The How This Works show - Episodes Tagged with “Podcast”

Joanne Weaver

Skipper Chong Warson — Fri, 18 Oct 2024 03:00:00 -0400

Joanne Weaver, who co-runs a design recruiting agency in New York City, discussed her dual career in recruitment and music. She highlighted the importance of networking and tailoring job applications to specific roles. Joanne emphasized the need for efficiency in communication and the value of understanding both job seekers and clients. She shared her journey from starting her agency during a financial crisis to having built a successful business. Joanne also discussed the significance of connection and authenticity, both in her professional and personal life, recommended the show "Alone" for its exploration of human resilience, and talked about her semimonthly show on LinkedIn live with two other design recruiters, Jared Tredly and Erica Fortgang for Design:Unfiltered @DesignedXTalent

Keep listening until after the outro music for a bit of tape from our first attempt at recording (Internet connection problems) where Joanne talks about how being a singer and being a performer helps to understand the clients and job seekers she works with.

A few specific points from the episode:

Joanne's work as a singer, including albums, performances, and cover songs
Her musical style blends jazz and trip-hop, with inspiration from sci-fi and the Voyager probes
Her indie band, Broanne, and their EP "We're Totally Blowing Up"
Her view of the job of a recruiter: matching clients with candidates and guiding them through the hiring process
Her journey started at a nanny agency in London, eventually leading her to start her own recruitment agency in New York City
Initial struggles in starting her agency and stresses the importance of networking and building personal connections
Meeting her business partner, Rebecca Levy, through a mutual connection — advice, "take the lunch"
The need for taking breaks and disconnecting to recharge
The 2008 financial crisis impacted her business but also led to new opportunities
Tailoring resumes and portfolios to specific job opportunities
A tip on standing out in the job market: be efficient and professional in communications
Common fears like not being good enough and encourages leaning into those fears
Strategies for overcoming anxiety: focus on service and giving to others
Stresses authenticity and connecting with others in both personal and professional contexts
The value of small moments of connection, which can lead to larger opportunities.
The importance of connection and talking to people
Recommendation for Tunde Oyeneyin's audiobook, "Speak" and the show "Alone" for its exploration of human connection and survival
She plans to begin work on a cabaret show about an unnamed 80s/90s pop sensation, inspired by recently reading their biography

Special Guest: Joanne Weaver.

Links:

Rebecca Levi
Steve Jobs' commencement speech to Stanford’s 2005 graduating class — “Of course it was impossible to connect the dots looking forward when I was in college. But it was very, very clear looking backward ten years later,” Jobs said. “So you have to trust that the dots will somehow connect in your future. You have to trust in something-your gut, destiny, life, karma, whatever. This approach has never let me down, and it has made all the difference in my life.”
Twisted Spritzer
Ryan Adams - "Wonderwall" (Oasis cover)
Simon Sinek on Design Matters in 2015 — With Debbie Millman
"Speak" by Tunde Oyeneyin
Tara Mohr's "Playing Big"
Ted Lasso clip — When Rebecca "makes herself big" to build up courage
Tony Robbins
Alone (TV series)
Voyager Golden Record
Joanne Weaver Group
Design:Unfiltered on LinkedIn
Design:Unfiltered replays on YouTube
Joanne Weaver's music on Spotify
Twisted Spritzer
Broanne

Skipper Chong Warson

Skipper Chong Warson — Tue, 15 Jun 2021 18:45:00 -0400

Recorded in their child's bedroom on a weekday, Laura and Skipper chat about his academic background in writing (English literature, playwriting) as well as his professional background as a product design director (think desktop and mobile apps among other mediums) and how that plays into storytelling, most recently resulting in the creation of How This Works, this podcast.

They also talk about their life together — newsflash: they're married and living in the San Francisco Bay area, having moved from New York City a couple of years ago. Along the way, they get into some of the differences between life in SF and NYC. They also talk about their upcoming wedding anniversary after getting married next to Jane's Carousel in Brooklyn Bridge Park.

Along with talk about his name change from Starr to Skipper (and not Optimus Prime) at the age of seven, they bring in a few questions posed from the listening audience including lessons learned from the first season of the show, calling people the name they want to be called, how crucial listening is in making a podcast, the ubiquity of imposter syndrome, using the five (5) whys to get to the root cause of a challenge as developed by Sakichi Toyoda at the Toyota Motor Corporation, team falling asleep during movies versus team staying awake during movies, and why Skipper color codes versus alphabetizing the books in his background — see photo below.

View of the three shelves behind Skipper's standing desk

Laura and Skipper also reference the following previous episodes, in order of being published, including:

Jack Kahana, the first episode
Dr. Peter Chin-Hong, the third episode
Selena Rosanbalm, the sixth episode
Cassandra Carlopio, the 15th episode
Kat Hantas and Nicole Emanuel from 21Seeds, the 17th episode
Sally McRae, the 18th episode
Piper Payne, the 20th episode

Stay tuned after the outro music for a bit of tape where Skipper pauses for a bit of background noise and how from where Laura's sitting, the microphone makes it looks like his nose is a black bit of foam.

Special Guest: Skipper Chong Warson.

Links:

Kacie Lett Gordon

Skipper Chong Warson — Tue, 23 Feb 2021 06:00:00 -0500

In today's show, Kacie Lett Gordon deconstructs the notion of having it all in our current times — she's working through that for herself with a number of other women on her podcast Fuck it All.

We start out by talking about being a bit nervous about being on a podcast as a guest and a podcast as a host, external and internal roles, the difference between honesty and authenticity, and how different people get their energy in different ways (she gets hers with alone time while her husband gets it from being around people).

We reach into many topics during this show, including how Kacie's mom was and is a role model for her, being a mother herself, how while she felt like she theoretically had it all she felt miserable (probably as a result of late-onset postpartum depression), the double standard of calling a woman bossy versus praising a man for the same behavior, good coffee in contrast to easy coffee, the importance of the mug, the power of curiosity, and, in her words, where part of the narrative of being a woman is "if you don't dislike yourself a little bit, then you're not humble."

There's a ton of books that we talk about — non-fiction and fiction. You can find those in the show notes. We also talk about a mutual friend Jen Dary and her So Now You're a Manager program from Plucky.

Stay tuned after the outro music to hear Kacie wonder, Who am I?

This episode was edited and mastered by Troy Lococo.

Special Guest: Kacie Lett Gordon.

Links: