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Dan Smolen meets with Nina Froriep to discuss how video storytelling drives career success.

Nina is a veteran video marketer and principal of Clock Wise Productions. She helps people across the globe to promote themselves and their brands effectively on social media.

We have all experienced massive disruption caused by the pandemic. And 18 months of remote work placed us in Zoom Rooms where video became our chief engagement tool.

Likely is the case that we all don’t use video well. And that is why Nina supports video storytelling that drives career success.

“Your biggest compliment is when you get on a Zoom call with somebody for the first time and they say: oh my god, you look just like you did in your video!“

In a wide ranging discussion, Nina:

• Describes Clock Wise Productions and its unique value to career professionals. Starts at 4:27
• Explains how the pandemic changed her business. Starts at 5:24
• Illustrates how people are raising their game with video. Starts at 6:44
• Offers how video marketing supports independent marketers and other professionals. Starts at 15:58
• Digs into the WHY of video storytelling. Starts at 20:16
• Comments on the challenges of doing video while sharing workspaces with others. Starts at 28:42
• Supports the importance of wearing your brand’s colors on camera. Starts at 33:52

About our guest:

Nina Froriep is the founder of Clock Wise Productions. She earned a Bachelor of Arts in German Literature and Linguistics from the University of Zurich and a Bachelor of Arts in Film and Journalism from The New School. She lives and works in New York City and Switzerland.

EPISODE DATE: October 29, 2021

Social media:

– Website

– LinkedIn

– Twitter

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Dan Smolen meets with marketing expert Amanda Blair Davis who experienced The Great Resignation turned Great Empowerment.

Amanda built a successful career as a corporate marketing executive. During the pandemic, she thrived working remotely. But, in 2021, when her company called people back to the office, she resigned.

Undaunted, she built a life and new career as an entrepreneur. Amanda founded Hudson Davis Communications, a marketing agency to serve the needs of many clients, including her former employer:

“What happened was that I opened up a whole new set of work for myself.”

Now, work is part of a day in which Amanda does other great things. Work is no longer the day.

Millions of Americans exited the workforce in 2021. And, in August 2021 alone, 4.3 million people became part of The Great Resignation.

Amanda believes that people who, like her, resigned their jobs can transition to happy and satisfying independent work and life experiences.

In a wide ranging interview, Amanda:

• Summarizes her corporate marketing career. Starts at 4:51
• Describes how the shift to remote work during the pandemic shifted her career. Starts at 12:23
• Discusses the events of The Great Resignation turned Great Empowerment. Starts at 16:46
• Relives starting her agency and drawing other independent marketing professionals to work with her. Starts at 21:26
• Advises listeners on how they can pivot their careers. Starts at 28:35

About our guest:

Amanda Blair Davis earned a Bachelor of Science in Corporate Communications from University of Phoenix’s Southern California Campus and a Masters of Science in Communications Management from the University of Southern California. She lives and works in Los Angeles, California.

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 41:27 — 57.0MB)

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Dan Smolen interviews Genein Letford to discuss the case for intercultural creativity at work.

Genein Letford is a public speaker, podcaster, and thought-leader in intercultural creativity. She works with hiring managers to help them create thriving workplaces.

When people at work collaborate, they often pair up with others who are most like them. The old expression “birds of a feather flock together” aptly describes the preferences that we have in others.

However, the workplace benefits most when we seek out people that are least like us. To that end, Genein states the case for intercultural creativity.

In this episode, Genein:

• Describes intercultural creativity and its importance in the workplace. Starts at 4:57
• Defines the 7 Gems. Starts at 8:01
  1. Creative Growth Mindset. Starts at 8:30
  2. The Empathetic Way. Starts at 9:25
  3. Cultural Observation. Starts at 9:54
  4. Cultural Curiosity. Starts at 10:46
  5. Perspective Shifting. Starts at 12:07
  6. Authentic Adaptation. Starts at 13:12
  7. Being a Bridge/Creating Across Cultures. Starts at 14:17
• Recalls how education and teaching young children shaped her thought-leadership. Starts at 15:32
• Answers the WHY of intercultural creativity. Starts at 18:33
• States the business case she lays out for senior executives. Starts at 32:58

Genein Letford makes the case for intercultural creativity to help people in the workplace thrive.

