Bellwether Hub Podcast

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=itRWYxviWyE&feature=youtu.be Last week I interviewed Tom Rizzo on the show. Tom is a jazz guitarist turned financial advisor with a great story and a genuine concern to help freelancers find financial freedom. There was great advice in that show - I recommend, of course, that you listen to it.  But as I reflected on some of the conversations I’ve had with people who desired a financial tint to the show, I thought that maybe, despite its basic level, for some it was too advanced. And in the effort to get you as much tangible, actionable information as possible - I am giving you “the 3.”  Money is funny. We have to learn to treat it like the commodity it is, we can’t worship it, yet we need it; it drives our opportunities and prospects. Money isn’t “evil” in and of itself, but the “love” of money can be detrimental. Therefore, we need to have a healthy appreciation of it, and understanding of its “value,” and we need a strategy to get it.  Financial freedom is a long

My background in the financial industry has provided me some interesting insight and views on how to think about money. I wasn’t a financial advisor, however, which is why I haven’t brought up the financial discussion on this show. That ends today.

As the tides of change come in, our ability to make effective decisions in a short time frame is becoming more important than ever.

Now is a time of learning, with businesses, society, communities and our own identities facing questions and change.

It's always a good time to learn. Now, especially, is a great time to learn. Sean Froudist-Walsh is an Irish neuroscientist in New York who shares how to tap your brain to learn more effectively.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lM33vFc8A9E&feature=youtu.be Happy Wednesday.  First - I want to thank everyone for the lovely notes and conversations over the past few weeks generated from the last two podcasts. They seem to have resonated with a lot of people, which is great. What I found in many of the conversations I had with people is that we all have different ways of looking at challenges. With that in mind, my focus on this week’s podcast is on problems vs. circumstances. We all hear that we should just “focus on what we can control” and everything will be fine. It’s a positive psychology-type of mentality that is helpful for some - but to just leave it at that leaves a lot out. We assume we know what we can control.  When I think about challenges, I put them into two buckets: problems and circumstances. Problems I can solve, circumstances I respond to. 99% of my (and your) challenges are from circumstances. Coronavirus is a circumstance. Having asthma is a circumstance. Job loss is a cir

https://youtu.be/B3IP3HCWg1o Last week I chatted about my dark place, and what I learned in dealing with it. I didn’t feel like I could really talk about my dark place, though, without talking about why I gave up drinking, so I’m covering that this week.  I’ve always admired people who could talk about their challenges “matter of factly.” I see a person with that ability as a person in control - of their emotions, their decisions, and their life. They have separated their value from the fact that they had some kind of difficulty. Everyone has a difficulty - a challenge - some kind of dark place, or demon, or insecurity that they are dealing with. Admitting it, embracing it, and recognizing it isn’t just powerful - it’s cathartic.  A few people have reached out to me over the past few weeks asking how I did it, and I’ve had some powerful conversations with people. Isolation and solitude is a challenge. Booze consumption is at record highs, and I understand why. We are bored, lonely, uncomfortable - w

Isolation and solitude are the name of the game in a triathlon. That's never more evident than when you hit a "dark place" close to the finish.

This week’s podcast highlights a Bellwether of Irish American origin. Patrick Flynn is playwright, actor, professor, host of the Original Cast Podcast and casual vexillologist (look it up), among many other things.  What fascinates me, and what I love, about playwrights, actors and musicians is the fact that they all have one thing in common: they expend their energy creating something new that leaves them vulnerable enough to be destroyed by strangers.  We all have a fear of rejection, of failure, of being disliked. And to follow a path of love to a place riddled with each is one journey that most people won’t dare to take. Those that do take the journey earn my legitimate and sincere respect.  Patrick is brilliant, in the truest sense of the word. Not only does he create fantastic and entertaining work, he is also brilliant in the way that he communicates with the people around him. He is a light; I sincerely believe that it is impossible to not like Patrick.  We all know at least one person lik

Happy April!  I hope and trust that this post finds you well. Change has been the watchword of recent times; our ability to adapt has been strongly tested, and will continue to be tested in the coming weeks.  Today, I am continuing with my interviews of Irish Bellwethers. If you recall, my March podcasts were all set up to highlight Irish leaders in different industries, but then some kind of pandemic had to get in the middle of it, and I had to postpone two of the guests. I don’t know who to complain to about that, but once I figure it out I’m writing a strongly-worded letter. Fortunately for you, pandemics won’t stop me from highlighting this week’s Irish Bellwether, because one of her specialties is understanding the psychology of and adapting to change. It’s one of her specialties because not only can she teach it, she has experienced it as well.  Catherine Norris is an Irish entrepreneur and the Irish executive coach. She has a truly unique perspective, influenced by her background in the art

This week’s podcast is a focus on communication - and your responsibility as a communicator - in the “working from home” era.  As we pivot our lives to be almost exclusively behind a video screen, it’s important to remember that your reputation is driven by the way that you communicate through the medium.  We all have a multiple platforms to communicate - e-mail, Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, etc. And we all have constant information that we are able to communicate. To “share” information has become second nature to us - we get inundated, we filter, and we pass it on to others.  But I ask people to take a quick pause and think through our responsibility as sharers and communicators. The information we share, and the way that we do it with tone and sentiment, requires a responsibility to do it wisely.  There are two aspects I cover on the podcast - accuracy of communication and tone of communication. Both are vital. It comes down to a fundamental communication model - a picture of which i

