Thought Talk

When one of my colleagues first suggested that I should interview the CEO and President of Hollman Lockers — I wondered how much is there really to say about lockers? Turns out quite a bit. Join me today for a chat with serial entrepreneur and innovator Travis Hollman. We discuss his leadership style, business as a force for good, and the future of privacy in public spaces.  We will also discuss the mind-boggling use of data and technology in lockers today and ways that leading-edge materials and manufacturing may prove to be useful in preventing or containing the future spread of viruses.    Tips On Business as a Force for Good Find a niche that suits you and learn the success mechanisms of your business. Build a company culture that gives back — Travis shares his own company’s initiatives: Hollman HELPs. Take care of your employees; they are family — Travis shares his approach to employment during COVID-19.   Be a leader, do the right thing and support small businesses around you in any way you can.   “WE

Today’s Thought Talk show is about overturning adversity in the workplace. I’m happy to welcome Laura Huang — Associate Professor at Harvard, the author of the new book From Adversity to Advantage. The book is based on her research on interpersonal relationships and implicit bias in entrepreneurship and in the workplace. Tune in for insight on topics ranging from the biases that women should be on the lookout for when pitching projects — and what to do with them, what “Hard work, Plus” and E.D.G.E. could mean for your career, tips and tricks to get a clearer picture of people’s perceptions of you, and why doing business as usual right now might mean the end of some of your longest vendor relationships. In addition, will explore the ramifications of the current coronavirus pandemic crisis as new constraints force adaptation.    Tips For Building Your Edge   When it comes to working in times of adversity, go back to the basics — Determine what your core role is?   Have a clear understanding of how you are pe

Rodney Abbot is a senior partner at Lippincott, the global creative consultancy behind the logos of Walmart, Starbucks, Delta, and Southwest Airlines, among others. In this podcast, he discusses the process of creating a logo for a company. Topics include using a logomark, logotype (or both), color’s impact on a logo, and the hottest logo design trends for 2020.

Gretchen Cryer has been at the center of writing, performing and directing one person shows for more than three decades. In this episode of Thought Talk she shares insights, experiences and knowledge about how businesspeople can use these techniques in public speaking.

Pauline Brown the Former Chairman of LVMH North America discusses her new book, “Aesthetic Intelligence”. Brown left her position at LVMH to do a deep dive into the way aesthetics impact us personally and professionally and teaches about what she learned at Harvard.

Sritha Thayi, the co-founder of W3 Chocolate, discusses her journey (from idea to execution) in introducing a new chocolate to an already crowded marketplace. Sritha shares about how she and her co-founders conceived of the concept in a meditation and how she personally went door to door in Brooklyn hawking her chocolates to coffee shops.

Ben Pines, Head of Content for Elementor, a Drag and Drop Site builder for WordPress, shares his take on the way content management has evolved and what every business needs to know about creating content for websites and beyond.

This episode features Amy Morin a psychotherapist and author of 13 Things Mentally Strong Women Don’t Do from HarperCollins. Her work as a psychotherapist, combined with her personal experiences of overcoming tragedy, taught her what it takes to be mentally strong. Her TEDx Talk, “The Secret of Becoming Mentally Strong” has garnered more than eight million views.

The creative mode in your brain is like a butterfly. It’s beautiful and erratic, hard to catch and highly valued as a result. If you want to capture it, you need a net. Enter the executive mode, the task-oriented network in your brain that help you tie your shoes, run a meeting, or pitch a client.

In this episode, Tony Award-winning producer, Mara Isaacs, shares the life and business lessons learned from being a Broadway producer As the founder of Octopus Theatricals, an independent production company, Mara shows the parallels between the way Broadway and startups function. She also talks us through the branding and marketing approach she took with her eight Tony Award-winning show, Hadestown.

There are a multitude of ways one’s career can go off the rails. Carter Cast, a Professor of Entrepreneurship at Northwestern University’s Kellogg School of Management discusses the need for white-collar professionals to do some serious self-accounting in order to have careers that thrive instead of stall.

Joel Kimmel, leading expert in ontological design and author of the new book, Self: The Vast World Behind Your Words, shares how with just two simple shifts, we can all be more peaceful inside even when the external circumstances aren’t what we would hope.

Having discovered the use of CBD and hemp when she had to take in her sister who was having ovarian cancer three years ago, Tea guru Miriam Novalle is now utilizing CBD/Hemp in her business. Miriam is the CEO and founder of the world-renowned T Salon in New York City and the founder of High Tea Today. She discusses her new tea line which contains legal CBD/hemp buds and the growing trending of adding CBD/hemp to beauty and health products. She shares that hemp under 3% of THC is legal in every state of the union and it works amazingly for people with sleeping issues, for purification, for detox, and does wonders for the immunity before and after chemo treatment. She adds that it has no psychoactive ingredients so it doesn’t get you high. Miriam talks a little bit about how she got into the business, how she made it successful, and shares some insights on what she thinks are some of the lessons for entrepreneurs from the journey that she’s been through.

