THIS WEEK: A fun show, but don't overlook the wealth of people & culture insights!
If you’re going to talk to a genius, pick a fun one. That’s what Kevin Kelly is. He’s a fun genius, rethinking human resources / people management rather than just trying to improve on the aging tools that surround questionable HR processes. Kevin and his cofounder Alexander are brains behind Rhabit, a software tool that solves real problems that have dogged employee assessments and development for decades. He and Scot don’t just talk management, hiring and firing though - they work on Rhabit’s pitch to customers and to investors, and Southern banana pudding comes up in more than one context.
You may need to listen to this one twice - Susan English brings a lot this week!
Get your notebook ready, there's a lot to digest this week. Susan English is the senior vice president and director of public relations and social media at the multi-talented Gatesman agency, which has won a number of recognizable, high-profile corporate advertising and PR clients (and awards) despite the fact that the firm is only ten years old.
WARNING: Susan is not messing around. You’re going to learn something this week, and probably get a few new ideas for whatever you’re working on. Susan and Scot cover a lot of different topics, and it turns out to be a master class in messaging. 
The Climate Reality Project - Policy activism training for normal, concerned people
Nearly all climate scientists agree that climate change is real and driven by human activity. Even if you don’t believe that, you have to admit that reducing pollution and preserving natural resources are good goals anyway. Here in the US though, the climate change and pollution questions have gone political, and this has stalled some of our efforts to improve on the situation.
That’s where Stacie Paxton Cobos, the Senior Vice President of The Climate Reality Project (www.climaterealityproject.org) comes in. Stacie and the Climate Reality Leadership Corps came to Pittsburgh’s David L. Lawrence Convention Center, and they were kind enough to accommodate us in talking about how the organization teaches activists to de-politicize the issue and convince their fellow Americans to demand progress. This episode, Stacie talks with Scot MacTaggart about the various ways that the mission can be framed, the persuasive methods employed around science and policy, and the ways in which audiences evaluate those efforts. 
WINNERS: FizzPop (product) - Moms Can Code (service) - Global Wordsmiths (fan vote)
If you remember Pitchwerks #33, when Samantha Bute Hartzman told us about the Invest In Her women’s pitch competition, you know that it’s a popular event - and growing. This week, we take a unique approach to covering the finals, speaking to each contestant right as they come down off the stage. Stomachs jumping, hearts racing, tongues tied, they are rushed from the stage back to the Pitchwerks Podcast media booth for a surprise interview. Like the finalists they are, they actually do a really great job. This year’s finalists:
It's been a while since we did a sales and marketing werkshop!
Matt Vendeville has a big, ambitious startup idea...but he’s 24 years old, and he lives in Pittsburgh, which is suffering a serious shortage in angel investment right now. Rather than complaining about this fact, Matt built that shortage into his planning. He started a socially conscious company called Circa City Apparel with the intent of using that company’s profits to fund a larger, more complex endeavor later down the road.
This week, Matt comes into the Epicast studios for a “Werkshop” with Scot MacTaggart, in the hopes that he and Scot can develop strategies that will grow Circa City as fast as possible, and get his stealth startup off the ground. |
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December 2019
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