giving (and receiving) feedback from your
      partner(s)

•  Board relationships and the role of
      outside advisors 

This session will address delegation as a lever for business growth. Concepts discussed:

•  Proper way of delegating

•  Obstacles and flip side of delegation

•  Impact of delegating to managers and
      employees

•  Setting boundaries and expectations,
      and much more.

It seems that every where you turn these days, everyone is a coach. So in today’s session, we are calling out the “coaching industry”… on its proliferation, value, and fees.

We see cheap coaches aplenty, and then there are also exceptionally expensive ones. Let’s put Randall in the hotseat and explore how he sees the differences in approach and value, and help clients can get the best from their coaching relationship.

“Work smarter, not harder”, they say – but what does that mean exactly? Especially in growing businesses, leaders know what they know, but don't know what they don’t know…

This month’s session aims to provide new perspectives on how to incorporate greater efficiencies into your operations and processes so that your growth will be smoother – and faster. Topics include:

•   Business management processes, and process
       redesign

•   Getting the right people in the right seats 

•   Client journeys, operational efficiencies, tech,
       outsourcing, and more!

Is achieving “balance” your New Year's Resolution – every year? Join Randall Craig as he challenges the conventional wisdom, and provides specific, action-oriented guidance on how you can define a balance that powers your career – yet still gives you a life.

Topics include:

•  Developing a clear understanding of the seven
      dimensions of balance.

•  Defining your own desired balance, using the
      Personal Balance Sheet framework.

•  Practical techniques to help broaden your
      focus, and still perform, and avoid burn out.

Today’s topic is for leaders in their role as mentors and role models. How important is executive presence, and how much should it play into your hiring process? Your succession planning? Or management training, Branding, Marketing, and HR considerations? And for you as a leader, are there things that you can do to improve – or update – your executive presence?

There is one mode of learning that many leaders have not had experience with: a peer mastermind group.

A peer mastermind is a facilitated group with five to eight participants, all of whom are running successful organizations. Each person learns from the experiences of others, and the combined “mastermind” is an accelerant for business – and leadership – growth. It allows you to build connections with other leaders, test-drive ideas with your peers, and expose you to impactful new business concepts.

Randall Craig will offer insights on how to leverage a peer mastermind group.

In this session we explore high-performance leadership.As a leader, you motivate and set expectations for everyone within your organization… But what about.

•  For yourself?

•  For your partners?

•  And for your leadership team? Let's talk about it.

Today’s topic is for leaders in their role as mentors and role models.

•  How important is executive presence, and how much should it play into your hiring process?

•  Your succession planning? Or management training, Branding, Marketing, and HR considerations?

•  And for you as a leader, are there things that you can do to improve – or update – your
executive presence?

In this episode, we are talking about Peer Masterminds. Here at the Braintrust Professional Institute, we are coaches, trainers, and facilitators. We work one-on-one coaching leaders, deliver management training to teams, and share our knowledge as keynote speakers.

However, there is one mode of learning that many leaders have not had experience with a peer mastermind group.

Randall Craig is here today to offer insights on how to leverage a peer mastermind group.

It seems that every where you turn these days, everyone is a coach. 

In this session, we aim to demystify the coaching industry:

•  How do you find the right coach for you?

•  How do you get the best results?

•  What is the difference between a consultant and a coach and where does pricing fit in?

This session will address delegation as a lever for business growth, and why it holds the key to being more effective in an age of hybrid work and rapid growth. Concepts discussed:

•  Proper way of delegating

•  Obstacles and flip side of delegation

•  Impact of delegating to managers and employees

•  Setting boundaries and expectations, and much more.

This session aims to provide new perspectives on how to incorporate greater efficiencies into your operations and processes so that your growth will be smoother – and faster. Topics include:

•  Business management processes, and process redesign

•  Improving productivity,

•  Getting the right people in the right seats and much more shared by Randall in this episode!

Join Randall Craig as he challenges the conventional wisdom, and provides specific, action-oriented guidance on how you can define a balance that powers your career – yet still gives you a life. 

•  Developing a clear understanding of the seven dimensions of balance.

•  Defining your own desired balance, using the Personal Balance Sheet framework.

•  Practical techniques to help broaden your focus, and still perform, and avoid burn out.

As a leader, you are likely already an expert, and surely have expertise. But what about “Thought Leadership”? 

•  Being a “thought leader” is a separate differentiator altogether – and in today’s world, more strategic than ever.

•  In this episode, Randall Craig – who is often referred to as a thought leader – will share ideas on how to get there.

Dealing with economic ups and downs is part and parcel for leading an organization. When business is good, everything seems golden – but what about the inevitable downturn? How do we keep our organization strong now, and what can we do to prep for a potential cash crunch?

