Fearless Creative Leadership: Recent Episodes

Charles Day

We talk to leaders of the world’s most disruptive companies about how they are jumping into the fire, crossing the chasm and blowing up the status quo. Leaders who’ve mastered the art of turning the impossible into the profitable.

What's the ‘this’ in your business?

Neil Waller is the Co-Founder and Co-CEO of Whalar Group. They're a global creator company. Whalar have done as much as anyone, and more than most, to catalyze the creator economy. And as you'll hear, it was inspired by a conversation with and an unforgettable provocation from Sir John Hegarty. But behind their success lies a characteristic that I find is often underappreciated and therefore in short supply, among most creative leaders. Commitment.

I've mentioned before on this podcast that we've developed a diagnostic tool that can tell, is your company deliberately unlocking creativity or just hoping that it shows up? One of the gaps that shows up over and over again is a leader's commitment to the company's goals.

Companies and leaders say one thing and then often do another. But when you find leaders that are truly committed to building a business that delivers world class creative thinking and answers, then how fast they can do that suddenly becomes an incredibly valuable conversation

To create is to learn. And the faster we can do both, the better your business and the world becomes.

So what's the ‘this’ in your business? And how committed are you to making it happen?

Jill Cress is the Chief Marketing and Experience Officer for H&R Block.

She also serves on the board of the AdCouncil, and she's been recognized on Forbes’ list of the World's 50 Most Influential CMOs.

Before H&R Block, Jill spent 20 years at MasterCard. Now, a leader who spends most of their professional life working in financial institutions could easily build their success around the study of data, but the foundations of Jill's leadership are based on the most valuable investments of all.

Delivering results has always been table stakes when you're stepping into a leadership position, and money will and should sit squarely on that table as one essential definition of success.

But enduring financial success is a consequence of your willingness to take your eyes off the financial prize and fix them squarely on your most valuable assets:

The people that work for you. And what matters to them are two things.

First, that they matter. And second, that what they're doing makes a difference.

During our conversation, I talked to Jill about the creativity diagnostic tool that we've developed. It measures when leaders are creating the conditions that maximize the creativity of their people.

One of the critical insights that shows up time and time again is that the very best leaders are fully invested in creating a culture that ensures that everyone feels seen and heard and respected. Now, this investment carries personal risk, because it can make you as the leader feel vulnerable, and it is time consuming. But the ROI is through the roof.

So what are you investing in?

When do you stop and take a breath?

If you've listened to Luther Vandross or Tina Turner, or Sting, or Chaka Khan, or Teddy Pendergrass, or Roberta Flack, then you've heard Lisa Fischer sing. If you went to a Rolling Stones concert between 1989 and 2015, you saw Lisa as the band's lead female singer join Mick Jagger on stage.

If you've seen her in person, as I've been fortunate to have done so twice, or if you've seen her on YouTube, take over the stage from Tina Turner during It’s Only Rock and Roll, or the clips of her on stage with Mick Jagger, you already understand the extraordinary talent that she is linked to. Both of those are in the show notes.

And if you've watched 20 Feet from Stardom, then you already know that Lisa is one of the greatest background singers that the world has ever heard. For most of us, those 20 feet might as well be the length of a trip to Mars. For Lisa, who won a Grammy in 1991 and then decided not to take center stage, those 20 feet were a choice. A choice that brings her joy.

Lisa is a rare spirit who's had enormous influence and impact. If you see her perform, you're left with a belief that she has a direct connection with your soul. In those moments, she is alive in ways that stretch our understanding of what the word means.

Leadership at its heart is the ability to unlock the potential of others, to make them feel more connected. The very best leaders do that by helping us to understand ourselves better, by helping us feel what we had never felt before.

Lisa is proof that you don't have to stand center stage to do that. You just have to be honest with yourself about where you get your energy from, and then let that energy flow.

Do you welcome the sounds of silence?

Shu Hung is the Global Chief Creative Officer of AKQA. In a complicated world, Shu has learned that knowing who you are is the foundation on which leadership success is built.

Please come as you are. There is such profound truth in that request, and such enormous challenge. We spend so much of our lives wondering if we measure up, if we're doing things the right way, if we have approval from the right people. And the energy that's required in all of that self doubt is not just exhausting, but it denies us access to the instincts, the consciousness, the confidence that creativity thrives on.

Life is a journey that at the end will only be judged by the one person that matters, you. And the sooner we discover who we are, the sooner we can discover what we're capable of.

Please come as you are. Words to live by.

What should we expect from you?

Nicole Parlapiano is the Chief Marketing Officer at Tubi. When she arrived two and a half years ago, Tubi was an eight year old business that had no brand recognition. Today, with the help of their ad agency, Mischief, the streaming service has 97 million active monthly users, up from 20 million in 2019.

Leading a challenger brand works best when you're willing to move fast and break things. And if you want the people that work for you to act with the same confidence, then they have to know who you are.

Reaching a senior leadership position takes a wide range of skills and talent. It requires managing down and up, reacting and adapting. And in the process, we learn a lot about ourselves and when we're at our best. That's information that will be helpful to others.

And yet, for many reasons, I think, most leaders don't share it.

So, take a moment, and write down three things that you expect of the people that work for you. Then write down three things that they can expect from you.

Tomorrow morning, share them.

You'll be surprised, I think, at the confidence it gives them, and you.

Sir Andrew Strauss is the former Captain of the England cricket team which he led to become the number one team in the world for the first time in England's history. He then became England's Director of Cricket and he's recognized as the architect of the country's first ever one day World Cup victory.

In 2019, he was knighted by Queen Elizabeth II for his services to charity, sport, and cricket.

Being captain of a cricket team requires the same skills needed to run a business. Amplified.

Managing world class talent while your work is being broadcast, and your success and failures, both personal and collective, are being recorded, analyzed and critiqued in real time, requires a range of rare skills and temperament.

Unlocking the potential of others while taking responsibility for the outcome is at the heart of the attributes required for the job.

Andrew and I met in London a few days ago, and as you'll hear, our conversation covered a lot of ground, both professional and the deeply personal.

From his achievements to the loss of his wife.

By the time Andrew Strauss turned 33, he'd achieved what every cricket fan in England grows up dreaming of. Captaining your country to victory in Australia. In my lifetime, it has only happened three times.

Seven years later, he lost his wife to cancer.

Most of us do not achieve so much so young. Nor lose so much so early.

For Andrew, the combination has encouraged him to ask questions of himself earlier in his life than most people do.

Unlocking creativity in others means building trust with those around us. They want to know who we are and what matters to us.

Fulfilling our own potential means answering those same questions. And in my experience, that happens when we ask ourselves this. What else do I want to know about myself?

Most leaders strive for success relentlessly, head down, and only later do we take stock of the choices we've made.

How will you judge if you've lived a good life or not? What else do you want to know about yourself?

Who do you trust?

Jim Stengel is the former CMO of P&G, and he's now a hugely successful author, speaker, coach, consultant, and advisor. He's also the host of the brilliant CMO Podcast.

In our conversation, Jim and I started to lay the framework for how we think that leadership is going to have to evolve as the confidence in most institutions, including government, continues to deteriorate.

Being creative on demand is perhaps one of the hardest things that we ask any human being to do. Because every act of creativity requires an emotional leap by its creator.

That's why the best creative thinking usually comes when you have confidence in yourself and trust in the environment around you.

Now, it's impossible for any of us to predict with any certainty what the next four years are going to look like. What's reasonable to expect is that they will not be “normal.” So in these circumstances, it's very likely that some of the people around you are going to feel a lot less safe than they have before. As leaders, creating an environment that people can trust, regardless of what's going on in the world, will be more critical than ever before. And that starts with giving people reasons to trust you.

Establishing trust is a simple equation. Say what you mean, then do what you say, and do it consistently.

So what do you stand for? And what will you stand for when the chips are down, and the pressure is on? Why should people trust you?

Get that right, and I promise you, you'll change your corner of the world for everyone around you.

Welcome to the first episode of 2025. A year that promises to be unlike any other on so many levels.

This episode is designed as a provocation, an inspiration, and a roadmap for the leaders of businesses, for whom unlocking creative thinking is critical.

Over the last four weeks, I've talked to 12 exceptional leaders from a diverse set of experiences and perspectives. I've asked them how the best leaders will lead in 2025. From those conversations, I've identified the three leadership practices that will be critical to leaders of creative businesses this year.

What does your company reject?

Karl Lieberman is the Global Chief Creative Officer of Wieden + Kennedy. Wieden is a reference point among creative companies in many industries. For almost 45 years, they'd been impacting culture and driving business for their clients by unlocking the creativity of their people. .

Creating the kind of environment in which people feel safe to put all their ideas on the table is the easiest thing to aspire to. And the hardest thing to do, in my experience.

It means giving people a voice. It means being open, genuinely open to another way of looking at the world. And to the possibility that being criticized is much more desirable than being ignored.

These criteria are at best challenging for most leaders to accept. Control and predict are much more natural. But predictability and conformity are creative kryptonite.

To unlock creativity and unleash its power to maximum effect, you have to be willing to break the norms, to encourage the irrational and sometimes even the absurd.

You have to reject predictability for possibility.

And when you're yelled at, because no one has ever done it like that before, you have to be willing to shrug.

You'll hear all that and more in my conversation with Karl.

What are you willing to compromise?

Lina Polimeni is the Chief Corporate Brand Officer at Eli Lilly and Company. This is a business whose work is often the difference between life and death, where they are trying to cure cancer, and where the outcome is very personal.

In the middle of that reality, your own leadership journey is fueled by a lot of food for thought.

No one can lead effectively without compromise.

But what we choose to compromise has a huge part to play in whether we’re successful.

If what we end up sacrificing is a pathway to discovering that we are already enough… If what we end up sacrificing is a road to realizing that the best version of who we are can help others become the best version of themselves…

If that is what we are compromising, then the cost of that will be the realization that we behaved as others wanted us to. And when they are a part of our past, remembered or forgotten, what we will be left with is a journey that is not the one we started out on. A destination that is not where we wanted to go. And a dream that is always around the corner.

We can be what others want, or we can be who we want to be. We always have that choice.

Edited highlights of our full length conversation.

What are you willing to compromise?

Lina Polimeni is the Chief Corporate Brand Officer at Eli Lilly and Company. This is a business whose work is often the difference between life and death, where they are trying to cure cancer, and where the outcome is very personal.

In the middle of that reality, your own leadership journey is fueled by a lot of food for thought.

No one can lead effectively without compromise.

But what we choose to compromise has a huge part to play in whether we’re successful.

If what we end up sacrificing is a pathway to discovering that we are already enough… If what we end up sacrificing is a road to realizing that the best version of who we are can help others become the best version of themselves…

If that is what we are compromising, then the cost of that will be the realization that we behaved as others wanted us to. And when they are a part of our past, remembered or forgotten, what we will be left with is a journey that is not the one we started out on. A destination that is not where we wanted to go. And a dream that is always around the corner.

We can be what others want, or we can be who we want to be. We always have that choice.

Are you centered?

Kerry Sulkowicz is the Past-President of the American Psychoanalytic Association, and the Founder and Managing Principal of Boswell Group. They provide leadership advice to boards and CEOs.

Kerry and I have been friends for a long time, and he has taught me much about the psychodynamic aspects of leadership. Whenever we talk, his advice strikes me as clear and straightforward, and always very human.

Being centered doesn’t happen through accident, chance, or hope. It happens by intent.

And that intent is driven by recognizing two obvious truths.

Leadership is lonely.

And leadership is stressful. Much, much more so than many are willing to admit publicly.

The old-world view is that leadership demands that you project strength, certainty, invincibility. Even in the face of threats that can feel like they are existential - because these days, for many businesses, they might be.

If some days that means you feel like you’re a leader in a fight for survival, well, that’s not surprising. Because that’s exactly how your brain responds to that set of circumstances.

And under that kind of stress, the part of your brain that’s responsible for executive function, for risk assessment, and problem-solving, and for planning, suddenly starts to develop tunnel vision. And at the same time, our amygdala kicks in and suddenly survival gets added to the emotional maelstrom, and then finally comes the impulse to hurry up and do something. Anything.

Being centered is the shelter in that storm. It’s held up by a strong sense of self, by awareness and honesty about how you respond under stress, and it’s helped by having a clear and multi-faceted definition of success.

Those foundations, when combined with a willingness to take a little time to turn down the short term noise, and dilute the adrenaline fueled feelings of urgency, will give you the ability to lean on yourself and think things through.

Leadership is sometimes about taking action and it is sometimes not.

But it is always about being centered.

So, how well do you know yourself?

What is your pain for?

Taban Shoresh is the Founder of The Lotus Flower, a UK-based charity that supports women and girls that have been displaced by conflict, and helps them to build sustainable futures. Since 2016, the charity's projects have impacted more than 60,000 women, girls, and community members.

Every now and then, you meet someone whose story stops you in your tracks. Taban’s story starts with her being arrested in Iraq at the age of four. Three weeks later, she's ordered onto a bus that will take her to the place where she and other members of her family will be buried alive.

At the end of 2021, before Russia invaded the Ukraine or the war in Gaza, the number of forcibly displaced people worldwide stood at 89.3 million. There were 27.1 million refugees globally, half of whom were aged under 18, which makes Taban's story one of millions and completely unique.

She has experienced staggering trauma, she has known realities that I'm sure I would not have survived, and she has taken all of that pain and turned it into creative leadership of the most consequential kind. As you'll hear, for reasons both global and personal, she's in a hurry.

All of us have suffered pain. What we use it for is a question that will stay with me for a long time after this conversation.

Edited highlights of our full length conversation.

What is your pain for?

Taban Shoresh is the Founder of The Lotus Flower, a UK-based charity that supports women and girls that have been displaced by conflict, and helps them to build sustainable futures. Since 2016, the charity's projects have impacted more than 60,000 women, girls, and community members.

Every now and then, you meet someone whose story stops you in your tracks. Taban’s story starts with her being arrested in Iraq at the age of four. Three weeks later, she's ordered onto a bus that will take her to the place where she and other members of her family will be buried alive.

At the end of 2021, before Russia invaded the Ukraine or the war in Gaza, the number of forcibly displaced people worldwide stood at 89.3 million. There were 27.1 million refugees globally, half of whom were aged under 18, which makes Taban's story one of millions and completely unique.

She has experienced staggering trauma, she has known realities that I'm sure I would not have survived, and she has taken all of that pain and turned it into creative leadership of the most consequential kind. As you'll hear, for reasons both global and personal, she's in a hurry.

All of us have suffered pain. What we use it for is a question that will stay with me for a long time after this conversation.

Is it good?

Heather Freeland is the Chief Brand Officer at Adobe, a business that, as Heather describes, is undergoing significant change to prepare itself for the future to come, and the one that is already here.

In a company long known for providing powerful tools to creative people, the advent of Generative AI is both a threat and an opportunity. How human beings maintain our relevance sits at the very heart of that tension.

Is that good?

In the quest to become leaders that make a difference, there are many powerful questions to ask ourselves.

What do I want to find out about myself?

What is success?

Both of these are intensely personal, and can be answered, albeit with some serious and honest reflection, from within.

But, “Is that good?” usually stretches us out into the world. We are inclined to ask, through what lens? Against what criteria? Measured by what result? Based on whose experience?

But at the end of that journey of data collection, consultation, and analysis, the answer to, “Is that good?” is still waiting for someone to decide.

Michelangelo, when asked how he had created such perfection from a piece of rock said, “I simply removed everything that wasn’t the David.”

If human beings are to create a dividing line that AI can not cross, the question, “Is that good?” may be the beating heart on which that barrier depends.

“Is that good?” is heavy lifting. It requires clarity and confidence.

Muscles we should probably start building today.

Why are you doing what you’re doing?

Gabriel Schmitt has just celebrated his one year anniversary as the Global CCO of Grey.

Grey’s proposition is that they have been coming up with famously effective ideas since 1917.

Gabriel is somewhat younger than that, but over his career, has learned one of the most important leadership lessons that I think often gets overlooked.

The importance of context.

A few years ago, I wrote an article for Fast Company called The Four Weapons of Exceptional Creative Leaders.

I got some pushback on using the word “weapons” in the context of creativity. My response was that if you’ve ever done battle with the status quo, then you already know that you need to bring some serious weapons to that fight.

Context is the beginning and the end of the leadership journey. Without it, you have no ability to answer critical questions, like where are we on our journey? How much further do we have to go?

Context is the reason why you are trying to make that wild idea.

It is why you hire that person.

It is why you invest in that technology.

It is why you make that decision.

It is why you come up with the answer.

It is why people follow you.

And without it… everything else is just a guess.

So why are you doing what you’re doing?

And are you sure?

How well do you know yourself?

Lisa Smith is the Global Executive Creative Director at JKR.

Fast Company have called her a visionary designer, citing in particular her work for Burger King, the Victoria & Albert Museum in London, Chobani and the Metropolitan Museum of Art. They described her work as unique because “it has consistently changed the visual landscape, disrupted popular aesthetics, and started trends of its own.”

When you meet Lisa, her energy is infectious. As you’ll hear in our conversation, she wants to make a difference.

She also knows herself well enough to have learned that her energy sometimes needs an adapter.

We are driven by instincts, starting with the genetic code that we must survive.

Against that context, self awareness comes second and is usually filtered and diluted by other impulses.

The ability to stand back and accurately reflect on the impact we are having in real time, is a lifelong quest for most of us.

But when you meet someone who has learned to understand themselves multi-dimensionally, who sees themselves in mirrors that reflect all angles, the good and the works in progress, our trust in that person rises like the proverbial tide - predictably and visibly.

That remains true even if, especially if, they show up as less than their best selves but can acknowledge or forewarn us that they can see, and feel and acknowledge that - sometimes preemptively.

Lisa is not alone in her ambition sometimes turning her into a bulldozer.

She is rare in her ability to see it happening before it happens and to warn those around her that her form of leadership encompasses all the elements of “lead, follow or get out of the way.”

What lessons have you learned?

This episode features the return visit of Jon Cook, the Global CEO of VML. I interviewed Jon for the first time a year ago, eight months after he had died while going for a run in his neighborhood.

Today, he is the CEO of the world's largest advertising agency. We covered a lot of topics during our latest conversation, from the qualities that he brings as a leader, to navigating mergers, to the impact of AI. We also talked about a simple but powerful truth that I think a lot of leaders have a hard time remembering when they're facing stressful situations - that we are already better than we think.

Leadership is lonely. It's a cliche because it's true. Those feelings of isolation usually leave our doubts and insecurities to wander through the garden of our minds, unchaperoned.

Given enough time and enough space, those insecurities can become a permanent part of our self-image and self-beliefs.

Talking to someone who can help us to fully see ourselves is always helpful. Of course, I'd say that. I'm a leadership coach. But we have ways to help ourselves that can be powerful, too.

One of the simplest is to look back and to see our past achievements for what they are. Achievements, experiences, skills, and wisdom.

And if you take a few moments and you write that list of achievements down, you'll be better prepared, not only to meet this moment, but you'll also be able to quiet the part of you that thinks that nothing you do is ever good enough.

Self-awareness is the most powerful asset that any leader can develop. So, make that list right now.

What will be the impact of AI on the creative industries, and how can we meet this moment?

This is the final episode of my series of interviews over the last few weeks leading up to and through the Cannes Lions Festival of Creativity.

It offers a map for the future based on those conversations, and observations of the speed of change. If you haven’t seen it, look up the Volvo ad that was just published on social media. It took one person, 24 hours to create.

This ad could not have been made in May, when I started this series of interviews.

Creativity and innovation are oxygen for the world's best businesses. Increase the flow and they soar. Limit the supply and they wither and ultimately die.

That has been true for longer than anyone reading this has been alive.

What is also true is that until now, that creativity, that ability to come up with original ideas that solve problems has been limited to human beings.

With the arrival and advances in AI, will that still be true five years from now? Two? Tomorrow?

Over the last few weeks, I've interviewed ten different leaders from across the creative industries. Brand leaders, agency founders, global agency heads, global client leads, production experts, creator community experts, consultants, and an advertising industry legend.

And while I was at Cannes, I talked to two dozen more about where the creative industries are headed and what they need to do to ensure their future.

These industries are a complex eco system of competing and contradictory forces built on what I believe is the worst business model in the world: selling original ideas based on how long it took to conceive and deliver them, and then giving up the ownership and the economic benefit of those ideas forever.

It is the equivalent of pricing a Picasso based on how long it took him to paint it. It is selling every patentable idea based on the cost of the labor, while ignoring the impact on people's lives.

According to some reports it takes 24 hours to build an iPhone. Imagine if Apple broke that down into a scope of work and then sold each iPhone for the cost of that scope and, with it, the ownership of the IP. For how long would they remain the most valuable business in the world?

The daily advances of AI challenge every aspect of the creative industries. From defining and articulating the problem, to conceiving, creating and delivering solutions. Every part of the process is being radically changed. And the extent of that change is limitless.

So what should we do about that?

Where does ideation end and production begin?

This episode is part of a series of conversations I've been having in partnership with the Cannes Lion Festival of Creativity. Over the last few weeks, I've been focusing my study of leadership through a single lens, the impact of Artificial Intelligence on the Creative Industries.

This final interview is with David Rolfe, the Global Head of Production at WPP. Dave and I have known each other for more years than we care to acknowledge, and he is the most provocative and disruptive thinker about production that I know.

As the week at Cannes unfolded, it became clear that this series wouldn't be complete without a conversation about production.

So I asked Dave late in the week if he would sit down with me and talk about the impact of AI on production. As you may have heard in my interview with Adam Tucker, WPP has made a large investment in AI. That wasn't the reason I wanted to include Dave in this series, but it does, again, add a dimension to the conversation that helps to establish reference points as the industry navigates the disruption that AI is already bringing.

I started the conversation with Dave from a simple premise. Is production dead? As you'll hear, it is most definitely not, but it will look very, very different in a very short space of time, and that change has already begun. So if any part of your future thinking about production is based on how production looked and worked a year ago, you probably need to challenge that perspective to make sure that it stands the test of time, which in today's world, we can probably define as somewhere between 12 and 24 months, I suspect.

In the next episode, I'll sum up everything I've heard and seen since we started this series. In the meantime, thank you for listening.

Does your AI do what you need it to do?

This episode is part of a series of conversations I've been having in partnership with the Cannes Lions Festival of Creativity. Over the last few weeks, I've been focusing my study of leadership through a single lens, the impact of Artificial Intelligence on the Creative Industries. I'd planned on ending the series with my interview of Sir John Hegarty, but I recorded two bonus episodes during Cannes that I felt were an important part of the conversation.

Adam Tucker is the Global Account Lead at WPP for Mondelez, and he reached out to me after listening to the first few episodes in this series. He pointed out that while we were focusing on how AI will impact the process of how the creative industries work, we hadn't talked about how it is already changing the work itself. WPP has made a significant investment in AI. The press reports that it's spending about $318 million annually in WPP Open, a set of AI capabilities that are now available to its 35,000 employees around the world. Adam explained why from his perspective, this investment creates a competitive advantage.

I'm not an AI expert, nor have I seen WPP Open firsthand, to pass any judgment on its capabilities, and whether it is in fact superior to other forms of AI that are publicly available. This conversation is not intended to convince you whether WPP has created a competitive advantage or not. What it does establish is one clearly differentiated benchmark in the ecosystem of AI that are now springing up across the creative industries, and therefore, it provides one measurement against which to evaluate your own relationship with artificial intelligence.

I'll wrap this series this week with one more bonus episode and then a recap. In the meantime, thanks for listening.

Are you willing to dare?

This episode is the last in a series of conversations that I'm having in partnership with the Cannes Lion Festival of Creativity. For the weeks leading up to Cannes and during Cannes, we focused our study of leadership through a single lens. The impact of Artificial Intelligence on the Creative Industries.

Are we moving fast enough? Are we going far enough? Is this an opportunity to fundamentally redesign the creative industries? Or should we adjust and iterate, slowly and carefully? There are opportunities and risks around every corner.

This episode's guest is Sir John Hegarty. He's the Co-Founder of Bartle Bogle Hegarty and one of the most original thinkers of the last 40 plus years. Sir John is a reference point for an industry that has changed a lot, and also not very much over those four plus decades.

The through lines that mattered, then still matter today. Confident, disruptive thinking.

At a time when the future is waiting to be invented, like never before, Sir John's description of the atmosphere that leaders need to create is time tested. Only time will tell whether it is timeless.

Next week, we'll have a couple of bonus episodes before I wrap up the series, and give you my thoughts on the impact of AI on the creative industries, based on the conversations that I've been having. In the meantime, thanks for listening.

What is it?

This episode is the seventh in a series of conversations that I'm having in partnership with the Cannes Lion Festival of Creativity. For the weeks leading up to Cannes, we're focusing our study of leadership through a single lens. The impact of Artificial Intelligence on the Creative Industries.

Are we moving fast enough? Are we going far enough? Is this an opportunity to fundamentally redesign the creative industries? Or do we adjust and iterate, slowly and carefully? Do we follow the puck, or skate to where it's going? There are opportunities and risks around every corner. Before we jump into this conversation, a couple of programming notes.

I had originally intended to finish this series of conversations with this episode, and then to do a wrap up episode on my takeaways from the series. But I've got a chance to interview an industry legend at Cannes, and so I'm going to extend the series by one more. You'll hear that conversation at the end of Cannes next week. And then, the week after, we'll wrap up the series.

Tiffany Rolfe is a mother, as well as the Global Chair and Global Chief Creative Officer at R/GA. I asked Tiffany to come back on the show because she is, as you'll hear, a self described tech optimist. She's also one of the most original thinkers that I know.

Her professional journey has taken her from Executive Creative Director at Crispin Porter + Bogusky, to Chief Content Officer and Partner at one of the first agency consultancy hybrids, Co:Collective, to her role at R/GA. If you haven't heard our earlier episode in which she talks about the challenges of combining a demanding career with being a mother, it's a really powerful listen.

In this conversation, one of the first questions that came up was, how should we think about AI?

Stay tuned next week for our final conversation in the series. And in the meantime, thanks for joining us.

What do the artists think?

This episode is the sixth in a series of conversations that I'm having in partnership with the Cannes Lion Festival of Creativity. For the weeks leading up to Cannes, we're focusing our study of leadership through a single lens. The impact of Artificial Intelligence on the Creative Industries.

Are we moving fast enough? Are we going far enough? Is this an opportunity to redesign the creative industries? Or should we adjust and iterate, slowly and carefully? There are opportunities and risks around every corner.

Jamie Gutfreund has seen the creative industries from many vantage points. She's the former Global Chief Marketing Officer for Hasbro and MGA Entertainment.

She was Chief Growth Officer at Whalar and has been recognized by Forbes as one of the 50 Most Entrepreneurial CMOs.

Today, she's the Founder of Creator Vision, a company that she describes as helping brands bridge the gap between the practice and the promise of the creator economy. At a time when the future is coming towards us faster than perhaps at any period in human history, gaining some advanced warning about what will happen next, would be welcome. To put it mildly.

Is it conceivable that AI itself might give us the clues to how AI is going to change the world as we know it? Jamie thinks it's possible, if we look at it through the right lens. The artists' lens.

At the end of the series, I'll offer some thoughts on what we've heard and learned, and where we might go from here.

In the meantime, thanks for joining us.

What are you fed by?

This episode is the fifth in a series of conversations that I'm having in partnership with the Cannes Lion Festival of Creativity. For the weeks leading up to Cannes, we're focusing our study of leadership through a single lens. The impact of Artificial Intelligence on the Creative Industries.

Are we moving fast enough? Are we going far enough? Is this an opportunity to fundamentally redesign the creative industries, or should we adjust and iterate, slowly and carefully? Do we follow the puck, or skate to where it's going? There are opportunities, and risks, around every corner.

Nils Leonard is the Co-founder of Uncommon, a global creative studio based in New York, London, and Stockholm. I invited Nils into the series because I suspected he would have a strong point of view about what AI is, and isn't, when it comes to creativity.

Nils has strong beliefs about many things, which is why I ask him back on the show regularly. One of those is the emotional leap of faith that every creative act demands. It's a deeply and uniquely human investment.

At the end of the series, I'll offer some thoughts on what we've heard and learned, and where we might go from here. In the meantime, thanks for joining us.

Are you aiming high enough?

This episode is the fourth in a series of conversations that I'm having in partnership with the Cannes Lions Festival of Creativity. For the weeks leading up to Cannes, we're focusing on a study of leadership through a single lens. The impact of Artificial Intelligence on the Creative Industries.

Are we moving fast enough? Are we going far enough? Is this an opportunity to fundamentally redesign the creative industries? Or should we adjust and iterate slowly and carefully? Do we follow the puck or skate to where it's going? There are opportunities and risks around every corner.

Yasu Sasaki is the Global Chief Creative Officer of Dentsu. His company has a presence in over 145 countries and regions, and they've been working with artificial intelligence, in one form or another, since 2011.

One of the main questions facing the creative industries is which companies will see AI as an opportunity to stretch the boundaries of human creativity. To recognize that the limitations in our creativity are no longer practical, financial, or time-based, but are, in fact, our own confidence in our capacity to think originally.

We can also use this opportunity to create greater efficiency, a worthy ambition in a world in which resources are scarce and a life in which the time available to us is finite.

In theory and in practice, we can both raise the bar and lower cost.

But we must be careful how we do it.

At the end of the series, I'll offer some thoughts on what we've heard and learned and where we might go from here.

In the meantime, thanks for joining us.

Are you seizing what is starting?

This episode is the third in a series of conversations I’m having in partnership with the Cannes Lions Festival of Creativity.

For the weeks leading up to Cannes, we’re focusing our study of leadership through a single lens. The impact of Artificial Intelligence on the Creative Industries.

Are we moving fast enough? Are we going far enough? Is this an opportunity to fundamentally redesign the creative industries, or should we adjust and iterate, slowly and carefully? Do we follow the puck or skate to where it’s going? There are opportunities and risks around every corner.

Asmita Dubey is the Chief Digital and Marketing Officer of L’Oréal.

Her company is the fourth largest advertiser in the world. They are a 115-year old business that owns 37 brands.

It’s easy to see the world presumptively. To presume that big companies always move more cautiously, that they are slower to see, to adopt, and to adapt to disruptions in the eco system around them.

But if your company believes, as Asmita frames it, in seizing what is starting, if you operate from a foot forward perspective, if you are relentlessly curious and consistently committed to the belief that creativity and innovation are all that separates you from your competitors, then the size of your company does not matter.

Big or small. Old or new. You can seize what is starting, and define the future on your terms.

At the end of the series, I’ll offer some thoughts on what we’ve heard and learned, and where we might go from here.

In the meantime, thanks for joining us.

Edited highlights of our full length conversation.

Are you seizing what is starting?

This episode is the third in a series of conversations I’m having in partnership with the Cannes Lions Festival of Creativity.

For the weeks leading up to Cannes, we’re focusing our study of leadership through a single lens. The impact of Artificial Intelligence on the Creative Industries.

Are we moving fast enough? Are we going far enough? Is this an opportunity to fundamentally redesign the creative industries, or should we adjust and iterate, slowly and carefully? Do we follow the puck or skate to where it’s going? There are opportunities and risks around every corner.

Asmita Dubey is the Chief Digital and Marketing Officer of L’Oréal.

