Jazzed About Work

In this episode we discuss how human beings are typically influenced by feelings and emotions, and why the heart – and not just the brain -- drives motivation and achievement. Our guest, Mark Crowley, spent 25 years in banking and financial services, and once led nearly 2,000 investment brokers to record-breaking performance. Before that role, Mark had no direct experience selling stocks, but his...

Today’s guest, Abby Falik, is an expert on the value of pausing during our busy lives. Abby has degrees from Stanford University and Harvard Business School, and she’s widely known as an innovative thinker, a higher education futurist, and an award-winning social entrepreneur. Abby was the founder and CEO of Global Citizen Year, which creates meaningful pre-college bridge years for high school gra...

A theme of this episode is how creating a human-centric culture can help an organization to thrive. Our guest is Michael Kurland, the CEO and founder of the Branded Group, an award-winning, fast-growing facility maintenance company. He’s also the author of Broken to Better: 13 Ways Not to Fail at Life and Leadership. Michael says he was once a broken man, struggling to recover from a divorce, and...

This show brings good news and practical tips to anyone who believes they are not creative. Our captivating guest is Joey Cofone, an award-winning designer, visual artist, and entrepreneur. Joey talks about his interesting career path and shares insights from his helpful new book, The Laws of Creativity: Unlock Your Originality and Awaken Your Creative Genius. Joey says that creativity isn’t magic...

Innovative media company WorkingNation creates and distributes educational and inspiring stories about current and future unemployment trends in the U.S. Today’s returning guest, Joan Lynch, has long been a powerful woman in media, and now she is head of all WorkingNation content. Among other workplace developments, Joan talks about Tear the Paper Ceiling, a collaborative marketing campaign to enc...

This episode explores how shifts in global aging – with masses of people living to a very old age – will transform society. Our guest is Bradley Schurman, an expert on demographic change and how it disrupts social, cultural, political, and economic norms. Brad is CEO of the global research and advisory firm, The Super Age, where he assists organizations with their age-inclusion, workplace planning...

After earning her PhD in linguistics at Penn, Kieran spent a decade creating impactful language products at Microsoft and Amazon. Now she is co-founder and CEO of Textio, a platform offering inclusive and equitable communications tools. And she is continuing her ground-breaking research, including an extensive study showing that bias is still widespread in managers’ performance feedback. In this e...

Apprenticeships can help solve the tech talent crisis, says work force expert Jenn CarlsonWe’ve been hearing a lot about how technology companies are scrambling to find enough workers with the skills they need. Our guest today, Jennifer Carlson, points us to one way to address the hiring crunch. Jenn is Co-Founder and Executive Director of Apprenti, a non-profit that provides a new pathway to acce...

Retirement isn’t what it used to be. These days many people step away from their full-time careers to start building new portfolios of rewarding jobs and projects. Our guest, Rich Eisenberg, knows all about late life careers. For more than a decade he was managing editor, and also work and money editor, at Next Avenue, the PBS site for people 50+. Early this year he left that job and launched an “...

This episode begins with a story. Beverly Jones tells about how she created a change process that helped her join the fight for equal opportunity for college women. Bev doesn’t take herself too seriously, as she describes her efforts in the late ‘60s and early ‘70s. After Bev’s story, guest host Tom Hodson asks questions and seeks advice for young women who are fighting for equality now. Bev recen...

Our guest is Kathy Kidd, who started her career as a chemical engineer helping chem plants improve process safety. Since then she’s been a leader in a consulting group, and then a startup, and has held many roles at financial tech entity FINRA. Recently Kathy moved to the Impact Center, focused on developing women leaders and creating human-centered work experiences. Today Kathy discusses two ques...

In this episode, we focus on executive coaching, and discuss how a coaching style of leadership can change an organization’s culture, while improving employee growth, performance and happiness. Our guest is Mark Cappone, a retired Army colonel, and a former Brigade Commander. Mark has two masters degrees and lots of other training related to leadership, management and coaching. He discusses some o...

