Dr. Constance Dierickx is joined by Ryan Turner, co-founder of Unsukay Restaurants and a founder of the Giving Kitchen. Ryan shares his journey from a political science major to an entrepreneur with a deep commitment to supporting food service workers. Ryan highlights the importance of personal connection, intentional leadership, and building trust within a team.

About Ryan Turner:

Ryan Turner is a founding partner of Unsukay Restaurants, whose first concept is a popular neighborhood restaurant in Smyrna, GA. The partners now oversee a portfolio of eight restaurants and private dining clubs, including Muss & Turner’s, Eleanors, Local Three Kitchen & Bar, Warhorse Investments, Seahorse Advisors, The Arbitrage Room, MTH Pizza, and Roshambo.

In 2011, The Georgia Restaurant Association recognized Unsukay Restaurants as Restaurateurs of the Year. The Metro Atlanta Chamber of Commerce and the Atlanta Business Chronicle acknowledged Turner’s contributions to the business landscape by naming him Business Person of the Year in 2014. A founding member and board chair of the Giving Kitchen Turner and still serves on the board’s Executive Committee. In 2015, the Unsukay partners were awarded the National Restaurant Association’s highest honor, the Cornerstone Humanitarian Award, for their role in founding Giving Kitchen.

In 2019, Giving Kitchen was named the James Beard Foundation Humanitarian of the Year. Turner was honored to represent the organization and share his thoughts with a national audience.

Before opening Unsukay’s first concept in 2004, Turner was the food and beverage manager at East Lake Golf Club. The Georgia Restaurant Association elected him to their board in 2012, and later, he served the organization as board chair.

Originally from Maine, Turner graduated from the University of Vermont in 1994. After that, he served with AmeriCorps in Arizona along the border of Mexico. In 1995, he moved to Atlanta, where he met his wonderful wife of 25 years, Shelley, née Standard (UGA 1993). They reside in Smyrna with their two teenage children and dog, Baxter. In his free time, Turner loves to learn, write, cook for his family, and play golf.

Featured Resources (Links):

Meta-Leadership by Constance Dierickx

TheGivingKitchen.org

https://unsukay.com/

Dr. Constance Dierickx is joined by industrial-organizational psychologist Nikki Blacksmith to discuss the factors that drive successful investment decisions in venture capital and private equity. Nikki shares how understanding human behavior can help investors make smarter choices, avoid cognitive biases, and predict the future performance of leaders.

About Nikki Blacksmith:

As an Industrial-Organizational Psychologist and Co-Founder/CEO of Blackhawke Behavior Science, Dr. Nikki Blacksmith has worked across industries, helping organizations attract and select high-quality employees, entrepreneurs, and leaders. Her research and consulting focuses on understanding the way personality and cognitive ability predict decision-making and job performance in startups and other organizations.

She has published over 60 different conference papers, book chapters, and journal articles. Her scientific research has been published in top-tier publications including the Journal of Business and Psychology, Personality and Individual Differences, and Journal of Personality Assessment and Intelligence. Her research has also been featured in many media outlets including New York Magazine, Real Simple Magazine, and Bustle.

Dr. Blacksmith is currently a research fellow at the Army Research Institute for Behavioral and Social Sciences and an adjunct faculty member at American University in Washington, DC.

Featured Resources (Links):

Meta-Leadership by Constance Dierickx

Data-Driven Decision Making in Entrepreneurship: Tools for Maximizing Human Capital by Nikki Blacksmith and Maureen E. McCusker

Influence by Robert B. Cialdini

Dr. Constance Dierickx, with guests Christian Hunt and Ben Cattaneo, talks about the common pitfalls smart leaders encounter in decision-making, particularly in compliance and risk management. They discuss the influence of cognitive biases, the importance of human behavior in shaping decisions, and the value of fostering curiosity and creativity in professional environments.

Get the full show notes and more resources at TheDecisionDoctor.com.

Dr. Constance Dierickx and Ayse Birsel, industrial designer and author, discuss the power of design thinking in making transformational decisions. They explore the impact of heroes, the importance of knowing your values, and how redesigning social connections in older adulthood can boost happiness and empathy.

Get the full show notes and more resources at TheDecisionDoctor.com

Dr. Constance Dierickx and marketing expert Peter Sandeen explore the art of making informed decisions in marketing, the importance of integrated marketing efforts, and how to use data effectively without falling prey to misleading metrics. They share some best practices, like the value of external perspectives in the decision-making process, plus what not to do, including common pitfalls in marketing strategies.

About Peter Sandeen:

Peter Sandeen is a marketing expert known for his strategic and integrative approach to marketing. With a background in conversion optimization and copywriting, Peter has helped countless businesses, from small enterprises to large corporations, refine their marketing strategies to achieve consistent and measurable results.

His unique ability to see the bigger picture and identify the most impactful opportunities has made him a sought-after consultant in the marketing world. Peter is also a respected speaker and the author of Creating Business Growth: 21 Successful Marketers Reveal Their Top Business Marketing Secrets, sharing his insights on effective marketing tactics and decision-making processes. He currently operates from Helsinki, Finland, where he continues to influence the marketing landscape with his innovative ideas and expertise.

Get the full show notes and more resources at TheDecisionDoctor.com

Dr. Constance Dierickx and Danny Iny, CEO of Mirasee, delve into Danny’s journey as an entrepreneur, emphasizing the value of patience, ambiguity, and the quality of decisions over their quantity. Together, they also discuss the transformative power of self-belief, effective communication, and the profound impact of personal relationships in steering through career transitions and leadership roles.

About Danny Iny:

Danny Iny is the founder and CEO of Mirasee and best-selling author of nine published books, including Teach Your Gift, Leveraged Learning, Teach and Grow Rich, The Audience Revolution, and Engagement from Scratch!. He is the host of the Business Reimagined Podcast and is also the creator of the acclaimed Course Builder’s Laboratory training program, which provides all the instruction, coaching, and support that entrepreneurs need to build and launch a profitable online course.

Danny has maintained a passionate commitment to learning and transparency, freely sharing lessons learned from great successes, major challenges, and even his personal life to support the online entrepreneurial community as a teacher, speaker, trainer, and advisor to many of the top leaders in our industry.

His study, research, and unflagging drive over the years have culminated in this latest work, Leveraged Learning, which aims to sow the seed of education’s transformation in the coming years. Leveraged Learning shares the opportunity and transmits the vision to those who will boldly rise up and claim it.

Dr. Constance Dierickx and Michael Bungay Stanier explore the importance of creating environments that support growth and positive change, how saying no aids in decision-making, and how the transformative power of coach-like leadership when approached with nuance, empathy, and a commitment to understanding can make a difference.

Get the full show notes and more resources at TheDecisionDoctor.com

Dr. Constance Dierickx and Jackie O'Dowd, CEO of Realising-Potential, talk about the common pitfalls organizations fall into, the importance of aligning a business's core elements to achieve optimal performance, and the critical role of visibility in decision-making, especially as it relates to data visualization.

Get the full show notes and more resources at TheDecisionDoctor.com.