Her company is the fourth largest advertiser in the world. They are a 115-year old business that owns 37 brands.

It’s easy to see the world presumptively. To presume that big companies always move more cautiously, that they are slower to see, to adopt, and to adapt to disruptions in the eco system around them.

But if your company believes, as Asmita frames it, in seizing what is starting, if you operate from a foot forward perspective, if you are relentlessly curious and consistently committed to the belief that creativity and innovation are all that separates you from your competitors, then the size of your company does not matter.

Big or small. Old or new. You can seize what is starting, and define the future on your terms.

At the end of the series, I’ll offer some thoughts on what we’ve heard and learned, and where we might go from here.

In the meantime, thanks for joining us.

Edited highlights of our full length conversation.

Are you seizing what is starting?

This episode is the third in a series of conversations I’m having in partnership with the Cannes Lions Festival of Creativity.

For the weeks leading up to Cannes, we’re focusing our study of leadership through a single lens. The impact of Artificial Intelligence on the Creative Industries.

Are we moving fast enough? Are we going far enough? Is this an opportunity to fundamentally redesign the creative industries, or should we adjust and iterate, slowly and carefully? Do we follow the puck or skate to where it’s going? There are opportunities and risks around every corner.

Asmita Dubey is the Chief Digital and Marketing Officer of L’Oréal.

Her company is the fourth largest advertiser in the world. They are a 115-year old business that owns 37 brands.

It’s easy to see the world presumptively. To presume that big companies always move more cautiously, that they are slower to see, to adopt, and to adapt to disruptions in the eco system around them.

But if your company believes, as Asmita frames it, in seizing what is starting, if you operate from a foot forward perspective, if you are relentlessly curious and consistently committed to the belief that creativity and innovation are all that separates you from your competitors, then the size of your company does not matter.

Big or small. Old or new. You can seize what is starting, and define the future on your terms.

At the end of the series, I’ll offer some thoughts on what we’ve heard and learned, and where we might go from here.

In the meantime, thanks for joining us.

Can you imagine?

This episode is the second in a series of conversations I’m having in partnership with the Cannes Lions Festival of Creativity.

For the weeks leading up to Cannes, we’re focusing our study of leadership through a single lens. The impact of Artificial Intelligence on the Creative Industries.

Are we moving fast enough? Are we going far enough? Is this an opportunity to fundamentally redesign the creative industries? Do we follow the puck or skate to where it’s going? There are opportunities and risks around every corner.

PJ Pereira is the Founder and Creative Chairman at Pereira O’Dell.

PJ is also a published author and an artist in his own right. We talk about a piece of animation that he recently created for his latest novel in which he used AI, and and we’ve included a link in the show notes for this episode.

One of the themes that’s emerging from the conversations and background research I’ve been doing, is one of those realizations that is both surprising while striking me immediately as unquestionably true.

As a species, human beings are particularly bad at recognizing the speed, scale and impact of exponential growth.

Let me share an example I heard on a New York Times podcast recently, that uses cases of COVID to illustrate this.

If you start with a single case, and cases double every three days, then after 30 days, you have about a thousand cases. We can all wrap our heads around that.

But then go 30 days longer.

Now, you have a million. Wait another 30 days? Now, you have a billion.

AI is moving with the speed of a virus, and we are struggling to recognize the implications in ways that we can relate to.

We don’t have to go back too far to see how quickly our understanding of “normal” can change.

On March 1st, 2020, society was operating pretty normally. Chris and I actually took a plane to Chicago on the 2nd, and we flew back to New York on the 5th.

Five days later, five days, that idea was unimaginable, and it remained that way for a year.

But speed of change is not the only measurement that we should be conscious of.

The enormity of the gap between the normal, as we understand it today, and what we will demand as normal tomorrow, is usually beyond our imagination to see or to predict or to project.

PJ brings those limitations of our imagination to life through a vivid and unforgettable example.

At the end of the series, I’ll offer some thoughts on what we’ve heard and learned, and where we might go from here.

In the meantime, thanks for joining us.

Edited highlights of our full length conversation.

Can you imagine?

This episode is the second in a series of conversations I’m having in partnership with the Cannes Lions Festival of Creativity.

For the weeks leading up to Cannes, we’re focusing our study of leadership through a single lens. The impact of Artificial Intelligence on the Creative Industries.

Are we moving fast enough? Are we going far enough? Is this an opportunity to fundamentally redesign the creative industries? Do we follow the puck or skate to where it’s going? There are opportunities and risks around every corner.

PJ Pereira is the Founder and Creative Chairman at Pereira O’Dell.

PJ is also a published author and an artist in his own right. We talk about a piece of animation that he recently created for his latest novel in which he used AI, and and we’ve included a link in the show notes for this episode.

One of the themes that’s emerging from the conversations and background research I’ve been doing, is one of those realizations that is both surprising while striking me immediately as unquestionably true.

As a species, human beings are particularly bad at recognizing the speed, scale and impact of exponential growth.

Let me share an example I heard on a New York Times podcast recently, that uses cases of COVID to illustrate this.

If you start with a single case, and cases double every three days, then after 30 days, you have about a thousand cases. We can all wrap our heads around that.

But then go 30 days longer.

Now, you have a million. Wait another 30 days? Now, you have a billion.

AI is moving with the speed of a virus, and we are struggling to recognize the implications in ways that we can relate to.

We don’t have to go back too far to see how quickly our understanding of “normal” can change.

On March 1st, 2020, society was operating pretty normally. Chris and I actually took a plane to Chicago on the 2nd, and we flew back to New York on the 5th.

Five days later, five days, that idea was unimaginable, and it remained that way for a year.

But speed of change is not the only measurement that we should be conscious of.

The enormity of the gap between the normal, as we understand it today, and what we will demand as normal tomorrow, is usually beyond our imagination to see or to predict or to project.

PJ brings those limitations of our imagination to life through a vivid and unforgettable example.

At the end of the series, I’ll offer some thoughts on what we’ve heard and learned, and where we might go from here.

In the meantime, thanks for joining us.

Are you leading, following or getting out of the way?

This episode is the first in a series of conversations that I’m having in partnership with the Cannes Lions Festival of Creativity.

For the next five weeks leading up to Cannes, we’re going to focus our study of leadership through a single lens. The impact of Artificial Intelligence on the Creative Industries.

Are we moving fast enough? Are we going far enough? Is this an opportunity to fundamentally redesign the creative industries, or should we adjust and iterate, slowly and carefully? Do we follow the puck, or skate to where it’s going? There are opportunities and risks around every corner.

We start with a conversation with Nick Law, who is Creative Chairperson at Accenture Song.

Nick has seen the creative industries from an array of extraordinary perspectives. He was Vice Chairman, Global Chief Creative Officer at R/GA, he served as Chief Creative Officer at Publicis Groupe, and was Vice President of Marcom Integration at Apple, where he co-led the global design and marketing group.

On his Cannes speaker profile, Nick says that he believes all technology needs creativity to make it human, and all creativity needs technology to make it real.

At the end of the series, I’ll offer some thoughts on what we’ve heard and learned, and where we might go from here.

It promises to be an eye opening and thought provoking journey.

Thanks for joining us.

Edited highlights of our full length conversation.

Are you leading, following or getting out of the way?

This episode is the first in a series of conversations that I’m having in partnership with the Cannes Lions Festival of Creativity.

For the next five weeks leading up to Cannes, we’re going to focus our study of leadership through a single lens. The impact of Artificial Intelligence on the Creative Industries.

Are we moving fast enough? Are we going far enough? Is this an opportunity to fundamentally redesign the creative industries, or should we adjust and iterate, slowly and carefully? Do we follow the puck, or skate to where it’s going? There are opportunities and risks around every corner.

We start with a conversation with Nick Law, who is Creative Chairperson at Accenture Song.

Nick has seen the creative industries from an array of extraordinary perspectives. He was Vice Chairman, Global Chief Creative Officer at R/GA, he served as Chief Creative Officer at Publicis Groupe, and was Vice President of Marcom Integration at Apple, where he co-led the global design and marketing group.

On his Cannes speaker profile, Nick says that he believes all technology needs creativity to make it human, and all creativity needs technology to make it real.

At the end of the series, I’ll offer some thoughts on what we’ve heard and learned, and where we might go from here.

It promises to be an eye opening and thought provoking journey.

Thanks for joining us.

Edited highlights of our full length conversation.

Are you leading, following or getting out of the way?

This episode is the first in a series of conversations that I’m having in partnership with the Cannes Lions Festival of Creativity.

For the next five weeks leading up to Cannes, we’re going to focus our study of leadership through a single lens. The impact of Artificial Intelligence on the Creative Industries.

Are we moving fast enough? Are we going far enough? Is this an opportunity to fundamentally redesign the creative industries, or should we adjust and iterate, slowly and carefully? Do we follow the puck, or skate to where it’s going? There are opportunities and risks around every corner.

We start with a conversation with Nick Law, who is Creative Chairperson at Accenture Song.

Nick has seen the creative industries from an array of extraordinary perspectives. He was Vice Chairman, Global Chief Creative Officer at R/GA, he served as Chief Creative Officer at Publicis Groupe, and was Vice President of Marcom Integration at Apple, where he co-led the global design and marketing group.

On his Cannes speaker profile, Nick says that he believes all technology needs creativity to make it human, and all creativity needs technology to make it real.

At the end of the series, I’ll offer some thoughts on what we’ve heard and learned, and where we might go from here.

It promises to be an eye opening and thought provoking journey.

Thanks for joining us.

Here’s a question. Which two things are true at once?

This week’s guest is Robbie Kaplan. Robbie is a lawyer and the founding partner at Kaplan Hecker & Fink LLP.

Robbie is best known for successfully challenging a key provision of the Defense of Marriage Act. Today, gay marriage is legal in America because Robbie Kaplan stood in front of the Supreme Court and argued for it.

Recently, she was E. Jean Carroll’s lawyer in both of her successful lawsuits against Donald Trump.

And among Robbie's many awards is one from The Financial Times, which named her the “Most Innovative Lawyer of the Year”.

People that know her, say about Robbie Kaplan, “she just sees things from a thousand different angles all at once, it’s hard to keep up with her thought processes. She’s not afraid, if she sees a problem, to go figure out some law that’s going to allow her to fix it.”

Others say she is “a lawyer that you don’t want to see opposing you.”

They say, “she’s brilliant, she’s unrelenting, she can’t be intimidated and she’s not going to back down. She eats bullies for lunch.”

And the Washington Post has described Robbie as “a brash and original strategist, a crusader for underdogs who has won almost every legal accolade imaginable.”

Which may make this admission surprising.

Not everyone doubts themselves.

But many people do.

If you are one of those people, if sometimes feeling that you are an imposter is holding you back, is preventing you from unlocking the potential of the people around you, as in yourself, then let me offer you this.

Two things can be true at once.

You can feel like an imposter and achieve extraordinary things at the same time.

You do have to be clear about the extraordinary things, and why they matter to you.

But then that’s what leadership is all about.

Here’s a question. What is your leadership for?

This week’s guest is Senator Kirsten Gillibrand, the Junior Senator from the State of New York.

Running for public office places you in a spotlight that is white hot. Being clear why you’ve made the choice to run in the first place is table stakes for creating the life you want to live and the legacy you want to leave behind.

In too many companies and for too many people, leadership is seen as the thing that comes next for those who are willing to stick around. The inevitability of rising up the org chart into a role that comes with more everything is too rarely challenged by company or individual.

Leadership is a privilege. An opportunity to make the biggest difference for the most people, that most of us will ever have.

Marty Baron of the Washington Post described it as a responsibility.

Mark Thompson, when he was at the New York Times, described leadership as the act of running towards the gunfire.

Cecile Richards, formerly of Planned Parenthood, described herself as blessed to have been one of the really privileged few that could do what she thought needed doing.

In industries where awards, wins, and results are to the fore, and success is often measured by how many and how much, I’m hoping that some of these conversations will also stir thoughts of what.

What do I want to make better? What do I want to change? What difference do I want to make for the people around me?

Because, as my work continues to evolve and my understanding continues to deepen, what I increasingly know to be true is that the awards, the wins, and the results are directly connected to the whats.

That the leaders who are clearest about what difference they want to make are the ones who have the most evidence of having made it.

Literally and figuratively.

So, what is your leadership for?

Edited highlights of our full length conversation.

Here’s a question. What is your leadership for?

This week’s guest is Senator Kirsten Gillibrand, the Junior Senator from the State of New York.

Running for public office places you in a spotlight that is white hot. Being clear why you’ve made the choice to run in the first place is table stakes for creating the life you want to live and the legacy you want to leave behind.

In too many companies and for too many people, leadership is seen as the thing that comes next for those who are willing to stick around. The inevitability of rising up the org chart into a role that comes with more everything is too rarely challenged by company or individual.

Leadership is a privilege. An opportunity to make the biggest difference for the most people, that most of us will ever have.

Marty Baron of the Washington Post described it as a responsibility.

Mark Thompson, when he was at the New York Times, described leadership as the act of running towards the gunfire.

Cecile Richards, formerly of Planned Parenthood, described herself as blessed to have been one of the really privileged few that could do what she thought needed doing.

In industries where awards, wins, and results are to the fore, and success is often measured by how many and how much, I’m hoping that some of these conversations will also stir thoughts of what.

What do I want to make better? What do I want to change? What difference do I want to make for the people around me?

Because, as my work continues to evolve and my understanding continues to deepen, what I increasingly know to be true is that the awards, the wins, and the results are directly connected to the whats.

That the leaders who are clearest about what difference they want to make are the ones who have the most evidence of having made it.

Literally and figuratively.

So, what is your leadership for?

Edited highlights of our full length conversation.

Here’s a question. What is your leadership for?

This week’s guest is Senator Kirsten Gillibrand, the Junior Senator from the State of New York.

Running for public office places you in a spotlight that is white hot. Being clear why you’ve made the choice to run in the first place is table stakes for creating the life you want to live and the legacy you want to leave behind.

In too many companies and for too many people, leadership is seen as the thing that comes next for those who are willing to stick around. The inevitability of rising up the org chart into a role that comes with more everything is too rarely challenged by company or individual.

Leadership is a privilege. An opportunity to make the biggest difference for the most people, that most of us will ever have.

Marty Baron of the Washington Post described it as a responsibility.

Mark Thompson, when he was at the New York Times, described leadership as the act of running towards the gunfire.

Cecile Richards, formerly of Planned Parenthood, described herself as blessed to have been one of the really privileged few that could do what she thought needed doing.

In industries where awards, wins, and results are to the fore, and success is often measured by how many and how much, I’m hoping that some of these conversations will also stir thoughts of what.

What do I want to make better? What do I want to change? What difference do I want to make for the people around me?

Because, as my work continues to evolve and my understanding continues to deepen, what I increasingly know to be true is that the awards, the wins, and the results are directly connected to the whats.

That the leaders who are clearest about what difference they want to make are the ones who have the most evidence of having made it.

Literally and figuratively.

So, what is your leadership for?

Here’s a question. What do you think and why?

This week’s guests are Tom O’Keefe and Jeff King. They are two of the four partners who have just merged their respective businesses, OKRP and Barkley.

Mergers are a forcing function for open-mindedness. And for doing things differently.

The ability to accept the need to do things differently, to truly change perspectives, is a never ending leadership challenge.

In my experience, you have to be pretty clear about your own point of view in order to embrace new ones.

Worry too much about providing strong leadership, and the temptation to stick to our beliefs — even in the face of evidence or views to the contrary — becomes almost like a drug. An addiction to being right or first or better.

This is perhaps the most damaging characteristic that any leader can possess. And too much of it will ensure you’re not a leader of very many or very much for very long.

When we are clear about why we think what we think, when we are free of insecurity or hubris or ego, then we can assess an alternative path with an open mind.

Mergers provoke the need to lead through this lens. Tom’s outline for unleashing the creative potential of the newly formed business is filled with best practice.

But regardless of external forcing functions — like mergers — being clear about why we think what we think is table stakes for the most fearless leaders.

So what do you think? And what will it take for you to see things from a different perspective?

Edited highlights of our full length conversation.

Here’s a question. What do you think and why?

This week’s guests are Tom O’Keefe and Jeff King. They are two of the four partners who have just merged their respective businesses, OKRP and Barkley.

Mergers are a forcing function for open-mindedness. And for doing things differently.

The ability to accept the need to do things differently, to truly change perspectives, is a never ending leadership challenge.

In my experience, you have to be pretty clear about your own point of view in order to embrace new ones.

Worry too much about providing strong leadership, and the temptation to stick to our beliefs — even in the face of evidence or views to the contrary — becomes almost like a drug. An addiction to being right or first or better.

This is perhaps the most damaging characteristic that any leader can possess. And too much of it will ensure you’re not a leader of very many or very much for very long.

When we are clear about why we think what we think, when we are free of insecurity or hubris or ego, then we can assess an alternative path with an open mind.

Mergers provoke the need to lead through this lens. Tom’s outline for unleashing the creative potential of the newly formed business is filled with best practice.

But regardless of external forcing functions — like mergers — being clear about why we think what we think is table stakes for the most fearless leaders.

So what do you think? And what will it take for you to see things from a different perspective?

Edited highlights of our full length conversation.

Here’s a question. What do you think and why?

This week’s guests are Tom O’Keefe and Jeff King. They are two of the four partners who have just merged their respective businesses, OKRP and Barkley.

Mergers are a forcing function for open-mindedness. And for doing things differently.

The ability to accept the need to do things differently, to truly change perspectives, is a never ending leadership challenge.

In my experience, you have to be pretty clear about your own point of view in order to embrace new ones.

Worry too much about providing strong leadership, and the temptation to stick to our beliefs — even in the face of evidence or views to the contrary — becomes almost like a drug. An addiction to being right or first or better.

This is perhaps the most damaging characteristic that any leader can possess. And too much of it will ensure you’re not a leader of very many or very much for very long.

When we are clear about why we think what we think, when we are free of insecurity or hubris or ego, then we can assess an alternative path with an open mind.

Mergers provoke the need to lead through this lens. Tom’s outline for unleashing the creative potential of the newly formed business is filled with best practice.

But regardless of external forcing functions — like mergers — being clear about why we think what we think is table stakes for the most fearless leaders.

So what do you think? And what will it take for you to see things from a different perspective?

Here’s a question. How vulnerable is too vulnerable?

This week’s guest is Anselmo Ramos. He’s the Co-Founder and Creative Chairman of GUT, a global independent creative agency that’s headquartered in Miami, and with six other offices around the world.

Months after being named the Independent Agency Network of the Year at last year’s Cannes Lions, GUT announced it was being acquired by the tech company Globant. GUT was recently named one of the most innovative companies in the world by Fast Company.

For a company that is barely six years old, its story and success are remarkable. It’s also built on a very specific ethos.

Businesses measure success by many metrics, and as a leader, you live with most of them every day.

In most companies, seeing the leaders cry in public would be a strong indicator that things were heading in the wrong direction. Or worse. For many staff members, it would be traumatic to witness such a public display of human emotion from their leaders.

This conversation with Anselmo has made me think hard about the humanity side of the leadership equation.

How vulnerable is too vulnerable?

The answer, of course, depends on the culture that you have created. If your culture is based on deep and enduring emotional trust, you give people the ability to show up as complex, multifaceted humans, to show up as whole beings.

In a world in which Artificial Intelligence will soon be able to mimic — or more — much of what passes for ‘creative’ in inverted commas, our ability as a species to separate ourselves from the servers, will depend on whether we can unleash ‘human creativity’, that capacity which no technology can replace.

Human creativity comes from the soul. And souls have feelings.

How do you measure those?

Here’s a question. Are you conscious of your choices?

This week’s guest is Kara Swisher. She’s the most effective and successful tech journalist of our lifetimes. She’s the host of the podcast ‘On with Kara Swisher’ and the cohost of the Pivot podcast with Scott Galloway. Over the last thirty years, she has interviewed everyone who matters in tech, multiple times. And she’s just written her third book, titled Burn Book: A Tech Love Story.

In a world of white men with giant bank accounts and even bigger egos, how did this 5 feet 2 inch, self-described, liberal lesbian mother of four, end up as the most influential and insightful reporter of the technology age?

As you’ll hear, Kara puts it down to curiosity, confidence, and understanding the choices available to her.

Leadership is the art of unlocking the potential of others. But our success at doing that, first depends on our ability to unlock the potential in ourselves.

If you’re listening to this podcast, you have choices. Given its reach around the world, some of you have more than others. But all of us, all of us, have more choices than we think.

Too many times we doubt ourselves, see only the obstacles, respond only to the fear, the one that makes us believe that we don’t have the ability, the experience, the confidence, or the right to choose a different path.

We let others decide our future. We wait for approval, or acceptance, or acknowledgement that we have passed some undefined, moving line test.

But when we choose to take a different path - one that recognizes that life is a journey; that what we do with it depends on the decisions we make, not those that we let others make for us. When we make that choice to take a different path, then we show up differently.

We start to discover that our future is waiting for us to create it. That the choices we make will determine the impact that we make and the one we leave behind.

To be a leader is a choice. To make a difference is a choice. To define our own journey is a choice.

So choose your future. And then create it. In Kara’s words, “be defined by that the choices you have.”

It is the human equivalent of lighting the blue touch paper. And the results will light up the sky.

Edited highlights of our full length conversation.

Here’s a question. Are you conscious of your choices?

This week’s guest is Kara Swisher. She’s the most effective and successful tech journalist of our lifetimes. She’s the host of the podcast ‘On with Kara Swisher’ and the cohost of the Pivot podcast with Scott Galloway. Over the last thirty years, she has interviewed everyone who matters in tech, multiple times. And she’s just written her third book, titled Burn Book: A Tech Love Story.

In a world of white men with giant bank accounts and even bigger egos, how did this 5 feet 2 inch, self-described, liberal lesbian mother of four, end up as the most influential and insightful reporter of the technology age?

As you’ll hear, Kara puts it down to curiosity, confidence, and understanding the choices available to her.

Leadership is the art of unlocking the potential of others. But our success at doing that, first depends on our ability to unlock the potential in ourselves.

If you’re listening to this podcast, you have choices. Given its reach around the world, some of you have more than others. But all of us, all of us, have more choices than we think.

Too many times we doubt ourselves, see only the obstacles, respond only to the fear, the one that makes us believe that we don’t have the ability, the experience, the confidence, or the right to choose a different path.

We let others decide our future. We wait for approval, or acceptance, or acknowledgement that we have passed some undefined, moving line test.

But when we choose to take a different path - one that recognizes that life is a journey; that what we do with it depends on the decisions we make, not those that we let others make for us. When we make that choice to take a different path, then we show up differently.

We start to discover that our future is waiting for us to create it. That the choices we make will determine the impact that we make and the one we leave behind.

To be a leader is a choice. To make a difference is a choice. To define our own journey is a choice.

So choose your future. And then create it. In Kara’s words, “be defined by that the choices you have.”

It is the human equivalent of lighting the blue touch paper. And the results will light up the sky.

This week’s guest is Avery Baker. She’s the former President and Chief Brand Officer of Tommy Hilfiger.

Six months after she stepped down from her position at Tommy, we talk about her desire to empower others and why it's an essential skill to demonstrate as a leader.

We also discuss the new leadership paradigm that we have developed together for creative and innovative businesses. We call it 'Partnership Leadership'.

Edited highlights of our full conversation.

This week’s guest is Avery Baker. She’s the former President and Chief Brand Officer of Tommy Hilfiger.

Six months after she stepped down from her position at Tommy, we talk about her desire to empower others and why it's an essential skill to demonstrate as a leader.

We also discuss the new leadership paradigm that we have developed together for creative and innovative businesses. We call it 'Partnership Leadership'.

Edited highlights of our full conversation.

This week’s guest is Avery Baker. She’s the former President and Chief Brand Officer of Tommy Hilfiger.

Six months after she stepped down from her position at Tommy, we talk about her desire to empower others and why it's an essential skill to demonstrate as a leader.

We also discuss the new leadership paradigm that we have developed together for creative and innovative businesses. We call it 'Partnership Leadership'.

Here’s a question. Who lit the fire in your life?

This week’s guest is Dr. Jerry Gustafson. He’s Professor Emeritus of Economics at Beloit College and the Founder of the Center for Entrepreneurship in Liberal Education at Beloit, known as CELEB.

Jerry was also my faculty advisor when I was an undergrad, and the person who, without question, lit the fire in my life.

CELEB is celebrating its 20th anniversary this year. The difference that it has made in the lives of the students that have passed through its doors and benefited from its physical and emotional infrastructure is enormous.

Beloit is a small Midwestern college with a very big heart, just like the town after which it’s named. I wound up there on the back of an edict from my father, after my repeated academic disinterest produced a string of exam results that no British university would accept. For a man who valued academic achievement, my intellectual failings were disappointing to my father.

I use the word ‘disappointing’ in the British sense. The American translation came with an ultimatum. Go to Beloit or get a job. Luckily for me, Beloit fit like a glove. Even luckier, it brought Jerry Gustafson into my life.

I’ve always said that by the time I graduated, Beloit had taught me two things. First, that in the grand scheme of life, I knew nothing. And second, how to find the answers to almost anything. I can think of no more valuable foundations.

But there was a third lesson that I received from Beloit that I hadn’t fully appreciated until years after I graduated. The details of the story you’ll hear in my conversation with Jerry. But the headline is that there is no greater gift than having someone who sees what you’re capable of before you do.

For me, Jerry was that person. He lit a fire in me that I’m happy to say burns fiercely today.

Helping people doesn’t always happen in real time. Sometimes the embers that you stoke don’t fully ignite until later. But don’t let that stop you.

Light fires wherever and whenever you can. If you see greatness in someone, tell them. The chances are, they haven’t yet seen in themselves what you have.

And above all, as Jerry suggests, help them to start thinking, about what it is that for them, makes life really great.

Be their fire starter.

It’s the best job there is.

Here’s a question. What do you think needs doing? And are you doing it?

This week’s episode is a re-publication of my interview with Cecile Richards from March 2020. It was the last in-person interview I recorded before the world shut down two days later.

Forgive me, for a moment. I want to take you on a short journey.

For those of you that don’t know her, Cecile Richards is one of the most extraordinary leaders of our time. Of any time, actually.

Public service and activism are part of her DNA.

She’s perhaps best known for the 12 years she spent as the President of Planned Parenthood.

Her mother — Ann Richards — shattered conventional wisdom when, as a woman and a Democrat, she was elected Governor of Texas in 1990.

In the seventh grade, Cecile was taken to the principal’s office for wearing an armband in protest of the Vietnam War.

In the eighth grade, she brought food to the strikers on a picket line in her hometown of Austin.

Her first job after college, was as a union organizer in New Orleans, helping hotel workers trying to get by on minimum wage.

Today, she’s the co-creator of Charley, a bot that helps abortion seekers get good and accurate information on how to safely end their pregnancies.

Cecile has been called “the most badass feminist EVER” and “The heroine of the resistance”.

She inspires women of all ages, in all walks of life. And she inspires many men, too.

When I interviewed her in 2020, I called the episode, “The Blessed Leader”.

Usually when I go back and listen to an earlier episode, my reason for the name I came up with is pretty clear.

In this case, it wasn’t. She didn’t describe herself as blessed. The word blessed is not a common part of my vocabulary. And there was nothing about the conversation that suggested “blessed” was an obvious description.

The world has changed since she and I last spoke, and I badly wanted to hear her thoughts on the damage to women’s rights that has taken place since 2020, as well as her views on the aftermath of COVID on society.

I reached out to her a few weeks ago, but hadn’t heard anything back. Then early last week, I saw a link to an article that made my heart miss a beat.

The headline read: “Planned Parenthood’s Cecile Richards has brain cancer”,

This woman is a presence, when you meet her in person. She radiates warmth and strength and determination. She is unforgettable.

Her brain cancer is incurable and has a median survival rate of 15 months. She was diagnosed six months ago.

I’ve included a link to the article in the show notes and now I’m going to quote directly from the article, in which she describes learning to write and speak again at the age of 66.

“Her latest treatment is twice-weekly infusions through a clinical trial. ‘I mean, it’s like, What do I gotta do to stay alive? I’m good with it. It’s totally manageable, but these things are unpredictable. So I feel like it has helped me focus on what I want to do with the time I have. And I’m excited. I’ve been blessed.

‘I’ve been blessed to have always had work that I cared about,” Richards continues. “So many people I’ve worked with and organized, nursing-home workers and hotel workers and janitors, they didn’t have any options. And they worked because they cared about their jobs, but they worked because they had to support a family. But I have been one of the really privileged few that could do what I thought needed doing. And so whatever comes next, I have that.’”

“I have been one of the really privileged few that could do what I thought needed doing.”

“I’ve been blessed.”

So let me end as I began by asking all of us, myself included, a question.

What do you think needs doing? And are you doing it?

Here’s a question. Are you waiting for someone else to give you permission?

This week’s guest is Greg Hahn. He’s the Co-Founder & CCO of Mischief USA.

This is Greg’s third appearance on the show. His first was two weeks after being fired by BBDO. His second was two years ago, a few days after Mischief were named Agency of the year by the Ad Age A List Awards.

Last year, they were named Adweek’s Agency of the year.

Towards the end of this conversation, I asked him what the experience of being fired by BBDO and the subsequent success of Mischief had allowed him to see about his life that he perhaps hadn't been aware of before.

In my work, I see potential everywhere. And what I’ve come to understand is that the potential that’s hardest to see, and hardest to unlock, is in ourselves.

As human beings we want to belong, to be accepted, to be loved. Recent research has suggested that it is more important to us to find our tribes than to be part of a family. You know that old saying, you can choose your friends but not your family. Apparently, that’s more important than we knew.

The desire, sometimes the need to fit in can change our self perception and comes at a price. A hesitation, a reluctance, sometimes, often times, a fear of fully expressing ourselves.

We find a place in the world that lets us do a lot of good things, and let’s us be a pretty good version of ourselves, and then we subtly constrain ourselves - in ways that we’re not aware of, until someone else points out that we’ve been living in a bowl of water the entire time.

Sometimes, we’re able to let go of those constraints, find our voice and unlock that potential.

Sometimes, it takes a dramatic, even traumatic event, like being fired, for us to look at ourselves through different eyes and start saying, “What if?”.

What if we didn’t wait for someone else’s permission to uncover our own potential?

What if we stopped fitting in and looked for ways to stand out?

What if we expressed ourselves, fully and openly? Who might follow us and where might we lead them?

Edited highlights of our full conversation.

Here’s a question. Are you waiting for someone else to give you permission?

This week’s guest is Greg Hahn. He’s the Co-Founder & CCO of Mischief USA.

This is Greg’s third appearance on the show. His first was two weeks after being fired by BBDO. His second was two years ago, a few days after Mischief were named Agency of the year by the Ad Age A List Awards.

Last year, they were named Adweek’s Agency of the year.

Towards the end of this conversation, I asked him what the experience of being fired by BBDO and the subsequent success of Mischief had allowed him to see about his life that he perhaps hadn't been aware of before.

In my work, I see potential everywhere. And what I’ve come to understand is that the potential that’s hardest to see, and hardest to unlock, is in ourselves.

As human beings we want to belong, to be accepted, to be loved. Recent research has suggested that it is more important to us to find our tribes than to be part of a family. You know that old saying, you can choose your friends but not your family. Apparently, that’s more important than we knew.

