Dots | Podcast of Paul Syng
By Paul Syng
Dots | Podcast of Paul SyngJul 19, 2023
#14 Yousuf Afridi — From visual design to leading business transformation
Paul: Introduce yourself.
Yousuf: My professional journey has been both fun and rewarding, encompassing diverse roles such as a brand designer at a boutique corporate branding studio, digital producer then account director at a large ad agency, and management consultant at PwC.
You might be wondering, how did this guy start in visual design and end up leading business transformations for major corporations in Canada? Well, curiosity and an entrepreneurial spirit have been my driving forces, complemented by great mentorship along the way. These experiences have equipped me with unique vantage points for problem-solving and a versatile skill set for building solutions with incredible teams.
Today, I have the privilege of serving as the Head of Product Management and Strategic Design at PwC Canada, an iconic global enterprise with an impressive array of clients. My current practice area focuses on reimagining end-to-end customer and employee experiences. We design, build, and launch software to bring those experiences to life and enhance organizational capabilities to enable sustained success.
In my role, I foster an environment that enables pragmatic innovation, resulting in aligning siloed processes, integrating disparate technologies, and realigning incentives to successfully deliver customer/employee experiences that lead to business growth, increased customer satisfaction, and improved operational efficiency. It’s a wonderful blend of business, creativity, and technology. _ SPEAKER LINKS Host, Paul Syng: https://linktr.ee/paulsyng Guest, Yousuf Afridi: linkedin.com/in/afridi _ EPISODE LINKS Spotify, Apple, Anchor & more: https://anchor.fm/PAULSYNG CHAPTERS 00:00:00 Yousuf on writing his LinkedIn bio 00:02:06 How we met 00:07:01 When a Pakistani studying at British School in Dubai 00:20:40 Immigrating to Canada 00:27:30 Being self-taught 00:30:00 Skateboarding and emulating 00:36:28 Starting a creative business at the age of fifteen 00:44:18 Mentorship and learning the business of design 00:49:41 What Yousuf’s mentor taught him 00:57:36 Asking questions vs having answers 01:03:05 How consulting firms differ from agencies 01:11:00 Coffee and creative career paths 01:19:03 Business case vs creative brief 01:21:50 Can agencies swim upstream? 01:38:36 First year in consulting 01:48:04 What working WITH clients looks like 02:00:32 What consulting and agencies have in common 02:16:23 What creative people do in consulting 02:25:59 Being authentic as your MOAT 02:34:08 Ways of working and how approaches differ 02:53:52 Curious creative consultant over conclusions 02:59:34 What is Yousuf focused on now 03:06:08 3001 Questions and final thoughts 03:09:52 Closing remarks
#13 — Talica Davies (Sales Consulting): How to start and sell your coaching services
Talica's sales career has spanned over two decades. She has expertise in selling products and services ranging from high-end apparel, investment management, high ticket coaching programs and consulting services. She has led business development and revenue growth strategies for top-performing wealth advisory teams and run sales departments for start-ups and established entrepreneurs.
SPEAKER LINKS
Host, Paul Syng: https://linktr.ee/paulsyng
Guest, Talica Davies: talicadavies.com
EPISODE LINKS
Spotify, Apple, Anchor & more: https://anchor.fm/PAULSYNG
CHAPTERS
(00:00) Who is Talica Davies
(03:39) Closing $750,000,000 in sales
(05:23) Lessons from closing 9-figure deals for individuals
(10:22) How to become the person that closes 9-figure deals
(13:05) Discomfort and uncertainty in sales vs regular 9-5 folks
(16:20) What advice would Talica give to her younger self
(19:17) How to care about and believe in what you’re selling
(24:24) How to step into the shoes of your customer or client
(27:27) Language vs intelligence
(29:59) What is sales?
