Podcast Blog

Hear how change is really an opportunity for growth

I loved this interview with Diana Wu David from February 2020 so much that I want to share it with you again. Our discussion was all about what she is seeing in the business world, particularly around technology disruption which is pushing our lives in entirely new directions. You'll also hear about her own research among companies, large and small, as she works with their leadership, their boards and their staff to enable them to adapt to the fast pace of change. As you know, at SAMC we're all about change! You'll also learn how everyone is a futurist! Enjoy.

Hear how you can remove unfair obstacles to access to capital

In this terrific podcast (one of my favorites) originally broadcast in 2019, Jill Johnson and I discuss the challenges faced by women of color in starting a business, from finding the capital to underwrite growth to developing the business acumen to successfully take ideas and turn them into brilliant innovations. Getting a fledgling company off the ground is never easy, but the obstacles put in front of entrepreneurs of color, especially women, is not merely unjust but bad business. There are so many important perspectives to absorb from our conversation that I just had to share it with you again, because sadly, so many of these problems still persist today.

Hear how to refuse to be held back, especially as a woman 

I listened to Kerry Flynn Barrett give a marvelous talk recently about burnout for the Westchester Business Council and couldn’t wait to share her ideas and insights with our fans. Careers like hers are common among many women I know who have started in a corporate job, moved up the ladder to higher positions in leadership, and then took off to form their own business. Kerry has done just that, and now she is building an exceptional business serving as a fractional CHRO officer and also a business partner and solutions provider. Do you wish to do this too? Listen in!

Hear how to make the most of your choices, at work and in life

Meet Christina Sistrunk, former President and CEO at Aera Energy. You are going to love listening to her wisdom for thriving in the male-dominated energy industry. As Christina will share with you, she found that the hardest problems to solve usually were the ones around how well people work together, or don't, that made the problems more complicated. She explains how figuring out how to bring people together and enable them to be as successful as they had the potential to be was the most challenging part of being a leader, especially a woman leader. A lot to learn!

Hear how your hoped-for success starts with self-awareness

As I continue to share with you some of the great podcasts I've done with amazing women over the five years of On The Brink, I'm re-posting my interview with Jodi Flynn, a remarkable woman who is helping other women succeed. She's also the bestselling author of Accomplished: How to Go from Dreaming to Doing. You will hear how Jodi's system of self-assessment reveals how your unconscious often creates negative chatter in your mind that tells you that you don’t have what it takes, keeping you from living the life you know you are meant to have. Learn from Jodi's wisdom and see if you too can have an aha moment that opens up all kinds of possibilities for you.

Hear how to change the way you and others think about you

In my look back at some of the great podcasts I've done with amazing women in our five years of On The Brink, I've wanted to highlight ones that really raised the bar in terms of innovative thinking and leadership. Today I'd like to revisit my interview with Sara Canaday from December 2017. Sara is the author of the thought-provoking book YOU—According to Them: Uncovering the blind spots that impact your reputation and your career. She and I talk about how to make the critical move from manager to leader, and that the power to change the way you and others think about you is in your hands. By the end of the podcast, you'll have learned how to strengthen your leadership skills, improve key business relationships and bolster your performance. Enjoy.

Hear how to take control of your own career and thrive   

As I celebrate throughout the fall some of the amazing women I've interviewed for our On The Brink podcast, I've chosen certain conversations to share with you again. Today I'd like to revisit my interview with Lisen Stromberg from September 2017. Lisen is the author of Work PAUSE Thrive: How to Pause for Parenthood Without Killing Your Career. Why I enjoyed this conversation so much is because Lisen makes a solid, myth-smashing case for taking a pause from your career to raise your children and then returning to the workforce without skipping a beat or sliding backward. Impossible? No, very possible. She did it and so can you. How? Take a listen.

Hear how to build and scale a wildly successful company

After conducting my 327th podcast for On The Brink, I paused and took a look back at all those interviews. What struck me was how many exceptional women I have had the privilege of speaking with, learning from, and championing. (Yes, I've interviewed amazing men too, but right now I want to focus on the women.) They boldly smashed myths and leapt over barriers meant to hold them back. It made me want to celebrate! I decided to revisit several of them for you to learn from as well, starting with Stephanie Breedlove, author of All In: How Women Entrepreneurs Can Think Bigger, Build Sustainable Businesses and Change the World. Anyone starting a new business, trying to grow the one they've got, or seeking work that's fulfilling will find this podcast full of purpose and meaning. I urge you to take a listen. Stephanie is fantastic!

Hear how to understand yourself better and embrace the new

Today we have Maria Lizza Bowen, a scientist and Oncology Clinical Development Director with almost 30 years in the pharmaceutical industry. She has a new book that came out in March that I found very interesting: Reflect: A Perspective on Understanding Your Reality and Becoming Unstuck. If this sounds like something I would like, you are right. You will love it as well. Maria's message is so important: In just about any situation, be it a performance review or co-worker interaction, when you start to get nervous and feel "off," don't run away from it. Face it. Embrace it. Be vulnerable. And then maybe, like Maria, your whole life will change. Listen in, then try it!

Hear how to make your website your best marketing tool

We're going to do three things today for my audience as you're listening in or watching. First, Jann Mirchandani will tell you about her own journey as a marketing maven. Then we're going to talk about what Google has done to change the way we search for what we want to buy or answers to what we want to know. For solutions to what you need, you start by asking Google. Have a physical ailment? You ask Dr. Google. Second, do you know why that is so important for your business and its image, identity, brand, presence and what you communicate in the marketplace? And third, what do you need to do to build a brand identity? How can you create the story you want for your business? If you have a company or want to start one, this is for you!