The desire, sometimes the need to fit in can change our self perception and comes at a price. A hesitation, a reluctance, sometimes, often times, a fear of fully expressing ourselves.

We find a place in the world that lets us do a lot of good things, and let’s us be a pretty good version of ourselves, and then we subtly constrain ourselves - in ways that we’re not aware of, until someone else points out that we’ve been living in a bowl of water the entire time.

Sometimes, we’re able to let go of those constraints, find our voice and unlock that potential.

Sometimes, it takes a dramatic, even traumatic event, like being fired, for us to look at ourselves through different eyes and start saying, “What if?”.

What if we didn’t wait for someone else’s permission to uncover our own potential?

What if we stopped fitting in and looked for ways to stand out?

What if we expressed ourselves, fully and openly? Who might follow us and where might we lead them?

Edited highlights of our full conversation.

Here’s a question. Are you waiting for someone else to give you permission?

This week’s guest is Greg Hahn. He’s the Co-Founder & CCO of Mischief USA.

This is Greg’s third appearance on the show. His first was two weeks after being fired by BBDO. His second was two years ago, a few days after Mischief were named Agency of the year by the Ad Age A List Awards.

Last year, they were named Adweek’s Agency of the year.

Towards the end of this conversation, I asked him what the experience of being fired by BBDO and the subsequent success of Mischief had allowed him to see about his life that he perhaps hadn't been aware of before.

In my work, I see potential everywhere. And what I’ve come to understand is that the potential that’s hardest to see, and hardest to unlock, is in ourselves.

As human beings we want to belong, to be accepted, to be loved. Recent research has suggested that it is more important to us to find our tribes than to be part of a family. You know that old saying, you can choose your friends but not your family. Apparently, that’s more important than we knew.

The desire, sometimes the need to fit in can change our self perception and comes at a price. A hesitation, a reluctance, sometimes, often times, a fear of fully expressing ourselves.

We find a place in the world that lets us do a lot of good things, and let’s us be a pretty good version of ourselves, and then we subtly constrain ourselves - in ways that we’re not aware of, until someone else points out that we’ve been living in a bowl of water the entire time.

Sometimes, we’re able to let go of those constraints, find our voice and unlock that potential.

Sometimes, it takes a dramatic, even traumatic event, like being fired, for us to look at ourselves through different eyes and start saying, “What if?”.

What if we didn’t wait for someone else’s permission to uncover our own potential?

What if we stopped fitting in and looked for ways to stand out?

What if we expressed ourselves, fully and openly? Who might follow us and where might we lead them?

I met Alain Sylvain only once. We recorded a podcast at the very end of October in 2018.

I remembered it long after, and looking back, was conscious that my own thinking evolved as a result of our conversation.

The news of his tragic death last month has had a profound impact on many people I know.

I debated whether it was helpful or not to reload this conversation.

After listening to it again, I hope that it will let those of you that knew him well, add to your memory of him.

And for those of us that didn’t, I hope it will help know him a little better.

Life is short. I have come to believe that at the end, we can hope for three things. To be remembered. To have made a difference. And to be loved.

I am grateful to have met him even briefly.

I am sorry beyond words for the sorrow and the loss that his departure leaves behind for his family and those that knew him and loved him.

Here’s a question. What do you have a responsibility to?

This week’s guest is Marty Baron. He’s the former editor of the Boston Globe, and the former executive editor of the Washington Post. The newsrooms under his leadership won 17 Pulitzer Prizes. At the Globe, he instigated the investigation into the sexual abuse conducted by the Catholic Church in Boston, and which was turned into the Academy Award winning movie, Spotlight.

The list of seminal stories that were reported under his watch would fill an entire podcast episode by themselves, from Elián Gonzalez, to the Snowden files, to the 2000 Supreme Court decided election to name but a few.

His new book, Collision of Power: Trump, Bezos, and the Washington Post, describes his 8 year leadership journey during one of the most tumultuous times in the paper’s history.

Along the way, he has learned a staggering amount about leadership.

Leadership, done well, is all about responsibility.

The trouble is that often, the definitions of leadership responsibility are too narrow and shallow. Too quickly defined and too quickly redefined when things get bumpy.

When you meet a leader who sees their responsibility as clear, for whom that responsibility is deeply held, whose commitment to it is pressure tested, and for whom their definition of responsibility has withstood the fury of time, it often feels as though they are fearless.

You ask them about being afraid and they shake their head. Not brashly, or boldly. But quizzically, almost as though they don’t understand the question.

And when you are asked to describe that person’s leadership qualities, the words that come to the fore are integrity, self awareness, and courage.

They are not words they ascribe to themselves. These are words that the rest of us use to help explain what sets them apart.

But what sets them apart is not, as I have come to learn, their integrity, their self awareness, or their courage.

What sets them apart is the absolute certainty that they will do the right thing, because their leadership is not about them.

Their leadership is about something that they believe is more important than they are.

Which might be the purest definition of leadership that I’ve heard so far.

Judge for yourself.

Edited highlights of our full conversation.

Here’s a question. What do you have a responsibility to?

This week’s guest is Marty Baron. He’s the former editor of the Boston Globe, and the former executive editor of the Washington Post. The newsrooms under his leadership won 17 Pulitzer Prizes. At the Globe, he instigated the investigation into the sexual abuse conducted by the Catholic Church in Boston, and which was turned into the Academy Award winning movie, Spotlight.

The list of seminal stories that were reported under his watch would fill an entire podcast episode by themselves, from Elián Gonzalez, to the Snowden files, to the 2000 Supreme Court decided election to name but a few.

His new book, Collision of Power: Trump, Bezos, and the Washington Post, describes his 8 year leadership journey during one of the most tumultuous times in the paper’s history.

Along the way, he has learned a staggering amount about leadership.

Leadership, done well, is all about responsibility.

The trouble is that often, the definitions of leadership responsibility are too narrow and shallow. Too quickly defined and too quickly redefined when things get bumpy.

When you meet a leader who sees their responsibility as clear, for whom that responsibility is deeply held, whose commitment to it is pressure tested, and for whom their definition of responsibility has withstood the fury of time, it often feels as though they are fearless.

You ask them about being afraid and they shake their head. Not brashly, or boldly. But quizzically, almost as though they don’t understand the question.

And when you are asked to describe that person’s leadership qualities, the words that come to the fore are integrity, self awareness, and courage.

They are not words they ascribe to themselves. These are words that the rest of us use to help explain what sets them apart.

But what sets them apart is not, as I have come to learn, their integrity, their self awareness, or their courage.

What sets them apart is the absolute certainty that they will do the right thing, because their leadership is not about them.

Their leadership is about something that they believe is more important than they are.

Which might be the purest definition of leadership that I’ve heard so far.

Judge for yourself.

Edited highlights of our full conversation.

Here’s a question. What do you have a responsibility to?

This week’s guest is Marty Baron. He’s the former editor of the Boston Globe, and the former executive editor of the Washington Post. The newsrooms under his leadership won 17 Pulitzer Prizes. At the Globe, he instigated the investigation into the sexual abuse conducted by the Catholic Church in Boston, and which was turned into the Academy Award winning movie, Spotlight.

The list of seminal stories that were reported under his watch would fill an entire podcast episode by themselves, from Elián Gonzalez, to the Snowden files, to the 2000 Supreme Court decided election to name but a few.

His new book, Collision of Power: Trump, Bezos, and the Washington Post, describes his 8 year leadership journey during one of the most tumultuous times in the paper’s history.

Along the way, he has learned a staggering amount about leadership.

Leadership, done well, is all about responsibility.

The trouble is that often, the definitions of leadership responsibility are too narrow and shallow. Too quickly defined and too quickly redefined when things get bumpy.

When you meet a leader who sees their responsibility as clear, for whom that responsibility is deeply held, whose commitment to it is pressure tested, and for whom their definition of responsibility has withstood the fury of time, it often feels as though they are fearless.

You ask them about being afraid and they shake their head. Not brashly, or boldly. But quizzically, almost as though they don’t understand the question.

And when you are asked to describe that person’s leadership qualities, the words that come to the fore are integrity, self awareness, and courage.

They are not words they ascribe to themselves. These are words that the rest of us use to help explain what sets them apart.

But what sets them apart is not, as I have come to learn, their integrity, their self awareness, or their courage.

What sets them apart is the absolute certainty that they will do the right thing, because their leadership is not about them.

Their leadership is about something that they believe is more important than they are.

Which might be the purest definition of leadership that I’ve heard so far.

Judge for yourself.

Here’s a question. Can you hear yourself think?

This week’s guest is DeEtta Jones. She’s the founder of one of the world’s leading EDI training and strategy consultancies.

She’s seen leadership and leaders through many lenses. And she’s learned that the best of them are not necessarily the ones making the most noise.

Leadership is changing in real time. I see evidence everywhere, every day.

The beliefs we have grown up with about leadership - that it starts with standing in front of a group and selling them on a vision, that your success depends on your ability to put everyone else first and yourself second, that your confidence and certainty is the fuel on which the race to the future is run.

There is still some truth in these. You still need to be a reference point, a compass, a constant.

But if you try to do those things and be those things before you have done the quiet work of understanding who you are, before you are clear about what matters to you, before you can be honest about when (and why) you get in your own way, then you are building your leadership on quicksand.

Knowing who you are and who you want to be are foundations strong enough to support not just your future, but that of anyone that matters to you.

Edited highlights of our full conversation.

Here’s a question. Can you hear yourself think?

This week’s guest is DeEtta Jones. She’s the founder of one of the world’s leading EDI training and strategy consultancies.

She’s seen leadership and leaders through many lenses. And she’s learned that the best of them are not necessarily the ones making the most noise.

Leadership is changing in real time. I see evidence everywhere, every day.

The beliefs we have grown up with about leadership - that it starts with standing in front of a group and selling them on a vision, that your success depends on your ability to put everyone else first and yourself second, that your confidence and certainty is the fuel on which the race to the future is run.

There is still some truth in these. You still need to be a reference point, a compass, a constant.

But if you try to do those things and be those things before you have done the quiet work of understanding who you are, before you are clear about what matters to you, before you can be honest about when (and why) you get in your own way, then you are building your leadership on quicksand.

Knowing who you are and who you want to be are foundations strong enough to support not just your future, but that of anyone that matters to you.

Edited highlights of our full conversation.

Here’s a question. Can you hear yourself think?

This week’s guest is DeEtta Jones. She’s the founder of one of the world’s leading EDI training and strategy consultancies.

She’s seen leadership and leaders through many lenses. And she’s learned that the best of them are not necessarily the ones making the most noise.

Leadership is changing in real time. I see evidence everywhere, every day.

The beliefs we have grown up with about leadership - that it starts with standing in front of a group and selling them on a vision, that your success depends on your ability to put everyone else first and yourself second, that your confidence and certainty is the fuel on which the race to the future is run.

There is still some truth in these. You still need to be a reference point, a compass, a constant.

But if you try to do those things and be those things before you have done the quiet work of understanding who you are, before you are clear about what matters to you, before you can be honest about when (and why) you get in your own way, then you are building your leadership on quicksand.

Knowing who you are and who you want to be are foundations strong enough to support not just your future, but that of anyone that matters to you.

Here’s a question. Are you taking care of yourself?

This week’s guest is Nancy Hill. She’s the CEO of Marcus Thomas, and the former CEO of the 4As. She was named by Advertising Age as one of the ‘100 Most Influential Women in Advertising History’.

Nancy recently wrote an article for AdAge. The link is in the show notes for this episode. In the piece, she describes discovering that she was suffering from Post Traumatic Stress Disorder.

Leadership is lonely. I’m hoping that we can change that over the coming months and years but for now, it’s a truth. Have a plan, know the answers, don’t show weakness. All of these are the expectations when you agree to be the leader.

And while it’s true these expectations are placed on you by others, they are even more emphatically placed on you by, well, you.

The needs of everyone else become your greatest concern. If there’s time left over you’ll worry about yourself then.

The only flaws in that thinking are that it doesn’t scale and it isn’t sustainable.

What’s the alternative? How do you build a lasting foundation for your leadership that allows you to unlock your own potential and the potential of others?

In 1870, global life expectancy was less than 30 years.

1870 was only 150 years ago.

Today, we have reached the point that biologically, if we avoid serious disease and unhealthy lifestyle choices, our bodies are capable of lasting 150 years.

Already, the life expectancy of a child born in the West means that they will live long into the 22nd century. By the time we reach the 22nd century, life expectancy will almost certainly take us well into the 23rd.

That means children born today will have great grandchildren who will live in the era of Star Trek. Boldly going where no one has gone before.

The future is coming at us faster and will last longer.

A leadership style, philosophy, paradigm that places your own emotional and physical well being behind the needs of everyone else, may feel selfless in the moment, but is actually designed to minimize the depth and length of the impact you could have. Should have.

The era of ‘get to 60 and stop’ is over. The era of ‘get to 60 and start’ - not just a new chapter but a new book - is already here. Will you be ready to meet it? Will you be able to? Physically? Emotionally?

They say that every journey begins with a single step. For years, I believed that meant movement forward.

But what I’ve learned is that the first step for any leader needs to be to stop. To pause.

Because, if you want to make a difference, if you want to drive creative, innovative and economic success for your organization, if you want to unlock the full potential of the people and the business for which you are responsible, then step 1 is to understand what you need.

Edited highlights of our full conversation.

Here’s a question. Are you taking care of yourself?

This week’s guest is Nancy Hill. She’s the CEO of Marcus Thomas, and the former CEO of the 4As. She was named by Advertising Age as one of the ‘100 Most Influential Women in Advertising History’.

Nancy recently wrote an article for AdAge. The link is in the show notes for this episode. In the piece, she describes discovering that she was suffering from Post Traumatic Stress Disorder.

Leadership is lonely. I’m hoping that we can change that over the coming months and years but for now, it’s a truth. Have a plan, know the answers, don’t show weakness. All of these are the expectations when you agree to be the leader.

And while it’s true these expectations are placed on you by others, they are even more emphatically placed on you by, well, you.

The needs of everyone else become your greatest concern. If there’s time left over you’ll worry about yourself then.

The only flaws in that thinking are that it doesn’t scale and it isn’t sustainable.

What’s the alternative? How do you build a lasting foundation for your leadership that allows you to unlock your own potential and the potential of others?

In 1870, global life expectancy was less than 30 years.

1870 was only 150 years ago.

Today, we have reached the point that biologically, if we avoid serious disease and unhealthy lifestyle choices, our bodies are capable of lasting 150 years.

Already, the life expectancy of a child born in the West means that they will live long into the 22nd century. By the time we reach the 22nd century, life expectancy will almost certainly take us well into the 23rd.

That means children born today will have great grandchildren who will live in the era of Star Trek. Boldly going where no one has gone before.

The future is coming at us faster and will last longer.

A leadership style, philosophy, paradigm that places your own emotional and physical well being behind the needs of everyone else, may feel selfless in the moment, but is actually designed to minimize the depth and length of the impact you could have. Should have.

The era of ‘get to 60 and stop’ is over. The era of ‘get to 60 and start’ - not just a new chapter but a new book - is already here. Will you be ready to meet it? Will you be able to? Physically? Emotionally?

They say that every journey begins with a single step. For years, I believed that meant movement forward.

But what I’ve learned is that the first step for any leader needs to be to stop. To pause.

Because, if you want to make a difference, if you want to drive creative, innovative and economic success for your organization, if you want to unlock the full potential of the people and the business for which you are responsible, then step 1 is to understand what you need.

Edited highlights of our full conversation.

Here’s a question. Are you taking care of yourself?

This week’s guest is Nancy Hill. She’s the CEO of Marcus Thomas, and the former CEO of the 4As. She was named by Advertising Age as one of the ‘100 Most Influential Women in Advertising History’.

Nancy recently wrote an article for AdAge. The link is in the show notes for this episode. In the piece, she describes discovering that she was suffering from Post Traumatic Stress Disorder.

Leadership is lonely. I’m hoping that we can change that over the coming months and years but for now, it’s a truth. Have a plan, know the answers, don’t show weakness. All of these are the expectations when you agree to be the leader.

And while it’s true these expectations are placed on you by others, they are even more emphatically placed on you by, well, you.

The needs of everyone else become your greatest concern. If there’s time left over you’ll worry about yourself then.

The only flaws in that thinking are that it doesn’t scale and it isn’t sustainable.

What’s the alternative? How do you build a lasting foundation for your leadership that allows you to unlock your own potential and the potential of others?

In 1870, global life expectancy was less than 30 years.

1870 was only 150 years ago.

Today, we have reached the point that biologically, if we avoid serious disease and unhealthy lifestyle choices, our bodies are capable of lasting 150 years.

Already, the life expectancy of a child born in the West means that they will live long into the 22nd century. By the time we reach the 22nd century, life expectancy will almost certainly take us well into the 23rd.

That means children born today will have great grandchildren who will live in the era of Star Trek. Boldly going where no one has gone before.

The future is coming at us faster and will last longer.

A leadership style, philosophy, paradigm that places your own emotional and physical well being behind the needs of everyone else, may feel selfless in the moment, but is actually designed to minimize the depth and length of the impact you could have. Should have.

The era of ‘get to 60 and stop’ is over. The era of ‘get to 60 and start’ - not just a new chapter but a new book - is already here. Will you be ready to meet it? Will you be able to? Physically? Emotionally?

They say that every journey begins with a single step. For years, I believed that meant movement forward.

But what I’ve learned is that the first step for any leader needs to be to stop. To pause.

Because, if you want to make a difference, if you want to drive creative, innovative and economic success for your organization, if you want to unlock the full potential of the people and the business for which you are responsible, then step 1 is to understand what you need.

Here’s a question. What triggers you?

This week’s guest is Kate Rouch. She’s the Chief Marketing Officer at Coinbase.

October was Mental Health Month.

But the truth is, every month should be.

And when you’re the leader, every month is.

Leadership, at its best, is a selfless act. A desire to help others reach a future that is better than the present.

Many, many things can get in the way. Most of them we know about before we start. A few others show up along the way.

But the one that we all carry with us, often unrecognized or worse, ignored, is our mental health.

We focus on the challenges and outcomes, the trials and the tasks, believing what we’ve been told, that anything is possible. If you want it badly enough, and work for it hard enough, you can will that future into existence, so the story goes.

Except the story leaves out a crucial part - our neurobiology. The completely, utterly, entirely unique programming that makes us who we are.

Why does that music make you cry? Why do these words make you angry? Why does that response scare you, intrigue you, excite you? What is making you afraid?

The programming might come from this lifetime. A father that left, a sister that died, a dog that never left your side.

Or, as the evidence increasingly suggests, it might have been passed down to you from generations before, hard-wired into your DNA before birth, created by events you did not experience and pain you did not know firsthand.

And yet, we drive ourselves forward, determined to succeed, carrying baggage and burdens that would stun a herd of bison. Ignoring the fact that our programming controls us, causing our body to react and our mind to contract. During those few moments when we are triggered, we are out of control of our feelings. That’s not a lack of discipline or determination. It’s biology.

So, try this instead. Acknowledge your feelings. Find comfort in the absolute truth that you are not broken or inadequate or alone. Find confidence in the knowledge that with the right help, we have the ability to rewire our brains, if we want to.

So start to pay attention to what you feel and when.

It’s the beginning of the journey that matters most. Self discovery.

And from there, all things are possible.

Edited highlights of our full conversation.

Here’s a question. What triggers you?

This week’s guest is Kate Rouch. She’s the Chief Marketing Officer at Coinbase.

October was Mental Health Month.

But the truth is, every month should be.

And when you’re the leader, every month is.

Leadership, at its best, is a selfless act. A desire to help others reach a future that is better than the present.

Many, many things can get in the way. Most of them we know about before we start. A few others show up along the way.

But the one that we all carry with us, often unrecognized or worse, ignored, is our mental health.

We focus on the challenges and outcomes, the trials and the tasks, believing what we’ve been told, that anything is possible. If you want it badly enough, and work for it hard enough, you can will that future into existence, so the story goes.

Except the story leaves out a crucial part - our neurobiology. The completely, utterly, entirely unique programming that makes us who we are.

Why does that music make you cry? Why do these words make you angry? Why does that response scare you, intrigue you, excite you? What is making you afraid?

The programming might come from this lifetime. A father that left, a sister that died, a dog that never left your side.

Or, as the evidence increasingly suggests, it might have been passed down to you from generations before, hard-wired into your DNA before birth, created by events you did not experience and pain you did not know firsthand.

And yet, we drive ourselves forward, determined to succeed, carrying baggage and burdens that would stun a herd of bison. Ignoring the fact that our programming controls us, causing our body to react and our mind to contract. During those few moments when we are triggered, we are out of control of our feelings. That’s not a lack of discipline or determination. It’s biology.

So, try this instead. Acknowledge your feelings. Find comfort in the absolute truth that you are not broken or inadequate or alone. Find confidence in the knowledge that with the right help, we have the ability to rewire our brains, if we want to.

So start to pay attention to what you feel and when.

It’s the beginning of the journey that matters most. Self discovery.

And from there, all things are possible.

This week, we’re re-airing a conversation I had with Tiffany Rolfe early in 2022.

In the eighteen months since we published this episode, the world has grown even more complicated and uncertain. And the line between work and home even more blurred.

Tiffany has added the responsibilities of Global Chair of R/GA to her Global Chief Creative Officer role.

What we need from our leaders is increasing all the time.

As Tiffany asks, “How do you make sure you’re taking care of yourself in all this too?”

Here’s Tiffany Rolfe - re-loaded.

Here’s a question. Where does work end and life begin?

This week’s guest is Tiffany Rolfe. She’s the Global Chief Creative Officer at R/GA, a job she took on in the early stages of the pandemic as part of a new leadership team.

Two years ago, the Ad Age A List recognized R/GA as the Comeback Agency of the Year. This year, they are now ranked second among all agencies.

Tiffany’s email signature reads, Mom and Global Chief Creative Officer.

I speak for myself when I say that before we all withdrew into our homes in early 2020, I was aware only conceptually of how women who are parents juggle that with their careers.

But two years of working via Zoom has given many of us insights into people’s lives that were previously unimaginable for their candor and vulnerability.

This conversation is a living example of the challenges and gifts that have emerged from the last two years.

The line between work and home has been blurred beyond any reasonable hope of recognition. No matter how powerful a microscope you apply, it is almost impossible to see the separation any more between leader and human being.

The destruction of this separation can be liberating if you’re willing to create your own definition of the work-life balance.

If you’re not, it will be very hard as you try in vain to keep up with a dangerously out of date view of where work ends and life begins.

The day is not only for work. The day is for living.

What that means is entirely for you to decide.

Edited highlights of our full conversation.

This week, we’re re-airing a conversation I had with Tiffany Rolfe early in 2022.

In the eighteen months since we published this episode, the world has grown even more complicated and uncertain. And the line between work and home even more blurred.

Tiffany has added the responsibilities of Global Chair of R/GA to her Global Chief Creative Officer role.

What we need from our leaders is increasing all the time.

As Tiffany asks, “How do you make sure you’re taking care of yourself in all this too?”

Here’s Tiffany Rolfe - re-loaded.

Here’s a question. Where does work end and life begin?

This week’s guest is Tiffany Rolfe. She’s the Global Chief Creative Officer at R/GA, a job she took on in the early stages of the pandemic as part of a new leadership team.

Two years ago, the Ad Age A List recognized R/GA as the Comeback Agency of the Year. This year, they are now ranked second among all agencies.

Tiffany’s email signature reads, Mom and Global Chief Creative Officer.

I speak for myself when I say that before we all withdrew into our homes in early 2020, I was aware only conceptually of how women who are parents juggle that with their careers.

But two years of working via Zoom has given many of us insights into people’s lives that were previously unimaginable for their candor and vulnerability.

This conversation is a living example of the challenges and gifts that have emerged from the last two years.

The line between work and home has been blurred beyond any reasonable hope of recognition. No matter how powerful a microscope you apply, it is almost impossible to see the separation any more between leader and human being.

The destruction of this separation can be liberating if you’re willing to create your own definition of the work-life balance.

If you’re not, it will be very hard as you try in vain to keep up with a dangerously out of date view of where work ends and life begins.

The day is not only for work. The day is for living.

What that means is entirely for you to decide.

Here’s a question. What do you know about who you want to be?

This week’s guest is Rick Brim. He’s the Global Chief Creative Officer at adam&eveDDB.

Rick was on the podcast four and half years ago in early 2019. I called that episode, “The ‘I Don’t Know’ Leader”, to highlight Rick’s point that it’s okay for leaders not to know the answer every time.

I suspect, if you asked him today, he’d feel the same way. As would I. Leaders are not supposed to have all the answers.

But Rick has been changed by the last four years.

The leadership journey is personal.

And complicated, because it involves other people.

And sometimes it’s overwhelming, because all the gaps in your leadership are filled with emotion. And a lot of that is the emotion that comes in the middle-of-the-night darkness that keeps us all awake.

The last four years have brought most of us a hosepipe full of emotions. And every day the news adds more angst and anxiety and uncertainty to that drink.

For some people, the answer is to meet that with a determination to focus on the task in front of them. To get back to work and to deliver results, come what may. That comes, inevitably and eventually, with a heavy price - for them and the people around them.

But for others, the last four years and the maelstrom we live in today have given them the chance to learn about themselves. What matters and what else they are capable of.

They have discovered, to use Rick’s words, a clearer perspective of the person they want to be.

They know that.

And that, I promise you from the bottom of my heart, is the beginning of everything.

What do you know about who you want to be?

What questions are you asking of yourself and about yourself?

Edited highlights of our full conversation.

Here’s a question. What do you know about who you want to be?

This week’s guest is Rick Brim. He’s the Global Chief Creative Officer at adam&eveDDB.

Rick was on the podcast four and half years ago in early 2019. I called that episode, “The ‘I Don’t Know’ Leader”, to highlight Rick’s point that it’s okay for leaders not to know the answer every time.

I suspect, if you asked him today, he’d feel the same way. As would I. Leaders are not supposed to have all the answers.

But Rick has been changed by the last four years.

The leadership journey is personal.

And complicated, because it involves other people.

And sometimes it’s overwhelming, because all the gaps in your leadership are filled with emotion. And a lot of that is the emotion that comes in the middle-of-the-night darkness that keeps us all awake.

The last four years have brought most of us a hosepipe full of emotions. And every day the news adds more angst and anxiety and uncertainty to that drink.

For some people, the answer is to meet that with a determination to focus on the task in front of them. To get back to work and to deliver results, come what may. That comes, inevitably and eventually, with a heavy price - for them and the people around them.

But for others, the last four years and the maelstrom we live in today have given them the chance to learn about themselves. What matters and what else they are capable of.

They have discovered, to use Rick’s words, a clearer perspective of the person they want to be.

They know that.

And that, I promise you from the bottom of my heart, is the beginning of everything.

What do you know about who you want to be?

What questions are you asking of yourself and about yourself?

Edited highlights of our full conversation.

Here’s a question. What do you know about who you want to be?

This week’s guest is Rick Brim. He’s the Global Chief Creative Officer at adam&eveDDB.

Rick was on the podcast four and half years ago in early 2019. I called that episode, “The ‘I Don’t Know’ Leader”, to highlight Rick’s point that it’s okay for leaders not to know the answer every time.

I suspect, if you asked him today, he’d feel the same way. As would I. Leaders are not supposed to have all the answers.

But Rick has been changed by the last four years.

The leadership journey is personal.

And complicated, because it involves other people.

And sometimes it’s overwhelming, because all the gaps in your leadership are filled with emotion. And a lot of that is the emotion that comes in the middle-of-the-night darkness that keeps us all awake.

The last four years have brought most of us a hosepipe full of emotions. And every day the news adds more angst and anxiety and uncertainty to that drink.

For some people, the answer is to meet that with a determination to focus on the task in front of them. To get back to work and to deliver results, come what may. That comes, inevitably and eventually, with a heavy price - for them and the people around them.

But for others, the last four years and the maelstrom we live in today have given them the chance to learn about themselves. What matters and what else they are capable of.

They have discovered, to use Rick’s words, a clearer perspective of the person they want to be.

They know that.

And that, I promise you from the bottom of my heart, is the beginning of everything.

What do you know about who you want to be?

What questions are you asking of yourself and about yourself?

Here’s a question. What makes great happen?

This week’s guest is Robert Brunner. He was the Director of Industrial Design for Apple, a Partner at Pentagram and the Chief Designer of Beats by Dr. Dre, before becoming the Founder of Ammunition. They describe themselves as a design studio dedicated to bringing products and services that matter to market.

He was named one of Fast Company’s “Most Creative People in Business,” and his work is included in the permanent collections of the Museum of Modern Art, Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum, and the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art.

Design is the art and science of knowing what to start and when to stop.

In that respect, it’s very much like leadership. There are best practices but no absolute rules. Imagining and re-imagining what’s possible is where it gets its fuel.

Leadership is a position of staggering opportunity. And yet, I’m constantly reminded of how few people fully appreciate the potential of the position they hold. How restricted they seem in their imagination of what is possible.

I’ve come to realize that this is not caused by a lack of ambition or interest. It is caused by a lack of awareness and understanding.

Understanding of the power of leadership. Awareness of their own potential. And their impact.

I’m fortunate to work in industries and with companies that are populated, almost exclusively with kind and thoughtful people. They don’t all, always act that way, but when they don’t it tends to be from insecurity or self doubt or personal trauma.

These things can hold all of us back. I speak from deep experience. Both of others, and of myself.

When you step into a leadership position, you have the power to change the world. Perhaps a small corner of it. Perhaps more than that.

It is the part of your life in which you can make the biggest difference in the life of others and learn more about yourself than at any other time.

Do not let that go by without self exploration.

What do you want to do with this opportunity? What do you want to make of it and with it? What would great look like?

And, crucially, what is stopping you from achieving all that? What do you think and feel about yourself that is going to get in the way. Imagine your future. Design it. Then go and lead it.

I promise you one thing. You’re already better than you know.

Edited highlights of our full conversation.

Here’s a question. What makes great happen?

This week’s guest is Robert Brunner. He was the Director of Industrial Design for Apple, a Partner at Pentagram and the Chief Designer of Beats by Dr. Dre, before becoming the Founder of Ammunition. They describe themselves as a design studio dedicated to bringing products and services that matter to market.

He was named one of Fast Company’s “Most Creative People in Business,” and his work is included in the permanent collections of the Museum of Modern Art, Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum, and the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art.

Design is the art and science of knowing what to start and when to stop.

In that respect, it’s very much like leadership. There are best practices but no absolute rules. Imagining and re-imagining what’s possible is where it gets its fuel.

Leadership is a position of staggering opportunity. And yet, I’m constantly reminded of how few people fully appreciate the potential of the position they hold. How restricted they seem in their imagination of what is possible.

I’ve come to realize that this is not caused by a lack of ambition or interest. It is caused by a lack of awareness and understanding.

Understanding of the power of leadership. Awareness of their own potential. And their impact.

I’m fortunate to work in industries and with companies that are populated, almost exclusively with kind and thoughtful people. They don’t all, always act that way, but when they don’t it tends to be from insecurity or self doubt or personal trauma.

These things can hold all of us back. I speak from deep experience. Both of others, and of myself.

When you step into a leadership position, you have the power to change the world. Perhaps a small corner of it. Perhaps more than that.

