PODCAST CONVERSATIONS

Podcast conversations with Ivanka Menken

Ivanka Menken is a Strategic Mentor for founders of A$500K to A$3M businesses. She hosted The Art of Service Live in 2022: 17 conversations with founders and leaders about leadership, risk and growing a business. Each episode below has a short summary, so you can choose one before you press play.

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What did Ivanka talk about on The Art of Service Live?

The Art of Service Live was Ivanka's own show in 2022: live conversations with founders and leaders, newest first.

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The Art of Service Live · 23 November 2022 · 49 min

Hiring for experience and holding good people, with Ben Watts

Hosted by Ivanka Menken, with Ben Watts, CEO of a human resources consultancy

Ben Watts, CEO of a human resources consultancy, explains why he looks past degrees to varied experience, effort and character when hiring, and why the bigger staffing risk is losing good people over the Christmas break. He reflects on moving from corporate operations roles into a family business, underestimating his own transferable skills, mapping the org chart to future growth, keeping sane through exercise and routine, and dealing with poor behaviour before it spreads.

Teams
Risk
Leadership
Wellbeing

07:51 Why degrees matter less than experience
15:30 The real risk is losing your best people
32:49 Set up a small business like a big one

Watch on YouTube

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The Art of Service Live · 4 November 2022 · 48 min

Leading from purpose, not fear, with Cris Manlapaz

Hosted by Ivanka Menken, with Cris Manlapaz, serial entrepreneur and executive coach who chairs a diversified family business group

Cris describes stepping back from managing a group of very different businesses to coaching their leaders. He and Ivanka discuss self-awareness as the starting point of leadership, noticing whether a decision comes from fear or from purpose, using a simple operating system and a few key numbers to stay on track while letting go of control, commitment rather than work-life balance, and his daily routine for staying healthy.

Leadership
Letting go
Purpose
Wellbeing

09:07 What self-awareness means for a leader
34:18 Why a simple operating system works
38:25 Staying healthy for the long run

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The Art of Service Live · 25 August 2022 · 54 min

Selling a business and buying it back, with Andy Meadows

Hosted by Ivanka Menken, with Andy Meadows, founder of an enterprise link management software company

Andy Meadows talks about splitting one company into three so each could follow its own path, selling the product business, staying on as an employee for three years, then buying it back with his co-founder. He describes how hard it was to stop calling the shots, how the business moves faster now, and why hiring and modelling behaviour build a reliable team. He also describes family and work balance as a pendulum, and his exercise and quiet time.

Letting go
Growth
Teams
Wellbeing

02:11 Work and family as a pendulum
13:51 Going from owner to employee
48:45 Exercise, silence and thinking time

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The Art of Service Live · 18 August 2022 · 53 min

Weather risk and recharging to lead, with Jonathan Crandall

Hosted by Ivanka Menken, with Jonathan Crandall, founder and CEO of a snow, ice and grounds management business

Jonathan runs a seasonal snow and ice business serving hospitals and large industrial sites. He and Ivanka discuss how longer, mixed storms change his planning, rest plans that keep crews going through long events, keeping seasonal and full-time staff connected, judging meetings by how many agreed actions get done, hiring key roles earlier, looking after his own health, and using money to buy time and experiences with family.

Risk
Wellbeing
Teams
Growth

14:16 Planning for longer, mixed storms
22:01 Rating meetings by actions completed
31:32 What he would do differently

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The Art of Service Live · 11 August 2022 · 50 min

Dropping the ego and starting again, with Nobi Fujita

Hosted by Ivanka Menken, with Nobi Fujita, former owner of a manufacturing business in Japan, now preparing to start an education venture

Nobi Fujita talks about taking over his late father's business in Japan, borrowing heavily to build a factory just before the financial crisis, and nearly losing it all. He explains how dropping ego driven decisions, letting go of senior staff who broke trust, and hiring for trust over skills helped him rebuild and sell. He also describes plans for a project based college where international students build technology that helps people with disability take part in society.

