The Inspire Podcast

S3 E6 - One Entrepreneur's Secrets to Succeeding -- Regardless of Skin Colour

Entrepreneurship is hard. Leaving a stable career to start a firm with uncertain prospects, winning customers, hiring staff, gaining access to capital... the challenges are many for those who aspire to build their own businesses. And if you're a Black entrepreneur you face the additional barriers of unconscious bias, inequity or even racism. In this episode tech entrepreneur Andrew Bromfield joins the pod to share his story of leaving a predictable career to create his own business. He also explores how he deals with the additional obstacles faced by Black entrepreneurs, why some well-intentioned government efforts to help aren't helpful at all, and how he gives back to the next generation. Andrew provides guidance to anyone who wants to be an ally to Black, and the broader group of BIPOC business owners. Timestamps: 00:55 Introducing Andrew and Formative 01:39 Introducing 100 Strong and LinkedIn post Andrew wrote 02:21 Government loan program for Blacks 03:06 Don't need "charity" 04:08 The Entrepreneurial voice 05:08 His story 05:18 Came from entrepreneurial family -- lots of support and confidence 05:56 Entrepreneurial parents 09:11 Price Waterhouse Coopers 10:26 Systemic biases that black people face? 10:56 Educational Streaming 13:23 Advocate for yourself 17:17 Visible representation importance 18:54 Leaving PWC and starting new firm 19:39 Build a foundation 20:28 Startup challenges 21:37 Lessons for new entrepreneurs 22:08 Growth mindset and understanding things change 22:47 Mistakes WILL happen -- accept and learn 22:56 Resilience 23:26 "This is earth, not heaven" 23:47 Do you face racism in Canada today? 24:09 Not for him 24:19 Mindset is key to handling prejudice 25:11 Opening bell for the nasdaq 27:36 You don't make those introductions if you have a problem with race... 28:02 How you perceive things 29:56 Allyship 30:19 Consider a wider range of vendors when putting out a bid 33:32 How to find out more about 100 strong 35:53 Thank yous Links to Formative Innovations Inc. Company: www.formative.ca Foundation: www.100strong.ca

June 17, 2021

38 min

S3 E5 - What Nuclear Submarines Can Teach Us About Inclusion

A nuclear submarine is one of the most intense and inhospitable environments in the world. For three months crews are put into a vessel that operates in hostile territory while being powered by a nuclear reactor. In this conversation John Gregory Vincent shares how the decades he spent in these vessels led him and his partner Deb Cake led them to develop a system to create inclusive teams. They take me into what The Submarine Way is, and how you can apply it to your team or organization. The chance to hear about life below the surface and the unique imperatives of teamwork are fascinating and John brings his experiences to life in this conversation. 01:01 Introductions 01:25 Background 02:23 What is the Submarine Way? 05:22 Life on a nuclear submarine 06:13 Create a system where you can work through your bias, racism, people you don't like 08:42 5 steps to inclusive workplace 09:03 1 ONBOARDING 11:23 No silos on a sub 12:07 Corporate onboarding - what leads to culture of inclusion 13:24 2 EVERYONE MATTERS, IF THEY CONTRIBUTE 14:16 You do more with less 14:42 Pressure to perform 15:59 Support 16:50 How people help you unlock your ability 17:19 Qualification 18:54 How to bring contribution into corporate setting 19:08 Talent is important 19:20 Mentorship 20:17 Focus on talent 21:34 3 CREWMUNITY 22:09 Crew 22:54 Every person is a leader in a crew 23:45 How to handle deep-seated difference in a crew 24:23 Put getting things done ahead of biases 26:18 Bias is deepseated. Build skills to look beyond bias. 28:08 4 OMBUDSMEN 30:31 The Rumour Mill 35:18 5 MISSION 35:44 Hyperfocus on results that fit in with mission 36:14 Understand your role 36:33 Activity driven focus is a huge detriment to organizations 36:43 The illogic of typical business schedules 37:17 Measure performance by RESULTS 37:47 Fight the submarine 38:53 How to use Mission in business 39:28 Discuss individual roles 40:44 Example of an amazing culture 43:22 Bart summarizes what they've talked about 44:11 Do you miss the military 45:46 Can you take this to the non-military world? 47:03 How to find out more about the Submarine Way 48:34 Thank Yous 49:27 Outtro Links to The Submarine Way: Official Website: https://www.thesubmarineway.com LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/thesubmarineway For autographed books both UP PERISCOPE Putting Traditional Leadership in the Crosshairs and Diversity and Inclusion The Submarine Way: https://www.thesubmarineway.com/store/ For Amazon purchases of UP PERISCOPE: https://www.amazon.com/Periscope-Traditional-Leadership-Crosshairs-Diversity/dp/1642379611 For Amazon purchases of Diversity and Inclusion The Submarine Way: https://www.amazon.com/Diversity-Inclusion-Submarine-Way-Underwater/dp/1599329050/ref=pd_lpo_14_img_0/133-8510416-4787011?_encoding=UTF8&pd_rd_i=1599329050&pd_rd_r=34b57484-c77c-428a-84e1-60ea08739687&pd_rd_w=3nE7h&pd_rd_wg=SuejY&pf_rd_p=a0d6e967-6561-454c-84f8-2ce2c92b79a6&pf_rd_r=4HQ5ZC9Z8F1CVC0KKGY0&psc=1&refRID=4HQ5ZC9Z8F1CVC0KKGY0 Vimeo Channel for their information library: https://vimeo.com/channels/thesubmarineway/

