Not Finished Yet

Mark Kennedy
  • 5.0 (1)
  • Careers

Not Finished Yet is a documentary-style podcast sharing powerful stories of people who reinvented their lives, careers, and businesses after 40. Each episode explores the moment everything changed — the redundancy, the risk, the decision to walk away, or the realisation that life needed a new direction. Through honest conversations and storytelling, we uncover how ordinary people built extraordinary second chapters. This is not about starting from scratch. It’s about starting again with experience, Personal Growth, Reinventing yourself and career change You're Not Finished Yet

  1. 20 hr ago

    Stop trying to be the cleverest person in the room | Leadership, Ego & the Power of Listening

    Does being the boss mean you have to be the smartest person in the room? And could your ego be holding back your team, your business and your own success?In this solo episode of Not Finished Yet, Mark Kennedy draws on more than 35 years of experience in business, management and leadership to explore one of the biggest challenges facing managers, business owners, directors and CEOs: the need to always be right.We've all encountered leaders who believe their job title makes them the most knowledgeable person in the room. They dominate meetings, dismiss challenges, take credit for other people's ideas and surround themselves with people who agree with them.But does confidence equal competence? And what happens when employees become too frightened to tell the boss the truth?Mark reflects on his own leadership journey, from being a young manager determined to prove himself to becoming an experienced business leader who recognises that the best people in your organisation should know things you don't.Because leadership isn't about proving how clever you are. It's about creating an environment where other people can succeed.In this episode, Mark explores:• Confidence vs competence: Why the loudest person in the room isn't necessarily the most capable.• Leadership and ego: How the need to be right can damage decision-making and business performance.• The danger of yes-men: Why surrounding yourself with people who always agree can be disastrous.• Hiring people smarter than you: Why strong leaders aren't threatened by talented employees.• Giving credit where it's due: Why taking recognition for your team's achievements destroys trust.• Experience vs arrogance: Why 35 years in business doesn't automatically make yesterday's solutions right for tomorrow.• Creating a culture of honesty: Why employees stop telling management the truth — and the consequences for a business.• Listening without losing authority: How to consider different opinions while still making difficult decisions.• Admitting you're wrong: Why changing your mind can demonstrate strength rather than weakness.• Developing future leaders: Why your success should be measured by the people you help develop.The uncomfortable question every leader should askAre you more interested in being right, or getting the right result?Mark challenges the traditional view of leadership and explores why some of the most valuable knowledge in a business comes from people on the shop floor, dealing with customers or managing everyday operations — not necessarily those sitting around the boardroom table.He also examines how leadership must evolve as responsibilities grow, and why the manager you were at 25 shouldn't necessarily be the leader you are at 55.The Not Finished Yet TestAs with previous solo episodes, Mark finishes with seven questions every manager, business owner and CEO should ask themselves, including:When was the last time somebody genuinely changed my mind?Who in my organisation feels comfortable telling me I'm wrong?Am I employing people who are better than me?And am I more interested in being right than achieving the right outcome?Whether you're stepping into your first management position, leading a growing business, managing a larger team or operating at C-suite level, this episode offers practical leadership lessons, personal reflections and some uncomfortable truths about management.Because the higher you climb, the less important it becomes to prove how clever you are — and the more important it becomes to recognise the abilities of the people around you.After 35 years in business, Mark is still learning, still challenging his own thinking and still discovering that experience doesn't mean having all the answers.And that's why we're Not Finished Yet.#Leadership #LeadershipDevelopment #Management #BusinessLeadership #LeadershipSkills #BusinessOwners #CEO #EmotionalIntelligence #ManagementMistakes #NotFinishedYet

