Chatter that Matters

When opportunity knocks, Erica Rocks. This episode has great insights for all who are facing a career path that will veer in many directions. Erica Ehm is a Host, Creator, Speaker, Innovator, and Disruptor who, for three decades, has captured and commanded all media, including radio, television, movies, music publishing, books, while being a pioneer in influencer and digital marketing. Erica is th...

'A love story through sickness and success' I begin the show by telling you that I am a romantic, and in the cinema, I am swept up in a great love story and in real life, I am mesmerized. Today's episode is a wonderful and true love story and one that includes a Lion Tamer, a Circus Acrobat, a near-death experience involving hepatitis and morphine, the horrific disease MS, a Naked Monk, and a love...

While others run away from bricks and mortar retail, Doug Putman races in. What began as a single fruit stand in his teens, now bears billions of dollars in sales. Today Doug Putman owns HMV in Canada and the United Kingdom, Toys"R"Us and Babies R Us in Canada, FYE - For Your Entertainment in the USA, T. Kettle in Canada, Sunrise Records and he is only 37 years old. This is his incredible story an...

We all know Arlene Dickinson as the Matriarch of the Dragon's Den , a best-selling author, and an acclaimed entrepreneur and investor in Canada's new economy. But did you know at 31, Arlene was a single Mom, with only a high school education and no means of how to feed her family? Did you know that she was an immigrant, an introvert and that she grew up in a dysfunctional home and in her teens, Ar...

If you LOVE Music, Pop Culture, and you are interested in the creative process and what it takes to collaborate with some of the world's top musical artists, then turn up the volume on this episode that features some incredible music, and the stories behind the songs. Alice Cooper  calls Bob Ezrin his 'George Martin', referencing the legendary Beatles producer. Some of the biggest hits from artist...

We've all heard the expression being in the right place at the right time when opportunity knocks, but what about the wrong place, at the wrong time when tragedy hits and takes away all that you know. April 6, 2018, began as an ordinary day for Kaleb Dahlgren. He was on a bus with his Humboldt Broncos teammates heading to a must-win playoff game. A second later, and hockey outcomes no longer matte...

Bring some Scottie Tissues and clap like no one is watching for this real-life fairytale.  Lesra Martin, a kid who at age six goes from a middle-class life to having to survive on the violent streets of Bedford-Stuyvesant and Bushwick. At ten he starts to work to put food on his troubled family's table. Despite his regular school attendance, he remained illiterate until he was 16 years old. So wha...

The morning of 9/11 began as an ordinary day.  I was first in the door at Capital C, the agency.  I put a pot of coffee on and began to organize my schedule. My office was right by the front door and I enjoyed the morning banter with the amazing team that worked there, as they made their way in.  And then my life and all who remember day changed, and forever.   At 8:46 am on September 11, 2001, Am...

Salah Bachir makes every moment matter.  Salah is a philanthropist, a patron of the arts, a gifted entrepreneur and a Chancellor of OCAD, a renowned learning institution for Art and Design. Salah's life experiences are as lavish and eclectic as his art collection, a body of work that almost any museum would covet. He once wrapped Christmas gifts in Andy Warhol sketches, before Andy was 'Andy. Only...

Terry O'Reilly is the host of Under the Influence, one of the most popular radio shows and podcasts on the planet.  Terry gives the public a rare backstage pass into the world of advertising, pop culture and human nature. Today I turn the tables to get a rare backstage pass into the life of Terry O'Reilly. The advice he offers you is a masterclass in getting the attention your career and ideas des...

  The Walt Disney Company should turn Zahra Al-Hazari's story into an animated story to inspire children and a full feature film to inspire all of us. Zahra is one of our country's most successful entrepreneurs, but her path to finding purpose, happiness, and success is one few have travelled. A refugee, an immigrant, and a journey of resilience, reinvention and fortitude. Zahra is treating life n...

Future proof your career and business. Will your be able to march in step or even step ahead of disruption? When it comes to your questions about leadership, talent, culture and most importantly the future of your work, people turn to Steve Cadigan.  Steve has been at the forefront of global talent strategy and company culture for the past 30 years. Most famous for scaling Linkedin from 400 to 400...

