This is the playbook. Welcome to Entrepreneurs the playbook we have hijacks the next stage podcast here in Toronto at the biggest

Web tech event collision and I have an extraordinary guest with my co-host Joe Tollsman. We have Amy Bernstein here. Welcome to the playbook Amy.

Thank you for having me David. I've been very excited about having you for two reasons. One Harvard Business Review has been a great source for me of information. Oh glad to hear that. True information. Yes.

Which I used to not have to put that before we talked about information and number two my daughter just graduated and was a journalism major. So she actually wanted to get into media and journalism as it is today.

But doing research on you I always love to see the journey the journey of the journalist and there's so many varieties of journalists so for you I'd like to start there. When you were my daughter's age in college what was it that you really wanted to do or thought that you wanted to do in your career.

Well when I was your daughter's age and graduated from college what I wanted to do was teach Latin and Greek in high school. So that's where all journalists start right. That's wonderful and my mother.

I have a quick question. Yes. So how what was your essay if you don't mind me asking I got to know. Are you going to ask me my English the English one because if Latin was your gig it had to be a high score.

Yeah it was like it was well it was like 670 or 690 isn't that ridiculous that I still remember. Well I remember mine because I have the lowest of all my my siblings all once that I really is including Harvard my brother got a 1580 and he protested the one question that he missed.

Yeah and he then appealed it I guess and then he took it again and he missed to so I said that serves you right. Yeah that's karma. Yeah and when I took it no one remember you would buy I think you and I are maybe close to this.

I'm a little older but yes. But you did there was no tutoring you bought that big book book which you then never opened right. Thank you.

And there were only two tests I think there's three or more now. Yeah I've and then through COVID I have three daughters that are in that age range and then one son who's younger and then they don't even make you take it anymore.

Oh right. Right. So now it's become a whole other story but so you know everybody starts on my I wanted to be a professional football player and then a doctor then a doctor then a lawyer and I actually went to law school graduated to get into technology.

Yeah. So I'm a big fan of an open mind in an open heart when it comes to careers. Right. How did that open mind that you had an open heart lead you to journalism.

Well you know I when I was your daughter's age everyone wanted to know where do you want to be in five years and my answer was I have no clue where I want to be in five years other than you know as I said teaching Latin and Greek at the high school level.

I was going to go off to graduate school and my mother who is an advertising executive begged me to put it off for a year just try working and when I graduated the first job I got there was 10% unemployment in my cohort it was 1982 took me forever to find a job and the first job I got was as a clipper a job that does not even exist anymore.

Right. Newspaper clipper for the CBS news election unit and I fell in love there I was you know in the middle of election coverage it was a it was a midterm election so it was Senate and governor and House races not a presidential.

But I just because of the job I immersed myself in the political scene and could not get enough of it and that that was it I never looked back I love it and Joe you came from Croatia so I don't think you knew English.

I could say hello and I could smile so that was that was my beginning here and as a very successful entrepreneur here in Canada.

Where did your first job start and what do you think you wanted to be so I always wanted to be the boss I wanted to get things done I wanted to solve problems so that's what it takes like gotta be the boss to make it happen so when I came to Canada I couldn't speak a word of English and I figured I need the opportunity to be interacting with people so I got a job at the very point and yeah that helped me a lot.

What do you do at Dairy Queen? I was selling ice cream but I started with flipping burgers so that was that was easier that was less stressful than selling ice cream at the till.

Yeah and when you got to the till was a challenge yeah yeah I was sweating it was it was really overwhelming I love it because especially kids coming from college in my clean my own kids they see where we are today.

You hold one of the highest positions at Harvard Business Review as an executive director and I'm sure there's some 21 year old right now thinking well you know maybe I should just start there.

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