  2. 5 Oct

    The Mistakes I Made Building Businesses

    What are the biggest mistakes business owners make — and what do you only learn after years of running businesses?In this episode of Not Finished Yet, Mark Kennedy looks back on more than 35 years in business to talk about the mistakes, decisions and lessons that have shaped the way he builds and runs businesses today.This isn't a story about getting everything right. It's about what happens when you get things wrong — hiring the wrong person, keeping someone too long, chasing turnover instead of profit, underpricing to win work, taking on the wrong customers, trying to do everything yourself and continuing with decisions long after the evidence tells you they aren't working.Mark explores 10 common business mistakes, including:• Confusing turnover with profit, cash and genuine business success• Believing every customer is a good customer• Underpricing just to win the work• Hiring people because you're desperate rather than because they're right• Keeping the wrong person in the wrong role for too long• Becoming the bottleneck in your own business• Failing to properly understand your financial numbers• Building a business around individuals instead of strong processes• Throwing more money at decisions because you've already invested too much to stop• Assuming a bigger business automatically means a better businessBut there's a bigger question running through the episode:When does a bad decision actually become a mistake?Mark argues that some of the most expensive mistakes in business aren't the original decisions that turn out to be wrong. They're the moments when you know something isn't working and carry on anyway — because of pride, ego, loyalty, fear, sunk cost or simply because changing direction is uncomfortable.The episode also tackles one of the hardest questions for any entrepreneur or business owner:Have you built a business — or have you simply built yourself a very demanding job?If everything depends on you, every decision comes through you and the company can't function when you're away, what have you really built?Mark finishes with the Not Finished Yet Test: seven questions for business owners and leaders to answer honestly about their customers, people, profitability, decisions, systems and their own role in the company.Whether you're starting a business, growing a company, running an established SME, leading someone else's business or considering becoming an entrepreneur, this is a practical and personal look at the lessons that rarely appear in a business plan.Because 35 years of experience doesn't mean you stop making mistakes.Hopefully, it means you stop making the same ones.Not Finished Yet with Mark Kennedy — real conversations about business, leadership, management, experience, reinvention and what comes next.#Leadership #BusinessOwners #Entrepreneurship #BusinessLessons #NotFinishedYet

  3. 28 Sept

    Nobody Teaches You How to Be a Manager — Even When You've Been Doing It for Years

    Congratulations. You've got the job.Maybe it's your first management role.Maybe you've just been given a bigger team or more responsibility.Maybe you've started your own business and suddenly realised that employing people means becoming a manager as well as an entrepreneur.Or perhaps you've stepped into a senior leadership, director or C-suite role where the decisions are bigger, the consequences are greater and the people around you expect something different from you.Whatever the reason, there's a problem.Nobody really teaches you how to manage people.We often promote people because they're good at what they do. They're technically strong, commercially successful, experienced or ambitious.Then one day we give them responsibility for other people and expect them to know how to lead.But the skills that got you the job aren't necessarily the skills you need once you're in it.In this solo episode of Not Finished Yet, Mark Kennedy draws on more than 35 years of experience in business, management and leadership to explore what really happens when your level of responsibility changes.Because this isn't just a conversation for first-time managers.It's for anyone who's reached that point where doing the job yourself is no longer the job.Mark explores the mistakes managers and leaders make at every level: refusing to let go, becoming the bottleneck, believing your way is the only way, avoiding difficult conversations, confusing being busy with actually leading and feeling that, because you're now the boss, you're supposed to have all the answers.The episode explores:• Making the transition from doing to leading• Stepping into your first management position• Taking on a bigger management or leadership role• Becoming a business owner and employing people• Moving into senior management, director or C-suite leadership• Why being great at your old job doesn't automatically make you a great manager• Delegating without losing accountability• Why experienced managers can still become bottlenecks• Managing people who think and work differently from you• Having difficult conversations before problems become bigger• Creating people who make decisions rather than constantly asking permission• Why saying "I don't know" can make you a stronger leader• Building trust and accountability• Creating a culture where people are prepared to tell you the truth• Understanding that leadership changes as your responsibilities growAnd perhaps the biggest lesson of all:Every time you move up, your job changes.What made you successful as an employee may not make you successful as a manager.What made you successful managing five people may not work when you're managing fifty.And what made you a successful manager may not be what you need when you become a business owner, director or CEO.Mark finishes with the Not Finished Yet Test — five uncomfortable questions for anyone responsible for other people, including:What is it actually like to be managed by me?Whether you've just been promoted, started employing people, taken responsibility for a larger team or stepped into the C-suite, management isn't something you master once and then forget about.You have to keep learning.Because the higher you go, the less your success is about what you can do — and the more it becomes about what you enable other people to do.You're not finished yet.#managertips #managertips #managment