It is the part of your life in which you can make the biggest difference in the life of others and learn more about yourself than at any other time.

Do not let that go by without self exploration.

What do you want to do with this opportunity? What do you want to make of it and with it? What would great look like?

And, crucially, what is stopping you from achieving all that? What do you think and feel about yourself that is going to get in the way. Imagine your future. Design it. Then go and lead it.

I promise you one thing. You’re already better than you know.

Edited highlights of our full conversation.

Here’s a question. What makes great happen?

This week’s guest is Robert Brunner. He was the Director of Industrial Design for Apple, a Partner at Pentagram and the Chief Designer of Beats by Dr. Dre, before becoming the Founder of Ammunition. They describe themselves as a design studio dedicated to bringing products and services that matter to market.

He was named one of Fast Company’s “Most Creative People in Business,” and his work is included in the permanent collections of the Museum of Modern Art, Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum, and the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art.

Design is the art and science of knowing what to start and when to stop.

In that respect, it’s very much like leadership. There are best practices but no absolute rules. Imagining and re-imagining what’s possible is where it gets its fuel.

Leadership is a position of staggering opportunity. And yet, I’m constantly reminded of how few people fully appreciate the potential of the position they hold. How restricted they seem in their imagination of what is possible.

I’ve come to realize that this is not caused by a lack of ambition or interest. It is caused by a lack of awareness and understanding.

Understanding of the power of leadership. Awareness of their own potential. And their impact.

I’m fortunate to work in industries and with companies that are populated, almost exclusively with kind and thoughtful people. They don’t all, always act that way, but when they don’t it tends to be from insecurity or self doubt or personal trauma.

These things can hold all of us back. I speak from deep experience. Both of others, and of myself.

When you step into a leadership position, you have the power to change the world. Perhaps a small corner of it. Perhaps more than that.

It is the part of your life in which you can make the biggest difference in the life of others and learn more about yourself than at any other time.

Do not let that go by without self exploration.

What do you want to do with this opportunity? What do you want to make of it and with it? What would great look like?

And, crucially, what is stopping you from achieving all that? What do you think and feel about yourself that is going to get in the way. Imagine your future. Design it. Then go and lead it.

I promise you one thing. You’re already better than you know.

Here’s a question. How do your people know you’re here for them?

This week’s guest is Yves Briantais. He’s the VP of Marketing Asia-Pacific for Colgate-Palmolive.

We recorded this interview at the end of a long week at the Cannes Lions Festival of Creativity.

There are a number of areas that I could have focused on for this introduction.

But the one I want to highlight is an issue that I hear about from so many leaders today.

Where they lead from.

For businesses that depend on unlocking creativity and innovation, the era of top down leadership is ending. And faster than many companies - most companies - realize.

Servant leadership is the popular replacement. Popular in that many people talk about it, very few have fully understood it, and almost no one actually practices it. Quarterly financial targets have a habit of getting in the way of good intentions.

Leading from behind is a thoughtful and honorable desire to get away from command and control leadership, and instead create a different kind of relationship with your team. One in which they know you’re there for them, while giving them room to grow.

But it doesn’t quite go far enough - in my opinion.

The challenge for leaders is that today, leadership requires so many different styles of relationship with your teams, depending on the situation. Collaboration. Subordination. Integration. Provocation. Expectation. And, when the heat is on, Protection.

A friend and I are working on a new leadership paradigm, one designed from vast experience both inside and outside complex, highly creative and innovative businesses. One built for the reality of the world and society in which we live and for the people that we want to be.

We’ll have much more on this over the next few weeks.

In the meantime, this conversation is invaluable for Yves’ insights on empathy, intention, and co-creation.

Edited highlights of our full conversation.

Here’s a question. How do your people know you’re here for them?

This week’s guest is Yves Briantais. He’s the VP of Marketing Asia-Pacific for Colgate-Palmolive.

We recorded this interview at the end of a long week at the Cannes Lions Festival of Creativity.

There are a number of areas that I could have focused on for this introduction.

But the one I want to highlight is an issue that I hear about from so many leaders today.

Where they lead from.

For businesses that depend on unlocking creativity and innovation, the era of top down leadership is ending. And faster than many companies - most companies - realize.

Servant leadership is the popular replacement. Popular in that many people talk about it, very few have fully understood it, and almost no one actually practices it. Quarterly financial targets have a habit of getting in the way of good intentions.

Leading from behind is a thoughtful and honorable desire to get away from command and control leadership, and instead create a different kind of relationship with your team. One in which they know you’re there for them, while giving them room to grow.

But it doesn’t quite go far enough - in my opinion.

The challenge for leaders is that today, leadership requires so many different styles of relationship with your teams, depending on the situation. Collaboration. Subordination. Integration. Provocation. Expectation. And, when the heat is on, Protection.

A friend and I are working on a new leadership paradigm, one designed from vast experience both inside and outside complex, highly creative and innovative businesses. One built for the reality of the world and society in which we live and for the people that we want to be.

We’ll have much more on this over the next few weeks.

In the meantime, this conversation is invaluable for Yves’ insights on empathy, intention, and co-creation.

Here’s a question. How much of your real self are you showing?

This week’s guest is DJ Jackson. He’s the Vice President of Brand at EA Sports. They’re a division of Electronic Arts and one of the world’s largest developers and publishers of sports video games. Their slogan, “If it’s in the game, it’s in the game,” has become a reference point for judging the authenticity of their games.

Leading a business that exists in the digital world means straddling artificiality and reality. Information and emotion.

Which is a lot like leadership.

Leadership has gone through a generational shift in the least three years.

Leadership as a performance, which worked for more than half a century, has been made extinct overnight.

Human leadership is the complicated, contradictory path to success - both professionally and personally.

That creates a challenge for most of us. How much of ourselves do we want to show the world? And how much do we want to keep behind the curtain?

But even that has become complex. Because today’s world class talent aren’t willing to accept whatever you’re willing to give. They have their own needs and expectations, too.

First among which is they want to work for fully formed human beings. People with feelings, who don’t always have all the answers.

There’s a fine line balancing the confidence that all leaders need to project, with the vulnerability that comes from being a self-aware human.

Where are you on that continuum? How much of your real self are you showing?

Edited highlights of our full conversation.

Here’s a question. How much of your real self are you showing?

This week’s guest is DJ Jackson. He’s the Vice President of Brand at EA Sports. They’re a division of Electronic Arts and one of the world’s largest developers and publishers of sports video games. Their slogan, “If it’s in the game, it’s in the game,” has become a reference point for judging the authenticity of their games.

Leading a business that exists in the digital world means straddling artificiality and reality. Information and emotion.

Which is a lot like leadership.

Leadership has gone through a generational shift in the least three years.

Leadership as a performance, which worked for more than half a century, has been made extinct overnight.

Human leadership is the complicated, contradictory path to success - both professionally and personally.

That creates a challenge for most of us. How much of ourselves do we want to show the world? And how much do we want to keep behind the curtain?

But even that has become complex. Because today’s world class talent aren’t willing to accept whatever you’re willing to give. They have their own needs and expectations, too.

First among which is they want to work for fully formed human beings. People with feelings, who don’t always have all the answers.

There’s a fine line balancing the confidence that all leaders need to project, with the vulnerability that comes from being a self-aware human.

Where are you on that continuum? How much of your real self are you showing?

Edited highlights of our full conversation.

Here’s a question. How much of your real self are you showing?

This week’s guest is DJ Jackson. He’s the Vice President of Brand at EA Sports. They’re a division of Electronic Arts and one of the world’s largest developers and publishers of sports video games. Their slogan, “If it’s in the game, it’s in the game,” has become a reference point for judging the authenticity of their games.

Leading a business that exists in the digital world means straddling artificiality and reality. Information and emotion.

Which is a lot like leadership.

Leadership has gone through a generational shift in the least three years.

Leadership as a performance, which worked for more than half a century, has been made extinct overnight.

Human leadership is the complicated, contradictory path to success - both professionally and personally.

That creates a challenge for most of us. How much of ourselves do we want to show the world? And how much do we want to keep behind the curtain?

But even that has become complex. Because today’s world class talent aren’t willing to accept whatever you’re willing to give. They have their own needs and expectations, too.

First among which is they want to work for fully formed human beings. People with feelings, who don’t always have all the answers.

There’s a fine line balancing the confidence that all leaders need to project, with the vulnerability that comes from being a self-aware human.

Where are you on that continuum? How much of your real self are you showing?

Here’s a question. Who is helping you be you?

This week’s guest is Liz Taylor. She’s the Global Chief Creative Officer at Ogilvy.

Everyone has a story. Liz’s story, as you’ll hear, has a traumatic beginning. She grew up with an abusive father in a home in which there was always a loaded gun. The police were called often. She and her mother and brother would sometimes have to leave in the middle of the night.

That kind of start to life leaves a mark.

We are shaped by our past, consciously or unconsciously.

Which means the person we become can be defined by circumstance. Or by choice.

Sometimes these choices are informed by the presence of a powerful partner in our lives. For Liz, that partner, as you’ll hear, was her mother.

Today, Liz's ability to so clearly and powerfully declare the kind of environment she is determined to provide as a leader, is influenced by the protection and the support that her mother provided her.

But sometimes, the choice of who we want to be does not come from the example set by someone else.

Sometimes, all we have to work with are circumstances in which we were left alone to figure it out for ourselves. Circumstances in which there was no one we could trust.

That can be a lonely place.

One in which it can be overwhelming to ask ourselves honestly, is this who I really want to be?

But I know this to be true beyond a shadow of a doubt.

There are people around you who care. People who want to support you on your journey. People who will help you find your better angels and hold on to them.

Our past shapes us. But it need not define us.

Only we do that.

We just have to ask for help.

Here’s a question. How does your leadership make people feel?

This week’s guest is Ajaz Ahmed, the Founder and CEO of AKQA. They describe themselves as an ideas and innovation company. AKQA employs 6,500 people around the world and receives about 80,000 job applications a year.

The most creative and innovative companies in the world thrive when they build environments that their people trust and cultures that absorb new blood of every type, willingly and happily.

Developing a truly diverse talent base has been the focus of a great many failed attempts by a great many companies. This is true even of companies otherwise acclaimed as the best of the best.

For the amount of time, energy and talent devoted to the effort, diversity and inclusion is still too often a well-intentioned initiative rather than a lived reality.

Ajaz’s definition is the first time that I’ve heard a description that made me understand what a truly inclusive company culture would feel like. And I think that matters.

Leadership has always been measured by results - usually, the kind you can see on a spreadsheet.

That will always be the case. Economics matter. And in the short term, you can move the economic needle of your business through sheer force of leadership will.

Which is why we tend to judge our own leadership impact by analyzing what we can get people to do.

But, for any company dependent on creativity and innovation for its success, sustained economic performance is the result of how people feel.

This is a frightening idea to contemplate, I think.

‘How do I make you feel?’ is perhaps the most vulnerable of human enquiries.

But it’s the one that moves the needle, both on your impact as a leader and as a soul on the planet. A win-win.

Edited highlights of our full conversation.

Here’s a question. How does your leadership make people feel?

This week’s guest is Ajaz Ahmed, the Founder and CEO of AKQA. They describe themselves as an ideas and innovation company. AKQA employs 6,500 people around the world and receives about 80,000 job applications a year.

The most creative and innovative companies in the world thrive when they build environments that their people trust and cultures that absorb new blood of every type, willingly and happily.

Developing a truly diverse talent base has been the focus of a great many failed attempts by a great many companies. This is true even of companies otherwise acclaimed as the best of the best.

For the amount of time, energy and talent devoted to the effort, diversity and inclusion is still too often a well-intentioned initiative rather than a lived reality.

Ajaz’s definition is the first time that I’ve heard a description that made me understand what a truly inclusive company culture would feel like. And I think that matters.

Leadership has always been measured by results - usually, the kind you can see on a spreadsheet.

That will always be the case. Economics matter. And in the short term, you can move the economic needle of your business through sheer force of leadership will.

Which is why we tend to judge our own leadership impact by analyzing what we can get people to do.

But, for any company dependent on creativity and innovation for its success, sustained economic performance is the result of how people feel.

This is a frightening idea to contemplate, I think.

‘How do I make you feel?’ is perhaps the most vulnerable of human enquiries.

But it’s the one that moves the needle, both on your impact as a leader and as a soul on the planet. A win-win.

Edited highlights of our full conversation.

Here’s a question. How does your leadership make people feel?

This week’s guest is Ajaz Ahmed, the Founder and CEO of AKQA. They describe themselves as an ideas and innovation company. AKQA employs 6,500 people around the world and receives about 80,000 job applications a year.

The most creative and innovative companies in the world thrive when they build environments that their people trust and cultures that absorb new blood of every type, willingly and happily.

Developing a truly diverse talent base has been the focus of a great many failed attempts by a great many companies. This is true even of companies otherwise acclaimed as the best of the best.

For the amount of time, energy and talent devoted to the effort, diversity and inclusion is still too often a well-intentioned initiative rather than a lived reality.

Ajaz’s definition is the first time that I’ve heard a description that made me understand what a truly inclusive company culture would feel like. And I think that matters.

Leadership has always been measured by results - usually, the kind you can see on a spreadsheet.

That will always be the case. Economics matter. And in the short term, you can move the economic needle of your business through sheer force of leadership will.

Which is why we tend to judge our own leadership impact by analyzing what we can get people to do.

But, for any company dependent on creativity and innovation for its success, sustained economic performance is the result of how people feel.

This is a frightening idea to contemplate, I think.

‘How do I make you feel?’ is perhaps the most vulnerable of human enquiries.

But it’s the one that moves the needle, both on your impact as a leader and as a soul on the planet. A win-win.

Here’s a question. Do your weaknesses shape you or stop you?

This week’s guest is James Townsend. He’s the Global CEO of Stagwell Brand X Performance Network and the Global CEO at Assembly.

We recorded this conversation in the lobby of the Majestic Hotel during the Cannes Lions Festival. In a week known for its energy, James’s own energy stands out.

So does his self awareness.

The art of leadership is becoming more nuanced every day. There is no one-size-fits-all approach any more. What is true for one person is anathema to another.

Knowing yourself, your strengths and your weaknesses, has never been more critical to your success and to your happiness.

But it is also the issue that creates the biggest challenge for leaders today.

Some leaders are terrified of their weaknesses and do everything they can to protect themselves from them. They focus on smaller vulnerabilities as a way to convince themselves that they’re self aware, while shoving the real issues into the darkest corners.

Others create long lists of perceived weaknesses and much shorter lists of their strengths. Man or woman, they feel like imposters and the lists they create convince them that they are.

It is rare, I find, for someone to have the kind of clarity about themselves that James describes. Most of the time, it takes working with a coach or a confidant for people to see themselves accurately and compassionately. Then they gain access to their full capacity for unleashing the potential of others.

A client with rare talent once said to me, “I’m scared I might be wrong.”

“You’re going to be wrong,” I replied. “But you’re going to be wrong much less often than anyone else.”

Edited highlights of our full conversation.

Here’s a question. Do your weaknesses shape you or stop you?

This week’s guest is James Townsend. He’s the Global CEO of Stagwell Brand X Performance Network and the Global CEO at Assembly.

We recorded this conversation in the lobby of the Majestic Hotel during the Cannes Lions Festival. In a week known for its energy, James’s own energy stands out.

So does his self awareness.

The art of leadership is becoming more nuanced every day. There is no one-size-fits-all approach any more. What is true for one person is anathema to another.

Knowing yourself, your strengths and your weaknesses, has never been more critical to your success and to your happiness.

But it is also the issue that creates the biggest challenge for leaders today.

Some leaders are terrified of their weaknesses and do everything they can to protect themselves from them. They focus on smaller vulnerabilities as a way to convince themselves that they’re self aware, while shoving the real issues into the darkest corners.

Others create long lists of perceived weaknesses and much shorter lists of their strengths. Man or woman, they feel like imposters and the lists they create convince them that they are.

It is rare, I find, for someone to have the kind of clarity about themselves that James describes. Most of the time, it takes working with a coach or a confidant for people to see themselves accurately and compassionately. Then they gain access to their full capacity for unleashing the potential of others.

A client with rare talent once said to me, “I’m scared I might be wrong.”

“You’re going to be wrong,” I replied. “But you’re going to be wrong much less often than anyone else.”

Edited highlights of our full conversation.

Here’s a question. Do your weaknesses shape you or stop you?

This week’s guest is James Townsend. He’s the Global CEO of Stagwell Brand X Performance Network and the Global CEO at Assembly.

We recorded this conversation in the lobby of the Majestic Hotel during the Cannes Lions Festival. In a week known for its energy, James’s own energy stands out.

So does his self awareness.

The art of leadership is becoming more nuanced every day. There is no one-size-fits-all approach any more. What is true for one person is anathema to another.

Knowing yourself, your strengths and your weaknesses, has never been more critical to your success and to your happiness.

But it is also the issue that creates the biggest challenge for leaders today.

Some leaders are terrified of their weaknesses and do everything they can to protect themselves from them. They focus on smaller vulnerabilities as a way to convince themselves that they’re self aware, while shoving the real issues into the darkest corners.

Others create long lists of perceived weaknesses and much shorter lists of their strengths. Man or woman, they feel like imposters and the lists they create convince them that they are.

It is rare, I find, for someone to have the kind of clarity about themselves that James describes. Most of the time, it takes working with a coach or a confidant for people to see themselves accurately and compassionately. Then they gain access to their full capacity for unleashing the potential of others.

A client with rare talent once said to me, “I’m scared I might be wrong.”

“You’re going to be wrong,” I replied. “But you’re going to be wrong much less often than anyone else.”

Here’s a question. What do you need to know and when do you need to know it?

This week’s guest is Sir Martin Sorrell. He first appeared on the show in 2019, and in that conversation, I was struck by his pride in building companies that provide the livelihoods for hundreds of thousands of people.

Sir Martin is a polarizing figure. But he is, of course, much more human than his public persona has shown over the years.

He is, also, I find, increasingly self-reflective.

What do you need to know and when do you need to know it?

Those questions sit at the heart of modern leadership.

Knowledge is indeed power. Demand too much knowledge too soon, and you can restrict the curiosity and the exploration on which creativity and innovation depend.

Ask too few questions and wait too long, and you can expose the business to unsustainable and perhaps even catastrophic risk.

The best leaders, I find, have thought through the questions, ‘What do I need to know and when do I need to know it?’ and they put in place a clear set of expectations and practices that create clarity and consistency for the people around them.

Sir Martin, famously, held very tight reins on his companies. Tighter than many liked. And perhaps his companies could have achieved even more if he had held those reins a little more loosely. But he has built companies that are undeniably creative and undeniably successful.

Creativity requires room to breathe. But it does not require, nor does it expect, chaos in order to thrive.

It needs simply a consistent set of conditions.

If you are clear and consistent about how you create those conditions, your ability to unlock the potential of others goes up exponentially.

Edited highlights of our full conversation.

Here’s a question. What do you need to know and when do you need to know it?

This week’s guest is Sir Martin Sorrell. He first appeared on the show in 2019, and in that conversation, I was struck by his pride in building companies that provide the livelihoods for hundreds of thousands of people.

Sir Martin is a polarizing figure. But he is, of course, much more human than his public persona has shown over the years.

He is, also, I find, increasingly self-reflective.

What do you need to know and when do you need to know it?

Those questions sit at the heart of modern leadership.

Knowledge is indeed power. Demand too much knowledge too soon, and you can restrict the curiosity and the exploration on which creativity and innovation depend.

Ask too few questions and wait too long, and you can expose the business to unsustainable and perhaps even catastrophic risk.

The best leaders, I find, have thought through the questions, ‘What do I need to know and when do I need to know it?’ and they put in place a clear set of expectations and practices that create clarity and consistency for the people around them.

Sir Martin, famously, held very tight reins on his companies. Tighter than many liked. And perhaps his companies could have achieved even more if he had held those reins a little more loosely. But he has built companies that are undeniably creative and undeniably successful.

Creativity requires room to breathe. But it does not require, nor does it expect, chaos in order to thrive.

It needs simply a consistent set of conditions.

If you are clear and consistent about how you create those conditions, your ability to unlock the potential of others goes up exponentially.

Edited highlights of our full conversation.

Here’s a question. What do you need to know and when do you need to know it?

This week’s guest is Sir Martin Sorrell. He first appeared on the show in 2019, and in that conversation, I was struck by his pride in building companies that provide the livelihoods for hundreds of thousands of people.

Sir Martin is a polarizing figure. But he is, of course, much more human than his public persona has shown over the years.

He is, also, I find, increasingly self-reflective.

What do you need to know and when do you need to know it?

Those questions sit at the heart of modern leadership.

Knowledge is indeed power. Demand too much knowledge too soon, and you can restrict the curiosity and the exploration on which creativity and innovation depend.

Ask too few questions and wait too long, and you can expose the business to unsustainable and perhaps even catastrophic risk.

The best leaders, I find, have thought through the questions, ‘What do I need to know and when do I need to know it?’ and they put in place a clear set of expectations and practices that create clarity and consistency for the people around them.

Sir Martin, famously, held very tight reins on his companies. Tighter than many liked. And perhaps his companies could have achieved even more if he had held those reins a little more loosely. But he has built companies that are undeniably creative and undeniably successful.

Creativity requires room to breathe. But it does not require, nor does it expect, chaos in order to thrive.

It needs simply a consistent set of conditions.

If you are clear and consistent about how you create those conditions, your ability to unlock the potential of others goes up exponentially.

Here’s a question. If you died today, what would you regret?

This week’s guest is Jon Cook. Jon is the Global Chief Executive Officer of VMLY&R.

Jon died last October. As you’ll hear, the fact he is still here to have this conversation required a set of circumstances so improbable that they would have strained the credibility of your favorite episodic drama.

But the fact he is still here, gives him, and those that meet him, a living and breathing teacher of what will really matter to us, when we reach our end.

As we age, our priorities and the emphasis of our life changes. We define success in more personal, more human ways.

And yet, when we become leaders we are judged - and we judge ourselves - against metrics that have limited shelf lives.

That will not change any time soon. If you do not deliver economic performance in a for-profit business, you will not be a leader for long.

But, and this is a big but, ask yourself now, what would you would regret if today was your last day on the planet? And then live a life that makes room for the behaviors that would change that answer.

Life and leadership are about choices. Don’t wait until you’re dead to make better ones.

Edited highlights of our full conversation.

Here’s a question. If you died today, what would you regret?

This week’s guest is Jon Cook. Jon is the Global Chief Executive Officer of VMLY&R.

Jon died last October. As you’ll hear, the fact he is still here to have this conversation required a set of circumstances so improbable that they would have strained the credibility of your favorite episodic drama.

But the fact he is still here, gives him, and those that meet him, a living and breathing teacher of what will really matter to us, when we reach our end.

As we age, our priorities and the emphasis of our life changes. We define success in more personal, more human ways.

And yet, when we become leaders we are judged - and we judge ourselves - against metrics that have limited shelf lives.

That will not change any time soon. If you do not deliver economic performance in a for-profit business, you will not be a leader for long.

But, and this is a big but, ask yourself now, what would you would regret if today was your last day on the planet? And then live a life that makes room for the behaviors that would change that answer.

Life and leadership are about choices. Don’t wait until you’re dead to make better ones.

Edited highlights of our full conversation.

Here’s a question. If you died today, what would you regret?

This week’s guest is Jon Cook. Jon is the Global Chief Executive Officer of VMLY&R.

Jon died last October. As you’ll hear, the fact he is still here to have this conversation required a set of circumstances so improbable that they would have strained the credibility of your favorite episodic drama.

But the fact he is still here, gives him, and those that meet him, a living and breathing teacher of what will really matter to us, when we reach our end.

As we age, our priorities and the emphasis of our life changes. We define success in more personal, more human ways.

And yet, when we become leaders we are judged - and we judge ourselves - against metrics that have limited shelf lives.

That will not change any time soon. If you do not deliver economic performance in a for-profit business, you will not be a leader for long.

But, and this is a big but, ask yourself now, what would you would regret if today was your last day on the planet? And then live a life that makes room for the behaviors that would change that answer.

Life and leadership are about choices. Don’t wait until you’re dead to make better ones.

Here’s a question. How fast are you going?

This week’s guest is Andréa Mallard. She’s the Chief Marketing & Communications Officer of Pinterest.

I interviewed Andréa at Cannes, in the lobby of the Majestic Hotel. Her energy struck me, the moment she arrived. Her perspectives about her life and her leadership have stayed with me, long after we said goodbye.

Leadership is a forcing function for the forces of physics. Which direction are you going and how fast are you moving are determined entirely by the leader.

Those two factors are affected directly and acutely by the leaders’ willingness to challenge the status quo. To take off the handbrake that the unasked question leaves in place.

There are some leaders for whom disruption is the fuel that gets them up in the morning.

But for many, the fear of confrontation provides a natural suppression of the instinct to ask the difficult questions. That fear helps them ignore the rising temperature of the water that they and their company are sitting in.

And when the future suddenly arrives, and stares us in the face, we find that all those unasked questions, all those moments when we avoided the hard conversation, suddenly come with a heavy cost. Or worse.

Leadership asks that we overcome our fears in order to help others with theirs. It asks us to be status quo shakers and rule breakers. It asks us to search for the invisible anchors on our businesses and release them so we can meet the future - on our terms.

I heard - or perhaps dreamt - a quote the other day. In any case, I can’t find it on Google so maybe this is an original thought. Either way, it strikes me as true.

You may not be interested in the future. But the future is interested in you.

Ask the questions you didn’t ask yesterday. Feel the temperature of the water around you. Meet the future on your terms. As fast as you can.

Edited highlights of our full conversation.

Here’s a question. How fast are you going?

This week’s guest is Andréa Mallard. She’s the Chief Marketing & Communications Officer of Pinterest.

I interviewed Andréa at Cannes, in the lobby of the Majestic Hotel. Her energy struck me, the moment she arrived. Her perspectives about her life and her leadership have stayed with me, long after we said goodbye.

Leadership is a forcing function for the forces of physics. Which direction are you going and how fast are you moving are determined entirely by the leader.

Those two factors are affected directly and acutely by the leaders’ willingness to challenge the status quo. To take off the handbrake that the unasked question leaves in place.

There are some leaders for whom disruption is the fuel that gets them up in the morning.

But for many, the fear of confrontation provides a natural suppression of the instinct to ask the difficult questions. That fear helps them ignore the rising temperature of the water that they and their company are sitting in.

And when the future suddenly arrives, and stares us in the face, we find that all those unasked questions, all those moments when we avoided the hard conversation, suddenly come with a heavy cost. Or worse.

Leadership asks that we overcome our fears in order to help others with theirs. It asks us to be status quo shakers and rule breakers. It asks us to search for the invisible anchors on our businesses and release them so we can meet the future - on our terms.

I heard - or perhaps dreamt - a quote the other day. In any case, I can’t find it on Google so maybe this is an original thought. Either way, it strikes me as true.

You may not be interested in the future. But the future is interested in you.

Ask the questions you didn’t ask yesterday. Feel the temperature of the water around you. Meet the future on your terms. As fast as you can.

Edited highlights of our full conversation.

Here’s a question. How fast are you going?

This week’s guest is Andréa Mallard. She’s the Chief Marketing & Communications Officer of Pinterest.

I interviewed Andréa at Cannes, in the lobby of the Majestic Hotel. Her energy struck me, the moment she arrived. Her perspectives about her life and her leadership have stayed with me, long after we said goodbye.

Leadership is a forcing function for the forces of physics. Which direction are you going and how fast are you moving are determined entirely by the leader.

Those two factors are affected directly and acutely by the leaders’ willingness to challenge the status quo. To take off the handbrake that the unasked question leaves in place.

There are some leaders for whom disruption is the fuel that gets them up in the morning.

But for many, the fear of confrontation provides a natural suppression of the instinct to ask the difficult questions. That fear helps them ignore the rising temperature of the water that they and their company are sitting in.

And when the future suddenly arrives, and stares us in the face, we find that all those unasked questions, all those moments when we avoided the hard conversation, suddenly come with a heavy cost. Or worse.

Leadership asks that we overcome our fears in order to help others with theirs. It asks us to be status quo shakers and rule breakers. It asks us to search for the invisible anchors on our businesses and release them so we can meet the future - on our terms.

I heard - or perhaps dreamt - a quote the other day. In any case, I can’t find it on Google so maybe this is an original thought. Either way, it strikes me as true.

You may not be interested in the future. But the future is interested in you.

Ask the questions you didn’t ask yesterday. Feel the temperature of the water around you. Meet the future on your terms. As fast as you can.

Here’s a question. How do you feel?

This week’s guest is Tim Mapes, the Chief Marketing and Communications Officer for Delta Airlines.

Delta employs over 90,000 people and puts 4,000 flights into the air every day. As Tim points out, a Delta plane is in the air every second. It is a high-pressure, highly visible job.

Behind that job, is a person.

Early in our conversation, it became obvious that Tim is very willing to look at himself honestly and at his own behavior with self awareness.

I asked him where that came from. And he said, simply, counseling.

Invariably, in my experience, it ties back to an experience you had as a child that is being triggered by something in adult life, but it's evocative of a feeling that you either liked or didn't like or were scared of as a child.

Leaders are human too.

It’s easy to forget that simple truth in a world in which leadership itself is too often deified. The more impressive the title, the more we imbue that person with mystical powers of knowledge and wisdom.

Leaders need to earn the respect of the people that choose to work for them. And re-earn it on a regular basis.

The problem is that over time, successful leaders often tend to create a one way mirror that shows them the world they want to see. And the people that work for those leaders quickly learn that challenging that image is a ticket to nowhere.

The act of building that mirror is usually not one of arrogance or hubris. More often, much more often, it comes from a need to protect ourselves from a feeling that is too difficult to confront.

The willingness to ask ourselves how we really feel, and the courage to explore that question honestly, is the beginning of a journey that replaces the mirror with a window into the lives and feelings of others.

And from that beginning, anything is possible.

Edited highlights of our full conversation.

Here’s a question. How do you feel?

This week’s guest is Tim Mapes, the Chief Marketing and Communications Officer for Delta Airlines.

Delta employs over 90,000 people and puts 4,000 flights into the air every day. As Tim points out, a Delta plane is in the air every second. It is a high-pressure, highly visible job.

Behind that job, is a person.

Early in our conversation, it became obvious that Tim is very willing to look at himself honestly and at his own behavior with self awareness.

I asked him where that came from. And he said, simply, counseling.

Invariably, in my experience, it ties back to an experience you had as a child that is being triggered by something in adult life, but it's evocative of a feeling that you either liked or didn't like or were scared of as a child.

Leaders are human too.

It’s easy to forget that simple truth in a world in which leadership itself is too often deified. The more impressive the title, the more we imbue that person with mystical powers of knowledge and wisdom.

Leaders need to earn the respect of the people that choose to work for them. And re-earn it on a regular basis.

The problem is that over time, successful leaders often tend to create a one way mirror that shows them the world they want to see. And the people that work for those leaders quickly learn that challenging that image is a ticket to nowhere.

The act of building that mirror is usually not one of arrogance or hubris. More often, much more often, it comes from a need to protect ourselves from a feeling that is too difficult to confront.

The willingness to ask ourselves how we really feel, and the courage to explore that question honestly, is the beginning of a journey that replaces the mirror with a window into the lives and feelings of others.

