The Mentors Office podcast: Recent Episodes
Alvaro Andres Pinzon Cortes and Ani M. Bastidas
Welcome to the Mentors Office Podcast! Hosted by Alvaro Andres Pinzon and Ani B. Two professionals exploring topics and initiatives in Education, Business, Technology and Innovation. Two mentors, two friends and one amazing discussion.
Our friend Dennis Wolowyk is a voice that can share his experience during the war. First of all, we are thankful that he is safe and is now sharing his perspective with us.
Dennis is a business developer and has a background in diverse fields like Languages, Communications, Digital Marketing, Product Management, and Project Management. He has worked in Government, Media, and Information landscapes in different countries.
Currently, he is a mentor at Udacity and the Head of Strategic Partnerships at Sigma Software Group.
We are honored to understand his perspective and expertise.
Resources and Links
Check out his special project https://www.starforlife.org.ua/en
Contact Dennis to learn more https://www.linkedin.com/in/dwolowyk/
This episode is sponsored by Zencastr, our #1 podcast tool. They offer HD sound and video. We appreciate that it records separate audio and video tracks for the guests and us. Our guests just click on the link, and we start recording. Get 30% off your first three PRO months at https://zen.ai/thementorsofficepod
Woohoo! We are happy to welcome Pavlenex into today’s conversation. Pavlenex is a Product Manager at BTCPay Server and a Spiral designer grantee. He is a strong organizer of Bitcoin meetups and we will discuss options and strategies to understand an open-source cryptocurrency payment processor. Because of his passion, work and important leadership, we are honored and inspired to discover notions and advice!
Resources and Links
How to contribute to BTCPay Server? https://docs.btcpayserver.org/Contribute/
Explore more the BTCPay Server official website https://btcpayserver.org/
Contact Pavlenex to contribute to BTCPay Server https://www.linkedin.com/in/pavlenex/
Index
2:12 Please share with us your path to BTCPay? What did you do before? How is this current role contributing to your professional development?
6:22 Third world countries understand Bitcoin
9:15 What is your focus now as Product Manager in BTCPay Server?
13:00 Can you explain BTCPay Server to our listeners?
21:00 How did the project start, and what made it successful? Did you fundraise?
33:00 Lessons learned and common Bitcoin issues for businesses
35:50 Coffee shops: How could I accept Bitcoin payments? What would you do, step by step?
45:40 If my customers need bitcoin, should I sell them?
This episode is sponsored by Zencastr, our #1 podcast tool. They offer HD sound and video. We appreciate that it records separate audio and video tracks for the guests and us. Our guests just click on the link, and we start recording. Get 30% off your first three PRO months at https://zen.ai/thementorsofficepod
In today’s episode we are honored to have a guest that inspires us to be better every day. We usually follow her advice as mentors, and we want to learn about her techniques as a team lead in Ed-Tech (Udacity). We are happy to welcome Emily Nitzberg as she can help us with direction, instructions, and mechanisms in productivity and leadership. Because of her work as a team lead at Udacity, we are thankful and inspired to learn from her advice!
Resources and Links
Trillion dollar coach https://www.trilliondollarcoach.com/
Insights from Slack, Dropbox, and Asana on remote work https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HEBDaG0nW0I
Lessons from a decades-long remote worker https://slack.com/blog/productivity/lessons-from-a-decades-long-remote-worker
Helpful how-tos for the transition to remote work https://slack.com/blog/collaboration/remote-work-tips
The Making of a Manager https://www.amazon.com/-/es/Julie-Zhuo/dp/0735219567
Index
2:22 Emily, how do you start your day to increase productivity?
3:45 Tools for organization
6:10 How can you define yourself as a team leader?
10:00 How do you build relationships with the people that you manage?
15:27 Management tips
16:10 How can employees improve communication with their managers?
22:10 Slack tips for remote work
23:10 What to do if you feel that your manager or managers don’t listen to your feedback?
28:38 What do you look for in a candidate in the hiring process?
30:40 What makes a great remote worker? Could you give some examples?
38:40 What is giving you positive energy?
43:00 Remote working tip
First episode of the year! Ani and I would like to express our gratitude for your support. Together with you, we have been able to identify topics to explore innovative technologies. In this episode, we'll speak about NFT innovation and how they may be used in membership-based businesses.
