Lifetime at Work: Career Advice Podcast

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.

Episode 44. The world of work has changed materially over the last several decades, morphed by everything from technology, to culture to big events like the pandemic. Jose Palomino is a veteran with lots of experience across the board in corporate worlds and in entreprenership.

In this episode Jose discusses with host Greg Martin all about his history through the working world and how he’s come to love and embrace the concept of process and systems in a business, to where he focuses on that today. As the Founder & CEO of Value Prop where he helps business owners get unstuck and start growing again by developing their strategy, plans, and processes to reach their full potentia

During the episode, Jose shares his mission and how it drives the work he does with business owners. He also talks about the way he’s seen the work environment change throughout his career, including the good and the bad, and reveals his top tips for people starting in the world of work and new business owners alike.

Key Takeaways and Discussion

• How Jose gained experience and credibility as a business consultant.
• Why he describes the journey in his career as a bumpy road.
• How the world of work has changed since the beginning of his career.
• The positive and negative ways COVID transformed the workspace.
• How to navigate the modern pressure to be “on” at work all the time.
• Why Jose loves being an entrepreneur and what connects him to his work.
• The support owners today are missing and why they need it.
• The podcast Jose hosts, what it’s about, and why he started it.
• The importance of identifying common themes and questions among business owners.
• What inspired Jose to go back to school for an advanced degree.
• How owners see their business versus the actual issues in their business.
• How Jose helps owners look at their whole business before breaking down the pieces.
• What Jose says new business owners need to know before they get started.

Episode 43. Many of our workplaces lack diversity. Whether it be across the company, in a particular meeting or at the leadership level, it is rare to see a group of people that match the ethnic and gender diversity of our communities. So, what does it feel like when you look different?

Brenda Harrington, the author of a book called Access Denied, a compilation that explores discrimination and disparity in the workplace. Whether this subject personally resonates with you or not, this episode will teach you a lot about business culture and open the door to understanding new perspectives.

Brenda believes that when you know where you excel and what you enjoy, you can pivot to a career that feels fulfilling and purposeful. Brenda focuses on emphasizing diversity in the workplace, and during the episode she shines a light on her own personal experiences as well as what being inclusive really looks like.

Key Takeaways and Discussion

• Brenda’s career journey and what lead her to start Adaptive Leader Strategies
• Why she refers to her path as non-linear as opposed to a journey.
• The importance of knowing what you’re good at, what you like, and what you don’t.
• Why waiting for Friday, week after week, is not the answer to a satisfying career.
• How to show up in your work in a more purposeful way and why it matters.
• The secret of using open questions to communicate more dynamically.
• Why being vulnerable beats having all the answers.
• The settlement Brenda received over an incident with a previous employer.
• Why inclusion is a leadership imperative.
• What the research shows about diversity.
• What the reader will discover inside Brenda’s book Access Denied.
• The course Brenda is piloting right now and what it addresses.
• Being equitable in the workplace and where holding people accountable comes in.
• Why we’re often blinded to the instances of exclusion or even aggression in our own workplaces.

Episode 42. The path to becoming an engineer may appear easy to some, but it’s not. It takes good grades, practice, reading and lots of time. Eventually you hit the world of work and it isn’t quite as easy as your favourite math, physics or programming challenge. Zach White was on a leading path to the top of his company as an engineer, just like he always wanted and hoped. Then he realized it wasn’t what he wanted anymore, but didn’t know why or what it meant.

This set him on a journey to find out what was “wrong” with him, so he could like work better. Today he hosts The Happy Engineer, a podcast that helps engineering leaders reach the next level without suffering burnout. He also founded Oasis of Courage, a coaching company that specifically supports leaders in engineering.

As Greg and Zach discuss on this episode, it isn’t always easy knowing what you want - lots about the world of work and your happiness is in your head…but it’s not always easy to understand.

Key Takeaways and Discussion

• Where Zach started his professional career.
• The strategy he learned early on for success and why it led to burnout.
• How Zach stumbled upon coaching and the way it impacted his career today.
• The types of people drawn to his business outside of engineers.
• The experience that led Zach away from a business degree and towards engineering.
• The surprising way he ended up with an internship at Whirlpool.
• What the hardest parts of an engineering job actually look like.
• The emotion that primarily led Zach in the first half of his career and why.
• Why showing up with the right energy in the workplace matters.
• Common symptoms and contributing factors of burnout.
• Why engineering leaders are overwhelmed and what they can do about it.
• How to let your personal definition for success guide you in your career.

Zach’s Background

• Educational background is in Mechanical Engineering, with a BS from Purdue University and a Masters of Science from the University of Michigan
• He built his career over many years at Whirlpool.
• Today acts as the CEO & Founder of Oasis of Courage
• Currently hosts a podcast called The Happy Engineer and on Linked-In

Episode 41. It’s hard to know what you want to do in your career long-term. Often times you start somewhere and see where it takes you. If you ask Zachary Novak, he says you have to find your thing, and it just takes time.

