Lorenzo DeCicco

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[00:00] SPEAKER_00: It's Calgary's Podcast on the Canada's Podcast Network.
[00:16] SPEAKER_01: Hello, this is Mario, it's Monagus, you coming to your today with Calgary's Podcast,
[00:21] SPEAKER_01: a member of Canada's Podcast Network where we talk to the entrepreneurs who are making
[00:26] SPEAKER_01: it happen in Calgary, Alberta, so you can listen, discover and engage.
[00:31] SPEAKER_01: Today's guest is Lorenzo DeChico, who is Chief Executive Officer of GameChanger.
[00:38] SPEAKER_01: Welcome to the show Lorenzo, thanks for taking the time to be here for our listeners.
[00:43] SPEAKER_01: Hey, thanks very much Mario, it's great to be here and I'm looking forward to our conversation today.
[00:47] SPEAKER_01: Tell us a little bit about yourself and what game changer is and how it started.
[00:53] SPEAKER_00: Sure, so my name is Lorenzo DeChico, I'm the Chief Executive Officer of GameChanger,
[00:57] SPEAKER_00: and GameChanger essentially is a sales mastery executive coaching executive leadership
[01:02] SPEAKER_00: organization that exists to help organizations with development of sales professionals,
[01:10] SPEAKER_00: development of leaders, coaches and really aimed at helping companies figure out better ways
[01:15] SPEAKER_00: to drive revenue, increase their funnel and have an overall better experience in terms of
[01:19] SPEAKER_00: developing people. How and why did you get this up and running?
[01:24] SPEAKER_00: Yeah, so after 21 years as a senior executive at one of Canada's largest health communications
[01:29] SPEAKER_00: companies, I noticed a really important need, particularly in the sales arena, where organizations
[01:36] SPEAKER_00: were looking to increase their funnel, be more relevant to their client base, have deeper
[01:40] SPEAKER_00: contact relationships with customers, and there was a huge need. A lot of the organizations that
[01:45] SPEAKER_00: exist today in this field are fantastic, but many of the people that are delivering the training,
[01:50] SPEAKER_00: deliver it based on theory, and in many cases haven't been in a boardroom themselves for 20 years or
[01:55] SPEAKER_00: more. So I felt that there was a need for relevance and the game changer process brings specific
[02:00] SPEAKER_00: relevant credible team members that have been in the boardroom as recently as 30 days ago.
[02:06] SPEAKER_00: From curious to name, where did that come from and the significance of that?
[02:10] SPEAKER_00: Yeah, cool. So I've got a steep history in sport. I love the game of soccer. I've been very active
[02:17] SPEAKER_00: as a coach and a player. And one of the things that I always admired was when people referred to
[02:23] SPEAKER_00: a player as a game changer, while that person's a game changer. They did something different
[02:26] SPEAKER_00: with the baller. And I just felt that game changer was relevant in business. I think these
[02:31] SPEAKER_00: organizations were looking for someone to come in and make a material impact on their strategy.
[02:35] SPEAKER_00: And when you do that, you're a call of game changer. So I just felt it was relevant.
[02:40] SPEAKER_01: Okay, let's talk a little bit about Calgary itself and doing business here. What first of all,
[02:45] SPEAKER_01: what are the benefits of being a entrepreneur or a business owner in Calgary?
[02:51] SPEAKER_00: Yeah, I think one of the most significant benefits is the fact that the culture of Alberta and
[02:56] SPEAKER_00: Calgary specifically is that we are open for business. I think there's an excitement. I think
[02:59] SPEAKER_00: there's a desire to win. There's a desire to compete. And there's a desire to serve as the
[03:04] SPEAKER_00: benchmark for excellence in Canada. So, you know, I would significant benefit is you've got a healthy
[03:08] SPEAKER_00: community. You've got people that are really pro business. And when you're in a pro business
[03:12] SPEAKER_00: environment, you know, it's hard not to be successful. What are the challenges of doing business here?
[03:18] SPEAKER_00: Yeah, I mean, challenges, particularly recently over the last 18, 24 months, we've seen,
[03:22] SPEAKER_00: you know, more than 150,000 jobs lost in the province of Alberta. Many of those here in Calgary.
