The Paterson Podcast

Today we are joined by Joel Christensen, the Founder & CEO of Parkwell, a management company focused on delivering best in class parking and mobility services. The team at Parkwell uses the StratOp process, working their plan to position themselves well for the coming months and years ahead.

In today’s conversation we explore Joel's passion for people and community, the future of cities and mobility, and we talk about how the team at Parkwell lives out their values and mission in real and beautiful ways.

“As cities become denser we don’t have the infrastructure to support the mobility of the population. Mobility is becoming more and more of a challenge. We all know what it’s like to be in gridlock traffic," comments Joel.

But how do you stand out in an industry like parking?

“In my industry, you have a service that, at its best, should be a non-issue. It should be a forgetful thing in your day. You don’t want to remember your parking experience. Usually if you remember it, it’s due to a bad association. So… how do we get the job done but also create delight in the process? How do we implement technology but make it creative and fun? How to we go above and beyond to defy the standards in our industry and what people expect? ...Wherever we can, we try to inject a little human touch, something that will bring a little smile or laughter.”

Listen in to hear more on just how a healthy organizational culture is really at the heart of everything the Parkwell team does. "Culture and empowering people is a matter of planting seeds, it’s something that has to have its own organic life aside from any one leader," Joel tells us. Tune in to hear more!

Today we are happy to be joined by Luis Gonzalez, the CEO of Old Elk Distillery. He’s responsible for the vision of the company, the growth and planning initiatives, and for developing the distribution and brand strategies. Prior to his current role, Luis spent seven years with Otter Products in various sales and marketing leadership roles. While at Otter, he established strategic partnership and licensing approaches for long term brand alignment with leading global brands.

In this conversation, we explore Luis's story, as well as strategic partnerships, brand strategy, and the importance and challenges of organizational culture.

“I learned the difference between vanity and sanity very early in life,” comments Luis. "Vanity can look good and feel good, but sanity is about giving back and doing the things you need to do to be a better person, a better team mate, and a better coach."

On forming strategic partnerships, Luis told us, "A lot of people will try to align with a strategic partner only to release they don’t have the same appetite for speed or innovation… I think that it’s important to align with the people and organizations that have the same appetite and interest in risk, innovation, and speed…A lot of times if there isn’t alignment around these elements, that can really derail the path of success out of the gate. Culture informs the speed of innovation and the willingness to go to different places."

To hear more of Luis's journey growing up as Cuban American and what he's learned from the whiskey business, listen in!

Today we are thrilled to introduce you to Steve Schlafman. Steve is a coach, investor, and advisor to startups and entrepreneurial leaders. Prior to his work as a coach, Steve had stints at Microsoft and the New England Patriots.

In today’s conversation we explore not only Steve’s career journey, but also his journey of sobriety and the practices he uses to maintain strength and health spiritually, mentally, and physically. You'll hear his compassion and tenacity, and how he landed a job at the Patriots.

"For me, once I decided to get sober, it was really embracing my wholeness as a human being and embracing that there are parts of me that aren’t perfect," reflects Steve. "There were parts of me I needed to accept that they just are... and if I reject those parts of me then I’m rejecting myself.”

"I got to a point where, rather than not daring to show a chink in my armor, I began to ask 'How can I embrace this and view it as as something that’s a part of who I am?'  Instead of hiding my history of substance abuse, I’m gonna own it and let that give me more strength so that I can step into this evolved version of myself that takes the lessons I’ve learned over life and show up with more power."

For more on Steve’s story, journey to wholistic health, and his insights on meditation and self care, listen in!

Today we are delighted to share a conversation with Polina Marinova.

Polina is the founder and author at the Profile, a subscription-based newsletter featuring the best long form profiles on the internet. At the Profile you can learn from the world’s most successful people and companies. Polina began her career as a journalist, working with USA Today and CNN, before spending just over 5 years at Fortune Magazine.

Polina, who is based in New York City, left Fortune to go out on her own in spring of 2020, just as NYC was going into lock down due to COVID-19.  “I recently read a quote that says, things aren’t scary but people get scared,” comments Polina. “Everything in life seems terrifying at first, but once you start getting better at it, things get less scary. The funny thing is, that the object that felt scary didn’t change; its properties remain the same… you are the one who changed.”

"The more people I read about and meet, the more I understand that every single human has a story… the important thing is to be curious and ask others about their stories... As a person you want to leave an aftertaste, not just be perfect," comments Polina.

For more insights on cultivating curiosity, empathy, and how to hone the craft of writing, listen in!

