Career Play

Why are team-building and career development critical for creating engaged, high-performing workplaces? How do trusting relationships between employees lead to stronger collaboration, better productivity, and lasting success for organizations?   Heidi Heung and Mark Franklin and Rich Feller lead and coordinate the teams at OneLifeTools and CareerCycles. Our teams of career professionals have helped thousands of employees navigate career and life transitions by sparking powerful conversations that build clarity, confidence, and connection. Listen in as we have a conversation about the positive outcomes of organizational team building and internal career development.    ALSO on this episode:   When you’re overwhelmed by news, ads, tech and the fast pace of life, how can you slow down, focus on what you want and then actually get it?   David Cohen has taught thousands over the years to sell, plan and market their ventures successfully. He’s recently published the book, “Live Life SWIFT: The Ultimate Guide Filled With Actionable Steps to Help You Live Your Best Life.” In it, he takes readers through the simple but effective SWIFT framework to help anyone make good plans, and take inspired action.    For career counselling for you or someone you care about, start with a free discovery call: careercycles.com For gamified, story-based professional development, learn about and schedule a demo of Who You Are Matters!

Entrepreneurship is the process of identifying a commercial opportunity and putting it into action by developing new products, services, or business models, often involving innovation and risk-taking. It encompasses a wide range of activities, from starting a small business to launching a scalable startup, and can occur independently or within an existing organization, such as through intrapreneurship.  At its core, entrepreneurship involves creating new value, whether economic, social, or otherwise, by utilizing resources in innovative ways to address market needs or gaps.  The entrepreneur is typically seen as an innovator who bears the primary risk and potential reward of the venture, driving change through activities like “creative destruction” to replace outdated offerings with new ones.  65% to 85% of entrepreneurial ventures fail and only 10% reach a 20th anniversary. Our Guest Today is Rahi Tajzadeh a seasoned executive strategist, Certified Management Consultant, and trusted advisor known for guiding boards, C-suites, and founders through complex transformation, turnarounds, and strategic growth. With 19 years of experience across diverse sectors, Rahi delivers actionable, research-driven strategies that drive measurable growth, innovation, and ethical leadership. A graduate of Toronto Metropolitan University with a Master of Science in Management and a Bachelor of Commerce in Entrepreneurship, Rahi is a recipient of awards such as the CMC Canada President’s Award and recognition as a Top 10 Alumni.   For career counselling for you or someone you care about, start with a free discovery call: careercycles.com For gamified, story-based professional development, learn about and schedule a demo of Who You Are Matters!

In this special episode, Dr Michael Stebleton and Dr Abby Razink present an engaging discussion about a new concept they are playing with, namely, Career Play. Explore the meaning of Career Play and its value for your career and life success. Listen & join Hoda and her guests on Career Buzz to increase your Career Literacy.   Guest Bios Dr Michael J. Stebleton is Professor of Higher Education in the College of Education and Human Development (CEHD) at the University of Minnesota-Twin Cities. He teaches at both the graduate and undergraduate levels. His academic interests focus on college student development and career development. His work has appeared in numerous venues including: Journal of Career Development, Journal of College Student Development, and Career Development Quarterly. In 2017, Stebleton received the Merit Award from the National Career Development Association (NCDA) for his contributions to the career education field. Dr. Abby Razink, is an organizational consultant and recent Ph.D. graduate in Organizational Leadership, Policy, and Development from the University of Minnesota Twin Cities. Her dissertation explored the influence of experiential learning on career development during the college-to-work transition. At the University of Minnesota, she taught sales courses and directed an intercollegiate sales competition. Abby serves on the editorial board of NASPA’s Journal of College and Character. Her writing on educational trends has appeared in Psychology Today. Abby can be reached via LinkedIn at linkedin.com/in/abbyrazink.   For career counselling for you or someone you care about, start with a free discovery call: careercycles.com For gamified, story-based professional development, learn about and schedule a demo of Who You Are Matters! at onelifetools.com

How can everyone a student meets help them in their career exploration? Professor Michael Stebleton from University of Minnesota-Twin Cities, and colleagues argue in their publications that anyone can be a “career influencer” and that career conversations can be effective when everyone on campus adopts this helpful mindset. Tune into this wide ranging conversation with career expert Mike Stebleton where we talk about gamification and play as a form of career development, AI’s impact on careers, how students can articulate their skills, and even how to be a “reasonable adventurer.”   For career counselling for you or someone you care about, start with a free discovery call: careercycles.com For gamified, story-based professional development, learn about and schedule a demo of Who You Are Matters!

Industrial design is a process of design applied to physical products that may be manufactured by mass production.  It is the creative act of determining and defining a product’s form and features, which takes place in advance of the manufacture or production of the product. Industrial Design can also be described as “creative problem solving”. At times, at the end of the design process, there won’t actually be a new product emerging. One of the first questions asked is “is a new product necessary?” But what does it take for an industrial designer to transition from a purely design role into an entrepreneur path building a design/manufacture/install business in the area of home renovations.   Guest Bio Kevin Karst an Industrial Designer and journeyman cabinetmaker with 50 years of experience. Kevin moved from the Canadian prairies to Ontario in 1984 to pursue higher education. His Industrial Design degree, with high distinction, from Carleton University (1988) builds on his certified tradesman status. With a background of product development at Knoll, Teknion and OSF, Kevin currently excels at custom design, fabrication and installation for his client base in Toronto, specializing in residential cabinetry and furniture.  Currently working from his well-equipped facility in the East Downtown area, he provides innovative solutions with superior craftsmanship to discerning clients.   For career counselling for you or someone you care about, start with a free discovery call: careercycles.com For gamified, story-based professional development, learn about and schedule a demo of Who You Are Matters! at onelifetools.com