Identity risk
Letting go
Teams
Purpose

10:41 Letting go of a team he could not trust
16:24 Culture shock running a Japanese factory
46:31 Business as finding who you are

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The Art of Service Live · 21 July 2022 · 44 min

Managing risk in buckets and leading with purpose, with Yuen Yung

Hosted by Ivanka Menken, with Yuen Yung, CEO of a commercial real estate company, previously in wealth management and a restaurant franchise

Yuen, a commercial real estate CEO with earlier careers in wealth management and a sushi franchise, compares starting a business with leading an established one, and names vision and genuine care for people as a CEO's core jobs. He sorts risk into asset, company, people and macroeconomic buckets, describes refinancing and insurance as mitigations, and says staff retention lowers risk. He treats family life as alignment rather than balance, and health as non-negotiable.

Risk
Leadership
Purpose
Wellbeing

08:28 Two things that make a good CEO
15:44 Breaking risk into buckets
33:25 Alignment instead of work life balance

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The Art of Service Live · 7 July 2022 · 46 min

Building a safety business around one purpose, with Adam Thompson

Hosted by Ivanka Menken, with Adam Thompson, owner of a business that inspects, repairs and tests lifting equipment

Adam Thompson describes how being hit by a truck while working on a roadside site, and not walking for two years, gave his lifting equipment business its purpose: everybody goes home. He explains how recording failures and educating end users cut repeat equipment failures, why technicians are limited to about six hours on site, how his team talks openly about mental health, what he would change about leading through lockdowns, and why staff need fair pay and a purpose.

Purpose
Risk
Leadership
Wellbeing

02:49 The accident behind everybody goes home
13:16 On stage and off stage for site technicians
43:15 Discretionary effort, fair pay and purpose

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The Art of Service Live · 9 June 2022 · 47 min

Innovate or die, and put family first, with Daniel Alenaddaf

Hosted by Ivanka Menken, with Daniel Alenaddaf, co-founder of an ecommerce business selling home gym equipment

Daniel Alenaddaf, co-founder of a home gym equipment ecommerce business, explains how a push into bricks and mortar stores took focus off the core business and let competitors catch up, and why innovation now has its own team. He covers aligning values with partners, testing products against real customer problems, how ecommerce channels differ by product, building a successor so the business does not rely on him, and protecting time for family and fitness.

Growth
Teams
Wellbeing
Innovation

05:03 Why the business stopped innovating
19:22 What makes an ecommerce business last
27:06 A founder's week without 100 hour days

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The Art of Service Live · 26 May 2022 · 48 min

Marketing benchmarks and the purchase cycle, with Erik Huberman

Hosted by Ivanka Menken, with Erik Huberman, founder and CEO of an outsourced marketing agency

Erik explains why founders need outside perspective and industry benchmarks to judge their marketing numbers, and why measuring returns over too short a window misleads when customers take weeks or months to buy. He and Ivanka discuss how a business must change each time its headcount doubles, building work around the life people want now, why founders should drive early sales themselves, and accepting that problems never end.

Growth
Decision-making
Leadership
Marketing

02:47 Why outside perspective and benchmarks matter
16:22 How a company changes as it doubles
25:43 The purchase cycle risk

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The Art of Service Live · 28 April 2022 · 51 min

Knowledge, skill and competency in tech teams, with Matthew Burrows

Hosted by Ivanka Menken, with Matthew Burrows, skills and competency consultant who helps organisations and governments manage digital skills

Matthew Burrows explains how he moved from music into technology and found that the work is really about people. He and Ivanka discuss the gap between knowledge, skill and professional competency, why a training certificate is not readiness, and why skills gaps sit behind many security breaches and failed transformations. He describes how to run an honest skills assessment, starting with clear communication about why it is happening so people do not over or under report.