With host Greg Martin, Zachary shares his beginnings in investment banking to how he discovered the idea of getting into the field of technology. Before jumping into the tech world, Zachary was hesitant to go into a field he wasn’t an expert in. That is, until he realized that you don’t need to understand technology on an expert level to understand what it does for people.

Today he runs an organization called Careers in Technology and Innovation which helps diverse professionals find and grow fulfilling careers in tech. The application of technology across various industries is disruptive and innovative, making it an exciting place to be for professionals today.

Key Takeaways and Discussion

• The biggest learning experiences he had after years in investment banking.
• How he opened up to opportunities for self-reflection and where that led him.
• The problems Zachary got stuck on when he changed careers.
• The beneficial aspects of working in banking, as well as the difficulties.
• Zachary’s unique gifts and strengths along with how he’s embraced them.
• Why getting away from your ego and trusting your gut is crucial for success.
• What to do first if you feel drawn to exploring entrepreneurship.
• What it takes to make the leap into the tech industry and why people do it.
• The community manager’s conundrum and Zachary’s take on it.
• How online communities were “whiplashed” after COVID.
• How the online community landscape is shifting today and what it’s moving towards.
• Pillars to consider before creating your own community.

Synopsis

Episode 40. Sharekh started his career studying computer engineer and living/working in the Middle East. But over time he realized he wasn’t a coder, and he didn’t want to work for someone else in the middle east anymore. So he came to North America and began the journey starting a company of his own.

He’s still in the middle of this journey, but has founded and built a great company called CleverX, an audience discovery platform designed to help research teams conduct online surveys and interviews with professionals in the workspace. He’s filled with advice on the differences between being a founder in Silicon Valley and one elsewhere in the world. He also has lots to say on building an expertise in the corporate world and translating that to becoming a founder, and then of course on building a company.

In this episode with host Greg Martin, he covers plenty on the world of work, the founder world and where he’s found his place in the corporate landscape.

Key Takeaways and Discussion

• Who CleverX was made for and what it’s designed to do.
• What makes building a startup in Silicon Valley different.
• Variances in the ways people perceive entrepreneurship across the world.
• What changed to Sharekh when he moved to North America.
• What he realized about writing code as he was in the midst of studying it.
• Why it’s important to find what you love and what you’re good at.
• How networking early on can pay off later in your career, no matter your industry.
• Where he learned where research happens at scale, and the gap he identified
• The strategies Sharekh had in place when starting his own business.
• Why and how founders need to set expectations with investors.
• Tips for identifying your right customers and how to connect with them.
• What Sharekh wishes he’d known before starting a company in hindsight.
• How big the online research industry actually is and who uses it.
• Sharekh’s goals for the future and the areas of growth he’s excited for.

Episode 39. It’s hard to be bold and stand out. There’s a part of us that wants to fit in, find your people and be accepted. But other times you need to stand out and put yourself out there.

In this episode Greg Martin interviews Ryan Hanley. Ryan is an insurance guy (not sexy as he admits), but he’s also a business owner, podcaster, and speaker who believes insurance is the best industry every created. He is the CEO and Founder of Rogue Risk, a national, digital commercial insurance agency. 

Ryan has been told “no” thousands of times, and now he’s at a place where a no can’t stop him. Not being afraid of rejection is freeing, and emphasizing this with his team helps relieve pressure. People call him crazy, but who cares. He’s good at it, and he’s a great interview. 

Key Takeaways and Discussion

• Falling in love with digital marketing.
• Ryan’s traditional career experience and how it led him to start his own business.
• Past experience working in the fitness industry and what he learned when it ended.
• Why insurance is the bedrock of the economy.
• How being okay with a “no” can help you be successful.
• The secret to rapidly building a deep amount of trust.
• The future with AI and what Rogue Risk is currently utilizing AI tools for. 
• When Ryan started podcasting and what his podcast looks like now.
• The two types of ambitious people and the ones he likes hiring.

Episode 39. It’s hard to be bold and stand out. There’s a part of us that wants to fit in, find your people and be accepted. But other times you need to stand out and put yourself out there.

In this episode Greg Martin interviews Ryan Hanley. Ryan is an insurance guy (not sexy as he admits), but he’s also a business owner, podcaster, and speaker who believes insurance is the best industry every created. He is the CEO and Founder of Rogue Risk, a national, digital commercial insurance agency. 

Ryan has been told “no” thousands of times, and now he’s at a place where a no can’t stop him. Not being afraid of rejection is freeing, and emphasizing this with his team helps relieve pressure. People call him crazy, but who cares. He’s good at it, and he’s a great interview. 

Key Takeaways and Discussion

• Falling in love with digital marketing.
• Ryan’s traditional career experience and how it led him to start his own business.
• Past experience working in the fitness industry and what he learned when it ended.
• Why insurance is the bedrock of the economy.
• How being okay with a “no” can help you be successful.
• The secret to rapidly building a deep amount of trust.
• The future with AI and what Rogue Risk is currently utilizing AI tools for. 
• When Ryan started podcasting and what his podcast looks like now.
• The two types of ambitious people and the ones he likes hiring.