Kunal Sood is the Founder of X Fellows, Novus and X-Impact Group. Sood is also a TED Speaker and Resident. He discusses: How an extraordinary experience can transform a person’s life; what is the difference between an ordinary conference and a curated event and why we all need to be global citizens. Sood works with Fortune 500 companies such as Facebook, Google, and SAP, as well as social enterprises like X Prize Foundation, Singularity University , TED and United Nations. He has won numerous awards at the UN for his work as a leader in social impact, innovation, and media. As an exponential entrepreneur, social impact strategist, and philanthropic leader, Sood is focused on promoting organizations that make a positive difference to humanity. his steadfast commitment to the field, Sood has received many honors that include the RoundGlass Samsara Lifetime Achievement Award in 2017, and. He has five masters which include an MBA from Kellogg and an MA in Positive Psychology from Penn.

Jess Thomas is the Co-Founder and CEO of True Jerky, a consumer brand of protein snacks. Thomas discusses the challenges and rewards of a start up in the food space including: What it’s like to start a business with friends; how to survive in a competitive market with a few large incumbents and a lot of local boutique brands and how to stand out. True Jerky, which was founded by college friends in 2015 and based in San Francisco. makes bold & delicious protein snacks inspired by regional or global flavors, made with 100% domestic meats. Their products can be found in over 2000 stores nationwide, as well as on Amazon and the True website.

Leslee Udwin is the founder of “Think Equal” a non profit whose mission is to create a global system change in education. Udwin discusses the powerful impact teaching young children emotional and social intelligence has on their role as citizens – in the country, world and their careers. She was voted by the NY Times the No 2 Most Impactful Woman of 2015 (second to Hillary Clinton), and has been awarded the prestigious Swedish Anna Lindh Human Rights Prize (previously won by Madeleine Albright). She has also been named Safe’s Global Hero of 2015, Global Thinker by Foreign Policy. A British Oscar winning filmmaker Leslee is now a Social Entrepreneur. Her documentary “India’s Daughter”, has been critically acclaimed around the globe, won 32 awards (including the Peabody Award) and sparked a global movement to end violence against women and girls. The searing insights yielded by the 2½ journey making “India’s Daughter”, led Leslee to found “Think Equal” which calls for a global system change in education.

Ajit Mathew George is the Organizer & Executive Producer for TEDx Wilmington. In this episode he discusses why and when to share your one, great idea through a TEDx Talk; elements of a sucessful TEDx talk; how to apply and what a TEDx talk can do to shape your personal brand. He has organized 29 different TEDxWilmington events between 2012 and February 9, 2018 showcasing 397 speakers from all around the world who gave 375 TEDx talks. These talks have collectively had 7,449,846 views on the TEDxYouTube Channel.

Yelena Dudochkin has captivated audiences across the world with her expressive stage presence, rich soprano voice, and powerful interpretations. Her operatic roles include Tatyana in Eugene Onegin, Violetta in La Traviata, Snow Maiden in Snow Maiden, Iolanta and Brigitta in Iolanta, Gilda in Rigoletto, Chernyafka in Magic Mirror, and Marfa in Tsar’s Bride, with Opera Boston, New Opera NYC, Commonwealth Lyric Theater, Opera Classica Europa, The Mariinsky Opera Young Artists, and others.

Professor Sydney Finkelstein discusses his latest book Superbosses and what superbosses do that’s so special including how they manage millennials, and where to find them in your organization. Sydney Finkelstein is the Steven Roth Professor of Management and Director of the Center for Leadership at the Tuck School of Business at Dartmouth College. He holds a Masters degree from the London School of Economics and a Ph.D. from Columbia University. Professor Finkelstein has published 22 books and 85 articles, including the #1 bestseller Why Smart Executives Fail. He is a Fellow of the Academy of Management and a top 25 on the global Thinkers 50 list of top management gurus. His latest bestselling book is Superbosses: How Exceptional Leaders Master the Flow of Talent, which LinkedIn Chairman Reid Hoffman calls the “leadership guide for the Networked Age.”

Richard Bennett the co-founder and CEO of Epicured, a gourmet kitchen and food delivery service designed to make healthy eating simple and joyful. Epicured is the first 100% low FODMAP and gluten-free food company offering healthy, unique, and digestion-friendly menus.