(33:23) Onboarding: Training, scripts and frameworks
(38:18) The power of questions
(40:24) How to start your coaching business without a website
(47:05) Warm vs cold lead. Doing outreach right
(52:18) How to build an offer
(56:16) Pricing: common mistakes
(58:28) Reframing: what you’re selling vs what they are buying
(01:07:24) Sales 101: Presenting your compelling offer
(01:13:24) What are buying signals and how to look for them
(01:18:09) Asking for money
(01:22:50) How to control the sales conversation without being needy
(01:28:37) Summary and 3001 Questions
(01:33:35) Final words from Talica
#12 — Anchal Kaushal (Somatic Sexologist): The birds and the bees
Anchal is a Certified Somatic Sexologist from the Institute of Somatic Sexology, Australia.
In addition to this, she is also a certified counsellor and Art Based Therapist and provides emotional support at sex and intimacy festivals all around the world.
Her mission is to support individuals and couples (of all genders and relational styles) to become an authority over their bodies and pleasure.
Using somatic embodiment tools, she guides you to develop a deeper connection with your body and sexuality, assisting you to let go of shame, conditioning and unhelpful patterns and open to more pleasure, purpose and choice.
She leads with an open heart & facilitates with knowledge, integrity, & wisdom.
SPEAKER LINKS
Host, Paul Syng: https://linktr.ee/paulsyng
Guest, Anchal Kaushal on Linkedin: linkedin.com/in/anchal-kaushal-1482a61
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/integratedsexuality/
Calendly: https://calendly.com/anchal-integratedsexuality/somatic-inquiry
1st book recommendation: https://a.co/d/0tdNnq7
2nd book recommendation: https://a.co/d/bgi0bOT
EPISODE LINKS
Spotify, Apple, Anchor & more: https://anchor.fm/PAULSYNG
CHAPTERS
(00:00) What is a Somatic Sexologist
(10:11) Early career as an Art Director working in an agency
(12:39) Relationships, sexuality and story of anguish
(21:34) The Birds and the Bees: society, family, talking taboo subjects
(34:56) Focus of society on the internal vs the external world
(38:48) Watching blue films (and their impact on thinking and beliefs)
(43:03) First-time encounters were pretty bad (we’ve all been there)
(47:55) Sharing your desires and listening to your body
(54:53) How males and females use sex (selection, attraction and scripts)
(01:10:20) With great power comes great responsibility (+intrinsic vs extrinsic)
(01:15:14) Daddy or mommy issues
(01:17:37) Anchal shares observations and common questions people ask
(01:34:56) How selection criteria vary for a short-term vs long-term mate
(01:37:32) The role of the head, heart and gut (awareness exercise)
(01:45:43) What fetishes, kinks and preferences say about us
(01:50:15) How and where to start your somatic journey (recommendations)
(01:53:58) Concluding notes and final thoughts
#11 — Eric Almquist (Advisory Partner, Bain & Company): The Elements of Value
Eric Almquist has 44 years of experience in management consulting, focusing on customer strategy and marketing to help companies with their toughest management challenges. He has brought the best ideas from numerous fields to help clients better understand their customers. He created the first advanced customer analytics capability in the consulting industry, focusing on segmentation, demand modelling, brand strategy, and customer relationship management. His team pioneered the commercialization of discrete choice models, latent class analysis, and other tools, creating new customer segmentation, CRM, and in-market experimentation approaches.
As a partner in Bain & Company’s Boston office and leader of Bain’s global Customer Insights and Analytics capability, Eric has worked in various industries, including retail, consumer products, financial services, and telecommunications. He is an expert in applying advanced analytics to help companies improve their value propositions, marketing, customer experience delivery, and customer retention. He has extensive experience with new customer acquisition, brand strategy, and product/service development.
Eric has also contributed to several publications and regularly speaks on customer, demand management, and corporate brand strategies. His most recent research is on the Elements of Value, both B2C and B2B, published in the Harvard Business Review.