Resources and Links
Flyfish Club official website https://www.flyfishclub.com/
Flyfish Club OpenSea Store https://opensea.io/collection/flyfish-club
Coachella Collectibles NFTs https://nft.coachella.com/
SCOPE Art Show https://yh.io/nft-collection/scope-miami-beach-2021/15
Index
1:30 What does NFT stand for?
5:15 Real State NFTs
7:50 Why are NFTs a trend?
10:30 FlyFish Club restaurant NFT
19:00 Bitcoin myth
20:30 Why to use NFTs for memberships
23:30 NFTs and Coachella
Final episode of the year! We are inspired by all of you and the stories you have shared with us. Because we are focused on career and professional development, we explored some trends and on-demand jobs for 2022.
Andi and I feel motivated when leaders around us listen, care, and take action to enhance employee engagement. We are speaking about an important management style that thrives to maintain purpose, motivation, contribution and better work for business success: Servant Leadership.
Andi explores on-demand jobs for 2022 and the best options to consider to shift upon new careers and opportunities.
Resources and Links
The Future of Jobs Report 2022 https://www.weforum.org/reports/the-future-of-jobs-report-2020/digest
Trillion Dollar Coach: The Leadership Playbook of Silicon Valley's Bill Campbell https://www.amazon.com/-/es/Eric-Schmidt/dp/0062839268
Index
In today’s episode, we are incredibly lucky to have an awesome business professional, dedicated learner, and amazing friend: Rodolfo Yoshii.
Rodolfo is an active member of the Udacity community, as he is also an experienced business professional working with lead companies such as UPS, Udacity, and Langara college.
Throughout our conversation, we follow Rodolfo’s advice to understand key aspects to increase productivity, recognize innovative technologies and adopt guidance to improve the quality of our daily routines.
Resources and Links
Get in touch with Rodolfo Yoshii and learn more from his experience. https://www.linkedin.com/in/rodolfoyoshii/
Read more about Elon Musk: Tesla, SpaceX, and the Quest for a Fantastic Future. https://www.amazon.com/-/es/Ashlee-Vance-ebook/dp/B00KVI76ZS/ref=tmm_kin_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=&sr=
Interested in Business Analytics? Check out Udacity’s Business Analytics Nanodegree. https://www.udacity.com/course/business-analytics-nanodegree--nd098
Index
2:53 Routine to increase productivity
8:44 Why do you like Tesla and Space X?
20:30 Bitcoin and Blockchain
25:30 Is UPS going to using Bitcoin and Blockchain?
31:10 What competencies would an aspiring Business Analyst need?
In today’s episode, we will understand the benefits of Blockchain. If you’re like me, you are probably trying to find out what it does, if it’s safe and how it works to support new technologies.
Resources and Links The Evolution of Money, Banking, and Central Banking | Lawrence H. White https://youtu.be/ZHLaWuF6a1k
Using Blockchain to Protect Venezuelans from Hyperinflation https://youtu.be/uhe8rDjJr8U
The myth of the independent Central Bank (please turn on the automatic subtitles in English) https://youtu.be/67uxP8auphk
Dinero y las instituciones financieras | O. Schenone, Alberto Benegas Lynch (h.) e I. del Castillo (no subtitles available) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vgja1-xtqVw&t=1529s
A mentor is not always a subject matter expert or a teacher. Mentors can inspire you to discover a better path for personal and professional development. Mentors possess natural talents to serve others, but they also work to become leaders and grow every day. Throughout our episode, we explore interpersonal/soft skills for mentors. Listen to our conversation to learn more about soft skills and the misconceptions that exist when mentoring. Level it up with our book recommendations below:
In this conversation, we share a set of strategies and techniques to remain positive even when adversity knocks on our door. We not only share personal struggles and experiences from our work, but we identify a better path to avoid burnout in our daily routines. Listen to advice and practice tactics that can help you build a positive mindset. Take a closer look at our book recommendation: A short guide to a long life by Dr. David Agus.
An introduction to the Mentors Office podcast. Why? What kind of topics and initiatives are to be discussed in the future. Meet Ani B and Andi P.