The Business Wellness Podcast

Today's featured guest is my friend Robert Kienzle. 

"#virtual #hybrid #remote" - Such common terms today were much further down our list of daily vocabulary just a couple years ago. 

As we all continue to bear the brunt of the pandemic, be it wave 4 or wave 5, the reality is that our mode of communication has changed forever. There is now another layer of connectivity that must be adopted in both our personal and professional life. While there are early adopters and digital natives who effortlessly swing in and out of the in real life (#IRL) and digital economy, many of us are still working to get up to speed, fight off screen exhaustion, and communicate effectively, two dimensionally with only our upper torso.  

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Robert has over 15 years of business training and coaching experience on all 7 continents. Robert is the Senior Consultant at Knowmium (Hong Kong) and an Associate Professor at Sungkyunkwan University’s Graduate School of Business (Seoul). He works with Fortune 100 companies throughout Asia and beyond on topics including presentation, negotiation, personal branding, intercultural communication, influence, writing, and virtual communication. Robert authored the book Hybrid Live Guide and was a World Championship of Public Speaking semi-finalist in 2014 and 2015. He holds a number of certifications including Master Trainer (Association for Talent Development), Team Management Profile and Linking Leader Profile (Team Management Systems), and Hogan Assessment Certification.

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Resources

Tech Resource: Robert's virtual background app is Mmhmm, which has free and paid versions, and does a lot more like making myself transparent, being a smaller image, laser pointer and marker functions, etc.  Here is a video I made about it:  https://youtu.be/73c7ugME3RM

Another link you might consider including is our Radical Toolkit, which has Joshua's (Knowmium) free book Radically Remote, my video tutorials like the one above, and activity guides for virtual workshops: https://knowmium.com/radical-toolkit

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Connect with Robert 

Linkedin: linkedin.com/in/robertkienzle

Knowmium: https://knowmium.com/

Meet Robert IRL on Sunday May 15, 2022 at the Association for Talent Development (ATD) International Conference & EXPO in Orlando, Florida, USA: https://atdconference.td.org/

My guest today is ANETA KOSINSKA.

I have the pleasure of sharing the same alma mater with Aneta, Ivey Business School at Western University and she has been a wonderful friend through my transition back to Canada. Sharing the ins and outs of work life and insight into the technology sector where she works.

Aneta enjoys solving strategic business problems through digital transformations. Her focus on business strategy and change management started grassroots, in a Canadian startup environment but has since taken her around the world through consulting in 6 countries (Canada, India, Poland, Italy, Germany and the US), helping Directors, VP's and Partners to establish/ reinvent/ achieve their company’s internal digital strategy.

She enjoys actively coaching and leading people through transitions professionally in the digital sense, but personally, she creates content on how to manage energy while working remotely - all building towards the soon to be released book she is writing!

In the podcast, we speak about:

• Important quotes in our lives right now; 
• Rediscovering Fear through simple but impactful reminders: Trust the truth, Full self-acceptance, Letting go of expectations; 
• Digital Transformation and the 'valley of despair' in the change curve for adoption of digital practices at work; 
• Tips and tricks for leaders on managing digital change; 
• Introduction of Aneta's practical workshop: "Ways of Working"; 
• A playful "Let's get Lit" Fire Round; 
• Peaceful Energy and remote working and maintaining wellbeing.

This was a lot of fun and we hope it gives you some tips on managing the digital world - get on or get out!

Spotify Song Link: Wohin willst du by Gestort aber geil, LEA

Why Hello there!

Apologies for the small hiatus - I recently relocated from Hong Kong back to my hometown Toronto. This was a big milestone of a decision and I needed to allow myself and family to acclimate back. I've been saving some amazing people for new podcast episodes. 

For my very first guest since my Canadian return - I have an American of Greek decent who lives in Costa Rica! 

Introducing: Dannie Kravetz, an Entrepreneur/business owner/Medicine woman. Dannie owns and operates La Ruka, a hostel on the Caribbean Coast of Puerto Viejo, Costa Rica. 

A little more about this unique human: 

a- I am a versatile and flexible human. I can be ready for anything.

b- My goal/purpose in life is to walk this Earth in the name of harmony and Love and share this vibration to all I encounter. 

c- I believe everyone and everything is connected and there is no such thing as coincidence 😉 

Contact Dannie

Email: [email protected]  

Instagram: Larukahostel or danniek7911

Youtube: https://youtu.be/UGAS6debL-Q

Website: https://www.larukahostel.com/

In this episode, we are fortunate to host Mark Szeto, an ex-Investment banker turned Founder and CEO of開心醫館, a Chinese Medicine Telehealth Platform. Mark has worked in the most grueling and challenging of professional environments. He has taken those career defining moments to work in the next evolution of his already illustrious career: Telehealth and Traditional Chinese Medicine. 