June 4, 2021

51 min

S3 E4 - How To Use Digital Communication To Land A Job, Get Promoted, Or Start A Business

Whether you're just starting your career and are looking to get hired, or are well established and looking to grow your profile, one thing is for sure: you must build a digital presence. COVID has only accelerated the growing trend of building profile in a digital world, and today's successful professionals must master new ways of communicating and connecting. Michael Marra, Founder of Entre (joinentre.com), a professional network for entrepreneurs, joins me to talk about the new imperatives of digital networking. Michael explores what it means to thrive in a "mixed reality", how success and credibility stem increasingly from digital presence rather than credentials, and how you must authentically build and maintain your presence. We talk Clubhouse, LinkedIn, Twitter, mistakes to avoid and more. Notes from our conversation: 01:11 Intro 01:54 What is entre 04:22 "Mixed Reality" 05:35 Understand the digital economy 06:51 How will success be measured in the new economy 07:04 Skills > experience 08:05 Ability to adapt\ 09:16 How to build your network in the new mixed reality 10:58 Clubhouse 14:05 3 big pieces of advice for networking in digital age 14:41 Get on to trends early 18:08 Key Social networks? 18:58 Stay on top of News and how people are using it 20:09 Short-form video content 22:29 Reverse engineer the lifestyle you want 25:05 Personal brand? 26:43 See if people actually want what you're offering 28:06 Friction? maybe need to switch 28:46 Testing the market with social platforms 29:24 Who's doing it the best? 31:02 You have to produce content in your niche 31:56 Content speed is most important 34:00 Big mistakes to avoid 36:14 How to sign up for entre? 36:48 Outro Listeners are welcome to join the Entre community of over 30k entrepreneurs for free at joinentre.com Entre social pages: https://www.facebook.com/joinentre https://www.instagram.com/joinentre/ https://twitter.com/joinentre https://www.linkedin.com/company/joinentre/

May 21, 2021

39 min

S3 E3 - Why Employees Break Up with Managers and What To Do About It

Every manager knows creating strong relationships with their employees is crucial to fostering high performance. But what do your employees REALLY want from you? In this episode of the Inspire Podcast Laura Sukorokoff joins me to share insights gleaned from interviews with hundreds of employees. Laura explains what employees want and need from their leaders and then outlines how you can authentically meet those needs. A must-listen for any manager. Highlights from the conversation include: 00:59 Intro 01:39 Training managers 02:45 The book 04:39 Stories about bosses 05:23 Managers are responsible for employee engagement without knowing how 06:18 Key learnings 08:39 Manager relationship is important! 10:23 Managers afraid that they don't know what to say 14:42 How to give negative feedback and keep a strong relationship 16:32 Annual performance reviews 17:33 Trust 18:14 Communicating about trust 20:37 RESPECT 21:20 7 leadership traits 21:57 Empathy 24:07 Promotion 26:06 Empowerment 28:27 Summing up 30:11 How to find out more 31:05 Thank you's 32:09 What's on next episode Connect with Laura: Website: www.cchangelearning.com LinkedIn: Laura Sukorokoff Twitter: @Laura Sukorokoff You can also find her book here: https://www.cchangelearning.com/it-s-not-them-it-s-you

