Today Jim Piper’s guest represents two of his favorite things; high school sports and specifically, wrestling.  Randy Gallegos is the head wrestling coach at Denver East High School in Denver Colorado.  Even though Randy was a state champion high school wrestler and a nationally ranked college wrestler, he had never considered coaching until his pastor “persuaded” him to help out the wrestling coach at Denver East High School.  That was over 23 years ago and he is still there today coaching young men and young women.  In Coach Randy’s world, it’s not only about wrestling.  It’s also about taking what

Today’s The Today Counts Show episode will be a special treat for sports fans and athletes.  Jim’s guest is James Ford.  James is an NCAA D1 men’s basketball referee!  One of those guys in the striped shirts you see on TV while you’re watching your favorite college games.  How do you get that cool job?  Well, like most things in life, you get there through hard work, dedication to your craft, and commitment.  And… once you get there it’s a year-round effort to stay there!  Oh, and if you’re like most NCAA refs (like James), you will be working a

Jim Piper welcomes a new friend to the Today Counts Show. His name is Tom Carlson. Tom is the CEO and Executive Director of ECatalyst, an organization whose purpose is to transform developing communities through their entrepreneurs. Tom believes that by helping these entrepreneurs, they will build sustainable, locally-owned entrepreneurial ecosystems that will help lift people out of poverty. This may sound like a lofty, complicated theory but Tom and his team at ECatalyst are already working and succeeding in Rwanda and Ethiopia. Tom does a great job of explaining the process they use to shepherd new entrepreneurs through developing

Today Jim welcomes back one of his favorite guests, Johnny Sirpilla.  The topic is leadership and Johnny is a goldmine of knowledge and insight.  Jim and Johnny share a lengthy conversation about the responsibilities that should be top of mind for leaders at all levels. About twenty-seven minutes or so into this episode of the Today Counts Show, Johnny Sirpilla drops this golden nugget of leadership wisdom into the conversation; “insecurity is the root of all workplace conflict”.  Wow, that is the kind of statement that not everyone is going to want to hear… which means it must be true! 

No, this is not a Halloween episode but the subject can be a scary one if you are responsible for hiring in your organization. Jim has a lot to say about hiring.  He talks about the hiring process, what questions to ask in an interview to get the right kind of responses, and the consequences of hiring for the wrong reasons (that’s where the horror part comes in).  According to Peter Drucker, the chances of hiring the right person for the job is only about 33%!  Wow, no pressure!  The moral of the story is to take your time, and

How does charisma relate to customer service and hospitality?  Well… think about it for a minute.  People with truly charismatic personalities make you feel like they are interested in and focused on what you have to say,  they make you feel at ease and welcomed and they just generally make the people around them feel good.  Anybody thinking that type of person might be a fantastic fit in a customer service or hospitality role? Jim tells us a “Tale of Two Restaurants” to illustrate the difference between a customer service/hospitality-focused experience and one that is not too concerned with customer