We aren't talking about 2 new avenues, we used to believe that Telehealth was the new innovative revolution of health and medical and that Traditional Chinese Medicine was a long dedicated path to ancient practices. But, here Mark is doing this TOGETHER. This really is the future of what healthcare is becoming and he is at the fore-front, a pioneer of the industry and making leaps and bounds. 

I wanted to have him on as my guest to learn more about his origin story and also what he sees in this industry. 

Mark has also dedicated his career as a senior executive of an entertainment production company and has a need for speed with his motorcycle hobby. It was a pleasure speaking with him and I look forward to seeing his continued development of this exciting new industry.

Mark's Linkedin Profile: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mark-szeto-37295144/

Time stamp:

01:06 - Mark Szeto & Nathan Introduction welcoming

03:38 - What is the common theme in your career?

02:14 - Why didn't you continue in the finance field?

03:45 - What 1 skill did you learn in finance that you can apply to your career now?

03:22 - What is Telehealth?

03:15 - Is Senior Aged Care a Driving force for Telehealth and why?

03:47 - What is your main challenge right now for Telehealth?

06:42 - What is something about TCM - (Traditional Chinese Medicine) that most people would not know?

01:51 - East and West Hybrid professionals - What's your experience?

03:02 - Rapid Fire!!!

02:13 - Megaphone - Words of Wisdom

In the 13th episode, we do something a bit different. We reverse the roles and have Oscar interview ME!  My current podcasting style has somehow quickly evolved into a series of interviews, fireside chats, and featured guests. Where I often time took the role of the moderator and inquisitive questioner. I never planned to do this, but I believe my natural curiosity and instinct for digging deep into the lives of others took the reigns.  I was taken a back slightly when my Drinking Dialogue buddy, Oscar Venhuis had asked whether I would be cool to reverse the roles and have him interview me. Of course I said YES! This was a podcast where I did most of the talking and you will learn some of the more personal and intimate career stories that have shaped my journey thus far. I like to give credit where credit is due, so I casually mention names to help tell the stories.  My humble beginnings with Coffee to my EMBA to Finance, Investment and now to an Entrepreneurial path. You'll hear about what isn't stated in my Linkedin profile, nor on my CV - these are the sensitive moments and influencers who shaped and influenced my life thus far.  Hope you enjoy this one. 

Back by popular demand - Oscar Venhuis and another Drinking Dialogue. 

This time, we mixed our drinks up with a low calorie Japanese vodka soda (similar to Seltzer). One was lime flavoured and the other grapefruit - crisp and refreshing. We followed them up by cracking open a couple tall boys of beer. 

As usual with Oscar, the conversation flowed effortlessly, from strong topics such as neuroplasticity, to design and art, to multi-generational leadership. We naturally create good laughs together and appreciate the in the moment nuances of the present time. We can also dig in a bit philosophically on the larger questions of life. 

If you don't know Oscar, you can now:

• Co-founder | CEO of EQ Lab
• Co-founder | Board Director theDesk
• MA Product Innovation Management (UK)
• UXD/ Growth Instructor GA Enterprise | Google
• Clients include Nike, UBS, TetraPak, Astellas
• HundrED Ambassador

[email protected] | www.eqlab.co | https://www.eqlab.co/eqfounders
Twitter | Instagram: @oscarvenhuis

Time Stamps:

0:00 Introduction 

01:15 What are we Drinking?

03:32 Neuroplasticity

10:56 How to apply Neuroplasticity to Business?

15:16 Who are the best leaders?

24:35 Humility in Leaders

29:18 Art & Design

33:33 What exactly is design?

37:45 Behaviour Change as a component of Design

41:43 Applying design to business

45:36 How can you have a 3 day work-week?

49:00 Social Media notification inhibits efficiency

53:51 To-Do Lists & Distractions

58:20 Geriatric Millennials

1:03:37 Technology's Impact on our learning environment

1:10:03 Socializing - Physical vs Virtual

1:13:46 Future Decision making for leaders

1:18:23 Personalization is the Future

CONSIDERATION (n) showing careful thought; the act, state, or quality of caring about or respecting.

This was the theme of my 11th episode and was thought up by my guest Per Stenius, CEO and Chairman, Reddal Incorporated, a new generation professional services company offering business development as a service and headquartered in Seoul, South Korea.

Per and I spoke on a variety of topics pertaining to business strategy, culture, future leadership style as well as a softer and personable and considerate side of doing business. We have known one another for 6 years now and have maintained a pleasant mutual respect for our respective careers. I am happy to say that this was the first time truly getting to know Per, and all I can say is that I'm disappointed for not doing this earlier. 

