Business RadioX ®

John Mecum With Cellairis

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High Velocity Radio
High Velocity Radio
John Mecum With Cellairis
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John Mecum brings nearly five years of hands‑on experience in supply chain, operations, and sales coordination to his role at Cellairis. His strong background includes two years as a Salesforce Administrator, where he mastered optimizing CRM systems to drive efficiency and customer satisfaction.

At Cellairis, based just north of Atlanta, he spearheads global sales efforts for the CyberSystem, an innovative suite of educational solutions built for modern classrooms. He recently represented the company at ISTELive 25, where Cellairis won the prestigious “Best of Show” award for the Cyber Pouch.

There, he connected with numerous education leaders, administrators, and tech innovators. He earned his education from Kennesaw State University, and actively promotes technology solutions that help schools balance digital safety, academic focus, and student wellbeing.

In every interaction, he highlights how a Georgia‑grown company with 25 years of accessory experience is now shaping educational tech nationwide—helping schools stay connected, secure, and distraction‑free.

Connect with John on LinkedIn.

What You’ll Learn in This Episode

  • Tackling Tech Distractions in the Classroom: The Purpose Behind the CyberSystem
  • Sales and Adoption Strategy: How School Systems Are Implementing the CyberSystem
  • Responding to Cell Phone Bans in Georgia Schools: How the CyberSystem Aligns with Local Policies
  • Showcasing Innovation on the National Stage: Cellairis Wins “Best of Show” at ISTELive 2
  • The Future of Cellairis: Expanding Beyond Accessories into Smart Solutions

Transcript-iconThis transcript is machine transcribed by Sonix.

 

TRANSCRIPT

Intro: Broadcasting live from the Business RadioX studios in Atlanta, Georgia. It’s time for High Velocity Radio.

Lee Kantor: Lee Kantor hear another episode of High Velocity Radio in. This is going to be a good one. Today on this show, we have John Mecum. He’s the global sales coordinator with Cellairis. Welcome.

John Mecum: Oh, I’m so happy to be here. Thank you so much for having me.

Lee Kantor: Well, for folks who aren’t familiar, tell us a little bit about Cellairis. How are you serving folks?

John Mecum: Absolutely. So Solaris has been in the mobility space for 25 years now. We actually just celebrated our 25th anniversary. Um, what started out in retail spaces as a, uh, repair focused organization, um, specializing in anything repair wise for mobile devices has expanded to a variety of solutions, um related to Mobility, um, in a variety of uh, verticals and industries that have really grown to serve us as partnerships that have allowed us to grow as an enterprise.

Lee Kantor: So we’re here to talk about, uh, cyber system. Do you mind sharing a little bit of an overview of Cyber System, what it is and how it helps folks?

John Mecum: Oh, absolutely. And really, what the cyber system is, is a response to a huge problem that we’re seeing across the entire country. It’s evident in legislation, and you’ve seen over 30 states in the entire country start to enact these, uh, laws. And what we are trying to do is give an opportunity to schools, educators and parents to have a solution that, you know, meets their needs. Um, what the cyber system is, is a all around solution that is designed to reduce the distractions in classrooms that are caused by cell phones. Um, everyone knows that, you know, kids have had exposure to these devices really since birth at this age. Um, it’s really one of the first generations where they’ve been exposed to that kind of, um, stimulation, really, since, you know, they’re the time of an infant infant and, uh, you know, with all of the great strides and education and information that can come with that exposure to technology, I think at some point you need to figure out a way to regulate it. And one place we are seeing the need for that regulation is in the classroom.

Lee Kantor: So, um, how is this happening in the you I’ve heard a lot in the media about, um, you know, trying to take the phones away from the kids, but is it done in a way like I’ve been to, uh, comedy shows and they’ll kind of give, take your phone and give you a pouch, and you put it in the pouch. And then at the end of the show, they unlock the pouch and give you your phone back. Is it done in a similar manner?

John Mecum: So one of the important, uh, differentiators that that we provide as opposed to other solutions on the market. And you’re totally right, as there’s other solutions out there that will aim to restrict phone usage by method of locking the phone away. And one of our taglines with our solution is, you know, we we don’t lock, we only block. And one of the great things about the the cyber system and the cyber pouch specifically, which is really at the heart of the system, is the fact that our technology blocks all incoming and outgoing signals. So that means when a mobile device is secured within our cyber pouch, it’s it’s completely blocked from receiving any type of notifications, phone calls, everything from Instagram, text messages, what have you. And the great thing about that is, you know, we have all of these other devices that are interconnected throughout our day, whether it be smartwatches, uh, AirPods, what have you. And when a phone is inside of a cyber pouch, It is instantly disconnected from all of these other, uh, sources of connectivity, rendering them completely useless.

Lee Kantor: So that means, like, if you have a watch that’s connected to your phone, you’re not going to be getting kind of the notifications on the watch if the phone is being blocked.

John Mecum: Exactly. And that’s one of the things that we’re super proud of, that I believe other solutions can’t necessarily promote as much because they don’t they don’t block any signal. All they’re really doing is taking the phone away, which, you know, to me, at the heart, you know, signals, uh, a, uh, underlying sense of, of mistrust between between faculty and students and students will find ways around it. They will find ways to break the the pouches open if they’re under a lock. Um, you know, they’re incredibly crafty. And a big part of our, uh, mission here is, is, as I said, not not to lock the pouches away. So we actually have them secured in a Velcro. Um, you know, uh, top that that, you know, if necessary, can be opened. It provides that accessibility to the students. Um, it is incredibly loud. So there is an audio indicator, uh, to to the faculty and to the educator. Uh, so there’s not really any way to quietly open the pouch and access the phone. But what we have done is provided a sense of accessibility that in the event there’s some type of emergency, some type of, uh, you know, reason where a child would need to let their parent know that they’re safe or just communicate with them. Uh, they have that opportunity. It’s really a collaboration with the faculty as to, you know, where the pouches are going to end up. Will they remain with the students? Will they go to a designated, uh, housing area, which we also have a solution for now?

Lee Kantor: Are you seeing this as something that’s a fad, or is this something that’s going to kind of To be the just norm. Moving forward.

John Mecum: Now, I think, you know, for the first few years, there’s definitely been, uh, you know, more of a push towards phone free environments. And I think it’s been recognized by some as a, as a pattern and a trend that will pick up steam. And what we’ve seen over the last year or so, and specifically in the last six months, is a just complete overhaul of legislation, state by state, that is, is addressing this problem through a mandate that districts are going to have to create a policy that either bans or restricts phone usage. And you’ve seen it happen in over 30 states already, and there are some that are swiftly following behind with their own bills in place. And what that’s doing is, is forcing these districts to come up with a policy because they’re giving them a timeline, but they’re not necessarily explaining how to do it or any solutions that are available to them and resources. And what we want to do is help these these educators do what they do best, teach with minimal extra steps. Because what’s happening is, you know, superintendents, um, you know, already have a lot of responsibility. And boards are giving these responsibilities to tech directors and people who already have their own jobs and and things they have to take care of and, and are given this deadline to solve an issue.

John Mecum: And, you know, they may only have so many options in front of them at a time. And what we want to do is just get the word out that our solution, you know, we think is tip top because it’s based on the feedback we’ve received to people who have been going through this problem for some time. There are a lot of states who have gotten ahead of this issue with their own policies, and maybe the state is just now starting to enact the legislation we’ve seen recently in states like Texas, Florida, Georgia, um, have enacted their own cell phone restrictions that are, you know, explaining to districts, hey, you have till this date to create a policy and then don’t really give them much else in terms of, of resources to do so. Um, so we want to help unlock that for them, whether it be, uh, a different solutions that are available to them, um, access to funding, whatever we can do to help promote these. Uh, teachers have a distraction free environment with minimal steps required.

Lee Kantor: Now, have they done research to see if this really does create that distraction free environment that improves test scores and things like that? Has it been correlated to any improvement in outcomes?

John Mecum: Yeah, and I think there’s a lot of studies out there that can speak to individual cases of districts who have seen these benefits. But I think over time you’re really going to see a huge shift as as we adjust from, you know, being such a technologically independent society, especially the young people, into finding that balance where we’re promoting engagement and, you know, not only focusing on the negative aspects of having these devices in our hands, but also the positive benefits that can come from it, whether it be mental health and wellbeing, uh, better social engagement, things that aren’t necessarily as quantifiable as test scores.

Lee Kantor: Now, you mentioned that I guess it starts at the state level. They, um, they put a law in that say that we want it to be a distraction free environment. Um, is that how it starts? Like there’s some sort of, uh, a state, um, regulation put in place?

John Mecum: Yes. So we’ve seen it happen in a couple of different ways, but but where a bill is signed, um, is usually where, where we’ve seen the most movement happen. And usually it’s because state funding starts to get involved. Uh, whether it’s a matter of getting access to it or losing it. Uh, we’ve also seen instances where, you know, a governor may may want to just address this issue and, and puts out an executive order. We’ve seen that happen in New York with, with Governor Hochul. And and it just immediately gets the wheels turning. But it doesn’t always give these districts the amount of time that they need to find a solution that works for them. Some districts are ahead of the curve with it, and they found solutions that may work for them. Some districts, you know, it’s the Wild West out there, and they’ve been storing phones in Ziploc bags or, or the shoe holders that you put over doors. It’s just the problem is you can’t necessarily write a shoe holder into policy. And so what we want to do is not dictate a district’s policy, but offer them a tool and a solution that they can use to enforce and enact their own.

Lee Kantor: But this requires them to kind of, um, put put funds towards the initiative, like, because can’t they just say that your kids can’t bring their phone to school.

John Mecum: Yeah, but there’s there’s going to be. You know, in today’s day and age, there’s always going to be pushback. There’s a demand for accessibility. And parents just cannot allow that. I think in a lot of cases, you know, and and I think the point is that the children aren’t being exposed to that type of stimulation. But how can we find a balance in, uh, you know, instead of finding ways to restrict, how can we find ways to promote the development of healthy mobile device habits?

Lee Kantor: So that’s, um, so there’s a push, I guess, to allow them to have the phones but not have access to the phones while teaching is taking place, because is your solution, one where they just drop the phone off at the in the morning and then pick it up in the afternoon? Or is this something that they can have it in between classes, like where where does it begin and end?

John Mecum: So I think it really depends. And what’s unique about this solution is, you know, every classroom, uh, situation is going to act a little bit differently. They’re all going to be nuanced in different ways. Children learn differently in classrooms operate differently. What we want to be is a is a tool that functions and fits into any kind of scenario. You know, maybe for some scenarios, the the students are able to keep the the pouch on their backpack or next to their desk for easy access. We’ve seen instances like that come up in high schools and different situations where there’s a little bit more dependance and accessibility and trust involved in access to to these devices. Now, in middle school, maybe there’s a situation where students come into the class and they take their pouch and put it in a designated area, whether that be a locker, whether that be in the front of the classroom, in the teacher’s desk area, or at the solution we have provided, which is called the cyber Stand, which is a designated housing area for the cyber pouches. It has 28 color coded numbered hooks that can be utilized as a visual identifier of.

John Mecum: If the pouch is, you know, accessible. If if the phone is actually inside of it. And so, you know, one situation could be, you know, the students come into the classroom. Phone goes into the pouch, pouch goes onto the hook, and they don’t retrieve it until the end of the class period. There are some classes at younger ages where they stay in the same classroom for the entire day, but it still allows that accessibility in the event of an emergency. It minimizes the amount of steps that a teacher has to take to get these phones out of the student’s hands, and then redistribute them at the end of the day, because, you know, there’s only so many hours in a day and minutes in an hour that a student that a teacher has to work with these students. What we don’t want to do is add more time to that with with the allocation and distribution of phones, whether it be into a locker or what have you. But we have to find some way to address this issue.

Lee Kantor: So recently you were, uh, this device was named Best of Show. Can you talk a little bit about how that came about?

John Mecum: Oh, absolutely. We were over at Estey Estey conference in San Antonio, which was a fantastic time. We had a wonderful experience there. Got to build a lot of new, incredible relationships in regards to technology and education. And while we were there, we were having an incredible time speaking about the the cyber pouch and and evangelizing it and really trying to get the word out about this kind of solution. And in that, we ended up being awarded a Best in show from Tech and Learning. Um, we were incredibly honored to receive that because we think it really speaks to not just the work we’ve done on this solution, but the need that is present, that is present around the country right now, whether it be from parents, educators, what have you to address this problem? And we’re just thankful that with the amount of attention that issue is getting, that we have a platform to provide a solution that may be able to help people.

Lee Kantor: Now, how does the cyber system fit into kind of the overarching strategy of Solaris? Um, because you mentioned Solaris started out as you know, I’m going to fix your cell phone business and their work. I guess kiosk and locations around the world are doing just that. How does this kind of offering fit into that world? Do the people in the local locations, you know, have the opportunity to sell this into their local school systems, or is this done in a different manner?

John Mecum: So we we work with distribution. Um, we work with specific distribution channels to provide access to our cyber system. Um, specifically TD Synnex. We have a great relationship with, uh, we do a lot of our, uh, you know, providing of products and solutions, uh, for a variety of, of verticals. Uh, as I had mentioned, Solaris started in retail spaces has since expanded far beyond that to provide customized solutions to a variety of industries, whether it be healthcare, uh, transportation, education, um, as we see here. And a lot of those partnerships we’ve developed over the last 25 years have given us, uh, outlets to provide new solutions. Uh, for instance, we were provided, you know, we were notified a little over a year ago of this growing epidemic by one of our partners, uh, that is occurring with cell phones. And it immediately was a call to action. And so as we’ve grown through the enterprise channel over the last, you know, say probably 10 or 15 years as we’ve made that transition. It’s really important to provide new solutions and not just get stuck in the same pattern. You know, we grow. And as this company has grown with the integration of technology into things like education and just our day to day life, it’s important to find solutions that, you know, help us regulate and help us navigate without, you know, being overexposed to these things. You know, Solaris has provided solutions for different restaurants, different customized cases. You’ll see our cases in every Chili’s in the country. Uh, based on our relationship with Brinker International. And so we we cover a variety of, of spaces. Uh, what we want to do is help provide solutions. And when it comes to mobile devices, you know, and how ingrained they are into our way of life, there’s a lot of opportunity to do that. And this is just another step in us trying to, you know, provide that type of, you know, connectivity, uh, even if it involves a little bit of connectivity for a little while now.

Lee Kantor: What do you need more of? How can we help you? Are you just trying to kind of educate the public on, hey, there’s a solution for, uh, this type of handling distractions in the classroom and cyber systems is one of those solutions. Are you looking to get more partners? Uh, what do you need more of?

John Mecum: Yeah, absolutely. I think, uh, what’s really important for us right now is getting the word out. There is only so much time that districts have to make their decisions on solutions, and there are only so many mouths that we we have to speak and and, you know, it’s really important that we can get the word out about this solution as much as possible because we think, you know, in a even playing field, uh, you know, our solution stands head and shoulders above all else. We think we provide one that, you know, really appease appeases the needs of not only educators, but parents and students who demand that type of accessibility in this day and age. Uh, you know, what’s important for us is just, you know, knowledge of not only this problem, but what solutions are available and the benefits of exploring those. So, you know, the more you know, eyes we can get on this product, you know, we’re always looking for more partnerships, more reseller opportunities. Um, and we would love to speak with folks about it. You can go to my cyber.com or email cyber system at Solaris. Com. For more information on this solution we’d be more than happy to talk with anyone about it. It’s really exciting. Um, and there really aren’t. Uh, you know, it’s it’s it’s incredible to see just how many people are really, you know, jumping to. To get on top of this issue. And it’s exciting to see when you have a solution that you’re able to provide and and ease that pain for folks, it makes selling really easy.

Lee Kantor: So, John, oh, one more time. The website for my cyber system is my cyber system.com and Solaris c e I s com.

John Mecum: That is correct. My cyber.com is where you’re going to want to go for more information. And then cyber system at Solaris. Com is where you’ll want to email if you want to know more.

Lee Kantor: Well John thank you so much for sharing your story today. You’re doing important work and we appreciate you.

John Mecum: I really appreciate you having me on.

Lee Kantor: All right. This is Lee Kantor. We’ll see you all next time on High Velocity Radio.

Sherry Essig With Flow Dynamix LLC

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High Velocity Radio
High Velocity Radio
Sherry Essig With Flow Dynamix LLC
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Sherry Essig is an executive and life coach with 25 years of experience helping clients who are no longer willing to settle for success or happiness—they want both. She approaches her work with the understanding that we are all unique, imperfect, and complex, which is why there’s no one-size-fits-all blueprint.

Instead, the key is aligning who you are with what you do and how you do it. While the details differ for each person, one truth holds across the board: it’s absolutely possible to be successful without sacrificing your happiness—or pretending to be someone you’re not.

Before launching her coaching practice, Flow Dynamix, Sherry spent 20 years in public accounting the corporate world, and as a consultant working with mid-sized to large companies. She holds a Professional Certified Coach (PCC) credential through the International Coaching Federation and is an accredited Enneagram Practitioner.

She blends her extensive business background with tools and perspectives ranging from coaching methodology and a creative use of metrics to yoga principles and positive psychology—sprinkled with a healthy dose of humor. This unique mix helps her clients expand their capacity for awareness, change, growth, resilience, and boldness.

She’s also the co-host of The Perfectly Imperfect Journey podcast.

Connect with Sherry on LinkedIn.

What You’ll Learn in This Episode

  • Leadership of Self
  • Sherry’s journey from public accounting and the financial services industry to becoming an executive and life coach
  • Personal development is professional development
  • The way you live your day is the way you live your life

Transcript-iconThis transcript is machine transcribed by Sonix.

 

TRANSCRIPT

Intro: Broadcasting live from the Business RadioX studios in Atlanta, Georgia. It’s time for High Velocity Radio.

Lee Kantor: Lee Kantor hear another episode of High Velocity Radio and this is going to be a good one. Today on the show, we have Sheri Essig. She’s an Executive and a Life Coach with Flow Dynamix. Welcome.

Sherry Essig: Thank you. I’m so happy to be here.

Lee Kantor: Well, I’m excited to learn about your practice. Tell us about Flow Dynamix. How are you serving folks?

Sherry Essig: So I have been coaching for, oh my gosh, over 25 years now. And I work with clients who are really ready to create success and happiness without compromising who they are. I really believe you don’t have to trade one off for the other.

Lee Kantor: So what’s your backstory? How did you get involved with coaching?

Sherry Essig: So it’s a somewhat of a winding road. I can tell it in a way that sounds like a lovely, well-planned, very linear journey. But of course, most of us don’t have journeys like that. So I began my career in public accounting, and from public accounting I went into the financial services industry. And while I always really liked the people I worked with and I liked the work well enough, I was always had this feeling of, I want to do work that I really, really love. And at some point in my professional journey, I ended up relocating from LA. I am from Southern California. I’ve been working in LA since college and had an opportunity to work for a company in DC, and it turned out I wasn’t a great cultural fit with the company. I was pretty miserable. And that really was this moment of confluence with my best friend was dying from Aids at the same time, and I had just this huge moment of, wow, I do not want to. I don’t want to wake up when I am 70 years old and realize I never really had the guts to figure out what I wanted to do. So I was spending a lot of time with him at the end of his life, and there was just this moment where it struck me that he was really down to his very, very last choice in life, which was whether to end his treatments or keep hanging on. And I just had this moment of recognition of I was not really acknowledging that I had lots of choices and I had a choice to make. And so I made the decision to start really aggressively saving money and take a six month sabbatical and figure out what I wanted to do with my life.

Lee Kantor: Now, when you were on that sabbatical and you were deciding what were some of the other things you were considering in addition to coaching?

Sherry Essig: Well, a funny thing happened, which was I really never ended up taking the sabbatical, I gave notice I left before I had even completed the notice I had given at work. I had a call from somebody at my prior employer in LA asking if I would come back. They would relocate me back to California, which sounded like a dream come true. Except I knew deep down inside that if I went back there, I loved the people. I would never have the oomph to figure this out. And so I said, no, it’s the hardest know of my life. And he asked if I would consider doing some consulting. And I said, yeah, and I have this really, really smart friend that also just left to take a sabbatical. And he’s like, great. And so my friend Karen and I kind of stumbled into being self-employed and having a consulting practice, which was really ironic because we’re both huge planners. And so the fact I stumbled into being self-employed still continues to amaze me all this time later. And we had have this wonderful consulting practice for little over five years. And I had this moment we were presenting to a client. It was a big financial services company. They were really happy. And I had this moment of, I’m really, really glad they’re happy. I want our clients to be, like, very pleased with the work we’re delivering. And this still is not what I am super excited about. This isn’t the impact I want to have on the world. And so it was really at that point that I said to my business partner, I, I want to take a step back. Um, maybe we could think about either doing less work or I do less work with you and choose in the same place. And so that really is when the self-exploration began, was a little over five years after I initially set out to take a sabbatical.

Sherry Essig: And through that process, what I really discovered was I really like having an impact on an individual. I went through this really amazing program called the Highlands Program. It was a very small group program at the time. It could only be led by therapists, and we did this exercise that was around. What were your favorite favorite days as you think back on your professional life? And I realized that my favorite days were really never about the kind of the core of my work. It would be when someone would come into my office and say, hey, can I just talk to you about something? And half the time I would be just shaking my head on. I don’t even know that person that well. Like, I don’t know why they wanted to come talk to me. And then when I was consulting, we would have clients who would say to me, can I put you on retainer or separate from the project? It’s really helpful to me when I talk things through with you. And I remember standing up in this small group and saying, well, this is all well and good, but how do you make a living? Like just talking to people and they’re just happened to be somebody in there. It was very early on in the coaching profession who said, well, that sounds like coaching. And of course my reaction was sports. And he’s like, no, no, no, there’s this whole field of professional coaching now. And he had a friend who lived in the area, connected me with her, and I discovered coaching. And as I started researching it, I just felt like I think this might be the thing.

Lee Kantor: So you had never been coached before?

Sherry Essig: No, I had never. I didn’t even know the industry existed. This was in like 1996, 97, maybe.

Lee Kantor: So at that point, coaching was either for the top performers or for remedial, like if somebody needed to be fixed.

Sherry Essig: Exactly. Exactly. It was just starting to be a thing. And. But you’re absolutely right. It was for the very, very, very senior executives had always had some kind of external advisor that like, ultimately became executive coaches. But like I said, my first reaction when he said coach was, sports like that doesn’t even make any sense to me.

Lee Kantor: Right? It’s kind of ironic that in sports, like almost every sport, there’s coaching is built in and nobody thinks twice about it. But in business it was like a it took a while for it to get some legs.