Hear how to be bolder and braver at balancing your life

Suppose you are a working woman with children. I bet you have experienced the "Balance Dilemma." How can you find the right balance between home life, family, a business or professional career, and even your own self-care? You, your partner or spouse, your friends and your family will enjoy this podcast. My guests, Maura Carlin and Christie Derrico, have an awesome podcast called The Balance Dilemma. Yes, the title is exactly what we want to share with our audience today. Need some help balancing all the different parts of your life? Listen in!

Hear how to really think about the conversations you're having

What if you could see the world through a fresh lens? In today’s podcast, I interview Rose Fass, an author, a business executive, and an inspiration to me and to you. Rose has written one book and is on her way with her next one. Her first book, The Chocolate Conversation, focuses on how our conversations become who we are, what we hear, and how we build relationships. Great conversations help us craft clear messages, build a shared worldview, uncover concerns and uncertainties, and help you and others move forward together. As you listen to Rose and her own personal journey, you are going to rethink your own conversations, paying attention to both what you say and what others reflect on your thoughts. Listen in because there is so much to learn!

Hear why a great customer experience means everything

I am always excited to share a great woman’s story with you, our audience. Melissa Copeland is a great woman to know. She had a wonderful career, as so many women have had, only to discover that flying all over the world was not great for her family, or even herself. She pivoted and launched Blue Orbit Consulting, which allowed her to refocus her attention on clients closer to home and on projects dear to her heart—like improving customer interactions for her customers. Our conversations roam all around the challenges she, and I, see among our clients as their customers are changing, service expectations have dramatically shifted (where fast means right now), and staffing has become an uphill climb, to say the least. What to do? Call Melissa, who brings her expertise in organizational transitions and interpersonal growth and development to the task at hand. Clients love her approach, and I think you will as well. Enjoy. 

Hear how when teams work together, everybody succeeds

You may have not paid much attention to the cultures inside law firms. Law firms are really no different than other firms. Some have strong cultures that seem to work smoothly. Others need a hand. One hand they often reach for is Amy Gardner, our interviewee in today's podcast. Amy is charming. A smart woman who has worked in law firms and now with them to help them reimagine their organizations and create teams that work better together than alone. In our conversation, you will hear ideas that are as relevant to your company or non-profit as they are to Amy’s clients. As we all try to navigate our new work culture, her story is well worth a listen.  

Hear how anthropology can send your business zooming to the top

I love to read the Financial Times. It provides a very different perspective of the world from our US papers. As I was browsing recently, I came upon a story about Gillian Tett, FT's US Managing Editor, and her new book, Anthro-Vision. Curious as I am, my question was, What is a journalist doing writing a book about anthropology, and promoting AI (Anthropology Intelligence)? My joyful discovery was that Gillian is an anthropologist who became a journalist, a bit by chance and then by design. Her book is about the power of observation. Whether in Tajikistan as an aspiring anthropologist studying marriage rituals or reporting on a major conference before the financial crisis of 2008, she mastered the art of listening to the stories being told, the resistance to change that people demonstrate, and the wisdom an anthropologist can offer—if only others are willing to listen. As a fellow anthropologist, I am fascinated and I know you will be too. Enjoy.

Hear how to build a culture that values men and women 

There are times when you are fortunate to meet exceptional women. Kim Graham Lee is one wonderful woman who is moving in a very important direction — how to build allyship for men and women. Kim is the CEO of Integrating Women Leaders (IWL) which is joining with Women Business Collaborative, of which I am a member, to conduct the first nationally-focused study to measure the practice of allyship with women in corporate America today. The primary focus of IWL's 2022 benchmark study is to take stock of where we are in building better cultures where men and women can support each other. This is truly groundbreaking...please plan to listen.

Hear how to find your own true happiness

Each podcast is a story for our guest to share with you, our audience, so you can “see, feel and think” in new ways. Today’s podcast is with Rebecca “Becky” Morrison. She shares with you a recurring theme which we have found with many of our own clients: success is not what it is meant to be. Happiness, that thing we all aspire to achieve, is somewhere beyond the job, the career, and even the home life you have built for yourself and your family. But where is happiness? And how do you find it? Becky has great answers, which I know will speak to you.

Hear how you can build wealth AND a happy life 

Laura Rotter and I met through the Business Council of Westchester, a wonderful organization that brings together great people, men and women. Laura is the founder of True Abundance Advisors, a financial life planning and wealth management firm. As she tells you her life journey, her story will resonate with you. She is a great woman to interview and share her journey with our listeners. I know you will gain knowledge about yourself, your business, and what makes you truly happy. Are you living to work or working to live?

Hear how to navigate change so you can grow and thrive

Laurie Hirsch Schulz did something quite awesome: she left corporate life to pursue her calling as a coach and a champion for small businesses, particularly for women solopreneurs. She had a great job, only to discover that she had had enough. Sounds like a recurring theme among many of our podcast guests. They are talented women ready to steer their power and their energy in new directions. Laurie's creative genius is in seeing unmet needs in her markets and finding innovative ways to solve them—rather Blue Ocean style. So much to learn from her! Enjoy.

Learn how to grow your business through your employees

What is a great performance coach? Meet Kathy D’Agostino. Kathy and I met through the Business Council of Westchester where I was giving a talk about my book, Rethink: Smashing The Myths of Women in Business. Like so many women, Kathy had a great corporate job until it wasn’t such a great corporate job. Her passion was in coaching people. As she earned her professional certifications, Kathy realized that she had, indeed, found her calling. Her particular focus is helping leaders improve their employees' performance. Listen in, learn and share. Enjoy!