Greg Hadubiak

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[00:00] SPEAKER_02: It's Edmonton's Podcast on the Canada's Podcast Network.
[00:18] SPEAKER_02: Hello, this is Bonnie LG coming to you today with Edmonton's Podcast, a member of the
[00:23] SPEAKER_02: Canada's Podcast Network, where we talk to the entrepreneurs who are making it happen
[00:28] SPEAKER_02: here in the city of Edmonton, Alberta.
[00:31] SPEAKER_02: Greg Dubiak is an Executive Coach, Consultant, Facilitator, Speaker and Author, who believes
[00:38] SPEAKER_02: that the impossible is possible if human potential is unleashed.
[00:42] SPEAKER_02: The underlying focus of his practice is leadership, and applies to his work in Executive Coaching,
[00:48] SPEAKER_02: Leadership Development, Team Development, and Management Consulting.
[00:53] SPEAKER_02: Welcome to the show, Greg, and thanks for taking the time to be here today for all of our
[00:57] SPEAKER_02: listeners.
[00:57] SPEAKER_00: Thank you very much for having him, quite pleased to be here.
[01:01] SPEAKER_02: Well, Greg, to kick things off, could you tell us a little bit more about yourself and
[01:05] SPEAKER_02: about your current business, breakpoint solutions?
[01:09] SPEAKER_00: Sure.
[01:10] SPEAKER_00: As you alluded to in the introduction, very much focused on leadership.
[01:15] SPEAKER_00: That's my personal passion.
[01:17] SPEAKER_00: Been at it now in this business environment for both seven years with a couple of maybe
[01:24] SPEAKER_00: evolutions in that time stream, and prior to that had a long public sector leadership
[01:30] SPEAKER_00: career with a couple of CEO roles and certainly large organizational responsibilities.
[01:37] SPEAKER_02: And have you spent most of your professional career in Edmonton, or were you born and raised
[01:43] SPEAKER_02: in Edmonton, or what's the connection to the city?
[01:46] SPEAKER_00: Born and raised in Saskatchewan, so I often try to lead with a bit of, I'm a Saskatchewan
[01:51] SPEAKER_00: Roughrider's fan, there's green blood in the system.
[01:54] SPEAKER_00: As is everyone from Saskatchewan.
[01:57] SPEAKER_00: But certainly what brought me to Edmonton is taking my master's degree here back in the
[02:04] SPEAKER_00: early 90s and have been back and forth between Saskatchewan and Edmonton over the course
[02:11] SPEAKER_00: of those intervening years, but have been a resident of Edmonton really since about
[02:17] SPEAKER_00: 1990, well sorry, 2002 on an ongoing basis back and forth since basically 1990.
[02:25] SPEAKER_02: Okay, and can you tell us a little bit more about the services that you're bringing to
[02:30] SPEAKER_02: the market and who your customers are?
[02:33] SPEAKER_00: So again, as you alluded to in the introduction, we do a lot of work in terms of executive
[02:40] SPEAKER_00: coaching.
[02:41] SPEAKER_00: So often times it's one-on-one work with all the way from senior executives full C suite
[02:48] SPEAKER_00: to maybe new time managers and supervisors.
[02:52] SPEAKER_00: Some of that can be generated by the individuals themselves.
[02:57] SPEAKER_00: Sometimes it's a result of an organizational or corporate wide initiative.
[03:04] SPEAKER_00: The coaching can also take the form of as I said one-on-one or group coaching and group
[03:10] SPEAKER_00: I would distinguish from team coaching.
[03:13] SPEAKER_00: Group might be a group of individuals that are coming together.
[03:17] SPEAKER_00: It's to support an educational offering.
[03:20] SPEAKER_00: They are actually working together in a broad sense, but they don't actually constitute
[03:24] SPEAKER_00: a team and then team coaching which often also supplemented by one-on-one coaching as
[03:30] SPEAKER_00: well to help them achieve stronger teams, better team dynamics, cross-collaboration efforts
[03:37] SPEAKER_00: and so on.
[03:38] SPEAKER_00: We're also quite involved with consulting work.
[03:42] SPEAKER_00: Given the number of people in our firm that come from a health background of a certain
[03:49] SPEAKER_00: nature, a lot of our consulting work is in the healthcare sector, but not exclusively.