 

Tim Dixon is the Co-Founder of More in Common. Tim is a social entrepreneur who has started businesses and non-profits in the US, UK, and Australia. He trained as an economist and worked as a lawyer in the tech sector. From 2004-2010 Tim worked in senior political rolls, including as economic advisor and chief speech writer for two Prime Ministers. He has lived and worked between New York and London for the past decade, co-founding social change agency Purpose Europe in 2013 and helping to start social movement organizations around the issues of modern day slavery, the Syrian crisis, the Colombian peace process, economic inequality, gun control, and civic participation.

This conversation feels particularly relevant to all that we are currently facing in the United States. From the pandemic, to the elections, to the protests, it can feel as if the levels of division surrounding us could not be higher. That’s why we are thrilled to share Tim's perspective and experience with you today.

As Tim explains, "The ability to empathize has broken down, partly because we encounter fewer people who are different from ourselves. We need to find ways to get better exposure in our own daily lives, getting out of our bubble ... otherwise every time we encounter someone who holds a different perspective than us we feel like they are a complete threat to our way of life, when in reality that’s not true and there is so much more common ground than you imagined."

"When you look at the different segments of society in detail, when you do the research, you find that there’s good in all of them. That’s why we are trying to capture an understanding of where people are coming from. We can’t make the assumption that people are malicious or bad in their intent. We should assume that people are coming from the best place they can most of the time. We can understand so much more of the issues that tear us a part when we start with a better understanding of who people are."

Tim's insights are so good and filled with truth, and so relevant to our current context. We hope you enjoy the show and share it with others you care about.

 

Who are our heroes?

As we look out into the world for places of hope and impact, we see heroic acts; we see heroes in different spheres making great contribution in life and inspiring so many of us into action and impact. In the Paterson Process we invite folks to explore who their heroes are, for who we are inspired by can provide clues into our own heart, intention, story and the unique creative purpose that we can each pursue. Join us today for a look at heroes; what heroism is truly about, and what our heroes can teach us about ourselves.

 

Today we are back for another conversation with David and Stephen, exploring the concept of the “power of a great question.” Great questions can surface truth and reveal something fresh.  Specifically today we are exploring the question ‘What is success?’ and even more.. ‘what ISN’T success?’

“Thomas Merton talks about the idea that we set our ladders against a wall and spend our lives climbing to the top," comments Stephen. "But then, when we finally get to the top, we realize the ladder is leaning against the wrong wall. This begs the question- what is success? Is it something out there in the future? Is it the attainment of something? What do I consider success? And what if the truth is that I can never be more successful than I currently am today?”

Today we are honored to be joined by Wendell Moss for a conversation around racial trauma, truth telling, and the journey towards real reconciliation. As the streets around the US and beyond have erupted with grief, pain, protests and calls for change, we’ve all had to confront afresh systemic racism and its impact. We are all looking for voices of truth to help us navigate forward.

Wendell is a therapist, speaker, and teacher, serving as part of the instructional staff at the Seattle School of Theology and Psychology and also as a core member of the Executive Leadership Team at the Allender Center. Wendell is fiercely committed to engaging the impact of abuse and trauma, including racial trauma.

Racial trauma, like sexual trauma, is trauma against the body. This, paired with the fact that denial is often a mark of trauma, reminds us that we must continue to tell the truth. “To tell the truth is to know how to move forward,” comments Wendell. Unfortunately, the truth is often times uncomfortable; it can be tempting to avoid or ignore it. But if want to experience freedom, individually and as a society, we must lean into truth.

“When I hear the word unity I ask ‘What does that mean? Unity in the name of truth?’ " remarks Wendell.  "Unity in the name of truth feels like true unity because it means that we can actually trek together down this bloody and treacherous road; actually pursuing healing. A lot of times 'unity' is anemic, koom-bye-ya, 'can we just come together and love one another' unity. This type of unity fails to recognize where there is a failure of love in so many areas systematically. I’m not against unity. I want unity more than ever, but I’ll never encourage false unity in the name of denial."

To hear more of Wendell's thoughts, wisdom, and rich insights, listen in. If you enjoy or benefit from this conversation, please consider sharing with one person you care about.

One of the few things we can count on in life is change. On today’s episode we are joined by friend and co-host Stephen Milburn to explore the different seasons and transitions in life.

Today we take a moment to reflect on what the four seasons — summer, spring, fall and winter — can teach us about the various seasons we find ourselves in on our personal journeys and in our lives. What does it look like to find ourselves in those different seasons? What does it look like to engage the realities of those different seasons, to embrace rather than resist the season we find ourselves in? Though it can be easy to only see our current moment as the season of COVID-19, what happens when we zoom out, pause and remember that seasons are always a part of life?

What if you could see your way forward? Where would it take you? The Paterson Process, refined by over 40 years of proven success, is tailor-made to help individuals and teams gain the insight they need to do just that. Clarity and purpose are not only necessary, they’re possible, and we’re here to guide you there. In the Paterson Podcast, we share insights from our work over the last 40+ years. We share tips, tools, and stories of amazing impact.