SPEAKER LINKS
Host, Paul Syng: https://linktr.ee/paulsyng
Guest, Eric Almquist: linkedin.com/in/eric-almquist-993898
HBR article: https://hbr.org/2016/09/the-elements-of-value
Bain & Co: https://www.bain.com/insights/the-elements-of-value-hbr/
Vermicular Pots: https://www.amazon.ca/s?k=Vermicular&ref=bl_dp_s_web_0
Balmuda: https://www.amazon.ca/s?k=BALMUDA
EPISODE LINKS
Spotify, Apple, Anchor & more: https://anchor.fm/PAULSYNG
CHAPTERS
(00:00) Welcome to episode 11, Eric’s origin story
(06:41) Applying to a blind AD, first job
(08:52) Early days at Lippincott, growing it into a behemoth
(18:37) Statistics, the average person and big data
(26:48) OpenAI, language models and data (Have a POV)
(36:08) What Dyson, Vermicular (high-end rice cookers) and the iPod have in common
(41:59) Origins of The Elements of Value, NPS (Net Promoter Score) & HBR article
(55:32) Using TEoV to build empathy and other use cases
(58:17) Using TEoV in a sales cycle to understand the buyers (B2C vs B2B)
(01:09:59) TEoV is perfect for positioning work (brand strategy)
(01:22:15) Having meaningful conversations and measuring buyer sentiment
(01:31:39) The biggest misconception about The Elements of Value
(01:38:02) Summary and concluding thoughts
#10 — Jessica Guzik (Sr. Brand Lead, Shopify): Oberlo Youtube success and leadership advice
Jessica Guzik is a Senior Brand Lead at Shopify in Berlin, Germany. She has over 5 years of experience in digital and brand marketing. She is also a licensed attorney. She has experience coaching teams, establishing partnerships and leveraging relationships with international and remote teams to drive brand awareness. She has also led creative teams and has experience in video marketing and social media management for Oberlo. Prior to joining Shopify, she has worked as a consultant, a dinner party host, a manager for strategic partnerships and events, an associate director for strategic content, and a judicial law clerk. She holds a Bachelor's degree in Classics from University of Notre Dame and a Juris Doctor degree from Washington and Lee University.
SPEAKER LINKS
Host, Paul Syng: https://linktr.ee/paulsyng
Guest, Jessica Guzik: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jessicaguzik/
EPISODE LINKS
Spotify, Apple, Anchor & more: https://anchor.fm/PAULSYNG
Jessica’s Oberlo YouTube videos
https://youtu.be/w1j0bdLlAkY
https://youtu.be/H-BhkIteerc
https://youtu.be/jfwUsQ2Y1lg
Jessica’s book: Let's Take Berlin: Essays on Expat Life
https://a.co/d/aLZoFKl
Book Recommendations
Crucial Conversations: https://a.co/d/7DjyYUS
How to Talk So Little Kids Will Listen https://a.co/d/3ZjWPjU
Inspiration
Colin & Samir: https://www.youtube.com/@ColinandSamir
Neil Patel: https://twitter.com/neilpatel
TIMESTAMPS
(00:00) Theme of the conversation
(02:22) How we know each other
(05:59) Jessica’s life before Berlin: Writing, co-living & feeling lost
(12:05) Only looking back the Dots connect: From law to YouTube
(17:48) How Jessica got into practicing law
(20:15) Lessons and takeaways from law
(21:30) The master curator: organizing house parties and dinners
(25:39) Why Jessica organized events
(33:14) Staring into the eyes of a person or a screen (lost skills)
(41:50) Loneliness and dealing with it at different stages
(49:00) Getting a job at Shopify: Tips on standing out to get hired
(55:33) Jealousy and how Jessica wrote a book about Berlin
(01:01:30) Do this one thing and the hiring manager will hire you on the spot
(01:06:38) Initial days at Shopify
(01:11:45) Advice for YouTubers on how to grow fast (Oberlo lady tells all)
(01:20:24) Life beyond fame and being on camera
(01:25:45) Babies, mat leave around the world (going down the rabbit hole)
(01:29:18) Fun story about Berlin and Mayonnaise
(01:34:24) Leadership, difficult conversations and giving feedback
(01:49:29) 2 great books on communication for adults and kids
(01:54:40) Closing remarks and thoughts
(01:58:24) 3001 Questions All About Me
(02:01:21) Jessica’s message to the audience
(02:02:46) Bonus question
#9 — Erik Host-Steen (Sales Enablement, Elastic) Fix culture without fixing people
Erik Host-Steen is an expert in sales, marketing, and product development who helps business leaders improve their revenue trajectory and satisfaction at work. He has cross-functional leadership skills and specializes in sales processes, funnel management, strategic marketing, product management, business development, and digital transformation. He has expertise in water, environmental monitoring, specialty materials, measurement systems, process control instrumentation, IoT, wind energy, wind turbines, and drones.