This session is about high-stakes decisions. We know that a healthy, thinking organization is able to reinvent itself as the demands of their industries and clients require, but the “best” and “right” choices for your org are not always obvious.

As a leader, you are likely already an expert, and surely have expertise. But what about “Thought Leadership”? Being a “thought leader” is a separate differentiator altogether – and in today’s world, more strategic than ever.

The opportunities offered by generative AI (i.e., #ChatGPT) are extraordinary. But as a leader, do you feel you’ve cracked the nut on leveraging it to actually grow your organization?

We see leaders experimenting with (free) AI tools in order to (mostly) save time on writing or editing. Sounds reasonable, certainly — but can you use it to fundamentally change your business? And what about protecting your business from the risks?

Join Randall Craig for an informal (and informative) session on using AI within your organization.

Topics include:

•  Demystify pricing strategies,

•  Explore the tactical parameters, and

•  Get clear on the value your organization offers.

Advisory boards are huge in private companies, but many still don’t have one in place. Some leaders are unclear on how to set one up, but recognize there is a need for on-demand advice. What then?

Join Randall Craig – experienced on both sides of the equation as CEO, and as a board member – for an insightful hour on how to leverage an advisory board to take your company’s growth to new heights.

Join Randall Craig for a year-end Growth Planning session.

As you close up Q4, are there specific things that you can do to ramp up business growth for next year? Are you open to new ideas that can make the difference between real success? And are there important market changes that you can capitalize on moving forward?

Join Randall Craig as he shares specific business growth activities that you can put into place now, that will make a difference in the coming year. (And also a few that you might want to ditch.)

After many years of success, things are not working the way they used to. Or… You’re a start-up looking for product-market fit. Or… an opportunity presents itself, and you need to decide whether to stay the course – or jump on the opportunity.

These situations all have to do with “The Pivot”. In this Leadership Insight episode, we’ll explore: Why, When, and How to make the high-stakes pivot decision, and insights into doing it successfully.

In this session we’ll share some very different strategies and non-traditional approaches that leaders can use to recession-proof their business. (And to preserve cash.) The question is one of cash:

•  What can you do to preserve it?

•  How do you cut your burn rate, while still investing in critical areas?

•  And when things are very tight, what things can you do, right now, to “find” needed cashflow?

The opportunities offered by generative AI (i.e., #ChatGPT) are extraordinary. But as a leader, do you feel you’ve cracked the nut on leveraging it to actually grow your organization?

We see leaders experimenting with (free) AI tools in order to (mostly) save time on writing or editing. Sounds reasonable, certainly — but can you use it to fundamentally change your business? And what about protecting your business from the risks?

Join Randall Craig for an informal (and informative) session on using AI within your organization.

Join Randall Craig for a year-end Growth Planning session.

As you close up Q4, are there specific things that you can do to ramp up business growth for next year? Are you open to new ideas that can make the difference between real success? And are there important market changes that you can capitalize on moving forward?

Join Randall Craig as he shares specific business growth activities that you can put into place now, that will make a difference in the coming year. (And also a few that you might want to ditch.)

One of the biggest drivers of business growth is Digital Strategy. But you already have a website, email, social media, marketing automation, and CRM. The fundamental question is whether your digital investments are yielding the results that you expect. Is the juice worth the squeeze?:

• Are they working together to actually drive business? Or are they disconnected silos of technology.

• Will AI be just another “bolt-on”, like social media and other shiny digital objects from the past?

• And how does what you have now build your reputation as a thought leader, improve engagement, and improve trust in your brand?

We will focus on building your business with inbound marketing and content.

Marketing takes time, costs money, and it doesn’t exist in a vacuum: your competition is ALSO doing it, and the marketplace is confused: where should they place their time, attention, and money?

So how can you “get it right”?

In this session, Randall Craig discusses a new marketing approach that CAN build competitive differentiation for your organization.

This session aims to provide new perspectives on how to incorporate greater efficiencies into your operations and processes so that your growth will be smoother – and faster. Topics include:

•  Business management processes,

•  Improving productivity,

•  Getting the right people in the right seats and much more shared by Randall in this episode!

One of the biggest drivers of business growth is Digital Strategy. But you already have a website, email, social media, marketing automation, and CRM. The fundamental question is whether your digital investments are yielding the results that you expect.

Listen in to hear how we approach our digital strategy and inbound marketing.

Marketing takes time, costs money, and it doesn’t exist in a vacuum: your competition is ALSO doing it, and the marketplace is confused: where should they place their time, attention, and money?

So how can you “get it right”?

In this session, Randall Craig discusses a new marketing approach that CAN build competitive differentiation for your organization.

Listen to Randall's thoughts on gaining a competitive edge in the market!

No matter where your culture is now, is there a way to do better? In this session, Randall Craig shares  practical tools and strategies to turn your corporate culture into one that retains and attracts talent, drives your business, and improves the quality of your deliverables.