[03:55] SPEAKER_00: We've certainly done work in the resource sector, IT retail, professional associations
[04:02] SPEAKER_00: and so on.
[04:04] SPEAKER_00: Then we've also taken on some interim leadership roles.
[04:08] SPEAKER_00: We've had several of our people and one just again just recently is going to be an interim
[04:13] SPEAKER_00: leader for an organization for I think a period of three to six months.
[04:17] SPEAKER_00: Again, that's something we've done over the lifespan of our organization and then we
[04:21] SPEAKER_00: do leadership workshops, facilitation, speaking engagements, so quite a broad range of work.
[04:29] SPEAKER_00: But again, the animating philosophy is often around leadership or team development.
[04:33] SPEAKER_02: So I would imagine then you work with a lot of Edmonton entrepreneurs in your practice.
[04:39] SPEAKER_00: We have certainly I say in terms of the family-owned businesses,
[04:45] SPEAKER_00: multi-medium size businesses, sometimes startups as well.
[04:51] SPEAKER_00: So it does run the range and all the way up to large corporate organizations as well.
[04:57] SPEAKER_02: One of the big challenges that are often facing entrepreneurs is around financing.
[05:03] SPEAKER_02: So can you tell us a little bit about how you financed your company and how you make money
[05:09] SPEAKER_02: in your business now?
[05:11] SPEAKER_00: So relatively, I would say self-finance, there is no need to go to a bank or other organization
[05:18] SPEAKER_00: in order to get the startup funds.
[05:20] SPEAKER_00: I started off basically in the first year, as you make a change from having
[05:27] SPEAKER_00: an employment salary to the transition to entrepreneurial venture, the first year or two,
[05:34] SPEAKER_00: a lot of sleepless nights as you were trying to make the transition.
[05:38] SPEAKER_00: But once I established myself and my brand, which took, I would say, about two to three years,
[05:46] SPEAKER_00: it's really taken off every year since then has been a growth phase.
[05:50] SPEAKER_00: And so it's been self-financed all the way.
[05:53] SPEAKER_00: And in terms of making the money comes from individual contracts with individual leaders,
[06:02] SPEAKER_00: corporate engagements, working with potentially using more than one leader or a team,
[06:08] SPEAKER_00: and consulting engagement.
[06:10] SPEAKER_00: So again, a variety, probably about a mixed bag between consulting and coaching broadly speaking.
[06:14] SPEAKER_00: And then probably similar kind of split between individual and corporate initiatives.
[06:20] SPEAKER_02: And so what are your plans for the future? What's your long-term vision for your company?
[06:26] SPEAKER_02: And do you have any plans to expand beyond Edmonton?
[06:31] SPEAKER_00: Yeah, I think the model is interesting for us anyways in terms of having physical presence
[06:37] SPEAKER_00: outside of Edmonton's not necessarily any kind of requirement or barrier to expansion.
[06:42] SPEAKER_00: So currently we have partners in the firm that are based out of the Yukon,
[06:48] SPEAKER_00: out of Ontario, British Columbia, Vancouver Island, and to some extent the Okanagan.
[06:55] SPEAKER_00: We have a couple of representatives in Lloyd Minster and Juan in Calgary.
[07:01] SPEAKER_00: But we deal with clients theoretically in almost any part of the country or beyond.
[07:07] SPEAKER_00: We've been talking about some aspects of US-US-based activity.
[07:10] SPEAKER_00: And because of coaching in particular, there's not a requirement that we need to be physically present
[07:15] SPEAKER_00: with people. We can do a lot of what even what we're doing here today, which is
[07:19] SPEAKER_00: some sort of a virtual connection telephone, Zoom Skype, and so on.
[07:26] SPEAKER_00: And I've certainly done coaching with clients that physically have never had the privilege of meeting.
[07:31] SPEAKER_00: And yet it's worked very effectively.
[07:33] SPEAKER_02: Now in terms of being an entrepreneur in Edmonton, what are some of your thoughts around
[07:41] SPEAKER_02: the good points about having a company headquartered out of Edmonton?
[07:47] SPEAKER_02: And even some of the challenges that maybe you've faced.
[07:50] SPEAKER_02: So we're really wanting to give our listeners a flavor of what it's like to do business in Edmonton.