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SPEAKER LINKS
Host, Paul Syng: https://linktr.ee/paulsyng
Guest, Erik. Host-Steen: https://www.linkedin.com/in/erikhoststeen/
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EPISODE LINKS
Spotify, Apple, Anchor & more: https://anchor.fm/PAULSYNG
↓
Fix culture without fixing people
https://www.smpalignment.com/blog/2021/7/fix-culture-without-fixing-people
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TIMESTAMPS
(00:00) Who is Erik Host-Steen
(05:38) Talking to the customer from their perspective vs your own
(08:47) Peanut butter, camping gear and mental models for simplifying ideas
(16:04) Fixing culture without fixing people
(22:28) NASCAR and common mistakes leaders make in designing orgs
(32:42) Why metrics, dashboards and obsession over data is pointless
(33:28) How brand and business strategy can often become dumpster terms
(38:07) Tour of duty, adaptability and employability
(42:21) Connecting the dots between outcome hierarchy and the round canoe
(48:10) Building a house vs The blind men and the elephant
(55:01) Scenarios: How to build a culture of curiosity (order taker to advisory)
(01:04:51) Coinbase, Twitter and final thoughts from Erik and Paul
(01:11:36) 3001 Questions All About Me
(01:14:39) Closing remarks
#8 — Daniel Stillman (Author, Good Talk) How to communicate like a pro with the Conversation OS
Daniel Stillman designs conversations for a living and insists that you do, too. As an executive coach and facilitator, he works with clients of all shapes and sizes on leadership and team dynamics as well as on product and organizational innovation. He also hosts The Conversation Factory podcast (a top 100 Management Podcast) and is the author of “Good Talk: How to Design Conversations that Matter” a handbook for changemakers and innovators.
Daniel has worked with Fortune 500 organizations like Accenture, Cisco, Google and Visa and non-profits and government agencies like The Institute of International Education, UNICEF and The NYC Public School Innovation Lab to help them put people at the center of change.
Daniel has a BS in Physics from the City College of New York and a Masters in Industrial Design from the Pratt Institute in Brooklyn. He lives in Harlem with his wife and a grumpy black cat.
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SPEAKER LINKS
Host, Paul Syng: https://linktr.ee/paulsyng
👉🏼 Guest, Daniel Stillman:
Podcast: https://theconversationfactory.com/listen
Book: https://theconversationfactory.com/good-talk
Personal Site: https://www.danielstillman.com/
Connect on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/danielstillman/
Connect on Twitter: https://twitter.com/dastillman
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EPISODE LINKS
Spotify, Apple, Anchor & more: https://anchor.fm/PAULSYNG
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BOOKS
Humble Inquiry: Link
Helping: Link
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TIMESTAMPS
(00:00) Meeting at a bar in New York and the story behind the book, Good Talk
(04:21) Who is Daniel Stillman?