[03:28] SPEAKER_00: The dependency on oil and gas and energy, I think, is how to big impact. So you're seeing companies
[03:33] SPEAKER_00: be cautious. You're seeing organizations dramatically make cuts and look to reorganize,
[03:38] SPEAKER_00: retool, do less with more and more and less. And I think, you know, that's a huge challenge because
[03:42] SPEAKER_00: when people are cautious in an entrepreneurial, entrepreneurial province, when people start
[03:49] SPEAKER_00: getting cautious, that's not a natural, you know, fit. So I think that's been a little challenging.
[03:55] SPEAKER_01: Okay. Now, some of the best ideas we have sort of come out of nowhere.
[04:00] SPEAKER_01: Is there anything that you do or any places that you go to get inspired and where ideas seem
[04:08] SPEAKER_00: to flow freely? Yeah, for sure. You know, I was given this advice quite a while ago in my career,
[04:13] SPEAKER_00: and it served me really well. It's the importance of taking time to breathe. You know, step out of
[04:18] SPEAKER_00: the environment, get out of the business so you can actually work on the business. So for me,
[04:23] SPEAKER_00: I look for opportunities where I can breathe, get away from the office, change perspective.
[04:28] SPEAKER_00: I do two things that are important to me. You know, I'm an avid musician. So I love to play
[04:33] SPEAKER_00: a play guitar. That's always a career development that helps me get outside of the office and just
[04:38] SPEAKER_00: sort of change the way my mind is working. And then back to the soccer reference. You know,
[04:42] SPEAKER_00: I'm a proud coach for U15 girls here in the city of Calgary for a football soccer club.
[04:49] SPEAKER_00: And getting out there with the kids, kicking the ball around, listening to them laugh and have a
[04:52] SPEAKER_00: good time. That's a really nice departure from, you know, the tyranny of business sometimes.
[04:57] SPEAKER_00: Okay, I'm curious. What do you play in guitar? What kind of music? Yeah, I love blues. And I,
[05:02] SPEAKER_00: you know, depending on who's listening, I'm an 80s rock fanatic. Okay, so I love the big guitar
[05:07] SPEAKER_00: of the hair bands. I think it's a lot of fun. When you look at your company and your business
[05:11] SPEAKER_01: right now, what are you most excited about with it? I think two things. I think, you know,
[05:16] SPEAKER_00: the downturn that we talked about earlier provides a really unique opportunity because
[05:20] SPEAKER_00: organizations are looking inward to figure out how they can be more effective. So when you've
[05:24] SPEAKER_00: got a marketplace that's interested in looking introspectively to say, listen, what do we have to
[05:28] SPEAKER_00: change? That's a great opportunity when you're a change agent as a company. So I think that's number
[05:33] SPEAKER_00: one. And number two, you know, I'm thrilled at the response. We launched GameChanger really only
[05:37] SPEAKER_00: three months ago. And we've had a number of very important CEOs and business leaders reach out to
[05:43] SPEAKER_00: us to say, listen, I want to learn more. So there's a huge funnel and there's a huge demand.
[05:48] SPEAKER_00: So I'm really excited and really tackling it hard now and figuring out how we can help.
[05:52] SPEAKER_01: And what's your vision for the future for GameChanger?
[05:56] SPEAKER_00: Yeah, my vision is to become a household name brand in terms of executive coaching leadership
[06:01] SPEAKER_00: and mentorship field of work. You know, it's a hundred and twenty billion dollar industry
[06:05] SPEAKER_00: a year in North America. And there's some organizations that do it very well and they're very well
[06:09] SPEAKER_00: known. If I said to you, you know, Anthony Robbins is coming to town. Everybody knows that name.
[06:14] SPEAKER_00: I would like GameChanger to be synonymous with the heavy weights of industry from 20 and 30 years
[06:19] SPEAKER_00: ago. I'd like GameChanger to replace the name ZigZiggler or Tony Robbins with respect to those
[06:24] SPEAKER_01: phenomenal leaders. Knowing what you know now, what would you do differently when you had first set
[06:30] SPEAKER_00: up the company? Yeah, you know what? I think I would have prepared myself for the requirement of
[06:36] SPEAKER_00: patience. You know, by nature, I'm an urgent person, an urgent player and I like things to happen
[06:41] SPEAKER_00: quickly. And when you're dealing with Fortune 500s with competing priorities, with our specific
[06:46] SPEAKER_00: importance of getting to the person that cares most about the business, that takes time.