May 7, 2021

34 min

S3 E2 - Leading With Purpose with William Onuwa

What does it mean to lead with purpose? How do you determine your purpose? How do you ensure your own purpose is aligned with your organization? William Onuwa tackles these questions in this episode of The Inspire Podcast. Drawing on lessons from his successful career he explores how finding who you are can make the practice of leadership not only more effective, but more fulfilling. Highlights from the conversation: 00:45 Intro/Welcome 01:11 Leading with purpose 02:25 How do you make people feel? 03:08 your own purpose 03:34 What is the purpose of this role 03:59 Early career development 04:20 Mother's commitment to schooling 05:10 Mentorship 05:46 Leadership is about well-being of people 07:01 Time 07:44 Purpose vs Values 08:32 Dreamcatchers 09:05 Connect your purpose with organizational purpose 09:32 Mismatch with an organization 09:46 Questioning challenging values 10:16 Firing bottom 10% at GE 11:28 Is this what I want to do? 13:00 Servant Leadership 14:24 You owe them 16:18 Not the traditional way executives talk! 16:44 Did people trust this approach initially? 17:22 #USEYOURVOICE 18:14 Consistency over time 19:07 Transformation and Servant Leadership 19:30 Employ different influencing styles 20:10 Doing Layoffs/downsizing 21:05 Preserving dignity 21:53 How would you feel in their shoes? 22:42 Sort out yourself first 23:09 Advice on finding your own purpose 24:30 Portfolio of experience 26:23 Thank yous

April 26, 2021

29 min

S3 E1 - How To Lead Through The Lens Of Inclusion with Girish Ganesan

In this episode of the Inspire Podcast, Bart and Girish discuss what the term ‘inclusion’ really means and what TD is doing as an organization to promote inclusion not only in the workplace but also in the broader community. Here are some moments from the conversation: Intro - 00:48.1 Covid challenges - 01:03.3 TD's commitment to inclusion - 01:33.4 TD's culture of caring - 01:55.4 What led you to this role? - 03:02.6 What happened when the pandemic hit? - 05:06.5 Globally shared experience - 05:32.0 Inequities are underlined - 05:50.8 Uncertainty - 06:18.4 How Covid will change diversity and inclusion? - 07:05.3 TD's response to covid - 09:16.0 Responding to George Floyd - 12:56.2 Acknowledgment, empathy and action - 13:25.9 Safe space sessions - 14:01.8 What were people saying in the sessions? - 14:26.8 How TD made safe conversations possible - 15:53.2 Top 3 things to turn dialog into action - 17:14.3 Commitments to representation - 17:22.9 Education and learning - 17:38.6 Course on Black experiences - 17:59.5 Professional development - 18:23.6 Align internal messaging with external messaging - 18:42.2 Supporting the Black community at large - 19:06.6 Mental health - 21:35.3 Storytelling - 21:56.2 Reducing stigma - 22:08.1 Mental health webinar - 23:13.1 #1 thing to do to support mental health - 24:14.4 Listening and prioritizing - 24:30.0 Stories matter - 25:01.3 "Listen to hear, not to respond" - 25:30.2 Looking forward -- what are TD's priorities? - 26:15.5 Stand together - every voice matters - 26:33.6 Advancing culture of inclusion - 27:47.2 Are you more or less hopeful a year into the pandemic? - 28:39.3

April 12, 2021

32 min

S2 E28 - The Power of Converting Customers, Your Team & Yourself: How To Communicate Inspirationally

In this episode of the Inspire Podcast, Gabe and Bart discuss why (and how) data science plays a key role in helping companies connect with and understand their audience to drive growth, positive impact and leadership. Here are some moments from the conversation: Guest introduces himself -3:07.432 Time as journalist -3:34.700 Digital Publishing -4:08.601 The Globe's technology team -4:26.328 Data science and AI -4:50.535 Spinoff company on data science -5:24.376 Washington Post -5:33.182 Jeff Bezos buys Washington Post -5:41.270 A new CMS for publishers -6:41.951 Globe took part in development of ARC platform -7:25.960 Developing a software tool -8:11.070 Converting people to technology solutions -8:58.054 Conversion -9:12.877 Flip revenue from ads to users -10:01.115 Globe's last print remake -10:30.996 Sophie - analytics showed that opinion pieces were in demand -11:34.068 Digital data informing a relaunch -12:24.911 Growth story -12:38.860 Part of me is a ventures junkie -13:17.250 Finding a corporate partner for Opinion section -14:00.389 Asymmetrical marketing opportunities -15:17.255 Partnership with Purpose Investments -16:09.494 The role of data in decision making and marketing 17:21.607 Over-reliance on gut and intuition -17:34.171 What was you first mandate? -18:44.363 Charitable license -18:56.397 Globe and Mail foundation? -19:09.272 Revenue diversification -19:44.059 Conference Business -20:15.184 BMO - Ambitious policy discussion conference -20:35.483 Finding right commercial partners created great results -23:17.877 What approach to take when reaching out to potential partners -24:33.239 Finding common ground - re: values -24:58.818 When you share values --- then what? -25:32.617 Bring them wins! -28:55.371 Accretive solutions -29:23.593 Advice to people -- re: conversion -30:11.782 "Know something - Believe in something" -31:26.522 Moral courage -31:39.756 Listening to the conviction in other -32:03.279 Alignment -32:12.963