(10:51) The art of communication as a critical skill
(17:21) Conversations in our head to complex conversations
(28:44) Perspective-taking, biases and uncovering the true challenge
(35:41) Deep listening, frameworks and mental models
(46:22) Expert listening, coaching vs advisory
(58:50) Humble inquiry, thinking partner and early conversations to build trust
(01:15:35) The client doesn’t know what they want (the abstraction ladder and Conversation OS)
(01:26:47) How to get clarity and intention when you express yourself
(01:38:32) From peer to boss. Leadership and how to handle difficult conversations
(01:48:27) Final words from Daniel
#7 — Stephen G Pope (CEO, SGP Labs) How to create content at scale without fancy gear or software
Stephen helps people generate revenue with persuasive videos and automated systems to distribute content at scale. After Stephen sold the tech company, he grew to 2.6 million/year. He looked back and knew it could have been done even faster. He got into video and social media—when he ran into all the challenges, he used his tech skills to streamline the process. People started noticing his solutions and wanted to buy his systems, but now that’s all he does.
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SPEAKER LINKS
Host, Paul Syng: https://linktr.ee/paulsyng
Guest, Stephen G Pope: https://tiktok.com/@stephengpope
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RESOURCES
Content Matrix Worksheet: https://bit.ly/3TBd3au
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TIMESTAMPS
(00:00) Stephen G Pope's story and crossing 36000 followers on TikTok
(03:05) Where to start, what’s the first step and why video
(06:45) What do I say on video and overcoming fear of failing publicly
(11:40) How to get started with your webcam or phone
(16:15) Repeating yourself and what kind of content gets more views
(21:30) Understanding the big picture and keeping it simple
(26:00) How to find ideas on making content by listening to your customers
(28:40) How to pick a platform to start your video journey
(32:20) How to build your audience and what to avoid
(34:54) The “glasses” and showing your personality
(38:20) How Stephen helps and coaches his clients
(40:15) 3001 Questions all about me and Stephen plays “In a sentimental mood”
(42:10) Final words and close
#6 — Shwetank Dixit (Ex-VP at eyeo | Ex-Opera): Zero to One, Browsers & Leading Teams
Shwetank Dixit has broad experience in product management, technology strategy (including AI strategy), corporate innovation, engineering management, program management, developer relations, technology evangelism, web standards, browser extensions, technical documentation, and conference organization and public speaking. He often acts as a bridge between the pure tech and business realms.
EPISODE LINKS
Paul Syng: https://linktr.ee/paulsyng
Shwetank Dixit: https://twitter.com/shwetank
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Shwetank's talk at JSConf on Adblocker Circumvention
https://youtu.be/Vk9bPDaZELQ
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Articles by Shwetank
Table stakes, KTLOs and Differentiators
https://www.getrevue.co/profile/shwetank/issues/table-stakes-ktlos-and-differentiators-955701
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Dealing with change: NIH Syndrome, institutional exceptionalism and isomorphic mimicry
https://www.getrevue.co/profile/shwetank/issues/dealing-with-change-nih-syndrome-institutional-exceptionalism-and-isomorphic-mimicry-955519
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Ambitious Leadership
https://www.getrevue.co/profile/shwetank/issues/ambitious-leadership-955518
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Book Recommendation: Endurance: Shackleton's Incredible Voyage by Alfred Lansing
https://www.amazon.ca/dp/0465062881/ref=cm_sw_r_tw_dp_RFAM2WP0GYT8N043T499
