Finding Brave

Thank you for listening to our Finding Brave show, ranked in the Top 100 Apple Career Podcasts! “When I screen a [small business] client prospect, I ask them this question - if their best clients couldn’t hire them and they had to hire one of their competitors, what would be the value that they would lose or be missing?” - Robert Friedman I’m so excited to dig into the essential steps entrepreneurs and small business owners need to take to build a powerful, compelling brand that stands out and attracts ideal clients we love to support. Today’s Finding Brave guest was deeply instrumental in helping me brand my own coaching business when I first started out. He is an expert at helping small business owners define what differentiates them from their competitors so that they can have the true impact that they long to, working with rewarding clients who they find meaningful to serve.  Robert Friedman is the owner and Founder of Fearless Branding, a branding consultancy that focuses on creating powerful brands for experts and the firms they own. He works with consultants, law firms, executive coaches and other professionals who are paid for their ideas and expertise.  In this first part of our 2-part series, Robert shares his expertise, best tips and effective strategies for standing out from others in your industry, and he helps me right on the show by providing an impromptu branding session for my own coaching business. This conversation with Robert was so rich and useful, and the topic of branding such a key one for small businesses, that we decided to make this a special 2-part mini-series with him.  Please join us next week for Part 2 as well, and always, please let us know the biggest takeaways you take from our interview. To learn more about today's guest, visit: https://fearlessbranding.com/ 

Thank you for listening to our Finding Brave show, ranked in the Top 100 Apple Career Podcasts! “With writing, somebody is holding up a mirror and you’re getting to look into the mirror and see yourself. When someone is vulnerable, they’re holding up that mirror and the light is bright, and I think you’re putting skin in the game in a way that is courageous.” - Bruce Gelfand  Today’s Finding Brave is the second of my two-part conversation with Bruce Gelfand, as we go so much deeper into the power of writing and how vulnerability is a superpower that should be celebrated. In this episode, Bruce also reveals the incredible transformation that will happen when you truly write from your heart and have the courage to delve into your story. Based in Santa Monica, CA, Bruce has over 30 years of experience in theater, film, television, and publishing in both New York and Hollywood. His plays have won national playwriting awards, and been produced Off-Broadway and in theaters around the country. He has written numerous feature films and movies for television, and has written and directed the feature-length documentary, “The Family Safe.” He is also a writer of fiction, non-fiction, songs, and award-winning poetry. His book, Brighter the Light, Deeper the Shadow was published in 2004. His many screenplays include “Rainbow Man.” Bashert,” “Touched,” “The House at Otowi Bridge” and, most recently, “Refugee,” an adaptation of the award-winning Holocaust memoir “Choices.” Bruce is also a renowned writing teacher and coach. He has taught at Emerson College in Boston, and in the M.F.A. program at the California Institute of Integral Studies in San Francisco and taught hundreds of writing workshops and seminars in venues around the world—from gang members in LA to patients in the Mind-Body Institute at Brigham and Women’s Hospital at Harvard. He has worked with tens of thousands of writing students – from masters in the field to absolute beginners. His current online course, A WRITERS’ HOUR, is being used by writers all over the world. Bruce has a list of private coaching clients that range from age 10 to age 95, and includes CEOs, corporate trainers, Academy and Emmy-Award winning writers, directors, actors, and leaders in the worlds of politics, health, and spirituality. I encourage you to do the powerful exercise on uncovering the superpower that Bruce talks about in this episode, and let us know what you discover by doing so. We’re looking forward to helping you bring into being in a fuller way who you really are. To learn more about today's guest, visit: http://brucegelfand.com/

