Work From The Inside Out

Jennifer Fondrevay told me something that I have never before heard from a guest. As a young child, she wanted to become the Ambassador to France and even more remarkably she continued to have that goal throughout her college years into graduate school. Jennifer’s father is French and her grandmother lived with them until she was three years old, so she learned French first, English second. She majored in French and political science undergrad and then continued with her graduate studies at the Thunderbird School Of Global Management where she studied international business, specializing in marketing and advertising. Jennifer figured if the ambassadorship didn’t materialize, her fallback plan was in marketing or advertising. It appears to have worked out extremely well, although Jennifer’s Dad still hopes that she’ll pursue the diplomacy route one day.

As a Fortune 500 C-suite “survivor”, Jennifer has been on all sides of three separate multibillion-dollar mergers and acquisitions. She saw countless growth strategies fail due to a workforce that couldn’t pivot and adapt as quickly as leadership anticipated. While she may not be the Ambassador to France she has sharpened her diplomacy skills over the years. 

Today, Jennifer is the founder and Chief Humanity Officer of Day 1 Ready, a consultancy that advises forward-thinking business leaders, owners, and C suite executives on how to prepare for and manage the people challenges of business transitions, particularly mergers and acquisitions. Jennifer conducted extensive research for and authored the satirical survivor’s handbook, Now What? A Survivor's Guide to Thriving through Mergers and Acquisitions. She is a frequent keynote speaker at HR conferences and associations.

In this week’s Work From The Inside Out podcast, learn more about Jennifer’s journey:

• When her Harvard Business Review (HBR) article, “After a Merger, Don’t Let “Us vs. Them” Thinking Ruin the Company” went viral, Jennifer recognized the power and interest in a human-centric approach to business transformation, where employees are at the heart of the change. 
• In addition to HBR, Jennifer also shares her expertise as a contributor to Fast Company, Inc, Thrive Global, and Forbes.

Learn more and connect with Jennifer here:

• LinkedIn
• Instagram
• Website
• YouTube



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Darcy Roberts wants people to love their work. For more than 20 years she held administrative roles across a variety of industries, including the arts, law, finance, banking, and executive search, working with people at all levels of the corporate world. Darcy had a natural gift for the work, but she didn’t actually like doing it. She had some interesting experiences during those decades, sitting in the front row to witness a wide range of organizational and leadership dynamics. Darcy’s last admin job was in the executive search industry. 

For her 50th birthday, Darcy gifted herself with a trip to Morocco, a small group tour with 18 people. She listened as various tour group participants talked about their lives and how they looked forward to returning home to their work. Darcy returned home with photos of herself sitting in the Sahara Desert with tears rolling down her face. She was absolutely miserable and knew that something had to change. Darcy resigned from her job soon after her return from Morocco. Two weeks later, she started researching life coaching training programs. That was six years ago and she has not looked back once.

Today, Darcy owns her company, Spiral by Design. She provides career and leadership coaching and works with teams to develop their collaboration. Her coaching superpowers include her intuition, a practical approach to real-world challenges, and a sense of humor. Darcy coaches leaders and managers to increase their leadership skills, effectiveness, and impact with their teams and in their organizations. 

In this week’s Work From The Inside Out podcast, learn more about Darcy’s journey:

• Darcy helps people figure out what is next for them in all aspects of career transition.
• She is a certified facilitator of the Lego Serious Play Method and is certified to use both the Facet 5 personality assessment tool and the Birkman Method.
• Darcy believes that when your heart, brain, and gut are in alignment, everything will feel right on track.

Learn more and connect with Darcy here: 

• Facebook: Spiral By Design
• LinkedIn
• Facebook
• Instagram
• Website



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Jenean Merkel Perelstein is a social-cultural anthropologist, who has studied behavior change across many cultures, from the markets and prisons of India to the boardrooms across America. She has implemented change strategies that have saved lives and made fortunes. This work is supported by her book, Finding Your Lighthouse, a Leadership Guide to Navigating Change.

Jenean is no stranger to change. In her early years, she struggled to find her direction, hopping around to seven different schools over nine years. She eventually decided to take time away from school and find her spark, as she put it. Jenean traveled for a while and worked as a ski instructor in the Alps where she met her husband Scott, a previous guest on my podcast. Together, they traveled to India and the Middle East, and this led to Jenean’s interest in anthropology. Eventually, they returned to the US where Jenean finished her degree and went on to graduate school. They started a family and everything seemed beautiful.

