We’re going to start 2023 with Hope, specifically Valerie Hope. Valerie brings a truly global approach to leadership and building diverse, inclusive and equal work cultures. For Valerie it starts with curiosity and she shares how her early life as a self-proclaimed “military brat” and global traveller taught her the skills she shares with her clients. The conversation is wide ranging just like her perspectives and has a little something for everyone.

In the US, it’s the time of the year when we celebrate the Thanksgiving holiday and are grateful for the many blessings of the past year. Ken suggests a particular focus for this year’s reflections in this short, “Insight Bite” episode.

In the US, it’s the time of the year when we celebrate the Thanksgiving holiday and are grateful for the many blessings of the past year. Ken suggests a particular focus for this year’s reflections in this short, “Insight Bite” episode.

On the podcast, we tend to focus on our present-day goals for work, but what about our goals for post-work? What kind of life do we want to live after we leave the workplace? Today’s guest, Tara Nolan, builds on her background as a pilot and logistics officer for the US Air Force to help people see the whole picture of both their work, and post-work, lives and build a financial plan that makes sense. The key is “understanding the mission” and putting goals ahead of tools. While the topic is money, there’s also some great insights about problem-solving, connecting and finding clarity that have universal application.

Today’s guest, Tim Mousseau, has spent the last 10 years researching what makes people feel unsafe and how to create frameworks and boundaries that lead to safe work cultures. This is a deeper and more personal conversation than we’ve had in while and Tim shares some great insights that will change how you think about the workplace.

We often think about burnout from an overwhelmed, overworked, and stressed out perspective. Today’s guest, Cait Donovan, suggests we also look at another source - boundaries, and the resentments caused when those boundaries are violated. She walks us through her own journey of burnout and boundaries and shares helpful lessons for all of us to have more resilient, balanced and healthy lives. Our conversation also touches on some eastern philosophy and neuroscience and how they impact our experience and responses to burnout.

For many, the topic of finances can feel confining and burdensome, certainly not freeing and uplifting. Today’s guest, Mackey McNeil, helps us break through some of the limiting thoughts about finances that can hold us back and limit our ability to not only become more prosperous but get more enjoyment out of life. Mackey will share how to achieve success and abundance utilizing the 3 Freedoms of Prosperity: Money freedom, Time Freedom, and Freedom from Worry. She is the author of several award-winning books, including “The Intersection of Joy and Money” and “The Prosperity Handbook”.

Can we make stress a friend, or at least keep it from being a foe or an enemy?

Today’s guest, Deb Lewis would like to challenge our thinking about stress and encourage us to look at it from a different perspective. Deb is no stranger to stress. As one of the first female candidates to graduate from West Point and then as a leader in combat, Deb understands the impact of stress on performance. In this episode, she shares her experiences, perspective, and several tools so we can pivot and instead of being crushed by stress, we can actually use it to our advantage.

While “Me Too” and other movements had done tremendous good in amplifying the stories and voices of women who have not been treated fairly in the workplace, there may be a hidden cost. Researcher Kori Reed explores gender equality in the workplace and as she surveyed male leaders across the country she began to notice a trend.

Many men, while wanting an inclusive workplace culture where men and women can both thrive, were nonetheless so uncertain about crossing the line from an innocent comment to a harassment complaint that they would avoid any conversation on gender equity altogether. These would be champions, men in power who could make a difference in leveling the playing field, are instead silencing themselves and essentially taking themselves out of the game.

Kori and I discuss her findings, explore the state of the gender conversation in the human workplace, how to create safe spaces for dialogue and how we can collectively move toward the ultimate goal of “better together”.

Almost all of us see the wisdom in having a diversified financial portfolio, it’s smart investing not to have all your eggs in one basket. But what about the portfolio of our lives? Rarely do we think about the value in diversifying our lives and careers - not only to minimize risk, but also to create opportunities. The upside potential isn’t just monetary, there are mental wellness and life experience benefits as well. Today’s guest Carl Seidman applied his financial acumen to his career and began diversifying his life by retiring at age 32! There’s more to the story of course - Carl and I discuss that and the current state of career and life management. It’s another great conversation, listen in!