November 17, 2020

34 min

S2 E27 - The Power & Art Of Storytelling With Renae Morriseau

In todays episode of the Inspire Podcast, Bart interviews Renae Morriseau. Renae's journey has been in working creatively with Indigenous people. She's a writer, theatre director & musician who helps people find their voice through effective storytelling. Here are some moments from the conversation: How did you get to do what you do? -04:23.2 Agusta Buel -05:08.1 Phil Fontane's experience -05:29.2 What was it about Phil's story? -06:33.4 Storytelling to decolonize -08:28.2 Truth and reconciliation commission -11:59.4 Resilience art -12:12.4 Downtown east side of Vancouver -12:47.7 Self care -13:21.3 Reconciling with their own families -14:31.9 What's your approach to working with people on storytelling -16:18.8 Collective stories -21:33.0 Growing global awareness of systemic racism -24:15.1 How do non-indigenous people listen? -25:18.6 Hungry listening = Dylan Robinson -25:58.6 Decolonize our listening -26:16.4 How do you open up to listening -30:48.2 Difficulties in connecting with stories that challenge us -31:25.5 Not knowing what to say is the greatest gift to someone -32:03.1 Silence can be OK -32:23.3 Align mind, heart, gut -33:34.5 Resources? where to go from here? -34:37.0 Renae's Work: THEATRE -Here’s a project called, Home, Homelessness & the Culture In-Between. There is a 5 minute video on this link http://urbanink.ca/sro/ -This is a play she helped to write call Weaving Reconciliation: Our Way. This is about ‘reconciliation’ within Indigenous communities as a family mends their relationship back together because of the impact of Residential School. http://weaving-reconciliation-our-way.ca DIRECTING PROFESSIONAL THEATRE -This is a play White Noise by Taran Kootenayhoo that she will be directing for its Vancouver premiere at the firehall theatre. Here is a little write-up about it. https://www.newwestrecord.ca/entertainment/this-new-west-theatre-production-explores-internalized-racism-1.23630503 HER MUSIC with M’GIRL -Here is an article written about M’Girl Music - A group of Indigenous Women singing hand-drum songs. What’s unique about what they do is that they harmonize to their traditional Cree, Saulteaux, Anishnaabe songs. https://www.straight.com/music/1315931/mgirl-infuses-indigenous-themes-western-vocal-harmonies DIRECTING A TELEVISION SERIES -And finally her film work, she directed 6 episodes of the 12 created for the 3rd Season of Quest Our West - for APTN. This will come out this fall. This link is about Season 1 and 2. https://www.aptn.ca/questoutwest/

October 28, 2020

37 min

S2 E26 - How Leaders Can Use Simulations To Foster High Performance With Matt Confer

In today's episode of the Inspire Podcast, Bart interviews Matthew Confer. Matt is VP, Strategy and Business Development at Abilitie. Abilitie develops award-winning corporate leadership development and mini-MBA programs for rising leaders and executives around the world. Their team-based business competitions involve aspiring leaders in an active, learn-by-doing environment. Matt and Bart discuss how simulations can build leadership skills, and what leaders can do to create simulations of their own to foster better team performance. Here are some moments from their conversation: Abilitie- 04:04.6 What is experiential learning?- 05:31.0 Simulations- 06:05.4 Competitive component- 07:29.2 The relationship between experience/practice and learning- 08:34.1 Study on student engagement- 08:47.6 How to manage and develop talent- 11:58.5 Rethinking 'coaching'- 12:26.4 Objections to simulations- 13:59.8 How to get the most out of role plays- 15:38.5 How to do experiential learning in a team context- 17:00.4 Common learning themes- 19:07.4 Look to replicate in-class training experiences like coffee breaks etc.- 20:21.4 How to do leadership in a virtual work world- 21:45.4 Bias towards thinking that our choices will succeed- 23:29.6 Role play worst-case scenarios-24:55.7 Mistakes to avoid- 28:00.2 Where to go for more- 30:52.4 Link to Matt's TED Talk: https://www.ted.com/talks/matthew_confer_before_you_decide_3_steps_to_better_decision_making

