Wish I Knew . . .
Gary Nowak
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Goodpods has curated a list of the 10 best Wish I Knew . . . episodes, ranked by the number of listens and likes each episode have garnered from our listeners. If you are listening to Wish I Knew . . . for the first time, there's no better place to start than with one of these standout episodes. If you are a fan of the show, vote for your favorite Wish I Knew . . . episode by adding your comments to the episode page.
Rachel Begun - 20+ years Health Nutrition / Founder and CEO Communication Strategy / Nationally known / Acting like a man
Wish I Knew . . .
08/16/22 • 51 min
Find Rachel Here - https://rachelbegun.com/
Career Background:
- 20+ years as a health and nutrition communications expert
- Founder and CEO of a communications strategy firm for 12 years
- Nationally recognized registered dietitian nutritionist conducting 1,000 + interviews with top media outlets and writing for trade and consumer publications
- Transitioned to being a leadership development coach and organizational culture consultant
- Respected advisor and board member to organizations, including:
- Chair of Western Region Board and National Board of Directors Member to Step Up
- Advisory Board Member to Food + Planet
- Master of Science in Nutrition Education and Dietetic Internship Program at Columbia University
- Bachelor of Arts in Biology from Emory University
Highlights
- First job at the Gap to get Spring Break cash
- High school science teachers encouraged her love of the biological sciences, which led to being a pre-med student and biology major in college, where she identified her love for nutrition
- Worked for three years between undergraduate and graduate programs to confirm passion for studying nutrition. Gained great experience in business development and account management
- With academic background focusing on the sciences, she discovered her agility and affinity for business and communications and developed these skills on the job
- Coming out of graduate school with a degree in nutrition, forged her own path to focus in communications
- Spent her 20s and 30s in the workplace as a woman "trying to be a man”; given great advice (by a man) to be her authentic full self
- Bear Naked unleashed her entrepreneurial spirit and changed her career path
- Unique background wasn't always easy to sell
- Stayed true to her values when selecting clients/partners to work with
- And you’ll have to tune in to hear Rachel's great advice
Want to be a guest? Email me at [email protected]!
#62 Ling Chung - Senior Manager Ecommerce / Volunteering / Mapping out Values / Taiwan - Singapore - Canada
Wish I Knew . . .
07/25/22 • 60 min
Welcome to another episode of "Wish I Knew . . . "
A podcast where I speak with people about their careers focusing on their success, advice, mentoring and listening to interesting stories.
I'm your host Gary Nowak and today I have an open and honest conversation with my guest Ling Chung. I just loved her work ethic and perspective on her career.
Career Background:
- Unilever ~3 years as Senior Manager, Ecommerce
- Prior to
- Brand Manager for Schick Disposables
- Energizer 6 years
- Pepsico
York University bachelor in Marketing
- Born in Taiwan, raised in Singapore and lives in Canada
Highlights
- One of my avid listeners
Great first job as a translator Taking notes in her spare time while on vacation
Volunteering as a pillar to her career
Getting a warm hand off for her first job
Don't be discouraged if your resume isn't picked out inititially
Mom being a massive influence
Being "Top of Mind" for people who can support your career
Another "tell the world" perspective
Aligning your actions to what you want out of the world
Likeability and kindness in your career
Mapping our your values
- #1 is building human connections
- Defining your values
Being a Generalist vs specialist
Being hard to replicate in your career
Being comfortable with ambiguity and things being a mess
Making decisions - does this opportunity open more doors
Top 3 values
- Human connections
- Curiosity
- Well being for society
Proud moment is a great one
Making superstars of your team instead of you
Great conversation with someone special
Want to be a guest? Email me at [email protected]!
#57 Stephen McDonnold - Retired Executive / MBA Point of View / College is "How" to learn / REM Story / Favorite Child
Wish I Knew . . .
06/21/22 • 64 min
Welcome to another episode of "Wish I Knew . . . "
A podcast where I speak with people about their careers focusing on their success, advice, mentoring and listening to interesting stories.
I'm your host Gary Nowak and today I've got a guest that truly hits the mark for me of what a successful career is all about with my guest Stephen McDonnold. Great career, great wife and wonderful daughters
Career Background:
- PGA Store nearly 17 years
- Home Depot 14 Years
- Ernst & Young 2 yrs
- Presebyterian College and Mercer University MBA Tax
Highlights
- Playing with electricity early on and letting me know playing with water is more dangerous
- Playing golf in college for a D1 school, so jealous.
