Episodes
Building Your Brand Begins with You; How to Pursue Your Passion Through Adversity
Have you ever experienced a life altering moment? An accident, a cancer scare, or the sudden loss of a loved one? Suddenly everything that is important comes into focus. Like life has slowed down to a crawl and clarity is the byproduct. Many of you have had these experiences, while others have not, and yet, until you do, you never truly know what is real and what isn’t. Who your real friends are, who is going to show up when you’re down, answer your call when everything is broken, or show up to the hospital when you’re sick or unconscious. Today, we were going to talk about what that looks like. When you lose everything, and you’ve surrounded yourself with people who aren’t really in it for you, people that leave you undelivered in your darkest moments. But better than that, we’re going to talk about redemption. How you can rise from the ashes and thrive again.
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Community Matters; Investing in People For Personal Wealth
Personalize Your Hiring Process and Nail a First Impression
Modernizing Your Online Skills Assessments with AI, Machine Learning, and Psychometrics
Improve Employee Performance with Technology: Setting Goals, Measurement, and Analysis
Diversity and Inclusion Wins; Building Diverse Teams to Fuel Growth
Social Media Detox; Don’t Let Burnout Creep into Your Marketing Game
The Power of Systemizing Business Processes, Turn Your Business Chaos into Profit
How to Use Self-awareness to Understand What You Truly Want as A Leader and Build A Winning Culture.
Humanizing the Sales Process through Video Engagement
The Importance of Financial Literacy: Navigating ETFs, Real Estate, and Cryptocurrency
Do What You Love: Pursuing Space Travel, Startups, and the Metaverse
Simplifying the Hiring Process in the Midst of the Great Resignation
CrossFit & Entrepreneurship: Finding Success Through Hard Work, Discipline, & Failure
Whether in athletics or business, things like risk, maximizing talent, and understanding your strengths and weaknesses are pivotal for growth. How do lessons learned from athletics translate to real-world business decisions? In this episode, our host Troy Vermillion sits down with Jacob Heppner, a 5x CrossFit Games athlete and entrepreneur, to discuss the value of taking risks, why personal brand matters, and how embracing change and challenge is a key factor to success in all areas – whether on the competition floor or in the office. Watch Now ->
Building a Winning Company Culture: Keys to Talent Acquisition, Inclusion, & Finding Purpose in Work
The power dynamic in the job hiring process has seen a shift as the supply of qualified candidates is not keeping up with demand. What can organizations be doing to differentiate themselves and truly entice and engage talent? On the flip side, what questions should candidates be asking to find the best fit? In this episode, our host Troy Vermillion sits down with Anessa Fike, a thought leader in HR and talent acquisition and the CEO & founder of Fike & Co. We will discuss what it looks like to create a ready and welcoming company culture, what it actually means to invest in diversity, inclusion, belonging, and equity, and navigating the disconnects between generations in the workplace. Watch Now ->
Zone of Genius: Leveraging Your Strengths and & Finding Your Niche to Succeed in a Remote Work World
As we navigate into the post-pandemic world, one thing is for sure – remote work is here to stay. Do you want to work for or build a business based in flexibility, travel, and leveraging your strengths? In this episode our host Troy Vermillion sits down with Yaro Starak, an entrepreneur, blogger, podcast host, and world traveler, to discuss the zone of genius, what it means to be a digital nomad, and how to select the right business model to reach your goals. Watch Now ->
AI, Data Analytics, & Automation: Making Sense of The New Financial World
With the advancements in data analytics and machine learning, the world of finance is undergoing digital transformation. What will the future of data look like, and what effect will it have for you and your organization? In Episode 8 of the Eight Hour Grind, our host Troy Vermillion sits down with Glenn Hopper, an author, and CFO, to discuss how the sharing of data leads to the crowdsourcing of ideas, how effectively using data to forecast leads to better organizational decisions, and the importance of finding a work-life balance.
