Know and build on strengths – The Mentors Radio

In this episode, The Mentors Radio host Dan Hesse talks with David Foster, one of the most illustrious composers of our time. With 16 Grammy Awards, including three for Producer of the Year, an Emmy Award, a Golden Globe and Three Oscar nominations for “Best Original Songs,” Foster has earned a reputation as a keen spotter of new talent, playing a key role in the discovery and career launches of Celine Dion, Josh Groban, Michael Bublé and more.

Few other individuals can claim to have their fingerprints on more major moments in all of popular music than David Foster. He has created hit songs for a diverse array of artists including Barbra Streisand, Celine Dion, Whitney Houston, Michael Jackson, Madonna, Andrea Bocelli, Michael Bublé, Josh Groban, Rod Stewart, Stevie Wonder, Earth, Wind & Fire, Diana Krall, Natalie Cole, Michael Bolton, Seal, Chaka Khan, Kenny Rogers, Dolly Parton, Chicago, Hall & Oates, Brandy, ’N Sync, Boz Scaggs and Gloria Estefan, to name a few.

Currently, Foster is gearing up to take on Broadway with several projects, including writing the music for a new musical about iconic animated character “Betty Boop.” He is also writing music for a musical based on the Amy Bloom novel and New York Times bestseller Lucky Us.

Listen to the show live on Salem Radio in San Francisco or via live-streaming on iHeart Radio worldwide… You can also listen on ANY podcast platform, including Apple podcast, iTunes, Spotify, TuneIN, Stitcher, Google Play and all the others. Sign up for the podcast here.

DAVID FOSTER:

In this episode, The Mentors Radio Host Tom Loarie talks with Harvard career advisor Gorick Ng, the Wall Street Journal best-selling author of The Unspoken Rules: Secrets to Starting Your Career Off Right.  After graduating from Harvard College and Harvard Business School, Gorick Ng worked in management consulting at Boston Consulting Group, investment banking at Credit Suisse, and research with the Managing the Future of Work project at Harvard Business School.

As a first generation college student himself, he now specializing in coaching first-generation, low-income students, and in guiding early-career professionals in how to navigate the transition from school to work, ascend to leadership positions and more.

Ng’s book, The Unspoken Rules, is based on more than 500 interviews with professionals across various geographies, industries and job types. Noted business leaders David Carey (former global president of Hearst Magazines), Edith Cooper (board director of Slack and Etsy, and former global head of human capital management at Goldman Sachs), Ginni Rometty (former VP of product design for Facebook), Rich Lesser (CEO of BCG), and Ratan Tata (former chairman of Tata Group) are among the many endorsements received for his book. The Unspoken Rules is now offered to employees at companies including IBM, Invesco, Cigna, Qualcomm and more. Harvard Business School has given Gorick’s book to every MBA student to help them gain an edge on their internships and full-time jobs.

Listen to the show live on Salem Radio San Francisco or via live-streaming on iHeart Radio worldwide… You can also listen on ANY podcast platform, including Apple podcast, iTunes, Spotify, TuneIN, Stitcher, Google Play and all the others. Sign up for the podcast here.

Gorick Ng:

In this episode, The Mentors Radio host Tom Loarie talks with remarkable career advisor Madelyn Mackie about her own career journey of discovery and the power of doing what you love, even in a challenging job market. Madelyn continues to work with hundreds of individuals seeking a job and a career they love, as well as with VIP clients such as Twitter, Chevron, Novartis, the Oakland Raiders, Blue Shield of California and more.

You’ll often find her quoted in career-related magazines and she is a sought-after national speaker and resume writer. But she didn’t start out as a career advisor. Early on, she worked for years with Tony award-winning theaters, which has played an important role in her exceptional ability to communicate and engage people of all interests and backgrounds…

Madelyn is also one of the most selfless individuals you’ll ever meet, a person who knows that life rewards those who put others first. Known for communicating in a way that engages and uplifts others while delivering life-improving guidance. She is one of our most sought-after guests on the topic of careers and finding a job. As she puts it: ACTIVATE YOUR CAREER DREAMS!

Listen to the show live in San Francisco or via live-streaming on iHeart Radio worldwide… You can also listen on ANY podcast platform, including Apple podcast, iTunes, Spotify, TuneIN, Stitcher, Google Play and all the others. Sign up for the podcast here.

In this episode, The Mentors Radio host Dan Hesse talks with guest mentor Paul Hobbs, dubbed “The Steve Jobs of Wine” by Forbes magazine. A third generation farmer, raised in upstate New York, Paul wanted nothing to do with farming as a teen and decided to follow his great-grandfather and pursue a career in medicine. He earned his B.S. in Chemistry at Notre Dame (UND) and was accepted into medical school. That’s the point at which mentors intervened, including his father, ultimately encouraging him to pursue a different path. Their advice made sense to Paul and he moved to California, graduating from University of Davis three years later with a Masters of Science in Viticulture and Enology. His winemaking adventure had begun. (see his BIO below for more details.)

Paul never looked back… He has enjoyed, and continues to enjoy, the journey—all of it—tremendously.

In this episode, you’ll learn how Paul Hobbs, now celebrating more than 30 years in the wine business, became the go-to wine consultant to 100 wineries, and how he built his own empire of eight wineries on four continents (so far)! You’ll learn his “why,” his passion, and why he loves doing what he does, even during the challenges. He’s happy…and by example, he models a path, and principles, to help you find your happiness too!

Listen to the show live in San Francisco or via live-streaming on iHeart Radio worldwide… You can also listen on ANY podcast platform, including Apple podcast, iTunes, Spotify, TuneIN, Stitcher, Google Play and all the others. Sign up for the podcast here.

Paul Hobbs:

Paul Hobbs Winery – Our Story from Paul Hobbs on Vimeo.

In this episode, host Tom Loarie talks with today’s guest mentor Dave Liu, former Jefferies Managing Director of Digital Media and Internet Banking. Dave Liu shares his insights and the secrets he learned while becoming the first Asian-American to become a managing director at an investment bank…at the age of 32! Dave raised $16 billion for hundreds of companies—from start-ups to established corporations. He has worked with more than a thousand different individuals, including CEOs and entrepreneurs. David Liu’s top-selling book, The Way of the Wall Steet Warrior, is a MUST-READ (or listen, if you prefer audible!).

Listen to the show live in San Francisco or via live-streaming on iHeart Radio worldwide… You can also listen on ANY podcast platform, including Apple podcast, iTunes, Spotify, TuneIN, Stitcher, Google Play and all the others. Sign up for the podcast here.

DAVID LIU:

In this episode, The Mentors Radio host Tom Loarie talks with Ram Charan, one of the most—if not the most—renown global advisors in the world, having been referred to as the “secret weapon” of Ivan Seidenberg, former CEO of Verizon; Jack Welch, famous former CEO of General Electric (GE) and Jeff Bezos, founder of Amazon, to name a few. But don’t be fooled. Ram Charan is a man of simplicity, humility and intense focus. He has a rare ability to profoundly understand business, quickly recognize patterns, and forge successful ways to increase customer engagement and loyalty. In this episode, Ram shares how to make an impact for good in your business, as well as how to grow your business full-speed.

RAM CHARAN:

BIO: https://ram-charan.com/about-ram/

WEBSITE: https://ram-charan.com/

BOOKS:

Imagine trying to herd cats. Even worse, try to herd cats in a crisis! In this episode of The Mentors Radio, Host Dan Hesse talks with former U.S. Coast Guard Commandant Admiral Thad Allen about leadership during a crisis. Whether it’s a business crisis, family crisis, natural disaster, supply chain nightmare, government-mandated pandemic shutdown or something else, ethical leadership can make all the difference in ultimately navigating to “safe shores.” Our guest mentor today, Thad Allen, has a lot to share about leadership and crisis leadership.

During his Coast Guard career, Allen was asked by two U.S. Presidents to take over leadership of the Federal response to two monumental crises—the devastating aftermath of Hurricane Katrina and the catastrophic Deepwater Horizon oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico. To achieve resolution in each of these disasters required bringing together a wide swath of diverse constituencies—each with their own focus, concerns, habits of communication and pain points. No easy task. Allen was so successful in his efforts that he became known in some circles as “the master of disaster.”

Allen also led the Atlantic Coast Guard forces in response to the 9/11 attacks and coordinated the U.S. Coast Guard response to a major Haitian earthquake.

