Latest Episodes
All Episode Summaries
Episode 44: How Work Has Changed Over the Decades with Jose Palomino
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
Episode 43: Workplace Experience of Minority Employees with Brenda Harrington
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.
Episode 42: The Engineering Career You Always Wanted with Zach White
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.
Episode 41: Investment Banking, to Tech, to Community with Zachary Novak
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.
Episode 40: Traveling the Land of Startups with Sharekh Shaikh
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.
Greg’s Other Podcast Guest Appearances
If you’re interested in some more content around careers and the world of work, check out some of Greg Martin’s podcast appearances as a guest on other shows. Hear about Greg talk more directly about his career experiences, advice for people in the world of work and trying to find their niche.
Episode 39: Fear and Putting Yourself Out There with Ryan Hanley
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.
Episode 38: Life Lessons from the TV Show Succession with Dan Scott
Episode 38. This episode is a special one, digging into the takeaways and lessons from the HBO hit Succession.
To reflect on the show through 4 seasons, Greg Martin interviews Dan Scott, who runs the firm Spotlight Advisory Group. He helps wealthy individuals and families find creative outlets, discover their purpose, and deal with succession (the real life kind).
The episode is all about purpose, greed, money, power and the good, bad and the ugly of what the show can teach us as Dan draws parallels—and plenty of contrast—between his clients and the wealthy family portrayed in the “Succession” TV show.
Episode 37: Franchising, Between Corporate Employee and Business Owner with Anna Brambilla
Episode 37. The route of franchising is a path we don’t consider, certainly not as often as the thought around owning your own business. But when you begin to realize, there are many franchises out there (beyond just restaurants) that are available to us. Starting up requries some capital and paying an ongoing royalty, but also comes with lots of support and a proven model.
In this episode Greg interviews Anna Brambilla, a career transition coach who helps her clients find fulfillment through exploring the option of business ownership as a franchisee. Anna herself explains the struggles she had in the corporate world and never finding her place or feeling like she could achieve.
Episode 36: We All Risk Becoming Obsolete with Julie Noonan
Episode 36. We’re all getting older, technology is replacing jobs, employers want to hire younger people and layoffs are happening everywhere. What does that mean for the rest of us?
In this episode Greg interviews Julie Noonan. Her expertise is all about managing big changes within organizations - she’s helped with dozens of M&A transactions, reorganizations, restructuring, new systems and just about everything else. Big change is hard. On top of all this, she’s been laid off more than once and had to re-invent how she approaches her work.
Episode 35: Taking the Leap to Start Your Own Business with William Buist
Episode 35. It’s an incredibly challenging step to leave a career or a well paying job to start your own business. The leap is huge. It’s risky. But many of us do it. Why start your own business? How do you get the most out of the experience? How do you be really good?
In this episode host Greg Martin joins William Buist to share stories about taking the leap and starting a business. Both Greg and William have done it themselves and work everyday with entrepreneurs who have times where they love and hate their choice.
Episode 34: The Insurance Business as a Gateway to Earning and Learning Fast with Stanislav Kojokin
Episode 34. What do you know about the insurance industry? Diving in quickly you learn that it can be a tremendous place to learn about the world of business and make money as someone new, young or old. The role of brokers is perhaps the most fun.
With guest Stanislav Kojokin, co-founder and CEO of KASE Insurance, he tells us all about his journey through the industry and co-founding the company and the great culture they have today. At over 2,000 clients on their roster, his team works alongside companies as they navigate what can be the complicated world of insurance, while offering his employees an invaluable opportunity to learn about insurance and the business world.
Episode 33: We Overachieve and We Burnout to Make Our Parents Proud with Hamza Khan
Episode 33. There are many reasons we work hard at our jobs. Sometimes we work too hard and sometimes we work without really thinking why. Hamza Khan is an international keynote speaker, author and business owner who has been through the trenches working the long hours he needed to prove himself. Unfortunately when you do that, you can burnout, without even recognizing what happened.
In this episode we speak with Hamza about his book The Burnout Gamble, along with his theories around work, millennials and how we are sometimes motivated by fear and other times trying to prove something to ourselves and our parents.
