Leaders Of Tomorrow Podcast

Latest Episodes:

208 | Ahsan Khan | Developing the Success Mindset Feb 05, 2021

Show notes

In today’s show, Chris interviews Ahsan Khan who shares his distilled wisdom on financial planning, mindset, and success. Ahsan is the VP and financial planner at BMO Nesbitt Burns.

Ahsan lost his father when he was just 10. Fortunately for him, his courageous mother and his uncles mentored him in the right way to set him firmly on the path of success. Ahsan grew up to a confident young man who was certain in his ability to make a difference.

So, it was hardly surprising that Ahsan’s Student Work stint turned out to be a resounding success. As a young adult, Ahsan managed to net $16,000 in a single summer (mind you, that was thirty years back!)

You will learn Student Works taught Ahsan the importance of taking responsibility and doing a good job – no matter what.

Since the age of 24, Ahsan has been working in the financial planning industry. Drawing from his two decades of experience, he shares his wisdom on compounding and retirement planning in this segment of the show.

You will also learn about his passion project, The Awesome Life. In his Awesome Life Book, Ahsan lays out the 12 important facets of personal development. You will learn how to reign in negative chatter so that you can maintain your forward momentum. Ahsan also shares how maintaining an equable attitude towards failure as well as success can help you evolve into a well-adjusted human being.

This show is full of great nuggets guaranteed to inspire you and put your best self forward. Tune in now!

What You Will Learn In This Show

How to reign in the negative chatter that runs through your head
Best financial planning practices
How to evolve into a well-adjusted human being
How to maintain an equable attitude towards success and failure
And so much more…

Resources

Awesome Life Book

The Richest Man in Babylon

Student Works

Chris Thomson LinkedIn

Chris’s Email

207 | Patrick Lalonde | Shedding the Victim Mindset and Taking Charge of Your Life Feb 02, 2021

Show notes

In today’s show, Chris interviews Patrick Lalonde, VP, Student Works who talks about shedding the victim mindset and taking full and complete responsibility for your life.

Unless you realize that no one but you is responsible for the consequences of your actions, you will never achieve the level of success that you are yearning for.

When you fail, it is tempting to blame things that are beyond your control. You blame society. You blame the government. You blame the economy. And you blame your luck. And when you embrace this victim mindset, you are essentially relegating yourself to backseat driving. You are not in charge of your life.

However, if you lead with 100% accountability, you will learn from your failures. You will evaluate every setback, harness your learnings, and put structures in place so that you don’t make the same mistake again.

Towards the end, we discuss how taking responsibility can help you build stronger personal relationships as well. Enjoy!

What You Will Learn In This Show

Taking full and complete responsibility for your personal and professional life
Shedding the victim mindset, and taking responsibility for your actions
Why spectacular success is not possible without failure
And so much more…

Resources

Student Works

Chris Thomson LinkedIn

Chris’s Email

206 | Michael Patterson | A “Peek” Into My Sales Playbook – What Hugely Successful Sales Executives Do That Others Don’t Jan 28, 2021

Show notes

Ever wondered how top sales executives stay ahead of the curve? What is their “secret sauce” that catapults them miles ahead of the competition?

In today’s show, we interview Michael Patterson, IBM Key Client Executive BD Bank who shares some expert tips for staying on the top of your sales game, and the importance of continuously reinventing yourself.

Growing up, Michael was always hugely driven and entrepreneurial. After a successful stint with Student Works, he teamed up with Steve, also a Student Works alumnus to start a property maintenance business, Patty Mac.

After Patty Mac, Michael decided to go the corporate route. He shares his experiences with SalesForce, ScribbleLive, and his current employer, IBM.

Here, Michael makes some interesting comparisons between working in a large organization like SalesForce and ScribbleLive, a small start-up.

Currently, Michael is the IBM Key Client Executive for TD Bank. A pioneer in the computing space, listeners will learn how IBM has completely reinvented themselves by gravitating towards AI and cloud services.

Michael also reveals his big WHY that pushed him to recently get his MBA. Can an MBA help you out professionally? Michael shares his experience.

Tune in for some great insights. Enjoy!

What You Will Learn In This Show

Why continuous evolution is the key to success in sales
Will an MBA help you out professionally?
A “peek” into the work cultures of some of the most iconic organizations in the world
And so much more…

Resources

Student Works

Chris Thomson LinkedIn

Chris’s Email

205 | Mike “C-Roc” Ciorrocco | Firing Your RocketFuel: Mindset Strategies, Building Dream Teams and Finding Unlimited Success Jan 26, 2021

Show notes

In today’s show, Chris interviews Mike “C-Roc” Ciorrocco, CEO, People Building Inc. who shares with us his thoughts on leadership, culture, and unlimited success.

Coming from a broken home, Mike’s childhood years were really tough. The emotional abuse took a toll on him, and Mike dropped out of college, and got hooked on drugs and partying.