- Starting young and his dad giving him 2 books
- College is all about how to learn, don't get bogged down in the details
- Focusing on Tax for an MBA, he wanted something specific
- What to do with a philosophy degree
- Being a good person and giving back to the community
- Observer and using this as a mentoring approach
- Cream always rises to the top
- When your best attributes are also your worst attributes
- Simple advice = be humble and listen
- Great perspective on hard vs soft skills
- Switching jobs why and when
- Getting great financial advice
- Taking a big risk by going to PGA Store and the influencer behind this move
- Finally figured out his biggest influencer
- When your job is a blast
- Great REM story
- Going to the best golf tournament on earth yearly and no room to give this a guy a break to go
- He has an answer when I ask him who his favorite child is with one of his daughters next to him and it wasn't her
Want to be a guest? Email me at [email protected]!
#70 Sneha Kapoor - Consulting Executive / CxO Advisor / Career Courage / Sir Alex Reference
Wish I Knew . . .
09/27/22 • 44 min
I'm your host Gary Nowak and my guest Sneha Kapoor has a wonderful story about her career and switching from Finance to IT and becoming a Growth Strategy Adviser.
Career Background:
- Working with IDC as a Practice Head of Intelligent Automation & Artificial Intelligence / CXO Adviser
- Tech Strategist and Research lead for (China / Japan / India) while with NASSCOM
- Technology Investment Analyst & Growth Strategy Consultant while with an S&P Global Market Intelligence company Evaluserve, DLF
- Educated at:
- Shaheed Sukhdev College of Business Studies
- MBA with Schulich School of Business - York University
- MBA with S P Jain School of Global Management
- Double Gold Medalist
- CFA Institute Level 1
Highlights
- Teaching at age 10 to a 6 year old
- Work results in blessings and growth, it's not always about money
- Following her dad into finance
- Showing the courage to pick her own career
- Research and Strategy and being a curious person
- Finding answers and solutions
- Having strong parental support
- Rationale for her MBA and conducting them in 3 countries Dubai / Toronto / Singapore
- Learning, understanding and acclimating to all cultures
- Sir Alex Ferguson's 5 quotes that encourage Sneha on a daily basis
- Dress up, Show Up and never give up
- Fortune favors the bold
- The harder you work, the luckier you will get
- The positive aspects of being a successful woman in Business
- Another great relationship builder story
- Starting again in the IT industry
- Staying up to date on IT Thought leadership, great way to learn more
- Sherlock Holmes and the Big Bang Theory
Want to be a guest? Email me at [email protected]!
#53 Allen Wu - Yoga Master in Taiwan / Finding Yoga / Luke the Mentor / Yoga = Connection / Selling as an introvert
Wish I Knew . . .
05/24/22 • 55 min
Welcome to another episode of "Wish I Knew . . . "
A podcast where I speak with people about their careers focusing on their success, advice, mentoring and listening to interesting stories.
I'm your host Gary Nowak and I've got a real life Yogi to share his experience which started in business and turned towards being a yoga instructor. Today I have a wonderful conversation with my good friend Allen Wu.
Career Background:
- Started off in Finance
- Pair of internships one in HK and one in Taipei
- 6 years with TSMC, largest semi conductor company globally
- Finding his Yoga passion in Shanghai
https://www.facebook.com/allenwuyoga
Highlights
- Selling tea on the streets of Taiwan and being really good at it
- Reading customer reaction to know if it's good
- Repetition
- Rationale for choosing finance as a career
- Internships being life changing??
- The pace of Hong Kong and how he adapted
- Having courage to keep his own pace
- Talking slowly so people will listen
- Be yourself!!!
- Impact of the Global financial crisis
- Meeting people being an introvert
- Seeking other opportunities in Shanghai
- Discovering Yoga in Shanghai as something to do
- PURE Yoga classes and the awesome teachers
- Getting guidance on being a yoga instructor
- 200 hour yoga training was really painful
- Luke the mentor / influencer
- When you graduate you teach right away
- Bribing people with coffee
- Pounding the pavement for a teaching opp
- Looking at the students face to see if you're a good teacher or not
- Using the corpse pose to figure things out
- Yoga = connection
- Advice on yoga, just give it a try with repetition
Want to be a guest? Email me at [email protected]!