And from that beginning, anything is possible.

Edited highlights of our full conversation.

Here’s a question. How do you feel?

This week’s guest is Tim Mapes, the Chief Marketing and Communications Officer for Delta Airlines.

Delta employs over 90,000 people and puts 4,000 flights into the air every day. As Tim points out, a Delta plane is in the air every second. It is a high-pressure, highly visible job.

Behind that job, is a person.

Early in our conversation, it became obvious that Tim is very willing to look at himself honestly and at his own behavior with self awareness.

I asked him where that came from. And he said, simply, counseling.

Invariably, in my experience, it ties back to an experience you had as a child that is being triggered by something in adult life, but it's evocative of a feeling that you either liked or didn't like or were scared of as a child.

Leaders are human too.

It’s easy to forget that simple truth in a world in which leadership itself is too often deified. The more impressive the title, the more we imbue that person with mystical powers of knowledge and wisdom.

Leaders need to earn the respect of the people that choose to work for them. And re-earn it on a regular basis.

The problem is that over time, successful leaders often tend to create a one way mirror that shows them the world they want to see. And the people that work for those leaders quickly learn that challenging that image is a ticket to nowhere.

The act of building that mirror is usually not one of arrogance or hubris. More often, much more often, it comes from a need to protect ourselves from a feeling that is too difficult to confront.

The willingness to ask ourselves how we really feel, and the courage to explore that question honestly, is the beginning of a journey that replaces the mirror with a window into the lives and feelings of others.

And from that beginning, anything is possible.

Here’s a question. What terrifies you?

I’m Charles Day. I work with creative and innovative companies. I’m asked to coach their leaders and their leadership teams. To help them succeed where leadership has its greatest impact. The intersection of strategy and humanity.

This week’s episode marks a couple of important moments.

It’s the first of a series that I recorded last week at the Cannes Lions festival of creativity.

I have come to learn that Cannes is invaluable on two levels. First, for the people you meet and the relationships you build and develop. Many of the most important and meaningful relationships in my life have been forged and developed over the years at Cannes.

And second, because Cannes, in my experience, is where the future first appears. Not on the main stages, but in the whispy smoke of quiet conversations and afterthoughts that happen away from the spotlight, and that, if you’re paying attention, tell you that something is changing.

In the months leading up to this years festival, in a series of conversations that I had with Simon Cook - the CEO of Cannes - he and I came to learn that there are two things we both want to change.

We want to change the expectations and structure of modern leadership.

And we both want to change ourselves.

Simon is rare. A leader in a highly visible position, unafraid to show who he really is.

Together, we agreed that this year, we would share a stage at Cannes to discuss our own, very personal journeys and why we think they are reflective of a still quiet but rapidly emerging new form of leadership. One in which vulnerability is an expectation.

Today’s episode was recorded last week at Cannes in front of a group of 37 young creatives from 29 countries who had won places to the Roger Hatchuel Student Academy.

It’s the most intimate expression that Simon or I have ever shared publicly of who we are.

Our hope is that this helps to catalyze a shift across the creative industries of how leadership is evaluated and what it is fair to expect of each other - and ourselves.

Here’s a question. Are you looking backwards or forwards?

This week’s guest is Keith Cartwright. He’s the Founder and CCO of CARTWRIGHT, an agency built on the principle of Creative Audacity. He is also Co-Founder of SATURDAY MORNING, an organization built on using creativity to shift negative perceptions in the African American community. Keith was named one the 50 Top Creatives in the Business by Adweek Magazine, and by Campaign Magazine as Top 10 Most Influential People in Advertising.

The world is complicated. Perhaps more today than ever before. The journey to the future is not clear. What will be true when we get there? When our children get there?

And who will we be when the future arrives?

We are complex beings. Drawn to look forward. Built to dream. But influenced by our past more than we sometimes care to admit. And much more than we know.

Leadership provides the light to the future for all of us. Creativity the fuel. The combination offers limitless potential.

Unlocking that potential, unleashing our full impact during the time we are here, either in this job or in this life, happens when we can bring ourself - our whole self - to every moment.

When we understand the journey and the influences that have brought us to this moment, when we know where we want to go, and we are clear and conscious about the obstacles and limitations and beliefs that we place in our own way, then we become a rare and powerful force.

We become a Whole Leader.

Where are you on that journey?

Edited highlights of our full conversation.

Here’s a question. Are you looking backwards or forwards?

This week’s guest is Keith Cartwright. He’s the Founder and CCO of CARTWRIGHT, an agency built on the principle of Creative Audacity. He is also Co-Founder of SATURDAY MORNING, an organization built on using creativity to shift negative perceptions in the African American community. Keith was named one the 50 Top Creatives in the Business by Adweek Magazine, and by Campaign Magazine as Top 10 Most Influential People in Advertising.

The world is complicated. Perhaps more today than ever before. The journey to the future is not clear. What will be true when we get there? When our children get there?

And who will we be when the future arrives?

We are complex beings. Drawn to look forward. Built to dream. But influenced by our past more than we sometimes care to admit. And much more than we know.

Leadership provides the light to the future for all of us. Creativity the fuel. The combination offers limitless potential.

Unlocking that potential, unleashing our full impact during the time we are here, either in this job or in this life, happens when we can bring ourself - our whole self - to every moment.

When we understand the journey and the influences that have brought us to this moment, when we know where we want to go, and we are clear and conscious about the obstacles and limitations and beliefs that we place in our own way, then we become a rare and powerful force.

We become a Whole Leader.

Where are you on that journey?

Edited highlights of our full conversation.

Here’s a question. Are you looking backwards or forwards?

This week’s guest is Keith Cartwright. He’s the Founder and CCO of CARTWRIGHT, an agency built on the principle of Creative Audacity. He is also Co-Founder of SATURDAY MORNING, an organization built on using creativity to shift negative perceptions in the African American community. Keith was named one the 50 Top Creatives in the Business by Adweek Magazine, and by Campaign Magazine as Top 10 Most Influential People in Advertising.

The world is complicated. Perhaps more today than ever before. The journey to the future is not clear. What will be true when we get there? When our children get there?

And who will we be when the future arrives?

We are complex beings. Drawn to look forward. Built to dream. But influenced by our past more than we sometimes care to admit. And much more than we know.

Leadership provides the light to the future for all of us. Creativity the fuel. The combination offers limitless potential.

Unlocking that potential, unleashing our full impact during the time we are here, either in this job or in this life, happens when we can bring ourself - our whole self - to every moment.

When we understand the journey and the influences that have brought us to this moment, when we know where we want to go, and we are clear and conscious about the obstacles and limitations and beliefs that we place in our own way, then we become a rare and powerful force.

We become a Whole Leader.

Where are you on that journey?

Here’s a question. How creative are you?

This week’s guest is Morgan Flatley. She’s the Global CMO of McDonald’s.

McDonald’s is one of the most visible, valuable, and influential brands in the world. Since the company’s birth, it’s been powered by creative thinking and innovation. Today, that’s more true than ever.

Leadership is an awesome responsibility. Do it well or do it badly, you will change people’s lives, either way.

The creative industries have some exceptional leaders. At their heart lies a passion for creating an environment in which others can unlock their gifts.

A passion, as Morgan describes it, for nurturing creative thinking, for protecting it and giving it a space to grow.

In the middle of all that, it is sometimes easy to overlook everything that you bring to the table. To underestimate your own gifts.

I was fortunate to spend a good part of 2006, 7 and 8 in the company of Sir Ken Robinson. His TED Talk, “Do School Kill Creativity?” has been watched 75 million times. I’ve included a link in the episode notes.

His basic belief that we are all born creative, resonates so powerfully with people that whenever I was with him, he was stopped over and over again by strangers who told him that he had changed their lives. He died much too young and much too soon.

My definition of creativity comes from him. Original thinking that has value.

In my work, I have learned that most leaders don’t fully recognize their own extraordinary abilities. And many of the very best leaders instinctively feel that they are not creative. I have lived that reality myself.

Surrounded by world-class creative ideators and talent, it is easy to believe that we lack their gifts until someone helps us to see ourselves differently.

I was fortunate to have someone do that for me. Today, helping leaders to see all of their strengths is one of the most rewarding parts of what I do.

Creative thinking comes in many forms. And its value is unlocked exponentially when, as leaders, we gain the confidence to see ourselves as we truly are. Powerfully creative in our own right.

This does not make creative leadership a competition. It makes it an equation focused on the people that work for us.

An equation that says recognizing our own talent can make us even better at unlocking theirs.

Here’s a question. How do you say goodbye?

This week’s guest is Brad Simms. He’s the President and CEO of GALE Partners. They describe themselves as strategic storytellers.

GALE was founded in 2014 with seven people in Canada. Today, the agency is 734 people across 11 offices, and was this year named #5 in the Ad Age A List, and as Adweek’s Breakthrough Media Agency of the Year.

GALE has above average talent retention rates. But over the course of nine years, something like 1,300 people have spent time at the agency. Put another way, 600 people have left since the company started.

The creative industries are a case study in dynamic organizations. Change is not just inevitable but essential. It is both the fuel and consequence of creative thinking and innovation.

In that environment, people will come and others will leave. And that is as it should be, both for personal growth and the growth of the business.

There are two variables in that equation. When they leave and how.

The question of when is for another day.

The question of how is as important. And often significantly more so.

For many years, the view was that four or five jobs in a thirty-five year career represented a reasonable timeline. Time to learn, time to influence and to impact. A win-win.

Back then, the idea that you would return to a company that you had worked for before was limited only to those few who realized that leaving had been a mistake and raced back to the safety of the known. Often within days.

Today, creating the conditions in which employees can boomerang is a practice so common that it has an actual name. And companies with a proven ability to rehire former employees gain distinctive competitive advantages. Institutional knowledge, cultural fit, team casting, and speed of impact being just four.

Today, when someone leaves, the question of whether you, as the leader, are respectful and grateful for the time they spent at your company, will have more impact on whether they want to come back than anything you do while they are there.

And more to do with who else might want to join you in the first place.

Edited highlights of our full conversation.

Here’s a question. How do you say goodbye?

This week’s guest is Brad Simms. He’s the President and CEO of GALE Partners. They describe themselves as strategic storytellers.

GALE was founded in 2014 with seven people in Canada. Today, the agency is 734 people across 11 offices, and was this year named #5 in the Ad Age A List, and as Adweek’s Breakthrough Media Agency of the Year.

GALE has above average talent retention rates. But over the course of nine years, something like 1,300 people have spent time at the agency. Put another way, 600 people have left since the company started.

The creative industries are a case study in dynamic organizations. Change is not just inevitable but essential. It is both the fuel and consequence of creative thinking and innovation.

In that environment, people will come and others will leave. And that is as it should be, both for personal growth and the growth of the business.

There are two variables in that equation. When they leave and how.

The question of when is for another day.

The question of how is as important. And often significantly more so.

For many years, the view was that four or five jobs in a thirty-five year career represented a reasonable timeline. Time to learn, time to influence and to impact. A win-win.

Back then, the idea that you would return to a company that you had worked for before was limited only to those few who realized that leaving had been a mistake and raced back to the safety of the known. Often within days.

Today, creating the conditions in which employees can boomerang is a practice so common that it has an actual name. And companies with a proven ability to rehire former employees gain distinctive competitive advantages. Institutional knowledge, cultural fit, team casting, and speed of impact being just four.

Today, when someone leaves, the question of whether you, as the leader, are respectful and grateful for the time they spent at your company, will have more impact on whether they want to come back than anything you do while they are there.

And more to do with who else might want to join you in the first place.

Edited highlights of our full conversation.

Here’s a question. How do you say goodbye?

This week’s guest is Brad Simms. He’s the President and CEO of GALE Partners. They describe themselves as strategic storytellers.

GALE was founded in 2014 with seven people in Canada. Today, the agency is 734 people across 11 offices, and was this year named #5 in the Ad Age A List, and as Adweek’s Breakthrough Media Agency of the Year.

GALE has above average talent retention rates. But over the course of nine years, something like 1,300 people have spent time at the agency. Put another way, 600 people have left since the company started.

The creative industries are a case study in dynamic organizations. Change is not just inevitable but essential. It is both the fuel and consequence of creative thinking and innovation.

In that environment, people will come and others will leave. And that is as it should be, both for personal growth and the growth of the business.

There are two variables in that equation. When they leave and how.

The question of when is for another day.

The question of how is as important. And often significantly more so.

For many years, the view was that four or five jobs in a thirty-five year career represented a reasonable timeline. Time to learn, time to influence and to impact. A win-win.

Back then, the idea that you would return to a company that you had worked for before was limited only to those few who realized that leaving had been a mistake and raced back to the safety of the known. Often within days.

Today, creating the conditions in which employees can boomerang is a practice so common that it has an actual name. And companies with a proven ability to rehire former employees gain distinctive competitive advantages. Institutional knowledge, cultural fit, team casting, and speed of impact being just four.

Today, when someone leaves, the question of whether you, as the leader, are respectful and grateful for the time they spent at your company, will have more impact on whether they want to come back than anything you do while they are there.

And more to do with who else might want to join you in the first place.

Here’s a question. What are you responsible for?

This week’s guest is Emma Armstrong. She is the CEO of FCB New York. Most recently, the office was named Agency of the Year at the Clio Awards. Both as an office and as a company, the last few years have been stellar by anyone’s standards.

There are always many reasons for a company’s success, particularly when that success is sustained - the hardest kind to achieve. In my conversation with Emma, she described client relationships in a way that stayed with me long after we had said goodbye.

Unlocking creative thinking and innovation is hard to do when you are in a vendor-supplier relationship. Because, while creativity is the most powerful business problem solver we have, it requires conditions and an environment not always present when one side is telling the other what to do.

Creativity and innovation are fueled by trust. And trust happens when you believe that the person on the other side of the table, or the screen, cares - genuinely cares - about your well-being.

The creative industries have many people who do not engender trust. They demand more for less - more output for less money. More commitment for less respect.

But the true and full power of creativity is unleashed when all parties take seriously the responsibility that each of us has to the person across the table.

Brand, agency, employer, employee. Parent, child, friend. When both of us can put the other person’s interests first, well, that’s when the world is changed.

Edited highlights of our full conversation.

Here’s a question. What are you responsible for?

This week’s guest is Emma Armstrong. She is the CEO of FCB New York. Most recently, the office was named Agency of the Year at the Clio Awards. Both as an office and as a company, the last few years have been stellar by anyone’s standards.

There are always many reasons for a company’s success, particularly when that success is sustained - the hardest kind to achieve. In my conversation with Emma, she described client relationships in a way that stayed with me long after we had said goodbye.

Unlocking creative thinking and innovation is hard to do when you are in a vendor-supplier relationship. Because, while creativity is the most powerful business problem solver we have, it requires conditions and an environment not always present when one side is telling the other what to do.

Creativity and innovation are fueled by trust. And trust happens when you believe that the person on the other side of the table, or the screen, cares - genuinely cares - about your well-being.

The creative industries have many people who do not engender trust. They demand more for less - more output for less money. More commitment for less respect.

But the true and full power of creativity is unleashed when all parties take seriously the responsibility that each of us has to the person across the table.

Brand, agency, employer, employee. Parent, child, friend. When both of us can put the other person’s interests first, well, that’s when the world is changed.

Edited highlights of our full conversation.

Here’s a question. What are you responsible for?

This week’s guest is Emma Armstrong. She is the CEO of FCB New York. Most recently, the office was named Agency of the Year at the Clio Awards. Both as an office and as a company, the last few years have been stellar by anyone’s standards.

There are always many reasons for a company’s success, particularly when that success is sustained - the hardest kind to achieve. In my conversation with Emma, she described client relationships in a way that stayed with me long after we had said goodbye.

Unlocking creative thinking and innovation is hard to do when you are in a vendor-supplier relationship. Because, while creativity is the most powerful business problem solver we have, it requires conditions and an environment not always present when one side is telling the other what to do.

Creativity and innovation are fueled by trust. And trust happens when you believe that the person on the other side of the table, or the screen, cares - genuinely cares - about your well-being.

The creative industries have many people who do not engender trust. They demand more for less - more output for less money. More commitment for less respect.

But the true and full power of creativity is unleashed when all parties take seriously the responsibility that each of us has to the person across the table.

Brand, agency, employer, employee. Parent, child, friend. When both of us can put the other person’s interests first, well, that’s when the world is changed.

This week’s episode is a rebroadcast of a conversation I had in January of 2020 with Marc Pritchard, the CMO of P&G.

In a pre-pandemic world, leaders with jobs as visible and demanding as Marc’s were not talking about the importance of being vulnerable very much.

His willingness to do so then stood out as so unusual - perhaps even unique.

Based on everything that has happened since then to change our understanding of leadership, Marc’s beliefs were unbelievably prescient.

Here is that conversation in full.

Here’s a question. Are you willing to be vulnerable?

Today’s guest is Marc Pritchard. Marc is the CMO of Procter & Gamble -- the largest advertiser in the world. Over 4 billion people buy P&G brands which means the choices the company makes have staggering human, as well as business, implications.

Marc’s leadership journey has brought him to a position of enormous influence. As you’ll hear, that journey has been marked by his willingness to look at himself honestly. To listen to other people’s observations about his leadership, and to consistently raise his own expectations of himself.

This episode is called, “The Vulnerable Leader”.

After Marc and I had finished our interview he asked me why I’d started Fearless. My answer surprised him and so I thought I’d share it with you.

I explained that in my work, I’ve learned that exceptional leaders share three traits.

They’re very clear about the difference they want to make. They recognize and use their strengths - and they’re not afraid of their weaknesses.

Which makes them more focused, more confident and more honest.

But, even the most exceptional leaders take many years to reach this level of self-awareness.

And, as I explained to Marc, my purpose in my work is to help leaders get there earlier in their careers. So they have more time to maximize their impact. And more time to make a bigger difference.

This podcast allows me to help listeners understand that fear is part of everyone’s leadership journey. Even the most accomplished and acclaimed.

You might suffer from imposter syndrome or self-doubt. You might have fallen into the habit of focusing on your weaknesses or ignoring your strengths. You might not want to be at the center of attention, and step back at times when you should step forward.

You might, as in Marc’s case, have developed a personal narrative that is incomplete.

If you experience any of these, you are not alone.

What separates the unforgettable leaders from the forgettable ones is their willingness to be open to new possibilities about themselves. And their ability to use those insights to raise their own expectations of what they’re capable of.

Marc’s willingness to look at himself honestly is the foundation on which his leadership is built. His vulnerability to admit what he has seen has allowed him to unlock the talents of others. And has helped him raise his own expectations for himself.

This podcast is also raising its own expectations of itself. And over the weeks and months ahead, my hope is that these conversations and the insights they provide will help you realize what you are capable of. And help you become that leader sooner.

Edited highlights of our full conversation.

This week’s episode is a rebroadcast of a conversation I had in January of 2020 with Marc Pritchard, the CMO of P&G.

In a pre-pandemic world, leaders with jobs as visible and demanding as Marc’s were not talking about the importance of being vulnerable very much.

His willingness to do so then stood out as so unusual - perhaps even unique.

Based on everything that has happened since then to change our understanding of leadership, Marc’s beliefs were unbelievably prescient.

Here is that conversation in full.

Here’s a question. Are you willing to be vulnerable?

Today’s guest is Marc Pritchard. Marc is the CMO of Procter & Gamble -- the largest advertiser in the world. Over 4 billion people buy P&G brands which means the choices the company makes have staggering human, as well as business, implications.

Marc’s leadership journey has brought him to a position of enormous influence. As you’ll hear, that journey has been marked by his willingness to look at himself honestly. To listen to other people’s observations about his leadership, and to consistently raise his own expectations of himself.

This episode is called, “The Vulnerable Leader”.

After Marc and I had finished our interview he asked me why I’d started Fearless. My answer surprised him and so I thought I’d share it with you.

I explained that in my work, I’ve learned that exceptional leaders share three traits.

They’re very clear about the difference they want to make. They recognize and use their strengths - and they’re not afraid of their weaknesses.

Which makes them more focused, more confident and more honest.

But, even the most exceptional leaders take many years to reach this level of self-awareness.

And, as I explained to Marc, my purpose in my work is to help leaders get there earlier in their careers. So they have more time to maximize their impact. And more time to make a bigger difference.

This podcast allows me to help listeners understand that fear is part of everyone’s leadership journey. Even the most accomplished and acclaimed.

You might suffer from imposter syndrome or self-doubt. You might have fallen into the habit of focusing on your weaknesses or ignoring your strengths. You might not want to be at the center of attention, and step back at times when you should step forward.

You might, as in Marc’s case, have developed a personal narrative that is incomplete.

If you experience any of these, you are not alone.

What separates the unforgettable leaders from the forgettable ones is their willingness to be open to new possibilities about themselves. And their ability to use those insights to raise their own expectations of what they’re capable of.

Marc’s willingness to look at himself honestly is the foundation on which his leadership is built. His vulnerability to admit what he has seen has allowed him to unlock the talents of others. And has helped him raise his own expectations for himself.

This podcast is also raising its own expectations of itself. And over the weeks and months ahead, my hope is that these conversations and the insights they provide will help you realize what you are capable of. And help you become that leader sooner.

Here’s a question. What are your priorities?

This week’s guest is Suzy Deering. Most recently, she was the Global Chief Marketing Officer of Ford. Before that, she was the Global CMO of eBay. She’s held senior positions at Verizon and Home Depot. And she’s been recognized as one of Business Insider’s “Top 50 Most Innovative CMOs.”

The demands of those kinds of jobs can make you lose yourself.

Holding on to who you are and being clear about what really matters, does not happen easily - or by accident.

Suzy’s priorities are God, family, and work. In that order. She has said so, many times. On at least one occasion, as you’ll hear, she was told that her priorities were a problem for some of the people that worked with her.

She is so clear and certain about her priorities that when she joined Ford, she shared them in a document with her team.

Suzy’s priorities are not mine. And they may not be yours. But they are hers.

What makes them remarkable, in my experience, are two things. She knows what they are, and she states them publicly.

I believe the very best leaders share a common truth. They say what they mean and they mean what they say. Which builds trust for the people willing to join you on the journey.

Saying what you mean and meaning what you say become very much easier when you know what matters to you.

I’m curious to know if you do?

Send me an email at charles@fearlesscreativeleadership.com if you know your priorities and if you’re willing to share them.

And if you’re uncomfortable doing so, perhaps ask yourself why.

Here’s a question. How are you creating your company’s culture?

This week’s guest is Melissa Waters. She is the Chief Marketing Officer at Upwork. They describe themselves as the world’s work marketplace.

For any business, if your success depends on unlocking creative thinking and innovation, you have to be competitive in the talent wars. The leadership rules for that used to be simple. Create a compelling culture built around in person experiences.

But how do you lead when a company’s culture is no longer built around physical space?

Tens of millions, probably billions, of the currency of your choice have been spent by business owners to build offices conducive to collaboration, creativity and innovation.

I’ve owned some of those businesses and spent some of that money.

We did it to create a culture. To provide an environment that would help unleash the creativity of the people that worked for us and convert that into economic return.

Physical space wasn’t the only element to building a culture. Beliefs and behaviors mattered as well. But all of them were connected by the fact that, day in and day out, human beings came together and shared ideas and experiences, and learned from each other.

But without the physical structure of an office to provide the container in which culture incubates, the responsibility to create those connections falls squarely on the leader.

Who are your people? What do they think, care about, love, loathe? Are they happy or not? Fulfilled or not? Interested, enthused, excited or not?

Do they feel connected to what matters to the company or not?

And if your answer to any of those questions is “I don’t know,” then it might be time to ask yourself whether your leadership is adapting to the needs of today’s talent. Or not.

Edited highlights of our full conversation.

Here’s a question. How are you creating your company’s culture?

This week’s guest is Melissa Waters. She is the Chief Marketing Officer at Upwork. They describe themselves as the world’s work marketplace.

For any business, if your success depends on unlocking creative thinking and innovation, you have to be competitive in the talent wars. The leadership rules for that used to be simple. Create a compelling culture built around in person experiences.

But how do you lead when a company’s culture is no longer built around physical space?

Tens of millions, probably billions, of the currency of your choice have been spent by business owners to build offices conducive to collaboration, creativity and innovation.

I’ve owned some of those businesses and spent some of that money.

We did it to create a culture. To provide an environment that would help unleash the creativity of the people that worked for us and convert that into economic return.

Physical space wasn’t the only element to building a culture. Beliefs and behaviors mattered as well. But all of them were connected by the fact that, day in and day out, human beings came together and shared ideas and experiences, and learned from each other.

But without the physical structure of an office to provide the container in which culture incubates, the responsibility to create those connections falls squarely on the leader.

Who are your people? What do they think, care about, love, loathe? Are they happy or not? Fulfilled or not? Interested, enthused, excited or not?

Do they feel connected to what matters to the company or not?

And if your answer to any of those questions is “I don’t know,” then it might be time to ask yourself whether your leadership is adapting to the needs of today’s talent. Or not.

Here’s a question. Who are you?

This week’s guest is Nicolle Pangis. She’s the CEO of Ampersand. They describe themselves as a data-driven TV advertising sales and technology company.

In a world increasingly dependent on zeros and 1, one in which AI is moving so fast that some tech leaders are calling for its development to be suspended, it is all too easy to forget the human side of leadership. To forget, in fact, that leaders are human too.

There are so many influences over the decisions that a leader must make. Profit. Loss. Risk. Reward. Future. Past. Hope. Fear. So many, that our understanding of self often gets lost along the way.

Finding yourself in the middle of that rapidly spinning vortex is not for the unprepared. You need a map. One that shows you the true north of who you are and who you want to be.

If you haven’t prepared this map before you step into the role, it becomes harder and harder to create. Instead, you find yourself drawing a path forward that is based on the expectations, the hopes and the dreams of others.

Life is short. Your career is shorter. Live them both on your terms and you’ll be able to measure yourself against the most important set of data in the world.

Your own.

Here’s a question. When was the last time you admitted you were wrong?

This week, we’re going back in to the archives for a conversation I had with Mark Thompson, early in 2019. Mark was the director general of the BBC before becoming CEO of the New York Times in 2012. One of his many claims to fame is that he brought both institutions into the digital age, establishing the New York Times as one of the most successful digital news platforms in the world.

To me, his leadership is marked by a self-effacing honesty and personal courage.

Early in our conversation, Mark talked about walking towards the gunfire. Literally. He was a journalist before he became a leader of institutions.

Most of us, hopefully, won’t be asked to demonstrate courage of quite that level during our leadership lives.

Leadership is complex. It’s like playing 4 dimensional chess as we try to find the places of intersection between what is needed of us by a host of moving parts and our own ability to provide them.

For almost every leader, saying ‘I was wrong’ challenges our essential sense of who we are and what leadership is about. It is not easy to find that place on most people’s leadership chessboard.

But, as the nature of leadership changes, as people come to demand less defensive behavior of their leaders and more humanity, finding the courage to say ‘I was wrong’ will be the surest test of your leadership potential.

Think of it as the leadership equivalent of walking towards the gunfire. And if you turn and head in the other direction, what does that say about you?

Here’s a question. Are you happy?

This week’s guest is Nils Leonard, the co-founder of Uncommon London. Nils has been on the podcast before.

I ask him back pretty regularly because every one of our conversations expands my understanding of leadership.

I think he keeps saying yes because each time he learns something about himself.

In this week’s episode, we covered a lot of new ground. In truth, I could have highlighted a number of areas as worthy of close attention.

But this is the one that really stands out for me.

Life is short. Careers are shorter.

I find myself saying this quite often these days as a reminder that within the maelstrom of running a business, we are also, and more importantly, living a life.

Leadership comes at you hard and fast. It is demanding and unrelenting and it is easy - very easy - to get swept along in the expectations that are placed on us.

Managing those expectations are hard when they come from other people. But the more important and consequential challenge is to manage the expectations we have of ourselves.

The first and critical step is to define what you mean by success. In all its forms and attributes.

Personally, I believe that one of those definitions should include the word happy.

Too many people think doing that makes them selfish.

But in my experience, the people that are clear that they want to be happy are also the ones who have given the most thought to what that means to them.

Often, most often, it includes the desire to help others unlock their potential.

So, are you doing something that makes you happy? And how do you know?

Edited highlights of our full conversation.

Here’s a question. Are you happy?

This week’s guest is Nils Leonard, the co-founder of Uncommon London. Nils has been on the podcast before.

I ask him back pretty regularly because every one of our conversations expands my understanding of leadership.

I think he keeps saying yes because each time he learns something about himself.

In this week’s episode, we covered a lot of new ground. In truth, I could have highlighted a number of areas as worthy of close attention.

But this is the one that really stands out for me.

Life is short. Careers are shorter.

I find myself saying this quite often these days as a reminder that within the maelstrom of running a business, we are also, and more importantly, living a life.

Leadership comes at you hard and fast. It is demanding and unrelenting and it is easy - very easy - to get swept along in the expectations that are placed on us.

Managing those expectations are hard when they come from other people. But the more important and consequential challenge is to manage the expectations we have of ourselves.

The first and critical step is to define what you mean by success. In all its forms and attributes.

Personally, I believe that one of those definitions should include the word happy.

Too many people think doing that makes them selfish.

But in my experience, the people that are clear that they want to be happy are also the ones who have given the most thought to what that means to them.

Often, most often, it includes the desire to help others unlock their potential.

So, are you doing something that makes you happy? And how do you know?

Edited highlights of our full conversation.

Here’s a question. Are you happy?

This week’s guest is Nils Leonard, the co-founder of Uncommon London. Nils has been on the podcast before.

I ask him back pretty regularly because every one of our conversations expands my understanding of leadership.

I think he keeps saying yes because each time he learns something about himself.

In this week’s episode, we covered a lot of new ground. In truth, I could have highlighted a number of areas as worthy of close attention.

But this is the one that really stands out for me.

Life is short. Careers are shorter.

I find myself saying this quite often these days as a reminder that within the maelstrom of running a business, we are also, and more importantly, living a life.

Leadership comes at you hard and fast. It is demanding and unrelenting and it is easy - very easy - to get swept along in the expectations that are placed on us.

Managing those expectations are hard when they come from other people. But the more important and consequential challenge is to manage the expectations we have of ourselves.

The first and critical step is to define what you mean by success. In all its forms and attributes.

Personally, I believe that one of those definitions should include the word happy.

Too many people think doing that makes them selfish.

But in my experience, the people that are clear that they want to be happy are also the ones who have given the most thought to what that means to them.

Often, most often, it includes the desire to help others unlock their potential.

So, are you doing something that makes you happy? And how do you know?

Here’s a question. Are you selfish?

This week’s guest is Kerry Sulkowicz. He’s the President of the American Psychoanalytic Association. He’s also a leadership advisor in his own right. It’s a role that requires the ability to look beyond the public facing image that most leaders feel they need to present, in order to see the person within.

Leaders often have a difficult time making themselves a priority.

It’s not hard to understand why, given the pressure that leaders face on an hour by hour basis.

There’s the pressure from above. Because, as Marc Pritchard, the CMO of P&G, said to me on an earlier episode leadership is a weight-bearing position and demands that you help lift the people that work for you.

There’s the pressure from all the people in front of you, those in the many audiences you face who expect you to show up as a thoughtful, confident leader - perhaps even as a thought leader.