[07:58] SPEAKER_00: Well, I found it to be certainly from my experience over the last seven years.
[08:03] SPEAKER_00: It's I think is similar to almost any other location.
[08:07] SPEAKER_00: As some extend, I mean, it is what you make of it.
[08:09] SPEAKER_00: Certainly building the networks, being very present, having a strong presence from myself,
[08:14] SPEAKER_00: personally on social media, and so on.
[08:17] SPEAKER_00: What I found to be particularly helpful in terms of Edmonton is the fact that it is the location
[08:24] SPEAKER_00: of a number of government agencies and businesses.
[08:28] SPEAKER_00: That's been a certainly a help to me as I started up in the connections with various people.
[08:32] SPEAKER_00: But beyond that, in terms of who else needs to relate to those entities.
[08:37] SPEAKER_00: And so it certainly helped me sort of spread out the opportunity and the connections as we've gone on.
[08:44] SPEAKER_00: We've set up a physical space here in the city as well.
[08:48] SPEAKER_00: And certainly find the cost structure is quite amenable.
[08:52] SPEAKER_00: I can't imagine I've had some experience looking at space for various reasons in Vancouver,
[08:57] SPEAKER_00: maybe Calgary back in the heyday, and some of the comparison say to Toronto.
[09:03] SPEAKER_00: So certainly for me, cost has not been a factor.
[09:06] SPEAKER_00: We're very pleased with the space we've been able to obtain and the amenities that we get access to.
[09:12] SPEAKER_00: We're right on the university campus, so we're quite pleased with that.
[09:15] SPEAKER_00: And what we've been able to obtain it, I think, the very cost-effective rate.
[09:20] SPEAKER_02: Well, I'd like to shift gears with you, Greg, for a few minutes here and talk a little bit more
[09:25] SPEAKER_02: about some of your personal keys to success.
[09:28] SPEAKER_02: So we all know that we do some of our best work outside of the office,
[09:33] SPEAKER_02: and that a change of scene can be inspiring or help us recharge our batteries.
[09:39] SPEAKER_02: Do you have a favorite place and an admittance that you like to go to think about your business,
[09:44] SPEAKER_02: or just to recharge and relax a bit?
[09:47] SPEAKER_00: Yeah, so recharging and relaxing versus thinking about the business,
[09:51] SPEAKER_00: I sort of decided it would decide it was two different things.
[09:54] SPEAKER_00: Recharging and relaxing for me, to some extent, relates to physical activity.
[09:59] SPEAKER_00: Maybe there's an element of thinking that goes on there as well.
[10:03] SPEAKER_00: My wife and I have tried to make it a bit enough pattern of behavior to do endurance events,
[10:11] SPEAKER_00: so we've each done Ironman triathlon's other long-distance marathon races.
[10:18] SPEAKER_00: Last year we had the privilege of being in Berlin for the Berlin marathon.
[10:22] SPEAKER_00: This year we're planning to go do the Venice marathon at the end of October.
[10:26] SPEAKER_00: So certainly it provides you with some thinking space and thinking time,
[10:31] SPEAKER_00: and that's beneficial, and there's an opportunity to think about things that are happening at work.
[10:36] SPEAKER_00: I also would say that I spend a fair degree of time in local bookstores and libraries.
[10:44] SPEAKER_00: I've always loved learning, loved reading, getting new ideas that way.
[10:48] SPEAKER_00: So you'll often find me as a place to decompress in those locations.
[10:53] SPEAKER_02: And building on that, what are some of the books that you're reading right now,
[10:57] SPEAKER_02: or do you have a couple of favorite business books that you would recommend to our listeners?
[11:05] SPEAKER_00: Certainly, in terms of ones that I often go back to and continue to probably draw upon myself,
[11:12] SPEAKER_00: but also to the benefit, maybe particularly for my coaching clients.
[11:16] SPEAKER_00: This is maybe dating myself. I go back to things like the Seven Habits,
[11:19] SPEAKER_00: a highly effective people by Stephen Covey.
[11:22] SPEAKER_00: I go back to Credibility by Kozis and Posner.
[11:28] SPEAKER_00: Jim Collins, good to great. Simon Sinek,
[11:32] SPEAKER_00: start with Why or Leaders Eat Last.