Topics discussed include:

• Managing virtual teams

• Modelling desired behaviours for virtual teams

• Hiring for work from home teams

• Recording meetings and how it impacts social relationships

• Boundary setting, expectations, and communication.

This session discusses alternative CPD/CE delivery methods.

• Learn about the pros and cons of various training options, when you should offer training altogether, and new ideas on generating alignment while upskilling your team.

• Have you considered the impact if everyone had access to all of the training, throughout the year?

• All of this and more in this episode!

Today we are talking about leadership retreats. “The offsite.” “The team-building getaway.” Whatever your organization calls it, it is a HUGE investment of time and money – the planning, the coordination – not to mention time away from work. In theory, they are a tremendous opportunity to generate alignment and motivate your team, but why are some retreats transformational, yet others yield no significant impact?

To talk about this gap is hall of fame business speaker Randall Craig who has presented at countless retreats.

Does your training investment really generate results? Does it truly align with your organization’s strategy? Does it address the “real” problem you are trying to solve? And is the training reinforced throughout the organization, or is it a disconnected “one-and-done” exercise?

Listen in as Randall Craig talks about the pros and cons of various training options, when you should offer training altogether, and new ideas on generating alignment while upskilling your team.

•  How “good” is your corporate culture? Is it high-performing?

•  Is it fully in sync with your external brand?

•  No matter where your culture is now, is there a way to do better?

For many organizations, hybrid and work-from-home are here to stay, but how can leaders build a strong culture, and ensure that team members are accountable when they're not in the office?

Part of this is developing new standards for communication, collaboration, and engagement. Most of it is sharing with managers new tools and techniques to do their job: management.

Listen in to learn more, and pick up some practical tips that can help.

This session discusses our latest insights on delivering CPD/CE.

•  Learn about the pros and cons of various training options, when you should offer training altogether, and new ideas on generating alignment while upskilling your team.

•  Have you considered the impact if everyone had access to all of the training, throughout the year?

•  All of this and more in this episode!

In this episode, we are talking about leadership retreats. “The offsite.” “The team-building getaway.”

Whatever your organization calls it, it is a HUGE investment of time and money – the planning, the coordination – not to mention time away from work.

In theory, they are a tremendous opportunity to generate alignment and motivate your team, but why are some retreats transformational, yet others yield no significant impact?

Advisory boards are huge in private companies, but many still don’t have one in place. Some leaders are unclear on how to set one up, but recognize there is a need for on-demand advice. What then?

Join Randall Craig – experienced on both sides of the equation as CEO, and as a board member – for an insightful hour on how to leverage an advisory board to take your company’s growth to new heights.

Here is an insightful hour on how to leverage an advisory board to take your company’s growth to
new heights.

Does your training investment really generate results? Does it truly align with your organization’s strategy? Does it address the “real” problem you are trying to solve? And is the training reinforced throughout the organization, or is it a disconnected “one-and-done” exercise?

Listen in as Randall Craig talks about the pros and cons of various training options, when you should offer training altogether, and new ideas on generating alignment while upskilling your team.

You are planning a conference and you want it to be as successful as possible. In today’s Informed Decisions Q&A session, we’ll offer some fresh ideas and insider perspective to help you create a truly memorable conference.

Join Randall Craig, Hall of Fame speaker, who has presented at and attended 500+ events, to explore topics such as:

(And for associations: Using the event to improve member engagement beyond the event itself: Improved retention, future event registrations, online engagement, etc.)

In this session, we will hear Randall talk about Leadership Insights on Business Development for Firms.

•  Growing your firm through thought leadership.

•  Navigating the time investment required to create thought leadership vs the pressures of billable hours

•  The shared responsibilities of Marketing, HR, and IT in the bus dev process, and

•  Business development training opportunities for professional services.

Partnerships are tremendously valuable in your business growth strategy.

They can be used for virtually anything: delivery in areas you don’t have experience in, to help cover an operational blindspot, for referrals and direct growth, to complete a product offering, affiliate deals, gainsharing, licensing… need we say more?

So let’s take the hour to talk strategy and tactics for developing win-win partnerships.

Associations are under constant pressure to do more with less, to offer increasing value to members, while also creating additional revenue.

Yet the association business model is under assault: a tough economy has taken its toll on membership revenues, younger prospective members are “nibblers” not joiners, and convention revenues are no longer reliable.

Join CSAE Griner Award recipient Randall Craig for a conversation and new thinking on association business models.