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Sundar Pichai's OKR tweet
https://twitter.com/sundarpichai/status/1543328071532523521?s=20
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Ad Filtering Dev Summit
https://adfilteringdevsummit.com
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TIMESTAMPS
(00:00) Optimism and raising kids
(05:39) Zero to one efforts
(09:58) Doing things that don’t scale (Airbnb story)
(14:09) Behind the scenes: Opera (How browsers work and the future)
(24:02) Browser rendering engine monopolies and privacy, user data and cookies
(38:00) How online ads help prevent a class system on the internet
(42:20) People behind ad block services and their philosophy
(48:29) Leadership and future value mindset to tactics
(57:36) Ambitious leadership: Voyages, Marathons and Sprints
(01:08:06) Being strategic and preparing a business case for executives
(01:17:57) Diverse teams and assembling the right people (+ challenges)
(01:26:42) Learn how your company makes money and incentives (+ KLO)
(01:34:28) OKRs, NIH Syndrome and dealing with conflicts (org dysfunctions)
(01:42:34) Different teams and building culture
(01:50:28) Giving feedback the right way and understanding team dynamics
(01:55:34) Isomorphic Mimicry
(01:58:52) Summary by Paul
(2:04:45) Advice on how to show up and get hired (remote first)
#5 — Isha Singh (Transformation Coach & Change Management Leader) From art to advisory
Isha is a Transformation and Change Management Coach with extensive experience in introducing change and driving adoption with people. She is skilled at structured design and implementation of large-scale complex change initiatives while focusing on a smooth transition from the current state to the target state by providing thought leadership, coaching and training. Outside of work, she is a loving daughter, mom and wife who enjoys spending time with her family. She likes to meditate and focus on holistic health in her quiet time.
SPEAKER LINKS
Host, Paul Syng: https://linktr.ee/paulsyng
Guest, Isha Singh: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ishasingh-5221/
EPISODE LINKS
Spotify, Apple, Anchor & more: https://anchor.fm/PAULSYNG
Watch on Youtube
TIMESTAMPS
(00:00) Galaxies and spirituality
(10:57) How do we know each other
(14:50) Memories and lessons learned from college
(19:32) Boeing 777 campaign story
(24:03) Isha’s current role as a transformation coach
(25:10) Understanding macro and micro, connecting strategy with initiatives
(28:22) How and when do transformation coaches get involved
(32:26) How to get buy-in at the leadership level
(38:46) Understanding and knowing incentives that drive behaviour
(43:16) Advice on how to navigate a dysfunctional organization
(59:12) High five diffusion in management consulting
(01:02:12) Cognitive empathy, speaking in grade eight language and asking stupid questions
(01:17:10) Isha’s backstory, early years and influences
(01:33:12) Radical candour, self-awareness and cultural differences
(01:51:57) Who moved my cheese
(02:04:04) Learning zone and growth mindset
(02:05:02) How coaches and SMEs help leadership navigate a dysfunctional org
(02:13:30) Tactical steps leadership can take to address dysfunction and get alignment
(02:23:29) 3001 questions all about me
(02:24:46) Final words and close
#4 — Gayle Charach (Global Head of Sales Enablement): From Camp Counsellor to Sales Leader
Gayle is a Sales Enablement leader with a demonstrated record of success and extensive experience driving cross-functional collaboration, customer and partner engagement and loyalty, and revenue and market share by empowering sales teams with the right coaching, tools and training to maximize productivity. When she is not working, she is a loving daughter, wife and mother trying to live her best life while caring for those in her life who mean the most.