Thank you for listening to our Finding Brave show, ranked in the Top 100 Apple Career Podcasts! “It’s a miracle what happens when people are invited into a safe space and invited to speak their hearts and speak their minds. There’s no wrong way to do it, you just drop onto the page and you go.” - Bruce Gelfand  I’m so excited to bring today’s amazing guest back to Finding Brave to share his expertise with you. Not only has Bruce Gelfand been my own writing coach, but he has been so instrumental in my life in many ways beyond writing. In this episode, he dives deeper into the tremendous impact that writing your own story, and sharing it with others, will have on your life.  Based in Santa Monica, CA, Bruce has over 30 years of experience in theater, film, television, and publishing in both New York and Hollywood. His plays have won national playwriting awards, and been produced Off-Broadway and in theaters around the country. He has written numerous feature films and movies for television, and has written and directed the feature-length documentary, “The Family Safe.” He is also a writer of fiction, non-fiction, songs, and award-winning poetry. His book, Brighter the Light, Deeper the Shadow was published in 2004. His many screenplays include “Rainbow Man.” Bashert,” “Touched,” “The House at Otowi Bridge” and, most recently, “Refugee,” an adaptation of the award-winning Holocaust memoir “Choices.” Bruce is also a renowned writing teacher and coach. He has taught at Emerson College in Boston, and in the M.F.A. program at the California Institute of Integral Studies in San Francisco and taught hundreds of writing workshops and seminars in venues around the world—from gang members in LA to patients in the Mind-Body Institute at Brigham and Women’s Hospital at Harvard. He has worked with tens of thousands of writing students – from masters in the field to absolute beginners. His current online course, A WRITERS’ HOUR, is being used by writers all over the world. Bruce has a list of private coaching clients that range from age 10 to age 95, and includes CEOs, corporate trainers, Academy and Emmy-Award winning writers, directors, actors, and leaders in the worlds of politics, health, and spirituality. Today’s conversation with Bruce is deeply inspiring as he shares how everyone has a riveting story to tell, and the process of giving yourself permission to find and hone your voice – and use it to contribute to the world – can be learned, and is a transformational experience when you do.  Enjoy this, and don’t miss next week’s Part 2 of this uplifting conversation.  To learn more about today's guest, visit: http://brucegelfand.com/

Thank you for listening to our Finding Brave show, ranked in the Top 100 Apple Career Podcasts! “You have a lot of knowledge and expertise, but if you continually doubt the strength of your opinions, or the importance of sharing your ideas, you are going to lose the ability to shape where your career is going.” - Kathy Caprino  Confidence is key as you step into being the most powerful version of you, and this is something I feel compelled to talk about ​given my particular lens as a former corporate VP, therapist (focused on systems and communication), researcher, and now in coaching and training with thousands of executives and professionals across 6 continents. I know too from working with teams that new managers and high-potential managers at startups and organizations that are growing exponentially, also fear they don’t know nearly enough to do their jobs well, and their confidence is lacking. This is why today I want to focus on the 5 ways that your lack of confidence is hurting you, and what you can do to overcome this challenge and build your confidence and self-trust now so that it doesn’t impact your success and professional fulfillment in the future.  In this episode, I reference my recent Forbes blog post, 5 Ways Your Lack Of Confidence Is Apparent And Hurting You, which I encourage you to read. If you find the information helpful in identifying and overcoming a lack of confidence in yourself, I would be so happy if you would share the Forbes post and this episode with your teams, organizations and friends who could benefit as well. 

Thank you for listening to our Finding Brave show, ranked in the Top 100 Apple Career Podcasts!  “I show them a work of art, something they have never seen before, and get them to tell me what they see. I then pull it together in a way that they can take that back to their work with them.” - Amy E. HermanWhen the subject of problem-solving comes to mind, fine art may not be the first thing that you think of. However, today’s Finding Brave guest works with leaders around the globe and across many professions using the analysis of works of art to help them solve problems they are facing, from minor annoyances to intractable dilemmas.   Amy E. Herman is President and Founder of the Art of Perception, a world-renowned speaker, and the author of Fixed: How to Perfect The Fine Art of Problem Solving. She is a recovering lawyer and art historian who combined the practical aspects of each of those disciplines—legal analysis and visual analysis--to create her company, the Art of Perception, over 20 years ago.  She has trained individuals in all branches of the military, the FBI, the New York Police Department, intelligence officers, officials at NATO, and Fortune 500 companies to look at works of art to become better observers, communicators, and problem solvers. Her program has been featured in The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, The CBS Evening News, and Smithsonian Magazine, among others. Her TED talk, A Lesson On Looking, has over 840,000 views to date. Her first book, Visual Intelligence, published May 2016 was featured on both the New York Times and Washington Post bestsellers' lists and her upcoming (young adult) book, smART: Use Your Eyes to Boost Your Brain, is due out September 2022. I’m so excited for you to learn, alongside me, from Amy about how analyzing works of art can improve observation, perception, and communication skills and facilitate better problem-solving. If you take the opportunity to use art to see things in different ways using different perspectives and it helps you to address problems in your own life differently, please do let us know! We would love to hear about your experience. To learn more about today's guest, visit: https://artfulperception.com/