Fortunately for him, finding the right life-partner steadied him up, and he rediscovered his life’s purpose. After working in sales for a while, Mike went into the mortgage industry with Nations Lending, a business that he has helped scale to 7 branches and 37 employees.

As the CEO of People Building Inc., Mike is inspiring others to light their fires and achieve greatness. Mike has also been recognized by Yahoo! Finance as one of the “Top Business Leaders to Follow in 2020”.

You will learn why culture is the glue that holds an organization together. And Mike shares the Four Building Blocks for building dream, high-performance teams in this segment of the show. He also has some inspiring thoughts on mindset and 10x growth. And how you can chase down bigger and bigger goals provided your success is built on the right foundation.

Enjoy!

What You Will Learn In This Show

Overcoming emotional turmoil, and regaining focus
How finding the right life-partner can have a transformational impact on your life
The Four Building Blocks of Culture
How do you attract the people that you want to work with?
And so much more…

Resources

Rocket Fuel – Mike new book

The Trillion Dollar Coach

Sell or Be Sold

Student Works

Chris Thomson LinkedIn

Chris’s Email

204 | Erin Roininen Butler | How Student Works Set the Tone for My Successful Sales Career Jan 21, 2021

Show notes

In today’s show, Chris interviews Erin Roininen Butler, Director of Sales Strategy and Shopper Marketing, Weston Foods.

Erin shares her life story, recalls her super-successful Student Works stint, and gives us a peek into her role at Weston Foods.

Even before Student Works, Erin was always motivated to give her best. Be it academics or athletics, Erin gave it her all. So, when Erin joined Student Works, she was intent on breaking the then all-time sales record of $200,000. And to fulfill her audacious goal, Erin prepared a detailed business plan, managed multiple crews, and initiated a massive cold-calling campaign.

Running a large business at just 18 was a huge confidence-booster for Erin. Additionally, her Student Works stint also taught her another valuable lesson – work hard and play hard – something that she abides by, to this day.

Next, Erin talks about how she landed 5-solid job offers at the height of the economic crisis in 2009, and why she eventually decided to opt for Weston Foods. Starting as a sales manager, Erin worked her way up through various roles. Here, listeners will learn how giant organizations plan to stay ahead of the curve, how they understand the customer’s psyche, and how they clearly communicate expectations and requirements across the board.

You will also learn about Erin’s extremely successful side-hustle – her real estate business. Learn how Erin and her husband managed to scale up to 7 properties in Golden Horseshoe, the sacrifices they made to set up their business, and why real estate investing is NOT a “passive” source of income as assumed by many.

Enjoy!

What You Will Learn in This Show

How I broke the all-time sales record at Student Works
How do large organizations plan out complex sales strategies?
How to build a successful real estate side-hustle
And so much more…

Resources

Student Works

Chris Thomson LinkedIn

Chris’s Email

203 | Brian Scudamore | Creating Exceptional Brands – How I Built My College Side Hustle Into a Multi-Million Dollar Business Jan 18, 2021

Show notes

How do you create exceptional brands that stand the test of time?

In today’s show, Chris interviews Brian Scudamore, Founder and CEO of O2E Brands, 1-800-GOT-JUNK?, WOW 1 DAY PAINTING and Shack Shine. Brian shares his distilled wisdom on guerrilla marketing tactics, the importance of working with the right people, and reveals why you must be willing to fail in order to realize your most audacious dreams.

Early on in his story, inspired by his entrepreneur grandparents, Brian was lit up by the “game of business”. It was little surprise that he started his first venture, The Rubbish Boys when he was barely in college. Ironically enough, he ended up quitting college due to the very business that he started to fund his college education.

However, quitting school did not stop Brian’s learning – but only rapidly accelerated it. Here, Brian shares how reaching out to the right people helped him learn business skills that he never would have learned otherwise.

But it wasn’t all smooth sailing for Brian. At one point, he had to make the painful decision to fire his entire team – because they weren’t a good organizational fit. This was an important lesson for Brian as he realized that great people are the foundation on which great businesses are built.

Today, after three decades, Rubbish Boys has evolved into the incredibly successful, O2E Brands – a parent organization comprising 1-800-GOT-JUNK??, WOW 1 DAY PAINTING, and Shack Shine.

Brian also opens up his marketing playbook to listeners in today’s show. Here, you will learn how 1-800-GOT-JUNK?? got featured on 60+ news outlets on a $29 marketing budget. Brian reveals why he prefers his guerrilla marketing tactics over traditional mediums like TV ads and radio ads which require deploying thousands of dollars in ad spend.

Enjoy!

What You Will Learn In This Show

Branding and marketing strategies - how to get maximum bang for the buck
Mixing work with fun, and creating enviable work cultures
How to hone your real-world business skills
And so much more…

Resources

O2E Brands

Student Works

Chris Thomson LinkedIn

Chris’s Email

Student Works

Chris Thomson LinkedIn

Chris’s Email

202 | Rob Signoretti | Cultivating a Growth Mindset, Pivoting Quickly, and Bucking the Trend Jan 14, 2021

Show notes

In today’s show, we interview, Rob Signoretti, Enterprise Account Executive at DataBricks who shares his story about how he built his successful career in the technology space.