Reddal: www.reddal.com

Per's LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/perstenius/

A chat with Per: https://youtu.be/pTu2fMOnOyQ

Time Stamps:

02:03 - Introduction

07:17 - What does strategy mean to you?

09:08 - The approach and application of Strategy

11:29 - Battlefield of Business - What is your leadership style?

14:55 - Being in the "Penalty Box"

21:44 - What does Culture mean to you?

31:55 - Rapid Fire

34:31 - What does a Leader of Tomorrow need to be?

37:55 - The Dreamer

41:53 - The Megaphone

47:03 - What's next?

50:43 - Our theme in one word

53:04 - Closing words of wisdom

In this very special 10th episode, I have built up the confidence to bring on my wife and partner in crime and better half, Patty Ng. This is a multi-part episode given all the content that Patty and I can unpack together and share!  

For now, this first part delves into the extremely important topic of ESG. What is ESG? How does it play a role within the business world? How can business leaders learn to adopt more sustainable practices leveraging ESG as a framework?

Patty is a Sustainability Consultant for the strategic branding and communications agency Sedgwick Richardson. She helps large corporations with their ESG best practices, guiding them through global benchmarks and ultimately helping them to be more than sustainable. I am proud of the fact that my partner is so passionate about the space and an incredibly diligent force towards helping companies reduce their carbon emissions to save our planet.

Patty: https://www.linkedin.com/in/pattyng/

IG: @pattyng88

Sedgwick Richardson: https://www.sedgwick-richardson.com/ 

Time Stamp:

2:22 - Patty & Nathan Intro

03:42 - What is ESG?

05:09 - E&S - What about G?

09:07 - Why is ESG relevant?

11:48 - Governance as a means of operations and risk mitigation

14:00 - Megaphone

14:57 - Challenges in implementing sustainable practices

17:03 - What inspired you to get into this industry?

20:59 - Why work with corporates?

26:16 - Where do you work and how has that impacted your career?

27:49 - Grateful for the work and learning experiences

32:30 - SR Compliments

33:00 - Conclusion

From entering the workforce to mental health and what matters most right now in life, I had the privilege to explore the minds of two bright and opinionated future business leaders of Generation Z.  

Let's ask ourselves: 

• How connected do you feel to the youngest generation of the workforce today, Gen Z? 
• How distant do you feel to this generation? 
• How much of a lack of understanding do you have about this group who grew up with technology integrated into their entire life? 
• Do you know what motivates them or what makes them tick? 

In this episode, Tiffany Lo & Jennifer Qu, Ivey Business School (my alma mater!) undergraduate business, finance and accounting majors both have no shortage of confidence in what they like and dislike, yet somehow still feel apprehensive about what the future holds...yet, don't we all?

We talk about many relevant topics that are spoken about in the workplace today. I hope this will give you a perspective about pertinent topics that you can consider building into your corporate policies and guidelines for building a conscious and caring business.

Tiffany Lo: https://www.linkedin.com/in/tiffany-lo-194578171/

Jennifer Qu: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jennifer-qu/

Time Stamps:

01:37 - Tiffany & Jennifer Intro

02:20 - Tell us about yourselves!

04:13 - Reaching out and connecting to leaders

06:00 - What are you studying and how has it influenced your first career steps?

12:22 - Name 3 things you would value most at a job?

16:18 - Megaphone

22:10 - Rapid Fire!

25:56 - Trending up vs. Trending down: Sustainability

28:53 - Trending up vs. Trending down: Gender Pay Gap

30:34 - Trending up vs. Trending down: Tinder

32:22 - Trending up vs. Trending down: Dating Apps

34:22 - Mental Health & Wellbeing for the younger generation

44:19 - Final Thoughts

For my 8th episode, I have the honour of hosting the distinguished academic, charismatic corporate professional, empathetic family man, and passionate, informative friend: Dr. Anjan Bhowmick. Anjan is first and foremost, a Doctoral Fellow in Organisation Behaviour. He clearly has a thirst for learning and is an active Executive Coach - currently a student at the Newfield Network. In a day-to-day role, Anjan is the Executive Director of Organisation Development for the Asia and Australia markets at The Reinsurance Group of America Inc (RGA), a Forbes top 500 global corporation and leader in health and life reinsurance industry.  Lastly Anjan is an ex Faculty member and instructor at the ILR School, Cornell University teaching Technology Leadership, Design thinking, HR and Strategy. We speak about his work in the field of “Ontological Pedagogy”, why leaders need to develop their Softer side of management, linguistics, emotions, vulnerability and learn more about his inspirations that has led to the work he does today. Connect with Anjan: https://www.linkedin.com/in/anjan-bhowmick-ph-d-33b8671b/