The Talent Show

No matter what line of work you’re in, there’s always someone in the office or out in the field who does the heavy lifting. Our guest today, Katie Achille, most certainly does a lot of heavy lifting in the office, as she is managing partner at The Devon Group --- a public relations company. But outside the office, the heavy lifting continues. Katie is a competitive powerlifter for Team USA…yes, that Team USA. She describes what she does as lifting heavy things and putting them down. We’re going to learn all about this as Katie Achille joins us on the Talent Show.

Harold Ford III - yes, the Third - is the Practice Director for the Employer Solutions Practice at Net at Work, a business technology consultancy - indeed, one of the biggest and most respected in North America. For over twenty-five years, Harold has helped HR and Payroll teams unleash the power of their business, harnessing today’s technology. After a long, hard day of work, you’d expect Harold to go home and maybe kick back with a pint…or three. I know that I would, assuming the fridge is full, which is never an issue with Harold because he has turned his home into a craft brewery. Well, not exactly, but he does brew his own beer…how, why and what kind of beer, and whether you and I will ever have a chance to sample it, are the pressing questions Harold answers in this fun and illuminating conversation with TS host, Tom Alexander. Among the topics discussed: How much do you have to love beer to get into home brewing? Why and how Harold started brewing craft beer. How the process works. The signature ingredients or brewing techniques that define a “Harold Ford” beer. The connections between craft brewing hobby and his work with Net at Work. "If you could sit down for a beer with any figure dead or alive, who would it be and what would you pour?" A conversation that goes down as smoothly as whatever Harold has on tap.

Known far and wide as Jackie Chiles, the Johnny Cochrane-inspired attorney from Seinfeld, versatile actor Phil Morris has logged an impressive array of credits over a long and successful career (he's also put his velvety tones to good use as a prolific voice actor). But what people don't know is that Phil has practiced Wing Chun since he was a wee lad of 8, as he followed his actor dad Greg Morris around Hollywood sound stages (Greg Morris is best known for his role in the original TV series, Mission Impossible). Wing Chun is a Chinese martial art that focuses on close-range combat. Phil brings us up close and personal into his world - one that combines the physical and mental discipline of Wing Chun and the demands of his preparation/work as an actor. We can't promise that it will be "lewd, lascivious, salacious, outrageous," but it will be, by definition (trust us - better yet, trust Larry David), excellent.

It’s not the biggest surprise that the CEO of a company called Atlas Co-Pilot is obsessed with airplanes. Not interested in, or simply knowledgeable about - which he of course is - but obsessed. Matt Burns has been an HR executive leading major change initiatives, a strategy consultant and industry analyst, a serial entrepreneur, as well as a podcast host and producer - he currently hosts and produces the Thinking Inside the Box podcast. He is also a co-founder of Atlas Copilot, whose mission is to transform the way HR professionals, teams and other people leaders do their work leveraging the latest in generative AI technology.   Matt joins the Talent Show to discuss .  The origin of his obsession with planes The aspects of planes or aviation that captivate him the most His favorite planes and why His coolest plane related experiences How his interest in planes parallels how he views and approaches his work  We ask that your seats and table trays are in the upright position for take-off. Enjoy the flight.

By day, Kristin Pozen is Practice Leader and Senior Recruiter for the Duffy Group, a global recruitment firm that works with corporations to help them find the right talent. After work, Kristin bakes and sells a delicious assortment of cookies under the business name Peekaboo Cookies. Kristin talks about her passion for baking, when she first discovered this passion/talent, and where she finds inspiration for inventing new and ever more delicious cookies. We then discuss how her baking parallels her work with the Duffy Group. If you’re on a low-sugar diet or you’re diabetic, now’s the time to find another more suitable podcast. For those of you whose knees grow weak at the first whiff of moist home-baked cookies, grab yourself a tall glass of milk, you will need it.

In this episode of Production Notes, Tom and Charles discuss recent Talent Show guest Geoffrey Klein, CEO and founder of ninedots, a self-described "game master," and several upcoming guests, including Kristin Pozen, Practice Leader and Senior Recruiter for the Duffy Group, a global recruitment firm. Kristin bakes and sells a delicious assortment of cookies under the business name Peekaboo Cookies, which led to a conversation about the hit series The Bear, which led to a riff on the best series/movies on work: Office Space and the Office, obv, an unexpected detour to Fritz Lang's 1927 dystopian classic, Metropolis, to everyone's favorite light-hearted office romp, Glengarry Glen Ross (a personal fave of your hosts)...a topic worthy of a podcast in itself (Ed Note: the team is working on it as you read this).

