Welcome to Episode 396 of What’s Your “And”? Follow-Up Friday edition. This is John Garrett, and each Friday I follow up with a guest who had been on the show a few years ago to hear what’s new with their passions outside of work, and also hear how this message might have impacted them since we last talked.

I’m so excited. My book is out. You can order it on Amazon, Indigo, barnesandnoble.com, a few other websites. Check out whatsyourand.com for more. If you want to hear this voice read the book to you, that’s right, the audio version, it’s out on Audible. So wherever you get your audio books, it’s out now. So thank you so much to everyone who’s read it so far and been kind enough to leave those Amazon reviews and for just changing the cultures where you work because of it. It really means a lot.

So please don’t forget to hit Subscribe to the podcast, so you don’t miss any of the future episodes. I love sharing such interesting stories each and every week. This Follow-Up Friday is no different with my guest, Rachel Fisch. That’s right. She’s the Chief Global Development Officer at High Rock Accounting and the former host of the Green Apple Slices with me as her little co-host. And now she’s with me here today.

Rachel, thanks so much for taking time to be with me on What’s Your “And”?

Rachel: Thanks so much, John. I’m so happy to be here. Thanks for reaching out.

John: Oh, absolutely. No, I’m excited to have you back. I’m sure that everyone’s like, “What? They had a friends reunion? Now John and Rachel doing a podcast? The pandemic is over.”

Rachel: Yeah. You know that or all your new listeners are like, “Rachel who? Who is this person that John is so excited to talk to you right now?”

John: Well, you got two years of episodes to go back and listen to.

Rachel: Oh, gosh, no kidding. Yeah.

John: Yeah. But I have some rapid-fire questions that I never asked you, and I probably should have.

Rachel: That’s right, because you weren’t really doing that way back then.

John: I didn’t do my due diligence at all.

Rachel: You did not.

John: Well, that’s clearly why I’m not a CPA anymore. But here we go. If you had to choose, Harry Potter or Game of Thrones?

Rachel: Harry Potter. I’ve never seen any Game of Thrones, so that makes it easy.

John: Yeah, I me neither. How about a hamburger or a pizza?

Rachel: Pizza.

John: Pizza. Yeah, it’s so good, like really good pizza. Yeah, yeah.

Rachel: Yes. So like a good burger beats bad pizz. Don’t get me wrong. But generally speaking, pizza.

John: Totally. Books, audio version, Kindle, or real book?

Rachel: Real book where possible.

John: Okay. All right.

Rachel: I’ve got bookshelves. So we bought a bunch of bookshelves and now I’m like, but we just use Kindle. So now, I guess, we’re back to buying books.

John: Right. Make it look good. How about your first concert?

Rachel: I’m sure it was — oh, gosh! Like at Canada’s Wonderland and they would have summer concert series. I’ve probably — yeah, anyway, back then. But it was like when you’re a kid, but nothing really notable. Oh, that sounds terrible.

John: No, it’s all good. I mean, when you’re a kid, I mean, who knows who it was type of thing.

Rachel: Apparently not me. Yeah.

John: Maybe it’s Barenaked Ladies before they were Barenaked Ladies.

Rachel: Yes. So anyway, I mean, anybody from Southern Ontario knew Barenaked Ladies before anybody else knew Barenaked Ladies. I mean, if you ask anybody about the yellow tape, they know exactly what you’re talking about, because they basically handmade tapes.

John: Like a cassette tape?

Rachel: Yes, like a cassette tape with this construction paper yellow cover thing that you would fold. Oh, yeah, no, if you ask anybody my age-ish and kind of who grew up in that area, then, yeah, they know exactly what you’re talking about. And then, of course, their debut album was just redos of these songs that we already knew. So all the Toronto kids were like, “Boo!” for all these before. Everyone was discovering it for the first time.

Anyway, I actually saw them. The most recent was, I think, a year — sorry, it’s like the pandemic hasn’t happened, so a year ago is actually like three years ago. But it was like they were playing Nathan Phillips Square in downtown Toronto for Canada Day. And so that was super fun to see them. So my kids got to see them too.

John: Very cool. Very cool. How about a favorite TV show, something you’d binge watch of all time?

Rachel: Favorite TV show of all time. See, here’s the challenge. Yes, my sister — sorry, my daughter is sitting right here because it’s also a show that I watched with my sisters and, of course, friends, child of the mid-’90s. However, when watching some of these shows with your children, you realized maybe how not well they’ve aged for various reasons.

John: And then you haven’t hit pause and explained things, like, oh, this is weird.

Rachel: Or try to quickly change the topic.

John: Right, exactly.

Rachel: Or have to have a conversation later. So that’s not acceptable now. That’s not how we talk about people. Yeah.

John: That’s interesting. How about — we got two more — more shower or bath?

Rachel: Shower. I’m too impatient for a bath.

John: Right. Just chill out, right?

