Surfing Corporate

You can find John Knotts' definition of the role of the COO hereMore info on the legendary Ian Schrager (one of Heide's first bosses and mentors) here       Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In the spirit of Halloween, this episode is all about corporate horror stories, when things take an unexpected turn and go very, VERY wrong. We’ve all been there, either as the main protagonist of a horrible/ embarrassing event, or as a witness to one. For this episode, fellow corporate surfers share their tales of workplace horror that will make you cringe, laugh, and hopefully feel better about anything appalling that you’ve been through. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Sometimes you can be a stellar corporate employee and prove your worth over and over a long period of time, yet, things may still not work out how you’d hoped they would. Long-term relationships can be fulfilling, challenging, character-building or heartbreaking. But the undisputed truth is that they’ll make you learn a lot about yourself. Our guest, Maria Aleandra Rodriguez, former senior director of marketing for a TV network, has lived through it all after spending 15 years climbing up the corporate ladder within the same company. She opens up about the good, and the not-so-good of her time in corporate, and talks about how the unexpected end of her career as she knew it changed her professional and personal life. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

It’s no surprise to anyone that there are many different types of bosses. Some of them love being nurturing mentors, others are more of the tough-love type, and a few of them might even be full-blown sociopaths. In honor of National Boss Day, we’ve created a special episode where we deep dive into Surfing Corporate’s Top 8 Toxic Bosses, and offer survival strategies for to those who work each one of them. After their 20+ years of working in corporate, Aileen and Glenda open up to share their own pearls of wisdom and bits of trauma to help you succeed—or at least laugh—with whatever type of boss you happen to have. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Human Resources is the one department that EVERY SINGLE employee interacts with. There’s no escaping HR (and they have no way to escape the employees either). For Episode 3, we speak with Jennifer Mohammed, a Human Resources Director, and ask what it’s like being an HR person, what goes on behind the curtains, and we dive into some of the delicate questions people want to know but are afraid to ask. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Michelle Alban, VP of Communications, discusses the crucial role of corporate communications in managing reputation and employee communications. She shares insights on pitching stories to media, handling crises, and authenticity in communication. The podcast also delves into her military background, career success strategies, and navigating corporate communication challenges.

The Surfing Corporate Podcast tackles the themes and issues of corporate life with a humorous and relatable point of view. Created by former corporate executives who have experienced first-hand what really goes on behind fancy corporate doors (and have a slightly evil sense of humor,) this podcast aims to entertain as well as provide practical advice to employees who are currently navigating turbulent corporate waters. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Surfing Corporate shines an honest light on the everyday hardships of the corporate world, through a relatable and entertaining lens. In our first episode, we tackle the topic of "authenticity at the workplace." It seems like authenticity is the new “hype” word these days. It’s suddenly become one of many company’s core values –– it appears in big graphic letters on the company’s orientation video; it’s highlighted in all of the fancy corporate decks; CEOs love to throw the word “AUTHENTIC” around at staff meetings, and HR tells any potential candidate how important it is for their employees to be authentic. But it seems like the more people talk about the importance of being authentic, the less authentic it becomes. We talk with a Senior Vice President of marketing in the media industry, who landed in corporate by chance. She's a college dropout who considers that, in her case, being authentic worked to her advantage. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices