Cross-polliNation (NBee)

Energized by time outdoors? Niki Choo drew on a background in outdoor recreation, business, psychology and real estate development to co-found Campsyte, an outdoor workspace. The CEO explains what sparked her business, the benefits of time outside and why cross-pollinating knowledge leads to more creative companies. Episode 9 2018

How does good design speak to readers? Tracy Lay applies design & creativity to connect authors & new ideas to an audience. She cross-pollinates art, self-publishing & branding & created a new business based on her unique combination of skills & talents. Episode 17 2019

What do you do when disruption & change are your industry norm? B2B tech marketing expert Gal Corfas explains how rapid change influences online marketing, different generations at work and the way that we think. He talks job and education trends based on the experience of his industry, being a non-specialist and how cross-pollinating and learning in different fields can help. Episode 4 2018

How can organizations prioritize resources & choose their next steps? Cheryl Lockhart works with organizations to plan, activate & execute strategy. She talks being creative with KPIs, supporting growth with systems & creating buy-in. Episode 41

What’s civic innovation & how can it help cities? Elisha Muskat is a social innovation leader who tells us about how cities can work better for more people, how to redefine problems to unlock new value & opportunities to solve old problems in exciting new ways. Episode 15

Nickita created Passions Pilot. She’s an IT project manager, former stained glass artist & multi-potentialite with multiple interests. We chat non-specialist careers, natural cross-pollinators & undercover innovators. Nickita talks agile methods & organizing many passions with Passions Pilot. Episode 18

Combining strengths, business tools & psychology with therapist Dr. V Mockett. Episode 2 2018

How can companies innovate better? Janice Francisco leads BridgePoint Effect. She tells us why employee creativity is organizations’ best resource in responding to change & developing new solutions. Janice explains what companies need to consider in embarking on an innovation journey. Episode 16

How can sports help build creative muscle? Pro skier & entrepreneur Leah Evans turns imagination into reality. She talks about using sport to take risks & get out of your comfort zone. She chats on the creative film, music and business ventures she’s developed and learning from failure. Leah is founder/Director of Girls Do Ski and Airplane Mode and has appeared in films, international ski camps and expeditions. Episode 5 2018

Are young people more creative than adults? Team Zeal created an app & a business model to solve a real-world problem in 12 weeks with no prior coding or entrepreneurial experience. They talk competing in the global Technovation Challenge & being young women in a non-traditional field. Episode 21.

Thinking of taking on new projects? An adventurous childhood inspired Mario Rigby to cross Africa by foot & Canada by bike. He shares the most unexpected things he learned & what’s coming next. Episode 25

Garrett Wasny knows people & companies have hesitations about AI. He's a tech enthusiast & award-winning educator on a mission to address hesitations, explain its benefits & how to utilize AI in smart, ethical & practical ways at work & outside. 

Garrett chats on

• working smarter with AI
• introducing it in companies with clear guidelines
• the reasons employees are key
• starting with a beginners' mindset &
• why now is the time to get to know the robots

Garrett Wasny is an AI Skills Advisor and longtime management consultant specializing in technology & the accounting industry. He's an expert at new technology application & implementation in the workplace, recognized by MyCPE One with a Top AI & Technology Educator award. 

In the episode, Garett gives an example on aspirational modelling with AI using this prompt:

Based on the provided [resume/company profile], create a comprehensive AI aspirational model for [Individual/Company Name]. Develop three distinct personas: Real (current state), Aspirational (ideal future state), and Contrarian (critical perspective). Identify innovative capabilities and initiatives that push beyond current boundaries. Consider ethical implications of growth. Craft a strategic [ 5-year] plan with short, mid, and long-term goals. Simulate a conversation between the personas discussing optimal growth strategies. Conclude with a practical implementation roadmap. Throughout this analysis, balance ambition with practicality, aiming to uncover and leverage untapped potential while remaining true to core strengths and values. [resume/company profile = copy and paste here],

What’s so amazing about plants?  Plant scientist Jerrin Victor tells us how growing new kinds of plants faster can have an impact on challenges from deforestation to climate change, biodiversity & feeding the world. He chats on why plants are his passion but creating jobs is the most important part of his work. Episode 23.

