Business Ethics, Walk the Talk

This month, Blake is joined by Brian Peckrill of the McGowan foundation to discuss how they are teaching Business Ethics to a select group MBA students each year and the changes they hope it will bring to the C-Suite.

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Blake and Josh sit down to discuss what he has learned throughout his time as a journalist, fundraiser, and business professional and how they all require communicating ethically.
BBB Landing Page: https://www.bbb.org/local-bbb/bbb-in-nebraska-south-dakota-kansas-plains-and-sw-iowa
BBB Torch Award for Ethical Businesses: https://www.bbb.org/local/0714/torch-awards.html
About the guest, Josh Planos:
Josh Planos is the Director of Public Relations and Communications at the Better Business Bureau Serving Nebraska, South Dakota, the Kansas Plains and Southwest Iowa. He previously served as the Director of Strategic Communications and Marketing at Grand Island Public Schools, the Assistant Director of Communications at the University of Nebraska Foundation, and the Digital Editor at KETV NewsWatch 7. Planos has an extensive background in strategic communications and marketing, and was captain of the speech team at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, where he earned a bachelor’s degree in advertising and public relations.
His writing has been published in the New York Times, Washington Post, Wall Street Journal, Sports Illustrated and FiveThirtyEight, among other publications.

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Do you know how to navigate the line between a non-profit organization and finding ways to create revenue? In this episode of "Walk the Talk," Blake sits down with the remarkable Steve Warren, a true pioneer in addressing the needs of kids here in Omaha. Both a Husker and an NFL Player, Steve has spent his life pushing the boundaries of what he was capable of, both physically and now as a business leader with no “formal training.”
Learn about the human spirit that has led to nearly 20 years of kids being able to live the DREAM. Join Blake as we listen to the challenges, and profound insights that have shaped his successes and how to balance Non-Profit and For-Profit organizations together.

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On this episode, Blake and Van sit down to discuss reinventing yourself both in business, and personally.
Van's Website: https://vandeeb.com/
Van's new book: https://vandeeb.com/baxter-my-first-dog-at-59/
Book Van to speak at your company: https://vandeeb.com/speaking/
Big Omaha Realty: https://bigomaharealty.com/
About Van,
Van Deeb is the country’s foremost expert on building relationships and is dedicated to helping others become successful in the sales and service industry. He has inspired tens of thousands of professionals throughout the country to succeed through his motivational and informative keynote speeches, workshops, speaking events, newsletters, and books.

Van learned from an early age that if he wanted something, he was going to have to work for it. Growing up, Van was nonconforming, rebellious and had his own agenda. A turning point in his life was making the football team at University of Nebraska-Omaha, after being told he was not “cut out for it.” Making the football team ahead of some of his all-state high school teammates gave Van the mindset that with drive, desire, and determination you can accomplish anything you want in life. That is Van’s main message.
After college, Van left his hometown to attend a real estate specialty school in Dallas, Texas and discovered his passion, the real estate business. Over the next 10 years, Van won more than 100 regional and national sales awards as a successful real estate agent in Dallas. Van decided to returnhome to Omaha, Nebraska. Three of the Omaha’s top real estate firms aggressively recruited Van, but he was determined to build his own firm. When he launched DEEB Realty in 1993, Van worked as the sole agent from the basement of his home. In just 15 years, Van grew DEEB Realty to over 350 agents, making it one of the largest independent firms in the United States.
The success of the company relied heavily on Van’s ‘people first’ philosophy. By providing superior training and setting agent-friendly policies, DEEB Realty flourished. With his leadership and direction, DEEB Realty developed a reputation as having a work environment and culture that was unmatchable in the industry. Van revolutionized the way real estate companies were managed and many firms have adopted the practices and procedures he created.

That same passion Van developed for real estate in 1983 has now shifted to helping others achieve the same success. Over the last 20 years Van has been speaking to sales and servicepeople, business owners and leaders across the country empowering them to become successful and incorporating the attitude: “There is nothing I can’t do with the proper mindset, drive and determination.”

Van’s philosophy about focusing on the basics and fundamentals continues to motivate, inspire and guide professionals to realize their full potential. Van is one of the very few national speakers and trainers that has “been there and done that.”
Amongst his peers, Van is recognized as ‘The Real Deal’. He will connect with everyone in the audience and do it with a little humor, usually at his own expense. Van’s audiences rave about his enthusiasm, passion and ability to motivate others. Van truly cares about your success.

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In this episode, Blake and Brigitte sit down to talk about her experiences as a founder and executive director of a non-profit, and how that relates to the business community.
They also touch on Brigitte's article in published on Medium, (link below) and how our world has changed in the past couple of years. Brigitte speaks on new-found corporate social responsibilities that are taking center stage, but questions some of their merit.
Be sure to check out her art collective, The Union, here: https://www.u-ca.org/about
Link to Brigitte's article: https://brigitte-mcqueen.medium.com/
About Brigitte:
Originally from Detroit, Brigitte earned her degree in Journalism from St. John’s University in New York City. She has worked in advertising, as a pastry chef and spent 10 years in publishing as a Production Manager with Teen People magazine. After adopting Omaha as her home in 2006, she opened a commercial gallery, called PULP. As its Curator, she showcased the work of local and international contemporary artists. Following her desire to better support Omaha’s arts community through non-profit work, Brigitte became the Manager of the Underground at The Bemis Center for Contemporary Arts in 2010. While there, she helped to develop exhibitions and programs that extended the organizations mission to support exceptional talent to the arts community of Omaha. In January 2011, she left The Bemis to further pursue her commitment to cultivating the arts in the community and founded The Union for Contemporary Art.
In addition to her life within The Union, Brigitte is actively involved with the Kent Bellows Studio and Center for Visual Arts, Friends of Planned Parenthood of the Heartland, The Joslyn Museum‘s Community Engagement Committee, Emerging Terrain‘s Events Committee and Filmstream‘s Community Development Committee. She also occasionally gets to bake, knit, quilt and renovate her 99 year old home in North Omaha.

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