129 episodes

Welcome to The Third Growth Option, a podcast for and by business owners and leaders. We share ideas and insights that help you in your growth journey. In our podcast guests, we look for heart, curiosity, and the desire to share growth lessons. No platitudes and cliches, but stories about growth or tools that helped grow a business or improve the industry or become a better leader, and how they came to embrace an insight. During three decades as a merchant and entrepreneur your host Benno Duenkelsbuehler has built and scaled many growth opportunities from zero (or something) to 8-figure (or bigger) thriving businesses. Our guests are battle-proven leaders in product design, in manufacturing or product sourcing, in marketing and brand building, in operational, technology and executive leadership positions.Want to learn more? Follow us on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/realignexpansionsherpas/Follow Benno on LinkedIn : https://www.linkedin.com/in/benno1/orCheckout https://realignforresults.com/

The Third Growth Option with Benno Duenkelsbuehler and Guests Benno Duenkelsbuehler

    • Business
    • 5.0 • 11 Ratings

Welcome to The Third Growth Option, a podcast for and by business owners and leaders. We share ideas and insights that help you in your growth journey. In our podcast guests, we look for heart, curiosity, and the desire to share growth lessons. No platitudes and cliches, but stories about growth or tools that helped grow a business or improve the industry or become a better leader, and how they came to embrace an insight. During three decades as a merchant and entrepreneur your host Benno Duenkelsbuehler has built and scaled many growth opportunities from zero (or something) to 8-figure (or bigger) thriving businesses. Our guests are battle-proven leaders in product design, in manufacturing or product sourcing, in marketing and brand building, in operational, technology and executive leadership positions.Want to learn more? Follow us on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/realignexpansionsherpas/Follow Benno on LinkedIn : https://www.linkedin.com/in/benno1/orCheckout https://realignforresults.com/

    Growth Between Comfort- and Panic Zones, with John Baines

    Growth Between Comfort- and Panic Zones, with John Baines

    John Baines, a remarkable leader who ascended from engineer to president by the age of 29, shares his compelling journey to growth by embracing the unfamiliar, the uncomfortable, and even the panic-inducing aspects of leadership. John offers invaluable insights into leadership evolution. 
    In our reflective dialogue, we delve into the iceberg metaphor of personal development and leadership, emphasizing the hidden depths where our true selves reside. Navigating beyond the surface requires conscious effort, encouraging self-discovery, questioning, seeking, and being open to both giving and receiving advice. 

    • 40 min
    Blueprint for Growth: Go as Yourself - with Jeffrey Sackenheim

    Blueprint for Growth: Go as Yourself - with Jeffrey Sackenheim

    The blueprint-to-finished-building analogies are unavoidable when speaking both personal and corporate growth, with Jeffrey Sackenheim, the visionary CEO of SHP. Jeff is an architect's architect, and he's turning a 123-year-old design and architecture firm into a national trailblazer in educational design in both a humble and talented way. 

    Jeff's journey from hands-on architect to leading a firm with adaptability and innovation, punctuated by resilience and strategic foresight, gives insight into both the human side of architectural design and the importance of authenticity to fuel the evolution of a business within ever-changing landscapes. 

    Don't miss this conversation that connects the personal with the professional, a symphony of lessons in strategic growth and genuine leadership.

    • 27 min
    Changing Lanes - Career Growth Perspectives with David Garascia

    Changing Lanes - Career Growth Perspectives with David Garascia

    Listen to David Garascia, a seasoned consumer products commercial leader with a $3.5B sales record, share his secrets of successful sales strategies, growth perspectives and the importance of occasionally changing lanes. He'll walk us through the fundamentals of sales, from the importance of consistency and follow-up to influencing actions through words. Garascia understands the art of persuasion, importance of staying curious, and the necessity of distilling knowledge - insights that are invaluable in today's competitive business landscape.

    • 29 min
    A CEO's Growth Mindset, Discomfort, Other Leadership Tools with Gavin Marks

    A CEO's Growth Mindset, Discomfort, Other Leadership Tools with Gavin Marks

    Gavin Marks is the forward-thinking CEO and Lightbulb Moment Igniter of DM Merchandising. Gavin shares how he became a growth mindset evangelist for his team and customers, and how embracing discomfort can be a leader's most potent tool.

    This episode is filled with real world insights, from his evolution in the family business to igniting those light bulb moments with his team, to the unexpected ways in which cold plunges into Lake Michigan in January clear the mind and prepare one for daily challenges. 

    • 24 min
    Market Pulse - Looking Ahead to 2024 with 4 Industry Leaders

    Market Pulse - Looking Ahead to 2024 with 4 Industry Leaders

    We asked three consumer executives who had just returned from two important January 2024 tradeshows, to share their observations (on product trends, consumer behaviors, sourcing-, buyer-, and marketing shifts) and their outlook for 2024. 

    Laurie Gilner (President/CEO of Transpac Brands and exhibitor at Atlanta Market among others), Rick Haase (Founder/CEO of Patina Stores and its chief buyer), and Bob Watson (SVP of Link Companies representing dozens of brands that make their way to retail shelves) shared their thoughts, discussed, and provided insights that can help other consumer product leaders plan and optimize their 2024 growth strategy. 

    Growth never happens in a vacuum. All of us together are smarter than any of us alone.

    • 38 min
    An Officer & an Entrepreneur - Growth Lessons for Each, with Andy Bjork

    An Officer & an Entrepreneur - Growth Lessons for Each, with Andy Bjork

    We talk about the role of leadership and training within organizations of all sizes. From the deck of a Navy ship to the corridors of Ivystone (an entrepreneurial multiline sales agency), Andy Bjork, a Navy-Captain-turned-Chief-Sales-Officer, shares methodologies and real life examples that nurture effective growth. Learn how the Navy's allowance for mistakes in high-stakes situations shapes leaders, and how this hands-on experience contrasts with the innovative strides being made in the entrepreneurial world, where traditional ROI is not the only benchmark of success.

    In company cultures and structures, these elements evolve together as a business expands. We talk about Andy's journey from the regimented world of the Navy to the nimble environment of Ivystone, examining the blending of autonomy and structure. Clear expectations and the quest for guidance help teams to flourish in both large and small organizations.

    The power and importance of diverse voices in decision-making keeps coming up throughout our discussion. Andy and I discuss nurturing the next generation of leaders, taking cues from corporate trailblazers like IKEA, and how fostering employee growth is tantamount to retention. Join us as we piece together the mosaic of leadership, growth, and the pathways to securing an organization's legacy.

    • 27 min

Customer Reviews

5.0 out of 5
11 Ratings

11 Ratings

dr.l.carol ,

Terrific show!

Benno is a great host and brings out the best In his guests!

Darin V ,

Growth, growth, growth!

If you’re interested in what it takes to grow a business, check out this podcast. Benno has excellent guests on the show and the topics are informative, inspiring and entertaining.

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