Conversations That Matter

Ep 466 - Ozempic and Weight Loss Guest: Dr Devyn Parsons

Ep 466 - Ozempic and Weight Loss

Guest: Dr Devyn Parsons

By Stuart McNish

 

It has been called a wonder drug for its unintended benefits to anyone wrestling with obesity. Ozempic does for obese people what their bodies can no longer do – shedding weight. Dr. Devyn Parsons, an obesity specialist, says, “Your body locks onto what it believes is your ideal weight – that, being the highest weight of your life. And it doesn’t want to let go.”

 

According to a study published by the American Journal of Public Health, “the odds of returning to normal weight for a man with obesity is one in 210 and, for women, one in 124. The odds worsen as weight increases.” Dr Parsons adds, “For those who do lose weight, keeping it off is an even more difficult battle. That’s because your body reprograms itself to believe that your highest weight will ward off starvation.”

 

We invited obesity specialist Dr. Devyn Parsons to join us for a Conversation That Matters about obesity and Ozempic.

 

Learn More about our guests career at careersthatmatter.ca

 

Join me Oct 3 for Conversations Live - A Vancouver Sun Town Hall: AI - Friend or Foe

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Ep 465 - Seeing Street Kids’ Potential Guest: Krista Thompson

Ep 465 - Seeing Street Kids’ Potential

Guest: Krista Thompson

By Stuart McNish

 

“The reasons why children end up on the streets are complex. Often, their arrival represents an active decision on their part in response to serious rights violations at home,” says Moses Ogutu in “Under The Bridge: The Invisible Lives of Street Children.” Ogutu was a child of the street for five years. Today, he is an international business and trade lecturer at the African Leadership University and a 2017 Mandela Rhodes Scholar.

 

Ogutu’s life journey is proof that children who end up on the streets can and do rise above the challenges they face. Ogutu points out that homelessness among youth is a global problem and in each jurisdiction, the reason a child arrives on the street is individual and globally similar.

 

Krista Thompson, the past CEO of Vancouver’s Covenant House, agrees. “There are many successful intervention strategies that work to help young people who clearly have smarts and grit and problem-solving abilities to move forward toward a more positive future.” One such strategy is “Relentless Support,” a program that Covenant House offers.

 

We invited Krista Thompson to join us for a Conversation That Matters about ensuring that young people are not forgotten, are visible, and supported to grow, develop, and realize their potential.

 

Learn More about our guests career at careersthatmatter.ca

 

Join me Oct 3 for Conversations Live - A Vancouver Sun Town Hall: AI - Friend or Foe

https://www.conversationslive.ca/

Ep 460 - Creating Sustainable Pet Food Guest: Christine Mallier

Ep 460 - Creating Sustainable Pet Food

Guest: Christine Mallier

By Stuart McNish

 

Cats and dogs are everywhere in Canada and they outnumber children under 14 by a big margin. According to the Canadian Animal Health Institute, there are 16.5 million cats and dogs in Canada. Statistics Canada, for 2021, puts the child population at 15.6% or 6.2 million. In other words, we love our pets.

 

There are myriad reasons why people love pets. One is they never grow up and move away. According to Mindpath Health, “Pets need you now, next week and years from now; they don’t ask for much and you’ll never have to pay for their college tuition.”

 

That love of pets led two friends in Chilliwack to create Petcurean, a company committed to producing premium food for pets. The idea took off and sales are soaring, not only because the food is nutritious and delicious, but also because the company is committed to sustainable agricultural practices.

 

We invited Christine Mallier, the sustainability manager at Petcurean, to join us for a Conversation That Matters about caring for our pets and our planet.

 

Learn More about our guests career at careersthatmatter.ca

 

Join me Oct 3 for Conversations Live - A Vancouver Sun Town Hall: AI - Friend or Foe

https://www.conversationslive.ca/

Ep 459- British Columbia’s economy is a question mark Guest: Jock Finlayson

Ep 459- British Columbia’s economy is a question mark

Guest: Jock Finlayson

By Stuart McNish

 

British Columbia is but a speck on the global GDP map. “We are 0.3% – in other words, not very significant,” says economist Jock Finlayson. He goes on to point out that our place in the world isn’t about to change. In fact, it’s going to slip. “We are entering a lost decade of real per-capita GDP growth, which means growing real salaries will be challenging.”

