Backstage Pass: Ep. 9 - Sandra Joseph & Ron Bohmer: Broadway Edu-tainment

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Backstage Pass: Ep. 9 - Sandra Joseph & Ron Bohmer: Broadway Edu-tainment

Backstage Pass: Ep. 9 - Sandra Joseph & Ron Bohmer: Broadway Edu-tainment

Sandra Joseph & Ron Bohmer bio

Sandra Joseph and Ron Bohmer have been called “Broadway royalty” and “a real-life fairytale romance.” As a 20+ year married couple who have worked together for decades, they will be the first to tell you that personal and professional partnership is no fairytale. Through keynotes, concerts, and fireside chats, these two showstoppers invite you to peek behind the curtain as they share moving, inspiring, and often hilarious stories AND SONGS from their celebrated careers and lives on and off stage. In this masterful “inspir-tainment,” these two world-class performers speak and sing about overcoming obstacles, dropping the “mask”, and practicing presence over perfection.

Sandra and Ron met on the stage of the Kennedy Center Opera House just moments before stepping into their roles as the Phantom and Christine. They fell in love both on and off the stage in 1997. Nearly three decades later, their story has transcended Broadway stages and concert halls worldwide into a 20+ year marriage and professional partnership.

Sandra holds the record as the longest-running leading lady in Broadway’s longest-running show. For 10 years and more than 1,500 performances, she starred as Christine in The Phantom of the Opera. She is the bestselling author of Unmasking What Matters: 10 Life Lessons from 10 Years on Broadway and the co-author of Your Creative Soul: Expressing Your Authentic Voice with 5-time New York Times bestselling author, Caroline Myss.

Media appearances (to name a few):

  • The Today Show

  • CNN

  • The View

  • The Oprah Winfrey Show

  • Oprah: Where Are They Now?”

Oprah has called Sandra “a Broadway legend and an inspiration.”

Ron is one of Broadway’s most accomplished leading men, having starred in over a dozen Broadway productions in a career spanning three decades.

Starring roles (to name a few):

  • The Phantom in The Phantom Of The Opera

  • Joseph Smith and Jesus in the mega-hit The Book of Mormon

  • Joe Gillis in Sunset Boulevard (Jefferson Award nomination)

  • Alex in Aspects Of Love (LA Robby award)

  • Enjolras in Les Miserables

  • Coach Bolton in Disney’s High School Musical

  • The title role in The Scarlet Pimpernel (National Broadway Theatre Award nomination)

  • Father in the Tony-nominated revival of Ragtime

  • Frid in the Tony-nominated revival of A Little Night Music with Bernadette Peters.

Ron has appeared as a concert soloist with symphony orchestras worldwide including Radio City Music Hall, Lincoln Center, the Kennedy Center, and New York City’s Town Hall. As a singer/songwriter, Ron has recorded three solo albums including his latest release, Legacy.

Together, Sandra and Ron leave audiences moved, entertained, exhilarated, and maybe even a little more in love.

 
 

Show notes

In this episode of Backstage Pass, we’re joined by Sandra Joseph & Ron Bohmer. Often referred to as Broadway royalty, this couple fell in love both on and off stage in 1997. They’ve been married for over 20 years and have formed a beautiful business partnership. The speaking events they do together are often about overcoming fear and rejection, following your heart, and the importance of dropping your mask and being your authentic self.

Key topics in this episode include:

  • The role that made Sandra the longest leading lady on the longest running play.

  • A gift that helped Sandra keep her edge after a decade into performing.

  • How a shift in underlying motivations can recharge you.

  • Why it’s important to be who you are, flaws and all.

  • Why Sandra said she’s the least likely Broadway star you’d ever meet.

  • How being vulnerable can actually help you achieve your dreams.

  • What made Ron and Sandra’s first conversation unique.

  • The pressure people feel to show up a certain way and how it burdens them.

  • How having a deep dive with a client before a speaking event improves the event.

