How would I describe this interview with Bryton Udy. His story is a riddle that I couldn’t wait to get the solution for. How does a Hockey Player, award-nominated country Music entertainer become a marketing & branding guru?   I was absolutely fascinated and honestly, he did not disappoint. This episode is for anyone professional and business owners that need to pivot.  Bryton is now taking his knowledge and experience and helping small businesses and thought leaders find clarity and confidence in their own branding and marketing with his brand coaching company, At Heart Branding Co.   In this episode, you’ll discover all these hidden gems: 3 secret ingredients of branding The value of an emotional barometer The #1 rule of branding Art of perception At Heart Clarity Framework How branding is deeper than looks How to Find Your Own Authentic Way How individuals and companies can benefit from branding How #COVID is a pulse check for all companies And so much more And get this, He even has a free video course - 3 Minute Marketing Magic and is even giving away a 1-hour free coaching call.  And, he’s a fellow podcaster, At Heart Branding Podcast. Talk about value and giving back!  He’s definitely all HEART.   More about Bryton Upton: From the ice to the stage, and even the boardroom, Bryton Udy has found success in various endeavors in his life. First playing Jr. Hockey chasing a NCAA scholarship, to releasing a top 20 Single at Canadian Country Radio and being nominated for multiple Canadian Country Music Awards, Bryton is now taking his knowledge and experience and helping small businesses and thought leaders find clarity and confidence in their own branding and marketing with his brand coaching company, At Heart Branding Co.  And.. he’s a fellow podcaster, At Heart Branding Podcast.   Connect with Bryton: Website: atheart.co Personal Instagram: @brytonudy At Heart Instagram: @atheartco YouTube Channel: At Heart Co Apple Podcast: At Heart Branding Podcast     Hope you enjoy this episode and are staying safe. P.S.  He even told me I was a fantastic interviewer!! What?!?!?  Let me know if you agree or disagree.  I’d love to get your feedback.  

CanInnovate

E121: 3 Secret Ingredients of Branding with Bryton Udy

Jennifer is the Founder and CEO of tellent and is on a mission to make work, work better for women. Her professional experience spans three continents across brand strategy and international market development and while her primary school teachers didn’t appreciate her questions challenging “why”, she embraces that curiosity and the perspective that comes with challenging the status quo to create impactful and lasting change.   In this episode: Jennifer Hargreaves, Founder and CEO of tellent and is on a mission to make work, work better for women.  Jennifer has such a sparkling personality & a global citizen of the world.  We chat about how her curiosity led her to found Tellent.     We chat about: How tellent was created from her own needs of flexibility Lots of jobs… access to FREE Job boards Lots of companies are hiring, but roles have been elevated How #COVID has created time for repurpose our why How to stand out during the #COVID pandemic, especially when there is lots of top talent out there. Power of Networking  How to change the next few years Understanding the difference between time & space COVID is a gift Ideas Lab is the new playground for ideas tellent has lots of free resources including access to job boards 15% discount for access to Virtual Talent Platform which is a networking community and mastermind group for job-seekers and freelancers to find and build flexible work.  CANINNOVATE Listeners (code: CanInnovate) And so much more   About tellent: tellent is a job-board and networked platform that connects professional job-seekers and freelancers with entrepreneurs and inclusive businesses to find, fill and build flexible work opportunities.   Connect with Jennifer: WeAreTellent.com LinkedIn Facebook | Twitter | Instagram 

E120: Find Flexible Talent & Work Environments with Jennifer Hargreaves

This week, I sat down with Keith Ippel, the CEO & Co-founder of Spring. They are on a mission to help entrepreneurs change the world. First of all, Keith is the most down to earth person who is full of compassion, kindness, and is genuinely there to help small-medium businesses get through whichever phase they are in. From idea to growth. More importantly, they’ve created this FREE resiliency program to help small businesses get through the recession.   There are so many hidden gems & nuggets: Lifecycle of Entrepreneur How to start COVID trends Resiliency movement Return of the small communities Transactional versus Relationship-based The terminology of the day Customer Discovery phases The difference between incubator, angel investor and venture capital Leveraging masterclasses Plus, Keith shares such great FREE tools   A little more about Keith: With over 20 years of experience as a leader in technology & impact businesses, Keith Ippel has accelerated the growth of both small and large companies and raised over $30M in angel investment and venture capital. Keith leads Spring, a global incubator and accelerator that empowers entrepreneurs and entrepreneur ecosystem organizations to build better businesses and change the world. To date, its global advisory work has supported entrepreneurs in over 40 cities across 5 continents while its impact programs have helped over 750 entrepreneurs launch 350+ businesses, and raise over $24M in early-stage capital.   FREEBIE ALERTS: Hubspot Academy  Spring Resilience Online Course & Program Networking Biggest Mistakes   Connect with Keith: Website: spring.is LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/keithippel/ Twitter: @KeithIppel, @Spring_is Facebook: @SpringImpact 

E119: Empower entrepreneurs to build better businesses and change the world with Keith Ippel

Driving change during a downturn I get a chance to sit down and chat with the infamous Rich Bachelor, who is a global Organizational Change Management guru and disruptor. We are always told to embrace change, but COVID-19 has definitely been more than most people have bargained for. Rich and I really get down to talk about how to navigate change, when it’s so disruptive.    How did Covid-19 change you during the downturn? What actions did you take? Let me know in the comments below.   Rich has been successfully delivering change for over 25 years. He is a founding member of the Association of Change Management Professionals (ACMP) and founded the Toronto Change Days conference, a hands-on weekend of fun learning about change unlike any other change conference in North America! He has a masters in change management and is certified in Project Management, Process improvement, Facilitation, HR, Coaching, Counseling and Psychotherapy. He is also a Certified Lego® Serious Play® Facilitator & Workshop Designer, VUCA Canvas accredited, Certified in facilitating organizations through uncertainty and complexity and an accredited emotional culture deck “elephant rider”!   In this episode: The importance of change with people, not TO people We talk about #epicfails Difference between education and training He introduces me to his friend, CARL How to engage people in this virtual world How to do stakeholder management virtually How to have impact & influence How it’s okay to not be okay And so much more   Plus, I share what I’m currently curious about and it’s not quite what anyone expects! Organizational change management is truly an essential business life skill that we should all master. It’ll help build your confidence and become your own secret sauce. Connect with Richard: CapillaryConsulting.com CapillaryLearning.com Twitter: @richbatchelor Twitter: @capillarytweets LinkedIn   I can’t wait to hear your feedback Please stay safe and healthy. Best Always, Sapna   P.s.  Have you checked out the latest FREEBIE? A downloadable Gratitude journal. That way we don’t forget all those amazing things that we are grateful for. I think we’ve discovered a lot.

E118: Driving change during a downturn with Richard Batchelor

Hey Innovators, COVID-19 is always on our mind, it’s what everyone is talking about.  We look at the COVID-19 for the things that it took away from us, but what has COVID-19 provided us?  Did COVID-19 actually give us a gift? Is this an opportunity? I sat down with Jessie-Lynn MacDonald. She helps clients break through self-imposed limits, fears, struggles, and challenges and awaken to the beautiful and infinite potential within.  She is brilliant beyond belief! She helps parents, children, individuals, schools & companies, and consults globally.  She’s a well sought out individual.    The Adult ‘Time-Out’ is a Gift! We have a lively discussion about COVID-19 and the impact and she sees this time as an opportunity and a gift! We chat about:  The impact of on our minds, clear blue light versus a snow globe How stress is a love note to your body How to identify stress signals The power of autonomy She gives a big secret! Embracing our inner child How empathy enables us to be more kind & forgiving to ourselves and others Loneliness versus Boredom Value of recognizing ‘grumpy goggles’  And so much more! In fact, I admit that I may secretly want to be a gamer!   We are all going through this change curve differently and it really allows us to become that diamond! I think you’re going to really enjoy this episode. Please stay safe    Connect with Jessie Lynn: JessielynnMacdonald.com | Twitter |  Facebook   Best Always, Sapna P.s.  Have you checked out the latest FREEBIE? A downloadable Gratitude journal. That way we don’t forget all those amazing things that we are grateful for. I think we’ve discovered a lot.

