Success Leaves Clues with Robin Bailey and Al McDonald

"If your actions inspire others to dream more, learn more, do more and become more ... you are a leader." ~ John Quincy Adams.We love sending our listeners on a journey of discovery as they learn about the inspiring lives of industry thought leaders, business owners, & entrepreneurs from all walks of life, who share one thing in common – SUCCESS! And it all starts with one—one idea; one conversation; one dream. Brought to you by Aria Benefits and Life & Legacy Advisory Group

Success Leaves Clues with Robin Bailey and Al McDonald is a business podcast hosted by Robin Bailey, with 337 episodes on record and a Required Pod Score of 80.

Robin Bailey hosts Success Leaves Clues with Robin Bailey and Al McDonald, a business show with 337 episodes published.

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  Episode #307

  Success Leaves Clues: Ep 307 - Your Employees Are Quiet. Is Your Culture Really Healthy? with Sarah Pazzano, Director of People at Jarvis Consulting Group

  Oct 1, 202632 minS6

  What does a people-first culture look like beyond the words on a company website? In this episode of Success Leaves Clues , Robin Bailey sits down with Sarah Pazzano, Director of People at Jarvis Consulting Group, to explore how leaders can build a workplace where employees feel safe, supported, and able to grow. Sarah explains that a people-first culture requires investment in employee development, psychological safety, and leadership grounded in transparency and empathy. She shares how employee engagement surveys, participation levels, and voluntary turnover can help reveal whether those values are showing up in everyday work. One warning sign leaders may overlook: employees who stop raising concerns. Her perspective comes from a career that began in pharmaceutical packaging operations, moved into the startup world, and led to a deliberate investment in HR education. Sarah also reflects on two years working remotely from Paris and how that experience reshaped her thinking about flexibility, connection, and work-life balance. The conversation closes with Jarvis’s mission to equalize opportunity and maximize potential. Sarah explains why hiring primarily from resumes can overlook newcomers, recent graduates, and people returning after a career break, and why curiosity, learning, and thoughtful questions deserve a closer look. You’ll hear about: How Sarah found her path from pharmaceutical packaging to people operations Why authentic networking can open the door to a career change How HR education and hands-on experience complement each other What a people-first culture requires in everyday practice Why employee silence and low survey participation deserve attention How HR and managers can build psychological safety in hybrid teams What working remotely from Paris taught Sarah about work-life balance How hiring for potential can uncover talent a resume overlooks We talk about: 00:00 Meet Sarah Pazzano of Jarvis Consulting Group  01:03 From pharmaceutical packaging to startup people operations  03:53 Networking advice for a career change  06:02 Pursuing HR education and finding meaningful work  10:16 HR designations versus hands-on experience  13:12 What a people-first culture actually looks like  16:37 Building psychological safety in hybrid teams  19:21 Working remotely from Paris and rethinking work-life balance  24:37 Hiring for potential beyond resumes and credentials  29:52 Creating pathways for Canada’s overlooked talent Connect with Sarah LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/sarahpazzano/ Company LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/jarvisconsulting/ Website: https://www.jrvs.ca/   Connect with Us LinkedIn: Robin Bailey and Al McDonald    Website: Aria Benefits and Life & Legacy Advisory Group

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  Episode #306

  Success Leaves Clues: Ep 306 - How to Build a Brand Through Storytelling and Relationships with Jake Karls

  Sep 24, 202639 minS6

  What does it take to turn a homemade snack into a brand stocked by more than 11,000 retailers? In this episode of Success Leaves Clues , Robin Bailey and guest co-host Christine Vigna sit down with Jake Karls, co-founder and rainmaker of Mid-Day Squares. Jake launched the company in 2018 with his sister Leslie and brother-in-law Nick, making bars in a Montreal condo kitchen and delivering orders themselves. Jake shares how inviting customers behind the scenes helped the founders build a community around the brand. He recalls an early turning point when Mid-Day Squares reached its first-year sales goal of $250,000 in just three months. Today, he says the company’s Montreal facility produces roughly 170,000 to 175,000 bars a day. The conversation explores why Jake stepped down as CMO after realizing management was not his strength. As Mid-Day Squares’ rainmaker, he now focuses on storytelling and building relationships that can lead to retail, investment, hiring, and other opportunities over time. Jake also speaks candidly about the burnout that forced him to reconsider his pace. He explains why rest is now part of how he sustains his work, and how regular therapy sessions help the three founders navigate difficult decisions while protecting their relationship as family. You’ll hear about: How Mid-Day Squares grew from hand-delivered samples to thousands of retail locations  Why the founders chose to share the difficult parts of building the company  What a personal response to a customer problem can mean for a brand  Why Jake stepped away from the CMO role and became the company’s rainmaker  How long-term relationships have helped Mid-Day Squares find partners and investors  What burnout changed about Jake’s approach to work and rest  How the founders use regular therapy sessions to communicate through conflict  Why Jake wants the next generation to feel confident sharing their own stories We talk about: 00:00 Christine’s customer experience and Jake’s personal response  04:31 The early days of Mid-Day Squares in a Montreal condo  09:00 The founders’ belief in the business and an early sales milestone  11:47 Why the company shares its entrepreneurial journey openly  12:18 Jake’s experience with burnout and the lesson he learned about rest  21:35 Why Jake moved from CMO to the rainmaker role  23:07 Building friendships and business relationships over time  29:16 Working with family and addressing conflict  30:07 Why the founders committed to regular therapy sessions  38:14 The legacy Jake hopes to leave through Mid-Day Squares Connect with Jake LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jake-karls-653106ba/   Personal Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jakekarls_   Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/middaysquare   Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/MidDaySquares   Website: https://www.middaysquares.com/     Connect with Us   LinkedIn: Robin Bailey and Al McDonald    Website: Aria Benefits and Life & Legacy Advisory Group