  • Sandra’s motivation for becoming an author and speaker.

  • How a theater background has equipped them to make events especially engaging.

  • The role their daughter landed and how it’s been a bonding experience for their family.

  • How Ron and Sandra give back to the community and why they are passionate about it.

  • Their favorite parts of what they do and why their audience gets lit up from them.

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Backstage Pass: Ep. 8 - Heather Davis: Behind The Scenes With A Seasoned Event Strategist

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Backstage Pass: Ep. 8 - Heather Davis: Behind The Scenes With A Seasoned Event Strategist

Backstage Pass: Ep. 8 - Heather Davis: Behind The Scenes With A Seasoned Event Strategist

Heather davis bio

Heather L. Davis, JD, CLU®, ChFC®, CAP®, has been with New York Life since 1999. She is part of the leadership team at The Nautilus Group where she heads the Marketing, Meetings and Agent Development team. Prior to this role, Heather managed a team of consultants at New York Life’s Advanced Planning Group and was a member of the special cases unit at Nautilus where she created customized business and estate analyses for high-net-worth clients. She graduated Phi Beta Kappa and as a Superior Scholar from the University of Nebraska, where she received both her Bachelor of Arts and Juris Doctor. She is also a member of the Texas State Bar Association.

Show notes

In this episode of Backstage Pass we’re joined by events strategist Heather Davis, Corporate Vice President with New York Life. She drives high-impact outcomes through oversight of three domains: marketing, meetings, and training and development. This conversation has Heather share what makes a speaking event successful, why some speakers are invited back, and the biggest hurdles she faces as an events strategist. She also spills about what a recent speaker did that surprised her—and what she expects to see in the event and speaking space next.

Key topics in this episode include:

  • The services Heather provides and the individuals who look for these services.

  • The overall objective of the annual meeting that Heather coordinates.

  • How having a small event team influences the planning process.

  • Signs of a successful annual meeting (and why measuring it matters).

  • How many contracts Heather has facilitated.

  • What encourages Heather to book a speaker again (or never again).

  • Why you should book speakers as far in advance as possible.

  • Whether a speaker’s video is actually helpful in decision making or not.

  • The biggest challenges Heather has in strategizing events.

  • Why speaker customization is so important.

  • How she approaches booking speakers and who she trusts with the heavy lifting.

  • The type of speaker that Heather needs right now who are also hard to find.

  • What a recent speaker did that surprised Heather.

  • Heather’s predictions for future events and what’s already changing now.

  • Recent speakers that stood out for Heather in a positive way.

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Backstage Pass: Ep. 7 - Lisa Bodell: Eliminating Complexity Through The Power of Simplicity

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Backstage Pass: Ep. 7 - Lisa Bodell: Eliminating Complexity Through The Power of Simplicity

Backstage Pass: Ep. 7 - Lisa Bodell: Eliminating Complexity Through The Power of Simplicity

Lisa Bodell bio

“Complexity is crippling our organizations. It’s stifling our people and keeping them from doing their most meaningful and impactful work.” Lisa Bodell, a global leader on simplification, collaboration, and innovation, has a solution. Lisa shows organizations how to eliminate complexity and leverage simplicity – unleashing creativity and sparking the energy so essential to innovate and compete in a rapidly changing world. FutureThink, which she founded in 2003, works with leading brands worldwide and has become the largest source of innovation research, tools, and training in the world. Lisa is the author of two groundbreaking books, Why Simple Wins: Escape the Complexity Trap and Get to Work That Matters and Kill the Company: End the Status Quo, Start an Innovation Revolution. She ranks on the list of Top 50 Speakers Worldwide and captivates audiences with her energy and humor. Lisa’s keynotes leave audiences inspired to change and arms them with radically simple tools to get to the work that matters.

After earning her business degree from University of Michigan, Lisa launched her career at Leo Burnett in Chicago, where she discovered a gift for uniting strategically-driven ideas with forward-thinking themes. She went on to build two successful businesses before moving to New York and focusing on the simplification and innovation space with FutureThink.