But what was Allen’s secret for bringing very diverse groups together, leading them to work together to achieve a common goal? How did he herd cats in a crisis? Among other things you’ll learn that one of the first things he does—every time, in every disaster with which he was involved—is to focus first on forging a unity of purpose and a culture of compassion. Yes. People First. Every Time! That required hyper-focused listening, clarity of assessment, finding the common threads and building on those, and… did we mention listening, putting people first?!!

The lessons and experiences Thad Allen shares in this episode are worth more than gold for any human on the planet—in business, work, life, anywhere, anytime… and for cats too, if they’d only listen. FANTASTIC LEARNING and MENTORING in this episode!

THAD ALLEN:

In this episode, The Mentors Radio Host Tom Loarie talks with Daniel K. Epstein, author of the inspiring book and project Portraits in Faith and a world-renown behavioral marketing expert. Epstein was among the elite at Proctor & Gamble where he served as a distinguished Harley Proctor Marketer, an honor awarded to very few. On the outside and to his colleagues and friends, Epstein seemed to have the world at his feet, but inside he was unhappy. Very unhappy. For him, life had become a zero sum game in which he was constantly driven by a fear of not having enough. Ever the ultimate practical professional, he spent much of his life trying “fit into a mold” made by others. If he was told “No, you can’t,” he made it his mission to prove “Yes, I can,” and he would succeed.

Epstein seemed to have a gift for seeing life through another person’s point of view, a useful perception in top-level marketing, but he did not appreciate the depth of his gift. For him, it was just a practical marketing expertise. He also exhibited clear behaviors of a leader, but his focus was self-serving, having more, driven by fear.

Then, Daniel Epstein hit a turning point—a radical turning point. Actually, the SHTF. Pretty badly.

He didn’t want to be who he was, He didn’t know how to change. His world turned upside down. But at the same time, in his struggles, he began to discover what life and living was really about. He learned the hard way what it meant to lead. He eventually transformed into fully living a life of gratitude and service, and he beautifully captured what he learned in his book, Portraits in Faith. This is not a book about religion. It is, rather, a documenting of the spiritual experience as it manifests itself in individual’s lives, the radical transformation of mindset, understanding and appreciation of what they never saw before.

The book Portraits in Faith weaves together individual vignettes and stunning portrait photographs. In the words of one of Epstein’s mentors along his journey, famed film story-teller Ken Burns, “I was–we were (as several folks in the office crowded ’round) — completely blown away by its power and dignity, its implicit compassion and yet unblinking eye. What a wonderful project and I only wish I hadn’t been on the road for the last three and a half months because I would have been able to see this amazing project sooner.”

DANIEL K. EPSTEIN:

In today’s episode of The Mentors Radio, Host Tom Loarie talks with Jeff Bell, a northern California radio and television news veteran and a national spokesman for Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD). Jeff’s voice is instantly recognizable to anyone in northern California as anchor for the afternoon rush hour news, weather and traffic program on KCBS for 18 years. But most do not know that this successful news man spent most of his life battling OCD. He had to overcome a crippling level of uncertainty and doubt every day, even about minor things. But overcome it he did… by fully embracing it! One step at a time. One day at a time. His book, When in Doubt, Make Belief, provides an inspired approach for ALL of us, especially in business, on how to live with uncertainty and doubt at ANY level.. by embracing it.

Find Show Notes below. Listen to this episode below and on ANY podcast platform (from Apple to Google to iTunes etc) by typing in “THE Mentors RADIO” … Even better, Subscribe HERE to listen to the post-airing podcast on any podcast platform, on Any device!!! (click here)

JEFF BELL:

In this episode, host Tom Loarie talks with today’s guest mentor Dave Liu, former Jefferies Managing Director of Digital Media and Internet Banking. Dave Liu shares his insights and the secrets he learned while becoming the first Asian-American to become a managing director at an investment bank…at the age of 32! Dave raised $16 billion for hundreds of companies—from start-ups to established corporations. He has worked with more than a thousand different individuals, including CEOs and entrepreneurs. David Liu’s top-selling book, The Way of the Wall Steet Warrior, is a MUST-READ (or listen, if you prefer audible!).

Listen to the show live in San Francisco or via live-streaming on iHeart Radio worldwide… You can also listen on ANY podcast platform, including Apple podcast, iTunes, Spotify, TuneIN, Stitcher, Google Play and all the others. Sign up for the podcast here.

DAVID LIU: