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Dan Smolen interviews author Daniel Pink to discuss what drives us to work. Dan is The New York Times’ best-selling author of several books, including DRIVE: The Surprising Truth of What Motivates Us.

In good economies and bad, what drives us to work remains unchanged.

During the pandemic, millions in the American workforce adjusted to remote work. And a large share of them became part of The Great Resignation. Yet often, motivations drive us to work towards positive purpose and meaning.

In this episode, we discuss how:

• Autonomy, mastery, and purpose motivations take root in our lives. Starts at 4:34
• Corporate managers often believe that money is the only work-performance motivator. (It isn’t.) Starts at 7:37
• The pandemic affects our thoughts. Starts at 13:16
• Answering “what is my sentence?” can aid your purpose and meaningful work career goals. Starts at 24:32
• Regret can help improve our lives and work. Starts at 28:30

What drives us to work is key to our success in the future of work.

About our guest:

Daniel Pink earned a Bachelor of Arts in Linguistics from Northwestern University and a Juris Doctorate from Yale Law School where he edited the Yale Law and Policy Review. Currently, he is writing a seventh book on the subject of regret. Daniel lives and works in Washington, D.C.

EPISODE DATE: November 12, 2021

Social media:

– Daniel Pink Website

– World Regret Survey

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 22:51 — 31.4MB)

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Dan Smolen uncovers a culture of workplace empathy with podcast guest Hannah Jew.

Hannah Jew (last name pronounced “Joe”) is an empathy building brand strategist for Scotts Miracle-Gro, the nation’s leading lawn and garden care company.

A culture of workplace empathy is central to how Hannah does her job; it helps drive value for consumers who rely on her company’s products to grow flowering plants and food from seed.

Hannah accepted employment at Scotts Miracle-Gro while pregnant with her second child. And her hiring manager there made Hannah’s onboarding a rewarding experience.

In this episode, Hannah describes:

• Accepting a new job while expecting a child. Starts at 4:24
• How management created for her a phenomenal maternity leave workaround. Starts at 6:35
• The gendered workplace experience and its impact on female professionals.  Starts at 10:31

Hannah also answers the question: should “mom” be on a résumé? Starts at 19:01

Interview starts at 2:56

Hannah Jew experiences a culture of workplace empathy, a central value in the future of work.

About our guest:

Hannah Jew received Bachelor of Science and Masters of Science degrees in Advertising from the University of Texas at Austin. She lives and works in Columbus, Ohio.

EPISODE DATE: November 5, 2021

Social media and Published Work:

– Instagram

– LinkedIn

– Twitter

– Website (HannahJew.com)

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 40:28 — 55.6MB)

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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

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 35:51 — 49.3MB)

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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.

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 40:00 — 55.0MB)

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A stand-up comedian and workplace culture expert answers the burning question: Is the future of work funny?

David Horning is the principal of Water Cooler Comedy. He works closely with organizations to inject humor into the workplace, to help them build strong, positive, and enduring cultures.

As a young child, David discovered that he could make family, friends, and teachers laugh. Later on, he found inspiration listening to Monty Python, George Carlin, Jim Gaffigan and others to do his own stand-up comedy sets.

In describing his process for improving workplace culture, David offers this insight:

“Humor makes problems [in the workplace] seem smaller. If we can laugh about it then we can do something about it.”

Full interview starts at 3:14

In an episode that covers a lot of ground, David:

• Describes Water Cooler Comedy and his mission to improve workplace cultures. Starts at 4:14
• Digs into his funny origin story and comedic influences. Starts at 5:50
• Explains how comedy and humor can improve the workplace experience of professional talent. Starts at 7:58
• Provides insight into how expressing humor can improve the talent recruitment process. Starts at 15:15
• Offers his thoughts on how humor in the workplace can be expressed in ways that don’t hurt people. Starts at 24:49
• Discusses the comedians who influence his stand-up comedy. Starts at 33:38
• Answers the burning question: is the future of work funny? Starts at 36:14

Is the future of work funny? We’ll offer this: David Horning believes that comedy and humor can bring people together in the workplace. That way, they thrive and the organization succeeds.