#51 Art Chenen - Health Industry Lawyer / Head Litigator in his 20's / Impact of Medicare / Should have mentored more
Wish I Knew . . .
05/10/22 • 49 min
Welcome to another episode of "Wish I Knew . . . "
A podcast where I speak with people about their careers focusing on their success, advice, mentoring and listening to interesting stories.
I'm your host Gary Nowak and today I've got a longtime friend of mine who I met while seeking a volunteering opportunity in Long Beach California. You are going get to eavesdrop on my conversation with recently retired Art Chenen.
Career Background:
- Grew up in California and never left
- UCLA Law School
- Started his own Law Firm
- Focused in the health industry (great time and story)
- Worked for 2 prestigious law firms in LA
Highlights
- Lying in his first job
- The perry mason impact
- Summer job at a Law Firm with a draft lurking about
- Meeting his lovely bride Lynn at college
- Going to law school but not sure if he wanted to be a lawyer
- Medicare impacting his career
- The power of a sabbatical
- Wanted to be a litigator
- Rebuilding a small firm into a large firm
- Watching colleagues operate and admiring
- What do the cases say??
- Didn't apply to Art - How to gracefully tell a client NOT to lie to you
- Giving me honest feedback in 2014
- Late 20's as a head litigator of 50 lawyers nationally
- No "Key Numbers" for health care (too lawyer"ie")
- Regretting not mentoring more
- Mentoring "Pretend you’re a lawyer"
Want to be a guest? Email me at [email protected]!
#22 Meredith Burall - Creative Executive / Knowing your worth / Perfect Mom & Dad mix
Wish I Knew . . .
09/28/21 • 60 min
Welcome to another episode of "Wish I Knew . . . "
A podcast where I speak with people about their careers focusing on their success, advice, mentoring and listening to interesting stories.
I've got a creative person and interesting conversation for you today with my guest Meredith Burall
Career Overview
- Very creative career starting in High school doing freelance work in Graphic Design
- Attended Moore college of Art and Design
- Started her professional career at Asher & Company in Marketing / Graphic Design
- Co-founded Cloudfish Studios
- Held 5 different positions with BDO
- And now leads the Creative Services team and is a frequent speaker for branding and marketing best practices
- Has more than 17 years of graphic design
- She donates her time and creative skills to her local community
Highlights
- My youngest to start her career 6 year old start of the career
- Freelancing in high school and college in graphic design
- Getting into the job market during the global financial crisis
- Perfect mix between her mom and dad
- 3 strong women influencers
- Knowing your worth and turning down something that isn't a good fit
- Being in a creative and technical area and understanding the importance of people and communication
- Breathing & Adapting to individual communication styles to improve your career
- Being better at communication is a never ending process
- Rationalizing two setbacks that turned out to be positive when looking back
- Having her own business and living up to that dream under the umbrella of a great company
- See Whale Sharks
- Getting away from it all in the pocono mountains
Philly
- Loving the Philly art scene
- Philly cheesesteak conversation, I'm sorry I had to ask
Want to be a guest? Email me at [email protected]!
#101 Jason Gelios - Author of 2 books / Top producing realtor / 2 guests for "Fun Stuff" awesome
Wish I Knew . . .
07/11/23 • 65 min
Background
- Went to my Alma Mater Macomb Community College
- Hard working guy who had several jobs prior to finding his career
- Award winning and Top Producing Realtor in the Metro Detroit area
- Author of
- "Think like a realtor"
- "Beating the Force of Average"
- Created a real estate show and an Expert media contributor to all kinds of real estate shows
Highlights
- Job straight out of college and Assessing career early
- Experiencing mid life crisis in his early twenties
- Finding the woman of her dreams at Burger King
- Wife being a major influence on his life
- Hearing - You'd be good at sales
- Always like real estate
- Knowing himself - More handshake than cold call personality
- Getting focus through writing some books
- The impact of the Global Financial Crisis
- Being let go a couple of times and the positive impact
- His key traits are so easy to follow
- Rationale for writing a book
- Giving a book instead of a business card
- Best advice is to "Just start:
- Get out of your comfort zone
- His kids were nice enough to join in the fun Stuff Question portion of the podcast
Want to be a guest? Email me at [email protected]!