September 30, 2020

34 min

S2 E25 - Opportunities And Challenges Of Inspiring In A Virtual World With Rick Davidson

At The Humphrey Group we have been hard at work to develop programs that will help our clients communicate inspirationally. Right now we are focused on helping our clients answer the question, “how can we amplify our leadership in today’s digital world?” The norms are changing, the opportunities are changing and so communication must change too. To delve into these changes on the Inspire Podcast, Bart interviews Rick Davidson. Rick is a Senior Vice President - Banking and Financial Services at CGI. CGI is amongst the largest IT and business consulting services firms in the world. Listen in to learn about what CGI has done to better engage with their employees in this new world of remote work, and the opportunities and challenges remote work possesses. This conversation will definitely help you inspire in your virtual communication. Here are some moments from the conversation: About CGI -02:25.9 COVID challenges -06:34.2 Wakeup call -07:12.8 Stressful transitions -07:29.8 CGI challenges -08:09.7 Investment in tech tools to work from home -08:36.3 How to deal with loss of connection -10:31.9 How to support members -11:05.3 Health and wellness focus -11:44.1 Making it fun -12:39.6 More about the people -14:22.1 Mistakes made at first? -14:54.1 More work than normal -15:10.5 Handling childcare -16:52.3 What causes people doing more work -18:08.0 Untold demands on leaders -22:31.9 What paradigm of leadership works in COVID times... -22:42.6 Business world needs more compassion -24:37.5 Make it fun -25:16.6 What do you want to keep from the COVID times? -30:26.1 Keep the humanity -31:31.1

August 24, 2020

34 min

S2 E24 - Speaking with Courage: A Lifetime of Standing up for Equity With Martine Roy

A leader's inspirational mindset stems from courage. The courage to speak up and persuade people of what you believe is right. In today's episode of the Inspire Podcast, Bart interviews Martine Roy. Martine has spent a lifetime standing up for equity. She exemplifies courageous speaking. After being driven out of the Canadian Forces for her sexuality, Martine spent her life speaking up for inclusion and the LGBTQ+ community. She was a key plaintiff and advocate in seeking and securing a formal apology from the Canadian government for the purge of LGBTQ+ persons from the Forces, and continues today as the Chair of the Board of Directors of the LGBT Purge Fund. In addition, Martine blazed a trail as a co-founder of Pride at Work, and as the creator of ERG groups at IBM Canada. Today she continues to champion LGBTQ+ rights in her work at TD today, where she serves as Regional Manager, LGBTQ2+ Business Development Quebec Eastern Canada. Here are some moments from the conversation: Introduction -02:34.4 Martine's time in the army -03:24.9 Anti gay policies during the 80s -05:49.5 CF1920 -06:15.5 Special investigator unit -07:05.4 Under arrest -08:10.5 2nd interrogation -10:03.5 Dishonourably discharged for homosexuality -10:54.2 80s Taboos -13:28.7 Therapy -15:03.5 Intersectionality -15:34.6 1992 law changed -- but still silence from govt -18:50.9 IBM -19:42.4 LGBTQ+ group at IBM -20:05.5 1953 TJ Watson Policy letter -21:07.9 "Pride at Work" organization -23:26.1 The power of the allies -24:22.7 The vision of Pride at Work -25:08.0 National Bank -26:05.1 Employee resource group -27:10.0 Benefits of employee groups -27:42.1 Lost time to inauthentic life -27:56.1 No apology from military -29:22.4 2014 -- need to do something -30:54.1 Advice for others -33:29.3

August 13, 2020

39 min

S2 E23 - Why Every Leader Should Learn To IKIGAI With Tim Tamashiro

In today's episode of the Inspire Podcast, Bart interviews Tim Tamashiro. Tim is the author of "How to IKIGAI", along with being a jazz singer, speaker, and radio broadcaster. He now however focusses on bringing the Japanese concept of IKIGAI to the world. The term translates to "life's worth", and helps one understand how they can live a more fulfilling life. Here are some moments from the conversation: Welcome - 02:38.5 Tim's journey - 03:28.6 Origin of the word IKIGAI - 04:00.4 4 directions of IKIGAI - 05:19.6 Clarifying ideas on IKIGAI - 08:40.5 Left CBC to self study IKIGAI - 11:26.9 Figuring out your IKIGAI - 12:30.7 IKIGAI coach/introducer - 14:32.5 Young adult career journey - 15:13.3 The power of the subconscious mind - 17:00.5 Gap years - 17:43.0 How to do IKIGAI when dealing with commitments - 18:34.1 Save up... plan for it - 19:38.8 Advice on starting to explore - 20:50.7 How to know when you've found your IKIGAI? - 22:37.5 Advice on communication.... - 26:52.6 Do more "You"! - 27:29.2 Angela Knight's "Do Crew" - 27:49.0 Tim's IKIGAI - 29:55.3 Don't defer fulfilment - 31:52.0