About our guest:

Genein Letford is a public speaker, podcaster, and Chief Creative Officer at CAFFE Strategies. The company drives thought-leadership in intercultural creativity. She received a Bachelor of Arts in Psychology at UCLA and a Masters of Arts in Curriculum and Instruction from California State University at Northridge. She lives and works in Phoenix, Arizona.

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 39:45 — 54.6MB)

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Dan Smolen interviews Dr. Dan Hill, who believes that “blah, blah, blah” hurts the workplace and career professionals.

And in Blah, Blah, Blah: A Snarky Guide to Office Lingo, Dr. Hill and co-author Dr. Howard Moskowitz crowd-sourced over 600 examples of workplace jargon that are typically dismissive, patriarchal, and toxic.

One cannot discuss The Great Resignation now happening in thousands of companies without first considering the impact of workplace jargon. So many people, threatened or ostracized by office lingo, are leaving their companies in droves for other firms, or to become independent contractors.

The vast array of jargon in the book helps people recognize that blah, blah, blah hurts the workplace.

In a fun and informative episode, Dr. Hill:

• Describes Blah, Blah, Blah: a Snarky Guide to Office Lingo and the reasons for writing and editing it. Starts at 4:50
• Offers his favorite jargon example. Starts at 6:34
• Considers reasons why people in the workplace perpetuate the use of oppressive jargon. Starts at 7:21
• Defines the categories created to array the crowd-sourced office lingo examples. Starts at 9:32
• Suggests what can be achieved by breaking the cycle of “blah, blah, blah” jargon at work. Starts at 12:00

Full interview starts at 3:01

About our guest:

Dan Hill, Ph.D. is an author, podcaster, world recognized facial coding expert, and founder and president of the consultancy Sensory Logic, Inc. He received a Masters in Creative Writing from Brown University and a Ph.D. in English from Rutgers, the State University of New Jersey. Further, Dr. Hill earned Facial Action Coding Systems Certification from the Paul Ekman Group. He lives and works in St. Paul, Minnesota and Palm Desert, California.

EPISODE DATE: October 8, 2021

Social media:

Website

– Blah, Blah, Blah: a Snarky Guide to Office Lingo (Book Page)

– Faces of the Week Blog

–Famous Faces Decoded (Book Page)

–LinkedIn Profile

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 34:57 — 48.1MB)

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Dan Smolen unpacks the Power of Hybrid Professional Identities with Sarabeth Berk, Ph.D.

Dr. Berk is a self-described Chief Creative Disruptor. She believes that hybrid professional identities help people in the workplace to project their unique value to hiring managers.

When asked: “what do you do for a living?,” most people respond with their current job title. Or they launch into a non-succinct elevator pitch. 

However, Dr. Berk believes that that denies people opportunities to express their unique skill, experience, and relevance in a rapidly changing workplace. What is more, it robs hiring managers access to the super-human skills of top talent, to build revenue scale and market advantage.

In this episode, Dr. Berk:

• Summarizes her background and the value proposition of hybrid professional identities. Starts at 4:40
• Describes how people can get started in crafting a hybrid professional identity. Starts at 8:59
• Discusses one’s owning their identity and the career journey. Starts at 16:48
• Considers the role of side-hustles in crafting hybrid professional identities. Starts at 23:33
• Aligns with the future of work aspects of hybrid professional identities. Starts at 27:30

Emphasizing the power of hybrid professional identities, Dr. Berk draws back to the challenges that people in the workplace experience:

“How do you answer the ‘what do you do?’ question? How are you more than your job title? Eventually, the research question became: ‘who are you and the intersection of your multiple professional identities?’“

About our guest:

Sarabeth Berk earned a Bachelor of Arts in Visual Studies from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago; a Masters of Arts in Art and Design Education from the Rhode Island School of Design, and; a Ph.D. in Curriculum and Instruction from the University of Denver. She lives and works in Denver, Colorado.