E117: COVID-19, The Adult ‘Time-Out’ is a Gift w/ Jessie Lynn MacDonald

Paul Minors is a productivity blogger and virtual consultant. Paul grew his business “on the side” while working full-time and now consults to companies all around the world helping them with tools like Asana, Pipedrive and Zapier. Paul’s website now receives 100,000+ visits per month and his audience of 43,000+ email subscribers love hearing about how to be more productive in business and life.   How to beat procrastination and be productive I got to chat with Paul Minors, who is based in New Zealand.  He’s quite the inspiration for a variety of reasons. First, he started off his business as a ‘side-hustle’ and then quickly discovered that Productivity is his ‘How’.  As we are all in this COVID-19 situation, we may find ourselves with a little more time and maybe it’s time to shift into trying a new adventure of starting a small business. So here are the topics that we covered on how to beat procrastination, the power of time blocking and so much more. How to beat Procrastination The value of stop starting The magic of time blocking How tasks are good intentions We also somehow end up talking about baking, Lockdown Loaf I hope you’ll enjoy this episode and more importantly, staying safe. Quotes: “You can be more productive if you follow the right habits and if you are disciplined enough to follow the right routines and use your tools and technology correctly.” “By being disciplined, you’re following better routines, you’re being more productive, and if you’re getting more done, and being more efficient with your time, you’re actually creating more freedom in your life now because you have more free time. Discipline is like a prerequisite for freedom in your life.” "I'm a big fan of this productivity method called time blocking I don't know what it is actually called, but I call it time blocking or block scheduling you have probably come into different terms before but it is basically this practice of taking task and maybe you have a task list or a notebook with it to list of things that you need to do, or maybe it is just in your head whatever it is, you are taking the task that you need to do and you are actually putting them on into your calendar and blocking up time to do that task."   Connect with Paul: PaulMinors.com |  Twitter | Instagram | LinkedIn   Resource Links: Productivity Blueprint Productivity video training Paul Minors Podcast

E116: How to beat procrastination and be productive during the Covid -19 Pandemic w/ Paul Minors

Hey Innovators, Are you finished baking and looking for other ideas to entertain yourself… well… I have the perfect guest.  I get to chat with Julie Shum, who has been a friend for over two decades and she always provides me with the perfect boost of inspiration. I’m so #Grateful for having such a down to earth, inspirational friend. Discover how Julie’s injury led to finding a new hobby that she’s completely obsessed about. How to tap into our inner child to discover other avenues ‘  “I wonder…” The value of not overthinking and just going with the flow Tapping into our creativity through resourcefulness Julie provides ideas from gardening, handwriting, donating hair and so on… Julie has a wonderful outlook on life and always finds opportunities at every twist and turn…  Get ready to get inspired!    Connect with Julie: Instagram: @lovemelettering or @creativesassembly   I think you’re going to really enjoy this episode. Please stay safe  Best Always,Sapna   P.S. Add the hashtag #gratefulmindset and tell us what you’re grateful for.  P.P.S - FREEBIE ALERT - free downloadable Gratitude Journal pdf!  Another great resource, that may tap into a new hobby or interest.

