Coffey Talk

Your Past Is the Fire: Shirley Grimes on Resilience, Motherhood, and the Ripple Effect with Shirley Grimes

Episode Description: Shirley Grimes describes herself simply as a mom just trying to make it - but that description doesn't begin to cover the ground she's covered. In this Mother's Day episode of Coffey Talk, Shirley shares a story that starts in a car, winds through a psychology degree, a grief-fueled cross-country drive, and an accidental entry into the Business Central world through an order-entry job at a golf company in Panama City Beach. What Shirley didn't expect was to find a career she loves, a community that embraces her, and a platform to do what she was always wired to do: give others the same small but life-changing investment that her aunt once gave her. Kate and Shirley talk about the invisible weight of conference mom guilt, raising daughters to lead with faith over fear, letting go of a plan when something better is waiting, and why the tech community might be exactly the right place to change the trajectory of kids aging out of foster care. This one will stay with you. Takeaways: 1. Your background doesn't set the ceiling — it can be the very thing that propels you forward. 2. The people who shaped us most often had no idea the magnitude of what they were doing. 3. Mom guilt around professional growth is real, valid, and worth naming out loud. 4. Faith over fear isn't a platitude — it's a daily decision, especially when life forces a pivot. 5. The tech community has a unique and largely untapped opportunity to mentor and reach foster youth. 👉🏻Contact information for Shirley Grimes LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/shirley-grimes-90818214b/ Thanks for tuning in to Coffey Talk with Kate Coffey-Bacon! Real people. Real stories. Conversations that stir something in your soul. ☕ Subscribe and join the Coffey Talk community. 💬 Follow @_CoffeyTalk on Instagram for daily inspiration and behind-the-scenes stories. 🎧 New episodes every Monday at 8 AM ET. 👉 Visit us at CoffeyTalkPodcast.com

Lead with Empathy, Adapt with Purpose with Jenn Rinfret

Jenn Rinfret has lived a lot of lives. She was a runway model in Milan at 17, a single mom rebuilding from scratch, a survivor of a serious car accident, and the founder of a business that helped seniors navigate technology with dignity. Today she is the Commercial Lead for Americas at Seer 365 in the Microsoft channel — and through every chapter, empathy has been her north star. In this episode, Jenn and Kate dig into what it really means to lead with empathy in leadership and in life, the difference between a gamble and a calculated risk, and why the seniors Jenn worked with taught her more about showing up for people than any leadership course ever could. This is a conversation about resilience, reinvention, and what keeps you going when life just keeps coming. Key Takeaways: 1. Stepping outside your comfort zone is where the best things begin — the discomfort is the point, not the problem. 2. Empathy is not a soft skill. It is a leadership strategy, and it shows up in how you take the time to understand the why behind someone's behavior before reacting. 3. There is a difference between a gamble and a calculated risk. Knowing the difference changes how you make decisions and how you move forward. 4. The seniors Jenn worked with — spies, war survivors, people carrying extraordinary stories — are a reminder that wisdom is everywhere if you slow down enough to notice it. 5. Reinvention is not a one-time event. It is something you choose over and over again, and it gets a little easier every time you do it. 👉🏻Contact information for Jenn Renfret https://www.linkedin.com/in/jennrinfret/ Thanks for tuning in to Coffey Talk with Kate Coffey-Bacon! Real people. Real stories. Conversations that stir something in your soul. ☕ Subscribe and join the Coffey Talk community. 💬 Follow @_CoffeyTalk on Instagram for daily inspiration and behind-the-scenes stories. 🎧 New episodes every Monday at 8 AM ET. 👉 Visit us at CoffeyTalkPodcast.com