You know those giant pieces of heavy equipment you see on construction sites like cranes, bulldozers, backhoes? Ever wonder how people learn to operate them? And how the decide to get into that work in the first place? Imagine a heavy equipment simulator so good you can use it to train people, and even explore what it’d be like to operate heavy equipment. That’s what Mark Franklin did when he met Jonathan LaBerdia, an account manager for CAT Simulators. He set Mark up on a simulator at a conference booth, and had him operate a bulldozer around a simulated work site. He said he did a good job! Because he hadn’t killed anyone, unlike others who tried the simulator.     What’s it like to work in the world of simulators? How do you get into that work? Listen in as Mark Franklin talks with Jonathan LaBerdia, of CAT Simulators, here on Career Buzz, the unique radio conversation that empowers lives, enriches careers and energizes organizations.     For career counselling for you or someone you care about, start with a free discovery call: careercycles.com For gamified, story-based professional development, learn about and schedule a demo of Who You Are Matters!

As technology grows day by day, businesses also grow to stay ahead, or else be obsolete. Part 2 of the Innovation Nation episode with Pranav Bhardwaj explores how AI and Generative AI are reshaping management consulting. It covers strategic implications like new business models, managed services, and outcome-based pricing. The discussion highlights data governance, compliance challenges, and how firms measure ROI from AI. It also examines the evolving competitive landscape as tech giants and boutique AI firms disrupt traditional consulting. Finally, it emphasizes why human judgment, ethics, and trust remain critical alongside automation.   Guest Bio Pranav Bhardwaj is currently the Global Lead for the Operate Program and Deloitte Consulting. Pranav is a career MC, having worked in the MC industry since the age of 22. His clients have spanned from the UK to South Africa, from Japan to the US and 8 years ago he dropped an anchor in Lake Ontario and has been living in Toronto a few minutes from the lake. His areas of specialization are enterprise strategy, artificial intelligence, product development and supply chain management. In his current role, he is supporting the definition and execution of a firmwide strategy that would impact the 400,000+ employees and Deloitte and over 3000 clients that Deloitte serves globally. A mechanical engineer with a business degree from Ivey business school, he is passionate about all thing’s technology, people and reading!

Thrilled to have Devon Turcotte, and Sarah-Jane VandenBerg join us to talk about careers, parenting and their podcast, The One About Careers. Listen & join Hoda and her guests on Career Buzz to increase your Career Literacy. Guest Bios Sarah-Jane VandenBerg is a Career Coach, Author and Speaker. She is a Certified Career Development Practitioner and a Holistic Narrative Career Professional with over 30 years of experience working with career decision makers and job seekers. She has witnessed the confusion, despair and anxiety individuals have around work. After individuals have worked with Sarah-Jane, individuals feel relief and reassurance about their career plans and know how to get the results they desire. Sarah-Jane’s book is called, Lost & Found: An Adult’s Guide to Empowering Teens to Make Their Best Career Decisions and she speaks about Career Decision Making with competency, fun, practicality and honesty to adults who live with, work with and mentor teens. Together with Devon Turcotte, their podcast, The One About Careers, is the career podcast for adults who work with, live with or mentor teens who are finding it a challenge to plan for life after high school. Released weekly in bite-sized conversations about everything career and education to help their listeners better support the career decisions of the teens in their life.  For career counselling for you or someone you care about, start with a free discovery call: careercycles.com For gamified, story-based professional development, learn about and schedule a demo of Who You Are Matters! at onelifetools.com

Is it true that children are more creative than computer AI? How can we use literature, art, and stories to increase innovation, resilience, and joy in the era of AI? These are the research questions of Career Buzz guest, Angus Fletcher. We had an inspiring conversation covering Angus’s own career and education story from studying life science in undergrad to focusing on Shakespeare in his PhD. Listen in to connect the dots from bio to Bard, and from science to story. Angus Fletcher is Professor of Story Science at Project Narrative at The Ohio State University, and author of “Primal Intelligence” and “Storythinking: The New Science of Narrative Intelligence.”  

As technology grows day by day, businesses also grow to stay ahead, or else be obsolete.  AI and Gen AI is impacting the MC industry requiring a major transformation in operations and services.  The MC industry is a $1T business globally and is expected to rise to $5T by 2028. This paradigm shift is both a challenge and an opportunity for the MC industry. AI and Gen AI has changed the way we interact with technology. This new technology will impact the business domain in general and specifically MC, which has always been a human centric industry. The MC sector offers specific knowledge and solutions to companies across different industries.  AI and Gen AI consulting services will take MC to a higher level of performance, alter the nature of MC more than ever, allowing for the automation of operational processes as well as enhancing the quality, and service effectiveness. AI and gen AI is more than an incremental tech revolution – it is in fact a major paradigm shift that MC firms need to embrace. Guest Bio Pranav Bhardwaj who is currently the Global Lead for the Operate Program and Deloitte Consulting. Pranav is a career MC, having worked in the MC industry since the age of 22. His clients have spanned from the UK to South Africa, from Japan to the US and 8 years ago he dropped an anchor in Lake Ontario and has been living in Toronto a few minutes from the lake. His areas of specialization are enterprise strategy, artificial intelligence, product development and supply chain management. In his current role, he is supporting the definition and execution of a firmwide strategy that would impact the 400,000+ employees and Deloitte and over 3000 clients that Deloitte serves globally. A mechanical engineer with a business degree from Ivey business school, he is passionate about all thing’s technology, people and reading!