Today’s guest, Ryan Lytle, is a leader in the field of social media and modern marketing. In the 12 years since college graduation, Ryan has moved up quickly through a series of terrific jobs. He won a “Social Presence” Webby at Mashable, and later oversaw social platform strategies for global media company Discovery, Inc. These days he’s at Adobe, where he leads a broad team of social strategists...

Today’s guest, Gerald Leonard, is an accomplished bassist with two degrees in music. He is also a highly qualified IT project management consultant, and has earned numerous leadership credentials. Gerald shares stories and advice from his insightful and entertaining book, Workplace Jazz. In the book, Gerald uses a jazz metaphor to illustrate how each of us can contribute to a supportive and effect...

Popular author and career futurist Kerry Hannon says the workplace has changed forever, and for older workers that brings some good news. In this episode, she talks about her new book, In Control at 50+, which offers insights about the current job market as well as tips on how people over 50 can navigate their careers. Her advice includes taking stock of what’s important to you, looking at a wide...

This show features a wide-ranging conversion between Bev and jobs expert Mark Anthony Dyson, about the changing workplace. They note the generational divide in many organizations, and they discuss ways younger and older workers can learn from one another. Mark says you can expand your career savvy simply by hanging out with colleagues who aren’t like you, because some knowledge is “caught, not tau...

Perhaps 40% of recent college graduates are underemployed, and the problem particularly hits diverse and first generation grads. Our guest, Lukeisha Paul, says it’s not always easy for young people to work their way in, and work their way up, complex organizations, but there are ways to help. Lukeisha is the U.S. head of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion for GroupM, a global advertising and media co...

West Virginia University Assistant Dean Danny Twilley is passionate about encouraging people to spend time outdoors. In this episode, Danny says research shows that active outdoor leisure can support creativity and a sense of connection, as well as health and happiness. He says getting outside can help you recover from work stress, promote well-being and stimulate learning. Even taking a 20-minute...

Today’s guest, Doug Shapiro, understands that the space where you work can impact your productivity, your creativity and how much you enjoy your job. He’s a thought leader in the design industry, a respected observer of the interplay between work culture and physical places, and the vice president of research and insights at OFS, a furniture company. Doug says how we work has changed forever, and...

Today’s guest, Debby Cole, was brought up to “be a Southern lady.” But she stepped away from that role and became an entrepreneur. Starting small, she created a landscaping and construction business, then spent 35 years building it into a thriving organization, and managing multi-million-dollar projects. Next, she pivoted again, to become a speaker, writer, photographer and passionate champion of...

This episode focuses on one habit with surprising power to slow you down, in work and in life. We’re talking about sitting, or, more precisely, the widespread trend of sitting down during way too much of the workday. Our guest is Doctor of Physical Therapy Stefan Zavalin. In his new book, Sit Less, Stefan explains how reducing the time you spend sitting could improve both your health and your prod...

Today’s topic is how to be a strong team member and thrive at work, even when your coworkers are across the country. Our guest, Kevin Eikenberry, is an engaging speaker and podcaster, a well-known leadership expert, and the co-author (with Wayne Turmel) of the best-selling book, The Long-Distance Teammate. Kevin offers helpful tips about how to stay motivated and connected with your team when you...

Today’s guest, Karen Hager, started as a child actor and grew up to be a publishing professional. At the same time, she studied at an Episcopal seminary. But instead of being called to the ministry, she stepped away to forge her career as an intuitive guide. She is passionate about teaching people to connect with their own natural intuitive awareness, and says sometimes becoming more intuitive sta...

How an organization performs on societal and ethical issues greatly influences the willingness of its employees to stay on the team and be committed players, suggests today’s guest, Ethan McCarty. He’s the founder and CEO of Integral, a prize-winning communications agency which helps clients enhance organizational cultures and activate employees to do their best work. Here, Ethan describes results...

The workplace is in the midst of huge change, including the shift to remote and hybrid workers, and it’s time to rethink what human resource programs do, and how they do it. That’s the view of today’s guest, Brandon Laws, senior director of marketing & product at Xenium HR. The U.S. is experiencing a job seeker’s market, and workers have more power and want more options. Brandon says the future of...