Ever wonder what art is for? Artist Agnieszka Matejko has. She talks about art that serves communities and the wonder of giant monuments under a vast prairie sky. This episode is about roadside art with a sense of humour that's helped restore cultural pride, put small towns on the Guinness Records map and draw tourists on cross-country road trips.

Matejko's article on this topic,  Big Art, Big Smiles & artist website

Episode transcript 

How do art, business, culture, history & family combine? Entrepreneur Breannen Allison on how coming to know her Cree & Métis heritage led to Thimbleberry Designs, honouring her grandmother’s life & supporting resurgence for the future. Episode 40

Shari Hughson is a serial entrepreneur, intrapreneur & social innovator who lived off the land for 7 years. She talks about why innovation is a human survival skill & a systematic process, how intrapreneurs & entrepreneurs are alike & different & why curiosity & execution are essential to solve problems in a new way.

Diversity at work – the business case or moral case? Co-hosts of (Ex)clusion podcast & equity, diversity & inclusion pros Marcie Hawranik & Alicia Bjarnson chat EDI, inclusion & supporting innovation, better workplaces & social policies. Episode 34.

How to reinvent careers from an industry in transition? Carl, Nathalie & Clark chat on the ingredients they needed to make big changes from oil & gas careers, fear of change & what we can learn.

Want to be a pirate? Dr. Tendayi Viki chats on his new book Pirates in the Navy, intrapreneurship & what companies & corporate innovators need to know to survive & stay viable before, during & after the pandemic. Episode 36

Christa Avampato is a New York product development expert, business writer & award-winning fiction author. She talks about why tech is about stories; biomimicry & product design, the career story you need to tell & reinventing your career & life through creativity & imagination. Episode 11 2018

How to navigate through uncertainty & ambiguity? Janice Francisco, founder at Bridgepoint Effect, talks about quieting fear & anxiety, getting comfortable with newness & moving forward with purpose in an uncertain world. Episode 38 Part 2

Education as you know it is old school. Educational designer Natalie Vardabasso talks innovation & education. She tells us how education can better prepare students for the future & what changes are driving a need for new, more creative, equitable & practical approaches in education. Episode 37

Connecting diverse career interests. Book coach/publisher and Seats-2-Meet co-owner, Elise de Bres is an expert at making connections others can’t see. She explains the red thread that unifies her business interests, the power of serendipity and her unintended path to entrepreneurship. Episode 3 2018

Vera Neverkevich is a computer scientist & filmmaker. She talks about how IT contributes to her film work and creating new stories with an outsider’s perspective. Vera explains what it takes to get good at what you do, persist in a highly competitive field and live a creative life in two fields. "Leaving your own country...trying to understand another culture opens your mind". Episode 8 2018

How can business support human development? Ling Ling Phung, founder of Two Lings, is a social innovation strategist & intrapreneurship expert. She chats meaningful work that requires rigour & heart. Episode 26

What’s changing in the way we learn? Ron Thiele is President & co-founder of Xpan Interactive, an e-learning company. He chats on growing a company of e-learning explorers, tech, storytelling & disruption in the learning space. Episode 19

How to be an intrapreneur & do something new in your industry. Training people without a programming background to be data scientists. Episode 1, 2018.

How to reinvent careers from an industry in transition? Carl, Nathalie & Clark all worked in Alberta oil & gas. Now their jobs are completely different. They chat on reinventing careers & the big changes they made.

Heard of a rare albino moose? Entrepreneur Connie Stacey chats on the power of unconventional perspectives & outside ideas, growing her business, Growing Greener Innovations, & a vision to bring energy to the world. Episode 35

How do you take on a problem that’s bigger than you? If you’re Kylie Woods, you bootstrap Chic Geek with a volunteer army. The founder/Exec Director explains her love for tech, engaging more women in IT, leadership, experiments, blending startup, tech and non-profit approaches and applying your background in industries where your skills aren’t an obvious fit.