Lisa brings a compelling perspective to the sought-after topics of simplification and innovation to over 100,000 people each year. A thought leader and serial entrepreneur, her transformational message has inspired executives at top-ranked organizations such as Google, SAP, Citigroup, and the Department of National Intelligence.

Lisa has contributed her expertise to a wide variety of media. She is a monthly contributor to Forbes and has frequently appeared in other media including: Fast Company, WIRED, The New York Times, Inc., Harvard Business Review, and CNN. She has also been featured in many major books such as Warren Berger’s A More Beautiful Question, Adam Grant’s Originals, and AfterShock, the 50-year celebration based on futurist Alvin Toffler’s Future Shock.

Lisa has taught innovation at both American University and Fordham University and has a TED talk on the topic. She has served on the board of advisors of several organizations, including the Global Agenda Council for the World Economic Forum, the United States National Security Agency, the Association of Professional Futurists, and the Novartis board of Diversity & Inclusion.

 
 

show notes

Today our guest is the founder and CEO of FutureThink, Lisa Bodell.  Lisa is a futurist and a global leader on collaboration and innovation. She ranks in the top 50 speakers worldwide, and she is also a two-time best-selling author. She’s an expert in helping people discover how to eliminate complexity through the power of simplicity. In today’s conversation, she shares why emphasizing productivity doesn’t work, and why simplifying your work is the way to go.

Key topics in this episode include:

  • Why so many people are at a breaking point right now.

  • How being organized differs from being simplified.

  • The benefits of simplifying your work and your life.

  • A better way to say no (that actually feels good).

  • The importance of leaning into saying “yes, if” statements.

  • Why people want their time back and how being selfish with it helps.

  • How your work culture influences the complexity of your work.

  • What makes Lisa a more sought-after speaker and why.

  • Why Lisa says simplicity is agnostic and who her main audience is.

  • Why productivity isn’t the answer in the workplace (and what matters more).

  • How Lisa applies the things she speaks about to her own life.

  • How killing stupid ideas has made Lisa’s team even better.

  • The secrets to making a speaking event a home run.

  • What the best rooms are to find yourself in and what makes the best group.

  • The surprising thing Lisa learned about herself as a speaker.

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Backstage Pass: Ep. 6 - John Register: Amputate to Amplify (Transforming Adversity Into Advantage)

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Backstage Pass: Ep. 6 - John Register: Amputate to Amplify (Transforming Adversity Into Advantage)

Backstage Pass: Ep. 6 - John Register: Amputate to Amplify

John REgister bio

John Register is a two-time Paralympian, Paralympic Games Silver Medalist, Persian Gulf War veteran, and TEDx Motivational Speaker. He embraced a “new normal mindset” in becoming an amputee following a misstep over a hurdle while training for the 1996 Olympic Games, after participation in two consecutive Olympic trials.

An Oak Park, Ill. native, Register discovered how to “amputate his fear of disability” and founded the U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Committee Military Sport Program in the early 2000s. He launched a book titled: 10 Stories to Impact Any Leader: Journal Your Way to Leadership Success, as business leaders return to work with their staff amid stressful circumstances surrounding the Coronavirus pandemic and the recent unrest in our urban cities.

Register teaches business professionals through his “Hurdling Adversity” speeches and podcasts to “amputate fear and embrace their new normal,” as they discover “stories within themselves.”

He finds that “it is the personal stories that inspire teams more profoundly with greater impact.”

Register is a four-time All-American graduate of University of Arkansas. He served six years in the U.S. Army—including in operations Desert Shield and Desert Storm, and in active-duty with the U.S. Army World Class Athlete Program—winning nine gold medals in the Armed Services Competition and two World Military Championships.