"You did a good job of highlighting and identifying some different modalities and strengths associated with them. It gives me some added confidence in understanding when to apply them, and gives me the tools and the language to have conversations and make decisions." - Nicklaus Csuzdi, Sr. Manager Strategy and Communications, Hands TheFamilyHelpNetwork.ca

"Really insightful. There are things I hadn't considered. I though it was great and I appreciate it." – Darla Wright, American Association of Veterinary State Boards

"I was incredibly impressed how you made the whole thing a constant learning process – so valuable." – Jason Croft, Media Leads

"Great guidance on what's important." – John DiBenedetto, Cmind Inc.

"Brilliant insights, thank you!" – Donald Cooper, The Donald Cooper Corporation

"Thank you for the ideas and tips!" – Kayce Halstead, Association of Clinical Endocrinology

"Great session!" – Nicole Blankenship, Board Member, Well Child Centre

"Thank you SO much. Very thoughtful session. This has given me lots of ideas." – Viviana Urdaneta Melo, Board Member, EMDR International Association

“This was great!” – Bob Lank, Lank Consulting Group

"Thank you so much Randall and Ronja! Such an information rich conversation!" – Aida Benkirane, Burnout Prevention Specialist, 9 Coaching

“This is very valuable.” – Cam Clark, Pattison Media

“Everything was detailed. Thank you for the detail and sharing the thought process.” – Colleen Krebs, Director of Business Solutions at Women's Enterprise Centre of Manitoba

“ I really enjoy it. I find it really high value. I love the interaction between Ronja and Randall, and I had a lot of questions answered – thank you so much! - Geralyn Ochab, Augmentr Inc.

“[Randall and Ronja] do a g-r-e-a-t job to make learning sessions successful.   I like how Ronja has prepared questions, and also welcomes the group's input.  Randall is brilliant at anything on which he opines – truly helpful. Well done. Thank you.” – Lyn McDonell, The Accountability Group, Inc.

"I've enjoyed the discussion, this was good, thank you." – Jerry Cukier, Crowe Soberman

"Thank you, good information." – David Barned, Master Fluid Solutions

“I really do enjoy the monthly calls.  One thing that has become clear for me is how you need to be very intentionally about all of this. These are all good things to be thinking about which I hadn’t really put too much thought to. Ronja is so well prepared and excellent at facilitation! Very helpful – thank you very much! ” – Leona Wilson, Armillary Business Group Corp

“I’m grateful for such a varying and engaging discussion – thank you! ”
– Elizabeth, Endocrine Society

“Many good questions from Ronja and great discussion.” – Scott Sugden

"I want to thank you very much Randall, and Ronja for your facilitating. A lot of stuff percolating over here so I really appreciate it." – Randall Ettinger, Real Estate Investment & Development, Tiger 21 Montreal Chair

"Thank you for all your advice and insights Randall! Thank you Ronja for organizing and hosting the event!" – Meagan Khan, Business Development Manager Association Municipalities of Ontario

"Everything is now ironed out! Thank you! Everything I learned is very empowering; everything Ronja had to say was very enlightening, and everything Randall had to say was enlightening. I look forward to more of these sessions." – Sherley-Ann Belleus, Founder of Passaggio LLC

"I want to thank you very much Randall, and Ronja for your facilitating. A lot of stuff percolating over here so I really appreciate it."
– Randall Ettinger,
Real Estate Investment & Development,
Tiger 21 Montreal Chair

"I was incredibly impressed how you made the whole thing a constant learning process – so valuable."
– Jason Croft
Media Leads

"Great guidance on what's important."
– John DiBenedetto
Cmind Inc.

"Brilliant insights, thank you!"
– Donald Cooper
The Donald Cooper Corporation

"Thank you for the ideas and tips!"
– Kayce Halstead, Association of Clinical Endocrinology

"Great session!"
– Nicole Blankenship
Board Member, Well Child Centre

"Thank you SO much. Very thoughtful session. This has given me lots of ideas."
– Viviana Urdaneta Melo, Board Member, 
EMDR International Association

“I really enjoy it. I find it really high value. I love the interaction between Ronja and Randall, and I had a lot of questions answered – thank you so much!“
– Geralyn Ochab
Augmentr Inc.

“This was great!”
– Bob Lank,
Lank Consulting Group

“[Randall and Ronja] do a g-r-e-a-t job to make learning sessions successful.   I like how Ronja has prepared questions, and also welcomes the group's input.  Randall is brilliant at anything on which he opines – truly helpful. Well done. Thank you.”
– Lyn McDonell,
The Accountability Group, Inc.

"I've enjoyed the discussion, this was good, thank you."
– Jerry Cukier,
Crowe Soberman

"Thank you, good information."
– David Barned
Master Fluid Solutions

“Very helpful – thank you very much!”
– Leona Wilson
Armillary Business Group Corp

“I’m grateful for such a varying and engaging discussion – thank you! ”
– Elizabeth
Endocrine Society

“Many good questions from Ronja and great discussion.”
– Scott Sugden

“This is very valuable.”
– Cam Clark
Pattison Media