Raised in Ontario by a blue-collar family, Rob had a “boxed-in” mentality as he had little idea about the massive opportunities out there. He was content and laidback, and his teacher called him the “dumbest smart guy” he had ever met.

However, all this changed when Rob found Student Works. As a student painter, Rob realized that he had to step outside of his comfort zone if he wished to leverage bigger and better opportunities. He also talks at length about the importance of working smarter and not necessarily harder in this segment of the show.

Student Works again came to the rescue when Rob went job-hunting after graduating. Owing to the strong alumni network, he was able to get offers from three iconic organizations – Xerox, Canon, and Dell.

Rob decided to venture into the technology space as an entry-level salesperson with Dell. Later he gravitated toward the consulting space with Mainland Information Systems and the data analytics space with Splunk. Currently, Rob works as an Enterprise Account Executive at DataBricks.

If you work in the tech space or any other fast-evolving space, listening to Rob will make you realize how pivoting quickly will allow you to maximize opportunities.

Rob is also the provincial chair at KidSport Alberta, a non-profit that helps more than 13,000 kids every year.

Towards the end, Rob calls out some of the common mistakes that entrepreneurs and professionals make and shares some great tips for living a balanced, more fulfilled life.

Enjoy!

What You Will Learn In This Show

How pivoting quickly can help you stay ahead of the curve
How to take calculated risks, and constantly reinvent yourself
A “peek” into the fast-evolving tech space
And so much more…

Resources

Student Works

Chris Thomson LinkedIn

Chris’s Email

201 | Patrick Lalonde | Integrity: The ONE Thing That Can Help Your Realize Your Biggest Goals Jan 11, 2021

Show notes

What is the ONE thing that could help you realize your most audacious goals? If you want your life to get better and better, you can’t do it without integrity.

But, what does integrity really mean?

In the simplest terms, integrity means that you are honoring your word. However, in today’s show, Chris and Patrick share a more thoughtful and detailed definition of “integrity”:

Doing what to do, doing it as was meant to be done, and doing it on time.

Doing what others expect you to do, even when others don’t expect you to do it, and doing it on time.

Doing what you said you would do, and you do it on time.

If you sincerely strive to keep your integrity 100% of the time, the impact can be truly exponential. But it is not always possible to keep your word, especially when you take on something challenging.

So, what should you do when you falter and fail to keep your word?

Rather than sliding your failures under a rug, you need to own them – and hold yourself accountable. You need to be fully present to the impact that your actions are having.

Chris and Patrick also remind us why clear communication is important for preventing regular breaches of integrity. You will learn how setting clear ground rules can help you steer clear of conflict.

Enjoy!

What You Will Learn In This Show

Leading your life with integrity, and why it’s the one thing that can help you led a better life
How clear communication can help you steer clear of conflict
Holding yourself accountable for your actions, and being fully present to the impact of your actions
And so much more…

Resources

Student Works

Chris Thomson LinkedIn

Chris’s Email

200 | Adding Value During The Holidays: Four Simple Tips To Utilize This Downtime Wisely Dec 21, 2020

Show notes

Looking forward to the holidays? Planning on taking things easy as an eventful 2020 draws to a close?

While, it is natural to take things slow this time of the year, coming to a complete standstill is not really judicious. In today’s show, we reveal four simple but actionable tips to help you add value during your holidays.

From re-training your monkey mind to ensuring physical activity to keeping your gratitude and integrity intact, Chris has some practical wisdom to share with you today.

Enjoy!

What You Will Learn In This Show

Four Ways to add value during the holidays
How to re-train your monkey mind
Why all of us should practice gratitude
And so much more…

Resources

Student Works

Chris Thomson LinkedIn

Chris’s Email

199 | Flipping Your Biggest Challenges: How the Pandemic Forced Us to Completely Rework Our Business Model Dec 10, 2020

Show notes

In today’s show, Chris reflects back on the incredible year that was 2020 and shares some of the BIGGEST lessons that the pandemic has taught him.

When adversity strikes, most people go into panic mode and switch off completely. However, if you can keep your sanity in these trying times, double-down, and pivot, you can catapult yourself miles ahead of the competition.

And that’s exactly what Chris and the entire Student Works team did.

When the competition was reeling in the aftermath of the outbreak, Chris and his team were working hard to replicate their recruitment and sales process by taking everything online.

And this paid off and how.

Going into the pandemic, Student Works was generating seasonal revenues of 10.5 million. Post-pandemic, revenues are expected to touch 18 million!

In today’s show, you will learn how to face life’s biggest challenges, flip them around, and mine gold.

Tune in to get inspired!

What You Will Learn In This Show

How the Student Works team protected and grew their business during the pandemic
How to keep your sanity in the face of adversity
How to take massive action and move forward with confidence
And so much more…

Resources

Student Works

Chris Thomson LinkedIn

Chris’s Email

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