And there’s the pressure from the people behind you, the board and the shareholders who expect you to drive business performance forward, regardless of the circumstances.

And that’s without mentioning the pressure that you place on yourself. The pressure to succeed. To not fail. To overcome the imposter syndrome and the self doubts.

In the middle of all that, it’s easy to convince yourself that it would be selfish to take care of yourself first.

Except, as Kerry explains, it’s not.

Taking care of yourself first is a requirement.

A necessity if you are to become a leader capable not only of withstanding the pressure, but using it as a catalyst to drive the business upwards.

Only once you have taken care of yourself can you then, confidently and at scale, take care of everyone else.

Here’s a question. What are you going to preserve?

This week’s guest is Madeleine Grynsztejn, Pritzker Director of the Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago.

She sees society from a distinctive vantage point, through the lens of an organization that exists to generate inquiry. Her work is to encourage communities to learn from themselves and from each other. To examine our past and be intentioned about our future.

Leading a creative business demands that we look ahead, vigorously, bravely and relentlessly. Where are we going, how will we know when we get there, who is joining us on the journey.

We hold on to the past at great risk. Risk to our success and sometimes to our survival.

But Madeleine’s point frames the future through an important question. Because, while we must fight the status quo, our future is built on the pillars of our past.

You can’t build a monument to modern thinking on sand. You need substantive foundations and platforms. You need to bring lessons from the past forward with you, so that we don’t make the same mistakes twice and so that we have something to lean on that we can trust.

Which parts of the past do you need to let go of?

And which parts are you going to preserve?

Here’s a question. What terrifies you?

This week’s guest is Marcel Marcondes. He’s the Global Chief Marketing Officer for AB InBev.

Becoming the successful Global CMO of any major brand is a life’s dream for many people.

If you’re one of the few to make it, it’s easy to get caught up in the gestalt of the thing. The public adulation that comes with the buying power and influence that you suddenly wield.

But for the very best of them, being a Global CMO brings out the human being in you.

I’m not conscious that I’ve ever heard prominent leader publicly use the phrase, ‘sometimes it’s also terrifying’.

There are three points to make coming from Marcel’s memorable use of that phrase.

One - that business is in great hands because it’s being run by someone who’s conscious of the responsibility and is also conscious that he needs to be courageous to keep it moving forward. The fastest path to letting the status quo win is to believe that what you should be doing next does not require courage.

Two - more talented people will want to work for Marcel because he is honest about the size and consequence of the challenge. And if there is a single truth that I’ve learned, it’s that creative people want to make one thing more than anything else - a difference.

And three - leadership is a constant battle between fear and courage. It has to be.

If you feel afraid a lot, you’re probably on the right path to making a difference.

If you sometimes feel terrified, you definitely are.

Here’s a question. What role does love play in your leadership?

Before we start, I want to acknowledge the death of someone who played a big role in helping Chris and I create the film editing company that we built in the ‘90s and 2000s.

Jim Garrett was a brilliant businessman and a gentleman. He was the founder of the award winning and internationally recognized production company, Garrett and Partners, working with directors like John Schlesinger, Nick Roeg, Ken Russell and Richard Loncraine along the way. I’ve posted a link to his obituary in the London Times in this week’s show notes.

When we were conceiving our film editing company in 1994, Jim sat down with Chris and I over lunch in London and gave us advice that formed the foundational DNA of a business which is still thriving almost thirty years later. Many of the principles and practices on which that business operates today came from that lunch. All of us who shave pent any part of our careers working at the original Lookinglass or at the Whitehouse film editing companies owe him our thanks. His impact was and is enormous.

And now, on with the show.

This week’s guest is Devika Bulchandani. She’s the global CEO of Ogilvy. And her view of leadership includes an impassioned belief that seemed so obvious to me once she said it but which I have never heard before.

The business of running a business does not usually contain much discussion of love. You hear people say occasionally, “I love what I’m doing” or “I love where I work”. You can see evidence of passion in some people, particularly business founders.

But the idea of saying “I love you” to a co-worker will send tremors down the backs of HR and Talent leaders across the entire spectrum of the creative industries.

And yet, as Devika asks, wouldn’t the world be better by the way if we all just felt more of it?

We live in a time of apparently limitless upheaval. And we will spend roughly a quarter of that time at our jobs.

Shouldn’t part of that upheaval be to challenge the norms under which we’ve been working?

Including the possibility that “I love you” might be a leading indicator of what it means to be a more human leader.

Where do you draw the line? And why?

Here’s a question to begin the year. When you make decisions in 2023, what will the impact be?

This is my first episode of the year and it asks the question, how can you become a better leader in 2023? The answers are drawn from a series of conversations I’ve had over the last three weeks with a wide range of experts.

Over the next few minutes, you’ll hear short extracts from my conversations with renowned and award winning leaders from across the entire creative leadership spectrum: two iconoclastic business founders; the CMO of a world-famous collection of brands; a legendary futurist; a thought provoking global business CEO; a ground-breaking museum director; a world-class psychiatrist and an iconic culture shaper.

This set of interviews surprised me for the natural cohesion and consistency of the insights they revealed.

Here’s a question. What’s your big goal?

This week’s guest is Carl Johnson. He’s the Executive Chairman and one of the founding partners at Anomaly.

If you go to the Anomaly website, it says, in block capitals, “A DEVIATION OR DEPARTURE FROM THE NORMAL OR COMMON ORDER, FORM OR RULE.”

In Anomaly’s case, this is not hyperbole. The company pushes boundaries and defies norms all the time.

It’s one of the reasons that yesterday Adweek named Anomaly the US Agency of the Year.

Carl Johnson is an iconoclast. Meet him once and you’ll remember him. This is actually the third time he’s been on this podcast. His first appearance was in my second episode and that conversation set the tone for the kinds of insights I wanted listeners to benefit from. He was candid. Honest. Human.

This conversation breaks new ground. It’s a case study on building a world-class, creativity driven business.

So where does Anomaly go now?

There are two parts to the Anomaly leadership story that are worth paying attention to.

The obvious one is the boldness of their ambition. They set big goals. And they are unrelenting in pursuing them.

But the second and, I think, equally influential component of their story is one that doesn’t get talked about very often - their consistency.

If you go back and listen to my previous conversations with Carl - the first of which was almost six years ago - you’ll hear him talking about many of the same things in the same ways.

That consistency engenders trust - from employees and clients and from prospective members of both those groups.

Trust gets people to invest emotionally and take risks. Trust produces better questions and better answers.

Trust builds foundations that give you the confidence to define goals that are so audacious it makes even you gasp.

And that attracts world-class talent and makes them want to stick around.

So set big goals. But then behave with consistency ways so that people want to take the risks necessary to achieve them.

Here’s a question. How do you find the right people?

This week’s guest is Nick Law. He’s the Global Lead for Design and Creative Tech at Accenture Song.

Nick has had a storied career. Global Chief Creative Officer at R/GA. Chief Creative Officer of Publicis Groupe. VP, Marcom Integration at Apple before joining Accenture Song in early 2022.

He has led and unlocked creativity across thousands of people. He’s seen what works. And what doesn’t.

In my experience, the very best leaders understand three things. Their business, their people and themselves.

But not in that order.

Most leaders prioritize their understanding of the business. After all, it's the reference point that most people use when measuring the success or otherwise of an individual leader.

Leaders rightly worry about the vision, the strategy, the execution and the performance of the organization, pouring themselves into KPIs and P&Ls.

But getting those numbers to really sing is the consequences of two things.

How well you understand your people. And how well you understand yourself.

The creative thinking and innovation that every modern business depends on is amplified a thousand fold when its people trust and believe in the leaders of that business.

Better visions, better strategies, better systems will move the needle a bit by themselves. But only a bit. And nothing like as far as when your people believe in you.

And what drives that belief. Your courage, your confidence, your consistency. And your humanity.

And all of those depend on how well you understand yourself.

So if you’re struggling to find the right people, start by finding yourself and deciding what really matters to you.

And then say it out loud so that your people can find you.

Here’s a question. Has leadership changed you? Or the people around you?

This week’s guest is Philippe Krakowsky, the CEO of IPG. He runs a company of 58,000 people across more than 100 businesses.

He worked at IPG for almost two decades before taking on the role in January 2021. He was known as the corporate shrink and the plumber. Deutsch New York even made a bumper sticker once with his photograph that read, “1-800-CALL-KRAKOWSKY. Got a problem? Call Philippe.”

Despite all this, despite knowing and being known by almost everyone, when he took the job of CEO, he noticed that some people suddenly changed around him.

Philippe, as you’ll hear, is human and a realist. His mantra, ‘Hey, show up with reality and we’ll figure it out,” struck a chord with me.

Too often, leaders over-complicate. Sometimes, the situation. Sometimes, themselves. That’s not surprising. Leadership is complicated at the best of times. And it’s easy to lose perspective.

Step into a highly visible leadership role, and you are rare indeed if you are can hold on to a clear understanding of your strengths during the first few months. Typically, you become hyper aware of your perceived weaknesses, and it can take a long time to regain your self awareness and confidence that got you the job in the first place.

But, even more challenging is what often happens to those around you when your new role suddenly changes your org chart relationship to them. When you now hold the power.

That’s when your ability to overcome your own uncertainty becomes critical so that you can evaluate their behavior towards you objectively.

Only then can you hold them to account. Only then will you have the confidence to ensure they speak their truth to your power.

How do you do that? How do you make sure you’re focused on their performance and not yours?

Having a leadership philosophy goes a long way..

Looking for an example? “Hey, show up with reality and we’ll figure it out,” is a pretty good place to start.

Edited highlights of our full conversation.

Here’s a question. Has leadership changed you? Or the people around you?

This week’s guest is Philippe Krakowsky, the CEO of IPG. He runs a company of 58,000 people across more than 100 businesses.

He worked at IPG for almost two decades before taking on the role in January 2021. He was known as the corporate shrink and the plumber. Deutsch New York even made a bumper sticker once with his photograph that read, “1-800-CALL-KRAKOWSKY. Got a problem? Call Philippe.”

Despite all this, despite knowing and being known by almost everyone, when he took the job of CEO, he noticed that some people suddenly changed around him.

Philippe, as you’ll hear, is human and a realist. His mantra, ‘Hey, show up with reality and we’ll figure it out,” struck a chord with me.

Too often, leaders over-complicate. Sometimes, the situation. Sometimes, themselves. That’s not surprising. Leadership is complicated at the best of times. And it’s easy to lose perspective.

Step into a highly visible leadership role, and you are rare indeed if you are can hold on to a clear understanding of your strengths during the first few months. Typically, you become hyper aware of your perceived weaknesses, and it can take a long time to regain your self awareness and confidence that got you the job in the first place.

But, even more challenging is what often happens to those around you when your new role suddenly changes your org chart relationship to them. When you now hold the power.

That’s when your ability to overcome your own uncertainty becomes critical so that you can evaluate their behavior towards you objectively.

Only then can you hold them to account. Only then will you have the confidence to ensure they speak their truth to your power.

How do you do that? How do you make sure you’re focused on their performance and not yours?

Having a leadership philosophy goes a long way..

Looking for an example? “Hey, show up with reality and we’ll figure it out,” is a pretty good place to start.

Edited highlights of our full conversation.

Here’s a question. Has leadership changed you? Or the people around you?

This week’s guest is Philippe Krakowsky, the CEO of IPG. He runs a company of 58,000 people across more than 100 businesses.

He worked at IPG for almost two decades before taking on the role in January 2021. He was known as the corporate shrink and the plumber. Deutsch New York even made a bumper sticker once with his photograph that read, “1-800-CALL-KRAKOWSKY. Got a problem? Call Philippe.”

Despite all this, despite knowing and being known by almost everyone, when he took the job of CEO, he noticed that some people suddenly changed around him.

Philippe, as you’ll hear, is human and a realist. His mantra, ‘Hey, show up with reality and we’ll figure it out,” struck a chord with me.

Too often, leaders over-complicate. Sometimes, the situation. Sometimes, themselves. That’s not surprising. Leadership is complicated at the best of times. And it’s easy to lose perspective.

Step into a highly visible leadership role, and you are rare indeed if you are can hold on to a clear understanding of your strengths during the first few months. Typically, you become hyper aware of your perceived weaknesses, and it can take a long time to regain your self awareness and confidence that got you the job in the first place.

But, even more challenging is what often happens to those around you when your new role suddenly changes your org chart relationship to them. When you now hold the power.

That’s when your ability to overcome your own uncertainty becomes critical so that you can evaluate their behavior towards you objectively.

Only then can you hold them to account. Only then will you have the confidence to ensure they speak their truth to your power.

How do you do that? How do you make sure you’re focused on their performance and not yours?

Having a leadership philosophy goes a long way..

Looking for an example? “Hey, show up with reality and we’ll figure it out,” is a pretty good place to start.

Here’s a question. Why do people follow you?

In the last month, my mother died and the mother of my country died.

Loss makes us look back. And look forward. It’s encouraged me to ask two questions.

What made me who I am?

And who do I want to be going forward?

Here’s a question. Who do you want to be? And what are you waiting for?

I say all the time on this podcast and in my work, we do not have to be defined by the past or the expectations of others. We can all decide who we want to be and act with intention to be that person.

Too often we got stuck by an imperfect view of who we are and why we are that way. Frozen by fear of change, or the truth or an excuse without real substance and which has become a habit.

But our future selves are waiting to be written, to be lived and be loved.

Don’t wait too long.

Here’s a question. How much do you know about what’s happening at your company?

This week’s guest is Mark Read, the CEO of WPP. At last month’s Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity, WPP was named the most creative company of the year.

He took over the role in 2018 from WPP’s founder, Sir Martin Sorrell, in one of the most publicized and dramatic changes in leadership the advertising and marketing industries have ever seen.

Taking the company from those turbulent times to one of relative stability and success has required a realistic, pragmatic approach.

Leadership of any creative business is a balancing act. Between dreams and reality. Belief and skepticism. The known and the unknown.

Where you are on each of those scales depends on circumstances that can change by the day and sometimes faster than that.

Which means sometimes you have to make decisions based on instinct.

That’s fine, to a point. But as flawed human beings, even the best leaders are sometimes let down by their instincts.

When you’re looking for a place from which to start the process of deciding what happens next, I have found that the best leaders prefer to begin with the truth.

As Mark says, when you’re in charge, that’s often difficult to find.

But if you’re going to build scalable, sustainable success, finding out what’s really happening is a critical starting point.

That might be difficult and sometimes painful in the short run. And a lot of leaders by-pass it because it makes life more complicated for a while.

But starting with the truth pays for itself in big and small ways. Including in your ability to look yourself in the mirror.

Edited highlights of our full conversation.

Here’s a question. How much do you know about what’s happening at your company?

This week’s guest is Mark Read, the CEO of WPP. At last month’s Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity, WPP was named the most creative company of the year.

He took over the role in 2018 from WPP’s founder, Sir Martin Sorrell, in one of the most publicized and dramatic changes in leadership the advertising and marketing industries have ever seen.

Taking the company from those turbulent times to one of relative stability and success has required a realistic, pragmatic approach.

Leadership of any creative business is a balancing act. Between dreams and reality. Belief and skepticism. The known and the unknown.

Where you are on each of those scales depends on circumstances that can change by the day and sometimes faster than that.

Which means sometimes you have to make decisions based on instinct.

That’s fine, to a point. But as flawed human beings, even the best leaders are sometimes let down by their instincts.

When you’re looking for a place from which to start the process of deciding what happens next, I have found that the best leaders prefer to begin with the truth.

As Mark says, when you’re in charge, that’s often difficult to find.

But if you’re going to build scalable, sustainable success, finding out what’s really happening is a critical starting point.

That might be difficult and sometimes painful in the short run. And a lot of leaders by-pass it because it makes life more complicated for a while.

But starting with the truth pays for itself in big and small ways. Including in your ability to look yourself in the mirror.

Edited highlights of our full conversation.

Here’s a question. How much do you know about what’s happening at your company?

This week’s guest is Mark Read, the CEO of WPP. At last month’s Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity, WPP was named the most creative company of the year.

He took over the role in 2018 from WPP’s founder, Sir Martin Sorrell, in one of the most publicized and dramatic changes in leadership the advertising and marketing industries have ever seen.

Taking the company from those turbulent times to one of relative stability and success has required a realistic, pragmatic approach.

Leadership of any creative business is a balancing act. Between dreams and reality. Belief and skepticism. The known and the unknown.

Where you are on each of those scales depends on circumstances that can change by the day and sometimes faster than that.

Which means sometimes you have to make decisions based on instinct.

That’s fine, to a point. But as flawed human beings, even the best leaders are sometimes let down by their instincts.

When you’re looking for a place from which to start the process of deciding what happens next, I have found that the best leaders prefer to begin with the truth.

As Mark says, when you’re in charge, that’s often difficult to find.

But if you’re going to build scalable, sustainable success, finding out what’s really happening is a critical starting point.

That might be difficult and sometimes painful in the short run. And a lot of leaders by-pass it because it makes life more complicated for a while.

But starting with the truth pays for itself in big and small ways. Including in your ability to look yourself in the mirror.

Here’s a question. How have you been changed by the last two years?

This week’s guest is Simon Cook, the CEO of Cannes Lions.

Cannes is an institution. One built on in-person connections. Like many organizations dependent on human contact, it has struggled in the face of a two year long, global pandemic.

Organizations reflect their leaders. Style. Sensibilities. Ethics. Values. Priorities and Intention. All of these come from or are influenced by the person with the authority to say yes or no.

The Cannes Lions Festival has built a reputation for many things over the years. At its best, it shines a very bright light on the power of creativity to drive both business and change. And it acts as a shaper and predictor of what comes next. It has enormous influence.

Amidst, all that, one word no one has ever used to describe Cannes is humble.

Creativity is fueled by confidence. The willingness to boldly go where no one has gone before.

But is is shaped and guided by humility. The recognition that creativity for creativity sake is not only wasteful, it is irresponsible. The understanding that when you have enormous impact, how you use that impact has wide and far reaching implications.

Until 2020 showed up on our doorstep, confidence was not a scarce resource.

But the flood of humility that has arrived in the last two years gives hope that the power of creativity can now be brought to bear in ways that are filled more with hope than hubris.

If Cannes does indeed reflect its leader, its role in guiding and shaping the future will become even more valuable.

Here’s a question. What questions are you asking?

This week’s guest is Gareth Kay. He’s the SVP of Brand at Happify Health. Before that, he’s been the Head of Strategy at Goodby Silverstein, and the Founding Partner at Chapter Creative Studios.

Gareth is a relentlessly curious soul. And that has made him one of the best thinkers in the world about creativity and innovation.

When all the answers are out of date, or from a different reality, the only choice we have is to start asking more and better questions.

Everyone wants to know what the future of work looks like. Leaders want their people back in the building because - pick any you want from this list - I can see what they’re doing. I know who’s engaged. Our business is better when we collaborate. Our culture is crucial. I have a ten year lease on 100,000 feet of prime commercial real estate.

These are all answers to old questions. Questions focused on what works best for the company.

If you’re leading a business in which talent is not a competitive advantage, or one in which talent is easy to find, my bet is you will be able to create a new version of the old status quo by asking yourself and everyone around you old questions.

But if you’re leading a business in which talent is the game changer, and great talent is hard to find, then you’re going to win when you start to ask different questions. Questions that put the needs of the talent at the center of your curiosity.

And that starts by asking yourself new questions. The first of which is, “Like what?”.

Here’s a question. What kind of company are you building?

This week’s guests are Karl Lieberman and Neal Arthur. They are respectively the Global Chief Creative Officer and Global Chief Operating Officer of Wieden + Kennedy.

Few companies have reached the creative heights of Wieden + Kennedy. None, that I can think of, have sustained those heights for most of the last forty years.

Neal and Karl stepped into their global roles seven months after the beginning of the pandemic. How do you lead a culture opposed to rules through a time when there are no rules?

Leaders of creative businesses are usually adventurers. They relish the fact that accepting the ambiguous and the unknown are lines 1 and 2 in the job description.

But as human beings we are all comforted by the familiar and the known. Even the adventurers eventually turn for home.

And yet, if your goal as a leader is to meet the future in a fair fight, then welcoming ambiguity and uncertainty are no longer enough. Turning for the safety of home will leave you behind.

Creativity is the world’s most powerful force. It’s time to build flexible businesses that unleash it. It’s time for leaders to let creativity loose.

Here are Karl Lieberman and Neal Arthur.

Edited highlights of our full conversation.

Here’s a question. What kind of company are you building?

This week’s guests are Karl Lieberman and Neal Arthur. They are respectively the Global Chief Creative Officer and Global Chief Operating Officer of Wieden + Kennedy.

Few companies have reached the creative heights of Wieden + Kennedy. None, that I can think of, have sustained those heights for most of the last forty years.

Neal and Karl stepped into their global roles seven months after the beginning of the pandemic. How do you lead a culture opposed to rules through a time when there are no rules?

Leaders of creative businesses are usually adventurers. They relish the fact that accepting the ambiguous and the unknown are lines 1 and 2 in the job description.

But as human beings we are all comforted by the familiar and the known. Even the adventurers eventually turn for home.

And yet, if your goal as a leader is to meet the future in a fair fight, then welcoming ambiguity and uncertainty are no longer enough. Turning for the safety of home will leave you behind.

Creativity is the world’s most powerful force. It’s time to build flexible businesses that unleash it. It’s time for leaders to let creativity loose.

Here are Karl Lieberman and Neal Arthur.

Edited highlights of our full conversation.

Here’s a question. What kind of company are you building?

This week’s guests are Karl Lieberman and Neal Arthur. They are respectively the Global Chief Creative Officer and Global Chief Operating Officer of Wieden + Kennedy.

Few companies have reached the creative heights of Wieden + Kennedy. None, that I can think of, have sustained those heights for most of the last forty years.

Neal and Karl stepped into their global roles seven months after the beginning of the pandemic. How do you lead a culture opposed to rules through a time when there are no rules?

Leaders of creative businesses are usually adventurers. They relish the fact that accepting the ambiguous and the unknown are lines 1 and 2 in the job description.

But as human beings we are all comforted by the familiar and the known. Even the adventurers eventually turn for home.

And yet, if your goal as a leader is to meet the future in a fair fight, then welcoming ambiguity and uncertainty are no longer enough. Turning for the safety of home will leave you behind.

Creativity is the world’s most powerful force. It’s time to build flexible businesses that unleash it. It’s time for leaders to let creativity loose.

Here are Karl Lieberman and Neal Arthur.

This week’s guest is Antonio Lucio. His bio is extraordinary. He was the first Global Marketing and Communication Officer at Visa. The first Global Chief Marketing and Communications Officer at HP. He was Facebook’s first Chief Marketing Officer. And left there to become the Founder and Principal of 5S Diversity. They describe their mission as accelerating the leadership journey of diverse talent and increasing its representation in senior marketing roles in the industry. He is a member of the Executive Fellows Program at Yale University and earlier this month was inducted into The Marketing Hall of Fame.

He is known as an incredibly empathetic leader.

As you’ll hear, that may be his greatest accomplishment.

Leaders, according to romantic lore, step in where angels fear to tread. They throw themselves, head first, into the fray, and generally are willing to sacrifice themselves for the good of others.

Here’s a simple truth. It’s hard to lead anyone, anywhere meaningful, if you don’t care about yourself.

The pandemic has extracted a much deeper cost from leaders than most are willing to acknowledge. I see many in denial of the personal price they have paid and continue to pay for keeping the company together and the business going.

The trauma of the last two plus years is real. And has been replaced by a world in which there are no rules and everyone’s normal is new.

If you think that you can tough your way through that then I encourage you to listen to all of this conversation.

It’s the story of how a leader who has achieved everything, had to first learn the very hard way what really mattered.

Edited highlights of our full conversation.

This week’s guest is Antonio Lucio. His bio is extraordinary. He was the first Global Marketing and Communication Officer at Visa. The first Global Chief Marketing and Communications Officer at HP. He was Facebook’s first Chief Marketing Officer. And left there to become the Founder and Principal of 5S Diversity. They describe their mission as accelerating the leadership journey of diverse talent and increasing its representation in senior marketing roles in the industry. He is a member of the Executive Fellows Program at Yale University and earlier this month was inducted into The Marketing Hall of Fame.

He is known as an incredibly empathetic leader.

As you’ll hear, that may be his greatest accomplishment.

Leaders, according to romantic lore, step in where angels fear to tread. They throw themselves, head first, into the fray, and generally are willing to sacrifice themselves for the good of others.

Here’s a simple truth. It’s hard to lead anyone, anywhere meaningful, if you don’t care about yourself.

The pandemic has extracted a much deeper cost from leaders than most are willing to acknowledge. I see many in denial of the personal price they have paid and continue to pay for keeping the company together and the business going.

The trauma of the last two plus years is real. And has been replaced by a world in which there are no rules and everyone’s normal is new.

If you think that you can tough your way through that then I encourage you to listen to all of this conversation.

It’s the story of how a leader who has achieved everything, had to first learn the very hard way what really mattered.

Edited highlights of our full conversation.

This week’s guest is Antonio Lucio. His bio is extraordinary. He was the first Global Marketing and Communication Officer at Visa. The first Global Chief Marketing and Communications Officer at HP. He was Facebook’s first Chief Marketing Officer. And left there to become the Founder and Principal of 5S Diversity. They describe their mission as accelerating the leadership journey of diverse talent and increasing its representation in senior marketing roles in the industry. He is a member of the Executive Fellows Program at Yale University and earlier this month was inducted into The Marketing Hall of Fame.

He is known as an incredibly empathetic leader.

As you’ll hear, that may be his greatest accomplishment.

Leaders, according to romantic lore, step in where angels fear to tread. They throw themselves, head first, into the fray, and generally are willing to sacrifice themselves for the good of others.

Here’s a simple truth. It’s hard to lead anyone, anywhere meaningful, if you don’t care about yourself.

The pandemic has extracted a much deeper cost from leaders than most are willing to acknowledge. I see many in denial of the personal price they have paid and continue to pay for keeping the company together and the business going.

The trauma of the last two plus years is real. And has been replaced by a world in which there are no rules and everyone’s normal is new.

If you think that you can tough your way through that then I encourage you to listen to all of this conversation.

It’s the story of how a leader who has achieved everything, had to first learn the very hard way what really mattered.

Here’s a question. When you’re the leader, where does your impact end?

This week’s guests are Laurie Howell and Toby Treyer-Evans. They are Executive Creative Directors at Droga5 New York and have been partners for a very long time. They have also been responsible for important and extremely impactful work, including the New York Times campaign called The Truth Is Worth It.

But as their careers evolve and the world changes, it is their impact on people in the immediate vicinity that has their attention.

It is a truism of the creative industries that the people who get recognized for coming up with the best ideas are eventually put into positions in which they are suddenly responsible for the professional well-being of others.

Not everyone navigates that evolution successfully.

And to add to the challenge, the bar has just been raised.

Today, it’s not enough to plan only for the professional development of the people that work for you. You have to worry about how their work is affecting their personal lives too.

To use Laurie’s language, how you lead affects the rhythms of the people that you lead. From how they feel to how they sleep.
In a pre-pandemic, work-life relationship, the employee was responsible for adapting their rhythms to the needs of the job.

Today, when you take on a leadership role, the need to adapt the job to the person falls on you.

So if the question of what’s keeping your employees up at night isn’t keeping you up at night, perhaps it should - at least until you know the answer.

Edited highlights of our full conversation.

This week’s guests are Laurie Howell and Toby Treyer-Evans. They are Executive Creative Directors at Droga5 New York and have been partners for a very long time. They have also been responsible for important and extremely impactful work, including the New York Times campaign called The Truth Is Worth It.

But as their careers evolve and the world changes, it is their impact on people in the immediate vicinity that has their attention.

It is a truism of the creative industries that the people who get recognized for coming up with the best ideas are eventually put into positions in which they are suddenly responsible for the professional well-being of others.

Not everyone navigates that evolution successfully.

And to add to the challenge, the bar has just been raised.

Today, it’s not enough to plan only for the professional development of the people that work for you. You have to worry about how their work is affecting their personal lives too.

To use Laurie’s language, how you lead affects the rhythms of the people that you lead. From how they feel to how they sleep.
In a pre-pandemic, work-life relationship, the employee was responsible for adapting their rhythms to the needs of the job.

Today, when you take on a leadership role, the need to adapt the job to the person falls on you.

So if the question of what’s keeping your employees up at night isn’t keeping you up at night, perhaps it should - at least until you know the answer.

Edited highlights of our full conversation.

Here’s a question. When you’re the leader, where does your impact end?

This week’s guests are Laurie Howell and Toby Treyer-Evans. They are Executive Creative Directors at Droga5 New York and have been partners for a very long time. They have also been responsible for important and extremely impactful work, including the New York Times campaign called The Truth Is Worth It.

But as their careers evolve and the world changes, it is their impact on people in the immediate vicinity that has their attention.

It is a truism of the creative industries that the people who get recognized for coming up with the best ideas are eventually put into positions in which they are suddenly responsible for the professional well-being of others.

Not everyone navigates that evolution successfully.

And to add to the challenge, the bar has just been raised.

Today, it’s not enough to plan only for the professional development of the people that work for you. You have to worry about how their work is affecting their personal lives too.

To use Laurie’s language, how you lead affects the rhythms of the people that you lead. From how they feel to how they sleep.
In a pre-pandemic, work-life relationship, the employee was responsible for adapting their rhythms to the needs of the job.

Today, when you take on a leadership role, the need to adapt the job to the person falls on you.

So if the question of what’s keeping your employees up at night isn’t keeping you up at night, perhaps it should - at least until you know the answer.

Here’s a question. How does your company fit into your story?

This week’s guest is Rishad Tobaccowala. He is a thought leader, author and one of the great provocative thinkers. His insights are drawn from his many years spent as the Global Strategist and Chief Growth Officer of Publicis Groupe and now from his work as an independent advisor to businesses across the world.

We all have a story we want to tell about our lives. Our answer to who we are and why we’re here.

For too many years we have tried to mould that story to fit the needs of the companies we wanted to work for.

If we were accepted, the shape that we had carved ourselves into became a lasting edit that we carried with us to the next job. And the one beyond.

And what we too often left behind was the story of who we wanted to be.

That has changed now. The individuals stand firm and watch potential employers twist themselves into pretzels to convince the candidate of the company's rightness, its worthiness, its fit.

Which, from a leadership perspective, strikes me as a mistake.

The tsunami of change brought about by a global pandemic will slowly recede, and the companies left standing will be those who stayed true to their stories and know the kind of people that can help write the next chapter.

Edited highlights of our full conversation.

Here’s a question. How does your company fit into your story?

This week’s guest is Rishad Tobaccowala. He is a thought leader, author and one of the great provocative thinkers. His insights are drawn from his many years spent as the Global Strategist and Chief Growth Officer of Publicis Groupe and now from his work as an independent advisor to businesses across the world.

We all have a story we want to tell about our lives. Our answer to who we are and why we’re here.

For too many years we have tried to mould that story to fit the needs of the companies we wanted to work for.

If we were accepted, the shape that we had carved ourselves into became a lasting edit that we carried with us to the next job. And the one beyond.

And what we too often left behind was the story of who we wanted to be.

That has changed now. The individuals stand firm and watch potential employers twist themselves into pretzels to convince the candidate of the company's rightness, its worthiness, its fit.

