Lifetime at Work: Finding the Meaning in Our Careers – Details, episodes & analysis

Episode 62.  A good career always starts one way and ends another. As you get older, not everything comes about moving up and more money, eventually the goal of legacy becomes the focus.

Brenda Ha began her career in the corporate world, but when she started a family and started craving more flexibility, she decided to start her own business—a concierge service called Check Box Services. Building a business that suits her personal life has helped her create the kind of balance in her life that she values.

The topic of legacy is something that has come up often in Brenda’s work. During the episode, she discusses what she’s learned about her own legacy and values since starting her business. She also shares great tips for those people in the initial stages of growing their career and how the older clients she has today are all striving for legacy and impact in their work.

Key Takeaways and Discussion

• Brenda’s educational background and the experience she had in consulting and IT before starting her own company.
• How her life changed when she had kids and what she realized she needed to do.
• What they do at Check Box Services and who their typical client is.
• Why she’s made the intentional decision to keep her team small.
• How she becomes like family to her clients and why it matters.
• How working for yourself differs from working for another business.
• Why legacy is important to Brenda and what it inspired her to get involved with.
• The importance of having role models who resemble you when you’re young.
• The most translatable skills you can have in the workplace and how Brenda used them.
• Opportunities that you should keep your eyes open for as you start your career.
• Brenda’s advice for figuring out what you want to do for work if you aren’t sure.

Episode 61.  How do you know you should start a business, and how do you put the pieces of your life together to do it and be successful?

Richa Gupta is a food entrepreneur who founded Good Food for Good, a fantastic lineup of sauces, condiments and related food products sold in grocery stores across North America. Richa’s experience in becoming a mom combined with her desire to do something meaningful influenced her journey in bringing Good Food for Good into the world. In this episode, she shares the story of her journey into entrepreneurship and shares her tips for other people who are looking to build a meaningful career for themselves too.

On top of all that, Richa has now transitioned into an advising role for similar businesses and is the Vice President of Partnerships and Development at the Canadian Food Innovation Network (CFIN) and discusses how this next step will help her make an even bigger impact.

Key Takeaways and Discussion

• Where her career started, and the role Richa is filling today.
• Why Richa says she was always a believer and how that has helped her career.
• Where you should go if you don’t know which career path is right for you.
• What Richa’s (first) midlife crisis pushed her to pursue and where it led.
• Why insight is important in entrepreneurship. 
• What sets Good Food for Good apart from other food companies.
•  What she wishes she’d done first before starting her business.
• The model of business that became her saving grace.
• The role she still plays in Good Food for Good after stepping away.
• The goal of CFIN and what they’re on a mission to help food manufacturers do.
• How having several mentors has helped Richa find the success she has today.
• How leaning into your journey can help you get through the challenges of your career.

Episode 52. Nick Goblirsch started his career in the HR (Human Resources) industry. He was in charge of hiring people and building organizations. Over time he became more successful by doing the jobs other people didn’t want to do, like driving efficiencies and layoffs. Then one day he decided he needed to do something completely different and quit. 

Today Nick is the owner of I Heart Painting LLC, a house painting company. If that sounds like a big switch, well it is, and the full story is even better. Today, Nick inspires others as a speaker and coach of change, guiding others towards happiness and fulfillment through career transformation. Nick emphasizes that changing careers isn’t always easy, but it’s worth it to find your purpose and become happier in your everyday life.

Key Takeaways and Discussion

• Nick’s original ambition while he was at school and how he ended up in HR.
• What lessons he learned during his experience in sales.
• What inspired Nick to start a podcast and what it’s about.
• How he found his passion for painting and what made him jump into it as a career.
• What originally turned Nick off from entrepreneurship and how he changed his mind.
• What he would tell himself if he could go back in time.
• What happens when people lose their purposes, and what to do about it.
• How to overcome anxiety and get out of a rut in your professional life.
• The importance of servant leadership and what makes someone a good fit for HR.
• How powerful it is to validate yourself versus seeking validation from others.
• The question his son asked that helped him dig himself out of career uncertainty.
• How to find your worth and communicate it to your clients and customers.

Episode 51. Rick Jordan is a keynote speaker and podcast host of the All-In podcast with Rick Jordan. He is the CEO & Founder of ReachOut Technology, a cybersecurity firm that recently went public. He’s been featured on TV segments with all the majors channels - ABC, NBC, Fox, Bloomberg and more. 

Rick started his career at the bottom, without much of an education and only his drive. Over the years he was able to build a personal brand which helped build a company that’s a platform for all the more he wants to achieve. 