Capitalize on Your Personal Brand: Job Hunting and Hiring Strategies That Actually Work
The skills needed to perform a job and the skills needed to obtain that same job are often very different. What should employers and job hunters be asking about and looking for in the “game” we call the job interview process?
In Episode 7 of the Eight Hour Grind, Jeff Altman, podcast host, and career coach sits down with our host, Troy Vermillion, to discuss the evolution of the job hiring process, a better way to hire, and how to “cut the line” by capitalizing on your personal brand. Watch Now ->
Virtual Leadership: Developing Your Team in a Remote Workforce
The workforce landscape is shifting, and so is the response from leadership. From the Great Resignation to remote work, how should leaders embrace this new environment, and what do those they lead need from them to be enabled to succeed?
In this episode, we talk with Gary DePaul, an author, leadership expert, and podcast host, about what it looks like to lead in today’s context from a place of openness and compassion, putting the team first allowing for creativity and innovation to thrive. Watch Now ->
Conversational Intelligence and Body Language: Building Trust Through Communication
The key to success in life and business is to become skilled at Conversational Intelligence. It’s not about how smart you are, but how open you are to learn new and effective powerful conversational rituals that prime the brain for trust, partnership, and mutual success. On this episode we will talk with Elaine Jacques, a speech pathologist for over 16 years — lip reading just happens to be one of her special skills — about how to achieve Conversational Intelligence and why body language plays an important role in communication. Watch Now ->
HR Is Not the Devil: Breaking Down HR Stigmas
Some may view HR as the “fun police” by not allowing certain activities or being rigid with protocol. However, modern HR is changing and striving to build a workplace that challenges, rewards, and motivates employees. On this episode we will talk with Traci Rubin, an HR leader who has helped pilot global HR teams in the retail industry and has made it her mission to destigmatize all the myths we believe about HR. Join us this week as we discuss breaking down HR stigmas and ending the false perceptions that surround it. Watch Now ->
12 Trends Business Leaders of Today Must Understand
From AI to biotechnology, aging to addiction, cybersecurity to privacy, and climate change to trust, we can use these topics to help business leaders better understand what trends are emerging, how they are positioned to disrupt companies and industries, and how new value can be created for those willing to make the necessary changes. On this episode we will talk with Don MacPherson, a five-time social entrepreneur who researches the employee and customer experiences, the attributes of great leadership, and how healthy organizational cultures are created and sustained to help leaders successfully navigate the way we live and work. Watch Now ->
The Future of Work is Human: Building Human-Centric Workplaces and Better Culture Leaders
How can we create a human-centric workplace? With the next workforce generation emerging and the now accustomed remote environment, many factors are changing in the workplace. On this episode we will talk with Angela Howard, an organizational psychologist, company culture strategist, and social entrepreneur about what it means to be a culture architect, help grow the next generation of leaders, and shape the human experience to improve the future of work. Watch Now ->
No degree? No problem. Landing Your Dream Job Without Attending College.
Host Troy Vermillion sits down with Jonaed Iqbal the founder of NoDegree, who’s passion is helping exceptional talent without college degrees land careers. As the employment landscape shifts, companies are beginning to hire for skills and abilities—not degrees. This week we’ll talk about breaking down barriers of the hiring bias, how to build your personal brand, successfully marketing yourself, and confidently land your dream job. Watch Now ->
A Different Kind of Podcast? Introducing: The Eight Hour Grind
Meet Troy and Bart, two people who love to talk about everything involving work. This is a new weekly podcast showcasing leading influencers, HR professionals, corporate leaders, and other guests who can give us some insight on our daily eight hour grind. Join Troy and Bart every Tuesday at 12pm EST.
Want to be on the podcast? Email us at EightHourGrind@PeopleStrategy.com

Troy Vermillion
Over the last decade, I’ve helped hundreds of organizations and thousands of employees in multiple industries; to improve topline revenue, increase productivity, all while saving precious time and money by outsourcing and improving their HR, Technology, and Benefits needs.
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