Paper Napkin Wisdom - Podcast And Blog For Entrepreneurs, Leaders And Difference-makers

In this episode of Paper Napkin Wisdom, Govindh Jayaraman welcomes Sam Toles, a digital media pioneer and storyteller with decades of experience building audiences, brands, and communities. Sam is the CEO and co-founder of CiviSocial, a platform designed to transform civic engagement by helping communities and governments create stronger, more transparent conversations online.  Sam’s career has spanned leadership roles at MGM, Vimeo, Bleacher Report, and Warner Bros., and throughout it all he has stayed focused on how creativity, structure, and permission come together to unlock growth. His napkin insight crystallizes this perfectly:  Permission + Structure → Social Media Success    The Power of Permission  In the conversation, Sam reflects on how success in digital media and social platforms doesn’t come from simply telling people what to do — it’s about giving them permission. Staff members, creative teams, and civic leaders need to feel trusted to experiment, share authentically, and make their voices he

In this special episode of Paper Napkin Wisdom, I (Govindh Jayaraman) take a step back to reflect on the journey we’ve been on together — over 280 episodes filled with wisdom, stories, and lessons from incredible leaders, entrepreneurs, and difference makers.  The napkin for this episode reads: “Introducing the Edge of the Napkin.”  It’s a phrase that captures both a transition and an expansion. The napkin has always been a place for distilled wisdom — one sentence, one thought, one principle that could change everything if applied. But now, we’re venturing into what I call the edge of the napkin: the space where those ideas meet action, where wisdom isn’t just written down but lived, tested, and expanded.    From Napkin to Edge  On this podcast, we’ve heard wisdom from global thinkers and doers — people like James Clear, Tom Bilyeu, and Brian Scudamore — and yet, what’s always struck me is how simple ideas transform into exponential results when leaders commit to them.  The edge of the napkin i

Careers aren’t meant to be lived on repeat. In this episode of Paper Napkin Wisdom, we sit down with Kendra MacDonald, CEO of Canada’s Ocean Supercluster, a leader who has spent her career helping organizations innovate, adapt, and push boundaries. Kendra has been recognized for her work in transformation and leadership across industries, and she brings her wisdom to the napkin with a deceptively simple but powerful message.  On her napkin, Kendra wrote:  “Make sure your career is 25 years, not 1 year 25 times. What will you learn this year?”  This phrase, first heard from one of her professors in university, has echoed through her journey and shaped how she approaches growth.    The Wisdom of 25 Years  When Kendra first heard this idea as a 22-year-old student, she didn’t grasp its depth. At the time, her vision of a career was linear: find a job, build a life, move forward. But as the years unfolded, she realized the trap many fall into—repeating the same year of work experience over and over a

Introduction: A Journey Comes Full Circle  Over the course of sixteen episodes, Michael Walsh has taken us on an extraordinary journey through what he calls the Freedom Framework. This framework has become a cornerstone for entrepreneurs who want to build businesses that don’t just survive but thrive – organizations that create value, empower people, and endure through change.  Michael, founder of Walsh Business Growth, has spent decades helping leaders shift from working in their businesses to working on them. His approach blends deep financial discipline, people-first development, and a radical belief in the power of freedom to unlock growth. In this concluding episode of the Freedom Series, Michael lays out the final, critical pieces of the framework: rethinking the core, hiring smart, training and growing people, focusing on teams, developing managers and leaders, and preparing for inevitable change.  As Michael said during the conversation:  “You’ve got to rethink the core. If the core of your

In Episode 283 of Paper Napkin Wisdom, Michael Walsh returns for part fifteen of the Freedom Series. Michael, founder of Walsh Business Growth, has been guiding us through the “hidden danger zones” leaders face as their organizations scale from $1M to $20M and beyond. Each conversation builds on the Freedom Framework—a practical guide for achieving true freedom in and from your business.  This episode focuses on something every entrepreneur knows too well: change. As Govindh framed it, “Isn’t all change somewhat unexpected? At least the timing of it?” Michael’s insight takes us deeper into how to prepare for—and thrive in—the midst of the unknown.    Change Is Inevitable, Timing Is Unpredictable  The transcript makes one thing clear: while entrepreneurs can anticipate some changes, the timing almost always surprises. As Michael put it:  “You could plan for change… but you also have to monitor.”  It’s not enough to build systems—you must also stay attentive, scanning both the business and its envi