What often matters most to us and how we think, feel and behave, are the numbers. We look to weather reports to determine our activities, a scale to motivate a diet, a report card to seek a tutor and housing prices, walking scores, and crime rates to identify desirable neighbourhoods.  Polls shape how we vote and policyholders, strategists, decision-makers and entrepreneurs seek the truth through...

Feel good Friday.  Esie Mensah  is my guest this week on Chatter that Matters. Her art, her attitude, her approach to life and her ability to tell stories are truly extraordinary. Esie's passion is dance, but she was often turned down because she was too black, even compared to other dancers of colour. She chose to become too good to turn down. This confidence and commitment to her capabilities le...

Tragedy to Triumph and the inspirational lessons in between. Born to a teenage drug addict, abused as a child, and raped at fourteen would stop most in their tracks if not derail you for life but not Victoria Pelletier. Her story is one of being unstoppable, of seizing opportunity wherever and whenever it presented itself. Victoria's mantra is #noexcuses. Victoria became a retail store manager in...

A true and moving story that will first bring tears to your eyes then joy to your heart while filling your knapsack with invaluable life lessons on impermanence, perspective, personal power, and turning your possibility into action. Robert Pardi shouldn't be grateful, but he is. Robert grew up with a father who physically abused him. Years later, Desiree, the love of his life, passed away after ba...

Gil Moore is my guest, and I chose the word Triumph for two reasons. The first is how he approaches life as an entrepreneur and a renaissance man when it comes to education. It's also a play on words as Gil is the drummer and one of the vocalists in the band, Triumph, who broke into the USA market, but broke up at their peak when they were selling out stadiums, and their records played worldwide....

After chatting with Sandi Boucher, I realize how little I know about the Indigenous Culture and how much better I would be as a human being if I valued what they value. I suppose that is true across every culture. Imagine if we opened our minds and hearts to others and see people who are foreign to our way of life as an opportunity to enrich versus isolate ourselves. If we did we would be a better...

Five dollars and a dream. In 1927, a 24-year-old Hungarian named Andrew Peller sails into Halifax. He knows no English,   has five dollars in his pocket, but he dreams of building a better life. For the next 34 years, Andrew proves he is a gifted entrepreneur.  He makes a fortune, but a bad investment has him lose everything in his late fifties.  Andrew finds the capital and energy to rebuild when...

I don't know what you were doing at 15, but for me it was hanging out with my friends. I had dreams and ambitions but they were confined to my world, and not conquering the world.  With the Tokyo Olympics around the corner, I chat with Penny Oleksiak.  Penny became the first Canadian to win four medals in the same Summer Olympic Games and Canada's youngest Olympic champion. The irony is that when...

Drinking from a firehose is how to describe my interview with Bob Lefsetz. Bob has been labelled a music guru and critic but I see him more as a cultural anthropologist who studies this intersection between music, culture, life, technology and era. Bob Lefsetz authors the Lefsetz Letters.  I am a fan of how he thinks and writes so on a lark I sent him an email inviting him on the show.  The way Bo...

Is social media a weapon of mass destruction? Is it undermining democracy, pulling people to the fringe, fueling hatred and torching the middle ground? Is conventional media any different? Is there any trust left in the news we digest and the stories that populate our feed? There is no one better to answer these questions than Kirstine Stewart, one of the most influential individuals in media. Kir...

In my retrospective show, the microphone is turned, and David Trafford joins me as the host. Dave asks me about the original intent of the show, my favourite characters, some special moments and the lessons learned.  In 15 months we have produced a podcast every week, a prime time radio show, and weekend radio show since last fall, with commitments in place to continue throughout 2021. All of this...

I wasn't sure how my radio audience would react to Mark Brand . It turns out they loved him. Mark's background includes drugs, alcohol, nights on the street, and because of all he is unapologetic, unabashed, and unforgiving. Mark is a force of human nature and the founder of Better Life Foundation . He uses capitalism and being a restaurant operator as his platform to arm himself as a justice warr...

Joe Pine, one of the thought leaders of modern-day capitalism offers fresh thinking on how you lead, market, sell, teach, engage and create memories that last a lifetime, through experiences that matter. In 1999 by Joe Pine and Jim Gilmour published the Experience Economy, Work is Theatre, and Every Business is a Stage. Today it is considered one of the top 100 business books of all time. This boo...