Episode 32: The End of Work From Home with Adam Pekarsky
Episode 32. Our working habits have changed, but not everyone thinks that should stay. Many employers out there feel like everyone working from home right now should head back to the office. Others thing embracing the work from home or the hybird lifestyle is here to stay.
Adam Pekarsky works in the recruitment industry and has witnessed employers grappling with this issue. Is work from home dead, dying, or here to stay? Adam emphasizes that a career is a contact sport. He believes those who return to the workplace will have advantages over those who don’t. That said, working from home has not led to decreased performance, and it’s important to lead your people with as much flexibility as you can. The debate rages on…is the work from home dying, or here to stay?
Episode 31: Strategies to Find Your Happiness with Katie Jefcoat
Episode 31. Katie Jefcoat is an expert on happiness. She has read all the books, reviewed all the studies and has been on the hunt to help people bring more happiness to their lives. It starts with understanding what makes us happy.
A former lawyer, Katie is the host of the Everyday Happiness Podcast, she is also a best-selling author, public speaker, and entrepreneur. When the pandemic hit and she saw the way it impacted the world, Katie found herself researching everything she could about happiness. Sometimes its not about changing something to become happier, sometimes it’s about mindset, and all the happiness we need is right there today.
Episode 30: Feeling Like You Don’t Belong in Your Workplace with Tricia Montalvo Timm
Episode 30. Tricia Timm hid who she was for years as she climbed the corporate ladder as a lawyer, aspiring to be better and better eat each step. But, what did better mean and what was the top? Throughout much of her career she hid that she was Latina and in other cases hid that she was a mother.
With host Greg Martin, this interview covers her story and how many of us feel in the workplace, not totally comfortable with revealing who we are, but also not comfortable sharing our true selves. It wasn’t something she even knew, but once it dawned on her that she was hiding, she decided to reclaim her identity and began advocating for inclusivity and diversity in the workplace.
Episode 29: What We Want Out of Workplace Culture with Steven L. Blue
Episode 29. Company culture is the focus of managers, owners and employees alike, but the question around what we’re all looking for isn’t always easy. Speaker, author, and business transformation expert Steven L. Blue discusses his background and why he’s an expert on company culture. Through experiences at different levels of an organization and his roles working to improve and fix the internal workings of different businesses.
With host Greg Martin, the interview covers topics including the divide between blue collar and white collar culture, rooting out problems within a company, trusting and respecting employees and interacting with subordinates.
Episode 28: The 100 Hour Work Week to Start an Investment Banking Career with Linda Wan
Episode 28. Investment Banking is one of the most intense place to start your career, but every year thousands of new recruits join the junior ranks of banks from Goldman Sachs to Merrill Lynch to Greenhill to a tiny boutique nobody has heard of. They work all night on powerpoint and excel, pitches and models, selling companies and raising money. The experience is amazing, but everyday is intense.
In this interview we dive deep into the true life as an investment banking analyst. Throughout the episode host Greg Martin shares what it was like in the mergers & acquisitions group of a major Canadian boutique, while Linda Wan shares her experience with a large global bank.
Episode 27: How 80s Movies Can Make You Better at Work with Chris Clews
Episode 27. Keynote speaker and author Chris Clews is the guest. Chris grew up in the 80’s and has gained over 20 years of experience in corporate marketing. His book series "What 80’s Pop Culture Teaches Us About Today's Workplace" merges together these two worlds he knows very well.
We’ll hear from Chris about the highlights and struggles of workplace culture through the lens of 80’s culture. He also shares important (80’s-related) lessons that can help you no matter what industry or organization you work in.
Episode 26: Building the Best Legal Career with M&A Lawyer Bill Ainley
Our guest this episode is Bill Ainley. Bill worked for decades in the world of law, mostly in corporate M&A. Right out of university, he joined a firm called Davies Ward Phillips & Vineberg and became the head of M&A. After 40 years, Bill retired. He now sits on the Origin Merchant Partners advisory board.
In this episode, Bill dives into his career and shares the aspects he loved about working in M&A at Davies and the key reasons he found working in corporate law fun, exciting, and empowering.