With host Greg Martin the two discuss his journey, how to enjoy your job, branding, education and lots of advice for everyone in their career.

Key Takeaways and Discussion

• The industry Rick works in and his previous job roles.
• Why he decided to go public with his IT consulting firm.
• The importance of having a personal brand and emphasizing your values.
• The 30/70 rule Rick tries to live by and how it improves his efficiency.
• How perfection is actually an ego problem.
• What his first career choice was and why he decided to pivot to tech.
• What you should be doing in your twenties (and what to avoid).
• Why you need to be “findable” and what that means in today’s world.
• Why it’s important to be all in when you decide to do something.
• How opportunities will show up for you in real life if you’re open to them.
• The goal of Rick’s podcast and what his mission is as a host.
• How he approaches his goals and why it’s the best way to actually accomplish them.

Episode 50. For a special 50th episode, host Greg Martin shares his story of his early career in investment banking, through entrepreneurship and to today. He then covers some of the major takeaways from his own career and from his experience interviewing guests on the podcast. 

Throughout the episode he shares the journey beginning his career at Genuity Capital Markets, through the acquisition by Canaccord Genuity and starting the boutique firm Origin Merchant Partners. He then discusses the founding of Farm’r, the farm to table restaurant and catering business, through to rejoining Origin Merchant Partners after the pandemic.

The lessons learned cover tips and ideas for how to start your career (and know where to start), along with some general takeaways around having a fulfilling career and how to enjoy your job more.

Key Career Takeaways

• Advice for starting a career. Where do you start?
• Is investment banking a good place to start a career?
• Career as a form of self expression
• Moving forward at all times
• The value of money
• Being passionate about the job
• What to do if you feel stuck in a job or career
• Personal attitude at work
• If you hate your boss, know that you probably can’t change them
• Advice on taking a big career leap into something new

Episode 49. What are the options for starting a career in marketing? What are the options across in-house, agency and everything in between?

In this episode, host Greg Martin interviews co-founder of Wild Coffee Marketing, Amy Anderson. Amy began her career working in New York in media and an account executive in the early days of digital media. She continued with a few in-house marketing roles before co-founding her current firm which today handles everything for their clients strategy to execution. 

Amy loves that marketing allows her to merge creativity with data-driven decisions, and co-founding her own company has made space for greater flexibility with her family. During the episode, she gives her tips for being successful in today’s marketing space and what really matters when it comes to metrics.

Key Takeaways and Discussion

• How she’s utilized her education background in art history and English in marketing.
• The part of marketing Amy found was really important to her and why.
• How marketing owns the whole digital experience in today’s world.
• The catalyst that led Amy to decide she was going to start her own business.
• The diversity of skills required to be successful in marketing today.
• How the agency model can be cost-prohibitive for small or mid-size businesses.
• The secret to standing out in today’s marketing space.
• What you need to know first about your leads before you can hook them.
• The mistake Amy made early on in her career and what she learned from it.
• The boundaries set at Wild Coffee Marketing to promote a healthy work balance.
• Where innovation comes from and how company culture can support it.
• How the approach to leadership has changed, especially after the pandemic.

Episode 48. Lots of what determines whether we’ll be happy with our job and thus our career, is tied to attitude. When you listen to this week’s guest, you’ll see she has a positive energy that makes “work fun”. Nicole Greer is an executive coach, consultant, and recruiter, but what's really interesting is her journey of finding work, taking a long break to raise her kids, and then coming back into the business world. She’s got a lot of energy, which she credits for landing her in leadership positions.

In this episode, Nicole and Greg  explore the strategies and systems designed to help you thrive professionally and enjoy the journey. She explains the importance of balancing strengths and weaknesses, plus the need to harness the six vital energies: physical, emotional, mental, spiritual, social, and financial.

Key Takeaways and Discussion

• Why harnessing the six vital energies is the key to success.
• How a healthy work culture impacts employee satisfaction and productivity.
• The role of leadership, adaptability, and maintaining a positive mindset amidst the pandemic.
• Why post-COVID job hunting requires strategic resume building and maintaining a "victor mentality."
• The significance of networking and content promotion in the digital age.
• How a positive attitude, extra effort, and energy can lead to career advancement.
• Why balancing strengths and weaknesses is crucial in leadership roles.
• How harnessing vital energies can attract opportunities and create a positive vibe.
• The impact of culture on employee satisfaction and productivity in the workplace.
• The necessity of a positive attitude and proactivity in finding a fulfilling job.
• How a circa vitae transforms your resume for career success.
• The role of self-awareness and confidence in your resume.