July 20, 2020

37 min

S2 E22 -Rules For Inspiration From The Political Podium With Demetrios Nicolaides

In today's episode of the Inspire Podcast, Bart interviews Demetrios Nicolaides. Demetrios is the MLA for Calgary-Bow and Alberta's Minister of Advanced Education. Listen in to learn more about the rules politicians follow to refine their messaging, how they deal with criticism, and what it takes to inspire their audience. Here are some moments from the conversation: Demetrios recent political postings -02:44.3 Reason for having him on... -03:09.8 The campaign -- what you learned? -04:11.6 Examples of mistakes -04:55.5 What helped him get chosen for the cabinet -06:26.5 Defining a vision helped position him for success -07:25.7 Having a vision for education -08:48.0 What shocked you about politics -11:19.0 Any slip ups? -12:26.9 Working at The Humphrey Group was great training -12:50.0 Types of language to use in politics -13:42.5 Being ready to be 'on' -14:39.8 How to deal with discrepancies between govts' position and your own -16:12.8 Re-introducing the "I" in politics -16:55.8 Polarization -19:26.9 Humanize communications whenever possible -22:01.0 Personal attacks? -22:50.6 What lessons would you share with leaders? -25:25.5

June 22, 2020

31 min

S2 E21 - Move Your Body, Settle Your Mind, Improve Your Leadership With Nathania Harrison

In today's episode of the Inspire Podcast Bart speaks with Nathania Harrison who is the founder of Saor Studio. Saor is a movement studio where their efforts are grounded in self study, body awareness and mindfulness to help you uncover new possibility within. Listen in to learn how you can keep your mind healthy by keeping your body healthy. Moments from the conversation: How Nathania started Saor Studio - 03:57.8 Backyard teaching - 06:21.9 Leaving the dream job - 07:21.1 Balancing work and family - 08:08.4 Joyful stress - 08:42.9 Philosophy of movement and positive stress - 09:32.3 Movement helped with anxiety and depression - 09:55.4 Alternative to medication - 10:51.8 Movement at Saor Studio - 11:26.0 How does movement help the mind? - 12:04.2 Explore how we respond to discomfort through movement - 12:18.7 The mind's response to discomfort - 13:06.0 Awareness builds strength - 13:37.0 Learning your response to challenges - 14:06.0 Awareness is 80% of the battle - 14:51.2 How to learn from discomfort - 15:25.9 Rewriting your limiting stories - 16:22.1 Focus on feelings in the body instead of mind - 17:01.5 "Courageous confidence" - 20:31.6 Courage to stay with discomfort - 21:27.1 Creating a new ability - 22:21.8 Listening to deeper self to reach full potential - 22:57.2 Plug section - 26:53.5

June 8, 2020

31 min

S2 E20 - What Women Entrepreneurs Must Do To Thrive In The World of Startups - Sharon Zohar

In today's episode of the Inspire Podcast, Bart speaks with Sharon Zohar. Sharon in the CEO/Founder of The Big Push. The Big Push is a business accelerator for women led companies. They provide hands-on services and support to create actionable and measurable growth plans to help lift women-led companies to new heights. Listen in to get some unique insight into the challenges facing female entrepreneurs during this pandemic and more generally in the entrepreneurial workspace. Here are some moments from the conversation: Small business and startups in the time of COVID-19 - 03:45.0 What is The Big Push? - 04:37.1 Why start The Big Push? - 05:23.7 Challenges facing women entrepreneurs and investors - 06:37.9 Bro culture - 08:16.8 Why women led companies receive less investment - 09:16.0 What The Big Push does for women entrepreneurs - 10:13.6 Programs at The Big Push - 11:29.4 Road to success workshop - 11:52.0 Liftoff program - 12:59.4 Accelerator program - 14:08.3 How many companies has The Big Push helped? - 14:33.2 General advice for women entrepreneurs - 15:42.7 Do founders still face biases, and how to handle? - 16:41.0 Networking for female founders - 18:11.7 Impact of COVID-19 - 19:39.7 Advice for founders during COVID-19 - 21:40.2

