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

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