Several years later, Jenean was working as the CEO of a regional non profit organization and while it all looked good on the outside, the light inside of her was dimming. She was burned out to the point where she was physically ill. Jenean had to slow down, focus on herself, and regroup. As she regained her health she began to take on contract work, doing marketing and strategy consulting. This evolved to change management consulting where she applied her background in anthropology to support business and organizational cultures. 

Today, Jenean is a business anthropologist, US patent holder, and revered speaker, who is the CEO of Alchemy Academy, where she enriches workplace culture for clients ranging from solopreneurs to Fortune 100 companies.

In this week’s Work From The Inside Out podcast, learn more about Jenean’s journey:

• Jenean practices anthropology day to day; she teaches people about behavior change through the lens of the culture that is either supporting them or holding them back.
• She mentors organizations to grow their workplace culture, develop their leadership skills, and achieve a higher level of positivity, productivity, and profitability. 

Learn more and connect with Jenean here:

• YouTube
• Facebook
• LinkedIn
• Website



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Mike Smith still keeps in touch with his boss from Deloitte, his first employer after college graduation, 25+ years ago. How many of us can claim that? We know that most people, when they resign from a job, are actually leaving a boss. Remarkably, Mike's next move was to follow his boss as he became the CFO at the local NBC Philadelphia TV station. By the time he was 28, his boss was elevated to the national network and Mike filled his boss’s shoes.

As a young finance leader, Mike felt he was in over his head but the company was big on investing in talent and knew this would be a formative experience. After two years, NBC pushed Mike out of his comfort zone again. They transferred him to Los Angeles to work with NBC Corporate and GE Capital, which owned the network, to work on a theme park acquisition.  

Mike credits having had a few great bosses who were instrumental in enabling him to grow. He always aimed to make their lives easier, by offering solutions, and not adding problems, so that they would look out for him. Mike cited research demonstrating that 70% of a person's daily experience at work is directly shaped by their boss. Likewise, as Mike has been promoted, he has made it a priority to mentor and coach his direct reports.

Bosses have been instrumental every step of the way in Mike’s career. His last boss at NBC left the network to go to the NFL, National Football League, and within months, had recruited Mike to join her on the finance team there. Eventually, Mike became the CFO and in his last few years, he moved over to human capital because of his passion for engaging people to drive business performance. He then founded Huddle Advisory, which focuses on strategic planning, human capital effectiveness, leadership and culture. 

In this week’s Work From The Inside Out podcast, learn more about Mike’s journey: 

• Huddle Advisory’s mission is to guide leaders and teams to peak performance because it consistently delivers better business results.
• His approach guides clients to maximize their potential through skilled inquiry, objective analysis, and practical counsel. 
• Mike is also working on his doctoral degree in Leadership & Learning in Organizations from Vanderbilt University.

Learn more and connect with Mike here:

• LinkedIn
• Facebook
• Website



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Manbir Kaur’s first job after graduating from a prominent university in India was in banking, yet her degree was in computer applications. She felt wholly unqualified at first. And, she was starting out at 19. Manbir credits her father’s influence as he was an action-oriented, focused, hard-working, very positive, optimistic person who encouraged her to “grab the job and make your career”. He was also in banking. So, Manbir dove right in from day zero as she put it, ”Age was on my side, spirit was on my side. The hard-working attitude was on my side. I started from scratch learning about retail banking from my peers. I really did a good job, so I won't deny that. I enjoyed that role thoroughly. It was all fun.”

Today, Manbir is an Executive and Leadership Coach. She is also a Conversational Intelligence(C-IQ) Enhanced Practitioner, Positive Intelligence Coach, and a keynote speaker. She specializes in coaching leaders from technology organizations. Manbir helps leaders and entrepreneurs to align themselves and their teams to strategic goals, unleash their own and their team's potential. She has authored two books.

Prior to being a coach, Manbir worked in the corporate world for various Indian and Multinational IT companies in Development, Operations, Presales, People Management and Consulting. These experiences have enabled her to coach her clients in more immersive ways.