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  Episode #304

  Success Leaves Clues: Ep 304 - Stop Managing, Start Coaching with Christine Vigna, Chief People Officer at Dejero

  Aug 20, 202634 minS6

  What if the greatest thing a leader could give their team was not an answer, but the space to discover one? In this episode of Success Leaves Clues, Robin Bailey and Al McDonald sit down with Christine Vigna, Chief People Officer at Dejero, to explore leadership coaching, employee empowerment, workplace culture, governance, and the connection between employee experience and business performance. Christine explains why Dejero developed its leaders to become better coaches instead of simply better managers. By moving decisions away from leadership bottlenecks and empowering employees to solve problems, the company has strengthened engagement, accelerated development, improved customer experiences, and achieved employee retention two to three times longer than the average stay in the technology sector. She also shares why culture cannot be separated from business performance, how ego quietly erodes psychological safety, and why confident leaders create space for other people’s ideas rather than needing to be the smartest person in the room. This conversation offers a human-centered approach to leadership that does not sacrifice accountability or results. It shows how thoughtful coaching, consistent governance, and trust can help people perform at their best while building a stronger, more scalable organization. You’ll hear about: How employee experience influences customer experience and revenue  Why governance supports scalable, consistent decision-making  The question leaders should ask before sacrificing long-term capability  How coaching became a driver of business performance at Dejero  Why managers become bottlenecks when every decision flows upward  How leadership coaching improves autonomy, engagement, and retention  Why performance challenges should never surprise an employee  How Dejero achieved retention two to three times the technology-sector average The difference between confidence and ego in leadership  How executive behaviour shapes psychological safety and workplace culture  Why coaches help people uncover answers instead of supplying them  How to move forward without perfect information or perfect conditions We talk about: 00:00 Intro  01:13 Meet Christine Vigna, Chief People Officer at Dejero  02:26 Connecting people, customer support, and corporate governance  05:00 Are you solving today’s problem at tomorrow’s expense?  06:16 A customer experience lesson from Mid-Day Squares  09:34 Why governance becomes easier when people see progress  12:41 Aligning business strategy with human-centered practices  14:02 Developing better coaches instead of better managers  15:38 How coaching improved engagement, performance, and retention  21:21 Why every leader can benefit from coaching  24:46 How managers unintentionally become decision-making bottlenecks  28:57 Why ego quietly destroys culture and psychological safety  32:49 Moving forward without perfect conditions or complete information Connect with Christina LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/christinemvigna/   Website: https://www.dejero.com/leadership/christine-vigna/     Connect with Us LinkedIn: Robin Bailey and Al McDonald    Website: Aria Benefits and Life & Legacy Advisory Group

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  Episode #302

  Success Leaves Clues: Ep 302 - The Moneyball Strategy Changing How Companies Hire with Andrew Tai, Co-Founder at Deeply Talented

  Aug 6, 202638 minS6

  Will AI replace recruiters, or will it make the best recruiters even more valuable? In this episode of Success Leaves Clues, Robin and Al sit down with Andrew Tai, Co-Founder at Deeply Talented and creator of Detra, an AI recruiting teammate helping enterprise recruiting teams work more efficiently without losing the human connection at the heart of hiring. After building, scaling, and exiting his first company, Andrew returned to entrepreneurship with a different perspective. Success, he explains, is rarely an overnight event. It is a collection of hard-earned repetitions, difficult seasons, imperfect decisions, and the willingness to keep moving when the outcome is uncertain. Andrew shares why AI will not replace the judgment, chemistry, trust, and connection required to hire great people. Instead, it can handle the repetitive work recruiters often have too little time to perform properly, from reviewing large volumes of applications to identifying qualified candidates who fall outside a rigid checklist. Whether you are a recruiter, HR leader, entrepreneur, hiring manager, or business leader navigating the future of work, this conversation offers a practical and optimistic perspective on using AI to strengthen human judgment, not replace it. You’ll hear about: The leadership lesson Andrew learned after building and exiting his first company Why most overnight successes are actually ten-year journeys  How to appreciate the good old days while you are still living them  Navigating the storms and sunshine of entrepreneurship  Why AI will never replace human connection in recruiting  The recruiting tasks AI can perform faster and more consistently  How overwhelmed recruiters can overlook excellent applicants  Why rigid job requirements can eliminate people capable of doing the work  How AI can help companies take a Moneyball approach to recruiting  The difference between demographic bias and recruiting shorthand  How AI can challenge assumptions and expose gaps in hiring criteria  Why recruiters remain responsible for judgment and final decisions  What Andrew learned from hiring people who did not check every box  How to make peace with decisions made using the information available at the time  The danger of waiting for perfect conditions before beginning We talk about: 00:00 Introduction to Andrew Tai and the future of AI in recruiting  03:00 Leadership lessons from building and exiting a company  06:23 Why most overnight successes take ten years  08:09 Surviving the storms and sunshine of entrepreneurship  10:02 Will AI replace recruiters?  13:34 Human connection as recruiting’s enduring advantage  17:09 The hiring mistakes successful companies continue to make  19:00 How AI rediscovered a rejected candidate who was later hired  21:17 Why the best candidate may not meet every requirement  23:00 The Moneyball approach to finding overlooked talent  27:12 Recruiting bias, merit-based screening, and responsible AI  32:19 How an AI teammate can challenge a recruiter’s assumptions  35:21 Taking chances on candidates with potential  39:43 The proverbial trees Andrew is planting through entrepreneurship  42:06 Building a company to model resilience for his daughters  43:13 Why waiting for perfect usually means never beginning  46:12 How to connect with Andrew Tai and Deeply Talented Connect with Andrew LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ahytai/   Website: https://www.deeplytalented.com/     Connect with Us LinkedIn: Robin Bailey and Al McDonald    Website: Aria Benefits and Life & Legacy Advisory Group

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  Episode #301

  Success Leaves Clues: Ep 301 - If Not Now, When? Reinventing Yourself in Midlife with Brenda Benard, COO at Benard + Associates

  Jul 30, 202635 minS6

  What if the most meaningful chapter of your life hasn’t happened yet?   In this episode of Success Leaves Clues, Robin Bailey and Al McDonald sit down with Brenda Benard, COO at Benard + Associates, to explore midlife reinvention, overcoming self-doubt, and finding the courage to create a life that reflects who you are becoming. Brenda never planned to become a business leader. After turning down an opportunity to study theatre, struggling with low confidence, and believing her happiness would come from other people, she spent years moving through life without a clear sense of what she wanted. But a quiet voice continued reminding her that she was capable of more. Brenda shares why walking into a room filled with CEOs changed how she saw her own value, what her professional-athlete daughter taught her about self-belief, and how perimenopause affected her confidence, identity, and mental health. She also explains why asking “What’s the worst that could happen?” can make intimidating decisions feel possible. Robin, Al, and Brenda discuss intentional aging, protecting your health, listening to the whispers that tell you something needs to change, and refusing to postpone meaningful experiences until someday. Whether you’re questioning your career, navigating midlife, rebuilding your confidence, or wondering whether it’s too late to make a change, this episode is a powerful reminder that today is the youngest you will ever be again. You’ll hear about: Why Brenda calls herself the “reluctant COO” How self-doubt shaped Brenda’s early life and career decisions Why she turned down her dream of studying theatre Becoming a police officer at 33 while raising two young daughters How to recognize the quiet signs that you are capable of more The question that changed Brenda’s outlook on time and opportunity Why taking responsibility can be more empowering than assigning blame The moment Brenda realized she deserved to have her success celebrated How other people may see strengths you cannot yet recognize in yourself Overcoming feelings of inferiority around senior leaders and executives Why even the most accomplished leaders are still figuring things out How perimenopause can affect confidence, identity, and mental health What Brenda’s daughter taught her about making her younger self proud How evaluating the worst-case scenario can help you move through fear Why health and longevity have become central to Brenda’s next chapter The power of trading expectation for appreciation We talk about: 00:00 Introduction to Brenda Benard and rethinking success in midlife 03:43 Self-doubt, abandoned dreams, and expecting happiness from others 05:02 Listening to life’s whispers and becoming a police officer at 33 08:41 “If not now, then when?” and why someday may never arrive 11:31 The moment Brenda decided she deserved to have her success celebrated 13:53 How Brenda’s employees saw strengths she couldn’t recognize in herself 21:06 Walking into a room of CEOs and overcoming feelings of inferiority 26:00 Perimenopause, self-confidence, and navigating the dark years 27:52 What Brenda’s daughter taught her about honouring her younger self 29:42 Using the worst-case scenario to move through fear 31:02 Raising courageous daughters and refusing to waste more time 33:10 Intentional aging, protecting your health, and living while you can 38:57 Trading expectation for appreciation Connect with Brenda LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/brenda-benard-4a259188 Website: www.benardinc.com     Connect with Us LinkedIn: Robin Bailey and Al McDonald    Website: Aria Benefits and Life & Legacy Advisory Group

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