Guest Mel Kleiman asks the hard, “uncommon common sense” questions that help companies find, hire and retain front line employees and the people who manage them. He gave us a taste by turning these questions on his hosts.

We speak with executive coach Jason Treu on maximizing potential: blind spots and childhood trauma that inhibit potential and the role company culture can play in helping people reach it.

From the opening ceremony, through the half time show to the final gun, the pyrotechnics are a sight to behold – one small misstep can turn all that precise choreography into a catastrophe seen by millions around the world. It’s no wonder that Bill Galante, VP of Guest Experience and VIP Service for the Miami Dolphins, and one of the main people behind the scenes, was kept up nights.

You may want to listen to this before placing your final office pool bets. Insights into the big game from veteran sportscaster Bob Wischusen, who takes us behind the scenes of the life of a professional sportscaster and provides suggestions to anyone looking to enter the field.

We discuss the dignity of all types of work and have a fascinating/inspiring convo with Goodwill’s CEO about helping people going through tough life transitions “rebuild” themselves and find meaningful work.

What happens when a Rollbot (a robot dispenser of Charmin) meets a robotic cat meets and a “hypebot” happens by?

We don’t know because we didn’t go to CES either, but that doesn’t stop us from imagining it. Alicia Scott-Wears, WorldatWork’s new Director of Total Rewards Content joins us to discuss everything from her passion for roller derby to…total rewards.

A new show for the New Year. We talk about compartmentalizing (aka, avoiding unpleasant realities)and discuss adding rigor to employee compensation with Kent Oldham, a Compensation Consultant with HealthPartners…who attempts to shock us with his contrarian views.

We close out the decade with Dr. Joel Bennett, where we discuss short term resilience strategies – i.e., managing a post new year’s hangover – and longer-term solutions for individuals and organizations. Bonus tips on sustaining your resolutions past January.

With apologies to Tip, these days everything seems politicized - political operative Mitch Ceasar provides tips on getting though the holidays- and beyond - with our sanity intact. Bonus tips: great Xmas playlist ideas! 

Workspan’s Managing Editor Stephanie Rotondo, teller of HR Horror Stories, shares several horrific Holiday Office Party Stories…after which Connery, Sean Connery pays us a surprise visit to render a mildly demented spoken word version of I’m Dreaming of a White Christmas.