[11:34] SPEAKER_00: So there's a number of those that I find that I'm often referring to,
[11:38] SPEAKER_00: helping my clients, even in an organizational context,
[11:41] SPEAKER_00: sometimes in a consulting fashion.
[11:43] SPEAKER_00: Those are resources that I find myself coming back to.
[11:46] SPEAKER_00: Outside of that, I do a lot of maybe non-traditional reading.
[11:51] SPEAKER_00: I very much like to keep on not up to date,
[11:56] SPEAKER_00: but on historical realities.
[11:59] SPEAKER_00: So I just finished up. We were happy to be again in Berlin and Munich last year.
[12:04] SPEAKER_00: I just finished up the history of the Dockau concentration camp.
[12:09] SPEAKER_00: And it's interesting, I guess, really, unfortunately, is that you see some parallels today to some
[12:15] SPEAKER_00: of the issues that were faced back in the 30s and 40s,
[12:18] SPEAKER_00: playing out in other parts of the world today.
[12:20] SPEAKER_00: So those that fail to learn the lessons of history are doomed to repeat them.
[12:25] SPEAKER_02: That is the truth. That is the truth.
[12:28] SPEAKER_02: Well, in terms of office tools or things that help you be more efficient in your work day,
[12:36] SPEAKER_02: do you have any favorite online or offline tools that are your go-to for efficiency and productivity?
[12:43] SPEAKER_00: Well, in terms of tools that I use most frequently, certainly things like this,
[12:47] SPEAKER_00: conversing via Zoom, for a partner meeting when we talked about how dispersed we are,
[12:54] SPEAKER_00: the ability of those kinds of connections. Certainly from a consulting and coaching standpoint,
[12:58] SPEAKER_00: they allow me to not have to be sure driving to all kinds of locations if it can be avoided,
[13:04] SPEAKER_00: but still retain connection with my clients. I'm certainly a fairly significant
[13:10] SPEAKER_00: user of LinkedIn and a little bit less so on Twitter. I found those have been fantastic
[13:16] SPEAKER_00: mechanisms for connection with people and identifying or showcasing a bit of the work that we do,
[13:22] SPEAKER_00: trying to blog on a relatively frequent basis. I probably dropped off a bit in the last year,
[13:29] SPEAKER_00: just with being as busy as I have been, but I really do aspire to create other thoughts and ideas
[13:36] SPEAKER_00: for my clients and maybe for myself as I explore different issues. One of the things that I've found
[13:43] SPEAKER_00: very informative or inspirational for me is actually my client's stories. Their success is their
[13:49] SPEAKER_00: challenges. I often try to convey to them that the issues that they're facing are, you know,
[13:54] SPEAKER_00: fortunately or unfortunately, are not unique and that I know that when I've written something,
[13:59] SPEAKER_00: they often comment, how did you know that was what I was thinking of or struggling with? And
[14:03] SPEAKER_00: it's because a whole bunch of other people are too. What does the first hour look like for you in
[14:09] SPEAKER_02: the morning? Do you have a specific routine or ritual that helps you get motivated to start the day?
[14:16] SPEAKER_00: What I try to do is kind of use that first bit, if it all possible, to make sure that I understand
[14:25] SPEAKER_00: and set my agenda for the day. I think it's always very tempting to gravitate towards the
[14:30] SPEAKER_00: voice males or the emails and that's often what I'm working with my clients is to ensure they're
[14:35] SPEAKER_00: clear on their priorities. So I try to live what I work with them on. Certainly a lot of the tools and
[14:42] SPEAKER_00: and processes that we fall back on for coaching, I really I use those same tools myself. I don't
[14:50] SPEAKER_00: believe in it using anything that I'm not actively engaged in myself. I think it adds to the
[14:54] SPEAKER_00: credibility and certainly the understanding of what people are going through. So I really try to
[14:59] SPEAKER_00: get settled for the day, be very clear about my priorities. I found that structure is my friend,
[15:07] SPEAKER_00: process is my friend and as soon as I start to deviate from that is where I get into trouble.
[15:13] SPEAKER_02: So I'd like to ask you a what if question now and that is if you weren't a consultant and coach,
[15:21] SPEAKER_00: what would you like to be doing for a profession? It's funny because we just have a bit of this
[15:26] SPEAKER_00: conversation in a couple of different group exercises recently and the answer that I gave there
[15:33] SPEAKER_00: was I suspect I would have been some form of educator or teacher. I had various points along my
[15:41] SPEAKER_00: career path where I had a choice to turn left versus right, been asked at different points in time
[15:48] SPEAKER_00: to consider teaching as a profession. I had an opportunity over the last three years to teach
[15:54] SPEAKER_00: a Concordia University and do some session sessions at the University of Alberta and I've always
[16:02] SPEAKER_00: enjoyed those. I've always enjoyed the connection with students. I've always enjoyed the types of
[16:07] SPEAKER_00: questions that they ask and the personal connections that can be built there. So I think in some respects
[16:13] SPEAKER_00: there's an underlying piece there where you know my mission is to help leaders discover,
[16:19] SPEAKER_00: realize and unleash their potential and I think that's why the education realm also appeals to me.
[16:24] SPEAKER_02: And on the flip side of that break is there something that you would never want to do or a
[16:29] SPEAKER_02: profession that you just know you're not suited for? I think really honestly that if I was
[16:36] SPEAKER_00: you know very true and honest to myself it's anything that's excessively detail oriented in my
[16:42] SPEAKER_00: mind. I need some of that creativity, you know sort of big picture thinking. So probably things like
[16:51] SPEAKER_00: accounting or maybe more specifically you know sort of the very complex detail tax accounting.
[16:58] SPEAKER_00: I'm probably more a big picture visionary than I am in the details which is I go back to that's
[17:04] SPEAKER_00: right in structure and process set up in my own entrepreneurial ventures because you know at some
[17:09] SPEAKER_00: point you still have to send out invoices to get paid if you don't do that then all the great work
[17:13] SPEAKER_02: goes away pretty quickly. Yeah that's true. Do you have a favorite like quote or sentence or word
[17:20] SPEAKER_02: that is kind of your mantra or something that you go back to? Well in terms of a value I would say
[17:27] SPEAKER_00: that it's always been one of my core values if not the fundamental core value is integrity.
[17:34] SPEAKER_00: Be true to your values. Do what you say you're going to do. You know I was a member of rotary for
[17:40] SPEAKER_00: for several years and one of the things that really resonated with me was their mantra which is
[17:45] SPEAKER_00: service above self. Again I think that's why I'm in coaching why I was in public health or public
[17:51] SPEAKER_00: sector for many years. Why I have an affinity to the education side is how do I give back?
[17:58] SPEAKER_00: How do I make a difference? That's what motivates me. Are there any words or phrases that you don't
[18:06] SPEAKER_02: like to hear that just really frustrate you or don't resonate with you? Yeah I think probably in
[18:13] SPEAKER_00: in a general sense it's any extensive complaining, whining, sort of a victimization perspective.
[18:23] SPEAKER_00: I think that we all have choice. We've all made choices whether we want to believe or accept that
[18:31] SPEAKER_00: in some respects. Maybe the challenging positions we've put ourselves in is because of decisions
[18:36] SPEAKER_00: and choices we've made and I can reflect back and have about different turning points in my career
[18:42] SPEAKER_00: if I am honest with myself it's because I've made some decisions that I'm not sure that I regret
[18:49] SPEAKER_00: necessarily but it is because I've made some decisions and that's the natural outcome of what's
[18:55] SPEAKER_00: transpired. I like to think upon reflection that I've made those decisions with the best understanding
[19:03] SPEAKER_00: of my values or parameters or principles at the time. I may not have fully appreciate that
[19:09] SPEAKER_00: kind of choice at the moment but as I reflect upon it I think I'm comfortable with some of those
[19:14] SPEAKER_00: things I've made but I can't then blame people for some of the challenges that I might have faced
[19:20] SPEAKER_00: as a consequence. So I don't like people who lament what's happening to them or feeling that
[19:27] SPEAKER_00: they're in a rut. I mean we have a choice to get out of it. Do you have anything great that keeps
[19:32] SPEAKER_02: you up at night? When you think of entrepreneurs they often are go go go people and hard to shut
[19:39] SPEAKER_02: your minds off at night and that type of thing. Is there anything that keeps you up at night?