 

It’s not all doom and gloom, however. BC does have some strengths. Finlayson says, “Steady in-migration is creating a positive consumer faced economic setting. We have an educated workforce. There are positive signs in the life sciences and tech sectors. BC has a strong and exceptionally diverse natural resource economy and, importantly, we are the gateway to Asia.”

 

That’s the good news on the other side of the balance sheet. Finlayson points out, “We are a long way from the economic, political and financial power centres of Canada. The cost of housing is staggering. BC has the highest household debt burden in Canada. When it comes to head offices, there are few and NIMBYism makes getting anything done difficult.”

 

We invited Jock Finlayson to join us for a Conversation That Matters about BC’s economy – now and for the foreseeable future.

 

Learn More about our guests career at careersthatmatter.ca

 

Join me Oct 3 for Conversations Live - A Vancouver Sun Town Hall: AI - Friend or Foe

https://www.conversationslive.ca/

Ep 458 - Vaccinating against rejection Guest: Dr Eli Joseph

Ep 458 - Vaccinating against rejection

Guest: Dr Eli Joseph

By Stuart McNish

 

It is common to be intimidated by rejection. The thought of failing or getting turned down for an opportunity that we have always wanted can influence the way we make genuine decisions toward our goals. Moreover, the overall experience of getting rejected can negatively affect our self-esteem. 

Dr Eli Joseph says, “You can get over this fear of rejection! In fact, you can become immune to it.” Based on his own experience of thousands upon thousands of rejections, he says, “I emerged from the ordeal of rejection stronger than I was before.” In a sense, he was following Mithridates’ example of dosing poison to become immune to poison.

 

Dr Joseph points out that “the total of human accomplishment is rooted in the fact that everything that has been developed and learned was through trial and error.” According to him, “Failure and rejection are on a continuum; either can stop you in your tracks or they can motivate you to go further, try harder, become stronger and immunize you against undermining your self esteem.”

 

We invited Dr Eli Joseph, the author of “The Perfect Rejection Resume,” to join us for a Conversation That Matters about embracing your bumpy, rejection-laden path through life. 

 

Learn More about our guests career at careersthatmatter.ca

 

Join me Sept 19 for Conversations Live - A Vancouver Sun Town Hall: AI - Friend or Foe

https://www.conversationslive.ca/

Ep 457 - Can Fish be Farmed on Land? Guest: Tony Pantages

Ep 457 - Can Fish be Farmed on Land?

Guest: Tony Pantages

By Stuart McNish

 

In February 2023, federal Fisheries Minister Joyce Murray announced that licenses for 15 open-net Atlantic salmon farms around British Columbia's Discovery Island will not be renewed – a planned cancellation that has now been delayed in large part due to concerns raised by indigenous leaders, who point to problems associated with moving fish farms on shore.

 

Norway has generated a depth of knowledge and experience in the field of land-based salmon farming in state-of-the-art recirculating aquaculture systems and is leading the way, including identifying challenges. According to Norwegian SciTech News, “ land-based fish farming is not free of challenges. The sector suffers from mass mortalities and fish meat tainted with an earthy flavour because the biological conditions in land-based facilities are difficult to control and very young fish are sensitive to poor water quality. In the worst cases, many thousands of smolt can die relatively suddenly, which can lead to major losses.”

 

BC-based Octaform has developed a land-based construction system that is addressing the issues associated with land-based fish farms in Norway and around the world, and is poised to offer the same technology and construction methods to the sector in BC. Tony Pantages, the CEO of Octaform, says, “We have a technology that addresses the issues related to land-based fish farming.”

 

We invited Tony Pantages to join us for a Conversation That Matters about protecting wild salmon through the use of new tank materials and construction materials and processes.

 

Learn More about our guests career at careersthatmatter.ca

 

Join me Sept 19 for Conversations Live - A Vancouver Sun Town Hall

https://www.conversationslive.ca/

Ep 456 - A Lost Decade Ahead for Canada Guest: David Williams

Ep 456 - A Lost Decade Ahead for Canada

Guest: David Williams

By Stuart McNish

 

“The Canadian economy is on track to be the worst performing economy out of 38 advanced countries over the next 40 years, with the lowest growth in real GDP per capita,” says David Williams, the Vice-President of Policy at the Business Council of British Columbia. He goes on to say, “Young Canadians entering the workforce today are facing 40 years of stagnant average real incomes, according to OECD projections.”

 

That is a dire warning to policymakers in Canada: one that demands a need to address the underlying causes.  “If they don’t,” Williams says, “there will be a decline in real incomes relative to all other advanced OECD countries.”