May 25, 2020

28 min

S2 E19 - What Virtual Conferences Look Like With Liam Austin

In today's episode of the Inspire Podcast, Bart Egnal interviews Liam Austin. Liam is a Virtual Event Planner & Online Conference Consultant. Join in as Bart and Liam discuss what conferences will look like in our new virtual world, & how conferences could work when we're not travelling and getting together in large crowds. Here are some moments from the conversation: Virtual event strategist - 04:08.0 What started the virtual event business? - 05:27.5 From LinkedIn groups to webinars to virtual events - 06:34.1 Higher conversion rates with virtual events - 07:29.6 Attendee costs much better with virtual events - 08:08.6 Real vs virtual summits... - 09:06.2 Accountability - 10:58.2 Engagement - 11:33.6 Accommodating people's attention spans - 11:51.6 Blocking time and mixing up presentation with engagement - 12:14.5 Building technical comfort and confidence in participants - 14:32.0 How to build engagement - 15:12.2 Mistakes to avoid in online events - 16:41.8 Start with the end goal! - 17:14.1 Free and VIP participants structure - 17:24.6 Free event - generate new prospects - 17:39.2 Example of an event mistake - 19:42.4 Build rapport, bring value before up selling - 22:59.1 Targeting niche interests important for conversions - 23:31.9 Preparing speakers for virtual events - 24:12.6 Common speaker mistakes - 26:28.3 Is business for virtual booming? - 27:41.6 How to find more.... - 29:41.7

May 12, 2020

33 min

S2 E18- How To Craft Your Crisis Communication With Jeff Angel & Benjamin Morgan

In today's episode of the Inspire Podcast, Bart speaks with Benjamin Morgan and Jeff Angel from Centre for Crisis and Risk Communications (CCRC). CCRC prepares organizations for their next crisis by: conducting vulnerability audits, writing and executing crisis communication plans, providing training (crisis and media) and strategic communication counsel. Listen in to learn the rules of communication during a crisis, and how you can better connect with your stakeholders during this tough time. Here are some moments from the conversation: What does the Centre for Crisis & Risk Communications do?- 02:25.1 Did any of your clients prepare for this type of crisis?- 03:14.7 What are your backgrounds?- 04:48.6 Jeff's background- 04:55.9 Ben's background- 06:28.6 What changes in crisis, re: communication- 08:59.6 Dr Vincent Covello- 09:16.4 High stress needs different communication- 09:49.1 How should you communicate in crisis?- 10:17.1 KISS -- keep it to 3- 10:42.4 Modify your communications- 11:38.7 How COVID-19 is different -- the drawn out nature of it- 11:58.9 How to deal with the prolonged crisis of COVID-19- 12:37.9 Dr Kavelo's messaging templates- 12:47.4 Be caring and empathetic- 12:58.1 Follow up with conviction about what needs to be done- 14:07.6 Ben's take on CCO- 14:35.7 Alberta flood example- 14:51.2 People can only remember what they hear first- 16:50.3 Common mistakes leaders make in crisis communication- 19:07.6 Avoid absolute terms that can be subjective- 19:27.8 Loss of credibility- 20:24.8 Federal government not releasing their modeling numbers.. bad idea- 20:37.2 People can deal with tragedy and adversity better than uncertainty- 21:03.3 Doug Ford's communication on COVID-19- 21:46.5 Should the leader of the org be the chief spokesperson?- 23:40.4 Enough with the daily press conferences- 24:20.5 Advice to leaders- 25:56.6 Be sure to add value in your communications....- 26:40.5 "Stay in your laneway"- 26:58.6 Don't share for the sake of it- 27:32.9 Authentic communication- 28:02.9

April 27, 2020

34 min

S2 E17 - How To Be A Voice Of Reason And Calm During A Crisis With Arif Virani

In today's episode of the Inspire Podcast, Bart speaks with Arif Virani. Arif is a Member of Parliament for Parkdale - High Park in Ontario Canada. Listen in to learn what it means to lead as a politician, and how you can do it with empathy and practicing active listening. Here are some moments from the conversation: Arif introduces himself - 03:17.2 How are you handling the pandemic - 04:27.3 Voice of calm, listening, responsive - 04:38.7 A non-partisan response - 05:31.7 Good listening skills - 06:11.8 People want to be heard/validated - 06:45.9 Handling strong emotions like anxiety and anger - 08:39.2 Don't stigmatize anxiety and stress - 08:55.3 Example of expressing that we don't know - 10:08.0 How are you holding up? - 10:48.9 Advice for leaders in any organization during this time - 12:06.0 Be available for communication - 12:36.0 Don't shy away from conversations -- even if you don't have the answers - 12:46.8 Being honest with team - 13:13.0 Communicating that things CAN change! - 13:32.3 Sharing good-news stories! - 14:09.2 Where to follow/find Arif online etc. - 16:30.1 Where to get health information - 17:09.2