Sherry Essig: Right. It did. It took quite a long time. That wouldn’t happen now. Now I can just say to somebody, I’m a coach and they know exactly what I’m talking about.

Lee Kantor: Right? Right. But back then it was it was not the same. So are you seeing it in your practice? Are you seeing coaching kind of going to all levels or it’s still primarily mid to upper management that it gets involved in coaching?

Sherry Essig: Um, I don’t know that I have a great benchmark for that because I work with clients that come to me as individuals. Sometimes their companies are paying for it, but I don’t come in through the company. And so having said that, just being in the industry and knowing lots of HR people, it’s definitely goes deeper into companies than it used to. It’s one thing that I think has dramatically changed is it’s not seen as remedial anymore.

Lee Kantor: Right? I think that’s that’s over with. Uh, hopefully. Um, but maybe maybe not like with private equity boards or things like that that have plugged people in or they just acquired a company, maybe they use it in that regard, uh, to get the alignment they need or the culture they want.

Sherry Essig: Yeah, I think that’s true. Again, that’s not my area of expertise, but I do think that happens. And I don’t think of that as remedial at all. That’s really more on helping people navigate a new culture, right. Or bringing disparate teams together. And so But I haven’t. I haven’t heard for a while of giving somebody a coach because they’re failing.

Lee Kantor: Right. Yeah. Like fix Bob that that’s not happening. That’s not happening.

Sherry Essig: Exactly.

Lee Kantor: So now when you’re working with people, how are people finding you? Is it just kind of word of mouth?

Sherry Essig: At this point, it’s very word of mouth. It’s either one of my clients will refer somebody or somebody I know will refer somebody. And sometimes it’s actually someone I know will reach out and say, hey, I’ve got this going on. Can we talk about a coaching engagement?

Lee Kantor: And that’s interesting as well, because at some point some people, um, aren’t bragging about needing help in areas. Um, like a lot of people who have personal trainers or coaches, they don’t, you know, kind of lead with that. They they don’t want people to know they’re getting help on the side.

Sherry Essig: Yeah. I don’t really see that anymore. I. I don’t. Let me. Let me say that a little bit differently. I don’t quite see it that way anymore. I think that we culturally have evolved to asking for help is not a bad thing. I think people will still individually struggle with, oh God, I hate having to ask for help. But we live in a in a culture, at least here in this country, that’s much more oriented now around self-development.

Lee Kantor: And what part of the country are you working in?

Sherry Essig: I mean, I live in Raleigh, North Carolina. I have clients all over the country.

Lee Kantor: Oh, and then is it industry agnostic, your work?

Sherry Essig: Yes, yes, my work is much more person specific than industry specific.

Lee Kantor: And what’s kind of the challenge that they’re typically coming to you with.

Sherry Essig: So I would say everybody’s details are different, but it normally Involves feeling stuck in some way. The people I work with are used to being. Being able to solve problems and they tend to be successful people. And so it’s a frustrating experience around. I’m just feeling really stuck. And that stuck. Could be anything from. I want to make a career transition to. I am so out of alignment in terms of my time. I am just working all the time and I’m not great at boundaries, and I have a lot of fear about saying no. But if I don’t. If I don’t create a different way of moving through my life, I’m going to get sick, right? Or I am going to miss out on seeing my kids grow up. And so it always comes back to feeling stuck in some way and being really frustrated about not being able to get unstuck.

Lee Kantor: So what are symptoms of stuck?

Sherry Essig: Well, I’ll. I’ll speak to my own personal symptoms. When I feel stuck. I’m frustrated. I’m annoyed. I’m stressed. And I think there’s. I think that’s pretty universal of this sense of I. I keep saying I want to fix this or change this or resolve this, and I’m getting sick of hearing myself still having that same conversation with myself.

Lee Kantor: But how do you differentiate that just from this is just life?

Sherry Essig: Well, it’s a really good question because all of those things are part of life. But a lot of it is how are you navigating it? Are you? So I have a phrase I use. I used it as my tagline for a long time. I had a trademark for a long time, and then I realized I didn’t really need to be paying for the trademark anymore. But I very much believe that the way you live your day is the way you live your life. And I will. I will often have a new client, or if I’m doing a presentation or a program, have people take out a piece of paper and write down five words that describe the way they want to live their life. And so people will write down things like, you know, happy or, um, fulfilled or calm or, you know, just any kind of infinite number of adjectives. And then I’ll have people take out a piece of paper and write down five words or phrases that describe the way you live your day, and they will be things like stressed, harried, frustrated, overwhelmed. And I’ll make the comment that the reality is the way we live our days is the way we live our life. And so I focus a lot on really getting into all the micro choices that we are making day in and day out. And that ranges from everything to mindset to being aware. You’re even making a choice, recognizing that every yes you say is a no to something else.

Sherry Essig: And so are you really being conscious of the tradeoff that you’re making? And is that the tradeoff you want to make? Some of it is. Looking at the stories you tell yourself. I worked way too much in my corporate life, and it wasn’t at all because I thought I was indispensable. It was that I’d look around and see that something needed to be done, and nobody else was doing it. And I had the script of, well, if nobody else is going to do it, I have to do it. When that was me making that up. And so we all make just a bazillion choices every single day. And a lot of times we’re not even aware. And I think it’s those micro choices that impact our life the most, right? It’s not the choice around should I move? Should I take a new job? Uh, should I, um, start dating this person? Those we tend to make with some consciousness. But it’s the. It’s everything from the way I choose to spend my time and how I choose to interact with people and the mindset I choose to hold. And I think when you really look at that all of a sudden, first of all, we have a lot more agency around that and feel a lot more like, okay, I can control this, I can control that. And it starts to spill out into feeling a lot less stuck.

Lee Kantor: Now, do you find that a lot of it is just what people are paying attention to. Like they’re not focusing maybe on all of the things that they should be grateful for, and they’re focusing on the things that are irritating them. Like you mentioned earlier, like they’re saying I’m stressed. I’m, you know, I’m anxious. Whatever the the issue is when you’re asking them to describe their day, but how they’d like to live is more in, you know, gratitude and appreciating things, but they’re just not paying it. Like good things are happening throughout the day. They’re just not seeing that, and they’re just putting attention into the things that are stressing them out.

Sherry Essig: Right, absolutely. I mean, it’s it’s it’s really hard to pay attention to everything all at once unless you are really mindful of saying, okay, I’m feeling really frustrated. Let me think about why am I feeling so frustrated? And I think gratitude is such a powerful skill and to be able to take a look at something like that and say, well, let me think for a moment what might what might be some of the good things happening right now. I don’t think that means that being grateful for everything means you might not have some legitimate frustrations. But if all you’re focusing on is the things that don’t feel like they’re working, that is part of what makes it really hard to to move forward and to get unstuck. So getting unstuck, I do want to say getting unstuck does not always mean dramatic change. For some people it means dramatic change. But it often doesn’t mean dramatic change. It’s often an internal shift or a recognition of I’ll just use boundaries as an example, because a lot of people struggle with it of, wow, I have really been had a lot of fear about saying no or making up a lot of things about what will happen if I don’t agree to this, or if I show up differently than that.

Lee Kantor: Yeah, I think a lot of life is just how you kind of frame things and, you know, like you can say, oh, uh, every day I’m stressed because I was sitting in traffic. Or you can say, wow, I get to sit in traffic and I get to relax and do deep breathing exercises like it’s the same activity. It’s just how you’re framing it.

Sherry Essig: Exactly. And what you’re saying is such a perfect example of being really mindful of the choices you’re making when you’re sitting in that car. Nobody’s making you think about anything a certain way. Right. So you are what you’re describing is you’re choosing to look at it as, oh, I like this transition from X to Y or oh, I’m so annoyed at all these people around me. That’s a choice.

Lee Kantor: Right? Yeah, that’s what I mean. That’s helped me over the years, is just reframing things to something positive instead of just kind of sitting there in stress or anxiety when like you can look at things differently, whether there isn’t one way to see something, right?

Sherry Essig: I have a really good friend who will often say that when when you’re if she’ll use it as a metaphor, that if you’re sitting in traffic or you’re on the freeway and somebody comes flying by and you’re just thinking, oh my God, what a jerk. She said, I go to the assumption of, huh? Maybe that is somebody who just went into labor and couldn’t wait for an ambulance to come, and their partner is flying to the hospital. And that’s such a great example of reframing when in those cases, we’re making it all up anyway, we don’t actually know what’s happening with someone else, right?

Lee Kantor: It’s your own kind of, uh, fantasy.

Sherry Essig: Absolutely.

Lee Kantor: Now, let’s talk a little bit about the podcast, uh, the perfectly imperfect journey. How did that come about?

Sherry Essig: Well, I will often say it is very much a product of the pandemic. So one of my really good friends, in fact, the friend who has the uses as the metaphor, the person is on the way to the hospital to deliver a baby. She and I had been kicking around the idea of doing a podcast for over a year. We we met. She lived in Raleigh. We’re both from California. She moved back to California. We’d done some work together, and we were kicking around ways that we could do something professional together. And we landed on the idea of a podcast. We were both like, that sounds great. Yes, let’s do that. And we were in San Diego on vacation, and we both went home and got busy and didn’t do anything with that. And every so often we’d be like, yeah, we gotta make time to talk about that podcast. And then the pandemic hit and literally the day or the week that we all started sheltering in place. She reached out and said, hey, let’s put a standing time on the calendar to start talking about this podcast. And that was in March of 2020. And initially we we were very enthusiastic. We were very excited. And we were like, we should put a date on the calendar when we’re going to launch, because that’ll give us some structure. I think August, we should be able to launch by August because this was March. Well, we launched in January of 2021. It took a lot longer to really get all the ducks in a row and have some episodes in the tank and, and all the things, and be super clear on what the podcast was going to be about. And we launched in 2021. We dropped an episode every other week and we are actually on sabbatical right now. We’ve been on sabbatical for the last three months, but we and we decided after 108 episodes we just needed to catch our breath. But it it is one of the most fun things I have ever done. And don’t talk about it as past tense. It’s just we needed to catch our breath.

Lee Kantor: So, um, how did your kind of coaching background help you launch something like this?

Sherry Essig: Um, I, I would say I don’t know that it’s the coaching background that helped us launch it. We both have really strong business backgrounds. And so I think having the business backgrounds were really helpful in terms of knowing how to tackle a project and knowing not to bootstrap it ourselves. And, you know, a lot of those things. But where my coaching background and she’s she’s an HR professional really came into play was the whole focus of the podcast, is talking to people about their perfectly imperfect journeys. We very much believe that, like nobody gets a perfect life. And it is often in the hard stuff that we get our most profound and dramatic opportunities for growth and development. And so I think for both of us, our backgrounds really gave us a lot of skills around being able to have those conversations with people and to be able to go really deep with people really quickly.

Lee Kantor: And then what were some of the kind of memorable key learnings you’ve gotten through that, learning about these people in your podcast?

Sherry Essig: Well, in terms of key learnings from our guests, it just it reinforces the incredible resilience of people, the fact that it doesn’t matter what somebody’s life looks like from the outside looking in. Again, no one gets a perfect life. Everybody has a story to share. And I think what we really I mean, we both knew this, but what we were really taught time and time again is that we all have something to learn from each other.

Lee Kantor: Is there a story you can share about your coaching where you that illustrates how you’ve helped somebody get through? Maybe that, uh, place of being stuck to a new level?

Sherry Essig: Uh, sure. Let me just think for a moment. Um.

Lee Kantor: Obviously don’t name the person, but just.

Sherry Essig: No.

Lee Kantor: No, no, no, I.

Sherry Essig: Would never.

Intro: Do.

Lee Kantor: That. That challenge that they were having or the and how they were able to kind of get to a new place.

Sherry Essig: Yeah. Um, so one of one of my clients came to me because she There were a couple of reasons she came to me, one of one of which was just a lot of work stress. And she worked in corporate sales and had been in sales her entire career, and really wanted to figure out how to get better at managing her stress. And at the same time, she was also very interested in a career for when she left corporate that she could start doing well, I could start doing while she was still in corporate, and I’m going to just be vague on the the industry just because I don’t want to give too much information about about a client. Sure. But, um, but she ultimately really had to confront a lot of issues around scarcity and money fears and what Constituted security. And what’s been really exciting is she’s two and a half years now into the career in the industry that she ultimately wanted to go into. She has just been knocking it out of the park, and what’s been super interesting for her is to see how some of the things that she attributed to corporate cultures and, um, not being your own boss and some of those things she’s discovering like, oh, wow, I did a lot of that to myself. And it sees some of the same stuff show up for her when nobody is telling her what to do. Right. She does not have a boss. And and so it’s been just such a privilege to watch her thrive in this and to watch her. So I don’t know that enthusiastic is the right word. I will certainly say I don’t like go tackle my own stuff enthusiastically. But to see how motivated she is to keep stretching and keep growing. She’s got a big, huge goal out there for herself and her recognition that if she really wants that. This is the personal stuff she needs to work through. And this is a good example of why I so deeply believe that personal growth is professional growth. They’re not two different things.

Lee Kantor: And they can live in harmony.

Sherry Essig: Absolutely. I mean, professionally, I mean, there’s a side of professional growth around specific skills or, you know, technical stuff. But the way the kind of leaders we are and the way we navigate in our environments, that’s going to show up no matter what environment we’re in.

Lee Kantor: Good. Good advice. Um, if somebody wants to learn more and connect with you or somebody on the team, what is the website? What’s the best way to connect?

Sherry Essig: Uh, so the website is great. The the website is flow hyphen dynamics. Com dynamics.com. I’m going to guess you’ll have that in the show notes. And or the easiest way to reach out to me is via email email or LinkedIn.

Lee Kantor: Well Sherri, thank you so much for sharing your story today. You’re doing important work and we appreciate you.

Sherry Essig: Well, I appreciate you as well. Thanks so much for having me on.

Lee Kantor: All right. This is Lee Kantor. We’ll see you all next time on High Velocity Radio.

Ana Chaud With FiftyPages

by

High Velocity Radio
High Velocity Radio
Ana Chaud With FiftyPages
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Ana Chaud is the Co-Founder and COO of FiftyPages and a seasoned entrepreneur with nearly three decades of experience guiding startups and scaling businesses. Born and raised in Brazil, she immigrated to the U.S. at 21 and built a life marked by personal reinvention and professional achievement. From strategic planning and funding to operations and financial modeling, she has worn every hat in the business world—and now, she’s turning her focus to thought leadership, helping others discover fulfillment beyond career success.

Raised in a home that championed female independence, she grew up believing that women could do anything. Yet her life has been a testament to the idea that a singular “calling” isn’t always revealed early on and that meaning and reinvention can occur at any stage.

With a BA in Communications, an MBA in Finance, and a wide range of professional certifications, she combines academic depth with lived experience. Her career journey has reflected constant evolution, with each chapter revealing new possibilities and passions.
Ana’s true zone of genius lies in helping high-achieving individuals reconnect with what matters most.

She is known for turning abstract visions into tangible results guiding clients through transformative moments with clarity, purpose, and action. She is not interested in empty motivation; she is relentlessly focused on helping people make the most of what they have now, chart what comes next, and pursue lives of deeper satisfaction and significance.

Outside of the boardroom, she brings joy and discipline to everything she does. A classically trained ballet dancer and passionate salsa enthusiast, she remains deeply committed to movement, wellness, and vibrant living. She’s also an avid reader, a devoted cook who finds expression through food, and a curious student of human biology and behavior.

Now an empty nester with two college-aged sons, she continues to explore what it means to live fully with freedom, intention, and joy.

Connect with Anna on LinkedIn.

What You’ll Learn in This Episode

  • Success Isn’t Always Fulfillment: Why High-Achieving People Are Redefining What Comes Next

Transcript-iconThis transcript is machine transcribed by Sonix.

 

TRANSCRIPT

Intro: Broadcasting live from the Business RadioX studios in Atlanta, Georgia. It’s time for High Velocity Radio.

Lee Kantor: Lee Kantor here. Another episode of High Velocity Radio in this is going to be a good one. Today on the show we have Ana Chaud and she is the Co-founder and CEO of FiftyPages. Welcome.

Ana Chaud: Thank you. Thank you for having me, Lee.

Lee Kantor: Well, I’m excited to learn what you’re up to. Tell us about FiftyPages. How you serving folks?

Ana Chaud: Yeah. So it’s basically the result of over 30 years working with high performing leaders, mostly founders and CEOs and 50 pages. We created a program that helps high performance, um, create what we call a strategic life design. It’s basically applying the strategic thinking that they put into their businesses, into their personal lives and creating, um, either a life currently or maybe a next chapter in their careers that is a little bit more aligned with what they want. Uh, something that’s more fulfilling, that’s going to bring them more joy and, and just more happiness in general. So that’s what we do.

Lee Kantor: So what’s your backstory? How did you get involved in this line of work?

Ana Chaud: Oh, it’s a long back story, but in summary, it’s been over three decades now that I worked one on one with leaders, either as a coach, as a consultant, uh, collaborated and also have been a founder myself and have grown, scaled and sold a few businesses or have been in the founders shoes. And along this journey, what I noticed with my clients is that the majority of them have no problem On hitting business goals, right? They can do whatever they put their mind into. But what I noticed is that that wasn’t the truth in their personal lives. Like, they wouldn’t bring the same passion and same enthusiasm personally. And then a great portion of my clients graduated to that, that part of life where you think, what’s next for me? What am I doing this for? What? How am I going to live the next, you know, 30, 40 years? So it’s time to think what is the next stage in our lives? And a lot of them get really stuck because they don’t know what they want. They spent so much time growing businesses, you know, making sure that they were successful professionally and always thinking that achieving success in your career would eventually bring happiness and fulfillment in personal lives. And it’s not always the case. So when in a few years after the pandemic and after I had sold my business and I went to coach clients. I realized that that was a big stock. It was actually figuring out what they wanted personally, so that they could create a business strategy that would support that personal vision. And and in that, during that process, I met my current business partner, Elliot Weisel. And he had created a fantastic program to take leaders through. And what is today 50 pages. So we decided to join forces and create a comprehensive program that takes leaders into a systematic approach, which is a, you know, a step by step approach to help them design what they want personally, and then they can go back to the business and then create a strategy for the business that’s actually going to support what they want personally.

Lee Kantor: So the people that are open to this kind of thinking and might be ready for the shift, I guess a mindset shift. What what are kind of some of the symptoms? What are some of the clues that, hey, this leader maybe needs, um, kind of a a new game plan for this next stage.

Ana Chaud: Usually it starts with a nudge. Right there is we all come to that point in our lives, I think, after 40. I mean, most of our audience is 40 plus where you are. You are rethinking everything you’ve done. You either going into a new phase of your life, say you kids are grown and now you’re becoming an empty nester, or you have hit a point in your business that you feel like it’s time to exit or you’re approaching the perceived age of retirement, right? If you’re a high exec now, you’re thinking, oh, am I going to retire? So there’s always a trigger point where I need to think what’s next for me? And what we identified with our clients is that the more successful they are, the more they identify what the position that they’re in, and it’s harder for them to let go. Right. There is a piece of, I have this title, or I am the CEO of this company, and in particular for women, because even though I do work with, you know, the general audience, I definitely focus on women leaders because I am one of them. And I’ve been in their shoes more than not. And women in particular get to that point where what’s next for me? But if they have hit a very high position in their careers, it’s a lot harder for a woman to say, oh, I’m just going to, you know, start over. So it’s having the ability to identify that you have a nudge to know what’s next for you and have the courage to try and pursue something that would make you happier. So there is a Venn diagram there of acknowledgment. Feeling that trigger and then wanting to pursue something else new, more exciting perhaps.

Lee Kantor: So the type of coaching you’re doing in this regard is, is more about kind of this next step rather than the nuts and bolts of their business.

Ana Chaud: Correct. I’ve done my 30 years of coaching and advising has been on how to make your current business as successful as possible. I’ve done that left right, you know, up and down. That is not really the big question. I think that making a business successful today is not the biggest challenge. I think the biggest challenge is am I happy and fulfilled in this particular position today? Is this what I want to be doing for the next 30 years? 40. And if so, how do I Well, how do I align with what I’m doing? I think that’s the most important part. So the coaching is the acknowledgment of where I am. I don’t believe anybody has to have a transformation. It’s not like everyone needs to change or it’s not like everyone needs to transform. But I am a firm believer that everyone should be aligned with what they want personally. And if that position, their career, their job, whatever it is they’re going through. If that is aligned with what they want, then that’s fine. Then then that’s a beautiful thing, is just having that awareness that they are where they’re supposed to be.

Lee Kantor: And like you said earlier, like a lot of their identity is wrapped up in what they’re doing. And then to take that step into the kind of an unknown or the next thing is scary for a lot of people because all of a sudden they’re not that CEO anymore, or they or they I guess they in your case, they could be the CEO and do this other thing too. But if they want to align with their purpose, sometimes it means leaving some things behind.

Ana Chaud: That is exactly it. I think that but but, but but more importantly is figuring out what that purpose is. Right. I think a lot of us don’t know. So we we hang on to what we have. And there is also a piece you can’t forget which is not only aligning with the identity. Like if I wake up the next day and it happened to me personally when I sold my business, and when I woke up the next day and I was no longer the founder CEO of my company, there was that moment of like, who am I right now? There is that piece, but there is also a piece that we never talk about with the guilt and shame. A lot of people who achieve high positions in their careers feel like they have better than most people, which is true. And so if they feel a little bit unhappy or dissatisfied, they don’t understand why that’s happening. And there is a guilt that comes with it of feeling, you know, unfulfilled or feeling, um, misaligned. So we also addressed that piece because the identity is easy to see. I think for any leader, it’s easier. It’s easy for them to recognize that they have an attachment to an identity. Right? They they are attached to the position, to the power, to the accomplishments. What are they going to be? But they don’t like to acknowledge that there is a piece of guilt and shame of feeling, um, misaligned or feeling like they’re not what they want to be. So we address that as well. And then what we do is we try to figure out a way that we design what is the the what is the the picture that would make you feel good. And then we create steps towards that that will help them leave the identity, leave the guilt, leave the shame behind, and then get into what they feel. It’s what they want to do.

Lee Kantor: Now you’re talking a lot about entrepreneurs as the, uh, coaching clients that you’ve had. Do you ever work with like executives that maybe are with enterprise organizations and, and they get maybe laid off or something happens late in their career and then they don’t have that cachet they thought they had, like when there was Bob who worked with, you know, IBM. And then he was getting his phone calls returned. But when he’s Bob with Bob’s Consultancy, he’s not getting his phone calls returned. And that kind of, uh, you know, when they get punched in the face with that realization that may be their company was what people were attracted to. Not them as individuals. Uh, then they get into kind of a tailspin. Do you do you work with clients like that?