  4. 21 Sept

    Career capital score with Mark Kennedy

    Mark Kennedy talks about reinvention, Career Capital and why reaching a crossroads in your career doesn’t mean starting again.In this solo episode of Not Finished Yet, Mark explores what happens when work or life unexpectedly changes — redundancy, technology and AI, changing industries, age, health, loss of confidence, or simply reaching the point where the career you built no longer feels right.Mark looks at the doubts that often come with change and asks an important question: if your job title disappeared tomorrow, what knowledge, judgement, skills, relationships and experience would you still have?The episode explores Career Capital — the value accumulated through years of solving problems, making decisions, leading people, building relationships, making mistakes and learning from them.Rather than asking “What job can I get next?”, Mark explains why a better question may be:“What have I spent the last 20 or 30 years learning, and where could that experience create value now?”Mark also discusses the messy middle of reinvention, rebuilding confidence, testing new ideas, portfolio careers, consulting, entrepreneurship and why clarity often comes through action rather than waiting until you have everything worked out.You’re not starting again. You’re starting from experience.Because whatever has changed, you’re Not Finished Yet.Topics include: Career Capital Score™ | Career Reinvention | Midlife Career Change | Life After 40 | Confidence | Transferable Skills | AI and the Future of Work | Starting Again | Career Change | Experience | Purpose | Your Next Chapter#NotFinishedYet #CareerCapital #CareerCapitalScore #Reinvention #CareerReinvention #CareerChange #MidlifeCareerChange #LifeAfter40 #FutureOfWork #TransferableSkills #ExperienceMatters #CareerConfidence #PersonalDevelopment #SecondAct #NextChapter #AIAndWork #Purpose #StartingAgain #Podcast #MarkKennedy

  5. 14 Sept

    Best of Not Finished Yet – Episodes 7–9

    we bring together some of the strongest moments from three very different conversations about reinvention, entrepreneurship, resilience, business growth and finding a new direction later in life.🎙️ Dan Whiting shares his journey from a successful career in recruitment and the corporate world into cricket writing, commentary and media. It’s a conversation about the tension between security and fulfilment, following a passion later in life, and recognising that changing direction doesn't mean everything you've done before was wasted.🎙️ Roy Coughlan has founded more than 20 companies across five countries, launched six podcasts and recorded more than 1,500 episodes. His extraordinary story includes transforming himself from extremely shy into an accomplished public speaker — and rebuilding after losing his home, possessions and facing a personal liability of $5 million.🎙️ Wes Towers, founder of Uplift 360, brings more than 20 years of experience building a digital agency and helping real-world businesses grow. Wes talks about the lessons learned from building a company from scratch, standing out in an AI-driven world, using SEO effectively and why authenticity and human connection matter more than ever.Three guests. Three completely different journeys. One common theme: your experience still has value, your direction can change, and you're Not Finished Yet.If you're over 40 and thinking about a career change, starting a business, reinventing yourself, turning a passion into something more, or simply questioning what comes next, this Best Of episode is for you.Not Finished Yet — Reinventing work and life after 40.Subscribe for conversations with people who have changed direction, rebuilt, taken risks and discovered that the next chapter can sometimes be the most interesting one.#NotFinishedYet #Reinvention #CareerChange #LifeAfter40 #MidlifeCareerChange #Entrepreneurship #BusinessGrowth #SecondCareer #PersonalDevelopment #CareerReinvention #Over40 #Podcast

  6. 7 Sept

    Best Moments from Episodes 4–6 | Not Finished Yet Podcast

    As Not Finished Yet takes a short holiday break, we’re looking back at some of the best moments from Episodes 4–6 — three conversations about careers, purpose, direction and what happens when you realise it might be time for something different.In this Best Of episode, Scott Maderer explores the difference between simply working and actually living your calling. After almost 30 years in education, Scott changed direction and built a coaching business focused on helping people align their time, talent and treasures with what really matters to them.Julia Toothacre challenges the traditional idea that if you work hard, follow the rules and climb the ladder, your career will somehow take care of itself. She explains why professionals need to take ownership of their careers, understand what they actually want and make deliberate decisions rather than waiting for permission to change. Julia also shares her own experiences of burnout, toxic leadership and major personal events that changed the way she thought about her future.And Dr. Cynthia Bentzen-Mercer introduces a powerful idea: successful people don't always fail — sometimes they simply drift. With more than 30 years of leadership experience, she explains how even high performers can gradually lose direction and why regularly questioning where you're heading can stop you living your life on autopilot. We also explore her 7-Minute Pivot™, designed to turn thinking into intentional action.Three guests. Three different perspectives. One recurring message: your career, circumstances or past decisions don't have to determine what happens next.These are some of our favourite moments from Episodes 4, 5 and 6 of Not Finished Yet.We'll be back with brand-new conversations after the holiday break. Until then, catch up on the episodes you may have missed and subscribe so you don't miss what's coming next.Because whatever stage of life or career you're at — you're Not Finished Yet.#NotFinishedYet #BestOfPodcast #CareerChange #CareerReinvention #Midlife #Over50 #SecondAct #CareerAdvice #Purpose #Leadership #PersonalDevelopment #Reinvention #Podcast

