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What if your best marketing isn’t marketing at all, but the way you show up when it costs you? That’s the heartbeat of our conversation with Alicia Jarboe, the Worcester-based realtor and nonprofit leader who proves that relationships, not transactions, build businesses that last.

We dive into the practices that turn clients into community: thoughtful follow-up, handwritten cards, and client appreciation nights that feel like family gatherings. Alicia shares how transparency, like telling a seller to wait out short-term capital gains or walking away from a misaligned deal, creates trust that compounds into multi-year referrals. When rates spike and deals stall, she leans on diversification, stress-tested systems, and a simple priority framework that keeps her son and family time as non-negotiable “rocks,” while still delivering for clients.

Alicia also opens up about the hard season that sparked the Jarboe Foundation: insurance shocks, a foreclosure, and the choice to build the kind of help they once needed. Now a 501c3, the foundation’s Thanksgiving project fed 173 families and partners with schools and pantries to meet real needs—coats, boots, blankets—over “nice-to-have” gifts. Looking ahead, Alicia outlines a compelling vision for a community garden and pantry integrated with their real estate work, creating year-round dignity and hands-on impact for local kids and families.

Expect practical wisdom you can use today: how to say no with empathy, how to design follow-up that feels like friendship, and how to ride the market roller coaster without losing your values. If you’re ready to trade quick wins for enduring trust, and turn your business into a force for good, this conversation will give you both a blueprint and a push.

If this resonated, subscribe, share with a friend who needs the long game, and leave a review to help more people find the show.

🎙️ Connect with Chrissy Myers and discover how resilience, expertise, and community can transform your world:

🔗 Follow Chrissy on LinkedIn for behind-the-scenes insights, leadership tips, and updates on her journey as the CEO of two thriving businesses.

📘 Grab your copy of 'Reluctantly Resilient' to learn how Chrissy turned challenges into opportunities and how you can do the same in your life and business.

🤝 Explore Clarity HR and discover how Chrissy’s team simplifies HR for small businesses, giving you peace of mind to focus on what matters most.

💼 Visit AUI to see how Chrissy's employee benefits expertise can help you build a healthier, happier workforce.

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What if the difference between a resilient culture and a fragile one is a single intentional choice? We sit down with Janet Kendal White, author of Unshakable Leadership and founder of Berkshire Group, to unpack how real leadership moves beyond titles, clever slogans, and “crappy wall art.” From a jarring early career story to building a company that equips managers with practical tools, Janet shows why values must be defined in observable behaviors—and how to act when they’re violated.

We dig into the tough calls leaders face and the ripple effects of consistency. You’ll hear a memorable integrity case—the infamous mayonnaise moment—that proves culture breaks not at grand ethical scandals, but in the small, everyday decisions. Janet explains how to align HR, IT, accounting, sales, and delivery with core values so your systems reinforce trust instead of eroding it. We explore why promoting top performers without training creates “accidental leaders,” and how simple assessments and emotional intelligence coaching help people lead themselves before they lead others.

This conversation also reframes work-life balance as harmony. Seasons will tilt your time one way; intention, communication, and creativity bring you back. Janet shares practical ways to protect what matters, design policies that assume trust, and keep values alive by repeating them in meetings, stories, and decisions. Her favorite practice—becoming a learning junkie—anchors it all: ask after every interaction what could be clearer, kinder, faster, or more aligned. Promotions don’t create leaders; habits do. If you want unshakable leadership that scales with uncertainty, start with values, translate them into behaviors, align your systems, and commit to getting 1% better every day.

Love conversations that turn big ideas into daily action? Follow the show, share this episode with a leader who needs it, and leave a review to help more people build cultures they can trust.

🎙️ Connect with Chrissy Myers and discover how resilience, expertise, and community can transform your world:

🔗 Follow Chrissy on LinkedIn for behind-the-scenes insights, leadership tips, and updates on her journey as the CEO of two thriving businesses.

📘 Grab your copy of 'Reluctantly Resilient' to learn how Chrissy turned challenges into opportunities and how you can do the same in your life and business.

🤝 Explore Clarity HR and discover how Chrissy’s team simplifies HR for small businesses, giving you peace of mind to focus on what matters most.

💼 Visit AUI to see how Chrissy's employee benefits expertise can help you build a healthier, happier workforce.

Send us a text

Collaboration only works when both sides win—and when you can prove your value every single day. That’s the lens Chris Canova brings as he walks us through how Jobs for Ohio’s Graduates (JOG) scaled from a small team to 70+ staff across ten counties, serving youth, specialized populations, and now adults in manufacturing, business, and the growing polymer sector. We unpack the hard truth behind the word “collaboration”: it’s overused, under-practiced, and only becomes real through engagement, relationships, and clear mutual benefit.

We dig into a practical framework leaders can use right away: meet partners where they are, invest in the relationship before the contract, and set expectations that tie results to shared goals. Chris explains why nonprofits must operate like businesses to earn trust with employers and schools, and how to avoid common traps—charity posture, misaligned incentives, and one-sided deals. Inside the organization, we talk about ending silos with intentional, face-to-face time, cross-team outcomes that demand cooperation, and simple rituals that make a growing culture feel connected.

For small businesses eager to join the talent solution, we lay out a realistic starting path: be transparent about wages, schedules, and access; run a small pilot; and build from proof, not hype. Chris shares hard lessons from partnerships that went sideways and the guardrails that prevent a repeat. We also explore two big forces shaping the next five years of workforce development: engaging younger workers who crave investment and belonging, and embracing AI as a training and productivity tool that retains talent rather than scares it away.

If you’re ready to build partnerships that last, strengthen your team, and turn “collaboration” from a buzzword into a competitive edge, this conversation is your playbook. Subscribe, share with a colleague who needs it, and leave a review with your top takeaway so we can keep bringing you practical strategies that work.

🎙️ Connect with Chrissy Myers and discover how resilience, expertise, and community can transform your world:

🔗 Follow Chrissy on LinkedIn for behind-the-scenes insights, leadership tips, and updates on her journey as the CEO of two thriving businesses.

📘 Grab your copy of 'Reluctantly Resilient' to learn how Chrissy turned challenges into opportunities and how you can do the same in your life and business.

🤝 Explore Clarity HR and discover how Chrissy’s team simplifies HR for small businesses, giving you peace of mind to focus on what matters most.

💼 Visit AUI to see how Chrissy's employee benefits expertise can help you build a healthier, happier workforce.