Ana Chaud: Yeah. As a matter of fact, most of our clients are like that because the the high execs have it. It’s a little different. Right. Because they have to. They put their their heart and soul into their business. And then what you described happens very often. All of a sudden they’re no longer part of that organization. And everything they put into it, it’s not there anymore. This happens as well to to founders. You know, it really does, in particular founders who end up getting acquired more times than not. The original founders CEO gets like, it’s like go or it leaves the company with nothing. It happens very often. So it happens on both sides. But we do work with high execs because that is the one where, um, a lot of times the execs don’t have the same sense of agency that that a founder and entrepreneur does, like a founder entrepreneur. They do have a sense of agency because they realize they created or started a business by choice. So they when they take the consequences, they have a little bit more like, oh, I chose this. And, and then they, they manage or handle that different than a high exec. But we do work with execs, in particular women. Like I said, I do work with the audits, but the, the the executive level for a woman is a lot harder than it is for a man. And I am leaving.

Ana Chaud: And then in particular after 50, which no matter what we say, there is a lot of ageism. A lot of women get pushed out after that age, and it’s much harder for them to find a position, and that is for men after 50. So what we do is, um, we start figuring out really what who they are. You know, they they take everything that they have learned over the years working for that corporation. What are they strengths. What they bring value. And then we define that person. And what is it that they want to be doing based on? That is how we create what’s next for them. But the idea of what we do is that they step into that next chapter without the fear of the unknown, because no matter what we do, there’s always going to be a piece of the outcome that is not controllable, right? Nothing we do can dictate what the outcome is, but what we help is figure out how to react and how to adapt to what that outcome is. And that’s our job is figure that out. And it’s helping them know that they don’t know what that next step is going to be, but they know how to act and react to it as they step through the path that they’re going to go to get to the next, to the next steps. You know what I mean?

Lee Kantor: Yeah. Now, what does the kind of the early conversations when someone is, um, considering working with you? What some of the questions you asked them to make sure they’re the right fit and their, you know, their their mindset is going to be open to this type of, uh, I’m sure, hard questions you’re asking them and challenges so that, you know, to make sure that this is going to get them to where they want to go, what is kind of either the pre work or the early kind of, uh, conversations you have with a potential client.

Ana Chaud: Yeah. So the first thing we start to talk about is, you know, is there a is there a voice. Is there something that they feel that’s missing in their lives? And when I say missing, I’m not talking, oh my gosh, I need a boat or I need another bag I’m talking about. Is there something inside Side that you feel that you’re asking yourself, you know, is this what I’m here to do or do? I love what I’m doing. That’s one of the things we ask. Another thing that we identify is if you’re having a feeling of burnout. Burnout is a big indicator that somebody is not doing or is not aligned with what they want to be. Because what’s happening is when you do something and you don’t feel energized by it, that’s when the feeling of burnout comes in because you have no nothing else to give. So burnout is something that people describe it a lot. Another thing that they feel is this, uh, sense of over commitment. And, uh, so when when we’re having the first conversation and we’re talking, I start to identify based on what their struggles are. So I say, I ask, you know, what keeps you up at night? Or give me an idea of what your day to day is like. And based on these answers, what we identify is there’s a lot of over commitment, right? You’re going from one thing to the next, to the next, to the next.

Ana Chaud: And that over commitment becomes the reason why they don’t promote self-care. So if somebody doesn’t promote self-care and they say, I don’t have time, I don’t do this, I have to do this. I have to do this. There’s always a reason. That is where you notice that what they’re doing is, is that they are putting themselves into this hamster wheel that prevents them from actually promoting self-care. So that’s over commitment, over scheduling. Um, another symptom we notice a lot is working. It’s like having a default life, right? I have to do this because I have to pay for my kids education, because I have to pay a mortgage, because I have to pay a car. So when you feel like you have the sense of obligation and you’re doing what you’re supposed to do. That is another sign that there is misalignment. So those are things that we pick up when we have a conversation. And we know somebody has basically checked all the boxes of success. Right. They they either succeed in their career. They they have material things that they always wanted to. So they they fit all the boxes of success. But there’s still the sense of fulfillment. That’s when we identify that.

Lee Kantor: So what is some piece of advice or some, um, action that a person could take right now if they’re feeling kind of stuck like that? Is there something that they can do today, right now, after listening to this, that could maybe give them a glimmer of what it could be?

Ana Chaud: Yes. I think it always starts with acknowledgment. It really is accepting the feeling. So first thing that I would recommend is if you have a discomfort, if something is not feeling right, don’t try to find a reason right away. Right. I’m not feeling happy. Oh, it’s because I didn’t sleep last night. Oh, I’m not feeling this. Oh, it’s because I did this. So I used to stay with that and then and then start tracking when it comes. So the first thing is acknowledging that you have a discomfort, whatever the discomfort is. And then once you acknowledge it is actually name it. I am feeling depressed or I’m sad today and then start to notice what’s causing it. Is the sadness coming? Like every Sunday night I don’t want to go to work. Is the sadness coming? Every time that I have to step into a board meeting is that is, do I have anxiety? Start to notice what is it? And then once you start to do that, you start to name it. Then you have something a little bit more concrete to work on, because if you you can’t change something that you don’t know exist. And if every time I get anxiety I reach for a pill, then I’m not really fixing. What I’m doing is I’m getting anxiety. I reach for a pill, I feel better, I step to the boardroom. But if I know that going to the boardroom is giving me anxiety, if I know that every time that I have to, I don’t know.

Ana Chaud: Look at my financial statements. I’m getting so tense and I don’t want to do it. You start to realize that there is a misalignment. So one thing that I, that I suggest my clients will do is take inventory on the activities of the day, what gives them energy and what sucks energy out of them. And it can be super simple, just taking a piece of paper and writing down and say, you know, I’m having a meeting today, and after the meeting, did I get energized about it? Did it get drained? Like, if I have to do and read financial reports, do I get energized or have you start to you start to take inventory of how your energy is either replenished or drained during the day. That’s a huge indicator of alignment and misalignment when you’re aligned. If you energize more than you don’t. So that is one big thing that anybody can do. Any time of the day is just take it a week and then analyze it. All the things you do. They give you energy and all the things that you do. They don’t they don’t give you energy. That’s one. That’s one practical step. Another practical step I can give to if you want to thank you, is to share, of course, one thing that I also give a tip to my clients is this you take a piece of paper and you write down all the areas of your life.

Ana Chaud: Just do columns of your life. So for example, your, your health or and that’s one column and then you have finances is another column. Your relationship with your spouse partner boyfriend girlfriend, whatever. It’s another column. If your spiritual your spirituality, your time. So what you do is you make these columns and the first thing you do is you rate them. Okay. How do I feel that from 0 to 10 that I am with my health and I say it’s a seven. And then with my finances it’s a eight, I just rank it. And after I do, I go into each column and I think, what would it be for me to rank as a ten? Why didn’t I rank, not rank my health as a ten? And then I list 2 or 3 things that I didn’t rank, you know that I didn’t know that I don’t have, that. I if I had those things, I would rank as a ten. It could be maybe I’m 10 pounds lighter, maybe I can, you know, run ten miles, whatever it is that I believe that if I had these things, I would have ranked eight at a time. Once you do that, what you’re doing is you’re identifying the gaps in each area of your life that are preventing you from saying, I have ten across the board, but what’s and then those give you practical things to work on.

Ana Chaud: But most importantly, is that what he does? He gives you the perspective of which area of your life needs more attention at that particular point in time. This is very Keeley, because people talk the word balance a lot. Balanced. Balanced, balanced. There is no balance. There is harmony. Why do I say that? Balance means you have to give equal weight to each piece of your life. If I balance work in life, I have to have equal on both sides, and that’s never going to happen because at different points of your life You’re going to have to give more attention to certain things. If I have kids in college, I have to give more attention to my finances at this particular time of my life because I need to pay for, you know, tuition. If I have if I’m going through a health, um, struggle, maybe I need to give more attention to my health right now, but maybe not two years from now. So when you know where you need to give more attention, it allows you to give more, um, energy towards that part of your life. And then once that part is taken care of, then you’re taking inventory again. And and then what you do is you find harmony and you make sure that everything is working in unison. That usually brings a lot more fulfillment and health to people in general.

Lee Kantor: That’s a brilliant, um, analysis. And I think harmony is such a better word than balance. I think you’re just right on the the money there. That is that is just just that sentence alone is a mindset shift for a lot of people. I mean, that was brilliant that that.

Ana Chaud: Thank you.

Lee Kantor: Thank you. Now, um, what exactly does the the program entail? Is this something that’s one on one coaching? Is a group coaching like what’s included when somebody signs up for the 50 pages, um, kind of, uh, experience.

Ana Chaud: Yeah. So it’s it’s six weeks and it’s one on one. Um, and usually one on one, either with me or with Elliot. And we guide our, our clients through the process. So each week we go through a different module. And, and there is a community, a community of peers that are usually in the same, you know, they’re going through the same struggles and they connect. Once in a while we could we do some group calls just for people can connect. And also So once we go through the program, which is six weeks, but the program is six meetings, each ideally will be six weeks, but usually people have ten weeks to complete. So obviously if you don’t, if you cannot make a week, it doesn’t mean that you’re not going to do it. But we do go through a very structured step by step. And at the end of the program, um, our clients come out with a very with a solid roadmap of what they need to do to, you know, to get to the picture that they designed. We come up with a picture of what they want in the next three years. Then we come and then we bring it to the 12 months, and then we break it down into quarters of what they need to do each quarter to get to the 12 month goals and then to the three year goals. And then after they complete the six weeks, we have a 12 month quarterly support where we have every three months, we have group calls where everybody comes in and we talk about, you know, how are they progressing on their goals on whatever they were set out to do. So that’s what the programing tells at this point. We have, you know, a series of there’s a lot of like thinking and deep, deep self-discovery. And so we do that one on one to allow this, this, this time and attention that they need to get to that place that they have to go in order to bring up the things that they need to bring in order to move forward.

Lee Kantor: So if somebody wants to learn more, have a more substantive conversation with you or somebody on the team, what’s the website? What’s the best way to connect?

Ana Chaud: Yeah. So they can either go to our website right now is being redone, but they can still go there and see what the program is about. It’s called 50 pages Dot life. So it’s just the word 50, the word pages about life because we’re we try to bring this idea to your life. It’s your story. You know, you write it, but you know. Always connect with me on LinkedIn, too. I am, you know, we’re very approachable. It’s very much we do this because we really want to change, uh, to make a bigger impact in people’s lives and particularly the leaders, because we believe in the ripple effect. Right. If we can change one leader by default, we’re changing so many other lives that they touch. And I think that’s important for us. So yeah, so connecting with me on LinkedIn on a child is great or we have social pages, but everything is 50 pages life.

Lee Kantor: Well, Ana, thank you so much for sharing your story. You’re doing such important work and we appreciate you.

Ana Chaud: Thank you. Thank you so much. It was a pleasure to talk to you.

Lee Kantor: All right. This is Lee Kantor. We’ll see you all next time on High Velocity Radio.

Melissa Swift With Anthrome Insight

by

High Velocity Radio
High Velocity Radio
Melissa Swift With Anthrome Insight
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Melissa Swift is the founder and CEO of Anthrome Insight, a consultancy focused on organizational and personal effectiveness in the digital age.

She is the author of Work Here Now: Think Like a Human and Build a Powerhouse Workplace – and is at work on a second book for Wiley, title soon to be announced, available June 2026.

She writes a quarterly column for MIT Sloan Management Review. A recognized expert on work, workforces, and effectiveness at work, Melissa has been quoted in the New York Times, Wall Street Journal, Financial Times, and Newsweek, and appeared on NPR.

Connect with Melissa on LinkedIn.

What You’ll Learn in This Episode

  • About Anthrome Insight

Transcript-iconThis transcript is machine transcribed by Sonix.

 

TRANSCRIPT

Intro: Broadcasting live from the Business RadioX studios in Atlanta, Georgia. It’s time for High Velocity Radio.

Lee Kantor: Lee Kantor hear another episode of High Velocity Radio and this is going to be a good one. Today on the show, we have Melissa Swift. She is the founder and CEO of Anthrome Insight. Welcome.

Melissa Swift: Great to be here.

Lee Kantor: Well, I am so excited to learn what you’re up to. Tell us about your firm. How are you serving folks?

Melissa Swift: So we are a people consulting firm, really laser focused on this question how to be effective in what is a pretty crazy world of work these days. And a lot of what we do is very research driven, very data driven, but quite practical and pragmatic. So the the goal here is to say, okay, work’s gotten a little crazy. What can you do to cut through the clutter and really make individuals effective teams, effective companies effective.

Lee Kantor: So when you’re saying crazy, what are some of the things you’re talking about?

Melissa Swift: So one aspect would be what’s called work intensification, which is work that’s simply gotten to be too much, you know, too many tasks per hour, too emotional, too interdependent, too many crazy processes. Work has also gotten very chaotic, I think, representing, you know, an outside world that gets ever more chaotic by the moment. Another facet would be that works gotten more transparent. And this is an interesting one because it cuts both ways. It’s it’s great that, you know, we have more information at our fingertips, but not all of the information is stuff we always want to hear or handle. So, you know, what we do at Anthem Insight is really help organizations. And, you know, again, individuals get to a place where, you know, I can be effective despite the 20 million email pings or, you know, all of this information that my team is struggling to absorb or whatever, all of these kind of chaotic, modern working conditions look like so.

Lee Kantor: Who was the ideal client for you?

Melissa Swift: I would say, you know, our work tends to really focus on organizations that are that are going through something. And that might be something really positive, right? It might be some great technology transformation or a merger and acquisition or, you know, exploring a new market, growing the business. Or it might be challenging times, you know, you might be in a place of contraction and, uh, you know, laying people off. You might be, you know, retrenching for an uncertain future. But, you know, I think the common thread is an organization really going through a big change and then understanding that that’s the moment to tune up on some of these basics about how to get work done, that, you know, it’s hard enough day to day, but then let’s say you’re trying to implement some great new technology. You know, people are in so many meetings and grappling with so many emails back to back that they’re just not Equipped to do the things you’re asking them to do. And that’s the moment when we can really come in and help. Uh, you know, again, as I said, based on on data and evidence, not cute theories. We’re very practical.

Lee Kantor: Now, what is kind of the symptoms? That there might be a problem at one of these organizations, you know, right before they contact you?

Melissa Swift: Well, usually the tell is that, you know, they’ve done all of these things to increase productivity or get to better outcomes, and the things don’t seem to work. So, you know, we implemented this great new system. We’ve gone through this big digital transformation. We completely reorganized. We bought this other company. You know, we’ve done all these great things. And the answer isn’t that the great things didn’t work on their own, or that they’re not going to work on their own. The answer is that the pipes are a little bit clogged, and all the great stuff you’re doing isn’t going to have the impact you want it to have without kind of some fundamental cleanup of just how how work gets done. You know, the the basic stuff of work in 2025 is a little bit weird and broken. And if you can again come in and address some of those pieces and make things simpler and clearer for folks. And, you know, again, and we work all the way down to the individual leader level, you know, it may be about as an individual leader, just making things simpler and clearer in your own job. And then for your team, that’s when you get some of the breakthrough progress that you would have expected from the bigger, cleverer things you’re doing.

Lee Kantor: So you mentioned research is important. Can you explain your backstory and how you kind of discovered that research is kind of at the crux of a lot of this.

Melissa Swift: So it’s interesting. I’ve conducted an array of research studies across an array of topics over the last, let’s say, decade or so. Everything from, you know, why do certain members of the C-suite not like each other to, you know, what actually makes for a great leader in the digital transformation context to, you know, what makes for a truly healthy organization? Um, and I think the the common thread is that the data usually tells us sort of 80% of what we already might suspect, but need data driven support for. And then 20% of the time you get those really kind of surprising and interesting conclusions that, um, you know, that that advance your understanding of the, of the topic. So I’ll give you an example. When we looked at, um, in a prior role, what makes for a great digital leader? A lot of it is what they don’t do rather than what they do. Do they? They step back, for instance, and create a context for their teams rather than being over their team’s shoulders. And so you get some of these research driven insights like that and you go, aha. This can actually help me give people a different practical path. And that’s I think what’s energizing and exciting is, you know, you can make all the cute consulting frameworks you want, but if you really have some hard data on things people can do differently, that’s that’s the holy grail. It’s super exciting.

Lee Kantor: So when you’re beginning work with a client, what do you do to kind of create that baseline so that you can see that you kind of achieved whatever the outcome they desired.

Melissa Swift: So what’s important is, you know, I always look at this, it’s like a like a Top Chef challenge where it’s, you know, you have to cook with the food, only the food that’s in the pantry. And so the food that’s in the pantry is going to be different at every organization. So what you want to do is come in and say, okay, what are the data sets that you have that really tell your story. And so there are some typical ones, you know, workforce movements who’s getting hired and how long do they stay before they quit and what level do they rise to, blah blah blah. You know, that’s that’s a great one. Um, engagement surveys are also a great tool, particularly because we often don’t mind that data well enough. So, you know, we look at things like the overall engagement scores can be interesting and telling, or they can be totally unhelpful. But then there are questions in engagement surveys, things like, I have the tools I need to do my job. That’s a very boring question with a lot of good information behind it. So what you do is you come in and you say, okay, it’s the sort of meta question, what data do you have that’s really going to tell me your story in simple and clear terms. And that’s, I think, how you set a good baseline. You know, you can also use them. You know, we do have some proprietary surveys and things like that. But I like to look to the organization’s own data first because again, a lot of the time most of the stories are already there.

Lee Kantor: So when you’re working with the organization, they see there’s a problem. You come in, you do a survey, you kind of get the lay of the land. Are you then. Now giving them. Okay. Here. A do a, B, C and d do you execute it on their behalf or is this kind of your letting them know kind of where they stand and give them recommendations. And then they kind of have to execute like where does the service begin and end?

Melissa Swift: I think one critically, some of it depends on what the follow up looks like. So in developing the recommendations, which is the part that we always do do, we’re really extremely focused on breaking patterns. So every organization like your family, you know we do the same silly things in families over and over. Your friend group right. You do the same silly things over and over. Companies are the same way, right? And this this the Freudian repetition compulsion. Companies do the same silly things over and over. So what we like to say is okay, all right. Here are data driven conclusions. What is going to break the patterns that got you to this point, right? What is going to set up new positive patterns for you and what’s going to break some of these cycles? So once we’ve developed those recommendations, depending on what the follow up looks like, we have an extensive network of partners that we work with. So you know, let’s say, you know, we need, you know, wonderful coaches or you need someone to do redesign some jobs. Whatever the the ask is, we’ve got this terrific network of folks who help execute on that. Um, or there may be cases where we say, you know, look, Armstrong can really carry this one all the way through to the ground.

Melissa Swift: Um, and in either case, we stay highly connected and make sure, again, that you’re doing that critical step of breaking patterns. The pattern breaking is, is really the the essence of where consulting recommendations often go wrong. Oftentimes, you know, we say okay, well, you know change these things. Well okay. Well we tried that 20 times and it didn’t work. Or you know, we give, um, advice that’s so sort of generic. And particularly in the people’s space, it’s very easy to come back to kind of these very generic myth recommendations. So we try to be extremely provocative and say, okay, we’re dealing with, you know, this is this. These are issues around human beings and how they get work done. What’s going to really change that? And let’s be as provocative as possible, and then let’s come up with an execution plan that you’re actually going to do. And that really equips the organization to participate in the execution themselves as well. Because I think that’s the other um, that’s the other challenge is, um, when organizations are insufficiently involved in the sort of the execution tale, they don’t own it and it doesn’t stick. So we believe that part is crucial as well.

Lee Kantor: Now, it sounds like a lot of the work you’re doing is going to impact the company culture. Um, how does that work? And do you work alongside the culture, or is this something where sometimes the culture needs to be disrupted as well?

Melissa Swift: I think And cultural disruption. It’s a fantastic question. Um, cultural disruption is nine times out of ten. A piece of the solution. Because again, when you think to a pattern breaking where the patterns come from, the patterns are the culture. The two are so woven tightly together at the same time. You don’t want culture to be the reason why the work was unsuccessful. And so the danger is that you don’t want to sort of like run up and slap the culture in the face because that’s that’s again, thinking about a sustainable execution that’s not going to work. So what we focus on is, okay, what is the least that needs to change about this company’s culture to get the change in work that we need? And, you know, so that that might be okay. We’re not going to change the behavior of every single leader in the organization. Right? That’s that might not be a realistic expectation, but can we get them to communicate a bit differently on email. That’s an example of a more realistic, culture changing suggestion, right? Because if everybody actually wrote their emails a little bit differently, that would change company culture. And that’s that’s actionable, particularly when you give people some really strong templates for how to do it. But it’s not it’s not so extreme that the very culture you’re trying to change will stop you from from changing it.

Lee Kantor: So now, as part of your service at the end of the, um, the course of action. There’s another kind of research done where you’re seeing, okay, this worked or this didn’t work, or where do we go from here? Like, is it bookended? Is research kind of the book ends.

Melissa Swift: You have to and you have to build research into the, the tail even that the company is going to end themselves. Right. So there, if they don’t have a way to constantly check on their own progress long after you leave, again, you’re not going to get that sustainment. So at the end of the day, yes, you want to measure on a data driven basis at the end of the project. You know, what can what data hallmarks can we look for to say that we genuinely made progress. But you also want to leave the organization with some super concrete ways that they’re going to measure it going forward. So, you know, you’re going to look at this engagement survey question, but also your this business outcome. I think that’s that’s the the other critical piece about measurement is that you can have all these lovely warm and fuzzy people measurements. But if the business isn’t impacted and you don’t have a way to measure that business impact, again, you’re not going to get the sustainment on changes and work. So we try to both, you know, measure that within the scope of the existing work, but also to to leave folks with, you know, some really concrete, uh, you know, ways to do that going forward.

Lee Kantor: So if you were building a company from scratch, what are kind of the must haves And the things you wouldn’t want to have in building that kind of, uh, workforce that’s going to be productive and thriving.