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 48:30 — 66.7MB)

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Dan Smolen interviews Andrea Koppel, who is helping people pivot from college to career.

Andrea is a former CNN correspondent, PR and nonprofit sector corporate executive. She draws on those amazing professional experiences to empower 1 million students to turn their degrees into careers they will love.

Each week, she hosts and executive produces the Time4Coffee Podcast which features the stories and unique experiences of top career professionals. Her guests have all pivoted from college to great and rewarding career experiences.

Additionally, Andrea leads the College2Career Academy which offers clients one-on-one consultative support to pursue their own beautiful career journeys.

Here, she discusses her process to help people pivot from college to career:

“One of the biggest challenges that I help my [young students] with, those that are confused and anxious and stuck, is that I help them to get unstuck.”

In this podcast episode, Andrea:

• Describes the unique value propositions of the Time4Coffee Podcast and the College2Career Academy. Starts at 4:54
• Relives her own amazing career journey. Starts at 9:08
• Relates to the power of personal experience in shaping the college to career journey. Starts at 15:30
• Discusses the return-on-investment (ROI) mindset of many college degree candidates, and ways to get them beyond it, to a state of joyfulness. Starts at 28:33
• Counters the unhealthful “live for work” success narrative pursued by many American professionals. Starts at 37:05

In helping people pivot from college to career, Andrea Koppel frees them to seek and do meaningful work that may span several career acts.

About our guest:

Andrea Koppel earned a Bachelor of Arts Degree in Political Science, Asian Studies, and Chinese from Middlebury College. Andrea was for 20 years an award-winning journalist; she served as a foreign-based, State Department, and Capitol Hill correspondent for CNN. After her journalism career concluded, she worked two years in PR and later seven years as an executive in the nonprofit sector. Andrea lives and works in the Washington, D.C. area.

EPISODE DATE: September 17, 2021

Social media:

– LinkedIn

– Twitter

– Website

– Time4Coffee Podcast

– College2Career (Coaching)

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 45:08 — 62.0MB)

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Dan Smolen meets a tech career strategist who helps people get unstuck for the future of work.

Raj Subrameyer arrived in the US for graduate study. He was an introverted South Indian student who pursued the lofty career goals that others expected him to follow.

Raj says he applied for over 1,200 jobs and got but a handful of interviews. That’s when he decided to focus on his own happiness; he began a process of discovery which got him unstuck to start his own business.

Now, through his brand ChaiLatte Consulting, Raj helps tech careerists get unstuck for the future of work.

In a wide-ranging discussion, Raj:

• Provides the unique value proposition of ChaiLatte Consulting, his own name-change, and the importance of having an “immigrant mindset.” Starts at 4:28
• Recalls how he tapped his “inner extrovert” to help careerists. Starts at 8:20
• Pushes against the [Southern Indian] cultural tenet of not questioning things. Starts at 13:13
• Delves into the WHY of personal (career) branding. Starts at 26:15
• Describes how immigrants to the US can overcome their disadvantages. Starts at 31:11
• Offers his take on future of work opportunities. Starts at 38:49

Raj also describes his motivation to help others achieve career success:

“I wanted to help underdogs like me, who had the skill-sets, but were looking for guidance.”

With great cheer, Raj Subrameyer helps careerists get unstuck for the future of work.

About our guest:

Raj Subrameyer earned a Bachelor of Science in Information Technology from Anna University and a Masters of Science in Software Engineering from the Rochester Institute of Technology. Raj is the author of the book, Skyrocket Your Career. He lives and works in Chicago, Illinois.

EPISODE DATE: September 10, 2021

Social media:

– Facebook

– LinkedIn

– Twitter

– TEDx Talk (NEW!)

– YouTube