Geoffrey Klein is CEO and founder of ninedots, which helps businesses create compelling story-driven visual content. Geoffrey - which is the correct way to spell Geoffrey - is also an AI consultant, TEDx speaker, Wharton lecturer and best-selling author.  He is also a quote unquote game master. Growing up there was always the guy who initiated hide and seek and spin the bottle, was the banker in Monopoly, ran the betting pool in high school - though I’m not sure that qualifies as a game - the guy who organized the poker game and drinking game…you get the picture. But we don’t know that we’ve ever run across a bona fide game master.  We’ll ask Geoffrey about his talent for organizing games, inventing games, and getting people - adults - to play them - where this comes from, the skills required and how it’s part and parcel of his skills as a storyteller…let the games, er, begin.

In this episode of production notes Tom and Charles discuss upcoming guests and employees with a talent for achieving a Zen state - they're in all the team pictures, they go to all the offsite birthday parties and participate in the sack race at the company picnic. They are liked, ride the consensus in every meeting, and manage to coast on their well-cloaked marginal usefulness, having drifted into a Zen state of suspended ambiguousness: there but no there, central but peripheral, constant but disposable. Great work if you can get it!

Guitarist/Composer, Randy Bernsen has composed and performed with the likes of Herbie Hancock, The Brecker Brothers, Jaco Pastorius, Joe Zawinul and many other jazz legends. He's known for his highly melodic compositions as well as his soaring solos. But his solos aren't the only thing that soar. Randy also soars above the clouds as a commercial pilot. We'll discuss his dual career on this episode of the Talent Show.

Suzanne Lucas is known far and wide as the Evil HR Lady - which is sort of like referring to a mafia hitman as the murderous hit man. Yes, we know, taking people out is your job. Though in fairness to hit men, they’re more efficient than your typical HR professional, and leave a far lower body count.  But Suzanne is not your typical HR professional or, more precisely, HR consultant. Unlike most competent, well-meaning, albeit deeply unfunny HR people (with apologies to HR people), she brings humor to her work…and by that I don’t mean that she’s just funny, which she is...she actually uses improv comedy in her HR workshops, when she’s not doing it on stage.      Suzanne joins us today from her home in Basel Switzerland, the Borscht Belt of Mitteleuropa (well, not exactly), to talk about her passion for improv comedy, how she uses it in her consulting work - and, demonstrate her chops with Tom as her intrepid improv partner (he came prepared, though add a level of complexity for trying to do improv over a Zoom call!).

Hypnotist-Comedian is Boris Cherniak’s day job. During work hours (anywhere from 8 PM to 4 AM, depending on the venue and city), he’s “the Incredible Boris." One reviewer described his act as “orchestrated chaos.”  Boris has taken his act far and wide - clubs, theaters, colleges and convention centers across the US and his native North America - he is Canadian by way of Russia - on cruise ships and overseas to Afghanistan and Kuwait to entertain the troops. The Incredible Boris joins us to demonstrate his far less celebrated talent: he was a flute prodigy, but has barely picked it up in over 40 years. We are delighted and honored that he’s chosen the Talent Show as the venue to unveil a talent that’s not just been hidden, but that has lain dormant for over four decades!    It’s also interesting to hear Boris talk about the day to day business grind of a working comedian, and how music has long been a refuge from and inspiration for his work.

Talent Show Producer Charles Epstein checks in with TS host Tom Alexander to discuss the show - what we're looking to accomplish, what’s coming up, etc., stupid slinky tricks, watching paint dry (more to it than you think) and talents that don’t show up in the box score.

Todd Horton, CEO and founder of KangoHR, has been successful where so many others have failed: navigating the notoriously treacherous world of online dating, which takes more talent than you may think!     Todd joins us to discuss the evolution of his dating approaches and processes via several hilarious, eye-opening stories. The skills he acquired/refined as an HR exec and business leader came in handy…but not always! We also asked him how his online dating has made him a better CEO.  Fun and relatable to those no longer dating, spine-stiffening for those still at it.         Thanks to Todd for his courage and humor - it’s not every CEO who’d publicly discuss his dating life! But that’s what the Talent Show is about - showing the side no one sees that makes you you…that’s part of the tone/standard you want to set for your organization.

Demetrius "D" Parker is the Founder/Pragmatical Solutions Leader for the Trust Leadership Collective. He is also a musician, actor, and director. Since you can only showcase one talent per Talent Show episode, we’re going to focus on his silky baritone…and if we’re lucky, we’ll get him to hum a few bars.