In this week’s Work From The Inside Out podcast, learn more about Manbir’s journey:

• Manbir has written two outstanding books, Are You The Leader You Want To Be? and Get Your Next Promotion. 
• She has developed specific frameworks to help make coaching progress "measurable", creating value for her clients in every engagement.
• Her clients include executives from various technology companies in India, UK, the US, and the Middle East.

Learn more and connect with Manbir here: 

• LinkedIn
• Website
• Facebook
• Twitter
• Instagram

BOOKS:

• Are You The Leader You Want To Be? 
• Get Your Next Promotion



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Jacqueline Wales is a motivational speaker, professional coach, and the author of three books. She has helped countless people become more empowered, confident, and resilient. Her work focuses on leaders who dig into self-discovery, take accountability for their actions, and responsibility for their decisions. Jacqueline challenges herself daily to be better and challenges her clients to break through boundaries, and excuses to achieve results.

Jacqueline has explored human behavior and asked tough questions to discover hard truths. She draws on her own traumatic, abusive childhood in Edinburgh, Scotland where she experienced a great deal of fear and uncertainty growing up in a home where alcoholism was present. Jacqueline got her first job at 15, and left home at 16, trying to reinvent her life in London. At 20, Jacqueline was pregnant and gave the baby up for adoption. The next ten years were a miasma, as she describes it. She went to college, got a degree, got married, divorced, had another child, and moved from London to San Francisco.

It wasn’t until she was in her 30s that Jacqueline found her ‘real self’. Today, Jacqueline has been married to her second husband for 42 years, is the mother of five adult children and has lived in many great spots across the world, including Bali, Amsterdam, LA, New York, and Paris.

In this week’s Work From The Inside Out podcast, learn more about Jacqueline’s journey:

• Jacqueline believes in the power of fearlessness to create the career and life you want. 
• She has authored The Fearless Factor, The Fearless Factor @ Work, and When The Crow Sings: A Novel.
• Jacqueline is also a talented singer, serving as a cantorial soloist in synagogues in Amsterdam, New York and Paris. She has a black belt in Shotokan Karate.

Learn more and connect with Jacqueline here: 

• Twitter
• LinkedIn
• Website

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Gary Ireland is an employment attorney. He helps executives in the areas of finance and banking, law, media technology, healthcare, and higher education maximize income and benefits when joining a company and enhanced severance, and asserting legal rights when leaving. He supports small businesses seeking to start and build companies saving money and solving legal problems by making strategic and smarter business decisions while limiting risk. Gary also represents hourly workers who have been denied pay and overtime under the Fair Labor Standards Act and New York Labor Law.

Gary helped a senior executive in financial services who was marginalized and passed over because of her gender. He helped her secure a substantial severance payment so that she was able to move on to her next job. Gary often works behind the scenes to ensure that issues are communicated clearly, the public is educated, and all people are treated fairly.

In this week’s Work From The Inside Out podcast, learn more about Gary’s journey:

• Gary and his daughter Sydney in partnership with the National Organization for Women took on the Boy Scouts of America to get girls the same opportunities as boys when his daughter had qualified to complete the requirements for her Eagle Scout project.
• He has also partnered with public officials and the NAACP on policy issues.
• Gary frequently connects clients to coaches and recruiters to help with streamlining and expediting employment transitions. 

Learn more and connect with Gary here: 

• LinkedIn
• Twitter
• Website



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In high school, Keith McCormick drove his math teachers crazy because he never got his homework done on time yet he did very well on standardized tests. As he put it, he was the classic ‘over underachiever’. Keith’s teachers accused him of being lazy, yet unlike most teens who might have absorbed it as a strike to their confidence, he got more curious and started reading education theory books to better understand himself. He was annoyed by their mean-spiritedness. In his junior year, Keith had a religion teacher who did not judge his reading choices and even made suggestions to add to his stack. He finally felt seen. 

Interestingly, Keith was considering college at 17, Keith decided to enlist in the Army Reserve so that he could get a scholarship to pay for his education and he felt that it was going to give me the discipline that I had lacked as a high school student. His parents were actually against it, but they accepted his choice. While his interests included philosophy, history, and education theory, he attended Worcester Polytechnic Institute (WPI) to study computer and data science.