April 14, 2020

20 min

S2 E16 - Building Team Effectiveness With Trina Boivin

In today's episode of the Inspire Podcast Bart Egnal speaks with Trina Boivin. Trina is Vice President of Leadership Assessment & Development at Optimum Talent, a company that collaborates with leading organizations to recruit, develop, engage, retain, and transition talent. Listen in as they discuss what team effectiveness looks like, and how leaders can intentionally form it. Here are some moments from the conversation: Defining high performing teams - 04:01.9 Learning agility - 05:21.7 Feedback - less event based and more experience based - 07:07.9 Speed - and leveraging mistakes - 07:45.7 Story that illustrates how lack of accountability costs a lot - 10:21.7 The costs of poor communication - 13:08.2 A change in mandate and operating model - 14:27.3 The difficulties of going 'virtual' - 14:41.9 Strategies for building trust virtually - 15:22.7 Changing norms with remote working - 16:49.7 Dealing with new team members - 17:24.0 How to integrate new people - 19:41.1 Advice to leaders - 21:11.9 Servant leadership - 21:45.6 Get to know your people better - 23:36.3 Where else can people go for resources - 25:45.3

April 6, 2020

29 min

S2 E15 - What Leaders Can & Should Say During This Crisis With Howard Forman

In today's episode of the Inspire Podcast. Bart Egnal interviews Howard Forman. Howard is a professor of Diagnostic Radiology, Public Health, Economics & Management at the Yale School of Management. He's been a voice of pragmatism and realism through this crisis. Listen in to get a better understanding on what the next 6 months will look like in North America concerning the virus, along with what leaders should & shouldn't be communicating to their teams. Here are some moments from the conversation: About Howard Forman - 02:29.3 How did you become a public voice for COVID 19? - 03:15.2 What is the next month going to look like? - 06:17.3 What does the 6 month forecast look like? - 08:20.8 How does Canada's response look? - 09:39.1 Advice for leaders - 11:07.0 What should leaders be communicating to staff, employees and customers - 13:01.2 Recommended news and info sources - 15:40.6

March 26, 2020

18 min

About this podcast

Categories

About this podcast

Categories

The Inspire Podcast

Episodes

S3 E6 - One Entrepreneur's Secrets to Succeeding -- Regardless of Skin Colour

S3 E5 - What Nuclear Submarines Can Teach Us About Inclusion

S3 E4 - How To Use Digital Communication To Land A Job, Get Promoted, Or Start A Business

S3 E3 - Why Employees Break Up with Managers and What To Do About It

S3 E2 - Leading With Purpose with William Onuwa

S3 E1 - How To Lead Through The Lens Of Inclusion with Girish Ganesan

S2 E28 - The Power of Converting Customers, Your Team & Yourself: How To Communicate Inspirationally

S2 E27 - The Power & Art Of Storytelling With Renae Morriseau

S2 E26 - How Leaders Can Use Simulations To Foster High Performance With Matt Confer

S2 E25 - Opportunities And Challenges Of Inspiring In A Virtual World With Rick Davidson

S2 E24 - Speaking with Courage: A Lifetime of Standing up for Equity With Martine Roy

S2 E23 - Why Every Leader Should Learn To IKIGAI With Tim Tamashiro

S2 E22 -Rules For Inspiration From The Political Podium With Demetrios Nicolaides

S2 E21 - Move Your Body, Settle Your Mind, Improve Your Leadership With Nathania Harrison

S2 E20 - What Women Entrepreneurs Must Do To Thrive In The World of Startups - Sharon Zohar

S2 E19 - What Virtual Conferences Look Like With Liam Austin

S2 E18- How To Craft Your Crisis Communication With Jeff Angel & Benjamin Morgan

S2 E17 - How To Be A Voice Of Reason And Calm During A Crisis With Arif Virani

S2 E16 - Building Team Effectiveness With Trina Boivin

S2 E15 - What Leaders Can & Should Say During This Crisis With Howard Forman