The Tightrope With Dan Smolen

New financial realities: A financial consultant offers insight on money and the future of work About this episode: “Your question about how do you deal with all this stuff? The answer is just like anything else: with a good counselor, the most important thing that they can do is shut up and listen.” -Steven M. … Continue reading New Financial Realities →

Pandemic affected Aruba seeks aid for its impacted workforce. About the episode: “You cannot create a diverse economy and just put it on every island. What you need to make sure is that you understand the USPs—the Unique Selling Points—of an island, not only for tourism, but also for what is going on in nature, … Continue reading Pandemic Affected Aruba Seeks Aid →

As America makes the future of work. About this episode: “Never before, in the history of manufacturing, can you impact a supply chain with a piece of equipment in your garage or your home office. … You have the opportunity to build something special and make that a career.” -Andrew Resnick, America Makes In the … Continue reading America Makes the Future of Work →

Tribal lessons for work from the e-tribe’s founder: working from home can be successful and rewarding. About this episode:  “In my core, I’m a teacher. If there was a great way to make a living as a teacher, I’d be a teacher. I thrive when I teach.” – Isar Meitis, Founder of the e-tribe As … Continue reading Tribal Lessons for Work →

Virtual Professionalism: The Future of Work’s Key Learning Component About this episode:“Not only are we at an inflection point, what [it feels like to me] is an acceleration of catch-up, because the world is moving in this direction, anyway.”– Adrienne Shoch, Workforce Engagement Expert In this episode, we build on the key learning provided by … Continue reading Virtual Professionalism →

Working remotely and future work: How the COVID-19 Coronavirus is pivoting people and careers. About this episode: “An inflection point is something that can have a seismic effect on what we call a 10x impact on the business model as you know it today. When we sit back and look at what we are doing … Continue reading Working Remotely and Future Work →

The Pizza Man Delivers: Providing Chicagoans Food and Comfort During the Pandemic About this episode: “You have to do your best to be optimistic, because we are going to get through this. And, we have to find fun, we have to do our best to make each other feel good at this very difficult and … Continue reading The Pizza Man Delivers →

It is a monumental task to feed needy kids during pandemic lockdowns and disruptions. About this episode: Adelle Settle is the founder of Settle the Debt, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization. Through Settle the Debt, Adelle does meaningful work in ensuring that kids in-need get healthy meals at their public schools. She updates us on the … Continue reading Feeding Needy Kids During Pandemic →

A career coach guides sidelined people to meaningful work. “In 2009, I really believe that’s when work changed. I remember I had to find the self-motivation to be productive and to move myself forward and find some type of purpose.” – Natalie Pryce, Career Coach About this episode: A self-described introvert and computer geek, Natalie … Continue reading Career Coach Guides Sidelined People →

Will there be clean energy jobs in 2020? About this episode: It may come as quite a surprise to some that, in 2020, one of the fastest growing sectors in the American workforce happens to be the clean energy space: think solar, wind, geothermal, energy storage (batteries), hybrid and electric vehicles,  and, energy efficiency as … Continue reading Clean Energy Jobs in 2020 →

Does smart transportation of the future include autonomous vehicles in urban areas? About this Episode: Dr. Richard Ezike is leading the charge for American Transportation Equity, to make the full range of mobility options—and, in particular, Autonomous Vehicles or AVs—as readily available for inner-city residents as they are for people in our more affluent suburbs. He believes … Continue reading Autonomous Vehicles in Urban Areas →

The future of work doing meaningful work includes pursuing truly epic experiences. About this episode: Pew Research finds that the American Dream many in the workforce experienced as upward mobility is long gone; it was replaced by a soberer pursuit of economic stability. As a result, we now fill our homes and storage bins with less … Continue reading Pursuing Truly Epic Experiences →

Two headhunters on executive recruiting, and the rewarding experience of helping people connect with work and career. About this episode with two headhunters on executive recruiting: Listeners of this podcast know that Dan Smolen successfully managed a 20-year run in executive recruiting—a career act that happened because of our guest, Victoria James. She is the … Continue reading Two Headhunters on Executive Recruiting →

With Nicole Rousseau, we discuss how to instill nurturing workforce culture. About this episode: Nicole Rousseau has made it her mission to help people in the workplace thrive. During a Fall 2019 appearance on The Tightrope Podcast, Nicole described how she helps people and hiring managers work effectively and happily to scale revenues, but also … Continue reading Instill Nurturing Workforce Culture →

One thought-leader is guiding entrepreneurs to conscious leadership. In this episode: Jake Mitchell, the founder of consultancy Serenity Labs, says that impact entrepreneurs tend to give all of their energy towards making a positive difference in the world, among people, and their communities. But, he also asks: how can those same impact entrepreneurs change the … Continue reading Guiding Entrepreneurs to Conscious Leadership →

We explore a Londoner’s work in recruiting and radio. About this episode: We go across-the-pond to chat with Russell White, a London-based executive recruiter who doubles as a radio host representing 1970s-era Disco music. Russ recounts his considerable success placing professional talent in executive roles in United Kingdom and European Union companies, and, offers his … Continue reading A Londoner Works in Recruiting and Radio →

Adrienne Schoch discusses how to apply science and empathy for work. About this episode: If you are committed to finding meaningful work in the new year, then we urge you to consider an internship. We discuss why they are not just for career-focused college students; internships help mid-career professionals to seek meaningful work. Also in … Continue reading Apply Science and Empathy for Work →

A discussion of how we went about designing the user experience for DanSmolen.com with Gresham Harkless, Jr. About this episode: In the first of our “between the seasons” episodes, we ring in 2020 with New Year’s resolutions—particularly the ones in which people set out to find a new job. According to an Inc. Magazine survey, 16 … Continue reading Designing the User Experience →

Settle the debt: school lunch debt relief non-profit provides attorney meaningful ork About this episode: "In 2017, I was just driving down the street and I heard this interview on NPR and it was about this child in New Mexico who had gone to get a school lunch. And he walked up to the cash register with his meal in his hands, and it turned out that he didn't have enough money in his account to pay for the lunch. So, the lunch lady took the meal out of his hands and threw it in the trash right in front of him, and, gave him an alternative meal like a cold cheese sandwich instead of the healthy meal—one that had already been served that they couldn't give to anybody else. And instead of letting that child eat that meal, they threw it away. And they did it in front of him. You know, of course, that the child is going to be traumatized by that." -Adelle Settle, Founder of Settle The Debt She already does meaningful work as an attorney for a federal government agency. But as mom to an elementary school-aged

Bravery Part 2, an episode about the superpower that people need. About this episode: “When you heard the process that they went through to get there, it was painful and it was my process, too. It’s like putting aside everything you’ve ever been taught and saying: I’m really good at this. And, it all came … Continue reading Bravery Part 2 →