Off the Rak
Walt Rakowich's passion to help shape a generation of leaders who lead with honesty, humility and heart inspired him to launch Off the Rak: Conversations on Transformative Leadership. Featuring rich and raw conversations with notable leaders across different industries, Off the Rak inspires curious leaders to embrace challenges, seize opportunities and become positive influences in their world.
Off the Rak
Rak Rewind: How to Measure Success in Business Through Love with Joel Manby
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Can you lead with your heart first in corporate America? Or do the pressures of the c-suite leave little room for love and humanity? We’ve invited Joel Manby to Off the Rak to share what he’s learned from more than 25 years of experience as a CEO about how “love the verb” transforms cultures for success. After launching the automotive company Saturn and growing Saab at General Motors, Joel moved to the theme park industry, where his leadership principles about love were tested as he worked to lead a much-needed turnaround at SeaWorld. If you’re a fan of the reality TV show “Undercover Boss” you might recognize him from season 1! Tune in to uncover the timeless principles that prove “Love Works.”
About the Guest
As CEO of major corporations for over 25+ years, Joel Manbt have learned a number of lessons through experience during my tenure. He summarized these leadership principles in his book Love Works detailing how to integrate “love the verb” into the leadership ethos and philosophy of any organization.
This approach has been systematically proven to create:
- organizations with higher employee engagement
- lower turnover
- more satisfied customers
- stronger profits
Prior to becoming an author, he was the President, Chief Executive Officer, and Director of SeaWorld Parks and Entertainment, a $1.4 billion entertainment company with well-known brands such as SeaWorld Parks, Busch Gardens Parks and Discovery Cove.
For over a decade, he served as the CEO of Herschend Enterprises, the largest family-owned theme park and entertainment company in the United States with popular brands such as the Harlem Globetrotters and Dolly Parton’s Dollywood theme park and dinner theaters.
Before joining Herschend Enterprises, he spent 20 years in the auto industry in general management and marketing roles primarily in General Motors’ Saturn and Saab divisions. He served as CEO of Saab Automobile USA from 1996 to 2000, during which Saab experienced the best sales result in its 50+ year U.S. history. In addition, he was CEO of Amazon’s car selling partner, which was sold to CarsDirect.com in 2001.
Links in this Episode
https://www.instagram.com/joelkingston09
https://www.facebook.com/joelmanbyofficial
https://www.linkedin.com/in/joel-manby-3850b911b
Learn more about Off the Rak and watch past episodes at waltrakowich.com/offtherak
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