Episode 42: What is Upcoming?

Over the past year, I have been working on my retirement plan. This journey began a few years ago when I informed Jim Dewald, who was the Haskayne Dean at that time, about my decision to retire in the near future. The formal process started in January 2024 when I began a year-long sabbatical, leading up to my retirement in January 2025.

During the sabbatical, I continued training and travelling with case-solving teams. By April, my involvement had totalled 301 teams, culminating with my last Haskayne team at Corvinus Undergraduate Business Experience at Corvinus University in Budapest. After that, I spent time collecting, organising, and revising the materials I had developed over the past two decades while coaching these teams. In October, I attended one of my favourite events, the Collegiate Ethics Competition at the University of Arizona, Eller College of Management, where I served as a lead judge—an exciting role I learned about just as my plane touched down in Tucson. This was followed by a brief trip to Montreal, where I met with Samie Ly, MBA Ph.D, and Stephen Stavros Athanasoulias, who helped solidify my retirement plan.

The Plan

My plan includes developing a project called "Discover Your Mad Skills Toolkit." This involves my newsletter, which I started on this platform in 2024, alongside the development of a book in partnership with Samie and her company, Innovatank, as well as a podcast. I will also continue my work with Innovatank, How to Change the World, the HEAT program at Haskayne, and several global case-solving competitions.

Over the past year, my newsletter has grown, and this marks Episode 42. All episodes have been archived on Substack, along with some of my other reflections. Additionally, the skills videos I created while coaching teams and teaching case-solving have been renewed and expanded on my YouTube channel, with several more ready to be recorded and released. Most recently, I have been developing the podcast; the first three episodes are currently undergoing final edits, with two more scheduled for recording this week and additional episodes in the pipeline.

The Podcast

The podcast "Discover Your Mad Skills: Unbarred Conversations" will launch its first episode on October 8, available on YouTube, Spotify, Apple, and other platforms. In this debut episode, Samie Ly, the co-founder of the Discover Your Mad Skills Toolkit project, shares her journey in bringing Innovatank to life and her efforts to support the global case-solving community through talent development. The podcast will be released biweekly, alternating with the newsletter—one week will feature the newsletter, while the following week will see a new podcast episode.

The Lineup

Following Samie, the guests are Jeff Peterson, Rachel Hughes, MBA, Astrid Eckstein, and Lisa Sygutek. In my conversation with Jeff, we discussed the challenges he faces in building teams and how my experiences in developing case-solving teams could offer valuable insights. Rachel, a former member of several of my case-solving teams, shares her experiences as a participant and explains how those experiences influenced her undergraduate activities.

Later today, I will record interviews with two guests: Astrid, who will talk about future skills and how they relate to the Mad Skills mission, and Lisa, who will discuss media literacy. Our conversation with Lisa will focus on how case-solvers can navigate biases to gain a clearer understanding of reality. This is particularly important for many of my teams who, when competing away from home, find it challenging to overcome biases and formulate stronger solutions.

Future Podcast Episodes

I am currently reaching out to potential guests for our upcoming podcasts. The topics we plan to cover include:

1. A former case-solving competitor discusses her experiences and how they have shaped her opportunities and career since graduating six years ago.

2. A conversation with a financial planner about what undergraduates should consider regarding their future economic success as they progress through school.

3. An exploration of the insights gained from serving as a judge at a case-solving competition and the value this experience brings to the participants.

4. A discussion on emotional intelligence, as well as a conversation about the role of AI in the workplace and its impact on the case-solving environment.

5. I am also working on a podcast that will tackle the financial aspect of a case-solving exercise.