Rachel: Yeah. Oh no, I do find that I get my best thinking time done in the shower. So I’ll have a shower like in the middle of the day, and like it’s a total break. It often kind of clears out a mind block, which, of course, you can do that now because you’re not at the office. Don’t try that at the office.

John: These are all “don’t try at the office” things.

Rachel: Yes.

John: And the last one, toilet paper, roll over or under?

Rachel: So over, but see, all of these rapid-fire questions are turning out to be not so rapid. She did a science experiment back in elementary school when she did a whole thing on toilet paper. And you use less toilet paper if you roll it under, scientifically speaking. So I feel like under is the ecological option, but yeah, no, it’s over.

John: It’s over. Weirdos.

Rachel: I just wanted to share the scientific fact of the toilet paper.

John: Right. That’s an interesting point. Sometimes people’s cats, they’re worried that the cats are going to spin it all out. That happens too.

Rachel: Yeah. We have two cats now. We got them last year. So yes, we are kind of victims of the pandemic pet. Anyway, and so we now have two cats. They have not yet figured out the toilet paper trick. So that’s awesome.

John: Well, don’t let them listen to this episode and then everything is safe.

Rachel: I will not. I will not. I will protect their ears.

John: Things that don’t age well, podcast with John Garrett. So you’re on Episode 59. That was like so early on. I mean, I still have no idea what I’m doing, but I really didn’t then.

Rachel: Really didn’t. Yeah. And then, of course, we probably gave props to Lisa at the time, but her crazy idea was to take these apple slices, and we did that for a couple of years. Years, literally years of my life, John, years.

John: Right, gone. But all the knowledge we dropped and articles that we would share and talk about. But before that, it was the singing, which was a big piece of your life.

Rachel: Oh, right, yeah.

John: So are you still walking around the house singing random songs or in the car singing along? You are clearly taking the kids to concerts, so it’s got to be a thing.

Rachel: Yes. I think my favorite thing is, because I have this really ridiculous memory that memorizes ridiculous things and not actually important thing, so I probably have whole conversations in song lyrics. So my kids have caught on to that. My 14-year-old, she’s now 14. I mean, I’m sure that she was like a baby when we started the podcast. Yes, so she sings a lot around the house. However, she does so with her headphones on. There is a special kind of ambience that creates when a person who is singing cannot at all hear themselves and what —

John: They think they sound like the actual singer, and they’re not even close.

Rachel: Not really. She’s now standing in front of me, and I’m getting some stink eye.

John: Right. But it’s all right. She should know. This is actually more of an intervention for her than it is an actual podcast episode. She has made an appearance on the podcast.

Rachel: She has. I mean, we’ve talked about her certainly. But, yeah, no, she definitely has — and, oh, I didn’t even tell you. She actually picked up your book this week and started reading through and was reading — but she read the cover, so I think that counts.

John: I think that counts.

Rachel: Yeah, she’s fond of reading it, and she read some words off the cover. So we’ll see how the rest of it goes.

John: I’ve seen it in college kids. I’ve talked to college students before, but I haven’t gone below that. So maybe this is an experimental, or maybe it’ll help her singing. I’m not sure. It can’t make it worse. It can’t make it worse. Well, that’s awesome. But do you find that people are sharing their ands more, whether it’s social media or at work or talking amongst co-workers even in the Zoom calls and what have you?

Rachel: So yes, and I think that that is kind of the silver lining of some of us working at home pandemic stuff because you see their kids running and you see their pets jumping up onto their desks, but also you see kind of their space, the space that they live in and what they’re surrounded by and what casual looks like to them. Anyway, various styles. But, yeah, I feel like there’s an authenticity, and I think you get to know people. So I get that they’re not in person and that you’re missing that piece of it, but I think that there are elements of that person that you actually don’t otherwise get to see.

John: Yeah. To me, it’s cooler. It’s richer.

Rachel: There’s an element of it. Yeah.

John: Or fascination, I guess, maybe. I mean, sure, on a few times, it backfires and you’re like, “Oh, I probably didn’t need to know that.” But 99% of the time, it’s awesome. It’s mostly awesome.

Rachel: It is mostly awesome. I agree.

John: Yeah. No, that’s awesome. So I know you’ve had a cool career where you had your own business, and you were with big companies, huge companies, and then now back with a smaller business. Do you have any words of encouragement to anyone listening that has an and and they feel like no one cares, or it has nothing to do with my job?

Rachel: Oh, man, see, don’t make me think. I wasn’t supposed to have to think on this.

John: It’s more of like words for yourself. Like really, you know, don’t forget how important the and is and why it matters.

Rachel: I think that if you are feeling disconnected, it’s a really great way to feel more connected because I think that that’s also been a bit of an issue is people don’t feel as connected. So yes, I get that there’s the technology part, and there’s the actual physical not being present part. But those are then the ways that we connect is with the human side of us.