[06:50] SPEAKER_00: And I don't think I fully appreciated the amount of time it took to get to the right people to
[06:54] SPEAKER_00: have the right conversation and move the needle forward. Okay, now as an entrepreneur, as is that
[07:01] SPEAKER_01: you've probably received a lot of advice over the years. What's the best piece of advice
[07:05] SPEAKER_00: for being an entrepreneur that you've ever received? Yeah, I think, you know, don't put a timeline
[07:12] SPEAKER_00: on goals and objectives. And I know that sounds counterintuitive because anyone in corporate
[07:17] SPEAKER_00: business, so what are you talking about? We work daily, weekly, monthly, quarterly, we have fiscal
[07:21] SPEAKER_00: responsibility. So I'm not suggesting you don't have goals and objectives. What I'm suggesting
[07:25] SPEAKER_00: as it relates to your career or launching a business as an entrepreneur is, you know, I think if you
[07:31] SPEAKER_00: say, okay, we have to have all of these things in place by December, you're setting yourself up to
[07:35] SPEAKER_00: fail because there's a million things that could go wrong. So give yourself permission to have a
[07:40] SPEAKER_00: be prepared to change it and have the, I would say have the emotional intelligence to recognize
[07:45] SPEAKER_00: when things are going sideways, quickly make a stop, revector, replan, and you know, don't be afraid
[07:50] SPEAKER_00: to give yourself permission to take a little bit more time than you thought. Okay, I'm going to switch
[07:54] SPEAKER_01: gears here and ask you if you personal type questions. Everybody these days has a quote, unquote bucket
[08:01] SPEAKER_01: list. What sits atop your bucket list these days? Yeah, do you know, I think, you know, it's a
[08:06] SPEAKER_00: couple of things. Thing number one is I'd like to find a place, whether it's, we just recently got
[08:12] SPEAKER_00: back from Shushua Blake in BC, which is outstanding, whether it's there, whether it's a little small
[08:16] SPEAKER_00: place in Rome, I'd like to have a getaway. You know, I would like on my bucket list for us, my
[08:21] SPEAKER_00: family and I define to get away that we can go to. We know it's there, it's in the family, and it's
[08:26] SPEAKER_00: our, you know, fortress of solitude, you know, that we can just go and recharge and energize and know
[08:31] SPEAKER_01: that it's always there. When you look at your career, it's sort of looking back, if you were doing
[08:38] SPEAKER_01: what you're doing now, any thoughts or ideas of what type of career you might have embarked on?
[08:45] SPEAKER_00: Yeah, for sure, you know, as a Canadian kid growing up with Italian heritage, my passion and desire
[08:51] SPEAKER_00: was always soccer. So, you know, if I could turn back time and try something different, I would love
[08:56] SPEAKER_00: to have an attempt at a professional soccer career, either as a player or as a coach. You know,
[09:01] SPEAKER_00: I had a brief stint as one of the founding members of the Calvary soccer team here in Calvary,
[09:06] SPEAKER_00: which is partly Canadian Premier League, which has been a fantastic endeavor. So, I had a nice taste
[09:10] SPEAKER_00: of that. However, I'm talking on a much grander scale and doing it somewhere in your
[09:14] SPEAKER_00: personal America, I think would be amazing. So, you never know, Mario, so not over yet, we'd like
[09:18] SPEAKER_01: to give that a go. That's true. My dream was always to cover as a journalist, a world cup event,
[09:25] SPEAKER_00: so fantastic. What are you reading currently in terms of Pucks? Yeah, do you know what? Right now,
[09:33] SPEAKER_00: I try my best to not commit to any one book. I've never been a reader other than outside of
[09:38] SPEAKER_00: university where you're committed to read course curriculum, but for me, I look for short snippets
[09:43] SPEAKER_00: of inspirational material. So, I use everything from podcasts to linked into just interesting
[09:50] SPEAKER_00: social media feeds that give me insights into what are people interested in right now? What are
[09:55] SPEAKER_00: some of the problems that are going on in the marketplace? And what are the themes around Gen Z
[09:59] SPEAKER_00: and Millennial? I think I need to keep an eye on. Okay, if you had one word to describe yourself,
[10:04] SPEAKER_00: what would it be and why? Yeah, I love this question because you immediately pick four or five words.