While at WPI, Keith did a social science project on learning styles and how to build more effective computer-based instruction. This led to his assisting a professor with a research conference during which he introduced Keith to Mary McCauley, a less famous yet key researcher who brought the Myers Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI) to the mainstream. Meeting Mary changed the next ten years of Keith’s life. He worked with Mary doing research and analysis on the MBTI assessment. Keith also ran his own SAT test prep service.

Today, Keith is an independent consultant, thought leader, and LinkedIn learning contributor. He also serves as Cloud Factory's Chief Data Science Advisor.

In this week’s Work From The Inside Out podcast, learn more about Keith’s journey:

• In the 90s, Keith worked as an SPSS and analytic software trainer. 
• He has written several books, including AI for Dummies, and SPSS for Dummies.
• Keith has been working with analytics management, to more efficiently run their teams, and to nurture new hires as they expand their teams. 

Learn more and connect with Keith here:

• LinkedIn
• Twitter
• Instagram



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As a 5 year old, Todd Cherches would tell adults he wanted to be Superman when he grew up. His backup plan? To be Batman. He loved television, describing himself as a ‘TV Guide’, memorizing everything he could. By the age of 18, he had read the complete works of Shakespeare. As he says, “that’s one of the good things about having OCD, you don't give up on something until you're done.” In college, he studied English Literature and went on to get a Master’s in Communications.

Todd never lived away from his home on Long Island, New York except to go to college. After college he got a job as a media buyer at Ogilvy & Mather in New York City, commuting from his parent’s home. He didn’t love the job. After taking a vacation to LA where his college roommate was living, he was drawn to the land of his earliest obsession. Todd gave notice, packed his bags, and over the next ten years, he worked in a succession of jobs in the TV and entertainment industry. In our interview, he shared stories of those experiences and the familiar faces he bumped into, such as Tom Hanks, Lucille Ball, and Peewee Herman, to name just a few. Then, Todd decided to move home to New York, even though he was unsure what he would do next. He applied for a project management role at the American Management Association and they hired him. This launched his career in the field of management and leadership development. 

Today, Todd is the CEO and Co-founder of Big Blue Gumball, a New York City based consulting firm, specializing in leadership development, public speaking, and executive coaching.

In this week’s Work From The Inside Out podcast, learn more about Todd’s journey:

• Todd is the author of VisuaLeadership: Leveraging the Power of Visual Thinking in Leadership and in Life. A great book, in my humble opinion!
• He is an award-winning Adjunct Professor in the Human Capital Management Master's degree program at NYU, and a Lecturer on Leadership at Columbia University.
• Todd is a TEDx speaker and a member of Marshall Goldsmith’s MG100 coaches.

Learn more and connect with Todd here:

• LinkedIn
• Facebook
• Website
• Twitter



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Scott Perelstein is a change management specialist who closes the gap between strategy and implementation by guiding teams of planners and doers to move in the same direction. As a facility specialist for over 20 years, he has been in the facilities world as a contractor and owner, and a director. Scott specializes in bringing about change, focusing on inclusion from the highest level of administration to the frontline workers. Scott has managed hundreds of employees and cared for millions of square feet of higher education facilities.

Scott reflects on a conversation he had with his Dad as a teen that has stayed with him. His Dad was an electrical engineer and he was being promoted to a project manager role. Scott recalls his Dad’s perspective on the situation: 

“You get to a place where you did such a good job at what you know how to do that they ask you not to do it anymore. Then they ask you to manage people who do it and so I'll no longer do engineering, which I love. But somebody needs to step up and be the manager of that.” 

Many years later, Scott knew exactly what his Dad talking about as he experienced a similar transition and while he has been able to build a business leveraging his strengths on the people side, that transition can really be difficult for some people who perform excellently on the technical side but may not assimilate well to people management. He understands that it is like asking someone to change who they are and fit into a new definition of success. 

In this week’s Work From The Inside Out podcast, learn more about Scott’s journey: 

• Today, Scott is the Chief Operating Officer at Alchemy Academy. 
• He draws on his business management degree from Cornell University, as well as a broad book of experiences to create new and innovative businesses to shaping the culture within teams and organizations.
• His work is informed by his various roles as an entrepreneur, supervisor, and board member.

Learn more and connect with Scott here:

• Facebook: Stand In Your Strength
• LinkedIn
• Facebook
• Website



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