Zen and the Art of Remaining Employed

[00:00:04] Hi everybody, welcome to Production Notes. My name is Tom Alexander and of course I am joined by the other half of this duo, the man behind the scenes, the wizard of odds. Who knows what's going on back there behind the curtain. It is Charles Epstein. Hey Charles, how are you? The wizard of odds, as in odds and ends. Odds and ends. I like that. I've never been called that. Not betting odds.

[00:00:29] Okay, okay. I like that. Sort of like a utility infielder on steroids. That's the way I'm going to look at it. Somebody actually told me that fairly recently, the NBA reserved an all- was it the NBA? No, no, no.

[00:00:51] I think it was actually Major League Baseball who reserved an all-star spot for an all-star utility player. Is that the case? Somebody mentioned that to me just the other day. That sounds, yeah, you're hitting a note there somewhere because I seem to recall that.

[00:01:07] And, you know, we've seen many of those guys in baseball for years. You and I grew up at the same time watching baseball in the 70s and guys like Manny Moda, right? Professional hitter. Always seemed to get the hit. You know, Mini Minoso, those kinds of guys. Yeah, Rusty Stobb became a utility guy. He did. Although in his career he was a really good outfielder. Great arm. LeGran Doran. He did.

[00:01:33] It's really kind of cool that they're recognizing because in the NBA you have six men and they get a lot of love. They get a lot of attention. I don't know if they necessarily get an all-star berth. Sometimes they do, but it really is kind of cool. And I didn't know this. And again, I wasn't sure a friend of mine mentioned this to me, but you are the baseball guy. So I think it was a good opportunity to bring that up and ask you about that. But yeah, the Wizard of Odds and Ends. I kind of like that.

[00:02:02] Yeah, there you go. The Wizard of Odds and Ends. We just coined a phrase here, a moniker for you. Last thought before we move on to the show itself, the talent show, but I want to mention, there is one of the great sixth men, sixth men, I'll get that out, in NBA history is in the Hall of Fame, a gentleman by the name of Bobby Jones. Bobby Jones and Havlicek. He was kind of a sixth man.

[00:02:31] Yeah, yeah. But we digress as we typically do. Yeah. That's what we do. That's what we do. Yes. Instead of production notes, we should just call it digressing. I think it... You know what? I kind of like that. We're just mishigas. Call it mishigas. It is a lot of mishigas. They play Ohio State, don't they? Yeah, they make us a little too niche. Yeah. But there you go.

[00:02:57] Anyway, yeah, this is our second production notes. And just people coming to this for the first time, you know, just give you some background, some seek preview of who we're going to have on, some conversation about some things that are maybe top of mind in the news. But in any case, we've had a number of really, really terrific guests on recently. And as we...

[00:03:26] You know, our goal at the outset was not to just have HR people or business people. We wanted to have people from all walks of life. And I think we've really gotten off on a good foot with that. Randy Bernson, the fusion composer, jazz composer and guitarist and pilot, the comedian hypnotist, Burish Cherniak. And we're going to be having other really, really interesting people on.

[00:03:55] We're going to be having Matt Burns, CEO and co-founder of Atlas Copilot, talk about his long obsession with airplay. Jeffrey Klein, founder, president and CEO of Nine Dots, and a self-proclaimed game master. Apparently, he has a talent for creating and getting people to participate in games. Wow. You know, I've known people like that. I'm sure you have, too. I have. Yeah, yeah. I had a friend of mine, he used to refer to himself as the game maker.

[00:04:25] Ah. And he would invent little games and everything. And yeah, yeah. Very, very cool. By the way, I am going to be making history here with, you know, we've done quite a few podcasts and radio stuff and just a whole lot of work together over the years. This is the first thing that we've ever done where I am going to be using not one but two Yiddish words on the same episode. Wow.

[00:04:54] We talk about game master. There was a term my mom used to always use, a cookleffle. A cookleffle. Somebody who stirs the pot. Ah. Somebody who stirs the pot. It's usually somebody who's instigated. Now, let me try saying that. Say it one more time. Cookleffle. Cookleffle. Cookleffle. Somebody who stirs the pot. Somebody who stirs the pot. Yeah. Yeah, cookleffle. Yeah. Yeah. So I'm going to run that by Jeffrey Klein, see how he likes that. Okay.

[00:05:21] We're going to be having Elena Moscow, CEO and founder of Globiana, a global mobility company, to talk about her passion for painting. I know you're working on some really interesting people in the fields of entertainment and all that. And I'm working on some people. So yeah, this is going to be really, really good, Tom. So I'm looking forward to keeping this going. Yeah, definitely. And we love talking a little bit, taking the audience a little bit behind the scenes here

[00:05:50] and how the talent show works, all the gear works and everything that take place. You know, it is fun too, Charles, to do this show, to do the talent show with these folks because in many ways you learn things you didn't know most of the time, revelations. And it's really, really cool.

[00:06:14] And we had two guys on that, you know, when you mentioned Burnson and Burns, which sounds like a comedy duo, but it's not. Randy Burnson and Matt Burns, both one is a pilot and one wants to be a pilot. His passion is everything flight. Right. But, you know, when somebody has that level. And by the way, and you and I, of course, simply have two feet planted in midair.

[00:06:42] So to some extent, we're in your spirits. That's an excellent point. But when someone has that level of passion, it's impossible to not have a great deal of knowledge that goes right with it. Hand and glove, right? It's just so you learn things about flying and airlines and the business of flying and the coordination of scheduling and all that stuff that you didn't know.

