EIL 19: Business Excellence Beyond Skills and Talent with Panos Papadopoulos

04/28/23 • 25 min

Growing up in poverty in his native Greece and later on moving to Sweden at the age of 18, Panos Papadopoulos created an extremely successful swimwear design label from scratch in his new country. The company, named Panos Emporio after its founder, is today represented in more than 30 countries and has a loyal following by royalties, pop stars, and celebrities from all over the world. Ethics and morale are two important issues in the work for Panos. Panos Emporio has very high standards regarding these matters, and Panos is well-known for doing his part to help society in difficult matters. Panos is not only a successful fashion designer. He has large amounts of skills in many different areas for he is also a CEO, a leading trendsetter, a celebrity, and a pioneer in marketing and PR. This episode will enlighten you on the power of communication—an open and honest one—in creating relationships that are anchored in trust and loyalty, so make sure you have your pens and pads ready. Why you have to check out this episode ⦁ Learn from a brave life adventurer how he’s able to grow organically through hard work and establishing relationships and/or connections; ⦁ Understand the importance of being honest, open, and true to your customers and/or clients in relation to building a good and two-way beneficial partnership with them; ⦁ Find out how important passion, love, and respect are in your journey towards big success

“Talk to them, be honest, show them the reality, and they will help.” – Panos Papadopoulos Topics Covered 00:27 – A reflection of the past: How Panos’ childhood influenced his attitude and his business success 06:42 – The reason why I’m here today: Panos shares the story behind his book entitled “My Life, My Odyssey” 09:29 – Tip on how to create good business partnerships in a new country when you’re totally alone: Be as normal and as natural as possible 11:17 – It’s about trust: On having the feeling that he’s creating partnerships with the right people 16:50 – The importance of open and honest communication: Panos shares how he gets his customers to help him spread the word about his business 19:06 – Good quality of good fitting: When people buy something and it makes them feel very confident and great, they will never leave that brand 23:07 – Passion + Love + Respect = Big Success: Three words from Panos’ values that highly influenced his business attitude Key Takeaways “Being good people is to take care of yourself, but also to the simple things that maybe is not so easy today—to give respect to other people around you.” “To start a business from zero and be in a new country alone, totally alone, it's not so easy. But my business plan, my idea, was to be as normal, as natural as possible, because that's what I think is best.” “A partnership is very important, like a friendship. Because sometimes, you have to argue, you have to fight, you have different opinions. We have production, some issues. But I used to say, friendship, to be honest, we have a common goal. You have to make money when we work together, and I have to make money, so let's try to solve the problems together. It's not my problem; it's our problem. So, always communicate.” “If not good connection, not good understanding, go away; don’t stay.” People/Resources Mentioned ⦁ My Life, My Odyssey – https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/1911687123/ref=cm_sw_em_r_mt_dp_HZMH7MAX5KX7K8K9WCH8 Connect with Panos Papadopoulos ⦁ Website:⦁ http://www.houseofpanos.se/ ⦁ LinkedIn:⦁ https://www.linkedin.com/in/panos-papadopoulos-66953720/ ⦁ Instagram:⦁ https://www.instagram.com/panosofficial/

Connect with Dr. Katrina Burrus

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/katrinaburrus/
Website: https://mkbconseil.ch/contact/

Connect with Dr. Katrina Burrus

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/katrinaburrus/
Website: https://mkbconseil.ch/contact/

Previous Episode

EIL18: Lead with Your Heart and NOT with Your Title: Winning Leadership Strategies with Mike Manazir

Mike Manazir is the author of the Amazon best-seller, “Learn How to Lead to Win”, released in January 2023. He is a retired Rear Admiral who served 36 years in the U.S. Navy. He qualified to fly F-14 Tomcats and F-18 Super Hornets, is a Top Gun Graduate, and commanded a fighter squadron, two ships including command of the aircraft carrier, USS NIMITZ. Mike had five tours in the Pentagon and is now an executive with a Fortune 100 Aerospace and Defense Company.

In this episode, Mike talks to us about the importance of communication and human connection in leaders, as he stresses how we can get better results if we “lead with our hearts and not with our titles”.

Why you have to check out today’s podcast:

Learn how you can make connections with up to thousands of crew as a leader Find out why it is essential that you keep your tone, energy, and passion lively in order to boost the morale of your team Understand the importance of “looking at the other side of the coin”, and why you should delegate and not micromanage

“If you lead with your title, you're going to get less results from your team. If you lead from your heart and you're inclusive with each member of the team...you will get more high-powered results.”

– Mike Manazir

Topics Covered:

00:26 – Lead with your heart, not with your titles: What inspired Mike to write his book, “Learn how to Lead to Win”

03:45 – It’s about communication and connection: How leading 300 people differs from leading 10,000 people

09:12 – You can create connection even through a speaker: How Mike learned that his tone and energy on the 1MC had impacts on his crew

11:16 – Whatever the mission is, just put “mission”: How Mike relates leadership in the military to leadership in the corporate world

15:33 – It’s all about connecting with human beings: The key learnings in Mike’s career as a leader that he communicates in his book

22:28 – Look at the other side of the coin: How Mike addresses people who are not doing what they’re expected to do

27:46 – Delegate, and not micromanage: What leadership advice Mike would give to his younger self

Key Takeaways:

“You over communicate whenever you go out. You connect with people. You bring people together.”

“Everybody wants to be recognized. Everybody wants to feel valued for what they do. Everybody wants to feel a purpose. Everybody on that ship joined the Navy to serve something bigger than themselves.”

“You can create a connection, a human connection, even through only a speaker.”

“If you get to a point where you don't want to disappoint them and they don't want to disappoint you, you can do anything. Anything.”

“Leadership is about plagiarism. You plagiarize all of the good habits that great leaders do.”

People / Resources Mentioned:

Learn How to Lead to Win: 33 Powerful Stories and Leadership Lessons - https://www.amazon.com/Learn-How-Lead-Win-Leadership/dp/B0BRZ7DWS8
The 21 Irrefutable Laws of Leadership: Follow Them, and People Will Follow You - https://www.amazon.com/21-Irrefutable-Laws-Leadership-Anniversary/dp/0785288376
How to Win Friends and Influence People - https://www.amazon.com/How-Win-Friends-Influence-People/dp/0671027034

Connect with Mike Manazir:

Website: www.mikemanazir.com

Connect with Dr. Katrina Burrus

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/katrinaburrus/
Website: https://mkbconseil.ch/contact/

Next Episode

EIL 20: Living an Earned Life: Navigating the Path to Fulfillment with Marshall Goldsmith

Are you guilty of putting a ‘when’ condition on your happiness, that you won’t find yourself being genuinely happy unless you achieve this, this, and that? The great Western myth of “I’ll be happy when...” has greatly affected people worldwide that lots of people have now associated their value to their accomplishments or their actions’ results. We all want to be happy but don't always know how, and at some point, it just led to this. But what happens if you have achieved numerous accomplishments already, and yet, you’re still feeling empty? Or worse—what if your time has come to an end already, and yet, you haven’t lived the life you deserve to live happily, just because you’re so fixated on wanting more, more, and more from what you’ve already achieved? There’s nothing wrong with accomplishing goals; what shouldn’t be done is making your wins an equivalent of your value as a human being. Join us as we learn how to live the earned life with today’s guest, Marshall Goldsmith. Dr. Marshall Goldsmith is the #1 New York Times bestselling author of 'What Got You Here Won't Get You There', 'Triggers', and 'The Earned Life'. His books have sold over 2 million copies. He's the only Thinkers50 two-time #1 Leadership Thinker in the World. Before being inducted into the Hall of Fame, he was the top-ranked executive coach for ten years. Why you have to check out this episode

Learn to align your aspirations, ambitions, and actions;
Understand why you should never fixate on results and enjoy the process instead; and
Find out why you should learn to let go of the addiction to putting a when on your happiness and just live life as happy as you can be every moment

“There’s nothing wrong with the achievement. I’m not saying they should stop trying to achieve; that’s not going to happen anyway. On the other hand, never place your value as a person on the outcomes of what you achieve...You're not going to be happier when you spend more time with the family. You're not going to be happier when you do different work. Key to being happy is to be happy.” – Marshall Goldsmith Topics Covered 00:30 – Dr. Marshall answers: Why do leaders need coaching, even if they’re already very successful? 02:04 – What coaching can do for a very successful leader: Dr. Marshall discusses what makes his coaching unique and different from other coaches 04:24 – To be better people with the people they care for: On making sure behavior change exists along with a better life during the Life Plan Review coaching 10:27 – Dr. Marshall’s Stakeholder Centered Coaching process explained: “I only work with people that care” 16:35 – The Earned Life: Discussing how we need higher aspirations in life, how our ambitions are related to our achievements, and why we need to enjoy the process 20:03 – “Never place your value as a human on the outcomes of what you achieve”: How Dr. Marshall helps people let go of addiction to the Western myth of ‘when’ happiness 24:22 – The marshmallow story: Sharing the story behind Dr. Marshall’s decision to write his latest book, ‘The Earned Life’ 26:16 – “They did it, not me”: On people who study and teach Dr. Marshall’s stuff starting a school and other people using his stuff 27:16 – The new project: What Dr. Marshall has been working on recently 31:37 – A piece of advice, from Dr. Marshall, to coaches and leaders Key Takeaways “As I changed in my coaching and my clients became more and more successful, I began to realize that more achievement is not what they need; they need to be happy and make peace with life.” “One of the people in our group is Safi Bahcall. Safi Bahcall is a brilliant scientist. He said, “I finally realized something. Happiness and achievement are independent variables. Achieve to achieve, and be happy to be happy. Achievement is not going to make you happy.”” People/Resources Mentioned The Earned Life https://marshallgoldsmith.com/book-page-the-earned-life/ Connect with Marshall Goldsmith