SPEAKER LINKS
Host, Paul Syng: https://linktr.ee/paulsyng
Guest, Gayle Charach: https://www.linkedin.com/in/gcharach/
EPISODE LINKS
Spotify, Apple, Anchor & more: https://anchor.fm/PAULSYNG
CHAPTERS
(00:00) How Gayle and I met
(02:08) Gayle’s current role as Global Head of Sales Enablement at vArmour
(03:34) From Winnipeg to Toronto
(07:07) Teamwork, collaboration, and other lessons learned from camp
(11:02) Driving results with the STAR methodology
(13:54) Trip to Israel and emotional regulation as a leadership skill
(19:20) Speaking in Eight grade language for domain experts
(23:33) Not fitting into a box and Gayle’s car buying story
(32:52) Leading with a story to invite people into the conversation
(38:38) Helping logical minds tell emotion-led stories
(43:06) From strategy to initiatives, change management and the role of collaboration
(52:16) Improving communication bandwidth between people and teams
(01:03:25) Building trust and bringing people on the journey by knowing what drives them
(01:10:13) Culture and behaviour as a result of incentive structures
(01:15:23) Connecting the people at the bottom with the top
(01:22:43) How Gayle got into sales
(01:28:08) Imposter syndrome, limiting beliefs and trusting yourself
(01:33:14) Advice for women looking for a career in sales
(01:40:06) Paul’s summary and learnings
(01:42:58) 3001 Questions all about me
(01:45:23) Closing remarks
#3 — Nicole Murphy (Growth Consultant, Ex-Marketing Exec): From a small town to Tall Size, role of coaching & finding your voice
Nicole is a former Marketing Executive turned Founder, Marketing Consultant & Business Coach. Nicole rapidly grew her corporate career in just eight years, from earning $55k as a Marketing Specialist in 2013 to earning $240k as a VP of Growth in 2021.
In addition to consulting, Nicole is also a Mentor in a few Toronto Accelerator Programs, where she coaches a variety of early-stage start-ups on how to grow their businesses.
When Nicole isn’t working with clients, she is building her own e-commerce company, Tall Size — the first-ever online shopping platform for tall women. As a tall woman, she was sick and tired of how hard it was to find clothes that fit her body, so she set out to solve the problem herself.
Nicole’s sole mission in life is to empower 1 million women to step into their most confident and comfortable selves in both business and in life, and she will not stop until she does.
SPEAKER LINKS
Host, Paul Syng: https://linktr.ee/paulsyng
Guest, Nicole Murphy: https://www.linkedin.com/in/nicolemjmurphy/
EPISODE LINKS
Spotify, Apple, Anchor & more: https://anchor.fm/PAULSYNG
Youtube: https://youtu.be/jnifJfG9YqM
TIMESTAMPS
(00:00) How we know each other
(03:00) Who is Nicole Murphy (Founder & Coach)
(05:25) What is Tall Size
(08:32) Growing up in a small town
(13:13) Influence of family
(16:33) Being the tall one out from an early age
(20:00) Finding her superpower and community
(27:00) Funny dating stories of a tall girl (advice for men)
(34:09) Moving to the big city
(39:49) Getting hired at Well.ca (Lesson on how to apply for a job)
(49:22) What kind of company you should apply for fresh out of school
(57:40) Role email marketing played in Nicole’s career
(01:06:52) Obvious things that hold people back in their career
(01:08:48) What it was like to become an executive
(01:13:13) Leading vs managing the work
(01:24:05) Individual contributors vs managers (Org incentive structure)
(01:31:58) Leaving the executive role and microdosing
(01:44:26) Starting to live life for yourself and closing the first deal
(01:56:23) How to show up to client meetings and getting them to open up
(02:09:35) Being curious and coach-like (and also hiring her first coach)
(02:19:13) Finding her voice and not being obsessed with metrics
(02:30:05) What’s better than having a website when starting out on your own
(02:32:49) Becoming a coach and coaching other women
(02:40:52) Starting and building Tall Size
(02:46:32) How to find your customers and build an email list
(02:57:47) What’s next for Tall Size
(03:02:54) Paul summarizes Nicole’s story
(03:06:20) Closing remarks by Nicole
#2 — Karan Puri (Sr. Product Manager at TD): From selling media to Product Management & Innovation
Karan is a Sr. Product Manager (External Ecosystem group) at TD Bank with a focus on Digital Identity. He is an Ex Management Consultant who has spent the last 10 years in Banking in Canada with exposure to Mid-Market Lending, Personal Banking, Product Management and Innovation.