[10:11] SPEAKER_00: I say, well, that wasn't the question. Question was one word. So, after giving it some thought,
[10:15] SPEAKER_00: I think authentic is the word that I'd like to be best remembered and known for. I work very hard,
[10:21] SPEAKER_00: and you know this yourself with our Italian heritage, that it was always about being a man of your
[10:26] SPEAKER_00: word. You know, making sure that people would look to you as if you made a commitment, it was good
[10:31] SPEAKER_00: as good. So, I work very hard at being authentic. What you get is what you see, and I tell us to my
[10:36] SPEAKER_00: children as well, my three daughters that never make a promise that you can't deliver on. And,
[10:41] SPEAKER_00: you know, go out of your way to be honest. Tell the truth. Be open. And if you can do something great,
[10:46] SPEAKER_00: do it perfectly or do it as well as you can. And if you can't do something, then be upfront and
[10:50] SPEAKER_01: honest as well. Now, you mentioned shoe shop and you mentioned Rome. Just wondering if you have a
[10:55] SPEAKER_01: favorite place that you'd like to go to and visit. Yeah, for sure. It's got to be Rome. You know,
[11:01] SPEAKER_00: we've said a lot of time there. My family is from Bari, which is southern Italy, but we spend a lot
[11:06] SPEAKER_00: of time in Rome. I love the hustle and bustle of the city. I love the history, obviously, the
[11:12] SPEAKER_00: fashion, the culture, the food, the people, some of the best people watching on the planet. And,
[11:20] SPEAKER_00: they really spend their time on enjoying life. So people say in North America, you know, we live to
[11:25] SPEAKER_00: work. And Italy, I think they work to live. So they do just enough so they can go and enjoy
[11:30] SPEAKER_00: themselves. And I think we could all learn a lesson from that. And that's why on the bucket list,
[11:35] SPEAKER_01: there's that's probably the place we'll end up. Okay. Now, we're all creatures of habit. Do you
[11:40] SPEAKER_01: have a daily routine that you follow almost religiously? Yeah, do you know what? Since the dawn of
[11:46] SPEAKER_00: time, I have an early riser. So 536 a.m. every morning, I'm up, regardless of what's on the agenda,
[11:52] SPEAKER_00: drives my wife crazy because she'd like to sleep in on the weekends. But I'm up. I will typically go
[11:59] SPEAKER_00: immediately to work. I want to see what's going on in the news. What's happening, you know, globally?
[12:04] SPEAKER_00: Is there any significant material change in the business community in the world? Politically,
[12:09] SPEAKER_00: financially, religiously, just why get a beat on, you know, what's happening on the planet?
[12:13] SPEAKER_00: Then I get into business work. What's going on with email? What are the follow-up action items?
