Elzie Flenard, Enterprise NOW – InnovaBuzz 246
Elzie Flenard, Enterprise NOW
In this episode, I’m really excited to have as my guest, Elzie Flenard of Enterprise Now. Elzie is a business leader, an entrepreneur, a creative, a coach and a speaker. He has coached basketball teams, run a music recording and production company and today is host of the Enterprise NOW podcast, the Life.me podcast and runs a podcast agency that provides production, training and coaching services.
In our discussion, Elzie and I talked about:
- Lessons from the world of basketball that he applies to business
- Failure is only a temporary state and provides valuable lessons
- Storytelling and the 3 Cs – connection, cultivation and communication
Erica Castner in episode 132 introduced us to Elzie.
Listen to the podcast to find out more.
Listen to the Podcast
Podcasting is a great way to connect, cultivate, and communicate. @ElzieFlenard on #InnovaBuzz podcast Click To Tweet
Show Notes from this episode with Elzie Flenard of Enterprise NOW
Key points and takeaways from this episode include:
- Failure is not a permanent state. It’s a temporary thing.
- Music, podcasting, and speaking are ways of telling a story.
- Connecting gives you an opportunity to tell the best story.
- A narrative and story are two different things. A narrative is a scene, an emotion, a perspective, a frame of reference, and a mindset that is shaped around an experience. It is all things around that moment and that connection.
- When you have a good connection and a great narrative, your story starts to resonate with people and creates an impact.
- Podcasting is telling the story of your brand.
- People tend to connect with people they know, like, and trust.
- Podcasting is a great way to connect, cultivate, and communicate.
- Connect, Cultivate, and Communicate – if you can do these 3 things, you’re going to see success and return on your investment for your business.
- One of the biggest things with podcasting is you have to do it correctly. It’s a lot of work so you have to be aware enough to know which parts are you willing to do yourself and which parts you might want to get help with.
- Be strategic and intentional about how you are presenting your brand.
- Don’t try to do everything yourself. Get a coach. There are people out there who are really passionate about this work and have done all the learnings. Get somebody who can walk you through these things and can teach you how to spend your precious time learning the things they have already learned.
- Focus on your WHY. It is what will keep you going when things get hard. Understand why you’re doing what you’re doing and it will carry you through the tough times.
- Part of being in business is giving back and paying it forward.
- Your job as a host is to make the guest feel comfortable. You have to get them to share things that they have not shared before on other places and craft the narrative in a way that when your listeners hear the episode, they will know, like, and trust your guest.
- Craft the conversation in a way that translates well to your listeners and continue building that relationship with them.
- Your podcast needs to be more than just a show. You have to be intentional about the questions you ask. Pay more attention to quality. Be strategic, deliberate, and intentional.
- Podcasters need to continue to learn and grow. We need to increase our production value and think about how we can collaborate more in order to remain relevant and take advantage of where podcasting is going.
- You learn a lot from collaborating, sharing, and exchanging ideas with your counterparts.
- Innovation works both ways. The moment you stand still, you begin to fall behind.
- Being authentic to your WHY, your voice, and the value you provide is the best way to grow that listenership. Be strategic about the value you are providing and keep doing that in a consistent way.
- People want to hear from you so building your email list is important. Continue to cultivate the relationship but don’t overdo it.
Your podcast needs to be more than just a show. You have to be intentional about the questions you ask. Pay more attention to quality. Be strategic, deliberate, and intentional. @ElzieFlenard on #InnovaBuzz podcast Click To Tweet
The Buzz – Our Innovation Round
Here are Elzie’s answers to the questions of our Innovation round. Listen to the interview to get the full scoop.
- #1 thing to be more innovative – Pay attention. Follow the trends. Listen to what people are saying.
- Best thing for new ideas – Thinking about things and writing them down on sticky notes/whiteboard. Listening to my clients and being self-aware.
- Favourite tool for innovation – Sticky Notes.
- Keep project / client on track – Hold them accountable. Help them see the importance of being focused and that getting things done on time is important. Hold them accountable for what they said they are going to do.
- Differentiate – Connect and tell your story. Share your perspectives and leverage your creativity.
To Be a Leader
Put your goals in stone and your plans in sand. Your goals are going to be the same no matter what that is, but how you get there is not going to be a straight line. Be an authentic expert.
Reach Out
You can reach out and thank Elzie through his website and email.
Suggested Guest
Elzie suggested I interview Paul Neuberger, The Cold Call Coach. So Paul, keep an eye on your inbox for an invitation from us to the InnovaBuzz podcast, courtesy of Elzie Flenard.
Links
- Website– Elzie Flenard
- Website – Enterprise NOW
- Enterprise NOW Podcast
- Life.me Podcast
- Twitter – @ElzieFlenard
Cool things about Elzie
- He was the owner of Milwaukee Blast, a professional basketball team that played in the American Basketball Association.
- He’s an Accredited Small Business Consultant of the ASBC.
- He holds an MBA in Business Administration and Management from Caroll University.
Put your goals in stone and your plans in sand. @ElzieFlenard on #InnovaBuzz podcast Click To Tweet