What’s the connection between innovation & prosperity? Deepa Prahalad is a strategy, design & emerging markets expert & author. She talks economic inclusion, opportunities in challenges & the value of uniqueness in good design. Episode 20

How can companies do better at retaining engaged employees? Jessica Ketwaroo-Green is an award-winning social policy expert & consultant. She chats on the ELAT framework she created to help organizations & companies move from diversity to inclusion & equity. Episode 39

How to be creative & innovative at a time of uncertainty & big change? Janice Francisco, founder at Bridgepoint Effect, talks leadership, remote collaboration & ways we can move forward when we can’t clearly see the next bend in the road. The skills & thinking we need. Episode 38 Part 1

Chrissy Gow chats on how Eventmobi, an event management software company, pivoted to help fight “Zoom fatigue” durind the pandemic & serve customers with a new business model to make online events more interactive, & engaging. Episode 32

Diane Mulcahy wrote the best-selling book, The Gig Economy. She chats independent work, professional portfolio careers & what that looks like when traditional careers aren't traditional any more. Episode 30.

Business coach Lisa Robbin Young helps creative entrepreneurs develop sustainable businesses. She explains the 3 types of creatives and her incubator that helps commercialize their expertise. She talks about cross-pollinating to stand out from the crowd and the difference between using your skills and your talents. Episode 7 2018

"The future is in partnerships & collaborations", "Big challenges usually require multidisciplinary solutions. Dr Frank Maurer & Jeff Lafrenz chat on how universities can impact the world, the company they created, Vizworx, taking research beyond the academic realm, commercializing early stage technologies, augmented reality and data visualization and ensuring students can think big to solve problems in a multi-disciplinary world. Episode 10.

How to do things differently. Coalition Snow is an industry upstart. CEO Jen Gurecki gets frank about breaking into the outdoor industry, shaking things up & creating a platform for social change while manufacturing women’s skis & snowboards. Bring your sisu spirit & a bottle of bourbon.

What do dogs & wolves have to do with AI? How can AI help or hinder accessibility & how it can be trained well? Dr. Mahadeo Sukhai, VP of Research at CNIB (Canadian National Institute for the Blind) chats on understanding the lived experiences of people with disabilities, systemic barriers in an ableist world & what’s needed to make tech & the world more accessible.

Episode transcript

Highlights

• Dr. Sukhai’s career as a geneticist, a unicorn and a transition to research on health services outcomes, public health and systemic barriers
• Defining disability - what is a disability?
• What are interventions that can help reduce barriers to employment and education? 
• The accessibility benefits of AI when well trained and the pitfalls when it's not
• Why including persons with disabilities in the design process can help mitigate biases in AI training and technology design
• What technology designers should consider when it comes to accessibility

Links: CNIB, Dr. Sukhai’s book on accessibility and higher education in the sciences and his thoughts on universal design, assistive technology and why we’re all users of it in the article  Good Ingredients for Assistive Technology.

What’s design about & why does it matter? Kelly Shaw, Design Director at J5’s Social Impact Lab, demystifies design thinking. He talks about how companies & non-profits can use design methods to innovate & solve problems & why Spotify is a great example of good design. Episode 13

Mark Philpott left a global corporate career to work on social enterprise. He chats on cross-pollinating skills to new fields & global adventures from pro sports to sailing, film & podcasts & developing projects at a global scale. Episode 31

How can science fiction help create positive futures? Ari Popper, CEO & founder of SciFutures, talks about his company’s work helping other organizations innovate products, services & businesses through scifi prototyping & why it’s important to generate positive ideas for better futures. Episode 23.

Omar Mouallem started Pandemic University to support writers & journalists during the pandemic. The award-winning writer chats on creating a niche platform that builds community & revenue in a new world for writers. Episode 33.

 Serge Wacka international sales expert, has worked in Europe, Asia, Africa, North America & the Middle East. His journey has taken him from philosophy & private banking to sales along a route of adaptability, vision & persistence. Serge chats on:

• why the current reordering of international trade offers great opportunity, as well as unpredictability
• what businesses need to know about selling into global markets
• what it means to practise servant leadership in sales
• why sales is first about listening
• reasons Serge doesn’t work with sales quotas
• why developing trust in sales relationships is still essential in a digital world
• gaining the attention of sales prospects even through missteps & competition

Serge’s approach to sales rests on servant leadership and leadership that comes from the middle as well as the top. In his book, Sales Mastery Guide: Strategies for Success, he shares the lessons he’s learned firsthand, from the sales process to mindset, resilience, service and leadership.

 Find Serge on social media channels at Strategies by Serge.

How to solve big challenges with new collaborations? As Director of IT at the Calgary Drop-In Centre, Helen Wetherley Knight saw opportunities in challenges & constraints. She talks tech in the service of strategy & social missions & how to make it work. Episode 24.