Join us in today’s podcast episode 135 where we discuss the importance of “value” in business and how that translates to community.   My guest today is Richard Thompson, CEO of Factory LLC in south Bethlehem, PA. 

Richard helped create over $3 billion in enterprise value as CEO of American Italian Pasta Company, The Meow Mix Company and Freshpet. He has deep operational experience across multiple disciplines, having helped build each of these organizations, including marketing and sales, manufacturing, supply chain and distribution, and innovation infrastructure, and he has supervised the design and construction of 7 manufacturing facilities. With CPG start-ups, one home run can be a lifetime achievement. Rich has helped achieve three of them and he’s on his fourth.

Listen in to his story.

Do you find yourself sleeping with your phone?  When you wake up do you grab your phone before your feet hit the floor? Do you find yourself sneaking out of the office with the “smokers” crowd just to check in on your social media?  Do you bring your phone to the dinner table? Do you go to sleep with your phone on and scrolling through videos or posts?

If you answered yes to two or more of theses questions, then this post is for you.  Now lets get to the the questions that need your focus.

1. Do you want to be in a health happy relationship?
2. Do you want to sleep better?
3. Do you want your body to be in its optimal shape?

Too much technology and all the constant digital distractions are effecting our mind and our body.  In his latest book “Digital Minimalist”, Cal Newport says, “Our current relationship with the technologies of our hyper-connected world is unsustainable and is leading us closer to the quiet desperation that Thoreau observed so many years ago. But as Thoreau reminds us, ‘the sun rose clear’ and we still have the ability to change this state of affairs.

To do so, however, we cannot passively allow the wild tangle of tools, entertainments, and distractions provided by the internet age to dictate how we spend our time or how we feel. We must indeed take steps to extract the good from these technologies while sidestepping what’s bad. We require a philosophy that puts our aspirations and values once again in charge of our daily experience, all the while dethroning primal whims and the business models of Silicon Valley from their current dominance of this role; a philosophy that accepts new technologies, but not if the price is the dehumanization Andrew Sullivan warned us about; a philosophy that prioritizes long-term meaning over short-term satisfaction.  A philosophy, in other words, like digital minimalism.”

Finding a balance can be a challenge especially if you work in a field that requires constant connection.  If you are ready to become a “digital minimalist” grab a copy of Cal Newport’s book and reach out to us at MYSmatters.com.  We help people and companies develop the right balance of communication online and offline.  We look forward to helping you.

Kim Polman is an international public speaker, a polymath and a citizen of the world. She has been an environmentalist for many decades, has taught music, performs as cellist in chamber groups and orchestras, has initiated research on expats and ran a community-based website for the expat community in Geneva.

Chairman and Founder of Reboot the Future

Kim is a Vice chair of a charity dedicated to literacy for the blind and the visually impaired children in east Africa. She is an avid advocate of The Golden Rule ~ Treat others and the planet as you would wish to be treated ~ which is how she got to co-author the first book called Imaginal Cells – Visions of Transformation, and established Reboot the Future Foundation.

In 2016, Kim Polman and Stephen Vasconcellos-Sharpe invited 25 of the world’s most respected leaders and thinkers to build potential roadmaps across business and government, based on understanding the potential power of the Golden Rule.

The result was a landmark book, Imaginal Cells: Visions of Transformation. An exhilarating, thought-provoking anthology that explores how a compassionate approach to business, politics and the environment can transform our planet.

It asked: What happens when we let the Golden Rule guide us to shift our thinking and behavior?

Motivated and supported by the inspiration and leadership of the authors, including Al Gore, Paul Polman, Desmond Tutu, Muhammad Yunus and many more, Reboot the Future was founded to take up their unifying cause.

It is our honor to introduce you to Kim Polman and Reboot The Future.  The team here at Master Your Story is thrilled to be in the company of such great visionaries, world leaders and people who care about humanity and the planet. Please enjoy our conversation and for more information log on to rebootthefuture.org