Melissa Swift: And building a company from scratch. I mean, I love I love this question. Um, because this is, you know, this is what people are doing live in the startup ecosystem all day long. I think from scratch, honestly, build with an excess of simplicity. And I know that sounds like a weird answer. You know, you’d expect something more about sort of empowerment or et cetera, etc. but a lot gumming up people. It’s really making them exhausted and frustrated and burnt out is just excess complexity that doesn’t serve a purpose that you know, we’ve built. Okay. You know, you have 15 direct reports or, you know, there. Think about what Jamie Dimon was complaining about, about having to take things through too many committees. The way to stop that at, you know, the organization gets to, you know, big, complex, multinational size is at the beginning being extraordinarily, almost minimalist about how you set things up. Don’t you know it’s fun? It looks fun and clever to set things up in a complex way, but it’s actually unhelpful to, again, people doing the work. It’s unhelpful to your technology, too. By the way, that’s the that’s the interesting thing. Everything you do in terms of simplicity and clarity helps people, and it helps you set up the technology that enables those folks, you know. So, for instance, if you set up really simple ways of thinking about your data from the beginning, it’ll be easier for an AI to help you with that data down down the road. But this is, I think, the step that you know, often gets missed is that simplicity and clarity are just really fuel human kind of creativity and innovation and and thriving.

Lee Kantor: Now, what do you recommend to organizations, um, on how to manage the Dei situation nowadays where a few years ago, die was something almost a must have in a lot of organizations, and that was an important component of how they were providing value to their people. And now it’s almost, uh, you know, a word you can’t speak aloud. So how do you help organizations manage through this change?

Melissa Swift: So what’s important is, again, focus on the business outcomes that are being sought. So if the business outcome, let’s say, is innovation, you need people with different thoughts. You can’t have everybody thinking the same and successfully innovate. It’s that clash and that contrast that drives innovation. So when, you know, just build backward from the business purpose and say, okay, well how do we engineer things like our interview processes for new hires or promotion processes to bring people up the chain to make sure everybody doesn’t think exactly the same? And by the way, we have to keep everyone. We need a group of people all thinking differently. We need them all in the same conversation. And how do we keep everyone in the same conversation? How do we run meetings such that everybody speaks and these die themed questions, right. This is just like how to run a sensible business. And I think when we tie it back to business outcomes and we make it about running a sensible business, and how do we make sure we don’t fall victim to, to groupthink or the loudest voices only that’s those are the right business questions to go after. And, you know, you stay out of some of the political questions around what should this all be called? Or how should this all be done? You know, just focus on the business thing you’re going after.

Lee Kantor: So when you kind of are laser focus on the outcome you desire, um, you’re going to be doing things that are going to be more inclusive. If you want to get that outcome, if you truly want to get that outcome.

Melissa Swift: Absolutely, absolutely. You know, I always think about one of the things that one of the interesting facts about Enron, which was that I think, like the whole executive team belonged to the same country club or something like that. And that’s part of why they didn’t have that youthful dissent that could have saved the company. So that’s that’s what you’re managing against it. Just make sure everybody isn’t agreeing with each other all the time because again, that’s you don’t get the cool ideas. You don’t get the risk management. You know, there are a whole bunch of things that, if we all think the same, don’t go as well. And so, you know, design design for that. And and you’re good.

Lee Kantor: Right. But that takes a level of humility in order to and vulnerability in order to, to kind of look for, um, differing opinions. A lot of people are happy when everybody agrees. You know, that’s it seems like that’s the path of least resistance. But I’m hearing you say that you need to have that kind of dissent.

Melissa Swift: Simply because, you know, even if you don’t. Ultimately it’s not. It’s not saying that you have to agree with every dissenting opinion, but if you don’t have any of them, you know, you miss things. And that’s what today. I mean, with everything operating at the speed and the complexity we’re operating at. You don’t. Your worst fear should be missing things. And you should be engineering around. Let me make sure I’ve you know, I’ve kind of got all the possible scenarios in my head. And that’s where, you know, a culture of of constructive and respectful challenge, I think is a great asset for a company. And I’ve seen that done really well within some organizations. Where to your point, there’s a level of humility in leadership where they can say, okay, you know, let me let me hear why you disagree. And again, they don’t have to always agree. And they don’t I think that’s one of the great myths, is that you have to hear every disagreement and agree with it and act on it. You don’t. But not being exposed to those contrasting points of view, that to me creates a business risk, right?

Lee Kantor: That’s where the problem is. You should be allowed to say whatever you want to say, but don’t assume that I’m going to act on everything you say.

Melissa Swift: Oh, not not at all. And I’ve seen leaders go very wrong that way. By the way, if you are sensible, you know, sensitive to every little breeze that blows every different way. You’re not a leader that’s strong in your skis, right? You are not displaying decisive, thoughtful leadership. You know, what is it they say? Like the essence of strategy is what you say no to. You should be good and okay to say no. But if you don’t know the range of what’s possible, you know, then again, your danger is your competitor does.

Lee Kantor: Now, you wrote the book work here. Now think like a human and build a powerhouse workplace. Um, can you talk a little bit about how that came about?

Melissa Swift: So work here now is really about what can we do to, you know, sort of fix some of these little nits in the ways that we work. That, again, just enables us to be both more productive and have healthier workforces. You know, I firmly believe in the intersection of that, that Venn diagram. I don’t think it has to be an either or. Either we get maximum value out of people or those people are happy. I believe that there’s this kind of really nice central ground and work here now is about how do you find it. So it’s things like I talk about in the book The Work Anxiety Monster. You know, you need to we all have this voice in our head that’s like people are lazy, people are slow. You, Melissa, you’re lazy. You’re slow. Right? We do it to ourselves. And shutting down some of those anxious voices inside our heads and not running organizations that way and saying, okay, you know, I believe people will do the right job again when we set up the work properly, if we change some of our fundamental beliefs again, you know, it’s if you look at technology growth over the last few decades, it’s been exponential. If you look at actual productivity growth, it’s so much slower. And the gap is how we organize work and how we think about our workforces. So work here now is really about, you know, how can we shift that thinking to do all of that a lot better?

Lee Kantor: Now, how do you feel about the kind of the different generations in there? Um, our looks and the way they’re approaching work.

Melissa Swift: It’s a great question. I believe that, so I’m Gen X, right? My personal stake in this is I think work has changed a lot during my lifetime. I think a lot of that’s been technology driven, uh, some good, some bad. And what’s interesting is if you’re Gen X, you you kind of you’ve had the real ringside seat to all this change you’ve watched. You know, we started using email early in our working careers, things like that. If you’re older than Gen X then, you know you’ve kind of locked in on work in a different time. And if you’re younger than Gen-X, you’re getting dropped into a workplace that’s changed a lot in a relatively short amount of time. Right. The like, let’s say the Gen Xers working lifetime, you know, 25 years, 30 years, whatever. And you’re having a like an interesting reaction to it. You know, you’re going, well, why do I need to be in 12, 30 minute meetings in a day? But if you’re older than Gen X, you’re going, well, you’re going to be in the meetings your boss tells you to be in. If you’re Gen X, you’re going, oh geez, I don’t know. And that’s where we get some of this really interesting generational contrast. And I know specific generation is is right or wrong. Um, it’s just that because we’ve been through a time of rapid change, you get what looks like a lot of polarization between generations at this exact moment.

Lee Kantor: So, so how do you kind of manage that? How do you manage the the younger people, uh, nowadays that are like, look, I’m leaving at five because, um, me and my friends are going to the movies and this movie’s just come out, so, you know, that’s a non-negotiable. We’re like you said, maybe older generations are like, you just stay until the work’s done.

Melissa Swift: Until the work’s done. Yeah, well, some of it is generations being all being open about their working style. Like, one of the things that I do personally when I manage folks is I actually talk about how I get work done, that. Yes. You saw me leave at 530, uh, because I had to go, you know, pick up my daughter from aftercare. Right. And this is my reality as a working mom. Um, but then I there was some stuff that was left to be done. So after I put her to bed at, you know, this would be the past of my daughter, not the present. But, you know, after I put her to bed, I got back on email at nine. Right. And I worked from nine to whatever. And because that worked for me. Right. Um, and just being really transparent about I got done what needed to get done. I used that flexibility properly and, you know, you may have a different version of that, right? You may be a super early riser, so maybe your version is not working from 9 to 11 p.m.. It’s like you get up at four and work from four till six.

Melissa Swift: God bless. It’s not me, but some. Again, some people’s circadian rhythms and lifestyles work that way. So I think some of it is just more transparent on working styles and trade offs. And okay, if you that’s the trade offs you want to make because you want to see the movie. Fabulous. Go for it. These are the timelines on what to do. So you figure out how to make it work. And this is my example of this is how I make it work. And I think sometimes just giving that gritty lifestyle clarity I’ve gotten a lot of feedback. Oh my god, Melissa, that’s so helpful. I literally did not understand how you get things done. And if we can all communicate a little bit better about that, then again, it doesn’t have to be like, I win, you lose. It’s like it can be a win win. Things can get done on time and people can have the lives they need. It’s just you have got to understand the constraints on one side, and then I think you do need some visibility on how the older generations actually get things done right.

Lee Kantor: And it goes like you said earlier, the foundationally communication and clarity are so critical because without those, then you get these kind of resentments and then you create kind of that, uh, the hostile environment in the, in the office. When it does, it’s not necessary really.

Melissa Swift: Yeah, exactly. I mean, I think a lot of the, the, you know, cross-generational crossfire is to your point exactly that just a lack of communication and misunderstanding and, and, you know, again, that’s where the kind of over communicating and letting people see a little bit about what’s behind the curtain. I think is, is the right move. And again, it is tougher for the older generations because we did not have like the leaders who were my role models in general, didn’t model that clarity. That is something that I’ve talked to a lot of Jenks colleagues. We are having to come up with that script ourselves. And that’s that’s an interesting moment.

Lee Kantor: Right. Well, back in the day, it was like I hired you. You’re supposed to know how to do all this stuff, so you figure it out. And now this generation is like, well, tell me what needs to be like. It’s more hand-holding in that regard. And as long as you’re clear and you can communicate properly, I think everyone’s going to get the outcome they desire.

Melissa Swift: Absolutely. And acknowledging that in some ways this generation requires more communication because, again, with technology and everything in the equation, I you know, I look at what my working day looked like when I was fresh out of college versus some of these folks, and they needed a little more communication because we have made things a little more complicated. And, you know, it’s okay. That’s okay. Communication, again, is what smooths the waters and what’s what keeps us all running.

Lee Kantor: So if somebody wants to learn more, have a more substantive conversation with you or somebody on the team. What is the website? What’s the best way to connect?

Melissa Swift: So a few different ways. I am very active on LinkedIn, both as myself, Melissa Swift and also for the company Anthem Insight, our website, and Throw Insight. Uh, there’s the older book work here now, and I have another book coming from Wiley in June of next year. That will be a bit more on the side of talking about personal effectiveness in this crazy world of work and what you individually can do.

Lee Kantor: Well, look forward to talking to you about that next year. Well, thank you so much for sharing your story.

Melissa Swift: Thanks so much.

Lee Kantor: All right. This is Lee Kantor. We’ll see you all next time on High Velocity Radio.

Professional Life Coach Coach Karen Jayne

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High Velocity Radio
High Velocity Radio
Professional Life Coach Coach Karen Jayne
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Karen Jayne is a certified, professional life coach, specializing in relationships, relationship coaching, intimacy and fulfillment, and self-love. She initially started her “becoming a life coaching journey” while going through a divorce 17 years ago. Starting out in the niche of sexuality, she led workshops for women called Fanning your Embers, where she gave out Passports to Passion.

She wrote a book called 3 Pillows down, ‘One woman’s provocative journey to self-fulfillment’, that was an Indie Book Award finalist. As she has evolved so has her coaching. Her focus now is on conscious awareness and supporting people in seeing the ways their habits, behaviors, programming, and beliefs are impacting how their lives are unfolding for them.

She has been ICF certified since 2008, and over the past 5 years, she has also become an Advanced IET energy healer, as well as a DECU/OM codes practitioner which supports cellular reprogramming and DNA recoding.

She believes if we focus more of our attention on our internal reality, we will be able to know our true desires with greater clarity and magnetize them to us through more joy and fun!

Connect with Karen on LinkedIn and Facebook.

What You’ll Learn in This Episode

  • The importance of living from love based motivation (Abundance mentality) rather than fear based motivation (Lack mentality)
  • The importance of setting intention and then letting go
  • Recognizing how judgment is limiting and externally focused, and discernment is internally focused and necessary

Transcript-iconThis transcript is machine transcribed by Sonix.

 

TRANSCRIPT

Intro: Broadcasting live from the Business RadioX studios in Atlanta, Georgia. It’s time for High Velocity Radio.

Lee Kantor: Lee Kantor hear another episode of High Velocity Radio and this is going to be a good one. Today on the show, we have Karen Jayne, who is with Coach Karen Jayne. Welcome, Karen.

Karen Jayne: Thank you.

Lee Kantor: Well, I am so excited to learn about your practice. Tell us how you serving folks.

Karen Jayne: So the main way that I serve folks these days is in helping them actually wake up to themselves more. I feel that I’ve had my own journey, and it’s through my own journey that I know how to serve other people in finding their inner joy, their inner fulfillment, and recognizing the ways that they’re actually getting in their own way because we’ve been programed to focus on external reality and try to go to the problem and change it from the problem itself, which is sort of like going to the mirror and trying to change the reflection when the truth is what’s creating a lot of the things that people are experiencing, whether it’s professionally or personally in their lives, it’s coming from an internal belief system, an internal thought process, and then it creates certain behaviors and actions from us that magnetize to us the very things that a lot of times we don’t even really want.

Lee Kantor: So why don’t we start with the journey? Do you mind sharing a little bit about your backstory and how you got to where you are?

Karen Jayne: I would love that. Thank you. Honestly, I was primarily a stay at home mother, which I loved because for me, having children was a really important part of life, and I felt like I wanted to raise my children. And as part of that, I did actually create a movement music guidance program with my sister called The Fun One Way, which teaches respect to children inside and out. The same for them to give it to themselves and to others as well. And honestly, until Covid, I actually taught that program in local preschools and kindergartens for over 20 years, and it had tremendous impact and I felt like it was life coaching for kids. So in 2008, I went through a divorce, and during that time I also recognized at that point my children were between 10 and 14, and I knew that I wanted to work more and find something meaningful, though, because raising my children had been so meaningful that I didn’t want to just go do some retail job, that I didn’t feel any kind of heart connection to. However, I had a lot of fear because this isn’t something I’d ever really other than the. I had had this part time business, which was great, but I also had always been living with a husband, and it had been a very different experience to then become a single woman.

Karen Jayne: And I remember being quite overwhelmed, even just with the protection of my children when I was alone with them. But during this time, because I became a life coach, I actually got coached during my own divorce. So I got a beautiful 360 experience of the value of what coaching can be. And it also really helped me inculcate the very practices that I was being taught. And I feel that one of the things in this school that I went to that I really resonated with was the fact that becoming a life coach, it’s really more honoring who you already are. Most coaches, this is kind of how they roll through life anyway. And one of the things that I feel over the last 17 years has really proven to be a very powerful reflection of my own growth that has magnetized to me greater success continually is the fact that I walk my own talk. I’m not asking anyone out there. I’m not coaching anyone to do anything that I am not consistently doing myself, and I feel the further I am able to bring myself to great spaces and places of my own conscious awareness around how I’m creating the life that I’m finding myself living in, and the relationships that I’m finding myself surrounding me, the more empowered I become.

Karen Jayne: And it really has been this shift from becoming a recovering people pleaser, where all my security came from, making sure everyone around me felt comfortable and satisfied. And this is part of why my first marriage didn’t work out, and we didn’t have the communication skills to be together, to be able to move into something different. And so part of going through the coaching experience, I also really honed my listening and my communication, and I started to understand a frequency in the value of the word. We speak That language carries. It casts spells. That’s why we call it spelling. And that I started to really also open up more to what I’ll refer to as spirituality. And what I mean by that is less. It’s not a religion, but it’s actually a relationship within myself to an energy that I actually believe is, I’ll call it my soul self. So it’s a it’s a part of who I am, but it’s not trapped in the physical body so that it’s not limited in some of the ways that, say, my intellectual mind or my emotional body are limited.

Lee Kantor: Can you share a little advice for people who are thinking about becoming a coach like you did, um, how you find a, um, a program you like and you kind of get certified or you work through their program and then at some point, though, you make it your own by incorporating things that you’re seeing and doing and living. Can you talk about how that comes together and becomes, you know, the coach Karen Jane methodology?

Karen Jayne: Yes. Thank you. Um, great question. Because it is a process and it is a practice, and each one of us has the chance to develop our own unique offering, and there’s room for all of us. Um, I feel like a very important component in addressing the journey is really about a shift that I went through. And I think most coaches go through of, uh, moving from what I’m going to call a lack mentality, which is based from fear versus a love mentality, an abundance mentality that’s based in trust. And this applies whether it’s personal or professional, because it becomes the motivator. And when you’re creating a business, you. When I first started out, I followed everything the coaching school suggested. And this was, you know, way back. It was a long time ago. And it was you. You want to get them for a three month commitment, and it’s every week. And this is the fee. And they can’t get out of it after the first month because the second month is is super hardest. And they’re teaching us these things to try to help us create a sustainable, functional business that we can count on. But what I started to recognize over the years was that people are different. And yes, there are consistencies among everyone, but I personally didn’t want to be running a business that was forcing people because of a commitment to continue to see me, if that’s not where they were at.

Karen Jayne: So I let that go. And part of the process of starting to let some of these external controls, we’ll call them in place that help you feel more secure in your business is by building an internal control, which is recognizing what your frequency is. Because we are energetic beings and energy is like the radio station that we’re tuned into, which is also then the kind of jobs we attract, the kind of clients we attract, how well we move into our niche. When I they do also suggest you start in a niche, and I do support that for new coaches. I think starting out in a niche that you feel confident and comfortable in, that you also feel separates you a little bit. For me, I actually chose sex for with a main focus on women connecting to their own sexual selves and finding that pleasure for themselves, and recognizing it’s a source of energy that I found a lot of women, by the time they were middle aged, married mothers with some kids were kind of not prioritizing that part of themselves in their life.

Karen Jayne: And I had a very unusual upbringing, very healthy, See where my parents are. They were married almost 68 years, and they were intimately engaging the entire time. In fact, when my father got dementia became a little bit of a problem because he kept forgetting they had just been intimate and my mother was going a little crazy. They were in their 80s at this point. So, um, I felt comfortable talking about a topic that a lot of people didn’t, and it actually led me to getting a lot of wonderful clients. And I created a workshop for women called, uh, Fanning Your Embers. And we’d give out little passport for passions, for help, to help them kind of reflect for themselves the things that they might enjoy or want to explore or put time and energy into thinking about it. Because that’s the other thing. What we focus on is what we grow. Our thoughts create, our words shape, and our feelings fuel. So what we focus on the most is what we grow the most in our life. And it’s we’re really programed to focus on what could go wrong rather than what can go right. And I’m sorry.

Lee Kantor: So when you’re talking to your clients about, uh, kind of opening up into this abundance mentality from maybe this lack mentality, can you talk about some of the exercises you do to, to at least, um, number one, to make them self-aware that maybe they weren’t, um, participating in an abundance mentality? And number two, how to kind of foster it so that it continues, it becomes the default rather than the, you know, exception to the rule.

Karen Jayne: Absolutely. I feel like the first step is that you have to actually want to start to take personal responsibility. A lot of people are so programed to external reality, and everything is about an external achievement and validation that it’s almost like if they’re not receiving it or you’re not doing it. You. It’s not enough. It’s never enough. And and I’ve actually worked with a lot of business owners, men who develop their own companies that got very successful but still were feeling a little empty inside. And I would say it’s because their driver was still fear. And so they could never truly relax into their success because they had to keep doing more and more and more. And I do believe that when you look into nature and you see the cycle, we don’t just exhale. We always must inhale as well as exhale. There’s not a lot in the business culture of rest as being valued. And so I feel like the person who’s ready to take this leap, it’s a bit of a leap to go from, I’m going to do everything I can do externally, to put everything into place so I can trust and and know that my needs are going to be met easily and my life is going to go the way I think I want it. And this is starting to actually flow with a slightly different voice that I believe we all have within us, but not many of us are choosing to actually listen to because we have two voices in our mind. And you have to want to do this work.

Karen Jayne: You want to know, are you listening to your ego mind? That is, its job is to keep you alive, fight flight free. So it’s always going to be using a lot of words. It’s going to be afraid of anything and everything that could go wrong. And in some ways, this is what keeps us looping rather than evolving on a spiral of evolution. We’re kind of looping around fear loops. So it’s it’s about saying, all right, I believe I choose, I choose to take the leap and rather than see it first and then believe it, I’m going to start tuning into my own energy. So the physical body is our tool, because it’s the only part of us that is always and only ever in the present moment. The mind, the emotional body. They can be all over the place. The past, the present, the future. The mind is never almost in the in the now. So the more we get in the now, that’s where the information that we’re actually looking for exists. Because in the now I understand it’s a it’s getting in the now and being willing. I do a lot of meditation. I actually I started chanting practice right before that actually, I believe created the inner channel for me to realize I needed to get a divorce. And then going through the divorce process, I faced a lot of my own interferes because I was alone a lot, and I was still chanting at that time, and I evolved into a very, uh, a great meditation practice. And over the course of time that has evolved as well.

Karen Jayne: And as I’ve evolved, I actually did want to mention I wrote a fun book called Three Pillows Down that won an award. Um, it’s in the relationship Category, and it’s available on Amazon Numerical three. And it’s based on the premise that how you show up in your sex life is actually an accurate reflection of how you show up in all areas of your life, and it proposes that you can change any patterns in either expression, and you will ripple it into the other area. And it does. And you don’t have to be in a relationship to be in a sex life. And so that’s kind of and it shows a life coaching journey for three months along with reflections. So that’s just kind of a sidebar of something fun. Um, and as I completed that, I also evolved where sexual energy is important and I recognize its value. But I my approach now is much more global in terms of my I’m focused more on general conscious awareness, which is how am I influencing the life I’m living based on what thoughts am I focused on most of the time? And then if I’m not feeling good inside, I know my thoughts need to be examined and then I want to trace them. What’s the truth in it? So it’s kind of a process of getting to know yourself a lot better, to the point where you’ll start to feel the minute you’re not aligned and in a peaceful place, you’ll know right away. And and then you check in with yourself as a first practice.