 

We invited David Williams to join us for a Conversation That Matters about the bleak forecast of stagnation young Canadians will face over the course of their careers.

 

Learn More about our guests career at careersthatmatter.ca

 

Join me June 20 for Conversations Live - A Vancouver Sun Town Hall

https://www.conversationslive.ca/

Ep 455 - Women on Corporate Boards Guest: Jennifer Reynolds

Ep 455 - Women on Corporate Boards 

Guest: Jennifer Reynolds

By Stuart McNish

 

Here, it is 2023 and according to Forbes Magazine, only ten percent of Fortune 500 companies are led by women. The magazine, however,  sees that ten percent as “a new milestone. While these numbers may not seem like a cause for celebration, they are when one considers the history of women achieving top leadership roles in business.”

 

The history of women at the top of Fortune 500 companies has included just two CEOs for decades. Forbes points out that “as recently as 2000, only four women led Fortune 500 companies.” Fast-forward to today and 53 women are in the top spot at those same companies.

 

Where to go from here? Is it a straight line to gender parity? In a Harvard Business Review study from 2006, “when there is one woman on a board, progress is difficult, but when three or more women are on a board, dynamics shift.” The question, according to the foundation Women Corporate Directors is, “How are these leaders effecting change in the world?”

 

We invited Jennifer Reynolds, the CEO of Women Corporate Directors, to join us for a Conversation That Matters about changes in the structure of boardrooms and how companies benefit from more women and greater diversity in senior roles.

 

Learn More about our guests career at careersthatmatter.ca

 

Join me June 20 for Conversations Live - A Vancouver Sun Town Hall

https://www.conversationslive.ca/

Ep 454 - The Power of Giving Guest: John Bromley

Ep 454 - The Power of Giving

Guest: John Bromley

By Stuart McNish

 

In the book “Why Good Things Happen to Good People,” Stephen Post writes that “giving to others” has been shown to increase health benefits. A separate study by Michael Norton from Harvard Business School revealed that “people are happier when they spend money on others versus themselves.” 

 

These are all wonderful reasons to give. As Martin McNish stated in “Give a Damn” (a Conversations That Matter episode), “giving proves that you can make a difference in the lives of others and to not give is to give up on the belief that you can make a difference.” Give a Damn is a small crowdfunding not-for-profit that raises money for micro-charities that do not have the resources to fundraise.

 

Here’s the challenge, says McNish. “We too are small and only have limited resources, all of which are dedicated to raising awareness and money for other charities.” Enter Charitable Impact, a Vancouver-based foundation that was created to help donors and charities connect. John Bromley says, “It started with the goal of making it easier for people to come together to change the world.”

 

We invited John Bromley of Charitable Impact to join us for a Conversation That Matters about the power of giving.

 

Learn More about our guests career at careersthatmatter.ca

 

Join me June 20 for Conversations Live - A Vancouver Sun Town Hall

https://www.conversationslive.ca/

Ep 453 - Top Sixty Over 60 Guest: Helen Hirsh Spence

Ep 453 - Top Sixty Over 60

Guest: Helen Hirsh Spence

By Stuart McNish

 

“‘Sorry, you’re too old. Sorry, you’re too experienced. Sorry. Sorry, but we’re looking for someone younger who will stay with us longer.’ These are just some of the reasons employers use to overlook talented over 60 applicants,” says Helen Hirsh Spence of Top Sixty Over Sixty. The mission, according to the organization’s website, is to “provide tools and training to address ageism and promote age diversity in the workplace.”

 

Organizations that turn their back on workers over 60 are doing themselves a disservice. According to a Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health study, “Older workers are skilled and experienced, they stay with jobs longer and take fewer days off, they have a strong work ethic and they demonstrate [that] age-diverse workplaces make for the best teams.”

 

The study goes on to point out that “older workers attract more business.” Remarkably, tourism companies that employ older workers appeal to older tourists who have the greatest amount of discretionary income. The study points out that “the Upper West Side of New York Apple store strategically places older workers toward the front of the store so customers who might be overwhelmed by technology feel more comfortable.”

 

We invited Helen Hirsh Spence of Top Sixty Over Sixty to join us for a Conversation That Matters about the benefits to businesses that are age smart.

 

Learn More about our guests career at careersthatmatter.ca

 

Join me June 20 for Conversations Live - A Vancouver Sun Town Hall

https://www.conversationslive.ca/