[19:44] SPEAKER_00: Yeah I think if you ask my wife it's everything so I'm what I call myself is relatively hyper
[19:50] SPEAKER_00: vigilant certainly a goal oriented person. You're absolutely right I think that to be an entrepreneur
[19:58] SPEAKER_00: running your own business you always have to be thinking ahead you can't just be thinking
[20:02] SPEAKER_00: in the moment what's happening how is business unfolding. I always say that if you're worried about
[20:09] SPEAKER_00: how in this case how the month of March is turning out it's too late to think about that mid
[20:13] SPEAKER_00: month or late in the month it's it's far too late you've got to be thinking quite a bit further ahead.
[20:19] SPEAKER_00: So I'm always thinking about how do I continue to adjust the business change the business
[20:26] SPEAKER_00: interact or connect with other people it's more about building relationships I certainly as well.
[20:32] SPEAKER_00: I mean I've got a family of three with my wife we're raising three daughters so I'm always thinking
[20:36] SPEAKER_00: about how do I help them how do I position them how do I provide experiences for them.
[20:42] SPEAKER_00: So there's a lot that keeps me up I'm I am constantly thinking I think that's why I also enjoy
[20:46] SPEAKER_00: reading so much I have that's my way to decompress and and learn about something else whether it's
[20:53] SPEAKER_00: historical or fictional it's it's part of my ability to try to sort of slow myself down.
[20:59] SPEAKER_02: And thinking about you know something maybe that you aspire to in the future can you share with
[21:06] SPEAKER_02: our listeners like the top three things on your inspired lifeless so these may be goals for yourself
[21:12] SPEAKER_02: personally or experiences that you want to share with your family or professionally but what are
[21:19] SPEAKER_00: a few of the things that you're working towards. Well professionally it's it's always or it has been
[21:25] SPEAKER_00: for some time now the desire to be sort of top of mind when somebody starts to think about
[21:32] SPEAKER_00: leadership team development that one of the first places or people that'll think of his
[21:38] SPEAKER_00: break point or Greg had you be a so that's that's the aspiration not just for Edmonton but really
[21:44] SPEAKER_00: for Western Canada for sure if not a much beyond that I think that we have the opportunity to start
[21:51] SPEAKER_00: to live out some bucket list goals last year my my daughter turned 18 and wanted to provide her with
[21:58] SPEAKER_00: a worldly experience and so we we took her to Paris and then we tacked on some other vacation time
[22:05] SPEAKER_00: so let's provide my children my family with some fantastic experiences open their eyes up to the
[22:13] SPEAKER_00: world and I think at a more personal level I have some objectives that relate to marathon and
[22:20] SPEAKER_00: half marathon performances I'd relate to break some of these time barriers that have been in my
[22:26] SPEAKER_00: in my way for some time so I'll never be on the podium I'm not there's too much time and effort
[22:31] SPEAKER_00: and energy to get that but I'd certainly to make some time barriers. Well as as we start to
[22:37] SPEAKER_02: wind things up here today Greg I'd love for you to share a bit more advice with our listeners and
[22:43] SPEAKER_02: we do have a fair number of international listeners to the show so if you could answer this next
[22:48] SPEAKER_02: question with them in mind okay imagine if you were starting all over again and you'd just move
[22:54] SPEAKER_02: to Edmonton but you didn't know anyone and you really were starting from scratch knowing what you
[23:01] SPEAKER_02: know now what would you do and how would you start all over again in Edmonton so it's it's
[23:07] SPEAKER_00: interesting I reflect back to the first job I ever had leaving Saskatchewan moving to Manitoba where
[23:14] SPEAKER_00: I knew nobody in the entire province of Manitoba and I would say the same thing I did that again not
[23:20] SPEAKER_00: necessarily from any plan but I think I did it well enough and I would say I need to do you know
[23:25] SPEAKER_00: continue to do the same things here let's get involved meet people focus on giving back building
[23:34] SPEAKER_00: relationships building networks one of the things you asked earlier in terms of any phrase that
[23:40] SPEAKER_00: maybe comes to mind that I would what I use and one that I've come back to several times is just
[23:46] SPEAKER_00: go plant seeds you don't know when those things will come to fruition maybe some of them never
[23:51] SPEAKER_00: will but I can certainly attest to some referrals that have come my way that I suggest have been