Teams
Risk
Leadership
Skills

10:28 Knowledge is not the same as competency
32:45 Skills gaps as the hidden business risk
36:38 Getting honest answers in a skills assessment

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The Art of Service Live · 21 April 2022 · 45 min

Aligning sales and marketing through change, with Margerieth Visser

Hosted by Ivanka Menken, with Margerieth Visser, business school lecturer, executive coach and consultant on change in sales and marketing teams

Margerieth, a change consultant and executive coach for commercial teams, explains why sales and marketing so often fall into silos, different targets and blame, and why lasting change must address emotion as well as process. She frames commercial risk as learning to embrace uncertainty, urges leaders to keep customers at the centre, describes three roles a modern seller plays across the buying journey, and stresses exploratory conversations and real listening over jumping to solutions.

Teams
Leadership
Risk
Sales

07:52 Why sales and marketing work in silos
09:32 Managing risk by embracing uncertainty
31:15 Three roles in a modern sales cycle

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The Art of Service Live · 14 April 2022 · 32 min

Workplaces that shape how teams behave, with Melissa Marsden

Hosted by Ivanka Menken, with Melissa Marsden, workplace dynamics strategist, founder of a workplace design business and business coach

Melissa, a workplace dynamics strategist, explains how physical work environments shape behaviour, culture and recruitment, and how hybrid work has shifted offices toward spaces for collaboration and connection. She traces her path from a western Queensland farm to workplace design, then discusses productising services under a second brand, validating demand first, time blocking her week, and choosing fewer, better clients as she prepared for parental leave.

Teams
Growth
Wellbeing
Workplace design

01:06 How workspaces influence behaviour
06:41 Hybrid work and the purpose of the office
20:00 Productising services: be clear and intentional

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The Art of Service Live · 7 April 2022 · 53 min

Cash discipline, a merger and team wellbeing, with Brendan Gibson

Hosted by Ivanka Menken, with Brendan Gibson, co-owner of an Australian managed IT and cyber security business, and a business profit coach

Brendan explains how his IT business frames cyber security around how much downtime a client can afford, backups and staff phishing education. He describes finding the business was losing money despite solid revenue, fixing it by setting aside cash in separate accounts, raising prices and meeting a peer for accountability, then merging with that peer's firm, agreeing shared values, hiring rigorously and supporting staff wellbeing across remote sites.

Cash and pricing
Risk
Teams
Wellbeing

09:29 How much downtime can you afford
13:56 Finding the business was losing money
27:20 Bringing two cultures together

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The Art of Service Live · 31 March 2022 · 58 min

Passion, space and starting a business wisely, with Shivani Gupta

Hosted by Ivanka Menken, with Shivani Gupta, engineer turned entrepreneur, business mentor, speaker and author

Shivani Gupta describes leaving a senior engineering career after a month trekking in Nepal gave her space to see she was good at her work but not content. She and Ivanka discuss how many women put their own passions last, why a clear diary matters, and how a failed acquisition taught her to combine heart with due diligence. Her advice to new founders: know the why, ease out of a job gradually, and surround yourself with smart people.

Purpose
Risk
Wellbeing
Growth

08:15 A month in Nepal and the need for space
13:43 Counting the weeks you have left
32:04 Starting a business without burning out

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The Art of Service Live · 24 March 2022 · 49 min

Hiring well, leading well and giving back, with Simone Allan

Hosted by Ivanka Menken, with Simone Allan, founder and CEO of an executive search firm, and founder of a charity supporting women after domestic violence

Simone Allan, founder of an executive search firm, describes how a difficult, isolated childhood taught her to read people quickly and seek out mentors. She and Ivanka discuss halo and repression bias in interviews, how automated screening and inexperienced recruiters can rule out capable candidates, the loss of learning between generations, regular reviews as essential upkeep, and what keeps people beyond pay. She also describes the charity she founded for women rebuilding after domestic violence.