Which, from a leadership perspective, strikes me as a mistake.

The tsunami of change brought about by a global pandemic will slowly recede, and the companies left standing will be those who stayed true to their stories and know the kind of people that can help write the next chapter.

Edited highlights of our full conversation.

Here’s a question. How does your company fit into your story?

This week’s guest is Rishad Tobaccowala. He is a thought leader, author and one of the great provocative thinkers. His insights are drawn from his many years spent as the Global Strategist and Chief Growth Officer of Publicis Groupe and now from his work as an independent advisor to businesses across the world.

We all have a story we want to tell about our lives. Our answer to who we are and why we’re here.

For too many years we have tried to mould that story to fit the needs of the companies we wanted to work for.

If we were accepted, the shape that we had carved ourselves into became a lasting edit that we carried with us to the next job. And the one beyond.

And what we too often left behind was the story of who we wanted to be.

That has changed now. The individuals stand firm and watch potential employers twist themselves into pretzels to convince the candidate of the company's rightness, its worthiness, its fit.

Which, from a leadership perspective, strikes me as a mistake.

The tsunami of change brought about by a global pandemic will slowly recede, and the companies left standing will be those who stayed true to their stories and know the kind of people that can help write the next chapter.

This week’s guest is Daniella Pierson. She is the Founder and CEO of The Newsette. And the Co-Founder and Co-CEO of Wondermind.

And she and her story are extraordinary.

Daniella started The Newsette seven years ago, at the age of 19. Last year, the company generated $40 million in revenue. She and her mother are the only shareholders.

She has done this in the face of being told, in so many ways, that she could not. That she was incapable. That she was inadequate. That she was dumb.

She has done this by refusing to accept the criticism or the labels or the extreme self doubt.

She has done this by building an organization so filled with the best parts of herself, courage, intelligence and kindness, that in the end the organization became capable of taking care of her.

I hope you’ll find the time to listen to her story.

It is a story of hope built on the determination of one remarkable woman to define herself and her life on her terms.

Edited highlights of our full conversation.

This week’s guest is Daniella Pierson. She is the Founder and CEO of The Newsette. And the Co-Founder and Co-CEO of Wondermind.

And she and her story are extraordinary.

Daniella started The Newsette seven years ago, at the age of 19. Last year, the company generated $40 million in revenue. She and her mother are the only shareholders.

She has done this in the face of being told, in so many ways, that she could not. That she was incapable. That she was inadequate. That she was dumb.

She has done this by refusing to accept the criticism or the labels or the extreme self doubt.

She has done this by building an organization so filled with the best parts of herself, courage, intelligence and kindness, that in the end the organization became capable of taking care of her.

I hope you’ll find the time to listen to her story.

It is a story of hope built on the determination of one remarkable woman to define herself and her life on her terms.

Edited highlights of our full conversation.

This week’s guest is Daniella Pierson. She is the Founder and CEO of The Newsette. And the Co-Founder and Co-CEO of Wondermind.

And she and her story are extraordinary.

Daniella started The Newsette seven years ago, at the age of 19. Last year, the company generated $40 million in revenue. She and her mother are the only shareholders.

She has done this in the face of being told, in so many ways, that she could not. That she was incapable. That she was inadequate. That she was dumb.

She has done this by refusing to accept the criticism or the labels or the extreme self doubt.

She has done this by building an organization so filled with the best parts of herself, courage, intelligence and kindness, that in the end the organization became capable of taking care of her.

I hope you’ll find the time to listen to her story.

It is a story of hope built on the determination of one remarkable woman to define herself and her life on her terms.

This week’s guest is Evin Shutt. She’s the Chief Executive Officer of 72andSunny, a role she took on in March of 2020.

Taking on the senior leadership position of one of the world’s most creative and innovative companies at the very moment the world is shutting down will instantly reveal your relationship with change. Do you look for it and high five it? Or work to minimize it.

During the months and years ahead, and across the entire spectrum of leadership, that difference in mindset will become more and more obvious.

The leaders we remember will see change as opportunity and currency and they will seek it out.

They will recognize they are living in a moment in which more is possible than at any point in human history and they will quickly create new expectations that two years ago seemed unimaginable.

They will open the door and invite change and all of its relatives, uncertainty, unpredictability, apprehension and yes, fear, to come in and sit down.

They will offer it the best room in the house and the best seat at the table and they will treat it like their oldest and dearest friend.

For one simple reason. It is. The best friend any leader interested in leading could have.

So, the next time your phone rings, your text chimes or your email sings, hope against hope that change is calling. And then do everything you can to make it feel welcome.

Edited highlights of our full conversation.

This week’s guest is Evin Shutt. She’s the Chief Executive Officer of 72andSunny, a role she took on in March of 2020.

Taking on the senior leadership position of one of the world’s most creative and innovative companies at the very moment the world is shutting down will instantly reveal your relationship with change. Do you look for it and high five it? Or work to minimize it.

During the months and years ahead, and across the entire spectrum of leadership, that difference in mindset will become more and more obvious.

The leaders we remember will see change as opportunity and currency and they will seek it out.

They will recognize they are living in a moment in which more is possible than at any point in human history and they will quickly create new expectations that two years ago seemed unimaginable.

They will open the door and invite change and all of its relatives, uncertainty, unpredictability, apprehension and yes, fear, to come in and sit down.

They will offer it the best room in the house and the best seat at the table and they will treat it like their oldest and dearest friend.

For one simple reason. It is. The best friend any leader interested in leading could have.

So, the next time your phone rings, your text chimes or your email sings, hope against hope that change is calling. And then do everything you can to make it feel welcome.

Edited highlights of our full conversation.

This week’s guest is Evin Shutt. She’s the Chief Executive Officer of 72andSunny, a role she took on in March of 2020.

Taking on the senior leadership position of one of the world’s most creative and innovative companies at the very moment the world is shutting down will instantly reveal your relationship with change. Do you look for it and high five it? Or work to minimize it.

During the months and years ahead, and across the entire spectrum of leadership, that difference in mindset will become more and more obvious.

The leaders we remember will see change as opportunity and currency and they will seek it out.

They will recognize they are living in a moment in which more is possible than at any point in human history and they will quickly create new expectations that two years ago seemed unimaginable.

They will open the door and invite change and all of its relatives, uncertainty, unpredictability, apprehension and yes, fear, to come in and sit down.

They will offer it the best room in the house and the best seat at the table and they will treat it like their oldest and dearest friend.

For one simple reason. It is. The best friend any leader interested in leading could have.

So, the next time your phone rings, your text chimes or your email sings, hope against hope that change is calling. And then do everything you can to make it feel welcome.

This week’s guest is Lisa Kline. She is the Vice President of Communications for BreastCancer.org. They describe their mission as helping people make sense of the complex medical and personal information about breast health and breast cancer, so they can make the best decisions for their lives.

Have we ever wanted more to be distracted?

Distracted from the chaos, the unpredictability, the anxiety and fear of the last two years.

Distracted from the relentless light of our computer screens.

Distracted from barely understanding the questions any more and rarely, all too rarely, having confidence in our answers.

Faced by all that, it’s understandable and forgivable that our attention wanders, that our focus is shared and that our interest often lies somewhere other than here, in this moment.

Leadership has always been an absurd expectation to place on human beings. See further, believe harder, fear less, act faster, be right, be perfect. Lead.

Happily, that view of leadership is dying by the hour in the world’s best businesses.

But as a new definition of leadership rises from the disruption of the last two years, it’s worth pointing out that it contains one expectation that will accelerate the gap between the alright and the great leaders.

The expectation that you are present.

Leadership begins and ends with trust.

When was the last time you trusted someone who wasn’t listening to you?

Edited highlights of our full conversation.

This week’s guest is Lisa Kline. She is the Vice President of Communications for BreastCancer.org. They describe their mission as helping people make sense of the complex medical and personal information about breast health and breast cancer, so they can make the best decisions for their lives.

Have we ever wanted more to be distracted?

Distracted from the chaos, the unpredictability, the anxiety and fear of the last two years.

Distracted from the relentless light of our computer screens.

Distracted from barely understanding the questions any more and rarely, all too rarely, having confidence in our answers.

Faced by all that, it’s understandable and forgivable that our attention wanders, that our focus is shared and that our interest often lies somewhere other than here, in this moment.

Leadership has always been an absurd expectation to place on human beings. See further, believe harder, fear less, act faster, be right, be perfect. Lead.

Happily, that view of leadership is dying by the hour in the world’s best businesses.

But as a new definition of leadership rises from the disruption of the last two years, it’s worth pointing out that it contains one expectation that will accelerate the gap between the alright and the great leaders.

The expectation that you are present.

Leadership begins and ends with trust.

When was the last time you trusted someone who wasn’t listening to you?

Edited highlights of our full conversation.

This week’s guest is Lisa Kline. She is the Vice President of Communications for BreastCancer.org. They describe their mission as helping people make sense of the complex medical and personal information about breast health and breast cancer, so they can make the best decisions for their lives.

Have we ever wanted more to be distracted?

Distracted from the chaos, the unpredictability, the anxiety and fear of the last two years.

Distracted from the relentless light of our computer screens.

Distracted from barely understanding the questions any more and rarely, all too rarely, having confidence in our answers.

Faced by all that, it’s understandable and forgivable that our attention wanders, that our focus is shared and that our interest often lies somewhere other than here, in this moment.

Leadership has always been an absurd expectation to place on human beings. See further, believe harder, fear less, act faster, be right, be perfect. Lead.

Happily, that view of leadership is dying by the hour in the world’s best businesses.

But as a new definition of leadership rises from the disruption of the last two years, it’s worth pointing out that it contains one expectation that will accelerate the gap between the alright and the great leaders.

The expectation that you are present.

Leadership begins and ends with trust.

When was the last time you trusted someone who wasn’t listening to you?

This week’s guest is Greg Hahn. He’s the Co-Founder & CCO of Mischief USA.

Two years ago he was fired by BBDO.

When we spoke, eight days after he had lost his job, he was clear about the kind of future he wanted to create.

Mischief, a company that didn’t exist 24 months ago, were just named Agency of the year by the Ad Age A List Awards.

As you’ll hear in this conversation, the company has been built on the principles that Greg espoused two years ago.

Life comes at us fast and in unexpected ways.

What we do with every day that we get is a choice between hoping for a better version of yesterday or acting to create a better tomorrow.

And the key to that is making sure we know what a better version of tomorrow will look like.

So, what do you want more of in your life?

Edited highlights of our full conversation.

This week’s guest is Greg Hahn. He’s the Co-Founder & CCO of Mischief USA.

Two years ago he was fired by BBDO.

When we spoke, eight days after he had lost his job, he was clear about the kind of future he wanted to create.

Mischief, a company that didn’t exist 24 months ago, were just named Agency of the year by the Ad Age A List Awards.

As you’ll hear in this conversation, the company has been built on the principles that Greg espoused two years ago.

Life comes at us fast and in unexpected ways.

What we do with every day that we get is a choice between hoping for a better version of yesterday or acting to create a better tomorrow.

And the key to that is making sure we know what a better version of tomorrow will look like.

So, what do you want more of in your life?

Edited highlights of our full conversation.

This week’s guest is Greg Hahn. He’s the Co-Founder & CCO of Mischief USA.

Two years ago he was fired by BBDO.

When we spoke, eight days after he had lost his job, he was clear about the kind of future he wanted to create.

Mischief, a company that didn’t exist 24 months ago, were just named Agency of the year by the Ad Age A List Awards.

As you’ll hear in this conversation, the company has been built on the principles that Greg espoused two years ago.

Life comes at us fast and in unexpected ways.

What we do with every day that we get is a choice between hoping for a better version of yesterday or acting to create a better tomorrow.

And the key to that is making sure we know what a better version of tomorrow will look like.

So, what do you want more of in your life?

This week’s guest is Tiffany Rolfe. She’s the Global Chief Creative Officer at R/GA, a job she took on in the early stages of the pandemic as part of a new leadership team.

Two years ago, the Ad Age A List recognized R/GA as the Comeback Agency of the Year. This year, they are now ranked second among all agencies.

Tiffany’s email signature reads, Mom and Global Chief Creative Officer.

I speak for myself when I say that before we all withdrew into our homes in early 2020, I was aware only conceptually of how women who are parents juggle that with their careers.

But two years of working via Zoom has given many of us insights into people’s lives that were previously unimaginable for their candor and vulnerability.

This conversation is a living example of the challenges and gifts that have emerged from the last two years.

The line between work and home has been blurred beyond any reasonable hope of recognition. No matter how powerful a microscope you apply, it is almost impossible to see the separation any more between leader and human being.

The destruction of this separation can be liberating if you’re willing to create your own definition of the work-life balance.

If you’re not, it will be very hard as you try in vain to keep up with a dangerously out of date view of where work ends and life begins.

The day is not only for work. The day is for living.

What that means is entirely for you to decide.

Edited highlights of our full conversation.

This week’s guest is Tiffany Rolfe. She’s the Global Chief Creative Officer at R/GA, a job she took on in the early stages of the pandemic as part of a new leadership team.

Two years ago, the Ad Age A List recognized R/GA as the Comeback Agency of the Year. This year, they are now ranked second among all agencies.

Tiffany’s email signature reads, Mom and Global Chief Creative Officer.

I speak for myself when I say that before we all withdrew into our homes in early 2020, I was aware only conceptually of how women who are parents juggle that with their careers.

But two years of working via Zoom has given many of us insights into people’s lives that were previously unimaginable for their candor and vulnerability.

This conversation is a living example of the challenges and gifts that have emerged from the last two years.

The line between work and home has been blurred beyond any reasonable hope of recognition. No matter how powerful a microscope you apply, it is almost impossible to see the separation any more between leader and human being.

The destruction of this separation can be liberating if you’re willing to create your own definition of the work-life balance.

If you’re not, it will be very hard as you try in vain to keep up with a dangerously out of date view of where work ends and life begins.

The day is not only for work. The day is for living.

What that means is entirely for you to decide.

This week’s guest is Colleen DeCourcy.

She has been named Creative Leader of the Decade. She led Wieden and Kennedy to three consecutive Agency of the Year wins and her contribution to creativity has just been recognized by Cannes Lions with the Lion of St Mark Lifetime Achievement Award.

I met Colleen in April of 2015. And as I got to know her, I learned that she was humble, that she was generous, that she was vulnerable. That she was going to make it happen, even though, as you’ll hear, she was filled with self-doubt.

Today, three months into her version of retirement, her impact is everywhere.

And her sense of self has found a permanent home.

At its heart, leadership is an act of generosity.

It asks so much of us that to do it well, to have lasting impact, requires that we give much more of ourselves than we get back. At least in the short term.

It’s one of the reasons why leadership is so lonely.

But the longer that I do this, the more that I talk to leaders and try to understand them, the more I realize that there is a truth that shows up over and over again.

That the generosity that the best leaders bring, generosity that exists even in the face of their own fears and doubts, generosity that exists even in the furnace of modern business, lifts the people around them to heights they never thought possible.

And in the process of doing that for others, what these leaders end up creating, is themselves.

Edited highlights of our full conversation.

This week’s guest is Colleen DeCourcy. She has been named Creative Leader of the Decade. She led Wieden and Kennedy to three consecutive Agency of the Year wins and her contribution to creativity has just been recognized by Cannes Lions with the Lion of St Mark Lifetime Achievement Award.

I met Colleen in April of 2015. And as I got to know her, I learned that she was humble, that she was generous, that she was vulnerable. That she was going to make it happen, even though, as you’ll hear, she was filled with self-doubt.

Today, three months into her version of retirement, her impact is everywhere.

And her sense of self has found a permanent home.

At its heart, leadership is an act of generosity.

It asks so much of us that to do it well, to have lasting impact, requires that we give much more of ourselves than we get back. At least in the short term.

It’s one of the reasons why leadership is so lonely.

But the longer that I do this, the more that I talk to leaders and try to understand them, the more I realize that there is a truth that shows up over and over again.

That the generosity that the best leaders bring, generosity that exists even in the face of their own fears and doubts, generosity that exists even in the furnace of modern business, lifts the people around them to heights they never thought possible.

And in the process of doing that for others, what these leaders end up creating, is themselves.

This week’s guest is Lori Bradley. She’s the Vice President for Talent at Chewy. Lori sees the management and development of talent through multiple lenses. Academic. Strategic. Intellectual. For sure. But the perspective she brings that sits on top of all of these is the most important of all. The human one.

Here’s something you already know if you listen to this podcast. People that choose to work in creative business are complicated and unpredictable.

Despite which, so many business try so very hard to build single model operations that view all members of a group or a department or a discipline as being the same.

No wonder that most businesses leave millions of dollars of untapped creativity and innovation on the table every night.

Lori used the word experiment three times in about ten seconds.

Can you remember the last time that word was used in any leadership team meeting you’ve been part of in the last few months?

There’s no way back. There’s no one way forward. And no way of knowing which way is going to work.

The future is waiting to be invented - by those who are brave enough to experiment.

Uncommon London was just named Creative Agency of the Year for the second year in a row, and Independent Agency of the Year. It’s the first time a company has ever received both awards in the same year.

Creative leadership is not a theory. It’s practice that happens in the real world.

And the reason this podcast exists is to bring the lessons of the best leaders in the world into the light where they can be learned form and applied.

This week’s episode is a re-run of one of my very earliest episodes. It’s a conversation I had with Nils Leonard in the summer of 2017.

Nils was on the show only a few weeks ago. But I’m airing this episode again now for a simple reason.

It’s a case study.

When we recorded this conversation, Nils and his partners - Lucy Jameson and Natalie Graeme - had just launched Uncommon.

They had big dreams. Big beliefs. And, as Nils realized at the end of our conversation - something else to support all that.

Hope sits at the heart of any creative endeavor. The willingness to try, the capacity to fail and then try again are all fueled by hope.

But if hope is the driving force, then the track that you lay down is held in place by the standards that you hold yourselves to.

If you take the time to listen to this conversation, or read the transcript, you’ll find evidence that when it comes to leadership, saying what you mean and meaning what you say matter a lot. Maybe more than anything.

And less than five years after this conversation, the company that Nils, Lucy and Natalie are building is proof that it is possible to predict the future - by inventing it.

What do you want to have built by 2027?

This week’s guest is Joanna Coles. She is the CEO of Northern Star Acquisition Company, the former Chief Content Officer for Hearst Magazines, and former Editor-in-Chief of Marie Claire and Cosmopolitan. She sits on the boards of Snap and Sonos and advises some of the world’s most influential businesses.

She’s also brilliant at telling the story of what’s going on all around us, in ways that we haven’t heard before.

It is widely - and I think incorrectly assumed - that for any creative business, the key to winning is to have better talent.

Having the best talent helps.

But the businesses that win, unlock talent best.

I can’t tell you how many companies I have been invited into, whose reputation on the street or in the press is that they’re struggling or decaying. Or in some cases, the story was they were dying.

For years, I’d walk into the businesses and assume that one of the problems would be the they had mediocre talent.

It was never the case.

The talent was always much better, much better, than the reputation, than the work, than the results. It was the organizations that were failing. Usually because of a failure of leadership sensitivity and imagination.

Creative businesses win or lose based on how successfully they take disparate, talented individuals and combine them together to produce extraordinary outcomes. Whether that’s ads or code or clothes or cars or content or ideas.

As Joanna says, we’re moving into an era of heightened individualism.

Suddenly the talent has discovered that they have choices and opinions and standards and expectations of their own.

Can you adapt fast enough to meet them? Or are you walking around frustrated because people won’t do what you want them to any more.

Welcome to the age of talent. It’s going to be interesting.

This week’s guest is Justin Spooner. He’s the co-founder of Unthinkable - they describe themselves as a digital strategy and digital transformation company.

Transformation is a word that gets used a lot. It also gets practiced little. Mostly because it’s hard and expensive and, honestly, in some respects it’s frightening.

It’s why so many companies are so focused on facing the future with policies and practices and initiatives that start with the word ‘back.' Back to work. Back to normal. Back to real life.

The truth about life is that it doesn’t and never has worked backwards. You can’t rewind anything. We measure the past. Experience the present and plan the future.

So if the future you’re planning is based on recreating history, stop for a few moments and think of this.

If I could live the past again, which parts would I want to keep - as in really want to keep - and what would I change?

Then do that.

This week’s guest is the futurist Faith Popcorn. This is the full conversation we recorded a few weeks ago, some of which we included in our first episode of the year - ‘How Will The Best Leaders Lead In 2022.’

Faith is the founder of The BrainReserve and she and her team are hired to tell companies and industries what the future looks like.

Most people like the illusion of the status quo. The here and now is safe and warm and predicting a future filled with disruption upsets companies and their leaders who are counting on more of the same to get them to next year.

The world has never worked like that. And as we approach the 24th month of the new society that we are building, I’m consistently struck by how many people still trying to use the past as the reference point for the future.

The cost of entry to becoming a leader is imagination. The weekly fee for membership in the club of great leaders is the capacity and willingness to keep seeking out the seemingly impossible and then finding a way to make it part of the expected.

And if you think I’m asking too much, consider this, courtesy of Faith’s Twitter feed last week.

Over the last 200 years, the average lifespan of our species has tripled.

What makes any of us sure that won’t happen again?

Here’s a question. In the movie of your life, which part do you want to play?

This week’s guest is the award winning costume designer, Ellen Mirojnick. During her career she’s worked with directing greats, from Steven Soderbergh, to Ridley and Tony Scott, to Oliver Stone.

She’s the reason the name Gordon Gekko immediately conjures an image in our mind, and why Bridgerton swept millions of viewers off their feet.

Ellen turns costumes into characters. How she does that is worth thinking about for every leader.

Over the last few months on this podcast, we’ve been talking a lot about empathetic, sensitive leadership. About building trust and displaying vulnerability.

Not any of which are words to attach to Gordon Gekko.

Gordon Gekko was greedy, immoral, self-obsessed. Labels that fit some of today’s leaders but are probably not descriptions that you aspire to, if you’re listening to this podcast.

Which brings up the all important question. How do you want to be described?

Each of us play multiple roles in our lives. In every relationship, we have to decide which parts of ourselves we bring center stage and which we move into the wings.

Which personality traits, which characteristics, which areas of expertise should be prominent, and which should take a back seat in that moment.

In our private lives, there’s - usually - more forgiveness and more latitude. But in our leadership roles, when we are confused or inconsistent about how we show up, we run the risk of being misunderstood or, worse, misrepresented. And the consequence of that inconsistency is an erosion of trust and confidence from everyone around you.

The best leaders are clear about the attributes they want to be known for, and then turn them into a character that shows up, consistently, every day.

Strategic, empathetic, ambitious, risk-taking, disruptive, loyal, creative, sensitive, rule-breaking. The choices are yours.

And as long as they are true to who you really are, you’ll have the foundations of a leadership character that can draw people with you on the journey, and will have people remember the impact that you made long after the final credits have rolled.

Edited highlights of our full conversation.

Here’s a question. In the movie of your life, which part do you want to play?

This week’s guest is the award winning costume designer, Ellen Mirojnick. During her career she’s worked with directing greats, from Steven Soderbergh, to Ridley and Tony Scott, to Oliver Stone.

She’s the reason the name Gordon Gekko immediately conjures an image in our mind, and why Bridgerton swept millions of viewers off their feet.

Ellen turns costumes into characters. How she does that is worth thinking about for every leader.

Over the last few months on this podcast, we’ve been talking a lot about empathetic, sensitive leadership. About building trust and displaying vulnerability.

Not any of which are words to attach to Gordon Gekko.

Gordon Gekko was greedy, immoral, self-obsessed. Labels that fit some of today’s leaders but are probably not descriptions that you aspire to, if you’re listening to this podcast.

Which brings up the all important question. How do you want to be described?

Each of us play multiple roles in our lives. In every relationship, we have to decide which parts of ourselves we bring center stage and which we move into the wings.

Which personality traits, which characteristics, which areas of expertise should be prominent, and which should take a back seat in that moment.

In our private lives, there’s - usually - more forgiveness and more latitude. But in our leadership roles, when we are confused or inconsistent about how we show up, we run the risk of being misunderstood or, worse, misrepresented. And the consequence of that inconsistency is an erosion of trust and confidence from everyone around you.

The best leaders are clear about the attributes they want to be known for, and then turn them into a character that shows up, consistently, every day.

Strategic, empathetic, ambitious, risk-taking, disruptive, loyal, creative, sensitive, rule-breaking. The choices are yours.

And as long as they are true to who you really are, you’ll have the foundations of a leadership character that can draw people with you on the journey, and will have people remember the impact that you made long after the final credits have rolled.

Here’s a question. Who do you really want to join you on the ride?

This week’s guest is Nils Leonard. He’s one of the co-founders of Uncommon London. They describe themselves as a creative studio building brands that people in the real world actually wish existed.

Nils has been on the show before. He was one of my early guests on the podcast and that conversation came in the early days of Uncommon and he was very open about his ambitions and his expectations for himself and his company.

Four years on and it’s hard to see the gaps between what he said back then and how he talks about the company today.

In my experience - both as a company founder and as a coach - there is one aspect of leadership that brings many to their emotional knees.

Firing someone.

When to acknowledge that the fit between the person and the organization doesn’t work.

On a human level, we all want to belong and the fear - conscious or instinctive - that we might one day be on the receiving end of this conversation, makes many leaders do everything they can to avoid that moment. The one in which we say out loud, to someone’s face, we don’t want you.

Even now, as you’re listening, if you hit pause and say out loud, we don’t want you, there will be a feeling in your stomach that you hope goes away fast.

But there are three other parts of this that don’t get enough weight in the emotional wrestling match.

First are the hopes, needs and expectations of all the people that work for you who are contributing so much that they will never be part of a conversation like this. Whose talent and efforts and commitment to you and to the business are subsidizing the person who doesn’t fit.

Second are the needs of the organization as a whole, which has no agency and no ability to help itself, and which is as reliant on your protection and care as an infant.

And third is the person who is receiving this news. Who knows, in almost every instance in my experience, that this job isn’t a fit, that these people are not their tribe and that they are, to use Nils’ description, a passenger on someone’s else’s ride.

“Death twitches my ear. Live, he says I'm coming.”

They say that life is a journey. And so is building a business.

Who gets to go on that ride is perhaps the most important decision that a leader takes.

Edited highlights of our full conversation.

Here’s a question. Who do you really want to join you on the ride?

This week’s guest is Nils Leonard. He’s one of the co-founders of Uncommon London. They describe themselves as a creative studio building brands that people in the real world actually wish existed.

Nils has been on the show before. He was one of my early guests on the podcast and that conversation came in the early days of Uncommon and he was very open about his ambitions and his expectations for himself and his company.

Four years on and it’s hard to see the gaps between what he said back then and how he talks about the company today.

In my experience - both as a company founder and as a coach - there is one aspect of leadership that brings many to their emotional knees.

Firing someone.

When to acknowledge that the fit between the person and the organization doesn’t work.

On a human level, we all want to belong and the fear - conscious or instinctive - that we might one day be on the receiving end of this conversation, makes many leaders do everything they can to avoid that moment. The one in which we say out loud, to someone’s face, we don’t want you.

Even now, as you’re listening, if you hit pause and say out loud, we don’t want you, there will be a feeling in your stomach that you hope goes away fast.

But there are three other parts of this that don’t get enough weight in the emotional wrestling match.

First are the hopes, needs and expectations of all the people that work for you who are contributing so much that they will never be part of a conversation like this. Whose talent and efforts and commitment to you and to the business are subsidizing the person who doesn’t fit.

Second are the needs of the organization as a whole, which has no agency and no ability to help itself, and which is as reliant on your protection and care as an infant.

And third is the person who is receiving this news. Who knows, in almost every instance in my experience, that this job isn’t a fit, that these people are not their tribe and that they are, to use Nils’ description, a passenger on someone’s else’s ride.

“Death twitches my ear. Live, he says I'm coming.”

They say that life is a journey. And so is building a business.

Who gets to go on that ride is perhaps the most important decision that a leader takes.

Here’s a question. How much power do you give the past?

Hi. I’m Charles Day. I work with creative and innovative companies. I coach their leaders to help them maximize their impact and grow their business. To help them succeed where leadership has its greatest impact. The intersection of strategy and humanity.

This week’s guests are Vincent Bragg and Joe Nickson, two of the co-founders of ConCreates. They started the company in federal prison where, as you’ll hear, you can learn a lot about business and even more about life.

There are so many aspects to the story of ConCreates that it’s difficult to know which ones to highlight.

The resilience of human beings.

The power of imagination.

The capacity to look beyond the easy, obvious presentation of who someone is to see the person beyond that.

And the possibilities that appear when we become clear about the impact we want to make.

All of these truths have one thing in common.

A willingness to see ourselves not through the mists of our past - the stories we have told ourselves about our history, our circumstances, our limitations.

But through a lens that is focused on our future. Who we want to be, the difference we want to make, the impact we want to leave behind.

It is said that the greatest lesson of history is that we do not learn the lessons of history.

Unless we do. And then everything is possible.

Edited highlights of our full conversation.

Here’s a question. How much power do you give the past?

Hi. I’m Charles Day. I work with creative and innovative companies. I coach their leaders to help them maximize their impact and grow their business. To help them succeed where leadership has its greatest impact. The intersection of strategy and humanity.

This week’s guests are Vincent Bragg and Joe Nickson, two of the co-founders of ConCreates. They started the company in federal prison where, as you’ll hear, you can learn a lot about business and even more about life.

There are so many aspects to the story of ConCreates that it’s difficult to know which ones to highlight.

The resilience of human beings.

The power of imagination.

The capacity to look beyond the easy, obvious presentation of who someone is to see the person beyond that.

And the possibilities that appear when we become clear about the impact we want to make.

All of these truths have one thing in common.

A willingness to see ourselves not through the mists of our past - the stories we have told ourselves about our history, our circumstances, our limitations.

But through a lens that is focused on our future. Who we want to be, the difference we want to make, the impact we want to leave behind.

It is said that the greatest lesson of history is that we do not learn the lessons of history.

Unless we do. And then everything is possible.

Here’s a question. If you don’t know what you don’t know, how certain should you be about what you do know?

This is my full conversation with Kerry Sulkowicz, the leadership confidant and psychiatrist. Parts of this conversation were featured in last week’s Look Ahead at 2022 episode. If you haven’t heard that yet - I spoke to nine different leaders about how society has changed as a result of the last two years, and what that means for leadership.

The episode was featured in Fast Company and the link is in the show notes and on the Fearless website.

Kerry works with leaders across the world and is also President-elect of the American Psychoanalytic Association. He knows a thing or two about the psychology of leadership.

The human condition is attracted to certainty. To be fed and safe and healthy. To belong. To matter.

It’s hard to get away from these instincts and the impulses that come with them.

Which makes us more inclined to look for evidence that fits our desired view of the world and to overlook questions and possibilities and gaps in our knowledge that might contradict that view.

Which, in turn, makes what we do know more risky and what we don't know more valuable.

In most organizations, leaders sit or are placed on a pedestal. There is a structural hierarchy that directly affects the flow of information.

When we allow ourselves to believe that the structure itself provides us with all the information that we need, we run the risk of never knowing what we don't know.

If your goal is to be someone who leads empathetically and impactfully, a question to add to your leadership portfolio is the one that Howard Schultz reportedly asked himself and his leadership team at Starbucks every week.