SPEAKER LINKS
Host, Paul Syng: https://linktr.ee/paulsyng
Guest, Karan Puri: https://www.linkedin.com/in/karan-puri-0342039
EPISODE LINKS
Spotify, Apple, Anchor & more: https://anchor.fm/paulsyng
TIMESTAMPS
(00:00) Karan’s backstory (India)
(09:40) Dreams of becoming a fighter jet pilot
(13:00) Suiting up, long walks, reading books and mental health
(19:45) First interview and introduction to media planning
(22:50) Client presentation and being coached by inspirational leaders
(28:53) Work culture, making mistakes and feeling safe
(36:51) Being a generalist and following your curiosity
(39:09) Lacoste shocker and Nielsen data (inside joke)
(48:20) People don’t know what they want
(51:49) Being a visible minority in India and Canada
(57:02) Building resilience and work-life balance
(01:05:51) Leaders vs managers (vision and focus on outcomes)
(01:08:05) Radical candour and giving feedback (India vs Canada)
(01:16:35) Working at the bank (the first 6 years)
(01:37:53) Present role at the bank (External Ecosystems group)
(01:45:20) Key learnings (marketing, product mindset, business case)
(01:52:00) Digital identity, fintech and bringing perspective
(02:02:20) Important lessons and cultural differences (India to Canada)
#1 — Shwetank Dixit (Ex-VP at eyeo | Ex-Opera): Startups, Communication & Product-Led Growth
Shwetank Dixit has broad experience in product management, technology strategy (including AI strategy), corporate innovation, engineering management, program management, developer relations, technology evangelism, web standards, browser extensions, technical documentation, and conference organization and public speaking. He often acts as a bridge between the pure tech and business realms.
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SPEAKER LINKS
Paul Syng: https://linktr.ee/paulsyng
Shwetank Dixit: https://twitter.com/shwetank
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Listen to this podcast on other platforms: https://anchor.fm/paulsyng
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TIMESTAMPS
00:00 How we know each other
02:28 Shwetank on how he got started
03:48 How Shwetank got hired by Opera
08:02 Schools, markers of success and making mistakes
11:59 Building a search engine for academic content
13:00 The role of the education system and pursuing your curiosity
14:18 From shy introvert to a public speaker (contrarian view)
22:05 What does a web evangelist do?
26:30 Lesson on reaching out to people on Linkedin (building relationships)
29:10 Humans are suspicious of salesy behaviour
33:30 First stint as a product manager (working on Opera extensions platform)
37:16 Browser extensions, platform monopoly and the risks
39:48 Parallels between product and service-based companies (bringing features or people in-house)
42:16 Role of distribution and client buying decisions
45:52 Sales-led model vs Product-led growth (PLG)
52:20 Future of sales: PLG coupled with sales
56:00 The role of communication in becoming a leader and bridge
01:01:07 Difference between an engineer and senior engineer
How to lead client conversations and make million dollar proposals
Also on YouTube: https://youtu.be/OELmw4QSRfY
Do you sell the drill or the hole? Putting the urban legend to rest #sales
Also on YouTube: https://youtu.be/rEe31Q0VoBk
CEO Mindset — Strategy Masterclass with Steve Jobs (Apple) & Sandeep Goyal (Rediffusion)
Watch the episode on Youtube: https://youtu.be/TXn-LfUJKGU
Why successful people don't care about failure (Internal vs external validation)
Watch this episode: https://youtu.be/IhrE3HZp-W0
Follow me on Twitter: https://twitter.com/paulsyng
How I went from 'FAILURE' to Creative Director
Naval Ravikant's: "How to get rich (without getting lucky)" tweet storm
Follow me on Twitter: https://twitter.com/paulsyng
How to lead with curiosity: https://youtu.be/9Ptc4TzP1cY
"How to get rich" on Twitter https://twitter.com/naval/status/1002...
"How to get rich" on Apple Podcast https://podcasts.apple.com/ca/podcast...
Clubhouse, WFH and being yourself
Follow me on Twitter: @paulsyng
Also, follow Chris Do and David C Baker
Watch this episode on YouTube