Lee Kantor: Now, you mentioned early on that you recommend that new coaches focus on the niche. Like you mentioned, sexuality was a niche for you when you began and now you broaden it. Can you talk about making that transition? Because in some ways, that could be scary to first be taking the leap to be a coach and then finding a niche and then going from that niche to a different or maybe a broader base. Was that transition difficult, or was this just kind of an organic evolution of your practice?

Karen Jayne: Honestly, for me, because of how I do walk my talk. I would say it was a very organic evolution because I, I recognized where all of my own self judgments were really limiting me and creating a lot of insecurities and doubts, which was then actually, um, bringing me a lot of I use my own personal life a lot as well. I am actually remarried, um, for a dozen years now, and I’m having a very different experience, and it’s supporting me tremendously in continuing to grow myself and to take personal responsibility especially. And it is scary because every time you do something different, you’re going to feel fear. And this process is scary because it’s really a process of losing what you think, who you think you are. Little by little, all these identifications and all these concepts that I thought made me important or somebody special. I’ve learned over time I. I’m actually not that and and that actually led me during Covid. I did go through a time where my business got smaller and my revenue diminished. You know, it was not a flex time for me in that regard. However, what did happen was that the universe, because that’s really what’s changed for me. I stopped only listening to the little mind in my head that I considered to be my egoic mind, who is a wonderful, beautiful aspect of me, but not my not my most wise. I won’t call her because they don’t.

Karen Jayne: It’s a limited perspective. And so, over the course of the few years of Covid, during that time, I was actually able to do even deeper inner growth and get involved in something that involves cellular reprograming and DNA recoding. And what that did was allow me, because I was working on myself as well as other people, I’m being worked on by other people to clear my body even more of a lot of what these reaction systems are that make it hard for someone to even know what’s going on for them. A lot of us are living on a lot of cortisol, and everything’s from one reaction to another. It’s from one stress to another. It’s from one fear to another or one responsibility to another. So it is a big, uh, it is a big leap. It is a big choice. When I went through my divorce, part of what I claimed was that I was going to become a variable in my own life for the first time, not just an equal sign or a plus sign or something that was serving the whole that I was a part of, because that kept me constantly needing to make sure everyone around me was okay, which I could never, never really control. And then if they weren’t okay, then I wasn’t okay. So my power was never within myself. I was not empowered. And that’s something that also organically shifts and changes.

Karen Jayne: And then I would say it’s during that reprograming time that I was and recognizing how the universe kept still providing for me and really unique and magical ways that I started to realize I don’t need to work so hard. I need to work smart. And to me, working smart is be responsible for the frequency channel that I am vibrating at, because that’s what’s going to attract to me. The thoughts are electric, but then my heart’s magnetic and that’s what’s going to attract me, what I receive. And it’s not necessarily going to be what I say. It’s going to be what I believe I’m going to get and what I believe I deserve. So self-worth is also one of those seeds that most of us also have to overcome at some point. And I believe that as a coach and someone who’s interested in being a coach, I feel like the journey within yourself really is the greatest gift of all. And you start realizing, I’m I’m here to keep growing this part of drop of life force energy that is in me. And through that, I can help the masses so much better, or serve the people that the universe conspires to bring my way. I actually just this morning received a phone call from a woman that I had met at a bar a year ago. Who wants to work with me now?

Lee Kantor: Now, can you share? Um, that’s brings up an important point.

Karen Jayne: Fun universe, right for you.

Lee Kantor: But what are some signs for a person who has never had coaching before? What are some signs that maybe coaching is the right thing for you to be doing now, to get to where you’d like to go? Are there some things that people are experiencing right before they work with you?

Karen Jayne: Definitely. When people have done their work so they can tell you, oh, you know, I was abandoned, then I was rejected. You know, I had this happen to me traumatically because a lot of us, our lives initially are kind of based upon our traumas. That’s how we show up and and protect ourselves as we move through life. Um, and so therapy is usually a great option or some kind of other support where you can start to release some of those trapped energies. But there definitely comes a point. One year, two years depends on how long, how deep, whatever you want to go. Six years. Six months. Where you don’t want to keep rehashing the same old thing. Because what you focus on is what you grow. So at some point, going into the past doesn’t serve us anymore because it literally just recreates. There’s a universal principle called the law of the circle. And I like to say, imagine every morning you wake up and there’s a whiteboard and it’s clear. And during the day, every thought you have, every word you speak, every feeling, everything conscious and unconscious gets painted on that whiteboard. And tomorrow it starts showing up in your daily life. Very often we keep seeing the same thing, and therefore we keep repainting it and wonder why it never changes. So sometimes you keep looping if you just try to, um, get Better while still rehashing all the same old stuff, because every the mind is just actually a tool for imagination. And the goal on the planet right now, I think, in a really global level, is for us to all challenge ourselves, to start using our imaginations to create the pictures of reality we desire.

Karen Jayne: Because what we’re witnessing in external reality is extreme duality, where everything is right or wrong, good or bad. I’m on this side and I’m on that side. And the truth is that we’re evolving together as an entire humanity. And what we’re evolving into, I believe, is unity consciousness, which is a next level of conscious awareness, where we start to recognize an underlying oneness of all life, which allows us to also value the what we deem as opposites right now and actually are truly polarity, because polarity is required for energy to create. And so if we can start to create more space for the diversity and celebration of uniqueness amongst all of us, rather than this concept that there’s a mainstream normal and we all want to be it, I think that we would really blossom and people could use their imaginations in much more creative and fun and contributing ways. And when we’re not at war within ourselves, and we set ourselves free to kind of be our unique selves, I don’t think anyone’s going to show up for war out there anymore. But I do believe that the frequency of war exists in people still, which is why it’s still existing in external reality, which, as I kind of mentioned, that beginning is just a shadow reflection of what all of us are doing on the planet right now.

Lee Kantor: And if somebody wants to learn more about your practice or get on your calendar, is there a website or is there a best way to connect?

Karen Jayne: Yes, definitely. There is a website. Dot com. I also just. Email is at dot com and just shoot me an email. Mention you heard me on business radio and uh that would be wonderful.

Lee Kantor: And that’s coach k e n j a y n e.com.

Karen Jayne: Yes. Thank you so much for reiterating that.

Lee Kantor: Well, Karen, thank you so much for sharing your story. You’re doing such important work and we appreciate you.

Karen Jayne: Thank you very much, Lee. I really appreciate this opportunity to come on and chat with you.

Lee Kantor: All right. This is Lee Kantor. We’ll see you all next time on High Velocity Radio.

Al Kushner With LinkedVantage

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High Velocity Radio
High Velocity Radio
Al Kushner With LinkedVantage
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Al Kushner is an award-winning author and sought-after LinkedIn Growth Strategist, renowned for his innovative approach to digital networking.

His groundbreaking book, The A.I. LinkedIn Advantage, has transformed how professionals and businesses leverage artificial intelligence to optimize their LinkedIn presence, grow networks, and drive meaningful engagement.

Al’s expertise in blending AI-driven strategies with actionable insights has made him a trusted advisor and thought leader, empowering countless individuals to achieve measurable results on the platform.

Connect with Al on LinkedIn.

What You’ll Learn in This Episode

  • The AI LinkedIn Advantage
  • How has AI transformed the way professionals approach personal branding on LinkedIn
  • What common mistakes do people make on LinkedIn that hold them back from maximizing their potential
  • How can professionals leverage AI to stay competitive in industries that are constantly changing

Transcript-iconThis transcript is machine transcribed by Sonix.

 

TRANSCRIPT

Intro: Broadcasting live from the Business RadioX studios in Atlanta, Georgia. It’s time for High Velocity Radio.

Lee Kantor: Lee Kantor here. Another episode of High Velocity Radio, and this is going to be a good one. Today on the show, we have Al Kushner and he is an award winning author with Linked Vantage. Welcome, Al.

Al Kushner: Hey, thank you for the opportunity to be here. Appreciate it.

Lee Kantor: Well, I’m excited to learn what you’re up to. I’m assuming this is LinkedIn related, and you’re having to be clever about the name Linked Vantage. Tell us a little bit about your firm. How are you helping people?

Al Kushner: Well, I wrote a book called the AI LinkedIn advantage, and here to share some of my insights of the book. It is getting released tomorrow, actually, Independence Day to celebrate maybe people’s independence from their time spent on LinkedIn and using AI technology to help create more. Or free up more time to use the platform more effectively.

Lee Kantor: So what’s your backstory? How’d you get involved in this line of work?

Al Kushner: Well, I was using LinkedIn, I guess, for the past 20 years and realized that it’s grown into a really tremendous network. And I said to myself, you know, what can I do to set myself different from what’s out there? And I’ve been doing a lot of training with clients and corporations, helping them to optimize their profile and do successful outreach. And I looked in the market for what books were available, and there wasn’t really anything that addressed the issue of both LinkedIn A and AI together. And now that it’s become more popular, I said, well, why not? This made a lot of sense. And that’s that’s why I decided to, uh, you know, create the book and, and use it in my practice to help people to make their experience on LinkedIn more effective.

Lee Kantor: So what are kind of some of the mistakes you see people making when it comes to LinkedIn in terms of their own personal branding.

Al Kushner: Well, I think a lot of times is that people don’t spend the time to really create or optimize their profile. And when they do decide to do an outreach, people can see pretty much right through it for the most part. It looks either amateurish at best or salesy. And it really turns people away for the most part. If they don’t really take the time to to really create content that is worthy of someone’s attention, they’re going to miss out on opportunities that they could have had.

Lee Kantor: So how should somebody go about leveraging AI when it comes to their LinkedIn profile and outreach?

Al Kushner: Well, simple. You can use AI technology, for example, to create a headline that has certain keywords that can help a person get found. Let’s say if there are, let’s say, for example, they’re doing a podcast and they were looking for guests. They would optimize their profile, including, you know, having guests on the program, the individual’s experience. Um, it’s just an example of using some creative, uh, SEO to get found on LinkedIn. Also talk about the about section, which, uh, emphasizes about the individual’s history and also do it in a way that it looks easy to read. You know, with certain bullet points. So people don’t want to spend a lot of time on you. You only have a you don’t really get a second chance to make a first impression. So you really want to stress the importance of having a profile that really stands out. Uh, other features include any awards that you’ve won, maybe accomplishments that you’ve done. Um, any articles that you’ve written that’s also helpful. Again, depending, you know, if you’re an entrepreneur, uh, which is uh, a lot of people I work with, uh, sometimes people are looking for jobs and they want to update their profile. It’s important to update your profile every quarter just to, you know, be current. And if you have changed jobs, you know, you could share that information on LinkedIn and it will go out to whoever’s following you. And and sometimes people don’t really do that and they can miss out a lot of opportunities.

Lee Kantor: Now, um, with a lot of the AI out there nowadays, you have to kind of give it the material, uh, to learn from, to understand you and your writing and, um, you know, just some of your content. Do you have to do the same thing with your LinkedIn? Do you do you have to kind of, uh, upload all of your LinkedIn into an AI, uh, platform in order for it to be able to help you effectively?

Al Kushner: No, I mean, you can use it to create, you know, content. Let’s say if you have a newsletter you want to send it out, you can create a newsletter, send out each week, and you’d have followers and they’d be receiving a newsletter. Uh, and the AI could help create not only the content but, uh, some topics that a lot of times people will have trouble thinking about. It can create up to 5000 topics, so you’ll never run out of, you know, ideas for, um, you know, for creativity. In addition to that, you can use the AI to write a script for a video, which is very effective on the platform. Video is probably a very, uh, it’s very well liked by the algorithm of LinkedIn. So if you do decide to use, uh, the videos, it could be really, uh, making a difference in getting on the radar for people you want to connect with.

Lee Kantor: And now is there a certain AI platform you prefer over another? There seems to be quite a few out there nowadays.

Al Kushner: Well, it’s always changing, you know. Uh, right now, of course, it’s ChatGPT, which is a very popular, um, AI technology that’s being used. And, uh, I certainly, uh, find it very helpful. There’s Grammarly, which is another one that also helps, uh, Canva, which is great for creating artistic backgrounds and also help with videos too, which is surprising. So there’s in my book, I have a lot of resources available. Can people can use to access and find the latest technology that’s available.

Lee Kantor: Now when you’re using AI? Are there some do’s and don’ts? Like I would imagine you should use it as a starting point, but not necessarily an ending point. You can’t just cut and paste out of AI, can you?

Al Kushner: Um, well, it’s not recommended because you’re not going to come across as being authentic. And that really is something that people can see through. So you really want to use it as a, um, as a tool to outline the type of message you want to convey, but then puts your own thought into that. So it really sounds where it’s coming from, it’s coming from you, and it really can make a difference with your own voice and your own, you know, reflection of the post that you are going to use.

Lee Kantor: Now when you’re working with your clients and helping them kind of create this content calendar for posting. Is there a rhythm you recommend? Is there? Um, certain types of content that you recommend, a mixture of which, you know, between you mentioned a little bit about video. So should you have a mixture of text, video, audio, um, you know, what is your recommended kind of content strategy? Uh, components.

Al Kushner: Well, every person is different depending on their situation. Um, I had a client who was looking for a way to make more, uh, connections, uh, using groups on LinkedIn. And I explained that what’s really effective in groups is creating videos. And videos should be no more than 90s at best. And we created a script for a video and that was able to be used for postings. And he found that by using videos in Groups really increased his, uh, reach tremendously. Uh, and he’s now he’s every week, uh, posting, uh, different videos for different groups and finding he’s getting a lot more engagement than he had if he just posted simple text.

Lee Kantor: So, um, can you talk a little bit about groups? Because I don’t know if everybody is familiar with that and maybe share a little bit about the strategy around it. So on your LinkedIn and LinkedIn, your feed, you can just click a button and post. And that goes out to kind of everybody. But you can also work within certain groups. Can you talk about the strategy of taking content and just posting it within the group, rather than maybe into the general feed?

Al Kushner: Well, simple. You know, the groups that you are participating in when you do post, uh, the members will be alerted as opposed to, let’s say, for example, your own, which you may not have enough members or followers to begin with. So, for example, you’re currently in the Media and Marketing Professionals Worldwide Group, which has 1.3 million members, which is pretty substantial size group. So you would, for example, post a video in that group and they’ll be notified of the actual video being shown. And what’s great about it is that it gets a lot more eyeballs on your message as compared to text, which I would say at least 95% of those members are posting in that group. So it’s really going to raise your level of awareness. And the algorithm of LinkedIn really loves that. So that’s going to be to your advantage.

Lee Kantor: So now can I take that like say I’m a member of five groups. Can I take that same video and and post it in those five groups and my feed. Or should I not do that. Like what are some of the do’s and don’ts when it comes when you have multiple groups you’re part of?

Al Kushner: Well, I guess it depends on the group that you’re focusing and what your message is you’re trying to come across. So for example, you’re in the marketing executives group and you’re a video you would post there, but it may be different than your AI powered marketing group. So again, you want to customize the message for that type of group. Because the fact is it should be educational in nature. And if it doesn’t really, you know, appeal to the members of that particular group because the message is not really kind of directed towards them, then you’re going to kind of lose out on that. So you really want to kind of customize it for each group that you’re going to be posting in. As far as your own post. You can always post to your particular feed, which is fine. But again, you may not have that amount of reach compared to the groups, which are certainly more sizable.

Lee Kantor: Now, when you post to your feed, only a small percentage of your feed sees any given post. Is it the same within the group or do more people within a group see a given post?

Al Kushner: More people will see it because they’ll be notified of the post of the video, actually, you know, being played in the group. So they’ll be alerted and they’ll decide whether or not they want to view it or not. Again, when you’re doing a type of post, it should be educational by nature. If you’re doing a blatant ad, for example, they’ll remove the post. So it’s not something that you know is going to be, you know, because again, a group is all about being accepted into the group, and whatever you’re posting should be a value to the members. So sometimes people don’t see it that way and they just post. They think it’s just a good place to put an ad, and that’s not the way to do it. Of course, you can do it in your own personal feed, which is fine. But again, you know, for groups a little more selective. And what you’re saying.

Lee Kantor: Now, is there any way to get more eyeballs on the post within your own feed without, you know, boosting it? Because as soon as you post something, LinkedIn wants you to boost it?

Al Kushner: No. You know, LinkedIn doesn’t require you to boost it at all.

Lee Kantor: They don’t require you. But if you want any, if you want more people to see it, you have to pay.

Al Kushner: Well, yeah, of course, if you want to pay to play. But I find that if you’re looking to have people be notified. A lot of times people create newsletters. And when you have a newsletter, they get notified immediately as soon as you post in the newsletter. Again, newsletter is a more for content, not necessarily video. So if you do post in the newsletter it would go to those followers of the newsletter itself. So if you have people who are following you but not following a newsletter, they’re not going to get receive that message. You’d have to post it separately. But what’s unique about the newsletters is that not only will they be notified on LinkedIn that the newsletter has been posted, but also they’ll receive a message directly in their inbox, you know, through their email or platform like Gmail, Yahoo! And what’s great about LinkedIn is that it has such a high authority that usually bypasses spam filters and gets directly to the individual, so that’s really unique about it. So if you’ve been having problems sending your own newsletter personally directly to people and they’re not receiving it, well, use LinkedIn, you’ll be quite surprised it gets through.

Lee Kantor: Now, is there a story you can share? Maybe one of your clients who was able to benefit from your book or some of your counsel?

Al Kushner: Yeah, I mean, I had a client who was trying to reach his target audience where estate planners and financial planners, and he had, um, problems in deciding, you know, how to create a content that would be worthwhile. And we created a video and a video, but a newsletter, uh, designed to, uh, focus on a particular topic, which are tech tips for attorneys, for example. And we were able to increase the following from 0 to 375 followers within a week’s time, because it was very select and people who received that message, which he get, they get every week, are very receptive to the information he’s providing, which before it got lost, you know, when he was posting directly to his his own feed and that was not a good thing. And also he was able to share it in the groups that he was part of, which really made a difference of him getting on the radar of some of the major players in those groups, particularly influencers. So that was really making a difference because he was able to get noticed, and before he couldn’t figure out a way how to do that. And that’s something we worked on. And we use AI technology to create the content and also a script for a video. And that really helped save also a lot of time as well, because he didn’t have to hire someone to write these things. He had AI to help create the content, and he was fairly good in writing, and he customized it in his own voice, and it comes out well, and he’s showing a drastic increase in following and has increased his business, I would say, by over 80%. Because of these strategies we use for outreach.

Lee Kantor: And then that’s an example of changing the strategy and having results pretty quickly. Is that normal to have results that quickly, or is that kind of, uh.

Al Kushner: No, it’s it’s pretty quick. If you, you know, we optimize the profile, we focus on that. It took about a week to make sure we got all the right things. We’re looking for particularly recommendations which are crucial to any type of outreach. A lot of times people don’t really emphasize having recommendations as part of the profile, but I’d say it’s, um, essential. And we said that he should reach out to any customers that were satisfied with his work and asked for some kind words. And that was really helpful because he realized that the more recommendation and it’s also important to have current recommendations, you know, recommendations over five years, you know, it gets kind of stale. So we had to update that, and he was able to reach out to his clients, who were also on LinkedIn, and ask for recommendations, and that really helped create his endorsements tremendously. So that really was something that really helped boost. If he didn’t have that amount of recommendations, I would say it would probably take much longer because sometimes that’s a challenge.

Lee Kantor: So is that something that should be part of people’s just regular kind of work on LinkedIn is to ask for recommendations periodically?

Al Kushner: Yeah. Be proactive with it, I would say, because the fact is, is that people will look at this as an endorsement and these are actual, real people who are, you know, stating things that, you know, help them and how the client help them with their problems. So, yeah, it makes a difference.

Lee Kantor: So you view LinkedIn as kind of a must have a platform for entrepreneurs and business people this year and the next couple of years.

Al Kushner: Absolutely. I mean, the, the the platform has grown tremendously since its inception. I would say close to over 900 million listeners, perhaps even more so. That’s pretty sizable compared to other platforms out there. And it is designed kind of geared for entrepreneurs and business, small business owners that who want to have a reach and a way to connect with people that is coming across, being authentic. And that’s really a unique platform to do it on because LinkedIn has so many rich features, particularly if you’re trying to connect with, um, you know, your target audience. There are premium features that really set it apart from what’s out there.

Lee Kantor: So do you recommend? Can you can you use LinkedIn just at the free level, or do you have to pay for more enhanced um, memberships and or do you have to pay to boost content in order to, to get the most value from it?

Al Kushner: You can certainly use the free version, which is fine. A lot of people do that. I myself use Sales Navigator because I find the benefits really worth it. And one of the things that I like about it is that when people check out your profile, you know, who’s actually looked at your profile with the premium version. With the regular version, you don’t get that feature or it’s very limited at best. In addition, if you want to connect with someone, you want to know if they’re active on LinkedIn, while Sales Navigator will allow you to show if that person is currently active. And that can make a difference of of getting an outreach compared to sending a message to someone who may be a CEO of a company, but they’re hardly on LinkedIn at all, and it falls on deaf ears. And if worse, they do an outreach and they continually to reach people who are not accepting their message. The algorithm could look as a person being a spammer. It may even decide to slow down their account or even close the account because of that situation of not knowing who they’re connecting to.

Lee Kantor: Now, if somebody wants to learn more about the book or kind of get in touch with you, get on your calendar to learn more about your consulting? Is there a website? Is there a best way to connect?

Al Kushner: Yeah, and my website is Linked vantage. Com and I also have a free e-book available to help optimize your profile. So go to Linked vantage.com. You can also find my book available on Amazon and Spotify. We released tomorrow actually Independence Day, so check it out. It’s called the I LinkedIn advantage. Unleash the power of AI and dominate the competition. I’m also on LinkedIn, so feel free to reach out to me and I look forward to connecting.

Lee Kantor: Well, al, thank you so much for sharing your story today. You’re doing important work and we appreciate you.

Al Kushner: Thank you. Appreciate the opportunity. Thank you again, Lee.

Lee Kantor: All right. This is Lee Kantor. We’ll talk to you next time on High Velocity Radio.

Jeff Nosanov With Orbital Velocity

by

High Velocity Radio
High Velocity Radio
Jeff Nosanov With Orbital Velocity
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Jeff Nosanov, Manager at Orbital Velocity.

He spent ten years (2010-2020) in and around NASA (JPL, JHUAPL, NASA HQ, and several startups) in deep space (outer planet/interstellar) mission development, advanced space technology research, and aerospace consulting.

He managed NASA center proposals for several major upcoming NASA Missions including study of the heliosphere, Mars moon exploration, and contributed to the proposal development of the Titan octocopter mission (Saturn’s moon Titan.)

