80% of the jobs that will exist in the next decade were not invented 5 years ago. So if you're a young entrepreneur, how do you know where to start? What skills do you need to get some skin in the game? The future of work will change the nature of business education, so in today’s episode, we’re hitting the books with our new guest Dr. John Torrens.

John is an award winning professor at Syracuse University’s Whitman School of Management. He has been teaching, mentoring and coaching entrepreneurs for 15 years. A perfect blend of business and education, John has also built two successful speech therapy practices. He currently serves as the Executive Director of Sprout Therapy Group, a multidisciplinary practice providing speech-language and specialized physical therapy for infants and children.

From his own entrepreneurial path, to the core skills that emerging leaders will need, today John takes us on a journey to build the future of entrepreneurship. Together, we answer fundamental questions like: what practices are gaining traction in MBAs across the board? Where should we look for new opportunities? And what can we expect from the next generation of founders?

Take out your notebooks and get ready for a lesson in business education with our host, Ari Marin, and John Torrens.

Highlights:

• John’s background and professional journey (2:43)
• Early experiences with talent recruitment (4:27)
• “Every course I took, I used my business as the lab experiment.” (6:54)
• Business Education: from “doing” to teaching (8:14)
• A new growth mindset for entrepreneurship (9:56)
• Learning from the next generation of entrepreneurs (11:28)
• Current changes in cultural vision (13:52)
• Enhancing well-being as a risk-mitigation strategy (16:08)
• How ADHD changed John’s approach to leadership (18:03)
• Encouraging entrepreneurial ideas inside your company (21:25)
• “Entrepreneurship is opportunity driven, not resource constrained” (22:47)
• Education through network building (24:17)

Links:

• Cadence Bank Website
• Cadence Bank X (Twitter)
• Cadence Bank LinkedIn
• John Torrens Website
• John Torrens Instagram
• John Torrens LinkedIn
• John Torrens Syracuse University Website
• Sprout Therapy Group Website
• Ted Talk - “John Torrens: ADHD as an Entrepreneur’s Superpower”
• Research - “Realizing 2030: A Divided Vision of the Future” by Dell Technologies

Feedback:

If you have questions about the show or topics you'd like discussed in future episodes, email our producers, Eydie.Pengelly@cadencebank.com or Danielle.Kernell@cadencebank.com.

How do you keep track of what is happening inside your company? Do you have a newsletter? Messaging channels like Slack or a go-to person for all questions? How does information reach you? If you feel lost in the maze of internal communication, you’re not alone. Research by Gallup found that 74% of employees believe they’re missing out on work news and company information.

So in this episode, we dive into the world of internal communication and find out how and why keeping our teams informed can help us reach our goals both now and for the future. Our guest John Korinek answers the big questions and shows us how streamlining communication can affirm your company values, help you retain talent and make better financial decisions.

John is the president and CEO of PartnerComm Inc., an internal communications consulting firm that has been helping organizations identify opportunities and create strategies for their employees for 30 years. He holds a Ph.D. in Organizational Communication and has worked with companies such as Cisco, Kellogg, PepsiCo, Nordstrom, Burger King, BNSF, Nestlé and many more. Decades in business have earned him a wealth of insights and business tales, which he shares with us today.

Join Ari & John in conversation to get creative with your team communication, build effective strategies and manage new cultural challenges in a rapidly changing landscape.

Highlights:

• How John and his wife started PartnerComm Inc. (2:19)
• The purpose of Internal Communications (4:08)
• Communication as a financial decision (6:23)
• Think, know, feel, do: a foundational principle (8:13)
• Diversifying communication to widen your reach (10:25)
• “Employees have competing messages; we've got to break through the clutter” (12:44)
• Creativity and collaboration to enhance communication (14:57)
• How John practices Internal Communications in his business (17:15)
• Bottoms up communications to fight for talent (19:34)
• Flexible work & productivity: new challenges in Cultural Communications (21:03)
• “Change management starts with transparency” (24:14)

Links:

• Cadence Bank Website
• Cadence Bank X (Twitter)
• Cadence Bank LinkedIn
• Partner Comm Inc. Website
• Partner Comm Inc. LinkedIn
• John Korinek LinkedIn
• Research: Gallup - “Companies Are Missing on Opportunities for Growth and Revenue”
• Article: Oak Engage - “21 Scary Internal Communications Statistics”

Feedback:

If you have questions about the show or topics you'd like discussed in future episodes, email our producers, Eydie.Pengelly@cadencebank.com or Danielle.Kernell@cadencebank.com.