Thank you for listening to our Finding Brave show, ranked in the Top 100 Apple Career Podcasts! “You don’t have to be amazing. You don’t have to put on this face like everything is great, and make it sound like it’s easy. You just have to keep going. Crawling is fine, because eventually you’ll get back up.” - Rachel Mushahwar   Are you a female leader who feels compelled to make a broader impact? We all have visions for what we want in life, but what do we do to create them and bring them into reality? Today’s Finding Brave guest has a burning desire to fulfill her mission to make the world a much better place than how she found it, but her journey hasn’t been without its challenges or struggles. In this episode, she shares her remarkable story and how as an executive for the world’s largest online retailer, she has set out to create high-performing work environments where all employees feel represented, respected, valued and empowered. Rachel Mushahwar is the Head of North America Partner Sales at Amazon Web Services, leading an organization that leverages Partners to accelerate growth, drive innovation, and shape the future using AWS technology.  She has 25 years of experience developing, implementing and selling technology, working at companies including Intel Corporation, PetSmart, DHL and American Express, among others. She got her start as an award-winning engineer in heavy highway construction, igniting a passion to utilize technology to make things simpler and change outcomes in a meaningful way.  From there she went on to pursue computer programming and began an enterprise IT journey that took her around the world building data centers. Along the way, she realized her skillset was better suited to solving customer problems than writing code, and she pivoted to leading billion-dollar sales and marketing organizations, developing the vision and strategy to ensure her companies’ technology kept pace with evolving market and organizational demands. Rachel is deeply committed to inclusivity, diversity and equity, and believes in creating high-performing work environments where all employees feel represented, respected, valued and empowered. She is an active supporter of STEM education programs and an advocate for providing the next-up generations with opportunities to build the future we all want to live in. In this wide-ranging conversation, Rachel shares what it’s really like to balance raising 4 children with having a fast-paced career, and as you’ll hear, inspiration isn’t enough to make your visions a reality. She is someone who boldly chose not to pursue a life that is for someone else, and in the process, is successfully manifesting her best future self. To learn more about today's guest, visit: https://www.linkedin.com/in/rachelmushahwar/

Thank you for listening to our Finding Brave show, ranked in the Top 100 Apple Career Podcasts! “We have been told to [eat and exercise] a certain way and you do it right or not at all. It is that mindset that really derails people, and The Joy Choice is the antidote to that.” - Michelle Segar Most of the healthy eating and exercise programs, plans, and strategies that we’ve been taught as “correct” simply do not work in the noisy, busy, and always-changing world we find ourselves in right now. Today’s Finding Brave guest believes that it’s time for a new story of behavior change, and this time, one with a happy ending! Michelle Segar is an award-winning scientist at the University of Michigan with nearly thirty years studying how to help people adopt healthy behaviors in ways that can survive the complexity and unpredictability of the real world. In her latest book, The Joy Choice: How to Finally Achieve Lasting Changes in Eating and Exercise, Michelle explains that much of what we've been taught about changing our behavior is simplistic, outdated and misguided for many of us. She shares a fresh, joyful, brain-based solution that breaks the rules of behavior change so we can finally change our behavior for good. If your life tends to be chaotic, you need behavioral change strategies that can work with this reality rather than against it, and I love that what Michelle shares is not only based in scientific research but is also practical and doable and can be applied to our everyday lives. Today’s episode serves as a short masterclass on how to adopt a new framework around eating and exercise, to finally change our behaviors for good! To learn about today's guest, visit: https://michellesegar.com/  