[12:19] SPEAKER_00: Then I'll look at planning out the day. And then from there, if I can, I usually hit the gym. Do a
[12:25] SPEAKER_00: little bit of physical activity, sometimes 15 minutes, sometimes 45. Then I'll have breakfast. Then I'll
[12:30] SPEAKER_00: see what the family's up to, wake everybody up and get them ready for, you know, some of the time
[12:34] SPEAKER_00: has been great, but get them ready for school or work or whatever. Okay, I'm going to present you
[12:38] SPEAKER_01: with a different scenario here. And just imagine a small, beautiful tropical island in the middle of
[12:46] SPEAKER_01: the ocean with only one full booth and no internet. We're going to drop you off there with no
[12:51] SPEAKER_01: technology at all. Anytime you can use the phone booth on the island to call the boat to come pick you
[12:57] SPEAKER_01: up. With that in mind, how long do you think you'd last before making that phone call? And what do you
[13:03] SPEAKER_00: think you'd be doing on that island? Yeah, I love this question. So if you would ask me, Mario,
[13:08] SPEAKER_00: one year ago, I would have said about 15 minutes to an hour. And I'd be going crazy. Get me back to
[13:14] SPEAKER_00: technology, give me back to work. But you know, now that I've had the benefit of being outside
[13:18] SPEAKER_00: a Fortune 500 life and very focused on entrepreneurship, I would very comfortably spend 30 to 45 days on
[13:25] SPEAKER_00: that island. Absolutely. And I'll tell you what I would be doing because I've learned that, you know,
[13:31] SPEAKER_00: there's a difference between relevant urgency and just urgency. So when you're caught up in the
[13:36] SPEAKER_00: Fortune 500 world, you think everything has to happen within 30 seconds. If you don't respond to an
[13:39] SPEAKER_00: email and make a call, there's a problem. What I have learned is I think 45 days, well, how I would
[13:44] SPEAKER_00: spend that time is I would, as I have done, actually, just not on a desert island, unfortunately,
[13:49] SPEAKER_00: get really thoughtful about the strategy for the business, get thoughtful about your value
[13:53] SPEAKER_00: proposition, get thoughtful about the problems that you're trying to solve as a result of, you know,
[13:58] SPEAKER_00: the organization and why you exist. I would spend a lot of time focusing on, you know, the
[14:03] SPEAKER_00: commitments as a father, one of the things that I need to do for my kids over the next three and five
[14:07] SPEAKER_00: years. And how can I make sure I keep focused on that? I would do the same as a husband. What do I
[14:12] SPEAKER_00: need to do to ensure that I'm being the very best partner and best friend that I can be? And then
[14:16] SPEAKER_00: internally look at my own personal plan. I would love to run the beach. I would love to swim in the
[14:21] SPEAKER_00: ocean. I would love to figure out how to, you know, make a fire, how to forge for food. I think
[14:26] SPEAKER_00: that would be phenomenal. I love that show with Tom Hanks when he's stranded on the island.
[14:30] SPEAKER_00: So I think I say 30 to 45 days in reality it might only be two weeks, but I think it would be a
[14:35] SPEAKER_00: very cool experiment. Well, that's interesting. Is there anything you'd like to add before you leave
[14:40] SPEAKER_00: us today, Lorenzo? Yeah, two things. I think number one, I'd just like to say thank you for the
[14:44] SPEAKER_00: opportunity. Any chance, you know, I get to talk about game changer to share my thoughts on,
[14:48] SPEAKER_00: you know, the business world or leadership or, you know, just the art of inspiration. I'm very
[14:53] SPEAKER_00: grateful. And the second thing would be an open challenge to CEO's business leaders and entrepreneurs
[14:58] SPEAKER_00: in Canada to say, you know, be brave. I'm running into a loads of organizations that I've routinely
[15:04] SPEAKER_00: admired over the years. And I'm scratching my head at some of the decisions they're making around
[15:10] SPEAKER_00: downsizing, around putting, you know, perhaps not the right people in the right places at the right
[15:14] SPEAKER_00: time. And I say that politically, I say that in Fortune 500, I say that entrepreneurs, I think
[15:19] SPEAKER_00: as Canadians, we have earned the right to be proud. I think we've earned the right to be brave.
[15:25] SPEAKER_00: And I think we have a tremendous amount to offer. And I hate to see people leaving Alberta
[15:29] SPEAKER_00: for other job opportunities. I think we can make a go here. And I would challenge leaders and
[15:33] SPEAKER_00: organizations to be brave and to look at, you know, how can we make the most impact possible in
[15:38] SPEAKER_00: Calgary and to the extent game changer can help? Please give us a call. Okay, thanks for joining us
[15:42] SPEAKER_01: today, Lorenzo. Thank you. Really appreciate it. Hey there. Thanks for taking the time today to
[15:48] SPEAKER_01: listen to Calgary's podcast on Canada's podcast network. We hope you enjoyed the show today.
[15:56] SPEAKER_01: Make sure you sign up for our newsletters and write a review for us on the iTunes and then
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[16:09] SPEAKER_01: what other entrepreneurs are doing across the country. See you next time.