In Good Companies is back! And for Season 6, we’re doing a deep dive into the future of work. Because business will look different in 2050, and if we had to take an educated guess, it seems that technology is going to be a driver of change.

In 2024, 86% of organizations have maintained or raised their IT budgets. We all sense that digital tools can help us secure the future of business; we’re just not sure how to use them to our advantage. So today, we speak with a leading voice in the field of technology and entrepreneurship: Shuo Chen, Silicon Valley connoisseur, faculty professor at UC Berkeley and Stanford University, and partner at IOVC, an investment firm focused on early-stage startups that drive the future of work.

In this episode, Shuo shows us how tools like AI and Blockchain can revolutionize business. She demonstrates how technology will eliminate repetitive tasks, streamline our processes, redirect our attention to cultural human questions, and afford us more time to hone our leadership skills. Shuo shines a light on a new, diverse generation of self-starters who are taking their seat at the business table. And she breaks down how technology is changing the nature of entrepreneurship; opening up new career paths going forward.

So join Shuo Chen and our new host Ari Marin, to get into the nuts and bolts and launch your company into the future!

Highlights:

• A brief history of AI & Blockchain (4:16)
• Why AI & Blockchain are a powerful combination (6:44)
• How technology can augment workflows and improve decision making (8:08)
• Breaking down the “Human VS Technology” myth (10:00)
• “80% of the jobs available in 2030 were not invented 5 years ago” (11:03)
• Ways in which technology will change existing roles (12:20)
• A happy middle: how to juggle automation and personalisation (14:12)
• Using tech to make different leadership styles possible (15:09)
• Transformations in the world of entrepreneurship (16:42)
• FinTech and changes at play in venture funding (18:17)
• Fractional founders: how Shuo seeded her career (19:41)
• Debunking the taboo of building fractionally (21:58)
• Linking together technology, diversity and inclusion (23:41)
• How widespread access to information can create more fruitful discussion (25:33)
• “Resistance is a healthy part of technological development” (26:38)
• A final word from Shuo on the Future of Work (28:26)

Links:

• Cadence Bank Website
• Cadence Bank X (Twitter)
• Cadence Bank LinkedIn
• Shuo Chen X (Twitter)
• Shuo Chen LinkedIn
• IOVC Website
• Research - “State of the CIO Survey” by Foundry
• Research - “Realizing 2030: A Divided Vision of the Future” by Dell Technologies

Feedback:

If you have questions about the show or topics you'd like discussed in future episodes, email our producers, Eydie.Pengelly@cadencebank.com or Danielle.Kernell@cadencebank.com.

Are you a business executive ready to take your company to the next level? Or, an entrepreneur who wants to set their sights on the future? Then stay tuned for Season 6 of In Good Companies, coming to you on October 15th!

This season, we're talking about the future of work and helping you build a career for 2030. From AI to ESG, our expert guests are back behind the microphone to cover the hottest topics in the world of business with our new host, Ari Marin.

Tune into Season 6 and get ready for the future, whatever it holds.

Links:

• Cadence Bank Website
• Cadence Bank X (Twitter)
• Cadence Bank LinkedIn
• Cadence Bank YouTube

Feedback:

If you have questions about the show or topics you'd like discussed in future episodes, email our producers, Eydie.Pengelly@cadencebank.com or Danielle.Kernell@cadencebank.com.

To conclude our Sea Suite series and help you get back to work on a high note, we’re bringing you an episode about joy. Recent research by Oxford University found that workers are 13% more productive when they’re happy. And yet, another study by BCG found that most company leaders aren’t building their strategies around how their employees feel at work. So joy? It’s a real business question.

In this episode, we are joined by designer and joy specialist Ingrid Fetell Lee, to find out how to make our workplaces, our jobs, and ourselves more joyful. A former design director for IDEO, Ingrid is a self-starter with a decade’s worth of research into the science of joy. Her findings made it into a book: Joyful: The Surprising Power of Ordinary Things to Create Extraordinary Happiness.

Today, she helps us answer the hard questions: how do we get to feel joyful? Our surroundings, the objects in our homes, the things and people we interact with every day… Why do they influence our emotions? And crucially: what does that mean for our companies? Together, we discuss how to make our workplaces more enjoyable and productive, and what joy means for leadership, teamwork and our business philosophy.

Join Ingrid and Ari to spread joy today and make it an integral function of your organization.

