June 16, 2018 – John J. Higgins and Barb Adams, Week in Review | Ken Goldstein, From Nothing | Dr. Carole Kanchier, Ph.D. (Rebroadcast), Questers Dare to Change Your Job and Life

Hour (1) – John J. Higgins and Barb Adams, Week In Review

Join Barb and John as they discuss some of the top stories from the past week, offering their own insights and opinions on the state of the State.

Hour (2) – Ken Goldstein, From Nothing

Joining the show during the second hour is author and adviser to start-ups and established corporations in technology, entertainment, media, and e-commerce, Ken Goldstein. Ken will be discussing his newly-released book, From Nothing: A Novel of Technology, Bar Music, and Redemption.

According to Ken Goldstein, “Good people can be corrupted under stealth compliance when they prioritize the essence of survival over the illusive ideal of needing to thrive. We all do it. We have to do it. There are hidden crossroads in our lives we can only see in hindsight. We have to choose at the fork in the road with the clock ticking, but we seldom see there is a real choice until after we have chosen. That’s when fate throws a party and the booze is bad.”

Ken wanted “…to explore the full magilla of a Tyson-like knockout. You know, Iron Mike’s saying, ‘Everyone has a plan until they get punched in the mouth.’ When you’re lying on the mat looking up at the referee counting you out in a fog, how do you come back? How do you fight a different way?”

“It all circles back to creative destruction. We are dying to be reborn. It’s nearly impossible to figure out how until crisis strikes like a demon tornado on the bountiful plains. If you peak too early, you can fall pretty far, pretty fast, and never find the net below the trapeze. When your dreams die, what do you do next?,” asks Goldstein.

Thus came the premise for Ken’s latest book, From Nothing. As Ken states, “It started with the notion of the soundtrack of our lives—to be fully confessional, the soundtrack of my life. Ken believes music carries us through the bad times and

encodes the good times. Each of us has a unique soundtrack depending on our years alive, but most of them overlap. I wanted to build a story sitting atop that premise, and that became the conflicted tale of Victor Selo, a onetime cover band guitarist become corporate refugee become cover band artist anew with remarkably higher stakes. Music both holds him together and tears him apart. His flight from the big bucks technology arena is meant to be an escape, where songs of the classic rock generation guide along the plot like a jukebox musical, but his personal history looms forever large. He trades one stage for another, large to small to ascending, not better, mostly different, equally pernicious.”

Ken Goldstein advises start-ups and established corporations in technology, entertainment, media, and e-commerce. He currently serves as board chair at ThriftBooks Global, the worldwide market leader in online sales of used books. In addition, Ken also serves as Board Chair and is a frequent contributor at The Good Men Project, an expansive digital content site offering perspectives on social issues in the 21st century. He publishes the business blog CorporateIntel and speaks often on the topics of innovation and creativity. Ken’s first book, This Is Rage: A Novel of Silicon Valley and Other Madness, was published by The Story Plant in 2013. It was a Barnes and Noble Online bestseller, and a stage adaptation is in development. His second book, Endless Encores: Repeating Success Through People, Products, and Profits, was published by The Story Plant in 2015. His third book, From Nothing: A Novel of Technology, Bar Music, and Redemption, will be published by The Story Plant in 2018 and is due out in June 2018.

Ken served as Chief Executive Officer and Chairman of the Board of SHOP.COM, an integrated marketplace developing creative new experiences for online consumer commerce through the convenience of OneCart®, its patented universal shopping cart. SHOP.COM was acquired by Market America, where Ken became a strategic advisor to the company’s founders and senior management. He previously served as Executive Vice President and Managing Director of Disney Online, the business unit of the Walt Disney Internet Group that produced the leading entertainment web destination for kids and families. Key achievements at Disney developed by his teams included launch of the first massively multiplayer online game for kids, Toontown, as well as FamilyFun.com, Movies.com, and the broadband service, Disney Connection.

Prior to Disney, Ken was Vice President of entertainment at Broderbund Software and Founding General Manager of the company’s Red Orb Entertainment division. Before the formation of Red Orb, he was responsible for all aspects of development on Broderbund’s acclaimed Carmen Sandiego series. He also worked as a designer/producer at Philips Interactive Media and Cinemaware Corporation, and for several years as a screenwriter and television executive.

Ken and his wife, Shelley, who teaches English as a Second Language, make their home in Southern California, where Ken is active in children’s welfare issues and local government. He has served on the boards of Hathaway-Sycamores Child and Family Services, the Make-A-Wish Foundation of Greater Los Angeles, and Full Circle Programs. He received his Bachelor of Arts degree from Yale University.

For more information, please visit Ken’s LinkedIn Profile.

Hour (3) – Dr. Carole Kanchier, Ph.D. (REBROADCAST), Questers Dare to Change Your Job and Life (Original Air Date June 13, 2015)

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