E115: Explore your curiosity during COVID with Julie Shum

As we all embrace and adjust to the ‘New Normal’, the impact on humankind is going to be instrumental. The biggest thing that we have just been reminded us to stop and be really present.   I was reading a Facebook post and it just summed it up completely. This person talked about how much has changed in three (3) weeks for him. He mentions in this post that 3 weeks ago he was unhappy with his job, overwhelmed with work, wanted to lose weight, canceling on friends to just stay at home to relax, irritated with traffic, talked to his mom once a week, irritated with elevator wait times. His point was that 3 weeks ago, he took everything for granted. Today, he is grateful for his job and how busy it is, how he misses human interaction, he calls his mom every day, and now is afraid to take the elevator. Isn’t this the truth? Three weeks ago all those things that we complained about are now the things that we are grateful for. We are all starting to really gain a different perspective and re-learning gratitude. Could COVID-19 actually kill Narcissism? Narcissism has been growing more and more over the past few years.  The Wikipedia definition of Narcissism is “the pursuit of gratification from vanity or egotistic admiration of one’s idealized self-image and attributes. This includes self-flattery, perfectionism, and arrogance.” Have you ever fallen in love with a Narcissist? You lose yourself in order to feed their ego &  make them happy.  Narcissism has been a social-cultural problem for many years and was growing exponentially, as many people post pictures of their amazing life of perfection to create the illusion of FOMO  (Fear of Missing Out). The world has a common enemy, the COVID-19 virus. Not neighbors.  We all have a shared vision and mission to save lives. Simon Sinek’s book, ‘Start With Why’.has really opened up our eyes to the power of having a shared purpose.  Our worldwide shared purpose is ‘Stay at home and save lives’. We get to be heroes in our own stories. I know that I am so grateful for all the front line workers that are putting themselves at risk every day. This episode is dedicated to the health care workers, pharmacists, those in the food chain supply chain, waste removal services, and all the other front line workers. The stories that I’m reading every day, shows how communities and nations are coming together to solve this epidemic crisis together.  There is no shortage of stories from inspirational to educational.   From neighbors singing for others' lives or recording a YouTube video.  One of my personal favorite YouTube videos is a family’s adaption of a Les Miserables song for Coronavirus. To teenagers & neighbors sewing masks for health care workers and other high-risk individuals. Adopt a lonely isolated grandparent  Toronto Distilleries are repurposing their operations to make hand sanitizers Free grocery deliveries for seniors through so many different groups and neighbors The stories just keep continuing. Check out these 35 stories that Bored Panda released and Solidarity is spreading as the COVID-19 crisis continues What perspective have I gained? For me personally, I’m more focused, more present and putting health first. I have newfound pride when I clean my house, daily. I am so grateful that there are groceries available, that I’m now spending more time on food prep and cooking more with purpose. I want to make sure that I stay healthy, so I am definitely eating cleaner.  It is something that I never had enough time to focus on. I’m less wasteful and only purchase what I’m going to use for that week. I also grocery shop for ten people every week and deliver it to their porches. It provides me with a sense of purpose and protects others.     As a society, we are going to be more: Gaining perspective & resetting priorities – Being in the present Grateful for the smallest and simplest pleasures Strengthening relationships digitally Created a stronger sense of community and neighbors,  We are learning to listen with intent – deepening listening & understanding Learning to be resourceful, not wasteful Kindness & compassion is more there Putting our health & well-being first, so that we always protect others Do you know what the opposite of narcissism is – empathy, compassion for others, humble, modesty, treating others the way they want to be treated? There is no shortage of kindness out there. This is the time, where good will triumph over the bad. Where we all send prayers and love to people, strangers, acquaintances, and loved ones. So, yes. I do believe that COVID-19 will kill narcissism and reset society.  The society transition has already begun. Have you noticed that as a society, we have all changed how we end a conversation – from ‘bye’ or ‘see you later’ to stay healthy & safe? Sending you all lots of love and I really hope everyone stays indoors and safe!    Best Always, Sapna    P.S.   If you enjoyed this, then you may be interested in this episode about the Importance of Gratitude. This is when I learned what the true meaning of gratitude is, you may get a little emotional. P.P.S. Another little gift for you. I’ve created a FREE Gratitude Journal PDF for you to download along with this episode on our website. Be grateful every day, as it really is a gift that will help us continue to evolve humans everywhere. 

E114: Could COVID-19 actually kill Narcissism?