Highlights:

• When Ingrid first stumbled upon Joy (2:45)
• Universal joyful patterns (4:54)
• The evolutionary explanation for joy (7:32)
• The difference between joy and happiness (9:33)
• The Aesthetics of Joy in the Workplace (10:29)
• How physical space can impact our mental health (13:32)
• The branded environment: “No one wants to work inside the corporate logo” (15:30)
• The case of joy contagion at Coca-Cola (16:34)
• Adopting a new joyful leadership (18:56)
• “The biggest mistake that I've seen employers make is inconsistency” (20:56)
• Undoing the corporate bias against joy (22:03)
• Signs that we have changed our team for the better (23:23)
• Finding joy while working remotely (25:57)
• Embracing joy in the present (27:46)
• Gen Z: a new philosophy of joy (29:27)

Links:

• Cadence Bank Website
• Cadence Bank X (Twitter)
• Cadence Bank LinkedIn
• The Aesthetics of Joy Website
• The Aesthetics of Joy Instagram
• Ingrid Fetell Lee X (Twitter)
• Ingrid Fetell Lee LinkedIn
• Ingrid Fetell Lee Instagram
• Ingrid Fetell Lee Pinterest
• Ted Talk: “Where Joy Hides and How to Find It”
• Research: Oxford University - “Happy workers are 13% more productive”
• Research: BCG - “Joy at work matters more than you realize”

Feedback:

If you have questions about the show or topics you'd like discussed in future episodes, email our producers, Natalie.Barron@cadencebank.com, Eydie.Pengelly@cadencebank.com, or Danielle.Kernell@cadencebank.com.

According to a 2023 poll, nearly 50% of small business owners felt stressed about their finances. So at In Good Companies, before we return to work, we want to learn more about our money feelings. Where do they come from? Are they serving us well? And how can we gain confidence in our potential, to build a healthier relationship with our finances? Our guest Saundra Davis thinks about these questions every single day.

Saundra is a Financial Planner and Coach, the Director of Financial Programmes at Golden Gate University, and the founder of Sage Financial Solutions, a non-profit offering support and education to people from all backgrounds. And in today’s episode, she joins Ari for an honest, vulnerable and insightful conversation on financial well-being.

Together, they recall how Saundra launched her career after having made every mistake possible in her first business. They spell out the link between trauma and behavior and explain why a good financial plan starts with understanding our needs and values. Working through Saundra’s “Continuum of Financial Well-being”, they also cover what professional support looks like in practice; how to avoid some typical budgetary mistakes when launching a new venture; and how to assess if you’re coping well with your current financial situation.

Join them to hit reset and align your dollars, your cents and your values with your business vision.

Highlights:

• “There's no aspect of our lives that money doesn't touch” (3:01)
• The impact of money feelings on business decisions (4:36)
• How to recognize an unhealthy financial mindset (6:04)
• Understanding the "Continuum of Financial Well-being" (8:03)
• Financial wellness: a subjective question (10:37)
• Typical financial challenges when launching a new venture (13:50)
• Financial stress: how we can look out for each other (16:23)
• Why building trust with your Financial Planner matters (18:28)
• Financial support starts with your needs (21:25)
• Money wellness as an investment into the future (23:12)
• Saundra’s go-to resources for financial support (25:08)
• “Know where you are; know you're going; build a plan to get there “ (26:39)
• No Shame Zone: Saundra’s new money mindset (28:18)

Links:

• Cadence Bank Website
• Cadence Bank X (Twitter)
• Cadence Bank LinkedIn
• Saundra Davis LinkedIn
• Saundra Davis Golden Gate University
• Sage Financial Solutions Website
• Sage Financial Solutions Instagram
• Article - “Half of Small Business Owners Experience Poor Mental Health”
• Resource - Consumer Financial Protection Bureau’s Well-being Questionnaire
• Resource - Financial Therapy Association
• Resource - Certified Financial Planner Board of Standards
  
  

Feedback:

If you have questions about the show or topics you'd like discussed in future episodes, email our producers, Natalie.Barron@cadencebank.com, Eydie.Pengelly@cadencebank.com, or Danielle.Kernell@cadencebank.com.

Whether you’re building your company up through growth and innovation or by investing in your culture, being in business often means striving for performance. But is there a science to good leadership? Research in cognitive psychology shows there might be.

