Hack the Process: Mindful Meaningful Progress on Your Plans

It's possible to go from comic book nerd to fitness superhero, and Julian Hayes is proof of that. Julian turned himself into a writer, a speaker, and a coach by applying daily discipline to his routines while tracking his progress to figure out what worked best for his clients and for himself. In this episode of Hack the Process Julian will explain how he coaches fitness clients entirely online using tracking apps, why he avoids writing about specific diet and exercise prescriptions, and what one mundane but essential health recommendation he always comes back to.

Blending activism and entrepreneurship sounds like a delicate dance, but as a Diversity and Inclusion Consultant and a career coach, Michelle Kim is showing us how to make it happen, one uncomfortable conversation at a time. In this episode of Hack the Process, Michelle will explain why diversity training for startups is about more than just ticking a box on a form, how her own life experiences inspired her work with marginalized communities and individuals, and what she's doing to make sure the information and training products she's developing are effective, tested, and ready for the market.

Note: After this interview was published, Michelle let me know that my initial use of the word “woke” in the title could have been interpreted as cultural appropriation. Like all of us, I’m still learning, and I apologize for any offense. If there were a word that conveyed the concept as clearly and concisely I would have used it. Meanwhile I’ve substituted “awake” for “woke” in the updated title, and I would be grateful to hear from folks in the comments about better ways to get this complex idea across in a word, or maybe two.

Now that the world is catching on to the advantages of the gig economy, Cerius Executives CEO Pam Wasley is helping companies satisfy their need for interim executives and advisors at the most senior levels, and bringing the staffing industry up to date along the way. In this episode of Hack the Process, Pam will tell us why seasoned veterans across all industries are opting for short-term engagements, how insightful process documentation can save a company hundreds of thousands of dollars a year, and what she has learned from sharing her experience and mentoring entrepreneurs.

When Tom Morkes was fresh out of the army, he wanted to build a business that would support him as he traveled the world. He started out podcasting, blogging, and publishing, and ultimately created a foundation for his own success through practical project-driven apprenticeships supporting seasoned entrepreneurs. In this episode of Hack the Process Tom will share with us how he builds and cultivates motivated influencer networks for his clients, what it takes to make an online event that can attract the right audience, and why he decided not to grow his own company into an agency when the opportunity presented itself.

What does a trained social worker do when she's faced with handling her own child's emotional issues? For Heather Chauvin, the answer was to look inside herself so she could model the behavior she wanted, and then share what she learned with the world. Now Heather coaches parents on mindfulness for their children and themselves, and hosts a regular podcast called Mom is in Control to help spread the word. In this episode, Heather will tell us how she built a business while parenting three sons, what she learned from battling and surviving stage four cancer along the way, and she'll share one very simple technique for deciding what you really want and progressively making that your reality.

When he started building Acuity Scheduler back in 2007, Gavin Zuchlinski was trying to help his mother solve scheduling problems for her massage business. But as more people started using the product, he listened to every piece of customer feedback, building a passionate user base, and a product that responded to the evolving small business market. In this episode, Gavin will tell us why he left a job he loved to turn his side hustle into a full time role, how growing up with entrepreneurial parents helped support his choices, and what the challenge is like when learning to delegate while growing the company he built from the ground up.

By day Nicaila Matthews is a social media strategist and Senior Manager for Social Media Marketing at NPR, but in her spare time she runs a podcast called Side Hustle Pro, featuring interviews with successful black women entrepreneurs. In this episode of Hack the Process Nicaila will tell us why she chose to focus her subject matter at the expense of narrowing her audience, what keeps her motivated to continue her side hustle despite her successful professional career, and how her research and launch strategy contributed to her show's success.

From speaking at his high school graduation to running a motivational consulting business, Jay Wong always knew deep down what he was meant to do, once he let go of trying to control the process. Jay's authentic enthusiasm shines through in this episode of Hack the Process as he discusses meeting his mentors on his Inner Changemaker podcast, how he came up with his focus on legacy over currency, and the importance of applying what you learn, whether it's a business lesson or the simple lifestyle choices that help keep Jay rested, hydrated, oxygenated, and ready for the next opportunity.

The problems we face can sometimes show us the path we need to follow. Brothers Guy and Ilan Ferdman learned this early, transforming their personal struggles with depression and financial hardship into a marketing and personal transformation business, Satori Prime, that lets them explore their own educational growth while also helping others. In this episode of Hack the Process Guy and Ilan will tell us why their business model keeps evolving instead of following a fixed pattern, what it feels like to discover abundance by mindfully embracing discomfort and fear, and how they went from doing everything in their business themselves to letting go of the details and trusting the process.

Frank Strona is a public health advisor for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention who served on the Presidential Commission for the Study of Bioethical Issues in 2016. He also runs a private consultancy called MentorSF, where he teaches clients of all generations how to use social media to share their personal stories and advance their career goals. In this episode, Frank will tell us how he capitalized on his experience as sexual health educator and activist when he went back to school later in life, how mentoring continues to play a role in his career, and what nonprofit work has taught him about bringing your own privilege to the table when trying to help someone else with a different background.