He also developed his own mission concepts to the interstellar boundary using solar sails and to map the caves of the moon with beyond-line of sight imaging as one of the only three-time grantees of the NASA Innovative Advanced Concepts (NIAC) award.

Uniquely, his interstellar boundary mission re-ignited NASA interest in interstellar propulsion, resulting in a series of NASA wide workshops and the JHUAPL/NASA Interstellar Probe concept.

In 2015 he founded a VC- and angel- backed medical device company that used a NASA radar technology to measure vital signs, and went through the technology licensing process from the lab to the field. From 2019 until June 2022 he worked at Amazon Web Services, in the DoD and the Aerospace and Satellite divisions working to bring cloud computing to outer space.

From 2022 to the present he has supported proposal and business development across the federal government ranging from VA claims software development to advanced space weather sensors. He was the first person in the United States to earn an LL.M. degree in Space and Telecom law in 2009.

His proposals have won more than $2B worth of work for his customers, clients, and employers. His professional passions include space exploration, advanced technology commercialization, and Veterans’ issues.

Connect with Jeff on LinkedIn.

What You’ll Learn in This Episode

  • Entrepreneurship journey
  • Living in 6 different states
  • Federal business development challenges today
  • Opportunities
  • Charm of Georgia

Transcript-iconThis transcript is machine transcribed by Sonix.

 

TRANSCRIPT

Intro: Broadcasting live from the Business RadioX studios in Atlanta, Georgia. It’s time for High Velocity Radio.

Lee Kantor: Lee Kantor here. Another episode of High Velocity Radio in this is going to be a good one. Today on the show we have Jeff Nosanov. He is with Orbital Velocity. Welcome.

Jeff Nosanov: Hi. Thank you very much for having me.

Lee Kantor: Well, I am so excited to learn what you’re up to. Tell us a little bit about orbital velocity. How are you serving folks?

Jeff Nosanov: Sure. Well, so orbital velocity is my basically my consulting company. I’ve only been in Atlanta for about a year, but I’ve lived over all over the country. And most of that I was working for NASA in different ways, different organizations. And basically what I do through orbital velocity is help aerospace technology companies find work with the federal government or in the state and state government in some cases. But basically I help people find money.

Lee Kantor: And so what’s your backstory? Have you always been involved in space?

Jeff Nosanov: Well, I have been involved with the space for about 15 years. I’ve always been a space nut kind of personally. And I’ve worked for several NASA centers as an employee, as a consultant, as a researcher. I’ve done work with NASA headquarters. I do a lot of work with universities, which are often major partners in various kinds of technology and space exploration work. And here in Atlanta, I’m basically trying to find ways to contribute to those those national efforts by helping companies that are trying to provide technologies or or missions or really anything that government needs.

Lee Kantor: Now, I guess on the surface, Atlanta doesn’t seem like the logical place to start a consultancy for space. Is there things that we’re not aware of that may be happening, unbeknownst to the kind of regular folks here in Atlanta.

Jeff Nosanov: Sure. So so, you know, right on there. I moved here from my wife’s career, basically, and I do help companies all over the country. But there is actually a very significant advanced technology world here in Atlanta, largely centered around Georgia Tech and surrounding, you know, companies that spun out of that. I also basically, I also do work with any agency that does research. So that includes the medical ones. So that could be at Emory or the hospitals and so on. So basically if it’s an if a government agency gives up money for research or development, I’ve probably helped somebody with a proposal there. So so basically if you’re looking for federal funds that’s I can probably help.

Lee Kantor: Now do you work with startups at all because we have a pretty good startup scene here.

Jeff Nosanov: Yes, I love working with startups. I’ve had one myself. I may again in the future. And it’s really a great time to be a startup because there’s so much money, there’s really stupid amounts of money kind of sloshing around the country, in the world and private equity and venture capital. So it’s a great time to be starting a company. And most of them are going after the largest customer out there, which is the federal government. So a startup is a great partner and an exciting, exciting customer to work with.

Lee Kantor: So, um, let’s look at it through the lens of a startup. Say there’s a startup here in, uh, in metro Atlanta or Georgia. I don’t know if you’re aware, at one point a few years ago in South Georgia, they tried to, um, try to get a spaceport of some kind going in South Georgia that was kind of trying to get some of the stuff that Florida couldn’t get to. They were trying to kind of fill that gap, but I don’t think they were able to get approval for the land usage. Um, but it seems like we’re close enough because obviously Florida is a place for space. But also Huntsville, Alabama is kind of rocket central in their kind of world. So you’d think that Georgia would have opportunities kind of with the entrepreneurial community we have here. But if you’re a startup here, how at what stage do they kind of start talking to you? Do you want to meet them when they have an idea on a napkin, or do they need to have funding? Like where do where do you come in, you know, to kind of get the most out of your expertise?

Jeff Nosanov: I find it exciting at all stages. I mean, I love helping, working, working through business plans and investor pitches and all that. And and I do that for fun. It’s just an interesting and exciting world. But where the where I can really add a lot of value is when they have a promising technology that they may not know exactly what part of the federal government is interested in. Now they need to know that to get venture capital funding. Certainly that will be a question they’re asked, but also the making sense of the federal government, especially right now in July of 2025, is is a real challenge. And that’s something I’ve been doing for 15 years. It’s figuring out what what the government actually wants to buy and how how they want to buy it. So so again, you mentioned the, um, southern Georgia, uh, spaceport question. It really would be a great place because it can launch you can launch stuff south over the or the, over the ocean. Um, for a lot of space reasons, there’s a lot of good reasons to launch to the south. And obviously it’s a it’s a competitive marketplace with Florida nearby. So I don’t think that’s the last we’ll hear of it.

Lee Kantor: Yeah, I was pretty bullish about it, actually. I was kind of disappointed that that didn’t kind of, uh, happen. Uh, but you know how this goes. It’s, uh, nothing happens fast. Um. So. Yeah. Is in your work. Is there, uh, something you’ve done that you’re kind of the most rewarding success that you’ve had in your career that you could share?

Jeff Nosanov: Yes, absolutely. So I’ve, I’ve won over $2 billion. That’s with a B of, uh, funding, uh, over my career for different companies and customers. Uh, but what I’m really excited about is actually something that’s launching in a few months. It’s a space mission that will study the, uh, basically the interaction of the sun with the rest of the solar system, that I could go on and on about that, but it’s basically studying the sun. And, um, so in 2018, I was a consultant at Johns Hopkins University in Maryland, and I was a proposal manager for this mission. And, um, it’s been quite a journey since then in all kinds of ways. And, and this mission is still going on is not affected by the proposed cuts to NASA, which is another subject I could go on about, but I’ll try to spare you. But basically, this thing is going to launch into space in a few months, and I plan to be there. Hopefully they’ll invite me. If not, I’ll just show up and it will actually be the first the first space launch I’ve ever seen. And it will be really exciting for that to be a rocket launch with a mission on it that I helped make happen. So and I hope to bring my family there as well. So that’s probably the the proudest, uh, the proudest professional accomplishment for me.

Lee Kantor: How what does it like like how do you kind of wrap your mind around working on projects that you’re you’re so passionate, everybody’s fired up, and it just takes years and years and years and years before something happens. Like, how do you mentally prepare for that kind of a long term outlook?

Jeff Nosanov: I love that question because because the answer is really that it this kind of work in space and, uh, and in, in any kind of advanced technology that usually has a long term, a long term timeline. You really kind of have to deliberately adjust your your context, your frame of mind. So, you know, we’ve been exploring the universe for about a hundred years. It was about a hundred years ago, actually, that the something called the rocket equation was was discovered or invented that actually showed that we could launch things from the Earth. You know, that wasn’t a game that wasn’t a given. If the Earth was about 10% bigger, in fact, that wouldn’t be possible at all, at least not with with the way we do it now. So. So it’s really only been 100 years, and we’ve really only been doing it consistently for about 70 years. And that’s that’s a lifetime, right? And it really is a fact that most meaningful scientific explorations of the solar system, they take ten years minimum, ten or 20 or 30 even. And when you when you kind of fall in love with the subject the way I did and so many other people do.

Jeff Nosanov: It just puts a different perspective on your life and your career. I know people who, if they’re lucky, they will have one completed space mission in their entire working career. And that will be that will be everything. That will be an enormous achievement. It’s just the way the universe works. And I’ve found that one of the most rewarding parts about this work is it forces that kind of humble humility, rather, in the face of very literally, the universe and the rules that the universe has that we we have to follow. We can’t we can’t bend them. Really. So so that’s really the only way I can answer that question is it forces a humility before the universe that I think is pretty healthy. I mean, the universe is what it is. You know, we live on a planet full of water and air and food largely, and it’s right there for us. But but, um, you leave the planet, you got to change your your frame of mind because it’s not going to. Not going to make it easy for us. So so that’s really how I think about it.

Lee Kantor: Now what do you, um, what do you say to people that are that think that going into space that’s, uh, wasteful use of resources that, that why aren’t we spending anywhere near the amount of energy in the oceans and that are right here that we barely know anything about that. And that’s like right under our feet.

Jeff Nosanov: So I love the question. And it’s a really important one. And and it usually comes from, um, some misunderstandings about how this all works. So we’re not just sending money into space and, you know, blowing it up, blowing it away. We’re we’re spending it on Earth here in our communities and our institutions and our our our neighbors salaries. I mean, all of that spending is local. And, um, it’s really a really small amount of money, actually, there’s a pretty consistent, uh, mistaken assumption going all the way back to Apollo. Because the Apollo program in the 60s, it really did consume 5% of the federal budget. And there’s a whole bunch written about that and how that never would have happened if not for Kennedy’s assassination. And and they would have shut it down because of that expense, if not for Kennedy’s assassination and all of that. But a lot of people still think that’s close to the number, but it’s it’s less than one tenth of that. It’s it’s 0.2% or something like that. 0.3. Uh, it’s trivial. Really. And, and and on top of that, uh, and keeping in mind all that spending is, is on American citizens and American companies. Uh, every single economic study of NASA has shown that it either returns between 2 or 7 times the amount back to the economy.

Jeff Nosanov: So so it’s a net gain for for the country and the economy. Um. There’s a couple of interesting examples that I like. For example, in the 60s, in the early semiconductor industry, the early computer chips of the modern sort. Nasa was one of the biggest customers that literally built the American semiconductor industry, because NASA needed a consistent supply of them for Apollo, and they needed to be reliable. So so there’s all kinds of stories from the last 50 years, basically, that that NASA not just created markets for technologies that would then later, uh, I should say, not just use them, but literally created markets for industries that the US would then lead in for decades. So that’s really my answer to that question is it’s it’s not a negative. It doesn’t actually cost us anything. It actually returns much more than we spend. And as for the oceans, I agree there’s we know more about other planets than we do about parts of the ocean. And I imagine if we if we had that sort of scientific commitment to the oceans, we probably have similar economic returns also. So. So that’s that’s my answer. And, um, I hope to be part of sharing that more broadly. So I’m really glad that you asked me.

Lee Kantor: So for you it’s an and not an or like we should be doing more kinds of research and studying all kinds of things, including space and the oceans. It’s not like we should be cutting back in either.

Jeff Nosanov: Right. And the Arctic and the poles, I mean, there’s there’s the big the I think one of the challenges that science communication faces is you can’t really prove that spending money here is going to produce benefits there. But you can look at you can look backwards and show that it almost always does. Another example from Apollo is this is actually something that a distant relative of mine worked on. Um, basically any kind of, uh, kidney Dialysis that that any kind of device that that does kidney dialysis, it that technology that allowed that to be invented was developed under the Apollo program. It was used for fuel filters and things like that. But but that kind of membrane technology was developed for exploring moon and then became fundamental to keeping millions of Americans alive today. So. So sometimes you have weird connections like that. Nobody would have expected that to be an output of the Apollo program. Um, but it was. So we, uh, we should be doing things like curing, trying to cure cancer. But, uh, it turns out that if you set even not more ambitious goals, if you set really ambitious goals like sending humans to the moon or Mars, it turns out you have to invent a lot of stuff along the way. And there’s really creative people, uh, who take those inventions and say, well, we can actually use that for this or that. And those things go on to create enormous markets, uh, in industries and of course, in the other in the case I mentioned save lives. So. So again, it’s I could go on about this for hours but but it really does not actually cost us money to do this exploration. It makes us money eventually.

Lee Kantor: Right. And but it’s just hard to tell people that they should spend money now on things that there might be unintended consequences later that’s going to benefit everybody just by being this curious and this, uh, trying to solve problems that are hard.

Jeff Nosanov: Right? Right. And, and, uh, I think a, a mixture of short and long term research is probably the better the better policy. But but it’s hard to have those kinds of rational policy discussions right now. And I’ll leave that there.

Lee Kantor: Now, um, in your work over the years, is it, um, is there any like what are the qualities of a young person? Are you seeing more young people attracted to this? Are they getting kind of burnt out?

Jeff Nosanov: Um, actually, you know, there’s there’s it’s a wonderful time as a young person to be going into space and scientific fields because, um, there’s huge amounts of, of small companies that are entering the market. I mean, SpaceX really showed that, that individual companies. Now it helps if you’re if you start with $1 billion or more. But there are a lot of small companies that are, uh, that are making meaningful advances and not just in the US. So it’s a great time as a kid to fall in love with space. And, you know, uh, political wins here and there aside, um, the whole world is really embracing these, uh, these technologies and companies. Um, and so it’s, it’s I would encourage anyone to study these things. And again, if you study physics, if you study engineering, these are this is objective reality, right. Like you can it’s never bad to study objective reality. We need buildings to stand up straight. You know we need bridges to stay. We need plans to fly. Um. And sometimes I think in, in our in our day to day community and, and social and political lives, it’s easy to forget that, um, we need our cars to operate without engines exploding. You know, we need we need to respect nature in that way. And physics and engineering. It gets back to to what I was saying earlier about, um, um, it’s never a waste to to learn and explore because that’s the real world that we live in. So, um.

Lee Kantor: Right. But it seems like the we’re always trying to have that balance of yeah, that’s great that it it’s almost like a nice to have where we got to have, you know, things working here like air traffic controllers have to do their job today and, you know, going to Mars. It seems like a nice idea, but I don’t know if I need that today. But, you know, in order to go to Mars, we got to do work today. Um, that won’t show up for five years.

Jeff Nosanov: There’s a great example from 100 years ago that there were people exploring quantum physics. And it was it was this was right after the, the, the the person who ran the patent office who famously said, I think in 1890 something. He said, oh, uh, every everything that’s been invented is everything that will be invented, has been invented already. And this was 1890. And so you have these scientists studying quantum physics, which was was incomprehensibly unrelatable to people. But it but then 20 or 30 years later, the computer was invented. And it those principles absolutely underlie every single minute of every single day of every single person on earth, because otherwise our electronics wouldn’t work and our computers wouldn’t work. So. So a nation, uh, you know, an organization ought to have a kind of short, medium and long term, uh, approach to these things. So, yeah, we need to solve the immediate problems. But if we don’t, if we don’t explore the unknowns, you know, first of all, someone else is going to and then they will lead those industries. Um, but, you know, it takes a balance.

Lee Kantor: Now, how do you know which kind of, uh, I’ll call it a quote unquote moonshot. Should you be focusing in on? How do you prioritize? Like, you know, a lot of people want to go to Mars now. Uh, people are exploring the edges of the galaxies. Um, how do you and you mentioned this, you know, going doing research towards the sun. How do you kind of prioritize and go, you know what? This is where we have to put our chips.

Jeff Nosanov: Sure. Well, that’s another great question. And, and, uh, it reminds me of a really interesting scenario that happened in the, in the late 60s, which was, you know, when you, when you’re when no human being or no machine has ever left the Earth, You know, it’s pretty obvious where to go, which is to go up, you know? Uh, and the first place to send humans is pretty obviously the moon, because it’s the closest thing. It’s the easiest thing to get to. It’s obviously still exceptionally difficult, but it’s still the easiest thing. And NASA had a real question after that, which was, well, now what? Now that we’ve shown we can leave the earth and send machines and even people places. What do we do next? And and the history of NASA since then, which I could again go on all day. But I’ll try not to. Uh, it kind of really reflects that question. I mean, um, NASA started sending robotic vehicles to other planets first to Mars and Venus, which were the closest ones in either direction, and eventually leading to having sent robotic vehicles either to or past all of the planets in the solar system. And, you know, we haven’t sent humans anywhere since other than than the space station.

Jeff Nosanov: So so that’s a really important question. What do we do next? And the way NASA handles it. Kind of connecting back to my work is with with competitive proposal opportunities, where the federal government, through the National Academies will basically say, here are some scientific questions of interest. And they’ll actually be a sort of competitive process where organizations build teams and they say, well, okay, we have these technologies. We can go, we can go explore the rocks on Mars and we can ask the questions about life on Mars, or we can go study the clouds of Venus and so on. And so there’s no great easy answer to your question other than an ongoing, ongoing discussion between experts and policymakers and and people like that. And, and what we’ve seen throughout the history of NASA since then is pretty much all of those challenges will yield and demand technology developments that become useful elsewhere. Um, so again, another great question. Uh, there’s no easy answer to it, but the history of what we’ve done so far kind of, I think shows a pretty reasonable approach.

Lee Kantor: Now, what about the input like you mentioned earlier, of now you have billionaires that have pet projects. Um, and, you know, they have resources to do some interesting things. Um, are they kind of skewing those priorities to what their kind of interests are?

Jeff Nosanov: Uh, that’s a very interesting question. And it and it I’ll start off by talking about space. Space. What they did basically was there was a business observation that the bar for contractor performance for the federal government was actually really low. And I mean by contractor, I mean the aerospace contractors of the late 20th century that were building rockets, uh, they were really good at at making a lot of money on SpaceX launch. And what SpaceX realized was that, hey, if we build this all in-house and we we charge for it roughly at cost. Plus, you know, a modest fee, they could reduce the cost by a factor by, by 90%. And that still is the case. And that’s why SpaceX just celebrated 500 launches of its of its Falcon nine vehicle. Um, now. So that’s a great that’s a really positive example of of industry and, and market forces really reducing the cost of, of a critical, critical need. Now, uh, other subjects, I mean, the, the, the philanthropy of billionaires or, or the investment of, of billionaires can, can really jumpstart a lot of technology projects, uh, in ways that the federal government would take a lot longer to fund. Um, so I think it’s a great it’s a great part. It’s a it’s a wonderful outcome of basically the enormous economic success of the United States over the last 50 years is that there even are people with that amount of money that rival governments in some cases.

Jeff Nosanov: Um, now, what we’re seeing now is, is, uh, is something a little more concerning to me, which is some, uh, some of the wealthiest people in the US actually trying to try to kind of capture some of the what used to be federal government priorities, like medical research and things like that. Uh, in order to then have more control of those services in the marketplace. At least that’s my perception. Um, that’s the only way I can make sense again, without getting super political. That’s the only way I can make sense of reducing things like NIH budgets and and research. Uh, is by uh, is by saying, well, if you have the resources to do that privately, well, then you also control that. You control the availability and pricing of the ultimate services. So I think it’s a it’s a net positive Because, um, that kind of largesse can be applied to research questions faster. But, you know, as anything at that scale, there’s there’s going to be some, some ethical considerations that, you know, I think are worth paying attention to.

Lee Kantor: And if the if it was through the government, it sounds like the outcomes or those unintended consequences were for the betterment of all. Whereas if a private company is doing it, then they kind of lock down that new. I mean.

Jeff Nosanov: Yeah, that that’s that’s sort of where that’s sort of the conclusion I’m, I’m coming to. I mean, any specifics are a lot more complicated. I’m certainly not going to argue that the government is the most efficient organization out there. And certainly companies are able to capture publicly funded research for their own private gain. I mean, that happens in pharma all the time. Um, but in principle, at least, having public research organizations and private, I think is a good mix for our society. Um, you know, with, with the acknowledgment that it would take the rest of the day to really break down all of the pieces.

Lee Kantor: Right. But conceptually, though, public private is probably the best thing, knowing that each. There’s no perfect one. And. Right. And it’s going to be messy no matter what. Which way you go.

Jeff Nosanov: And you don’t really want you don’t really want the government operating a factory, a medicine factory, but you also don’t want, um, you also don’t want a single company controlling, all.

Lee Kantor: Right, to have a monopoly on that.

Jeff Nosanov: Right. Exactly. So, so these aren’t really new, you know, economic debates. They probably go back to, you know, the, the, the enlightenment, you know, but but, um, it’s rare that as we’re seeing in 25, there are such drastic changes in these things being, being, you know, put out there, uh, particularly Early today and literally today. As you know, the the the federal budget is in is in debate. So these are all things that that someone competing for federal money would want to keep in mind. And some of the, some of the contexts that I bring to my customers.

Lee Kantor: So what do you need more of? How can we help you? What what are some of the things that you want to accomplish in the short term, in the long term, and what resources do you need to make those happen?

Jeff Nosanov: Well, I really appreciate that that question. I mean, what I always want to do is meet people, uh, who are interested in solving these big problems and whether or not they become my customers is is less important because I just like meeting people like that in general. But I can also help people like that find a pathway to creating something that can can do something big or really help people. Um, so so that’s really what I hope if anyone’s listening, who who works at a company like that, or has an idea or doing some kind of research. Those are the kinds of people that I want to meet.

Lee Kantor: Good stuff. Well, if somebody wants to learn more and connect with you, what’s the website? What’s the best way to connect?

Jeff Nosanov: Yeah, it’s, uh, orbital velocity dot space. And I love that both our companies have the velocity in it. Um, and I imagine my email or phone number might be in the show notes for this, but you can just go to my website, Orbital Velocity Space and send me a note there.

Lee Kantor: Good stuff. Well, Jeff, thank you so much for sharing your story today, doing such important work. We appreciate you.

Jeff Nosanov: Thank you. And likewise, and it’s a pleasure to speak with you and the the local community.

Lee Kantor: All right. This Lee Kantor we’ll see you all next time on High Velocity Radio.

Cynthia L. Bentzen-Mercer With Bentzen Performance Partners

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High Velocity Radio
High Velocity Radio
Cynthia L. Bentzen-Mercer With Bentzen Performance Partners
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Dr. Cynthia Bentzen-Mercer, Founder of Bentzen Performance Partners, is a USA Today bestselling author, executive coach, and internationally recognized expert in human capital strategy.

With over 30 years of C-suite experience across industries, she empowers individuals and organizations to challenge limits, invest intentionally, and unlock untapped potential.