[23:59] SPEAKER_00: sometimes 10 15 20 years in germination or in the making so get involved I think there's an
[24:08] SPEAKER_00: element of don't push too hard people in my mind get kind of turned off by the heart cell be involved
[24:16] SPEAKER_00: give back make yourself available be prepared to take on different things to have the experience
[24:24] SPEAKER_00: have courage have perseverance there's sometimes an element of maybe being massacistic about it
[24:33] SPEAKER_00: have courage keep it going have faith be prepared to understand your your strengths be open to
[24:41] SPEAKER_00: learning from everybody I mean that's a long list but it's all action oriented it's all
[24:45] SPEAKER_02: courage based it's all learning based and I think a lot of great advice there in in that answer
[24:51] SPEAKER_02: for entrepreneurs not only in Edmonton but but anywhere in the world so thank you for that
[24:57] SPEAKER_02: to wrap things up great I have a fun hypothetical question for you okay so I'd like you to imagine
[25:04] SPEAKER_02: there's a small tropical island just off of Fiji and it has a phone booth but there's no
[25:10] SPEAKER_02: internet so we're going to drop you off there and you won't have a computer smart phone or tablet
[25:16] SPEAKER_02: but you can use the phone booth any time to call a boat and we'll come pick you up so how long would
[25:22] SPEAKER_02: you last before you made that call and what would you do while you're there well through that answer
[25:28] SPEAKER_00: is really changed over the years if I'd say you know go back 10 or 15 years I probably would have
[25:33] SPEAKER_00: been stir crazy within a matter of minutes what to do with myself what I would do while I was
[25:40] SPEAKER_00: there now would certainly be a quite a degree of exploration I know that when I go on vacation
[25:47] SPEAKER_00: that becomes more exhausting than than actually being at work because I'm trying to learn and
[25:52] SPEAKER_00: explore everything I possibly can so I think that the the phone call would be probably given myself
[26:00] SPEAKER_00: a you know week or two to explore the island to to rest and rejuvenate and I think that desire
[26:07] SPEAKER_00: to make it the call would be then to be able to share that experience and what I've learned I
[26:12] SPEAKER_00: I want to be able to convey that or at least explore that with somebody else did you know would they
[26:16] SPEAKER_00: agree did they see the same things that I might have seen if they've been to the same island so I
[26:21] SPEAKER_00: think now I'd be able to hold off for a week or two in the past I probably couldn't have held out
[26:27] SPEAKER_02: for more than an hour or two well that's that's a great way to to end our chat today so
[26:33] SPEAKER_02: Greg how can our listeners connect with you if they want to find you on social media can you share
[26:39] SPEAKER_00: your your website and contact info yeah so we are at www.breakpoint.solutions is our website and
[26:50] SPEAKER_00: certainly they can find me on LinkedIn as well and certainly there's they'll get a lot of flavor
[26:56] SPEAKER_00: from looking at my LinkedIn profile they'll see you'll see the full scope of the the people
[27:01] SPEAKER_00: involved with breakpoint at this point in time actually negative to mention that we also have
[27:07] SPEAKER_00: one of our partners is based out of the London UK location so we got a bit of an international
[27:12] SPEAKER_00: flavor to ourselves as well and you'll see the strength of who we are and I hope what you get to
[27:17] SPEAKER_00: see from looking at the website is a bit of not just the kind of work we do but actually the
[27:22] SPEAKER_00: personality of who we are and what motivates us and that's what really I think has brought us
[27:26] SPEAKER_02: all together is a bit of a common cause. Well Greg thank you so much for being a guest today and
[27:33] SPEAKER_02: I've learned a lot from you I've really enjoyed our conversation I'm sure our listeners have as
[27:38] SPEAKER_02: well so thank you thank you very much this is Bonnie LG and I'd like to thank everyone for taking
[27:44] SPEAKER_02: the time to listen today to Edmonton's podcast on the Canada's podcast network we hope you
[27:50] SPEAKER_02: enjoyed the show make sure you sign up for our newsletters and if you have a minute please write
[27:55] SPEAKER_02: us a review on iTunes you can connect with us on Twitter Facebook Instagram and LinkedIn
[28:01] SPEAKER_02: at Canada's podcast and you can also check out what other entrepreneurs are doing across the country
[28:07] SPEAKER_02: we'll see you next time