Happy Corona Week/Month/Quarter. Things seem to be changing faster than any of us can keep count. Life has been turned upside down, which was fun for a hot minute until things got even crazier.  We have a two year old. My wife is full time employed, I’m self employed. We are all working from home - Gabby on her work, me on mine, Isabelle on Frozen 2. I’m not balding - but if the next eight weeks go as well as the past two days - I will be by April.  In stressful times, I like to go on a long run. It’s where I do my best thinking; I get to go into my own head and have a nice, little, split personality conversation with myself. The people on the trail think I’m crazy, but whatever, I can run faster than them.  My “thinking running” helps me gain perspective. I’m able to jump back and forth between big picture and me picture; separating problems I can solve from circumstances I need to respond to. And on this run, my perspective was focused on what I needed to do to make it through eight weeks of iso

Sometimes I reflect on the massive amounts of ways that I have changed over the past 40 years, and it blows my mind.  30 years ago, I was jazzed by baseball. 20 years ago, I was jazzed by the pub. Now, I’m jazzed about learning and how people read books. I suppose the “coolness” of that journey is fairly subjective, and some might call it maturity, but whatever we call it - it’s quite the journey.  In my monthly series highlighting Irish bellwethers, we bring our focus to Patrick McAndrew - founder of The Bowery Common. Patrick is committed to changing the way we learn. I met Patrick through a mutual colleague, and after a cup of coffee all I wanted to do was go off and learn something new. And it wasn’t because of the caffeine. Influencers of change and leaders take many forms, and sometimes they come in the form of a person who questions the way we do things - like learning. Many of us were taught how to learn in a very specific way: in desks, by memorization and routine, and then stepping back and ap

Few places have gone through the type of change that Belfast has experienced in the past 50 years. Former Mayor Máirtín Ó Muilleoir offers his perspective on the opportunities ahead for a great city.

We all talk about what we want a work environment to be - but psychological safety is the wrapper that makes it work.

Why can't anyone seem to get good feedback at the office? It's because we are so focused on "frameworks" and not a conversation ...

This week’s podcast is for “the people.”  Many organizations bring me in to work with their “high potential” employees (hi-po for short); those people who are seen as the future leadership of the firm with a lot of potential. I, along with my partners, offer coaching, individually and as a group, and put together leadership programs specific to them and their company’s needs. We accomplish a lot, we get great reviews, and we are excellent at what we do.  This week isn’t about that. It’s about the other huge segment of people at the company who I really love to work with, and I call them “The Other Hi-Po” … or hidden potential. These are the people that don’t get the full force of the company’s support, might feel misaligned or frustrated with their organization, and float around from one organization to another without really tapping into something meaningful and engaging.  In my corporate career, I was very much a hidden potential.  I was very capable in my role. I was always “picked first” fo

Just hearing the term “micromanager” makes my skin crawl. I have flashbacks to late nights in the office, constant revisions of pointless e-mails, and lovely reminders of why I left the corporate life. In fact, while working on this week’s post and podcast, my two year old daughter happened to drop her first “F” bomb. I believe they may be related.  We hate micromanagement - no secret there. It’s ubiquitous with the frustration of corporate life; and when we think of all the reasons we dislike a job or look to move, having a micromanager is typically at the top of the list.  It’s become so ubiquitous, in fact, that many of us just accept the fact that it’s there, and we don’t go beyond and try to understand it. But through understanding, and a different perspective, we might be able to deal with that boss that drives us up a wall - or change the way that we are managing our own people.  Why We Hate It There aren’t many surprises in the research on micromanagement - it shows we don’t like it. The c

We love helping people. The psychological benefits are well known; we feel rewarded and valued; we like being needed and being the hero, the savior and the champ. It’s … nice.  Unfortunately - all of those descriptions are about the benefits for YOU, not the person being helped. And there is a nuance to helping, where the reward, value and feelings of heroism need to be pushed to the back, and we need to be reminded that in order to properly help other people - the focus purely needs to be on them, not us, and they have to do a lot of the work.  Beyond the fundamental aspects of helping others, there is a science. Helping people, and I mean PROPERLY helping people (not just dictating your opinions), requires a framework and guidelines. Fortunately for all of us - there are people who study this stuff. (Recommended reading: Helping by Edgar Schein). Most of the advice we receive we don’t take. And the reason we don’t take it is because it’s coming from the perspective of the person giving it. And for

I speak often on the speed of change, and the challenges that come with it. And if my recent posts are any indication, I have a belief that responding to the speed of change, and putting ourselves in a position to be flexible, is one of the most important ways we can be successful. Many clients of mine are thrust into challenging environments where success is a tall mountain to climb. Executives have only one or two quarters to make a difference, companies turn over teams in an effort to be more agile and flexible, and the slightest diversion from a laid out plan can lead to fundamental changes in direction for an entire firm.  Long story, put shortly: Now, more than ever, we need help. Recognize it, admit it, and get over it.  Everyone needs help, and none of us like asking for it. And help is wide-ranging - it could encompass serious mental health issues, or it could be as silly as the best way to reheat pizza (oven, by the way). Regardless of the level of help we need, not asking for it impacts ou