She is the creator of the Now, Near, Next career framework, the Human Capital Investment Strategy (HCIS), and the 7-Minute Pivot, a daily practice for meaningful change. Through her masterclasses, books, and speaking engagements, she equips professionals to reclaim their power, reframe their path, and outperform their past.

Connect with Cynthia on LinkedIn and Facebook.

What You’ll Learn in This Episode

  • About Bentzen Performance Partners
  • How 7 minutes a day can help you move towards something better when you feel stuck in your career
  • The first investment someone should make in themselves when everything feels like a loss
  • How the Now, Near, Next framework can help reframe your journey

Transcript-iconThis transcript is machine transcribed by Sonix.

 

TRANSCRIPT

HVR_07022025_CynthiaBentzenMercer_1.mp3

Intro: Broadcasting live from the Business RadioX studios in Atlanta, Georgia. It’s time for High Velocity Radio.

Lee Kantor: Lee Kantor here. Another episode of High Velocity Radio in this is going to be a good one. Today on the show, we have Cynthia Bentzen-Mercer, who is the Founder of Bentzen Performance Partners. Welcome.

Cynthia Bentzen-Mercer: Thank you so much, Lea. It’s good to be here.

Lee Kantor: Well, I am so excited to learn what you’re up to. Tell us about your company. How are you serving folks?

Cynthia Bentzen-Mercer: Yeah, so I spent over 30 years in corporate America and then had the opportunity to really turn that that time and my passion into serving individuals and organizations. Basically, I work at the intersection of strategy and soul. I help people find what they love to do and make a living at it. And I help organizations figure out how to find those individuals so that they can be high performing organizations.

Lee Kantor: So do you work primarily with organizations or do you work primarily with individuals in their career?

Cynthia Bentzen-Mercer: Yeah, so I work with CEOs and C-suite executives that are really around succession planning, organizational structure. But a large part of what I do is work with women and men, one on one executive coaching, helping them figure out how to be release their full potential in either the career that they’re in or in a lot of cases. I’m working with individuals that are feeling restless and seeking something new and different, helping them find their way.

Lee Kantor: Is there kind of a triggering moment that they come to a realization that, hey, I need some help here, maybe I ought to contact the executive code?

Cynthia Bentzen-Mercer: Yeah, unfortunately, it seems to be that that’s when I get the phone call. You know, it would be wonderful if individuals were seeking executive coaching before. They’re feeling restless. Think about any professional sports team or professional people in the entertainment business. You know, most of us have a coach to really continue to hone our skills. Unfortunately, in the business world, oftentimes we we do put it off until we get that that tugging feeling. And our research has found that women in particular are so busy with their head down, working hard, supporting everyone else around them that at some point they look up and they think, oh my goodness, the world has kind of passed me by and I have more value to add, more talent to offer, and I’m just feeling kind of stuck or stagnant. And that’s that’s usually when I get the phone call.

Lee Kantor: Now it’s interesting you brought back brought up sports because I never looked at it kind of holistically in this manner. But pretty much in any professional sport, that person has a coach, and it’s just perfectly logical for them to have a coach like no one thinks twice about it. And they proudly walk around with their coach at their side. But people in business, especially at the levels you’re probably dealing with, they’re probably making more money than those athletes are for the most part. A lot of them. And they are hesitant to partner with a coach. Why do you think there would be such a disconnect where it’s so commonplace in one environment? But in another environment, it’s unusual.

Cynthia Bentzen-Mercer: Yeah. And you head on a really a really important point too, right? Well, they’re they’re making a ton of money in the sports professional fields, as you mentioned. You’ve got executives making multimillion dollar decisions that are affecting not only themselves and the organizations that they’re running, but the livelihoods of others. Um, so there’s a lot at stake. It’s it’s a it’s a high risk environment for a lot of individuals. You know, unfortunately, I think the disconnect is when we think about a quarterback or we think about, um, you know, a pitcher, for example, or even a singer or an actor. And it’s really visible that natural talent is so visible. You know, we have coaches to correct the golf swing or to really fine tune, um, elements of the physicality, but that’s all raw, natural talent that they’re continuing to develop. And it seems just really intuitive in business because it’s so hard to put your finger on natural talent without a really clear understanding. I think people are misinformed to think that just time in the job is enough, and then almost that there’s a embarrassment about having an executive coach. I have to often talk to executives about the fact that this is the most important thing you can do to continue to unleash your potential and grow exponentially. This is not I don’t do a remediation coaching right. I don’t work with individuals that that are broken and need fixed. I work with high achievers that want to fully exercise their incredible potential.

Lee Kantor: And it’s. Isn’t it unusual, though, for them to be proactive and hire you before they need you? Really, but just to kind of maintain their skills and to have that sounding board and that, uh, you know, kind of fresh eyes on things, I, I would think that in their work they, they do some coaching themselves and without thinking, but it isn’t kind of as intuitive to hire a coach for themselves. It’s just interesting to me kind of how how they eventually get around to it, a lot of them. But it isn’t kind of an easy move or a go to move early on.

Cynthia Bentzen-Mercer: Right? Right. It usually happens when they are up against a challenge or a barrier or feeling, as we said earlier, sort of stuck or stagnant rather than saying, where can I find somebody that’s at the top of their game that has the kind of credentials that can really push me to think bigger, to step out of my comfort zone, to see things from maybe a different perspective. Um, obviously we rely on the people around us. We create great teams and surround ourselves with great talent. But there’s there’s something unique and different by having somebody who’s purely objective from the outside, that in a safe space is pushing you beyond what you think you can do.

Lee Kantor: Now, do you think that something that might improve this whole relationship between high performers and coaches is if more and more organizations just kind of had coaching as part of what you get when you work at this company. Like if more and more people got to experience coaching, maybe even earlier on their career, they’d be it would be they’d be faster to, um, work with the coach as their career progressed.

Cynthia Bentzen-Mercer: Breast 100%. And I mean, there are there are some companies out there that have recognized the value in that. Um, far too few. However, um, thinking about particularly your executive team or individuals that are starting to reach that vice president and above level, they are making bigger decisions affecting more lives, impacting your budget differently. And it isn’t the skill and knowledge that they need to work on at that point, right? The skill and knowledge can be learned that that you can read a book, you can go to a class, you can you can consult. I mean, there’s a lot of places to to build your skills and knowledge. The executive coach really comes in from the perspective of having you lean into the non teachable is how do you take a creativity talent or a strategic agility talent or an influence talent that which is really part of your hardwiring and your DNA. And then working with an experienced coach. Figure out how do you develop that to exponential success, so that you’re really realizing all that you’re capable of, and not limiting yourself to maybe what’s comfortable, because we all struggle with pushing ourselves a little outside of what what feels comfortable from time to time.

Lee Kantor: Now, when you’re working with somebody, um, what how do you kind of manage their expectations when they finally have the courage up to to work with a coach? Now you have to have to be on the same page of what is possible, what is, you know, going to be like a longer term, um, kind of a journey. What, like how are you managing kind of, um, kind of the day to day. What am I going to get from this? Like, how am I going to see an ROI? I don’t know, are they even asking you ROI questions about this, or do they understand that this is kind of a you’re going to be in it for a minute. This isn’t going to solve your problems by the end of the week.

Cynthia Bentzen-Mercer: Right? Right. Both. And um, so absolutely. Um, it’s an investment. It, you know, getting a really, um, strong executive coach is, is an investment. It’s the investment in you and and your career and your potential, but also, um, organizationally, for those organizations that are, uh, pouring into and, and funding this for, for the people that they’re relying upon. For me, it really starts with it’s it’s a mutual commitment. Um, out of the gate, you’re going to get out of it what you put into it. So the very first thing that I talk about is really when we talk about coaching, it’s less about me giving direction, advice and guidance. It’s a lot about I ask a lot of intuitive, provocative questions we’re really getting underneath. Barriers that are holding the executive back. Things that are slowing their decision making or in some cases, times that they need to channel their passion differently and and slow down their decision making. What what we know is most people have most of the answers inside them, but they don’t have a safe place to really vet that in a way that they can be vulnerable. They can think through all the options and ultimately find the right end result. And so they’re going to make better decisions. They’re going to going to build a better team. They’re going to have a longer term strategy when they have a place to really, um, unleash all of that, that knowledge and not get in their own way. Men and women both have a tendency, women more so based on our research. Shows that men and women both have a tendency to second guess themselves, to put up barriers or filters just based on past experience or self-doubt. And so my job is to get them out of their own way, and the profitability and the performance naturally flows.

Lee Kantor: So when you’re trying to help somebody get out of their own way, what are you doing that through? Like a rhythm of a weekly call? Are you giving them homework that they do every day? Are you giving them certain tools that they implement, you know, during crisis? Like like what is kind of the deliverable to your clients? Mhm.

Cynthia Bentzen-Mercer: So traditionally I meet with an executive every other week for an hour. That’s sort of the cadence with which we meet. And we start every meeting with two questions. What is the goal they have for that day’s session. And what does success look like. And we have established goals at the beginning of the engagement. Really, the shortest engagement is six months. We’re honestly generally just scratching the surface at that point. A year and beyond tends to be an engagement where we really start to gain a rhythm and see the results. But they can they come to that meeting with. It could be anything that’s in retrospect. I had a conversation that didn’t go well. I’m trying to implement something that doesn’t seem to be sticking. Um, so it could be past tense and we’re unpacking that. Or it could be a future focused. They have a big investor meeting. They have an upcoming board meeting. They’re making a big decision on an acquisition. They need to make a significant structural change. Um, and so the goal may be just getting some clarity around the path forward. And success would look like having that by the end of that call. So we work on very immediate in the moment Situations that they’re dealing with and finding the path so that they can move forward with those. And then we typically have a follow up on the next meeting. How did it go? What did we learn? Um, and then where do you take that? Where do you take that from here? In terms of homework, one of the techniques that I encourage every one of you listening is the seven minute pivot.

Cynthia Bentzen-Mercer: And so what that means is you are spending seven minutes a day focusing on a key prompt that’s most on your mind that day. Most of us don’t take any time to just be quiet and introspective. And so, um, what I encourage you to do is you set a timer. We know neurologically that creates focus. It creates accountability. You set a timer, you get rid of all other distractions. You get a pen and paper. Because we know that that is the best way to sort of get thoughts out of our mind and onto paper and we start with a prompt like what is this? What is the one thing I feel that’s really holding me back in this moment? And then what is one thing I can do today? One small thing I can do today to move and pivot in a slightly different direction, to move forward, to start, to create some energy and momentum. And if you think about a seven minute pivot, when you’re doing your seven minute pivot every day, you are investing 2555 minutes a year. It’s amazing how much you can change the trajectory of where you’re heading. And so living into these prompts, when you take this time, you find that you have more control, more agency and more insight and clarity about where you’re heading.

Lee Kantor: So that’s one of the things you teach your clients is how to do this. Seven minutes exercise is in the morning or evening or doesn’t matter.

Cynthia Bentzen-Mercer: It’s entirely up to. To you. The most important thing is you do it. That you do it. We know in for again studying men and women. Um, a lot of similarities in terms of busy chaos. Not enough time to to remain silent. And for different reasons. So the reality is, find the time in your day that you can unapologetically guilt free. Invest in you. Everyone can find seven minutes, right? And it’s more than five. Less than ten. And it’s just that moment to say, how do I move in a tiny way toward what I’m what I want and not feel like I have to make the giant leap?

Lee Kantor: And that’s a more proof of on the power of compounding.

Cynthia Bentzen-Mercer: Right? 100%. Yes. Yeah.

Lee Kantor: Now, you mentioned, um, men and women kind of separately. Is there a different strategies when you’re working with women than you have when you’re working with men?

Cynthia Bentzen-Mercer: So it honestly, it depends on what the goal of the individual. But what I will tell you is, having studied in my first book, now near next, we did a global study of women, professional women, five race ethnicities, four countries, a 25 year age span, multi industry background, all very successful. And the one thing we found specifically in uniquely among women around the world is that at some point and often multiple times, you grow restless, you feel stuck, you feel stagnant. And we uncovered that is because you feel un actualized. You feel like you have more talent to give, more value to add, etc. the difference with our wonderful male counterparts is culturally social norms, etc.. Men tend to be looking up, looking forward. Raising their hand, uh, putting their name in the hat. Women have traditionally been conditioned to put our heads down, work hard, and wait to be tapped. And because we statistically are so busy pouring into everyone else around us, whether that’s raising children, being active in our communities, we’re, you know, leaning into our spouse’s career or our partners profession is that that is a convenient opportunity. Right. So we we dutifully put our head down, we work hard, we pour into everyone else. And then at some point when it’s not too late, but definitely to the point of really feeling uncomfortable, we’re sort of frustrated with the fact that why haven’t we been promoted? Or why aren’t we in a different place from a salary perspective? And so around the bean answer to your question, oftentimes more often when I’m working with women, they are coming from a place of I have more that I want professionally, more aspirations that I want to lean into. And I’m working with them on intentionality more often when I’m working with men, um, I’m working with them on continued talent development, succession planning, um, strategic decision making. It sort of depends on where the client is showing up.

Lee Kantor: Uh, I interviewed a coach who coached women, and they brought something up to me that I had never heard of. But maybe you can kind of validate this if this is what you found as well. Uh, they said that when they work with women and a lot of women won’t apply for a job unless they have every single criteria of the job, where a man will say, like, I’ll figure it out. Like, close enough. I’ll figure it out. Number one. And number two is, if offered a job, the man will negotiate more times than not, and the woman will just say, yeah, it will just agree without negotiating.

Cynthia Bentzen-Mercer: Yes. There’s actually some Harvard Business Review did a study years and years ago, and it’s been it’s been validated multiple times since that. Exactly. That that, you know, women tend to want to tick all the boxes. So if I can’t tick 9 or 10 out of ten boxes, I don’t apply at all. Just as you said, where men and I always say this, I say this to you, you know, you women listening it. This is not an indictment of men. This is we need to steal a page out of your playbook, right? We we need to we need to be looking up and looking forward and and leading with talent and know that we too, can learn and figure it out on the job, just as our male counterparts have the confidence to do so. And not only do we often do, women often not negotiate, but when when you do negotiate Eight. As women. It is apologetic. I’m sorry, but if it. You know. I really was hoping this or that. Um, rather than just explicitly negotiating the agreement I’ve had. I’ve had clients apologized to me for, uh, various things, wanting to negotiate agreement or move things around. And I’m like, okay, time out. The very first thing we’re going to do is we’re not apologizing for this. You know, I’m celebrating the fact that you have agency and that you are, um, looking out for yourself and you are advocating for yourself that is to be celebrated, not apologized for.

Lee Kantor: Now, when you’re working with women in this manner, is this something that is like an aha moment or is it something they feel uncomfortable with, or do they begrudgingly kind of go along with this when you bring this up?

Cynthia Bentzen-Mercer: 99% of the time it is, it is either an aha or it is a yeah, I know I really need to work on that very self. I don’t know that I’ve ever come across somebody that where it’s been begrudgingly, because they’re really coming from a place of wanting more and showing up, wanting to actualize their full and boundless potential and and a bit wondering why they haven’t yet. So it’s either a oh, that makes sense that that that qualifying language is holding me back, or my own limiting self narrative is holding me back and or they’re aware of it, but they just don’t know how to get out of their own way. And so we work on confidence. We work on using more affirming language. We work on their own narrative track, um, and for sometimes with minutes, um, and women. But it can be the opposite. Right. It’s, it’s sort of how do you channel that energy in a way that, um, people are going to be more open to and perhaps less off putting?

Lee Kantor: Yeah, I would think that, um, fear is holding the women back and overconfidence is holding the men back like. Bingo.

Cynthia Bentzen-Mercer: Yeah, absolutely.

Lee Kantor: Like, the man thinks, yeah, I got this. No problem. And they don’t got this, and it is a problem. And the woman is not attempting to try because they feel like they they don’t want to screw it up, so they won’t try that.

Cynthia Bentzen-Mercer: That is right. And again, that’s a generalization.

Lee Kantor: Right. Right. I’m not talking about every individual.

Cynthia Bentzen-Mercer: Yeah. For you who you know you may be thinking well gosh that seems you know, that seems like a real line in the sand. But I would tell you statistically based on research and data. That’s absolutely right. And, um, in some ways, I’d rather say, whoa, you know, whoa than giddy up. I’d in some ways it’s, it’s easier to work with somebody. You’re trying to slow down a little bit, um, than than sometimes lighting a fire. Um, But. But when? When the ambition is there and you can see what is holding you back. And that the limiting narrative in your head is what is keeping you from really realizing all that you have to offer. That’s that’s when the awakening starts, and that’s when you really start to do the work and, and then see the fruits of your labor. And the beautiful thing for the individual, which is why I say work. I work at the intersection of soul and strategy for the individual. It’s self actualizing. It’s it’s fulfilling. I begin to make more money. I begin to see my aspirational goals come to fruition. And for the leader or the organization, this individual is high performing. They’re loyal, they’re stepping up. They can be part of your succession plan. So, you know, in this workforce that we have today. I mean, that’s a that’s a beautiful thing to have a highly engaged, high achieving individual with aspirational goals to grow within your organization.

Lee Kantor: Yeah, I would think that once you kind of get them to buy into what you see, probably clear, much clearer than they do, is that all of a sudden it’s an unlock. And now it’s like the sky’s the limit. Now there’s nothing holding them back. Is some of your work just kind of demonstrating to them? Like showing them like a portfolio of their successes so that they believe that they are worthy and that they can do the thing that they want to do.

Cynthia Bentzen-Mercer: Well, I do two things in that regard. That’s a that’s a really great question. One of the things that I find really helpful is to have my client create their highlight reel, not necessarily a video of that, but just for them to sit down. This is a great a great opportunity with the seven minute pivot. They can sit down with a prompt of what are the accomplishments I’m most proud of professionally over the last five years, and they create their highlight reel. So when you do that, you begin to really sort of recognize and affirm, wow, I really have done a lot of things that are pretty important and powerful, despite my own, um, lack of confidence at times. And so we talk about those things and really begin to have you see yourself in a completely different light. And then the second thing is, and this is in my my book that’s coming out in February, Human Capital Investment Strategy is that I am a social psychologist by background. I’m a huge student of positive psychology, and I believe everyone should be using predictive assessments when they’re thinking about selection and promotion. And so my clients have the opportunity to participate in a highly validated predictive behavioral assessment that looks at what are your natural talents, that hardwiring that DNA, that you can’t help yourself at spontaneous. It’s consistent. You do it with excellence, and it feels great when you’re doing it really, which is how we how we identify talent. And and then we talk about those superpowers, you know, we look at what are your superpowers and how do you lean into those superpowers to be the absolute best professional? Um, and oh, by the way, pat yourself on the back in that those those are uniquely your own and the opportunity to develop those to exponential success. Um, it’s right in front of us.

Lee Kantor: Yeah. I think it’s so important. I know this was something my wife did that I thought was brilliant. Um, Every year she worked with a big company in corporate America for many years, and she had an annual review. And that was very stressful for her because whenever they would happen, she’d have to remember what she did for the whatever that year. And instead of at some point, she said, you know what? Every time something good happened, I’m just going to put it in the folder. I’m just going to make a folder, and I’m just going to just put it in. I’m not even going to think about it. I’m just going to put it in a folder. And then when it came time for the annual review, she just takes out the folder. Right. And it’s like all these things that may seem little at the time, but you just look at them and you see this big pile that you’ve accomplished in a year. You can’t help but feel more confident. You can’t help but feel that you’re worthy of that raise and like it just changes how you see yourself. Because people just take for granted all the good work they’re doing day after day. They don’t. They’re not clocking it, and it’s just happening and they’re moving on to the next thing because there’s another crisis tomorrow. So this gave her a point where she saw it visually and it’s like, wow, that’s a lot. You know, I am worth this. This makes sense. You know, there’s no there’s nothing holding me back.

Cynthia Bentzen-Mercer: I love that I think that is a great tip. And when you’re having those moments throughout the year where you are questioning or second guessing or wondering if you’re enough or if you are ready, etc., pull out that file folder and reflect on all that you’ve done up to that point. I’m working with a client right now and she falls into a similar category we were mentioning earlier, where she’s hesitant to apply for things that she doesn’t meet all of the criteria, and even struggling, putting her resume together and really having it be a reflection of all that she’s done. And through the process of her refining her resume and looking at these job openings. She said to me recently, she said, you know, I forget how much experience that I have and how much I’ve actually accomplished in all of these areas. It’s just sort of a blur until you start to really put pen to paper. Um, and it was a it was a real ego boost and she frankly needed it. So I think your wife’s, uh, your wife’s tip is an excellent one.

Lee Kantor: And it’s one of those things that when you see it, then it’s easier for you to own it. Like, you don’t have to apologize for it. You don’t like it’s real. It’s not an opinion anymore. There’s paper and facts behind it. It’s not just you, you know, saying an affirmation in the mirror like this is a pile of of data that’s saying that you are this.

Cynthia Bentzen-Mercer: Right? It actually, it actually makes me think about some of the, uh, the advice that I give related to when you are pitching, Be it a promotion or a job expansion, or even doing your own self reflection. Self review as part of a performance review is to do just that. It’s to focus on not the feelings or the opinion, but on the data and the results. Because again, referring to women specifically, we have a hard time sometimes owning those accomplishments. We’re conditioned more often than not to be humble and gracious. And so it’s easy to deflect and not draw attention to that, that that oftentimes for women is seen as self-promoting or self advocating, um, in a negative way. And so when when you put that language into the team and I have accomplished X, Y, and Z and we and and the result of that were these data. Then suddenly it doesn’t feel so much uncomfortable, like I’m drawing attention to my my extraordinary, um, results on my own. Um, but I’m doing it through facts and data rather than opinion and emotion. And I’m also when, when appropriate, honoring the people that were part of that.

Lee Kantor: Right. It’s not personal anymore. This is just the facts.

Cynthia Bentzen-Mercer: That’s exactly.

Lee Kantor: Right. And that a lot of people take some of these, you know, whether they they get the opportunity or they don’t, they take it personally. And um, so if you can eliminate some of that, then it may make them more confident to, you know, aim higher. Mhm.

Cynthia Bentzen-Mercer: Mhm. Right. When you, when, when you take out the I don’t want to brag and you put it into facts and data that speak for themselves. Um everybody wins because you’re more apt to share that information, and the person on the receiving end is more apt to hear it from the language of business. The end result of the behavior or the action.

Lee Kantor: You just might have to help them connect the dots that it was you that were driving it. That’s all.

Cynthia Bentzen-Mercer: That’s right, that’s right, that’s right. Yeah. Every now and then you have to, um. The team and I did that since.

Lee Kantor: Right. Yeah. Sometimes you got to remind people.

Cynthia Bentzen-Mercer: Yes, this is true.

Lee Kantor: So, um, if somebody wants to learn more, get Ahold of, uh, some of your books, uh, some of your time, uh, some of your team. What is the. You have a website. You have a best way to connect.

Cynthia Bentzen-Mercer: I do, I do. It’s my it’s my name. So Cynthia at Cynthia Benson mercer.com and my last name, I’m sure I’ll be in the show notes because it’s a unique spelling. Um, I offer a free strategy call so you can book directly with me, um, for a free strategy call just to kind of assess where you’re at and what you’re looking for. And, um, if if I have the, um, what what you’re looking for, and I’m a good fit to get you there. Um, you can also pick up a copy of my latest book, and the one that’ll be out is in presale. And, um, I also do a fair amount of public speaking. So if you’re looking for a keynote speaker for your organization or association, um, on leadership and intentionality, it is one of my favorite things to do. And I would I would love to, uh, love to see you in a conference.

Lee Kantor: Well, Cynthia, thank you so much for sharing your story today. It was such a joy. Uh, you’re doing such important work, and we appreciate you.

Cynthia Bentzen-Mercer: Thank you so much, Lee. Thanks for having me.

Lee Kantor: All right. This is Lee Kantor. We’ll see you all next time on High Velocity Radio.

Joy Ellen Levin With Gen X Exec Encore

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High Velocity Radio
High Velocity Radio
Joy Ellen Levin With Gen X Exec Encore
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Joy Levin is the Founder and President of Gen X Exec Encore.

In working with Gen X high-achieving professionals, she recognizes that for many, this next phase isn’t about traditional retirement—it’s about creating an encore that blends passion, purpose, and new opportunities.

As a market research consultant and entrepreneur for nearly three decades, Joy has guided executives and business owners across industries in making strategic, well-informed decisions. Like many Gen Xers, she wants a future in which she can remain productive, explore meaningful pursuits, and build new connections.

With an honest, warm, friendly and highly professional approach, she guides accomplished professionals to discover their next purpose-driven chapter, empowering them to create an encore life with confidence and clarity.

Connect with Joy on LinkedIn.

What You’ll Learn in This Episode

  • How Joy’s coaching approach helps clients redefine success beyond the corporate title and accomplishments they’ve held for years
  • What’s one powerful mindset shift that Gen X leaders can adopt to turn uncertainty about the future into excitement and purpose
  • Some surprising opportunities Gen X professionals have taken once they began exploring their next chapter
  • Advice for someone who feels stuck in limbo between the end of their corporate career and the start of something new

Transcript-iconThis transcript is machine transcribed by Sonix.

 

TRANSCRIPT

Intro: Broadcasting live from the Business RadioX studios in Atlanta, Georgia. It’s time for High Velocity Radio.

Lee Kantor: Lee Kantor here. Another episode of High Velocity Radio in this is going to be a good one. Today on the show, we have Joy Levin, who is the President of Gen X Exec Encore. Welcome.

Speaker3: Thanks, Lee. It’s great to be here.

Lee Kantor: Well, I am so excited to be talking to you. Somebody who’s finally talking about Gen X. The boomers take up too much oxygen in the room, so I’m fired up about having somebody talk about Gen Xers. So tell me about your practice. How you serving folks?

Speaker3: Yeah, so I’m a certified professional retirement coach, and I specialize in working with Gen X leaders. So small business owners, executives, entrepreneurs to really empower them to navigate the transition to their post post-career chapter. So I focus on those who want to design like a fulfilling, purpose driven chapter in their retirement years, and they want to make the most of what is now commonly thought of as an encore, especially for Gen X leaders. So, you know, we coach them to clarify what’s next. Whether it’s launching a new business or shifting to a passion project, or just redefining work and lifestyle on their own terms. So we take them through a series of exercises that guide them to decide what they want to do. That’s in line with their values, because a lot of people who retire now, they have, you know, 10 or 15,000 more days ahead of them, lots of stuff left in the tank. And so we want to make sure that people are using that in an intentional way, to really make sure that they maintain a sense of identity and connection and relevance.

Lee Kantor: How did this kind of evolve for you? How did you get it? You go from whatever you were doing to this kind of work.

Speaker3: Right. So my background before this and I still continue to do this is market research and strategy consulting. So, you know, there were really three things that kind of came together that influenced me. So first of all, you know, as I’m a Gen Xer myself, I understand that we have a unique mindset and values. I mean, all generations have their uniqueness, but in our case, we’ve lived through so many societal and cultural experiences that really resulted in us developing this strong sense of like resilience and adaptability. And we were also raised to be independent and resourceful. But when it comes to what’s next, after a long career, many people in my generation just find there’s no clear roadmap, their expectations. But those expectations don’t always fit into what our aspirations are. So second, my background and market research and consulting also played a major role because for years I’ve worked with executives to uncover insights so they could make data driven decisions. And so in doing so, I’ve always been very inquisitive and analytical and strategic. And these are skills that I now use to guide Gen X leaders through one of the most important transitions of their lives. So just as I continue to work with businesses to find clarity in these complex market landscapes, I’m also working with individuals to gain clarity on their own next steps. And third, I was just inspired by my own journey, really. I went through transitions from being an employee to an entrepreneur to thinking about what will come next. And these were all defining moments for me. So each time I’ve experienced firsthand the mix of excitement and uncertainty and reinvention that comes with stepping into a new professional identity, and I’ve come to realize that many accomplished Gen X professionals face similar crossroads, and they need structured support to create a transition that aligns with their values and goals.

Lee Kantor: Can you talk about that transition when you went for from. You know, I’m working and now I’m coaching. And now, as a coach, I have to go and find a client. So I have to convince somebody that I can help them with this challenge that they’re having. Like those early clients. Can you talk about how that transition went?

Speaker3: Yeah. You know, so there are really a couple different ways. Um, I sort of have created this framework called from mixtapes to mindset to I’m sorry to meaning because, you know, um, mixtapes are like this huge, iconic thing for our generation. I mean, everybody’s created one. Um, and so they evoke a lot of nostalgia. They bring us back to some of the things we thought about when we were kind of starting off in our careers. And so I’ve kind of used that, and I do workshops and classes about it to reorient people to thinking about, you know, kind of rewinding that tape to the past, but then also reframing it and reinvigorating it to think about the future. So that’s one way. And I also partner with like financial planners and other people who touch retirees or soon to be retirees. Um, you know, and I do all kinds of things for them. And we partner together, um, to show that really, retirement planning is not just about the finance and the money. It really requires this holistic perspective. So, you know, a lot of people feel like, okay, I’m all set financially and yet they retire and they’re like, well, I don’t know what to do now. Like, I don’t know what to do with my time. I’ve lost my identity. You know, I’ve been an attorney my whole life or an entrepreneur. And those titles no longer fit. So they have to find something new to replace that with, to make sure that they will have this fulfilling next chapter. Because a lot of people, what they do is they say, you know, I’m retired and then they don’t have a fulfilling experience. So they go back to work and then they’re still unhappy and they don’t really understand why. Or it’s very frustrating. So those are a couple of the ways in which, you know, I engage with people and get them thinking about, you know, how can they create this very intentional, purposeful next chapter.

Lee Kantor: Do people of that generation think when they’re retiring that like it’s just going to be golf and fishing? Like, is that is there a picture in their head that maybe isn’t all that it’s cracked up to be?

Speaker3: Very much so. Yeah. And it’s so funny because that’s one of the analogies I use. People say, you know, I’ll play golf. And then, you know, after not too long, you’re like, I have, what, 25 more years of this? And to just think of doing that, it’s just not getting at the ambition they’ve had their whole lives. So there is definitely some misconceptions. They think, um, you know, they will just find their way. Um, and sometimes people are lucky enough to do that. Um, a lot of times it’s through a lot of false starts and delays, and so they waste a lot of time trying to figure that out. Um, whereas people like me who coach them can get to that much faster and help them to recognize, you know, what it is that’s going to carry them through to really have a next chapter that’s not just, you know, like you said, playing golf or fishing, but doing things that are really meaningful to them. And it could be volunteer work. It could be, like I said, starting a new business. It could, you know, just be so many different things. Um, but it really requires a lot of thinking and, you know, working through some exercises and assessments, I take them through to figure out what that’s going to be. And it’s, you know, it’s very unique for each person.

Lee Kantor: Now is it ideally you want to get to them before they’ve actually retired. Well, maybe they’re kind of have a year or two of working still. So you can maybe lay some groundwork and foundation.

Speaker3: Yeah, exactly. Usually a couple years is ideal. Um, because a lot of times they when they don’t do that and they just fall into retirement, then they kind of drift and they feel like I should have this figured out and I should not be feeling bad. Like, there’s this whole thing about, oh, you know, you’ve worked your whole life and you’re retired, and isn’t it wonderful? And there’s this psychological thing that goes on where people say it’s not wonderful. They’re thinking to themselves, this is just I mean, I just have nothing to do, and I just feel lost. And so ideally, it does help to start a year or two before you retire. So like you said, you lay the groundwork. You can start putting things in motion so that once you do make that big transition, you’re really ready to make the changes that you want to make in a way that will be fulfilling.

Lee Kantor: Now, I’ve met quite a few people recently that have maybe been laid off a little sooner than they thought they would be, and now they’re kind of a little untethered because like you mentioned earlier, when you work for, you know, big company, um, you’re used to people returning your calls or knowing you as that person. But when you’re just yourself, um, you know, without kind of that corporate identity around you. Life is a little trickier.

Speaker3: No doubt. Yeah. And, you know, it’s like they lose their relevance. And that is a terrible, terrible feeling. I mean, you know, they’ve gone, like you said, from these roles where they were thought of as a point person, as somebody with knowledge and wisdom, and all of a sudden they’re adrift. And so that’s a big thing that we work through, is making sure that they stay relevant in both their social lives and their identity in their relationships. Um, you know, it’s kind of this full view of what it takes to live this fulfilling life. So, yes, I agree with you. You know, there are people who you just feel very unmoored, and it’s a very uncomfortable feeling.

Lee Kantor: Yeah, I think that a lot of it stems like they thought that maybe they were the secret sauce, and then they realized that maybe their company was the secret sauce and that people, you know, aren’t as interested in themselves as they were when they was themselves and the company. Like I, I just think it’s a almost like an identity crisis. You know, at 50 or 60.

Speaker3: It’s definitely identity crisis for sure. And it’s either that or they just have thought of themselves as the one that people to go for, for answers or insights or whatever it is. You know, somebody who ran their own business, who knew so much, and it’s not like, you know, they retire and those things go away. They still have that knowledge. And so there’s a lot that’s also going on slowly but surely in the workforce about having these intergenerational workforces where these people who have gathered all this wisdom and knowledge and experience can really make a difference in, you know, helping people who are just entering or their mid-career to kind of shortcut some of the mistakes they made, um, and bring that different perspective that they bring from all those years of experience. And like I said, because they’re Gen X, they have these unique experiences that have helped shape their views. And those can help as well in kind of recharging a workplace and bringing different perspectives to the workforce than you would get from either, say, millennials or Gen Z or whoever else it is.

Lee Kantor: So can you walk us through what kind of those early engagements with you are like, is it a lot of kind of, like you said, assessments and asking a lot of questions just to kind of understand where they’re at mentally.

Speaker3: Yeah. So like I said, you know, this this framework I’ve developed is really inspired by the concept of a mix tape. So something very iconic. So in the context of what I do, it becomes this curated collection of these meaningful experiences and lessons and aspirations. So there are kind of these different phases that we go in and out of as we work through these exercises. You know, first, the rewinding right is looking back on your past experiences and really identifying patterns in what is either energize them or drain them over the years. And that way we can start to, you know, have some ideas of, wow, these are the things that are going to light me up going forward. And these are the things I want to kind of avoid. And then we get into this remix stage where we explore some new possibilities by blending, you know, existing skills that they still have. Like I said, it’s not like those get shut off, but we kind of blend them with fresh interests. So it’s about reimagining work and lifestyle and purpose in ways that feel, you know, exciting and aligned. And then we do a reset where we let go of some outdated definitions of success and limiting beliefs, because we want to work on shifting the mindset from what I used to be to what I want to become.

Speaker3: And some people say it’s like a shift from retiring from to two. But it’s more than that. It’s retiring with, because you do bring all of these experiences and skills into this next chapter. And then we do a reconnect where we work on strengthening relationships and building new networks. And many times, you know, I work with people that feel the need to redefine their social and professional circles to match these evolving aspirations. And then it’s about reviving, right? It’s about stepping into action with confidence and clarity, because this next phase is about making intentional choices that create what I call fulfilling encore life, whether that means entrepreneurship or impact driven work or new personal pursuits. So really, the framework ensures that they don’t just retire, they reinvent, and they get to really live out some of the values that they may have lost touch with, that they can re-identify and power them forward into things that have a lot of meaning for them.

Lee Kantor: Now, as most of your work, one on one coaching? Or do you kind of create your own mix tape with a bunch of your clients so they can, you know, create some mashups and maybe some unexpected community?

Speaker3: Yeah, yeah, I do both. Um, you know, I teach this framework through courses and workshops. So I do that and then I also do one on one. Typically, you know, people go into a workshop and they all of a sudden have more questions and they want to work on things in a more customized way. Um, and so then we’ll go into the one on one from there. But it really varies. People come in from a lot of different directions.

Lee Kantor: Is there a story you can share? Don’t name the person, but maybe explain where they were at and how you were able to help them get to a new place.

Speaker3: You know, there was an attorney I was working with for some time. Um, and she was really beginning to think of what would be next. Um, and started thinking about some of the things she enjoyed. She missed some connections. She missed some experiences she had, um, and she also realized that, you know, after a career of working in such a fact based field for so long that she kind of missed some of the creativity and things that she could kind of imagine. And so she decided to think about writing a book. So, you know, she kind of went from an attorney to be an author. And because she was going to be retiring, she was kind of able to take that in her at her own pace. You know, she didn’t have to worry about deadlines anymore or, you know, aside from those that are self-imposed, which I think are important because otherwise you just kind of drift. So, you know, she was able to figure out, okay, what are my goals for this book and when is it going to happen and all that kind of stuff. So, you know, it’s just so gratifying to see people who really rethink some of their old beliefs and ways they perceive themselves and really be able to kind of, you know, take this new direction in life.

Lee Kantor: So if you put your market research hat had on how does the Gen Xers kind of fare when it comes to the nimbleness to make these kind of transitions? Do you think that they are kind of uniquely qualified to be able to have a nice second act or third act?

Speaker3: Yeah, I think in a lot of ways they are, like I said, you know, it’s a very resilient and adaptive generation when you think of, you know, all the things from, you know, gas lines in the 70s and the energy crisis all the way up through, you know, the.com bust when we were in our careers, they’ve seen so many different changes. When you just think of technology. I mean, we were the generation that was still growing up with typewriters. And, you know, those changes without anything else is a lot. So, you know, because of that resilience and adaptability, they’re able to often make the shift a little bit quicker. But at the same time, they are the first generation to grow up without like pensions. Social security is at risk. And so they’ve had to rethink, you know, kind of the assumptions and expectations that other generations have had so that they can create something that’s still meaningful for them in a way that they can live it out, um, in their own way. So it requires both, you know, these, these adjustments, but they have that resilience that oftentimes the adjustments are a little bit easier to make, I think, than other generations.

Lee Kantor: Yeah. It’s going to be interesting how the digital native folks handle this.

Speaker3: Yes it will. Yeah. I mean, you know, it’s like you think about how a lot of older boomers, you know, really struggle with some of these digital enhancements. I mean, I think of, you know, people I know that it’s it’s really hard. Um, and so this is the first generation where they may not be as adept, you know, to or adept to doing these things as some of the younger people, but still they have enough that they’re able to navigate that pretty easily. And, you know, you just think about the changes that might be coming. You know, it wouldn’t surprise me if we ended up with in not a short period of time. Robots that are able to do a lot of the tasks that we require from people, you know, once they’re in their 90s, a lot of people need help. And so we may have robots being able to do that kind of stuff. And what that will mean for Gen X in terms of being able to live not just longer, but in a more fulfilling way, even into their, you know, later years.

Lee Kantor: Right. Especially you’re seeing a little bit of it now with a lot of this autonomous vehicles.

Speaker3: Definitely. Yes. Yeah, I mean absolutely. I don’t think it’ll be long before those types of vehicles are, are, you know, make a huge, huge difference in not just Gen X as they retire, but in people with disabilities and in all kinds of it will open the doors, I think, for a lot for a lot of people.

Lee Kantor: Right. I mean, just look at how a lot of the people in our generations had to have that hard conversation of taking the keys away from our parents, where it might be less painful for our children than us. Because there could be an autonomous. We can just summon a car and it’ll come and pick us up.

Speaker3: Exactly. Yeah, I I’ve lived through those conversations so I know what that’s like and yeah, very, very difficult. So yeah, maybe that will be one of the things that, you know, millennials and Gen Zers don’t have to worry about as much and similar with the care. You know, there might be advancements in care because we’ve you know, what we’ve done is expanded longevity, but we haven’t caught up with all the other things that go into making a life fulfilling as you live longer. So, you know, I’m optimistic that those things will come faster and more easily to this generation and make a better, you know, longer lasting life.

Lee Kantor: Yeah. And you make a good point about how this generation is the one that went from analog to, to digital. So having kind of a monumental change like that, Um, you know, we were able to kind of see what the before and after look like. But if you’re digitally native and you didn’t see a dramatic shift and it’s always been this way, it’s going to be interesting how they handle those kind of monumental shifts.

Speaker3: Oh, definitely. And you just imagine some of the shifts that will occur after them that their kids will be seeing. And, um, probably things we can’t even imagine right now.

Lee Kantor: So now, um, what kind of is the, I guess, the anxiety or the discomfort that a client is having before they become your client? Is it something that does something have to happen to trigger a call with you, or do you get, like you mentioned, referrals from my financial advisors and people like that, that they just probably say, hey, just go and and talk to Joy. But what like what’s happening were they’re like, you know what, maybe I do need help.

Speaker3: Yeah. I mean, I think it’s a lot of what we’ve talked about where it’s not necessarily one event. It’s, you know, realizing that the expectations they had, um, and just the way things are set up are not really serving what they need. You know, when you think of Social Security, it was set up for people who were going to live, you know, maybe 5 or 10 more years after retirement. And that’s just completely not the way it is anymore. It’s 30 or more years. And so it’s really sometimes it’s an extended period of time where they realize, okay, I’m doing like little chores around the house. That can be one trigger. A lot of times it’s a spouse that says, you know, I cannot see you on the couch anymore. You have got to get up and do something. And so sometimes that’s it. Um, you know, it’s a variety of different things. It is often not one event. It’s kind of this pervasive feeling of, I know there’s more out there. I, I just don’t know what it is or I, I’ve wanted to do this thing, whatever it is. But I don’t know how to get from point A to point B and what are the kind of minefields in between doing that? So, you know, and also it can be more than one thing. I mean, you can easily set up what I like to call a portfolio life of, you know, you have in your financial portfolio different assets and different combinations of things.

Speaker3: And it’s the same with a lifestyle where you can say, okay, I’m going to do this volunteer, I’m going to do this passion project, you know, I’m going to spend this kind of time doing this other thing. And so you bring into your life variety and often that’s what’s missing, is people feel like I’m doing the same thing every day, and I don’t need to be doing that. Like I used to have a job where I did the same thing every day. But there’s so much else out there, but they just don’t know how to figure out what that is that aligns with what they want. Or like I said, they’ve identified something and just have no idea how to get there. So that’s some of the instances where a coach can really help them, not to tell them what to do. But you know, that’s not what a coach does, but to kind of be a sounding board. Offer suggestions, work through some sort of scenarios, and like I said, do some exercises and assessments that help them to identify, you know, this is maybe something I thought of, but I’d forgotten or something I never even thought I wanted to do. But now it makes sense.

Lee Kantor: And you mentioned spouses. Do you do also work with the client and their spouses that unusual or is that the norm?

Speaker3: No, it’s not unusual. It’s I’ve worked with couples, um, you know, and it’s it’s interesting because, um, sometimes you’ll see patterns where, you know, one person in the couple feels one way, and sometimes there’s a lack of communication, you know, where, for example, you know, one person and a couple will say, I just want to travel a lot. And the other person saying, I don’t think I want to do that kind of hassle or whatever. And then once they get talking and realize, you know, really drill down into what they want, it often can be okay. We want to take 1 or 2 trips a year, and that way the person who wants to travel get gets what they want. And so does the person who really isn’t that into it, who’s just like, okay, a year or a week or two a year, I can manage. I cannot think of, you know, going from place to place months on end. And that wasn’t even what the travel person was thinking of. So a lot of times it’s just having these conversations and, you know, seeing where there’s room for compromise and, you know, understanding what the expectations are because these are conversations, you know, that people just don’t have.

Speaker3: A lot of the conversations are taken up with finances, um, whether it’s a couple or whether it’s just somebody thinking about what they want. They have been so conditioned to making sure they will have a good enough financial life that they have not thought of all the other stuff, so it’s a matter of having these conversations to really bring things to light that can be really very unifying or kind of serve up the ability to work on a compromise to find something they both like. And I think, you know, one of the things that when I work with couples is also very, very important is that they each have their own social lives. They can certainly have a social life together, but it’s so important for them to have their own hobbies and their own kind of tribe that they can explore things with, because there’s just a lot of differences. And, you know, it’s not like when they married, for better or for worse, they weren’t marrying to have lunch together every day. They were, you know, doing other things. So it’s it’s very important for them to approach it, not just as a couple, but for two individuals as well.

Lee Kantor: Good stuff. Well, thank you so much for sharing your story today. If somebody wants to learn more, have a more substantive conversation with you, or learn about all the different programs you offer. Is there a website? Is there a best way to connect?

Speaker3: Yep. They can go to my website, which is, um, Gen-X encore.com. Um, they can email me. Jay Levin at Encore Life. Com. Um, I’m on LinkedIn. Um, they can just look up my name, Joy Levin, and they’ll find me. So I encourage them to reach out and we’ll have a conversation. But I really enjoyed this, you know, talking about this. I so love it that it makes me realize that this is something that, to me, is very fulfilling.

Lee Kantor: Well, Joy, thank you again for sharing your story, doing such important work. And we appreciate you.

Speaker3: Oh you’re welcome. Thank you for the opportunity, Lee.

Lee Kantor: All right. This is Lee Kantor. We’ll see you all next time on High Velocity Radio.

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