Leadership
Teams
Purpose
Hiring

12:43 Halo and repression effects in hiring
23:56 Five motivators that keep people
27:51 Performance reviews are like flossing

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The Art of Service Live · 10 March 2022 · 51 min

Compliance, risk and people-first digital projects, with Sean Heylen

Hosted by Ivanka Menken, with Sean Heylen, digital project manager leading transformation programs, and former founder of a web development agency

Sean, a digital project manager and former web agency founder, explains why he exited his agency once he saw globalisation squeezing margins, and how he moved from professional risk taker to risk recogniser. He argues compliance does not stifle innovation, recalling how a SQL injection vulnerability nearly destroyed his business, and recommends two questions: what are our options, and what are the risks of this option. He also discusses playing to strengths and building diverse teams.

Risk
Leadership
Decision-making
Teams

12:22 Seeing globalisation and deciding to exit
23:27 Why compliance does not stifle innovation
37:57 Playing to strengths, not fixing weaknesses

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The Art of Service Live · 24 February 2022 · 46 min

Building systems and compliance from day one, with Christine Green

Hosted by Ivanka Menken, with Christine Green, founder of bookkeeping and tax services businesses, certified bookkeeper and tax agent

Christine Green reflects on decades of running businesses with her husband, including a commercial kitchen design firm she later sold. She explains how strong onboarding and putting the person before the procedure built a steady culture, and how documented systems made the business attractive to a buyer. She and Ivanka discuss why compliance is more exposed than ever, why payroll is the most common problem, and her advice to plan the exit first and build the business backwards from it.

Risk
Teams
Cash and pricing
Systems

09:58 Onboarding that sets the culture
21:36 Clean systems make a business sellable
41:10 Plan the exit and build backwards

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THE IDEA BEHIND THE TALKS

What are the 3 Shifts behind the Identity Risk keynote?

Ivanka's 3 Shifts Framework is the spine of her Identity Risk keynote: separating worth from performance, releasing ego to find clarity, and leading for wholeness.

Tap a shift to move the circles. The framework is from Ivanka's Identity Risk keynote.

The 3 Shifts · a framework by Ivanka Menken

Questions about the podcast conversations

Who are Ivanka Menken’s podcast conversations for?

Ivanka Menken’s podcast conversations are for founders and senior leaders who want to hear how she thinks before they work with her. The topics are the ones she mentors on: leadership, risk, letting go of work only the founder used to do, and growing a business without losing the person who built it.

Where can I listen to the episodes?

Every episode on this page plays here or opens on the show’s own page. The The Art of Service Live episodes Ivanka Menken hosted are on YouTube and play on this page once you press play. Each one has a written summary, so you can read what it covers first.

What is the Identity Risk keynote based on?

Ivanka Menken’s Identity Risk keynote is based on her 3 Shifts Framework: separating worth from performance, releasing ego to find clarity, and leading for wholeness across business, relationships and health. It draws on her book The Clarity Shift and 25 years of building The Art of Service across more than 160 countries.

Can I book Ivanka to speak after hearing an episode?

Yes. Ivanka Menken speaks at conferences, association events and leadership offsites, and the Identity Risk keynote starts from A$12,500 ex GST. The speaking page lists her talks and formats, and the keynote page explains the fee and what the room takes away. A short call is the quickest way to check a date.

How is this different from 1:1 mentoring?

A podcast conversation is Ivanka Menken thinking out loud with someone else. 1:1 mentoring is six months of fortnightly sessions about your own business, A$1,500 a month ex GST, with a one-page scorecard each month. If one decision is pressing, the 90-minute Strategic Clarity Intensive at A$1,500 ex GST settles that one first.

Heard enough to want your own conversation?

The Strategic Clarity Intensive is 90 minutes with Ivanka on one decision, A$1,500 ex GST. Or start with the free book, The Clarity Shift.

Book the Intensive Get the free book

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