Are you managing a large team to reach your vision but feel like team members are not aligning correctly with the overall goal? Do you need help getting all team members on the same page?

In this solo episode, BJ unpacks the role of what we at MCFA regard as the meaning of KPI: keeping people interested. It is not your typical MBA academic term but a philosophy to help you be a better business and project leader.

Discover the role of Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) at a project and an individual level, how KPIs can help improve performance outcomes, and why a KPI needs to be associated with the bigger picture.

Explore the fundamentals of a suitable KPI, the value of stacking success toward the bigger goal, examples of typical KPIs used in business, and more!

To uncover how KPIs can be a game-changer in your business and make you a more effective leader, tune in now!

Key Points From This Episode:

• Why KPIs are important for achieving business success.

• How measuring goals allows for informed decision-making

• Steps to begin picking the right KPIs for your team.

Quotes:

“Most importantly [KPIs] allows [employees] to leave the day feeling like they won the day, and if they lost the day, how they can recover the next day.” — BJ Kraemer

“I look at KPIs as meeting daily [and] weekly goals that I know if I hit them I am doing my job well.” — BJ Kraemer

“Until you know what you are measuring, it is really hard to manage.” — BJ Kraemer

“You control how to keep people interested, and when you keep people interested and have a scoreboard, everybody knows how to win.” — BJ Kraemer

Links Mentioned in Today’s Episode:

‘KPIs Invite Smart Business Decisions’

Inspiring People & Places Podcast

MCFA

MCFA Careers

BJ Kraemer on LinkedIn

As we continue to edge toward graduation and internship season, we felt there could not be a more fitting guest to join BJ on the podcast than our latest co-op, Isabella Damasceno.

Isabella is currently a third-year student at Drexel University, pursuing a dual major in marketing and business analytics.

Join us as we dive into details surrounding Isabella’s co-op program and how the process of matching students with co-op programs works. She shared her thoughts on how her program helped her figure out what she does and doesn’t want in her future career.

Tune in to hear what students like her are looking for from a professional environment and the differences she noticed in her expectations versus the reality of working.

Enjoy the episode!

Key Points From This Episode:

• The recruiting process works to match students with co-ops.

• How her co-op experiences have helped her figure out what she wants (and doesn't want) to do in her future career.

• Expectations versus experience: marketing in the engineering industry at MCFA.

Quotes:

“I think when you are introduced to something that you don’t know anything [about], you can either really hate it and be really intimidated or you can be inspired and motivated.” — Isabella Damasceno

“I think, a lot of what I learned [in my co-op] was hands-on. And a lot of what I learned was [from] words. From just asking questions and talking to people.” — Isabella Damasceno

“With every mistake that you make, you [also] learn from it.” — Isabella Damasceno

Links Mentioned in Today’s Episode:

Isabella Damasceno on LinkedIn

The Clay Studio

Everybody’s Free (To Wear Sunscreen) on Spotify

Die With Zero: Getting All You Can from Your Money and Your Life

The Surprising Key to Achieving Happiness and Success in Life and Business With Bill Watkins

Inspiring People & Places Podcast

MCFA

MCFA Careers

BJ Kraemer on LinkedIn

As we continue to move closer to graduation and internship season, we delve further into the talent equation.

Today on the podcast BJ is joined by a repeat guest, Colin Mottola. Colin is one of our Construction Managers and engineers at MCFA. He also happens to be one of our very first interns.

Join the conversation as we explore Colin’s experience, from landing an internship to working on a construction project in an active hospital during a pandemic. He also gets into the various lessons he’s learned and his thoughts on the philosophy of why making mistakes is the best path to your development.

Be sure to tune in to see how someone can receive the advice they need at the right moment, with the perfect message conveyed by the ideal messenger. Enjoy.

Key Points From This Episode:

• A behind-the-scenes look at what it’s like to work on a construction project, in an active hospital, during a pandemic.

• Why making mistakes is the best path to your development.

• The two components of extreme ownership.

Quotes:

“With every problem, there is a solution.” — Colin Mottola

“Extreme ownership goes two ways. One is, ‘Yes I can do this and yes I’m going to own it when you volunteer’. — Extreme ownership is also raising your hand when you say, ‘Look I’m ahead of my skis and I need some help.’” — BJ Kraemer

“The level of how connected this industry is, is crazy, and I’m trying to do that for ourselves with our intern(s).” — Colin Mottola

Links Mentioned in Today’s Episode:

Colin Mottola on LinkedIn

The Defining Decade: Why Your Twenties Matter--And How to Make the Most of Them Now

Never Eat Alone, Expanded and Updated: And Other Secrets to Success, One Relationship at a Time

Fearless: The Undaunted Courage and Ultimate Sacrifice of Navy SEAL Team SIX Operator Adam Brown

Inspiring People & Places Podcast

MCFA

MCFA Careers

BJ Kraemer on LinkedIn