Winning in Today's Marketplace: How to Stay in the Room with Kevin Armstrong

Kevin Armstrong has spent decades at the intersection of technology and growth, and in this episode of Coffey Talk, he pulls back the curtain on what it actually takes to win in today's marketplace. From his early days at Xerox to scaling companies, leading transformations, and now driving AI strategy at FinListics, Kevin shares the principles that have kept him in the room through every market shift the last 30 years has thrown at him. This is a conversation about curiosity, preparation, perspective, and what it means to show up as both a competitor and a good human. If you're navigating change, building your career, or just trying to figure out your next move, this one's for you. Key Takeaways 1. Curiosity is a strategy, not a personality trait. The people who keep asking questions are the ones who stay relevant. 2. Preparation is the differentiator nobody talks about enough. The practice-to-performance ratio in sales is broken, and it's costing people deals. 3. Know thyself. Your value equation is unique to you, and the sooner you understand what you bring to the table, the sooner you can own it. 4. Tell them something they don't already know. That's how you build a perspective worth having in the room. 5. Time kills all deals, and that goes well beyond sales. Responsiveness is a discipline that compounds over a career. 👉🏻Contact information for Kevin Armstrong LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/armstrongkevin/ [https://www.linkedin.com/in/armstrongkevin/] Episode Referenced: The Currency of Life: Understanding Time ~ with Brad Prendergast and Kate Coffey-Bacon https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-currency-of-life-understanding-time-with/id1835167771?i=1000738109865 Thanks for tuning in to Coffey Talk with Kate Coffey-Bacon! Real people. Real stories. Conversations that stir something in your soul. ☕ Subscribe and join the Coffey Talk community. 💬 Follow @_CoffeyTalk on Instagram for daily inspiration and behind-the-scenes stories. 🎧 New episodes every Monday at 8 AM ET. 👉 Visit us at CoffeyTalkPodcast.com

Shut Her Down, Clancy: Kim Dallefeld on Grit, Community, and a Career That Never Stopped Moving

Kim Dallefeld has spent nearly three decades in the Microsoft Dynamics NAV and Business Central ecosystem, and her story is anything but a straight line. From accidentally triggering a debugging message at Ford Motor Company to leading a ten-country ERP implementation, building Dallefeld Consulting from the ground up, and eventually selling it to Centre Technologies, Kim has lived through just about every chapter this industry has to offer. In this conversation, Kim and Kate dig into what it really takes to build a career worth remembering: listening before solving, showing up honestly, leaning into community, and never being afraid to ask for help. Kim is an MVP, MCT, NAVUG All-Star, and NAVUG Legend, and she still believes the best credential you can carry is your reputation. Key Takeaways: * Listening is the most underrated consulting skill. Kim learned early that the best thing you can do before offering a solution is to actually hear what someone needs. * Community gives you what certification never can. The relationships formed in the NAVUG community shaped Kim's career in ways no credential ever could. * You get back as much as you put in, and sometimes way more. Showing up to serve, not to grab, is what builds lasting trust and opens unexpected doors. * Knowing when to let go is its own kind of leadership. Kim's decision to sell Dallefeld Consulting came from self-awareness, not defeat, and that distinction matters. * Be yourself and do what you say you're going to do. Simple advice that still holds up after 30 years in the field. 👉🏻Contact information for Kim Dallefeld LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kim-dallefeld/ Thanks for tuning in to Coffey Talk with Kate Coffey-Bacon! Real people. Real stories. Conversations that stir something in your soul. ☕ Subscribe and join the Coffey Talk community. 💬 Follow @_CoffeyTalk on Instagram for daily inspiration and behind-the-scenes stories. 🎧 New episodes every Monday at 8 AM ET. 👉 Visit us at CoffeyTalkPodcast.com

Purpose Doesn’t Arrive All at Once ~ Sam Bush

Summary Purpose doesn’t usually arrive as a clear plan. It reveals itself over time through mentors, misalignment, and the moments that quietly energize us. In this episode of Coffey Talk, Kate sits down with Sam Bush to talk about how purpose actually shows up in a career. From early mentorship to seasons that didn’t feel right, Sam shares how teaching, speaking, and guiding others became the throughline of her work. This conversation explores what it looks like to recognize purpose, trust it, and begin living it even before you have it fully figured out. Key Takeaways * Purpose often reveals itself through patterns, not plans * Misalignment can be one of the clearest signals that something needs to change * Mentorship plays a critical role in helping us see what we can’t yet see in ourselves * The work that energizes you is often pointing toward your purpose * You don’t have to have it all figured out to start moving toward it 👉🏻Contact information for Sam Bush LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/samanthabushoh/ Ambush on Air: https://www.ambushonair.com/ Ambush on Air on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/40sb0D8YRlj6q7nHyHm02w Thanks for tuning in to Coffey Talk with Kate Coffey-Bacon! Real people. Real stories. Conversations that stir something in your soul. ☕ Subscribe and join the Coffey Talk community. 💬 Follow @_CoffeyTalk on Instagram for daily inspiration and behind-the-scenes stories. 🎧 New episodes every Monday at 8 AM ET. 👉 Visit us at CoffeyTalkPodcast.com