#85 Greg Tucker - CxO Level(s) / Stanford MBA (made them wait) / Engineering to Business / How to listen
Wish I Knew . . .
02/07/23 • 68 min
I'm your host Gary Nowak and today I've had the great honor of reconnecting with a former colleague and extremely successful consultant @Greg Tucker
Career Background:
- Award winning CXO, CMO, Chief Customer Officer
- Chief Journey mapper, heling companies better understand the customer journey
- Self employed with his highly successful consulting company for over 10 years
- Held positions with great companies like Clorox, AAA, Copart, CSC Index and mercer Management Consulting
- Education
- Undergrad at Kansas State in Mechanical Engineering
- MBA from Stanford University in Strategy & Marketing Operations
Highlights
- Great first job, those were the days and being the #1 Sticker
- Growing up in Middle America
- Studied Engineering but always knew in his heart he would be a businessman
- Making Stanford wait for him
- Doesn't like working outside all that much
- Engineering to business subjects
- Kansas to New York to the Bay
- Wine thread throughout
- Shifting between industry and consulting
- Working for some major clients
- Getting the best thinking in the room
- Consulting is like fixing a gourmet meal
- Asking a consulting questions to consultants
- How coming from a farming family helps you become a practical consultant
- Hiring people smarter than yourself
- "Live in the Question"
- Listening in a conversation for Context / Process / Content
- Turn the data around to the client and ask a question
- Getting a "Big Bang Theory" & "Ozark" references into the podcast
- Best advice is asking a question
- Customer Experience deep dive conversation
- Missing out on working with 2 high profile individuals
- Being surrounded by great leaders
- Chris Botti Stalker list
- Getting out of your wife's way
Want to be a guest? Email me at [email protected]!
#27 Robert Barker - Author / Veteran / Charlie Chaplin / Comedy / F. Scott Fitzgerald
Wish I Knew . . .
11/02/21 • 66 min
Welcome to another episode of "Wish I Knew . . . "
A podcast where I speak with people about their careers focusing on their success, advice, mentoring and listening to interesting stories.
I've got a good friend and author to share his story thus far Robert Barker.
Background
Author of 5 books under the pen name Robert Nicolas
- Served our country in the Army
- Went to Indiana University
- Majored in Telecommunications and Sociology
- Worked for an insurance company for 16 years. Did not love it
- Transitioned to full time author in 2007 under the name of Robert Nicolas
Highlights:
Taught himself to read as a child
- Attended Catholic school
- Wrote short stories
- An English teacher in High School left him alone in class to write
- Constantly moved around growing up
- Walked out of high school with 3 days left in his junior year
- Traveled back to hometown of Indianapolis for a girl
- The Army trained him to be a journalist
- Turned down a chance to attend West Point
- Got a ‘Dear Robert’ letter while in basic training
- Feels he’s a genius and an idiot at the same time
- Found out Alaska is an international assignment in the military
- Took a Charlie Chaplin class in college. Saw all the films, where he learned about story telling, especially Beginning / Middle / End, like a snake eating its tail.
- Did standup comedy, gotta have guts to do it.
- Must churn out material constantly
- Improved his public speaking with practice and understanding your material
- Embrace your nerves
- In 1990 conversation with a publisher told him it was obvious he could write, had to keep that compliment for a long time
- Best fantasy career
- The moon is a sore point for Robert
- Would like to give assurance to F. Scott Fitzgerald that he was great
Want to be a guest? Email me at [email protected]!
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FAQ
How many episodes does Wish I Knew . . . have?
Wish I Knew . . . currently has 104 episodes available.
What topics does Wish I Knew . . . cover?
The podcast is about Career Advice, Management, Leadership, Podcasts, Mentoring, Business and Careers.
What is the most popular episode on Wish I Knew . . .?
The episode title '#84 Sherry Bisaillon - Executive with Pharma and Tech / Relationship builder / Bold career moves' is the most popular.
What is the average episode length on Wish I Knew . . .?
The average episode length on Wish I Knew . . . is 59 minutes.
How often are episodes of Wish I Knew . . . released?
Episodes of Wish I Knew . . . are typically released every 7 days, 1 hour.
When was the first episode of Wish I Knew . . .?
The first episode of Wish I Knew . . . was released on May 18, 2021.
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