May 6, 2024. TKO Episode 1 with Cedric Williams, Author ot "It Get's Better From Here.
Melissa Marquais, Founder of The Kindness Objective, speaks with Cedric Williams. Williams discussed his book and his personal experiences with bullying in various contexts, including school, work, and within his community. Throughout the conversation, themes of empathy and understanding emerged as Williams highlighted the transformative power of kindness in combating bullying and fostering a more compassionate society.
May 9, 2024. TKO Episode 2 with guest Whitney Johnson Cowell.
The Kindness Objective Founder, Melissa Marquais speaks with Whitney Johnson Cowell about the origins of "The Kindness Objective" and the driving force behind its creation. Throughout our discussion, we explored the future trajectory of the organization, its impact on individuals, the prevalent issue of toxic coaching in children's sports, and the importance of kindness, respect and empathy.
May 17, 2024 TKO Episode 3 with guest Jonathan Fink - Director of Corporate Partnerships -Goodwill
Join Melissa Marquais, TKO's Founder, and Jonathan Fink, Goodwill's Corporate Partnerships Director, as they reveal Goodwill's transformative work. Beyond thrift stores, Goodwill supports ex-inmates, transitioning veterans, and families. Through partnerships, it provides training and jobs for brighter futures. Their discussion also touches on toxic workplaces and bereavement policies, highlighting kindness in fostering supportive cultures and options for those who find themselves in a toxic workplace.
May 20, 2024 TKO Episode 4 with guest Jason Jacobson - Kidness through disability inclusion
May 30, 2024 TKO Episode 5 Special With The Founders Son, Caleb!
May 31, 2024 TKO Episode 6 with Eric Mariasis.
Jasons 12-year-old son became disabled after a tragic accident in 2015. We talked about kindness through disability inclusion, and getting comfortable talking about disabilities in our day to day conversations, in order to foster understanding, kindness and acceptance.
We also discussed teaching kids about disabilities in school to normalize our human differences, and what Mayor Joe Pitts is doing in the City of Clarksville, TN to ensure that the community is accessible for all people, to enjoy their community and have equal opportunities to participate, with support and dignity!
A special episode with The Founder of TKO and her 10 year old son Caleb, who shares a heartfelt story about a new kid in school who was bullied terribly, how he stepped in to help and how it hurt him to see another child in pain. This is an episode you don't want to miss!
TKO Founder, Melissa Marquais, speaks with Eric Mariasis. Now a successful software engineer and computer science tutor, Eric faced bullying in school that was so bad, his 'friends' even created and dedicated an entire Facebook page to making fun of him. Eric focused on his education, which brought promise for a fulfilling future, and building his self-confidence, so as not to fall into a dark place. We speak about his experience in the workplace and how he put a stop to someone trying to humiliate him in a group of his colleagues, the importance of standing up for yourself, and making sure that those who choose to be in your company are there for the right reasons.
June 1st, 2024 TKO Episode 7 with Horatio - Bullied for being Autistic
TKO Founder, Melissa Marquais speaks with an incredibly kind young man, Horatio, who shares his story about being bullied in middle and high school, for being Autistic. He even missed an entire year of school after someone tried to shove his head in a school bathroom toilet.
June 5th, 2024 TKO Episode 8 with Employee Advocate, Dan Goodman.
June 7th, 2024 TKO Episode 9 with Joseph Galeas
Melissa Marquais speaks with Employee Advocate, Dan Goodman about toxicity in the workplace, the reality of what a severance offer really is, and why and how you should negotiate it. The conversation takes a deeper dive into discrimination in the workplace against women, non competes, the PIP designed to make employees quit, and how to protect yourself. This was a GREAT discussion and anyone watching can learn a TON from this episode. There is a link in the comments to the full episode.
TKO Founder, Melissa Marquais speaks with Joseph Galeas, Chief Operating Officer at Nutritional Coaching Institute, about how sometimes you have to break the rules a bit to foster a healthy, collaborative, positive work culture. His leadership style sets him apart from most, as he genuinely wants to know his teammates, both professionally and personally. Joseph talks about how poor leadership kills morale, creativity and joy at work, while showing compassion and caring for your team, creates magic in the workplace.
June 10th, 2024 TKO Episode 10 with Nicole Harrop
June 11, 2024 TKO Episode 11 with Sam Teusch
Melissa Marquais speaks with Nicole Harrop about how she is training our future leaders to lead with kindness, compassion and empathy. We discuss the importance of recognizing that you don't know the details of someone's life and your perception may not be accurate, so it's important that we look at all perspectives, which leads to understanding and acceptance. Diving further, we speak about discrimination against females in the workplace, sexual harassment at work, and how to move into a leadership role when your leadership is intimidated by your intelligence, and so much more! The discussion also includes the importance of instilling these qualities in our children and setting a positive example, to help combat bullying and cruelty in our schools and communities.
Melissa Marquais spoke with Sam Teusch, who's 10 year old son, Sammy Teusch died by suicide on May 5th, 2024, after relentless bullying at school and on the bus. The things he shared with me were infuriating and will blow your mind. The school did nothing to help his son. Bullies took pictures of Sammy's body at the service and sent it to friends. What planet am I on? You won't believe what the Bully's mother did but you really won't believe that no charges have been pressed against ANY of these people.
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June 28th, 2024 TKO Episode 12 with Scott Mulligan, Psychotherapist
Scott Mulligan, who is a Psychotherapist and Mobile Crisis Response Clinician joined me on The Kindness Objective podcast. Scott has assessed hundreds of children who have been bullied to the point of suicidal and homicidal ideation. This discussion dispels the notion that bullying is not related to youth suicide and homicide. How do we protect our children in school? The discussion highlights the empathetic way to approach a bully and the fact that most bullies also need mental health intervention. Why aren't schools doing more to protect our children and how can TKO The Kindness Objectives unique workshops help reduce bullying incidents and improve education?
TKO Episode 13 with Will Yarbrough The Power of Kindness in Workplace Culture
What motivated Will Yarbrough to develop the exceptional workplace culture that myself and hundreds of others experienced at Fleetio. The answer really surprised me!
In this video, I talk with Will about the power of kindness, and how leading with compassion changes lives, improves teams, and makes companies more successful. Will explains how a kind work environment can make employees happier, work harder, and avoid burnout.
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Watch to see how being kind is the catalyst to building a great workplace!
TKO Special Edition | Clip From Randys Ringside with Randy Gordon.
Randy Gordon (former Chairman of the New York State Athletic Commission, former Editor-in-Chief of Ring Magazine, Boxing TV analyst, author, and Sirius radio talk show host) shares his thoughts on supporting TKO The Kindness Objective in the fight against bullying. He opens up about his own experiences - being a bully himself in high school. Randy reflects on the apology he made 55 years later, highlighting the importance of taking responsibility and growing from our mistakes. With a relatable and honest approach, he discusses how we can all help create a kinder world.