Life is always a rollercoaster! Lately, I’ve been overwhelmed by all the key activities that are in my life. It doesn’t help that I have a heightened sense of urgency. I like to get things done. It’s my favorite mode. Come up with a strategy, a plan to execute and just go! But, how do we deal with the overwhelm? First, let’s define what Overwhelm is. I like to define it as ‘treading water’. You’re doing everything just to keep afloat. We’ve all experienced this feeling. It's just hard to see the forest from the trees. It’s just hard to see the plan/ where you’re going, the ultimate goal.  The truth is the chaos that you’re feeling, is coming from inside. Yup, we have lots of things going on in our heads. We need to find a way to take a breath, prioritize and break them into smaller chunks of activities. It does sound way too easy. But I’m here to take the complexity out of it.   Here are a few strategies: ELEPHANT: First, we need to acknowledge the elephant in the room. Acknowledge that you are overwhelmed. That’s always the first step. UNDERSTAND: Why do you feel overwhelmed? Too much to do? Too much to focus on immediately? Too many backs to back appointments/meetings? Not being able to say No?   BREATHE: Take a big breathe and recognize that everything is fixable and solvable. We just need to figure out our options.  BRAIN DUMP: Write down everything on a list. Just get it all down on paper. Just keep listing things. Whatever is on your mind, just get it out of your head and onto paper. One centralizes list.  NOW: What are the biggest priorities? What are the immediate items that you need to right now?  Not just now, but NOW NOW. When I was working in South Africa, they had three (3) definitions for Now. There was just now, which meant within the immediate future. Then, there was Now, which meant within the hour or so. Then, there was NOW NOW, which meant, drop everything and focus on it now. So, what do you need to do NOW NOW. ACTION: Are there items that you could outsource/automate/not do/eliminate/delegate? I’m a fan of the not-to-do list. My sister is great at this, she looks at her calendar for the week/month and highlights the days that she will need help with the kids. She gets proactive so that she can plan. The other day, I was struggling for time to do the grocery shopping/making a deadline and doing pickups.  So, I got food delivered and decided to grocery shop online for delivery. Boom! #NailedIt! Next…. POWER OF NO: There is a way to say no and it really provides you a way to take control. We often feel guilty for saying NO, but we shouldn’t. We are not saying NO forever, but saying NO for the immediate future. I wrote a blog about HOW TO SAY NO ELEGANTLY. It is often hard to say No, but people will thank you for being honest and managing expectations.    We need to recognize that being ‘Superman’ or ‘Superwoman’ is not about taking on so much.  It’s about leveraging the people & resources around you to drive towards a goal/a vision.    Here are a few resources:  BLOG:  HOW TO SAY NO ELEGANTLY PODCAST EPISODE: I did a podcast episode (E110) with Mr.Productivity himself - E 110: Overcome roadblocks by becoming more productive every day with Mr. Productivity, Mark Stuczewski ARTICLES: Overwhelmed? These 6 strategies may help   Thank you again for your time and I really hope these tips help you. It has definitely helped me more times than I can count! Feel free to share with your friends or others that are struggling.   We all need help and friendly reminders, that we are not alone in feeling this way. Best Always,Sapna

E113: 7 Tips on how to deal with overwhelm

Everyday is Happy Women’s Day! You know why? because we choose our mindsets each day. Every morning when I’m in the shower, I’m thinking about the day and how to conquer it. Not, thinking about how it’s going to be a struggle. I look at all the opportunities in front of me and decide where I want to spend more time or less time on. There is a difference between being assertive and aggressive in business. Women always get a bad rap and get called a not so positive name. The difference is how we utilize assertiveness. Being Assertive means speaking on facts, with the desired end goal in mind. Getting everyone aligned to where we want and need to go. Assertive women, know exactly what needs to be done and how to get there. Assertiveness is defined as self-assured confidence. Which is the complete opposite, of the Imposter Syndrome. It’s interesting to me, how the Imposter Syndrome has become a growing syndrome that is impacting so many individuals. Imposter Syndrome is basically self-doubt. We all have this and experience it. I did a podcast episode (E84)about how feeling like an imposter is a competitive advantage. It’s called I’m an Imposter and let me Roar! I’ve also created a Free Imposter Syndrome Cheat Sheet to overcome this self-doubt. Aggressive is where we get in trouble… anyone gets in trouble. It is fueled by emotions and somewhat seen as hostile. This is where individuals need to take 5-10 minutes to breathe, before responding. I wrote a blog all about Emotional Intelligence, as it can be quite the rollercoaster! Strong Women tend to share many similar traits! They’ve got a vision that has a plan behind it. Very clear on the direction, timelines, and milestones of where we are trying to achieve. We drive things to completion, that’s right. We don’t wait, we have defined what needs to be done and then we figure out who we need to work with to make magic happen. We are proactive. List makers - crazy right. Strong Women tend to have listed, to make sure that things don’t get dropped off the list. It helps us stay organized and accountable. Risk Mitigators - we plan for the worst-case scenario. Strong Women are very conservative in planning. We tend to under commit and overdeliver. Mr.Wonderful, Kevin O’Leary - he has said on numerous occasions that he loves investing in women start-ups because he always recoups his investments. Women tend to be very ultra-conservative with their sales forecasts and they usually beat it. I’ve attached the link to the article. Shark Tank Kevin O'Leary: Women make me the most money Time Management, strong women really know how to manage their time and make the most of every moment. There is that timeless saying “If you want something done, give it to a busy person.” Listen- another key differentiator is that women tend to ask for proactive feedback from those in their inner circle and strangers. They know how valuable it is to get different viewpoints. This helps us mitigate risk (point #4).  We listen to understand. Comparisons - we don’t compare ourselves to others, we LEARN from others that we admire. We look to see what traits/best practices that we can adopt. Learn- we look at every failure point as learning or an opportunity. We are also always looking for opportunities to build new skills, learn a new viewpoint and educate ourselves. This only adds to our confidence in our vision and plan (point #1). In fact, I have another little freebie gift for you. Reflection Action Review Cheat Sheet   Be ASSERTIVE, be strong, be bold, be courageous and be unapologetically curious! You’ve got this!

