Željko R.

CheddarList

A hired poacher who gets things done. Our working world needs some reworking. That’s why we’re fixing a broken system by flipping the hiring process on its head: We empower employers to apply to vetted talent. 

Fire the old way of hiring. Apply to vetted talent instead of hoping they'll find you.

Founder

The Big Red Balloon

The Big Red Balloon started as a small boutique digital footprint firm that I founded and managed. Since our inception, we have been developing hybrid mobile and web-based applications.

Managing Director

Founder at CheddarList / bootstrapper / I'm pro-opera and love APIs

Hi I'm Željko an entrepreneur on a mission to fire the old way of hiring. Founder of CheddarList and passionate amateur winemaker.

At CheddarList "you're hired" without the tired means that you will escape the hamster wheel of phantom job postings. We believe when people are hired with respect for their time and value, everyone wins.

For both talent and employers, the current hiring process can make medieval torture seem like a Sunday stroll.

Our Mission 
‍To remove the friction from the hiring process.

Our Vision
‍A world where nothing gets between the right opportunity and the right talent.

Ranked #1 in the industry by the owner of the company and his mother. 

Weekdays at around 8PM I write spaghetti code.

Before anything, I am an Orthodox Christian. Revelation 1:8 

P.S. I enjoy playing chess and am quite crafty with the ♞. DM me if you want to play a round.

45 Degrees Leadership Consulting

45 Degrees Leadership Consulting: Connect your mind to your heart to execute emotional intelligence in your leadership.

🔹 Your Challenges Leading Today:
➡ Change is rapid and constant.
➡ People are different due to the constant disruption.
➡ Complex challenges that require complex solutions.

🔹 What Sets Us Apart:
➡ Specialization: Unique frameworks to execute emotional intelligence in your leadership.
➡ Behavior Transformation: Behavior drives results. You want to change behavior; you have to coach behavior.
➡ Leadership Language: Creating a unified language of leadership for you and your organization that transforms how you coach and scale leadership. 

You have systems for everything… do you have a system for leadership?

🔹 Why Choose Our Unique Approach:
➡ Expertise: Executive experience, having sat in the chair where all decisions end up, while also experiencing the loneliness of leading at the top.
➡ Empowerment: Uncover how to leverage your emotions and the emotions of others to increase engagement, investment, and meaning in work.
➡ Capitalize on Change: When you unleash the power of human connection, constant change moves from a challenge to an opportunity. Connection that drives collaboration leads to innovation. 

That is how you win big in the complex climate today.

🔹 Connect with 45 Degrees today:
📈 You will maximize your impact by connecting your mind to your heart. You will connect with people to deliver impact that drives business results.

💪 The power of human connection is undefeated.

👊 It is time for you to leverage that power to level up your impact and destroy revenue records.

The Outlier Project

Member

Delta Defense LLC

Hired to design, deliver, and evolve an inaugural leadership development function and executive training program for a membership-based organization with 700 employees across 41 states. 
• Accelerated overall manager effectiveness scores through new training and development programs
• Conducted a needs assessment to understand skill gaps in the organization and developed a leadership training program consisting of 8 modules to align with the company’s strategic plan 
• Built and scaled the training department, hiring new trainers, and developed a metrics-based success system to assess and evolve the programming based on business needs and skill gaps
• Supported vetting, selection and implementation of a new Learning Management System (LMS) for the company
• Oversee all vendor relationships for Situational Leadership Training, ensuring quality and success
• Advancing overall corporate culture and succession planning with continued leadership programming
• Successfully Presented to the executive committee to win influence from C-Suite leadership in supporting the leadership development program

Learning and Development Manager-Leadership

West Allis-West Milwaukee School District

Led employee engagement and performance growth via strong leadership, team training, and continuous improvements in employee, student, and family communications. Drove building optimization initiatives to support student learning and success. 
• Presided over 70 staff members and 470 students designing and facilitating adult learning opportunities to improve teacher and student performance and enhance parent engagement
• Drove new engagement programs resulting in the largest improvement in parent engagement and the second largest improvement in employee engagement in an organization with 18 sites, and the third highest employee engagement score for an organization with 18 sites
• Navigated start of a school year in a virtual environment by building training programs for teachers and students, and family communications to navigate virtual learning while building community
• Led return-to-school initiative post-COVID, ensuring critical communications and processes were in place for social distancing and policies throughout the school and throughout the day
• Led staff in creating a rubric to assess student learning competencies, which resulted in student increases in real-world and academic skills, critical thinking, and problem-solving
• Increased rating on State Report Card for school by more than 5%