[00:07:11] And these are the kinds of things that I love about doing the talent show with folks, because everybody that has that second thing, whatever that talent is or passion is, they're all in. You know, they're all in there. They're just they're 100 percent. And so how can it not be exciting? Yeah. You know, there's that old line where everybody has one book. Yeah. And Christopher Hitchens once said that. Yeah.

[00:07:37] And that's where in most cases it should remain in you. But what is interesting is that, you know, if you prod enough, everybody's got an interesting story. Even people you don't think have a lot going on. They have an interesting story. You know, it's sometimes engaging, showing interest. Probably obviously the people we're talking to are more than happy to be forthcoming. This is something they they cultivate.

[00:08:06] Generally speaking, it's something that most of their colleagues, their co-workers, their cohort knows nothing about. So, you know, it's been really great to give those people a platform and give them an opportunity to show other sides of themselves. You know, but we also I think because we're still early into this, we talk about talent.

[00:08:32] It's important that we emphasize that we're not talking about necessarily the standard performative talents, playing an instrument, painting, juggling, all this kind of stuff. It could be a hobby. It could be an off-road interest, a side hustle. Even we're going to be talking a little bit down the road with somebody who is a an executive

[00:09:01] with a very well-known staffing company who has a side hustle, making cupcakes, you know, et cetera. So, you know, it could be a range of things. It could be something completely goofy. But if it's something you're passionate about, something you do, we want to talk to you about it. You know, and it sort of occurs to me, you and I were talking about a mutual colleague of ours. We always marveled at this guy for having a talent.

[00:09:28] What I would call a talent for achieving sort of a Zen-like state as an employee of being there and not being there, of seeming to be ubiquitous, but kind of indistinct. You know, somebody who seems important, a stalwart of the company, but has no defined skill set. This person survives wave after wave of layoffs, unscathed.

[00:09:57] And you're always left to wonder why. And I'm sure if you broke it down, because you and I have that one person in common, you and I have spoken about that person and other people who share those characteristics. And I think it does at a certain level. It is a talent. I don't know. Yeah, I don't know how to break it down exactly. Yeah. You got to admire somebody who is able to stay sort of like, you know, going back to some

[00:10:24] of the sports talk we were talking about, you know, somebody who's a journeyman. But gee, he's been in the league for 15 years. Yeah, no, exactly. And by the way, you know, the person that this person we mutually, you know, you know who this person is. This person, I can say he is. He says, hey, he acknowledges, he acknowledges that this is something that he has managed that has even surprised him. Let's put it that way.

[00:10:54] Which is just confirmation. It's all you need. Have you ever had a conversation where you said, Bill, Bill, why do you think this is? Why do you think you've managed to remain here and actually thrive for all these many years when, you know, I don't know how you can actually say it to him. But, you know, the guy clearly has no discernible talent. I mean, he's affable.

[00:11:23] He shows up for all the company picnics and all the company events. He even brings potato salad. He laughs at your jokes. Uh-huh. I don't know either. I don't know either, but that's something to maybe focus on more deeply in a future show. You're listening to Production Notes. I'm here, of course, with Charles Epstein, the producer of The Talent Show. And we're going to just come back with some last thoughts in just a moment.

[00:11:52] We'll take this quick break. This is the Work to Find Podcast Network. Back in just a moment. Hi, this is Stacey Harris. And this is Terry Zipper. And we're the host of the two podcasts under the HR huddle. On Spilling the Tea on HR Tech, we uncover the latest trends, truths, and challenges from Sapien Insight Group's groundbreaking research and our analyst insights, serving up everything you need to know about HR tech with no sugarcoating.

[00:12:22] And on HR, we have a problem. We tackle the toughest workplace challenges head-on, offering you expert advice and actionable solutions to help HR leaders thrive in today's fast-changing world. Whether you want the scoop on tech or tools to solve people problems, we've got you covered. Take a listen and subscribe. If you want to become part of our community, we'd love to see you.

[00:12:59] We're wrapping things up here on Production Notes, along with Charles Epstein. I'm Tom Alexander. Charles, you know, lots coming up on The Talent Show here in the next couple of weeks, no? Yes, and by the way, talking about our colleague and buddy, Bill, our former colleague, and I think you still maintain contact with him, yes? On occasion. Yeah.

[00:13:27] I mean, if this were visual, coming back from the break, I'd probably be in a lotus position, chanting or breathing or showing you that I, too, can achieve a zen state. Yes. But, yeah, you know, very admirable, very admirable. Good work if you can get it. Anyway, yeah, a lot going on, a lot coming up, a lot of great people coming on.

[00:13:51] And by the way, if you're listening to this, you got something you want to talk about, a talent, an interest, a hobby, show us what you got, send us an email, and happy to have you on. Well, yeah, what is that email, Charles? The Talent Show at BackboneInc.com.

[00:14:12] Email us describing what it is you want to talk about, if you have any footage, any documentation to support this talent, this quirk, this off-road interest by all means. And look forward to checking it out and have you on. Talent Show at BackboneInc. That's where you send your email to us. And we're going to be there to check it out and hopefully get you on the show. This is Production Notes. He's Charles Epstein. I'm Tom Alexander.

[00:14:41] And we'll see you again next time. So long, everybody.