E112: 8 Secrets of Strong Women

Armel Beaudry Kembe Tchemeube is the CEO and Founder of Trebble FM. Before running Trebble, he worked for 8 years as a software engineer for a startup in the telecom industry that got acquired by Nokia. Armel owns a software engineering degree from the University of Ottawa.   Episode overview: Are you a podcast junkie but wanted to get more content in a short amount of time?  If you are, then this episode is for you. This week, I get to chat with Armel who is the CEO and Founder of Trebble.fm, a platform that releases shortcast - consumable 1 - 3 minutes podcast episodes. In this episode, we covered why people are becoming interested in consuming short-casts compared to longer podcast episodes. We also talked about how Trebble started, the difference between Twitter, LinkedIn posts and Trebble on podcasts and so much more.   About Trebble.FM Trebble.fm is an online music-sharing platform that allows music influencers and music enthusiasts to curate your own interactive music radio and share it with music lovers around the world. Those radios are called 'Trebbles', can be easily embedded in a website. Trebble owners can add their personal touch to the music they share and speak to their listeners through ‘Capsules’. These are brief audio messages up to 90 seconds that they can record and play to listeners. They can attach additional information to those capsules like text, pictures, videos, allowing to fully express themselves and deliver a unique enriched listening experience.   Connect with Mark:  Website: Trebble.fm Twitter: @armelbeaudry and @trebblefm LinkedIn: Armel Beaudry Instagram: @trebble.fm   Books Mentioned: Blitzscaling: The Lightning-Fast Path to Building Massively Valuable Companies Angel: How to Invest in Technology Startups by Jason Calacanis

E111: A new way to listen and publish your short-cast "podcast" with CEO and Founder of Trebble FM,  Armel Beaudry Kembe Tchemeube

Mark ‘Ski’ Struczewski (“Mister Productivity”) helps entrepreneurs & executives get the right stuff done in a distracted world. In addition to being a productivity expert, Mark is a speaker, host of The Mark Struczewski Podcast and an online trainer. His strategies have guided CEO’s/Executive Directors, business owners, business corporate specialists and entrepreneurs to get back control of their time.   Episode overview: This episode is for all those that are looking for productivity tips/hacks and secrets. I chat with Mark Stuczewski, MISTER PRODUCTIVITY – he’s obsessed to help the world become a more productive place – one person at a time. We chat about: How getting fired, was the best thing that happened to Mark Time to practice ‘Adulting’ The notification cleanse The power of ODAE – Outsource/Delegate/Automate and Eliminate Concept of the NOT TO List How complexity is the gateway to procrastination! And, I got challenged to take the 7-day productivity challenge. GAME ON! Hopefully, some of you will do it with me.   Connect with Mark:  Website: MisterProductivity.com  Podcast: The Mark Struczewski Podcast  The 7 Day Productivity Challenge Social media: LinkedIn | Twitter | Instagram | Pinterest