So yeah, I really love Liz Mason, who, of course you had on the show. She is now my boss. She is the CEO of High Rock Accounting. And so we happen to get along famously and work really well together. But like one of the things that she said about High Rock Accounting itself is that we’re human centric, but we’re digital first. And so making sure to really consciously and intentionally ensure that people are still the backbone of the company regardless the technology that we’re adopting and the innovation and the things that we’re creating.

John: That’s awesome. Of course, I know when you say people, it’s not just their technical skills and the work that they’re doing. It’s all of who they are as people.

Rachel: Yes, for sure.

John: Yeah, just for the listeners that maybe are putting it together. That’s awesome. That’s just great words of advice, and I agree totally. The silver lining to all this is seeing the other dimensions to the people that we talk to all the time. It makes it better.

So before I wrap this up, though, I figured it’s only fair that I — I so rudely pepper you with questions at the beginning, so I can turn the tables and allow you. The first episode of the flat-out Rachel Fisch Podcast. Not any of this Green Apple Slices with a co-host thing. So whatever you got, I’m all yours. Rapid-fire questions. I’m also extremely nervous. So here we go. I know all the power.

Rachel: Right, because you usually do all the talking when we do a podcast. So this is my chance to get some questions in.

John: For reference, someone go listen to a Green Apple Slices episode and…

Rachel: I mean, sure, that would be great. So if your life was a movie, who would play you? Who would you want to play you?

John: That’s crazy. Wow. So Tom Cavanaugh is Canadian, actually.

Rachel: That’s right, he is.

John: He was on the show Ed. When I was younger, people thought I looked like him, sort of, and he’s not terrible-looking, so that’d be neat. I mean, we’d, of course, I felt like dye his hair white or something, but…

Rachel: Yeah. So he’s not terrible-looking. I used to have a complete crush on him. So now I feel like I need to kind of wipe those feelings.

John: All right, this got weird.

Rachel: Yeah, a little bit. However, it’s making it better is that he is on Flash. He’s in Flash. He’s probably like a CW, right? So he’s on Flash now, taped in Vancouver, of course. There’s just a quality about TV, you can kind of tell it’s Canadian. That’s definitely one of them. But I actually think he’s quite terrible. So also feeling like, I’m not really sure where to go with that. So what are we saying? Tom Cavanaugh, fresh off Ed. Is that what we’re saying?

John: Well, I mean, that’s if I had my druthers, but it would probably just end up being me playing myself, so it would just be me because that’s all we have for budget, really.

Rachel: Right.

John: So it’s the Canadian version of not even CW.

Rachel: That’s like CBCE, like pre-Degrassi. And all of the Canadian people hopefully are the only ones who I know know what I’m talking about. Okay, who’s your favorite superhero and why?

John: So I’m not like huge on that stuff, but I just go old school classic. I think Spider-Man is my favorite because he’s very unassuming and no one would expect for Peter Parker to be this superhero person. He doesn’t really kill anybody. He just ties them up and then lets the cops come get them.

Rachel: Right. So again, my teenager who loves Tom Holland, totally agrees with you. Okay, cool.

John: All right.

Rachel: Last question. What is the worst haircut you’ve ever had? And then is there a story around the worst haircut you’ve ever had?

John: Well, it probably would have been, yeah, probably like the late ’80s, probably ’89-ish, like seventh grade, eighth grade. We lived overseas in the Azores. So you had to go to the base for the haircut. So it wasn’t quite a mullet, but it was definitely longer in the back than it should be. But it was also kind of a spiky, because I skateboarded some and whatever and moose coming out. And so it was bad. It was bad. And I wore glasses. So yeah, it was like sixth grade. That was definitely sixth grade because I broke my glasses probably four or five times a year. And then finally, we got contacts like early, early on. They were brand new experimental type of things almost. But I actually saved money to buy contacts.

Rachel: Instead of you breaking your glasses all the time.

John: Yeah. So yeah, it was pretty awesome. So that ruined all the Tom Cavanaugh parallels. Share that picture on a throwback Thursday.

Rachel: I was just going to say, here’s your challenge now, John. Find a picture of you with that haircut and post it somewhere.

John: All right. And then, I mean, it’s going to blow up. It’s going to be amazing. It’s going to —

Rachel: I mean, you will finally experience the joy of social media and with all that it was intended to be.

John: Oh, yeah, that’s true. That’s an excellent point. I guess I’ll have to log in then. Dang it! It’s been so much fun having you back, Rachel, and having you be a part of this. And so thank you so much for taking time to be a part of What’s Your “And”?

Rachel: For sure, anytime.

John: If you want to see some pictures of Rachel outside of work or connect with her on social media, she’s even on Clubhouse, go hang out there, be sure to go to whatsyourand.com. All the links are there. While you’re on the page, please click that big button, do the anonymous research survey about corporate culture.

So thanks again for subscribing on iTunes or whatever app you use and for sharing this with your friends so they get the message that we’re all trying to spread, that who you are is so much more than what you do.