Episode 47. Knowing who we are today helps us figure out the future, how we grow, and what our future holds. Iliana Oris Valiente is a futurist who heads innovation at Accenture Canada and is well-versed in the world of blockchain and AI. Her career accomplishments have been grand, but she truly learned about herself in 2021 when she suffered burnout, forcing herself to assess who she was and what she needed to succeed in her career.

In this episode, Iliana shares her journey with host Greg Martin about today, where she understands how to embrace her personality to enjoy her working life. She has lots of advice on AI, how we can embrace the future, the future of work and how all this can help us become the person we want to be.

Key Takeaways and Discussion

• Why her background and career trajectory are non-traditional.
• What she thought when she entered the world of blockchain and cryptocurrency. 
• How her travel experiences influenced her interest in cryptocurrency.
• How her perspective as a CPA influenced the way she viewed crypto. 
• Why Iliana always thought she would become an engineer and why she didn’t.
• What led Iliana to burnout was the moment she broke down as a result.
• The importance of prioritizing your mental health and why it really matters.
• Why she describes herself as more of a “potted plant” than a “digital nomad.”
• How the “potted plant” analogy helps individuals find where they can truly thrive.
• The unique and exciting AI project Iliana is a part of right now.
• How Iliana sees the future of work and what’s going to matter years from now.
• Why it’s important in her role to be comfortable with uncertainty and ambiguity. 
• How organizations are responsible for preparing their teams for the future.

Episode 46. We all get stuck in our careers and in our jobs sometimes. Part of getting through it is attitude, another part is awareness, and another part is just making decisions that match with your age and experience. 

In this episode, host Greg Martin discusses career paths across Wall Street, Silicon Valley and everything in between with Karthik Suresh. Karthik is the Co-Founder & CPTO of Ignition, an AI-powered platform for end-to-end planning, execution, and measurement for marketing and sales teams. He has had quite the career journey which included witnessing his company lose $400 million in 30 minutes on the trading floor, working as a PM at Facebook and of course the life of a career in tech.

Karthik shares the details of his experiences leading up to starting his own business, including his time working in finance in New York and through the startup ecosystem. He also highlights how these experiences helped him build skills that came together to help him be successful in his business today along with lots of takeaways for young people with aspiring career ambitions.

Key Takeaways and Discussion

• Where his career started and how he ended up at Facebook.
• The pros and cons of his experiences on Wall Street in a high-frequency trading environment.
• The unfortunate trading loss he encountered at a previous company.
• His experiences in New York in comparison to his friends in the Bay Area.
• What brought him to London Business School and what he learned.
• The highlights of his time working at Facebook.
• The gap Karthik identified that inspired his vision for Ignition.
• How Karthik connected with his Ignition co-founder Derek.
• How the individual skills built throughout his career came together to his advantage.
• What to do when your likelihood of failure is higher than success.
• How startups are being approached in Silicon Valley today and what’s changed. 
• The advice Karthik would give his past self if he could go back in time.
• The benefit of taking risks, especially when you’re young.

Episode 45. What does it take to build the technology behind the leading software companies of today? The simple answer is a good CTO (Chief Technology Officer), which is the expertise and experience of Benjamin Johnson.

Ben is the CEO and Founder of Particle41, a global software consultancy that offers end-to-end product development services. If you’re a business looking to develop technology, they are the engine behind it, whether that be across software/app development or building the tech stack for your operation.

Ben is skilled at taking complicated technology and simplifying it for people who aren’t as well-versed in the nuances of software. Not only does he know the industry well, but he’s also connected with some of the most talented individuals within it. This has allowed him to navigate and find success in the tech space by focusing on finding great matches first. In this conversation with host Greg Martin, they dive into the world of technology.

Key Takeaways and Discussion

• How Ben found his way into the world of software consultancy.
• What Ben excels at the most and how it helps him fit into unique spaces in businesses.
• Why he emphasizes stage-appropriate discussions and holds back from “geeking out.”
• Finding balance between building a business and product development.
• What Ben looks for before he commits to a partnership as a co-founder.
• The unique origin of Particle41 and how Ben came to join as a co-founder. 
• Common barriers of technology and how Particle41 helps businesses overcome them.
• Signs it’s time for a business owner to reach out and invest in third party support.
• How discovering a company's core values helps you find the right professional fit.
• How the landscape of the workplace has changed over the last decade.
• The core evidence that makes Ben feel fulfilled and successful in the work he does.
•  Why he chooses to focus less on their offers and more on their client’s unique needs.
• The most efficient way to solve a problem—and the approach that doesn’t work as well.