Principal

Sheboygan South High School

Oversaw development and performance of five teacher teams with up to 20 members each and more than 1,200 students, responsible for improving student behavior and success and addressing disciplinary issues.
• Implemented new engagement programs for students to drive positive behavior and attendance, increasing student attendance for first time in 4 years and largest increase in the previous 8 years 
• Developed adult learning opportunities for staff in areas of student behavior management, with 100% teacher involvement

Dean of Students

Preble High School

Championed training and professional development for 24-member special education staff, overseeing special education programming and needs within a 2K student population.  
• Developed continued learning professional development opportunities for special education staff
• Designed and led training for employees to implement a new IEP (Individual Education Plan) form to meet new state requirements

Lead Special Education Teacher

Grafton High School

Developed “life after high school” support for students with disabilities, working closely with state agencies to create employment opportunities for students and aid families in the college application process. 
• Piloted professional development to help staff prepare students for post-secondary success
• Successfully lobbied State lawmakers to pass legislation for students with disabilities, bringing together business leaders, the Department of Workforce Development, Tech Schools, and High Schools to ensure effective skills development, continued education and employment opportunities – See JSOnline Article:  Grafton Educator Goes All Out For Kids With Disabilities attached to this role
• Assistant Varsity Football Coach 2014

Public Speaking Engagements included:
February 2016- Wisconsin Transition Conference-Wisconsin Dells, WI
October 2015- Transition Improvement Grant Transition Academy-Wisconsin Dells, WI
June 2015-APSE National Conference-Philadelphia, PA
January 2015-Transition Improvement Grant Conference-Wisconsin Dells

Transition Coordinator

Edgewater High School

Provided differentiated instruction for a 9th grade World Geography class in a diverse urban high school with 70% of students on free and reduced lunch programs. Assistant Football Coach 2013.

Teacher

Assistant Football Coach

Sheboygan Area School District

Directed alternative education programs to support at-risk students. Identified partnerships with local businesses and community members to establish student job opportunities. Program leadership resulted in 92% of students graduating from high school.

Alternative Education Teacher

Orion Energy Systems, Inc.

Led promotions department, researched new market opportunities, identified sales leads and managed special projects. 
• Directed a 4-member team of inside sales lead generators and designed a project targeting new prospects, resulting in $4.5M worth of appointments in the first three months.
• Determined new target markets. Provided feasibility studies on new markets and determined the best way to penetrate them. Increased sales in three new regions drastically
• Designed effective promotions for new markets. Increased appointments set from a cold call from 10 percent to 33%
• Created an empirical way to measure their productivity on a daily basis, increasing the number of leads generated per day by 20%
• Completed cold calls to set appointments for sales reps. Set appointments at a 33% success rate
Developed relationships with end users and sold them Orion products

Business Development Representative

Unleash the power of human connection to level up your leadership. Connect your head to your heart and rewrite your revenue record books.

You have accepted the risk and responsibility of leadership. Our world needs you now more than ever. People do not want to lead other people. The challenges are too much, but you are different; that is why you are here.

Leading today is more challenging than ever. The challenges you face today are due to the current reality of:

✅ Volatility
✅ Uncertainty
✅ Complexity
✅ Ambiguity

This is causing change to happen more often and much faster than ever before.

😟 People struggle with change.
😢 People are hurting.

You know that the people problems hit differently. They are complex and messy and keep you up at night due to the stress and anxiety they produce.

🤷‍♀️ There are four generations in the workforce, and how are you supposed to lead with such different opinions on work?

All of this calls for a new style of leadership. Leadership needs to start with the heart. 💙 

Implementing and executing emotional intelligence in your leadership will equip you to inspire and engage others, which will transform your culture and amplify profitability.

I founded 45 Degrees Leadership Consulting to equip you to maximize your impact.

Discover how to lead with the head and the heart. 

🧠 ➕ 💙 = 45 Degrees Leadership Consulting

Connect your mind to your heart so you can connect with people to deliver impact that drives business results. 📈 

Emotional intelligence is your bridge to connect the multiple generations in the workforce that all bring different backgrounds and perspectives to your organization.

Connect your mind to your heart so you can connect your team to your organization and your organization's goals.

Empower your team to drive growth in employee engagement and profitability. 

You are a difference-maker.

Unlock how to connect your mind and heart in your leadership today.

You deserve it.

Your people deserve it.

taplio

The Battle

Željko R.

Josiah Pledl

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