Register had his left leg amputated after a misstep over a hurdle changed his life. Register hyperextended his knee and severed the popliteal artery. He started swimming to aid in his recovery, made the U.S. Paralympic Team in 1996, and later won a silver medal in the long jump—as he set an American record—and sprinted to fifth in the 100 meters and 200 meters at the U.S. Paralympic Games in Sydney.

Register resides in Colorado Springs, CO with his wife Alice. The couple have three children - John Jr., Ashley, and Ronald.

 
 

show notes

In this episode of Backstage Pass we’re joined by John Register. John is a Paralympic silver medalist, army combat veteran, TedX speaker, author, and CPAE. Recently, he was named among the top global leadership speakers. John opens up about his Paralympic career, what holds people back from moving past difficult times (and how he can help), and the experiences that helped make him the speaker he is today.

Key topics in this episode include:

  • What getting the CPAE title meant to John and how he reached this milestone.

  • How being diverted towards the Gulf War elevated his speaking ability.

  • How he lost his leg and what it taught him about adversity.

  • Why he was so surprised when he made the Paralympic swim team.

  • The importance of having people in your life who won’t let you fail.

  • How his Paralympic experience developed and expanded.

  • The fear that holds people back from reaching their goals and how John can help.

  • How his speaking gives him a unique perspective of leadership and the world.

  • The calls John gets weekly and why he makes himself available to serve them.

  • Why knowing what the Constitution is matters when protecting it.

  • The unique aspect the US brings to athletic events, including the Paralympics.

  • What John is focusing on right now in his career next.

  • Why the way you show up with event planners and producers matters.

  • The influence any interaction you have with someone, no matter how small, can have.

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Backstage Pass: Ep. 5 - Peter Sheahan: Owning & Accelerating Transformation

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Backstage Pass: Ep. 5 - Peter Sheahan: Owning & Accelerating Transformation

Backstage Pass: Ep. 5 - Peter Sheahan: Owning & Accelerating Transformation

peter sheahan bio

After decades of standing in the fire with leaders of high-performing organizations, Peter Sheahan has come to believe that an organization will only go commercially where its leaders first go personally.

Having grown his own companies by accelerating the growth and transformation for clients that include: Apple; Chick-fil-A; DeBeers; and AT&T -- Peter will provoke you to get bigger, by getting better! When leaders are true to their purpose, they gravitate towards doing work that matters and solving higher-order problems. The journey to get there requires that they have the courage to tell themselves the truth, take intelligent risks, and assume ownership for driving the alignment necessary to build an organization which behaves in ways worthy of its leadership position.

In being true to his own ambitions and relentless pursuit of growth, Peter has published seven books, built three global companies and delivered more than 2,500 presentations in 40+ countries. Today he is focused exclusively on inspiring leaders to do the hard work required to accelerate growth and transformation.

show notes

Peter Sheahan is an entrepreneur, strategist, C-suite advisor, and in-demand speaker. After writing Generation Y, his first book, he quickly found himself in boardrooms speaking about understanding and connecting with the next generation. Since then, Peter has written several books and has headlined countless speaking events. During the episode, Peter shares the importance of owning change to accelerate transformation on teams.

Key topics in this episode include:

  • Where Peter’s career started and the trajectory it took from there.

  • Why Peter wanted to write about the value shifts of young people.

  • How he ended up teaching about change and disruption globally.

  • How he got the nickname “CEO whisperer,” and his method for pushing people.

  • Peter’s process for preparing for a keynote speech and the interview he must have first.

  • What it takes to be a great leader in today’s organizations.

  • Why he decided to sell some of his businesses and what he’s focusing on instead.

  • Peter’s ideal audience and who he loves speaking to the most.

  • What happened when he crossed paths with Brené Brown and why he’s a big fan.

  • What ImpactEleven is and how it uplifts the speakers of tomorrow.

  • How speakers set expectations for their events and why some seem high maintenance.

  • Why speakers are prone to depression (despite what it looks like on the outside).

  • The advice Peter has for event planners when making speaker selections.

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