Our guest today is Dr. Julia DiGangi, author of Energy Rising: The Neuroscience of Leading with Emotional Power. She is a neuropsychologist who works with businesses and entrepreneurs to help them harness their power, and keep their mindset fresh. And for her, great leadership starts when we understand the human brain!

In today’s episode, Dr. DiGangi joins our new host Ari Marin to decode the clever machinery of the brain, and unlock new potential! Together, they discuss our cognitive ability to recognize patterns and our natural aversion to uncertainty; they unpack how we can reshape our behaviors to undo fear-based nervous habits; and they reveal that focusing on identity can move organizations towards better cooperation. Dr. DiGangi shares her invaluable research and wealth of knowledge on corporate leadership to help us tap into our brain power.

So tune in with Julia and Ari today, and get ready to adopt a whole new performance mindset.

Highlights:

• Understanding how the brain works (3:00)
• Anxiety as a reaction to uncertainty (4:37)
• Cognitive strategies: why we'd rather choose physical pain (6:05)
• Building leadership from the energy of emotion (8:25)
• “Working” and “overworking” as different nervous responses (11:34)
• Why identity is the best response to uncertainty (12:54)
• The emotional math of our professional lives (15:12)
• Reframing micromanagement as a fear reaction (16:45)
• Recent changes in the conversation around mental health (18:34)
• The impact of technology on emotional intelligence (20:28)
• The creativity of leadership (22:24)
• Speaking the language of emotions (24:11)
• “The greatest asset that companies have today is relational intelligence” (26:23)
• Staying optimistic for the future of collaboration (29:12)

Links:

• Cadence Bank Website
• Cadence Bank X (Twitter)
• Cadence Bank LinkedIn
• Dr. Julia DiGangi Website
• Dr. Julia DiGangi X (Twitter)
• Dr. Julia DiGangi LinkedIn
• Dr. Julia DiGangi Instagram
• Book - “Energy Rising: The Neuroscience of Leading with Emotional Power”

Feedback:

If you have questions about the show or topics you'd like discussed in future episodes, email our producers, Natalie.Barron@cadencebank.com, Eydie.Pengelly@cadencebank.com, or danielle.kernell@cadencebank.com.

This August, In Good Companies is back with a special series to relax, reset and dive back into business. And while summertime is an ideal season to press pause and step out of the office, for some of us, the need for a break is pressing. In 2024, 38% of US employees report having experienced burnout; a phenomenon recognized by the World Health Organisation as an occupational issue.

So how do we change our systems and habits to enhance well-being at work, and avoid burnout? When it comes to our corporate lives, what can we do to stay motivated, productive and healthy in the long term? We answer these questions with Paula Davis, a burnout recovery and well-being expert, and CEO of the Stress & Resilience Institute.

In this episode, our new host Ari Marin speaks with Paula about what burnout feels like and how to recognize it before it’s too late. Together, we strategize recovery and discuss how to undo stigma, and to open up conversations on mental health inside our companies. Throughout, Paula will share her experiences of triumph over chronic fatigue; proving that burnout is not the end of the road, but a fork in it.

So tune in with Paula and Ari, to start a new conversation today and find your path to stress resilience.

Highlights:

• Paula’s own experience with Burnout (2:19)
• How habits, values, or preconceptions contribute to Burnout (5:05)
• Taking the time for recovery (7:07)
• Recognizing early signs of Burnout (9:12)
• An exercise to notice symptoms (13:03)
• A “me” and a “we” approach to Burnout (15:27)
• The “core six” drivers of chronic stress (17:12)
• How to tackle motivation from generation to generation (19:55)
• Strategies for recovery and prevention (22:15)
• Paula’s go-to resources for education (25:45)
• Breaking the stigma around Burnout (26:59)
• Using flexibility for professional empowerment (29:41)
• Burnout as a constructive journey (33:04)

Links:

• Cadence Bank Website
• Cadence Bank X (Twitter)
• Cadence Bank LinkedIn
• The Stress & Resilience Institute Website
• Paula Davis LinkedIn
• Paula Davis in Forbes
• World Health Organisation - “Burnout as an ‘occupational’ phenomenon”
• Spill - “Burnout Statistics You need to know for 2024”
• Book - Nick Patrie’s “Work Without Stress”
• Ted Talk - Dr Kelly McGonigal’s “How to Make Stress Your Friend”

Feedback:

If you have questions about the show or topics you'd like discussed in future episodes, email our producers, Natalie.Barron@cadencebank.com, Eydie.Pengelly@cadencebank.com, or danielle.kernell@cadencebank.com.