If you’ve ever felt like you’re climbing hard but not getting any closer to the peak that actually matters, this conversation is for you. In Episode 282 of Paper Napkin Wisdom, I sit down with Saahil Mehta—global entrepreneur, leadership coach, bestselling author of Break Free, and a passionate mountaineer who translates hard-won lessons from high altitude into everyday leadership clarity. He helps ambitious leaders “stress less, grow faster, and enjoy a zero regret life,” a phrase that captures both his mission and method.   Saahil’s story isn’t theory. He’s balanced businesses across continents while raising a family and chasing real mountains—Kilimanjaro in Africa, Elbrus in Europe, Chopicalqui in Peru, and Pico de Orizaba in Mexico, among others. Those summits forged a point of view: progress demands focus, endurance, and the courage to travel lighter. And yes, he means lighter in every sense—mental, material, calendar, and relationships.   What stands out is how practical his framework is. In Break

If you’ve ever stared down a crowded market and thought, “How on earth do I stand out—ethically, profitably, and sustainably?”, Pete Olander’s story is going to land. Pete is the founder behind multiple wellness and cannabis-adjacent consumer brands, including Happie (a better-for-you cannabis seltzer brand) and Natural Recovery Greens (an early CBD-forward greens product). He cut his teeth in the nutrition industry designing performance supplements, then followed the data—and the customer outcomes—into functional beverages that blend taste, efficacy, and regulatory discipline. That arc is classic entrepreneur: find the pain, ship the fix, iterate faster than the market.   Pete’s path started with a simple observation from R&D work in the mid-2010s: consumers wanted recovery and calm without compromise. That insight led to Natural Recovery Greens—single-serve formats, travel-friendly, and positioned at the intersection of superfoods, probiotics, BCAAs, and THC-free CBD—years before “functional everythi

If you’ve been following our ongoing Freedom by Design series with business growth strategist Michael Walsh, you’ve noticed a theme: the farther you grow, the more your results depend on people—not just your personal effort. In Episode 280, Part 14, Michael brings a crisp napkin that says it all: “Develop Leaders.” The sketch shows two paths to results. One runs Leader → Manager → People → Results (big circle). The other jumps straight to Individual → Results (small circle). Same destination, wildly different scale.  Why? Because, as Michael says, “Leadership is about rallying people to a brighter future.” And when you scale, that “people” layer is where compounding lives.  Management vs. Leadership (and why both matter)  Early in the conversation, Michael tips his cap to Marcus Buckingham’s framing: “management’s about taking talent, turning it into performance.” Leadership, by contrast, is about direction, meaning, and conviction. Or in Michael’s words: “Leadership is about rallying people to a brig

  Napkin: “We are designed for rest.”  If you’ve ever worn exhaustion like a badge of honor, Episode 279 is a friendly intervention. Steven Langer—international keynote speaker and workplace wellness strategist—joins me to challenge a deeply ingrained belief: that rest is something we “earn” only after the work is done. Steven’s life’s work is helping organizations design healthier cultures from the inside out, and his company Well By Design boldly leads with a simple truth right on the homepage: we are designed for rest—and when we honor that design, we become more present and more productive at work and at home.   Steven brings a deep, practical background to the conversation—over 17 years as a senior leader across the public and private sectors, plus a Master’s in Education (Leadership) and training in change management, organizational behavior, HR, and strategic planning. He’s led teams, built capacity, and now equips leaders and staff to prioritize well-being without sacrificing results. He also s

“Growth doesn’t come from what we know, but from how we apply what we learn.” — Rhett Power, Paper Napkin Wisdom  If you’ve ever felt “over-read and under-done,” this one’s for you. In Episode 278, entrepreneur, executive coach, and Forbes columnist Rhett Power sits down with Paper Napkin Wisdom to remind us that ideas don’t create results—implementation does. Rhett’s napkin is deceptively simple: growth lives in the gap between learning and applying. That gap is where courage, accountability, and consistency turn knowledge into outcomes.  A quick snapshot of Rhett’s journey illuminates why he cares so much about application. He co-founded Wild Creations, transforming a startup toy company into South Carolina’s Fastest Growing Business and an Inc. 500 honoree, with dozens of national product awards along the way. That run taught him the difference between “knowing” and “building.” Today, he channels those lessons as CEO and Co-Founder of Accountability Inc., where he coaches founders and executive teams