  7. 31 Aug

    Most watched clips episodes 1-3

    Catch some of the most powerful, thought-provoking and memorable moments from the first three guest episodes of Not Finished Yet — conversations about reinvention, career change, identity, success and proving that your next chapter can be your most important one yet.Across these episodes, our guests share very different journeys, but they all confront the same question: what happens when the life or career that got you here no longer fits where you want to go next?We hear from Sherman Mohr, who faced 82 job rejections at 52 before recognising the reality of being aged out of traditional employment and turning his experience into a new entrepreneurial future. His story challenges the idea that experience loses value with age — and explores how people over 50 can turn what they know into opportunity and income.Kate Kayaian takes us from a successful career as a professional concert cellist into coaching, writing and leadership. She explores why even achieving the career you once dreamed about can leave you questioning what comes next — and why the answer may be evolution rather than throwing everything away and starting again.And Nandita Mahadevan shares her extraordinary midlife transformation: leaving a C-suite career, navigating divorce and perimenopause, and ultimately building a new purpose helping women reclaim the second half of their lives. Her story is about moving beyond achievement, expectations and fear to discover what you actually want from life.These are some of the most watched moments from Episodes 1–3— honest conversations about getting older, changing direction, redefining success and having the courage to build something new.**Not Finished Yet** is the podcast for people who know that experience isn't something to leave behind — it's something to build your next chapter on.Subscribe for more conversations with entrepreneurs, leaders, experts and ordinary people doing extraordinary things with the next stage of their lives.#NotFinishedYet #Reinvention #CareerChange #Midlife #Over50 #SecondAct #Entrepreneurship #CareerReinvention #PersonalGrowth #Leadership #Podcast #Success #LifeAfter50 #MidlifeReinvention

  8. 24 Aug

    AI Isn't the End of Your Career - Amir Muradali

    AI Isn't the End of Your Career – It's the End of the Career Strategy You've Been UsingWhat happens when the career strategy that made you successful suddenly stops working?In this episode of Not Finished Yet, Mark Kennedy talks with Amir Muradali, founder of The Transformed Career Experience and author of Elevate, about the growing challenge facing accomplished professionals in their 40s and 50s who have decades of experience but suddenly find themselves struggling to get noticed in a rapidly changing job market.Why are experienced professionals being passed over for roles they're perfectly capable of doing? Why are CV rewrites, LinkedIn optimisation and traditional job-search strategies often failing? And how is AI changing what companies actually value?Amir explains the hidden trust crisis in recruitment, why experience and qualifications alone are no longer enough, and how professionals can move from simply demonstrating what they can do to becoming people leaders trust with what really matters.Mark and Amir also explore the psychological side of career reinvention: losing the professional identity you've spent decades building, dealing with rejection, recognising the value hidden inside your experience and understanding why changing direction doesn't necessarily mean starting again.They discuss:• Why accomplished professionals are becoming invisible in today's job market• The career strategies that no longer work• The hidden trust crisis facing hiring leaders• How AI is changing professional value• Why experience alone isn't enough• The difference between career change and identity change• How professionals in their 40s and 50s can reposition themselves• Why reinvention doesn't mean starting from scratch• The human skills likely to become more valuable in an AI-driven workplace• What it really means to say: I'm Not Finished YetIf you've built a successful career but are starting to wonder what comes next, this conversation could change the way you think about your experience, your value and the next chapter of your working life.Keywords: career change, career reinvention, midlife career change, AI and jobs, future of work, careers over 40, careers over 50, executive job search, professional reinvention, leadership careers, job market 2026, career coaching, artificial intelligence jobs, mid-career professionals, career transition, future careers, Amir Muradali, Elevate, Not Finished Yet podcast

See All (30)

About

Not Finished Yet is a documentary-style podcast sharing powerful stories of people who reinvented their lives, careers, and businesses after 40. Each episode explores the moment everything changed — the redundancy, the risk, the decision to walk away, or the realisation that life needed a new direction. Through honest conversations and storytelling, we uncover how ordinary people built extraordinary second chapters. This is not about starting from scratch. It’s about starting again with experience, Personal Growth, Reinventing yourself and career change You're Not Finished Yet

Information

  • Creator
    Mark Kennedy
  • Years Active
    2026
  • Episodes
    30
  • Rating
    Explicit
  • Copyright
    © Mark Kennedy
  • Show Website
    Not Finished Yet