E110: Overcome roadblocks by becoming more productive everyday with Mr. Productivity, Mark Stuczewski

Laurence is the Founder and CEO of nanopay Corporation, where he drives the vision to offer the infrastructure to enable what’s more commonly known as Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC). Prior to founding nanopay, Laurence came from the telecom industry where he was Vice President of Wireless at Shaw Communications, prior to his role as Chief Operating Officer of Bell Mobility. Active in the payments community, he is the Chairman of the Paytechs of Canada and a member of the Payments Canada Stakeholder Advisory Committee.   Episode overview: This week, I get to chat with Laurence about how we have an ambitious goal to lead the world’s transition to digital cash.  What isn't commonly understood about payments, is while money might appear to move quickly or instantly (ie. in the case of e-Transfer), the real money doesn't move until the next day when the banks settle the payment overnight. This creates settlement risk for the banks involved in the transaction. This risk grows exponentially when the transaction is cross-border, introducing currency and exchange risk.  Our innovative technology securely moves value from one user to another in real time – with instant settlement – and is ideally suited to transform the global payments infrastructure. That being said, the road to digitizing cash isn't necessarily a straight line. Today, we offer a self-service payment platform for small businesses (you can sign up at Ablii.com), a business to business payment product, and a liquidity and cash management solution for banks.   About nanopay: nanopay is a Fintech company based in Toronto that empower banks and businesses to scale with innovative payment and liquidity software. nanopay offers two products: Connect, a business payment product which easily integrates with your ERP software and enables both domestic and cross-border payments, and Liquid, a real-time intra-company cash and liquidity product, which enables self-service virtual account management. nanopay's products are built on a payment engine, nanorail, that securely tokenizes money to move value from one user to another in real-time. nanopay is venture funded with strategic investments from international partners including the Merchant Banking Division of Goldman Sachs.   Connect with Laurence: Website: Nanopay.net Facebook: Nanopay Corporation Twitter: @nano_pay and @laurencecooke LinkedIn: nanopay Corporation and Laurence Cooke  

E109: Empower banks and businesses to scale with innovative payment with nanopay CEO Laurence Cooke

Hey Innovators, We keep hearing the same words over and over again - innovation, innovator, agile thinker, lean startup, design thinking expanding our horizons. Ugh! What on earth does it mean? Let’s go back to reset and define Innovation. Innovation simply means continuous improvement, a way to produce new value. Very different than inventive, where it’s completely new. This is about innovation, taking something existing and refreshing it to provide new elements. This is where we get to be unapologetically curious and look at things with a new set of eyes.     How do you train people to think outside the box? It’s such a mindset shift. When we grow up, we are expected to do certain things (i.e. get married, have kids, get an education, save for the future). What about training people to say that it’s okay to go off course? The best way to really develop thought leaders is to embrace the notion of curiosity. Allow your teams to develop points of views, challenge the norm and provide them with a valued voice.   It’s interesting to me, how the Impostor Syndrome has become a growing syndrome that is impacting so many individuals. Impostor Syndrome is basically self-doubt. We all have this and experience it. I did a podcast episode (E84) & blog about how feeling like an impostor is a competitive advantage. It’s called I’m an Imposter and let me Roar! I’ve also created a Free Imposter Syndrome Cheat Sheet to overcome this self-doubt.  It’s quite the paradox - be adventurous and overcome impostor syndrome, and follow the organizational rules & expectations. Organizations and Individuals need to start to create time for innovation and creativity. We need to get from reactive mode to a proactive mode. The challenge is that we are not given enough time to think, only time to react.  Here are a few tips to slowly start to shift a little bit of your thinking.    The innovator mindset is to  Embrace Curiosity and become a Learn It All - explore different dimensions/avenues.  What tools do you have at your disposal? List them out and also think about the non-traditional tools. Books/podcasts/free webinars/ articles/ talking to people across different industries. You know, I had a client that put me on retainer, just to brainstorm with. She’d have a few ideas and wanted to bounce it off all the wall and see what other elements could give it legs. Don’t dismiss the idea of talking to others and listening to understand where they are coming from.  It might provide the perfect ‘AHA’ moment. Encourage Points of View.  A lot of individuals have thoughts but are afraid to provide their point of view (PoV), because it won’t be inline with the ‘status quo’. Encourage and reward people for having ½ baked points of views. They will gain experience and courage to develop full points of view. No point of view is perfect. Think about all those folks that put out 2020 trends, they are just an opinion, a point of view.  Failure - companies and individuals need to define their tolerance of risk. How far can you go in terms of failure? Encourage people around you to really test early, with minimal risk. Allow people to help develop the idea with you. You can start to test early and re-jig things based on feedback. It’s a perfect way to do a temperature check (just putting a toe in the water, to see what the temperature is).    When developing solutions/services/concepts offer three (3) options. Give something for your leaders to react to. Present a conservative approach, a crazy out of this world approach and a hybrid of the two (2) approach. One of these crazy ideas Management Consultants have been using these approaches for years. Some of these concepts have been re-marketed under the umbrella of Design Thinking. These are classics that have worked for centuries! They just change the names to make them a little more ‘glamorous’.   So, I challenge you. What are you interested to learn more about (Learn it All), what are you curious about? As promised, here is that little gift that I have for you.   FREEBIE ALERT: Free Imposter Syndrome Cheat Sheet to overcome this self-doubt   Thank you so much for your time.  If you know someone that could benefit from this episode/blog, feel free to share with others. Drop me a line anytime, I love hearing from you.   Best Always, Sapna    Links:   4 Steps to Cultivating an Innovation Mindset in Your Organization  I’m an Imposter and let me Roar