On today’s napkin, Michael sketches a deceptively simple truth: a manager who works through people generates far bigger results than a talented individual contributor working alone. The drawing shows two paths: Manager → People → (big) Results versus Individual → (smaller) Results. It’s not a knock on personal excellence; it’s a reminder that leadership scale lives in leverage—the kind you earn by growing your people.  Early in our conversation, Michael laughed about how many of us misread our own management ability: “According to Gallup, 71% of all managers put themselves in the top 20% of all managers.” That gap between confidence and capability is exactly why this napkin matters—most businesses hit a ceiling right where frontline heroes are promoted and suddenly responsible for everyone else’s outcomes.  So why is the shift so hard? Because the skills that make you great as an individual contributor aren’t the same skills that make you a great manager. As Michael puts it, “what it takes as an individual c

Introduction Courtney Ramsey, CSP, CPTD, MBA, has spent more than two decades helping overwhelmed managers transform into confident, people-first leaders. After training tens of thousands of supervisors on the front lines of corporate America, she noticed a pattern: even the smartest leaders “hit snooze” on the very conversations and decisions that would propel their teams forward. That observation became her rallying cry and the title of her signature message, “Quit Hitting Snooze!”—a philosophy she unpacks in this energizing episode.   From her viral TEDx talk on tough conversations to her hands-on development programs, Courtney champions a simple truth: leadership begins the moment we stop delaying the work that matters most. In our conversation, she explains how the “snooze button” shows up far beyond the alarm clock—whether we’re postponing a difficult performance dialogue, deferring an innovative idea, or waiting for “perfect timing” before launching a bold initiative.  “We all have those internal al

When Jeff Wetzler scribbled his napkin wisdom — “The answers you most need are hidden in plain sight… They reside in the hearts and minds of the people right around you. You just need to know how to ask in the right ways.” — he distilled 25 years of leadership, education-innovation, and curiosity-driven research into one deceptively simple thought.  Jeff is co-CEO and co-founder of Transcend, the nonprofit helping schools design breakthrough learning models, and former Chief Learning Officer at Teach For America. With a doctorate in Adult Learning & Leadership from Columbia and a psychology degree from Brown, he’s advised Fortune-100 executives, written two books (most recently ASK: Tap Into the Hidden Wisdom of People Around You), and built “The Ask Approach,” a five-step method to turn everyday conversations into engines of insight and trust.   “People don’t tell us what we really need to hear because they’re afraid of the impact… That fear keeps leaders in the dark.” — Jeff Wetzler, PNW 275  In this wi

Meet the guest. Michael Walsh is a Vancouver-based business strategist, author of Business Growth by Design, and founder of Walsh Business Growth Institute, the international consultancy he’s run since 1995 to help owners scale sustainably and earn the “freedom dividend” they started their companies for.   In Part 12 of our ongoing Freedom by Design series, Michael brings a deceptively simple napkin scribble:  “Grow Managers – Best Boss / Worst Boss. Do bad bosses know they’re bad?”  Those three lines crack open one of the biggest constraints to growth: the gulf between technical excellence and people leadership. As Michael tells me:  “The truth is that being a middle manager is probably the toughest job in any company.”  “The skills it takes to deliver a result are very different from the skills it takes to support somebody else to generate the result.”  Why “Best Boss / Worst Boss” is More Than a Fun Ice-Breaker  When Michael runs this exercise with leadership teams, he first asks everyone to list the best

When Jessica Fabus Cheng first stepped into an operating room as a certified surgical technologist and later as a registered nurse, she believed her purpose was to advocate for patients who could not speak for themselves. Then came a rare thyroid-cancer diagnosis, two vocal-cord surgeries, and the terrifying warning that she might never speak again. Today, Jessica is very much heard—as Mrs. DC International 2025, a former Team USA Taekwondo athlete, the host of the podcast “All the Best with Jess,” and the founder of the Turnkey Accessibility program that helps brands build truly inclusive digital experiences.Medium  “I decided then and there this is not going to break me,” she told Govindh on Paper Napkin Wisdom. “If there’s a way to get my voice back, I’m going to make that happen.” That grit, aimed through the lens of her napkin sketch—an arrow pointing from greatest challenge to highest calling—now powers every keynote, workshop, and accessibility audit she delivers. Her story is as much about regaining

When Dominican-born engineer-entrepreneur Rainier Mallol walked into Singularity University in 2015, he carried a single, under-lined word on the napkin he would eventually share with Paper Napkin Wisdom: Decision. That decision—to harness artificial intelligence against mosquito-borne diseases—launched AIME (Artificial Intelligence in Medical Epidemiology), a platform now credited with predicting dengue, Zika and chikungunya outbreaks up to three months in advance, with better than 85 % accuracy WikipediaInnovators Under 35.  Since then Rainier has:  Been named to MIT Technology Review’s Innovators Under 35 list (2017) and Forbes 30 Under 30 (2019) for his public-health breakthroughs Innovators Under 35;  Served as Director of ICT for two Dominican Republic ministries, modernising nationwide data systems Wikipedia;  Pivoted to his new venture cxgenies, bringing the same AI rigour to customer-experience analytics.  “At the end of the day it is you who controls your own destiny.” — Rainier Mallol, PN

For nearly three decades, Michael Walsh has helped owners of $2-$100 M companies escape the “growth trap” and win back their freedom. As founder of Walsh Business Growth Institute and author, the Vancouver-based adviser has guided leaders across North America and Europe to scale profitably without sacrificing culture or lifestyle.   A former competitive rower turned consultant, Michael blends strategic rigor with people-first pragmatism—rooted in the belief that business is a tool to help people get what they want.    Why Teams Sit at the Heart of Freedom  When Govindh opened this eleventh conversation in our Freedom by Design series, he zeroed in on a familiar danger zone: people. Michael didn’t flinch:  “Teams done well can multiply power. They drive everything that’s good in a company.” — Michael Walsh  Yet most organisations still treat teamwork like a side quest. “We haven’t been trained for teamwork,” Michael observed, noting that athletic teams and business teams succeed for the same reason: deliberat

David Umansky is the CEO and co-founder of Civic Builders, a nonprofit organization that designs, finances, and builds public charter schools in underserved communities across the United States. Since its inception in 2002, Civic Builders has helped create over 65 schools serving more than 30,000 students. But David’s impact goes far beyond buildings. He is an architect of opportunity, an operator of systems change, and an advocate for equity through infrastructure.  In this episode of Paper Napkin Wisdom, David shares a deceptively simple message: "Be bold!" — a two-word command that reads like a whisper and hits like a thunderclap. But what does it really mean to be bold in a world driven by constraints, compromise, and compliance?  For David, boldness is not just about bravery. It’s about designing for transformation. "If you want to solve big problems, you can't nibble around the edges," he says. "You have to get comfortable with discomfort — that's where the real change happens."  Building More Than Buil

In this powerful return to Paper Napkin Wisdom, the bestselling author of Networking Is Not Working and the new book Let’s Retire Retirement dives into a game-changing mindset shift: what if retirement was never the goal?  Derek is a financial advisor, entrepreneur, community builder, and father. With decades of experience advising high-performing individuals and leading powerful networking communities like Cadre, he’s seen firsthand how many people are grinding through their best years waiting for a someday that may never come. That’s why his napkin—“Let’s Retire Retirement”—is both a provocation and a plan.  “The subtitle of the book is: How to enjoy life to the fullest now and later,” Derek explains. “Because what’s the point of waiting?”  This episode is not about abandoning discipline or long-term planning—it’s about shifting your paradigm. Derek offers a compelling argument that if we keep chasing a future reward at the expense of the present, we may never get the life we actually want.  From Deferred L

In Episode 268 of Paper Napkin Wisdom, we continue the Freedom by Design series with leadership expert and business growth strategist Michael Walsh. Michael has helped countless organizations align leadership and team development with sustainable growth—and in this tenth installment, he delivers a crucial message for anyone leading people: Develop a career development growth plan that’s not about your business, but about your people.  The napkin reads: “Develop a Career Development Growth Plan” with four key ideas underneath:  It’s all about them  Longer-range goals (10 yrs)  Superpower & Kryptonite  Learning over the next 3 years  This deceptively simple napkin is actually a career growth compass—one that aligns with the values of true leadership: unlocking potential, not prescribing performance. It’s about cultivating human flourishing as a growth strategy. And in today’s market, it’s more than thoughtful—it’s necessary.  It’s Not About You—It’s About Them  Michael kicks things off with a s