These are the Boomers

Jim’s radio and comedy career has taken many turns but all in the right direction. He started at the #1 station in Indianapolis as a sports reporter and show host. From there he spent several years on the road as a touring stand-up comic with appearances from L.A. to New York and Toronto to Miami. Over 5,000 shows including opening act performances with Ellen DeGeneres, Jeff Foxworthy, Ray Romano and Steve Harvey. His radio resume includes being the morning co-host on WGRL “The Bear” in Indianapolis, producer and sports anchor for the top rated morning show in Sacramento and being part of the talk radio boom with the launch of, “The Morning Line” on WXNT. His podcast experience includes the successful run of, “The Patriarchs” with 3 other fellow radio dads. He now is at the creative helm of SilentSidekick, a national comedy writing service that provides real time punchlines for the nations top radio broadcasters. Check out the writing samples on Twitter @silent_sidekick

I went "live" before “live” was a thing. And ever since I was 9 years old, I knew I wanted to perform as a stand-up comic.
Unfortunately, my teachers and parents were not so enthusiastic.

So I stayed in school and started my career. But the dream never died. When open mic nights became widely available, I jumped at the chance to “go live”. I got a few laughs and was hooked.

But, the immediate response was, “Don’t give up your day job.”

Not easily deterred, I continued to perform, honed my craft, and earned my stripes as a professional stand-up comic. I was actually getting paid to make people laugh. Time to head to Hollywood to be the next big sitcom star.
Life as a full-time comic wasn’t always easy. Fortunately, I was able to make stand-up comedy and being a medical sales representative co-exist.

While enjoying success in both pursuits, this “double life” took its toll. Eventually my focus shifted more to developing organizational leadership skills. Understanding the nuances of team engagement, sales strategies, and continued personal growth led to roles as VP of Sales at two different medical device companies. I helped one company double their sales, and the other to reach record profitability and increase their international footprint by 36%.

Along the way, I discovered that the principles to build high performance sales teams are no different than what makes an accomplished professional comedian:

► Words: Learning how to write jokes taught me that words, tone and inflection matter.
► Presence: Learning how to connect with a group of 300 strangers in a matter of minutes underscored the power of presence.
► Feedback: Learning how to deal with hecklers provided a valuable lesson in giving/receiving feedback.

After a successful 30 year career leading sales teams, I am now working with top leaders who want to fully develop their teams to their highest levels of individual and collective performance.
I also bring humor and fun to the real issues sales teams face as a virtual and very entertaining speaker.

Artie has 38 years of experience as a freelance voice actor and stand up comedian. During that time he has amassed a collection of approximately 4000 commercials and industrial film projects.  His specialty is character voices for the video gaming industry. His voice can be heard in over 750 video games in multi-platforms like PlayStation, Xbox, Wii and Online Gaming. Whether the project calls for humor, protagonist, antagonist or reverent professionalism he can reach the audience with empathy and clarity. He is known throughout the industry as the Vocal Kaleidoscope. Check him out on Facebook or his website www.artiewidgery.com