E108: What you need to know about Innovator Mindset

Dave McKeown helps individuals, teams, and organizations achieve excellence by doing the ordinary things extraordinarily well. He is the CEO of Outfield Leadership and author of The Self-Evolved Leader – Elevate Your Focus and Develop Your People in a World That Refuses to Slow Down. If that’s not enough, Dave is also the host of the podcast Lead Like You Give a Damn and writes a weekly online leadership column for Inc.   In this episode: Author Dave McKewon really made me pause, think and then dance. His book – the Self-Evolved Leader is a must read. It's for new leaders AND seasoned leaders – it’s a perfect read and reminder. You’ll learn how to TACTICALLY move from firefighting mode to empowerment Stop working in the weeds and think more strategically Find more time to focus – give room and time to think Build empowerment deep in your team Free up your head-space to be more creative The Self-Evolved Leader: Elevate your focus and develop your people in a world that refuses to slow down Honestly, this was a book that I’m going to read every year, to remind me what type of leader I want to be.   About Outfield Leadership: Outfield Leadership helps leaders deliver excellence by doing ordinary things extraordinarily well. Our flagship program, The Excellence Equation™ is an immersive, interactive and practical workshop that will help busy managers and leaders rise above the day-to-day urgency to focus on the long term direction of their team and development of their people.   Best advice: Building a culture of accountability is the holy grail in the leadership world. If we can get our people to go above and beyond their job description to help move the business forward then we'll see results like we've never seen before. Our customers will be happy, our people will be happy and your job as a leader will be much easier. The problem is that you can't teach your people how to hold themselves accountable. You can only provide the environment in which they want to do it.   Connect with Dave: OutfieldLeadership.com | Twitter | LinkedIn | Instagram | Podcast |   Book mentioned: The Self-Evloved Leader: Elevate your focus and develop your people in a world that refuses to slow down

E107: The Self-Evolved Leader: Elevate Your Focus and Develop Your People In a World That Refuses to Slow Down with Dave McKeown

Join Canadian Innovators, as they share their journeys, entrepreneurial tips and other secrets to their successes. CanInnovate Podcast features four components: 1. Spotlight on Innovative companies in Canada 2. Stay on top of global industry trends – the potential disruptors 3. Masterclasses where we gain tactical skills from global experts 4. Q&As – where we get to learn from each other Learn from the experts - What can they teach us? What do they need to take it to the next level of success? What are the steps they are taking to turn the tide and how can we benefit from the ripple effects of their efforts? Informal, lighthearted and informative weekly podcast. Highlighting insights that are leading the industry with thought leadership. Innovation can be different business models, new technology &/or new ways of thinking. Weekly podcast every Wednesday over a cup of coffee.

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