Thank you for listening to our Finding Brave show, ranked in the Top 100 Apple Career Podcasts! “Oftentimes, we hear people saying that they’re inviting everyone and everyone can input their own opinion. That’s great, that’s a start, but that doesn’t actually necessarily mean belonging. When you invite them, what happens when they get there? What’s their experience? That’s belonging.” - Rumeet Billan  New research shows that almost half of employed Americans are thinking about leaving their current jobs. Those who are considering making a switch are less likely to feel a sense of belonging in their current workplace, which is most often associated with being treated fairly and respectfully. Today’s Finding Brave expert guest has conducted extensive research to show that belonging is good for business, and how there are multiple opportunities for leaders and employees at all levels to drive a sense of belonging for all members of the organization.  Dr. Rumeet Billan is an award-winning, internationally recognized entrepreneur, researcher, speaker, and expert on psychological capital. Her mission is to transform workplace cultures through research, training, and experiences that enable trust, foster belonging, and build resilience. The work that Rumeet is doing is so important, because greater awareness always equals greater choice. If you’re not aware of the things she reveals today, you can’t possibly change them. Belonging first starts with self-awareness, and both Rumeet and I hope that you feel inspired by this episode to expand your own understanding of what belonging really is and how to build a culture that supports it.  To learn more about today's guest, visit: https://www.rumeetbillan.com/ 

Thank you for listening to our Finding Brave show, ranked in the Top 100 Apple Career Podcasts! “If you’re talking to the same people, you are going to get the same answer. If you’ve got the same people in the room, I guarantee you you’re going to get the same answer [about diversity].” - Fields Jackson, Jr.  When people are held accountable for budgets, sales, etc., you clearly see who can measure up. When a leader is held accountable for any type of diversity measurement and metric, the same clear picture emerges. The only difference is that so few have been held accountable for diversity - until now. Today’s Finding Brave expert guest pulls back the curtain on what leaders and organizations have to start doing right now if they are truly committed to building a diverse and inclusive workplace. ​​Fields Jackson, Jr. is the Founder and CEO and Chief Cheerleader of Racing Toward Diversity Magazine, and adjunct professor, teaching Principles of Business at Shaw University. He also teaches at South Carolina State, Southern University, and is the former Executive Director of the HBCU Business Dean's Round-table. Fields has been recognized by Diversity Best Practices as one of the Top Diversity Thought Leaders on Twitter, and has been identified by Onalytica, of London, England as #13 of the top 100 global influencers focusing on Gender  Equality and Diversity. I’m so grateful for Fields' deeply honest sharing and candid views about diversity and how we build more diverse cultures starting today. His approach makes the work of creating and sustaining a diverse and inclusive workplace simple, but that doesn’t mean it’s easy. As we discuss, the effort generates tremendous opportunities and transformation, and by following what he shares in this episode, I am confident that you too can move the needle in your workplace, towards greater inclusion. To learn more about today's guest, visit: https://www.racingtowarddiversity.com/ 

Thank you for listening to our Finding Brave show, ranked in the Top 100 Apple Career Podcasts! “Sometimes it’s just best to let the product and the customer be together. Don’t get in the way and don’t misinterpret the signal. Let the customer tell you exactly how it is they want this experience to lay itself out, and then let that further dictate how you should shape the product vision and the vision for the company. You’re really putting all that control in the hands of the customer.” - Mahesh M. Thakur There are certain strategies that large company executives, startup founders and CEOs can adopt to accelerate the growth of their revenue and businesses, and this is a subject that we haven’t focused on yet on this podcast. Today’s Finding Brave guest is an expert on Product-led Growth (PLG) strategies, and in this episode he shares why leaders need to build and demonstrate the mindset that makes PLG part of the everyday culture at their companies.  Mahesh M. Thakur is an award-Winning B2B SaaS Chief of Product (CPO), Certified Board Director from Stanford University Graduate School of Business, and a former CEO with experience delivering $600M in revenue by building high-performing organizations that drive product-led growth. He has a strong track record of delivering new products in fast-paced environments including Amazon, Microsoft, Intuit, and GoDaddy. A data-driven operator who drives commercialization, user acquisition, usage, retention, and scale, Mahesh is an experienced former engineer with strong business acumen, and deep skill with driving high-stakes initiatives collaboratively. After interviewing Mahesh for this episode, I believe there is no better time to listen to our customers in a new way that will serve them first, while help us become more curious, demonstrating customer “obsession,” and applying technology in a meaningful way. To learn more about today's guest, visit: https://maheshmthakur.com/