What do I not know that would make this decision wrong?

And then follow it up with this one.

Why am I afraid to find out?

This episode is featured in Fast Company.

As we look to 2022 and beyond, how will the best leaders lead?

As we wrap the wildest year that we’ve ever heard of, I thought it would be helpful to put some context around what just happened and where we go from here.

Over the last couple of weeks I’ve been asking some of my previous guests for their take on four questions.

How have we changed? What does that mean for leadership? What does the future of the workplace look like? And, as a consequence of all that, how do leaders need to adapt and evolve to meet and lead the future?

This episode is being published on Christmas Eve, which is my favorite day of the year.

Growing up, the anticipation of everything that was to come filled me with wonder and possibility. The month long build up of advent calendars being opened, trees being bought and houses being decorated, cards arriving, then food, then grandparents. The chill in the air, and the hope for snow that stays with me to this day.

As I got older, and started to see Christmas through a different lens, I discovered A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens. One of the most memorable experiences of my life took place on Christmas Eve 1994 when Chris and I saw Patrick Stewart’s one man performance of the story onstage in New York. I’ve never found a video recording of it anywhere. But if you’re willing to step back in time, you can buy the CD on Amazon. It will take you to Dickensian London from its first moment.

Set amongst the despair and darkness of a struggling city, A Christmas Carol is the story of a powerful man led astray by greed. He creates a world that has no compassion or concern for others.

Sounds familiar.

This week’s guest is the writer Michael Wolff. He is a former editor of Adweek but is famous for his work as a columnist for New York Magazine, Vanity Fair, British GQ, The Guardian, and The Hollywood Reporter. He is best known as the author of several books on some of the leading figures of our time. Fire and Fury: Inside the Trump White House topped the New York Times best seller list for ten weeks in 2018.

His most recent book, Too Famous, is a collection of stories and essays that he has written over the years about some of the world’s most powerful and controversial leaders - from Rupert Murdoch, to Harvey Weinstein. From Boris Johnson to Michael Bloomberg. These are people that he has come to know intimately and the effect of whom he has seen up close.

After listening to our conversation, you might believe that Michael is not a fan of leaders or, in fact, of leadership. In fact, I think it would be easy to come away from this episode feeling that some of the spirit of the early chapters of A Christmas Carol had seeped in, like frost through the keyhole.

But like A Christmas Carol, I think this episode is ultimately one of hope.

Next year is going to be chaos on steroids. The Great Resignation, work from home, vaccination passports, rapid tests, two plus years of physical disconnection, a fundamental change in the structure of society, a de-emphasis on work and a yearning for in-person experiences, the accelerating acceleration in the use of technology.

In the middle of all that, we need some people to step up and provide a way forward. We will need leaders. Brave, bold, empathetic, caring leaders who will have to do this without case studies or classes or books or mentors who have experience, for the simple reason that none exist and no one has any.

Given all of that, traditional leadership can no longer be the reference for how you meet this moment.

So how do you lead with so little knowledge of what we’re facing and amidst so much uncertainty?

The framework I think, lies in an answer that Michael gave in response to my question about how he is raising his children during the pandemic.

If we have learned anything from 2020 and 2021, it is that we cannot know what 2022 will bring.

The story we tell future generations about how we met this moment will depend on how we approach what comes next.

With frustration and old rules.

Or with grace, originality and some humor.

Happy Holidays and Merry Christmas to you all.

Too Famous: The Rich, the Powerful, the Wishful, the Notorious, the Damned

Fire and Fury: Inside the Trump White House

Edited highlights of our full conversation.

This episode is being published on Christmas Eve, which is my favorite day of the year.

Growing up, the anticipation of everything that was to come filled me with wonder and possibility. The month long build up of advent calendars being opened, trees being bought and houses being decorated, cards arriving, then food, then grandparents. The chill in the air, and the hope for snow that stays with me to this day.

As I got older, and started to see Christmas through a different lens, I discovered A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens. One of the most memorable experiences of my life took place on Christmas Eve 1994 when Chris and I saw Patrick Stewart’s one man performance of the story onstage in New York. I’ve never found a video recording of it anywhere. But if you’re willing to step back in time, you can buy the CD on Amazon. It will take you to Dickensian London from its first moment.

Set amongst the despair and darkness of a struggling city, A Christmas Carol is the story of a powerful man led astray by greed. He creates a world that has no compassion or concern for others.

Sounds familiar.

This week’s guest is the writer Michael Wolff. He is a former editor of Adweek but is famous for his work as a columnist for New York Magazine, Vanity Fair, British GQ, The Guardian, and The Hollywood Reporter. He is best known as the author of several books on some of the leading figures of our time. Fire and Fury: Inside the Trump White House topped the New York Times best seller list for ten weeks in 2018.

His most recent book, Too Famous, is a collection of stories and essays that he has written over the years about some of the world’s most powerful and controversial leaders - from Rupert Murdoch, to Harvey Weinstein. From Boris Johnson to Michael Bloomberg. These are people that he has come to know intimately and the effect of whom he has seen up close.

After listening to our conversation, you might believe that Michael is not a fan of leaders or, in fact, of leadership. In fact, I think it would be easy to come away from this episode feeling that some of the spirit of the early chapters of A Christmas Carol had seeped in, like frost through the keyhole.

But like A Christmas Carol, I think this episode is ultimately one of hope.

Next year is going to be chaos on steroids. The Great Resignation, work from home, vaccination passports, rapid tests, two plus years of physical disconnection, a fundamental change in the structure of society, a de-emphasis on work and a yearning for in-person experiences, the accelerating acceleration in the use of technology.

In the middle of all that, we need some people to step up and provide a way forward. We will need leaders. Brave, bold, empathetic, caring leaders who will have to do this without case studies or classes or books or mentors who have experience, for the simple reason that none exist and no one has any.

Given all of that, traditional leadership can no longer be the reference for how you meet this moment.

So how do you lead with so little knowledge of what we’re facing and amidst so much uncertainty?

The framework I think, lies in an answer that Michael gave in response to my question about how he is raising his children during the pandemic.

If we have learned anything from 2020 and 2021, it is that we cannot know what 2022 will bring.

The story we tell future generations about how we met this moment will depend on how we approach what comes next.

With frustration and old rules.

Or with grace, originality and some humor.

Happy Holidays and Merry Christmas to you all.

Too Famous: The Rich, the Powerful, the Wishful, the Notorious, the Damned

Fire and Fury: Inside the Trump White House

This week’s guest is Judy Jackson. She is the Global Head of Culture at WPP which makes her responsible for providing the vision and strategy for building a culture that embraces 100,000 people.

There’s no one size fits all approach that satisfies that brief. It’s a role that requires a three dimensional view of human beings.

Leaders aren’t particularly fond of displaying their weaknesses and vulnerabilities. After all, it takes time, work and a lot of sacrifice to reach a position of power. Why would you give someone the ammunition to knock you off that perch?

How very 2019 of me.

Leaders are going to have to get used to showing up as fully formed human beings - flaws and all. Because the pandemic has made us all more conscious of who we want to spend time with. Who we trust and who gives us hope.

It’s also forced us - or perhaps better said - allowed us to show each other who we really are. Not the bib and tuckered, booted and polished professionals who think strategically and execute unerringly. But the harried humans who wear blue fuzzy Birkenstocks, whose offices are squeezed into the corner of their bedrooms and whose families don’t always provide the cathedral-esque silence appropriate for the seriousness of the Zoom call we’re participating in.

If, after all of that, you think Judy’s wrong and you’re going to go back to showing the people the work for you only the good of you, you’re going to miss out on a couple of important opportunities.

The chance to unlock your full potential. And the chance to help others unlock theirs.

Edited highlights of our full conversation.

This week’s guest is Judy Jackson. She is the Global Head of Culture at WPP which makes her responsible for providing the vision and strategy for building a culture that embraces 100,000 people.

There’s no one size fits all approach that satisfies that brief. It’s a role that requires a three dimensional view of human beings.

Leaders aren’t particularly fond of displaying their weaknesses and vulnerabilities. After all, it takes time, work and a lot of sacrifice to reach a position of power. Why would you give someone the ammunition to knock you off that perch?

How very 2019 of me.

Leaders are going to have to get used to showing up as fully formed human beings - flaws and all. Because the pandemic has made us all more conscious of who we want to spend time with. Who we trust and who gives us hope.

It’s also forced us - or perhaps better said - allowed us to show each other who we really are. Not the bib and tuckered, booted and polished professionals who think strategically and execute unerringly. But the harried humans who wear blue fuzzy Birkenstocks, whose offices are squeezed into the corner of their bedrooms and whose families don’t always provide the cathedral-esque silence appropriate for the seriousness of the Zoom call we’re participating in.

If, after all of that, you think Judy’s wrong and you’re going to go back to showing the people the work for you only the good of you, you’re going to miss out on a couple of important opportunities.

The chance to unlock your full potential. And the chance to help others unlock theirs.

This week’s guest is Raja Rajamannar. He’s the Chief Marketing & Communications Officer for Mastercard and is also President of the company’s healthcare business.

His list of accomplishments is long and significant. He was recognized as the Global Marketer of the Year by the World Federation of Advertisers, was named one of the Top 5 “World’s Most Influential CMOs” by Forbes, and one of the Top 10 “World’s Most Innovative CMOs” by Business Insider. He has been inducted into The CMO Club Hall of Fame. He has also been recognized as one of AdWeek’s most tech-savvy CMOs.

So what matters to him today?

How do you live your life well?

That question is at the very heart of the upheaval of the employer - employee relationship. Whether we come to call it ‘The Great Resignation’ or ‘The Great Self-Reflection’ or anything else.

For the first time in the history of our society, the people who do the bulk of the work are discovering they don’t have to do it on someone else’s terms. They can decide what a ‘life well lived’ looks like on their terms.

They’re discovering that they have agency in their own lives.

The pressure this puts on leaders is almost more than we can understand. It changes everything.

And if you thought ‘it’s lonely at the top’ was true before, it’s going to become an even more meaningful cliché as we stumble into 2022.

Leaders are going to have to adapt and evolve to these dramatic societal shifts. Leadership is going to have to change at its very heart and soul.

But as you personally confront these challenges, my hope is that you will place at the center of your thinking that very same question. How do you live your life well?

Empathy, vulnerability, care and compassion are going to have to be building blocks on which your leadership is built. I don’t see a way in which you can succeed from now on without those as the foundations from which you lead.

But you can’t fake these qualities. They’re not sustainable unless they reflect the life that you want to lead.

What do you want to do with your life? What do you want to spend your time on while you are alive?

These are questions that scare us. Questions that can feel judgmental or too filled with consequence if we really confront them.

But when we are willing to confront them, the answers unleash such reservoirs of possibility, that soon we cannot imagine why we lived for so long without the clarity and the confidence they provide.

And they come with the added benefit that they will make you a world-class leader for as long as you choose to lead.

Edited highlights of our full conversation.

This week’s guest is Raja Rajamannar. He’s the Chief Marketing & Communications Officer for Mastercard and is also President of the company’s healthcare business.

His list of accomplishments is long and significant. He was recognized as the Global Marketer of the Year by the World Federation of Advertisers, was named one of the Top 5 “World’s Most Influential CMOs” by Forbes, and one of the Top 10 “World’s Most Innovative CMOs” by Business Insider. He has been inducted into The CMO Club Hall of Fame. He has also been recognized as one of AdWeek’s most tech-savvy CMOs.

So what matters to him today?

How do you live your life well?

That question is at the very heart of the upheaval of the employer - employee relationship. Whether we come to call it ‘The Great Resignation’ or ‘The Great Self-Reflection’ or anything else.

For the first time in the history of our society, the people who do the bulk of the work are discovering they don’t have to do it on someone else’s terms. They can decide what a ‘life well lived’ looks like on their terms.

They’re discovering that they have agency in their own lives.

The pressure this puts on leaders is almost more than we can understand. It changes everything.

And if you thought ‘it’s lonely at the top’ was true before, it’s going to become an even more meaningful cliché as we stumble into 2022.

Leaders are going to have to adapt and evolve to these dramatic societal shifts. Leadership is going to have to change at its very heart and soul.

But as you personally confront these challenges, my hope is that you will place at the center of your thinking that very same question. How do you live your life well?

Empathy, vulnerability, care and compassion are going to have to be building blocks on which your leadership is built. I don’t see a way in which you can succeed from now on without those as the foundations from which you lead.

But you can’t fake these qualities. They’re not sustainable unless they reflect the life that you want to lead.

What do you want to do with your life? What do you want to spend your time on while you are alive?

These are questions that scare us. Questions that can feel judgmental or too filled with consequence if we really confront them.

But when we are willing to confront them, the answers unleash such reservoirs of possibility, that soon we cannot imagine why we lived for so long without the clarity and the confidence they provide.

And they come with the added benefit that they will make you a world-class leader for as long as you choose to lead.

This week’s guest is Chris Hirst. He’s the Global CEO of Havas Creative - they describe themselves as the world’s most integrated advertising and communications business.

He’s also the author of an award winning book, No Bullsht Leadership*. Which means he’s given a lot of thought to the art of leading a creative business.

So much has been written and said about leadership. Libraries full of thinking and advice. Strategies and objectives and theories and case studies and oceans-full of best practices.

We humans are complex beings. Biological entities fueled by emotions and very often willing to make decisions and take actions which, even after a moment’s thought, work against our own best interests.

No wonder that the Doomsday Clock is set at 100 seconds to midnight.

Leadership requires you take people on a journey. From where we are today. To a better version of tomorrow.

A lot of attention gets paid to your definition of the destination. Justifiably so. After all, to slightly misquote Alice in Wonderland, if you don’t care where you’re going, any road will do.

But as Chris points out, the other end of the journey, the honest acknowledgement of where you are today, is often missing, for fear that someone will be upset or offended or will judge the progress so far as inadequate.

Honesty about the challenges you're trying to overcome is where leadership begins.

Without that honesty, at least two things become true.

First, every time you think you’re making a decision, you’re making it through a distorted lens. Which means it’s not a decision at all. It’s a guess.

And second, if you won’t trust yourself with the truth, why should anyone else trust you?

So, trust yourself and start with truth.

Edited highlights of our full conversation.

This week’s guest is Chris Hirst. He’s the Global CEO of Havas Creative - they describe themselves as the world’s most integrated advertising and communications business.

He’s also the author of an award winning book, No Bullsht Leadership*. Which means he’s given a lot of thought to the art of leading a creative business.

So much has been written and said about leadership. Libraries full of thinking and advice. Strategies and objectives and theories and case studies and oceans-full of best practices.

We humans are complex beings. Biological entities fueled by emotions and very often willing to make decisions and take actions which, even after a moment’s thought, work against our own best interests.

No wonder that the Doomsday Clock is set at 100 seconds to midnight.

Leadership requires you take people on a journey. From where we are today. To a better version of tomorrow.

A lot of attention gets paid to your definition of the destination. Justifiably so. After all, to slightly misquote Alice in Wonderland, if you don’t care where you’re going, any road will do.

But as Chris points out, the other end of the journey, the honest acknowledgement of where you are today, is often missing, for fear that someone will be upset or offended or will judge the progress so far as inadequate.

Honesty about the challenges you're trying to overcome is where leadership begins.

Without that honesty, at least two things become true.

First, every time you think you’re making a decision, you’re making it through a distorted lens. Which means it’s not a decision at all. It’s a guess.

And second, if you won’t trust yourself with the truth, why should anyone else trust you?

So, trust yourself and start with truth.

This week’s guest is Jill Kelly, the Global CMO of GroupM, the world’s largest media investment company.

The journey that brought her to this powerful position has been complicated and has forced her to confront threats both real and imagined.

It has been said that if you stand in a group of randomly selected people and ask everyone to place their fears in the center of that circle, most of us would choose to take back our own.

If that’s true, it’s because our own fears have become so familiar to us that we have learned to live with them, sometimes even to empower them, in case confronting them reveals an ever greater terror - that we were right to be afraid. That the monster in the attic is real.

Fear is a foundation of the human condition. Without it we would not exist as a species.

But the fear that fills today’s society, the fear of individual irrelevance, has become so powerful that it threatens to wash away everything else that matters on the human journey. Kindness. Compassion. Empathy. Respect. And love.

The only path away from the abyss is leadership. And that is the hero’s journey. The willingness to resist the herd mentality and forge another path.

That journey is always hard. But it becomes impossible if we decide to accept our own monster in the attic without resistance or challenge. Because when we start to accept our own fear, when we allow it to join us, unchecked, on our journey, only one thing is certain. That the time it will show up is when our back is turned and we are facing the real threat.

I cannot promise you that you will ever conquer your monster in the attic.

But I can promise you that every day you stare it down, you weaken it. Even time you shine a light on it, you expand what is possible. For yourself and for others.

Edited highlights of our full conversation.

This week’s guest is Jill Kelly, the Global CMO of GroupM, the world’s largest media investment company.

The journey that brought her to this powerful position has been complicated and has forced her to confront threats both real and imagined.

It has been said that if you stand in a group of randomly selected people and ask everyone to place their fears in the center of that circle, most of us would choose to take back our own.

If that’s true, it’s because our own fears have become so familiar to us that we have learned to live with them, sometimes even to empower them, in case confronting them reveals an ever greater terror - that we were right to be afraid. That the monster in the attic is real.

Fear is a foundation of the human condition. Without it we would not exist as a species.

But the fear that fills today’s society, the fear of individual irrelevance, has become so powerful that it threatens to wash away everything else that matters on the human journey. Kindness. Compassion. Empathy. Respect. And love.

The only path away from the abyss is leadership. And that is the hero’s journey. The willingness to resist the herd mentality and forge another path.

That journey is always hard. But it becomes impossible if we decide to accept our own monster in the attic without resistance or challenge. Because when we start to accept our own fear, when we allow it to join us, unchecked, on our journey, only one thing is certain. That the time it will show up is when our back is turned and we are facing the real threat.

I cannot promise you that you will ever conquer your monster in the attic.

But I can promise you that every day you stare it down, you weaken it. Even time you shine a light on it, you expand what is possible. For yourself and for others.

This week’s guest is Deirdre Findlay, the Global CMO of Condé Nast. In that position, she’s responsible for all of the company’s consumer-driven revenue.

She took the job in January of 2020, and faced by an industry in transition and a world in chaos, has dramatically grown the company’s subscriber base, as well as the affiliate and commerce revenue. More than that, the company has held onto its new-found audiences, even as we start to leave our homes and reconnect with each other in person.

Like every leader, she’s responsible for producing business results at a time when the employer-employee relationship is being entirely rewritten.

If you’re leading a business that depends on unlocking the power of creative thinking and innovation for your success, you know that talent acquisition and talent retention have always been critical.

Most people think that’s true for one reason. Hire the best talent and win the game.

For many companies, their strategy for finding and keeping the best talent came down to this: Pay them, praise them, promote them, and prioritize them - especially when it came to handing out the best opportunities.

If that’s still the cornerstone of your thinking, you’re already falling behind in the race for game-changing talent.

Today, as a leader, it’s not just the job you’re selling, it’s the journey.

The journey you’re taking the business on.

And the journey you’re offering everyone who works for you. One of self exploration and personal development. A journey to discover what they can do and who they can be.

You’ll still need business plans and financial performance metrics to determine who you need to hire and what you can afford.

You’ll still need visions and missions, job descriptions and benefits packages to open the door to the right people.

But if you want to close the deal and ensure the best of them stick around long enough to make a difference, you’ll need two things that most leaders don’t know how to measure.

Empathy and interest. Which means, as Deidre said, getting comfortable with balancing the work and balancing the people.

Edited highlights of our full conversation.

This week’s guest is Deirdre Findlay, the Global CMO of Condé Nast. In that position, she’s responsible for all of the company’s consumer-driven revenue.

She took the job in January of 2020, and faced by an industry in transition and a world in chaos, has dramatically grown the company’s subscriber base, as well as the affiliate and commerce revenue. More than that, the company has held onto its new-found audiences, even as we start to leave our homes and reconnect with each other in person.

Like every leader, she’s responsible for producing business results at a time when the employer-employee relationship is being entirely rewritten.

If you’re leading a business that depends on unlocking the power of creative thinking and innovation for your success, you know that talent acquisition and talent retention have always been critical.

Most people think that’s true for one reason. Hire the best talent and win the game.

For many companies, their strategy for finding and keeping the best talent came down to this: Pay them, praise them, promote them, and prioritize them - especially when it came to handing out the best opportunities.

If that’s still the cornerstone of your thinking, you’re already falling behind in the race for game-changing talent.

Today, as a leader, it’s not just the job you’re selling, it’s the journey.

The journey you’re taking the business on.

And the journey you’re offering everyone who works for you. One of self exploration and personal development. A journey to discover what they can do and who they can be.

You’ll still need business plans and financial performance metrics to determine who you need to hire and what you can afford.

You’ll still need visions and missions, job descriptions and benefits packages to open the door to the right people.

But if you want to close the deal and ensure the best of them stick around long enough to make a difference, you’ll need two things that most leaders don’t know how to measure.

Empathy and interest. Which means, as Deidre said, getting comfortable with balancing the work and balancing the people.

This week’s guest is Umber Ahmad - the founder of the rapidly growing bakery, Mah Ze Dahr.

Her journey from banker to baker has been told before by everyone from Martha Stewart to BuzzFeed to TIME Magazine. Umber was a guest in the early days of this podcast in June of 2017.

Over the last few years, I’ve come to know Umber well and in full disclosure I’ve worked with her both formally and informally as she launched and began to grow her business.

When the pandemic hit us all like a tidal wave in March of 2020, I wondered how Umber would keep Mah Ze Dahr afloat.

A business that depended hugely on a single brick and mortar location in Greenwich Village didn’t seem to have much future as her customers fled New York and the city turned into a post apocalyptic landscape of deserted streets and shuttered storefronts.

Twenty months later, Mah Ze Dahr hasn’t just survived, it has thrived. That single location has turned into four, and her online business has doubled.

The leadership instincts on which the business is growing were honed in Umber at an early age.

It is too easy to think of leadership as an abstract, intellectual, and even academic construct.

It is not.

Leadership is the most powerful change agent on the planet - this one or any of the others that we attempt to occupy in years and generations to come.

Leadership is most visible when we are confronted by the twists and turns that life brings us.

Coronavirus has been a series of hair-pin bends on the side of a mountain, and many so-called leaders have climbed into the back seat and clung on for dear life.

When faced with these moments, we quickly discover whether we are a leader in name only, or whether we are willing to confront the challenges of whatever lies ahead.

Whether we hit the brakes and stop, or whether we accelerate through the curve and head for the future.

Edited highlights of our full conversation.

This week’s guest is Umber Ahmad - the founder of the rapidly growing bakery, Mah Ze Dahr.

Her journey from banker to baker has been told before by everyone from Martha Stewart to BuzzFeed to TIME Magazine. Umber was a guest in the early days of this podcast in June of 2017.

Over the last few years, I’ve come to know Umber well and in full disclosure I’ve worked with her both formally and informally as she launched and began to grow her business.

When the pandemic hit us all like a tidal wave in March of 2020, I wondered how Umber would keep Mah Ze Dahr afloat.

A business that depended hugely on a single brick and mortar location in Greenwich Village didn’t seem to have much future as her customers fled New York and the city turned into a post apocalyptic landscape of deserted streets and shuttered storefronts.

Twenty months later, Mah Ze Dahr hasn’t just survived, it has thrived. That single location has turned into four, and her online business has doubled.

The leadership instincts on which the business is growing were honed in Umber at an early age.

It is too easy to think of leadership as an abstract, intellectual, and even academic construct.

It is not.

Leadership is the most powerful change agent on the planet - this one or any of the others that we attempt to occupy in years and generations to come.

Leadership is most visible when we are confronted by the twists and turns that life brings us.

Coronavirus has been a series of hair-pin bends on the side of a mountain, and many so-called leaders have climbed into the back seat and clung on for dear life.

When faced with these moments, we quickly discover whether we are a leader in name only, or whether we are willing to confront the challenges of whatever lies ahead.

Whether we hit the brakes and stop, or whether we accelerate through the curve and head for the future.

This week, I’m going to talk about one of the driving forces affecting modern creative leadership. Vulnerability. And the journey that some of the world’s most creative and innovative leaders are taking to bring all of themselves to their roles.

This week’s guests are Jan Jacobs and Leo Premutico, the founders of Johannes Leonardo. They describe themselves as a creative and effectiveness agency who exist to create a world of courageous brands.

However you define the company, they’ve demonstrated exceptional courage and produced relentless creativity for 14 years.

Their starting point for both comes not from leaning in but stepping back.

In years to come, historians will write about this period as one of unprecedented change. An epoch that separated what came before from what is still to be defined.

Today, we live with two new realities.

Yesterday was an unreliable indicator of what today became.

And tomorrow, anything is possible.

Leading a business that thrives in that kind of environment has become exponentially more challenging than it was even six months ago.

‘Everyone stay home.’ That created a level playing field that is now officially over.

Now comes the hard part, redesigning your company so that it can win when there are no rules, no norms, no references, no comps and no best practices.

Now, leaders are really going to have to lead.

Which makes Leo’s recognition of listening as a creative act, an invaluable building block in the road to the future.

If you’re listening to this podcast, I’m willing to bet that your company is filled with brilliant minds.

Listening to them to get help with the answers is a good place to start.

Listening to them to get help with the questions is even better.

And makes whatever you come up with, not only original, but a competitive advantage.

Edited highlights of our full conversation.

This week’s guests are Jan Jacobs and Leo Premutico, the founders of Johannes Leonardo. They describe themselves as a creative and effectiveness agency who exist to create a world of courageous brands.

However you define the company, they’ve demonstrated exceptional courage and produced relentless creativity for 14 years.

Their starting point for both comes not from leaning in but stepping back.

In years to come, historians will write about this period as one of unprecedented change. An epoch that separated what came before from what is still to be defined.

Today, we live with two new realities.

Yesterday was an unreliable indicator of what today became.

And tomorrow, anything is possible.

Leading a business that thrives in that kind of environment has become exponentially more challenging than it was even six months ago.

‘Everyone stay home.’ That created a level playing field that is now officially over.

Now comes the hard part, redesigning your company so that it can win when there are no rules, no norms, no references, no comps and no best practices.

Now, leaders are really going to have to lead.

Which makes Leo’s recognition of listening as a creative act, an invaluable building block in the road to the future.

If you’re listening to this podcast, I’m willing to bet that your company is filled with brilliant minds.

Listening to them to get help with the answers is a good place to start.

Listening to them to get help with the questions is even better.

And makes whatever you come up with, not only original, but a competitive advantage.

This week’s guests are the leadership team of FCB New York. Their President, Emma Armstrong; co-CCO’s Gabriel Schmitt and Michael Aimette and their Chief Strategy Officer, Todd Sussman.

This summer, the Cannes Lions named FCB The Network of the Year. The agency’s journey over the last eight years has seen it transformed from a company that most people didn’t care about to one that now stands as a reference point for how to unlock creative thinking on a global scale.

FCB is a case study for growing a business by first defining and then living through a strategy.

But, when I meet the company’s leaders - whether at the global level or those responsible for running offices - I’m always struck by the human connection between them.

According to a recent McKinsey report, 15 million US workers - and counting - have left their jobs since April of this year. The “Great Resignation” as it’s now being called has become one of the most disruptive forces in business since the 2008 financial crash, with potentially deeper and longer lasting consequences.

People no longer want to work at jobs they’re not interested by. Which seems like an obvious statement except that for decades, and maybe forever, that hasn’t been the case.

In fact the company - employee contract has long been built around the understanding that many aspects of many jobs would be intellectually and emotionally unsatisfying but would come with the promise of something better in the future.

That equation doesn’t work in the same way any more.

As a leader, how you rewrite that equation depends on how you see the world yourself.

Are you, as Emma describes, curious about the power of creativity and where the world is going next? And are you taking people on that journey of discovery and possibility?

Or are you working to meet the expectations of someone’s else’s over-promise? And then you have to ask yourself, is that really leading at all?

Curiouser and curiouser.

Edited highlights of our full conversation.

This week’s guests are the leadership team of FCB New York. Their President, Emma Armstrong; co-CCO’s Gabriel Schmitt and Michael Aimette and their Chief Strategy Officer, Todd Sussman.

This summer, the Cannes Lions named FCB The Network of the Year. The agency’s journey over the last eight years has seen it transformed from a company that most people didn’t care about to one that now stands as a reference point for how to unlock creative thinking on a global scale.

FCB is a case study for growing a business by first defining and then living through a strategy.

But, when I meet the company’s leaders - whether at the global level or those responsible for running offices - I’m always struck by the human connection between them.

According to a recent McKinsey report, 15 million US workers - and counting - have left their jobs since April of this year. The “Great Resignation” as it’s now being called has become one of the most disruptive forces in business since the 2008 financial crash, with potentially deeper and longer lasting consequences.

People no longer want to work at jobs they’re not interested by. Which seems like an obvious statement except that for decades, and maybe forever, that hasn’t been the case.

In fact the company - employee contract has long been built around the understanding that many aspects of many jobs would be intellectually and emotionally unsatisfying but would come with the promise of something better in the future.

That equation doesn’t work in the same way any more.

As a leader, how you rewrite that equation depends on how you see the world yourself.

Are you, as Emma describes, curious about the power of creativity and where the world is going next? And are you taking people on that journey of discovery and possibility?

Or are you working to meet the expectations of someone’s else’s over-promise? And then you have to ask yourself, is that really leading at all?

Curiouser and curiouser.

This week’s guest is Gail Gallie. She’s the Co-Founder of Project Everyone where she works alongside the writer and director, Richard Curtis.

Project Everyone is a not-for-profit communications agency that creates campaigns and supports partners to raise awareness, inspire action and drive accountability for the Global Goals of the United Nations.

Their mission is to accelerate progress towards a fairer world by 2030, where extreme poverty has been eradicated, climate change is properly addressed, and injustice and inequality are unacceptable.

Gail’s own energy is infectious. Even across a Zoom from three thousand miles away, she lifted my sense of possibility.

As you’ll hear, there have been phases in her career where that hasn’t been the case. And, like many leaders, she’s had times where she’s found herself out of sync with the organization she was running.

But through her journey, she has created a life in which her leadership both reflects and empowers her as a human being.

In my experience, that is all too rare. Most leaders relentlessly prioritize solving their company’s problems over their own personal development.

Leadership is a moving target. And if you’ve listened to this podcast before, you’ll know that great leadership requires that more than one thing be true at once.

You have to care about others. And you have to care about yourself.

And sometimes, not in that order.

Edited highlights of our full conversation.

This week’s guest is Gail Gallie. She’s the Co-Founder of Project Everyone where she works alongside the writer and director, Richard Curtis.

Project Everyone is a not-for-profit communications agency that creates campaigns and supports partners to raise awareness, inspire action and drive accountability for the Global Goals of the United Nations.

Their mission is to accelerate progress towards a fairer world by 2030, where extreme poverty has been eradicated, climate change is properly addressed, and injustice and inequality are unacceptable.

Gail’s own energy is infectious. Even across a Zoom from three thousand miles away, she lifted my sense of possibility.

As you’ll hear, there have been phases in her career where that hasn’t been the case. And, like many leaders, she’s had times where she’s found herself out of sync with the organization she was running.

But through her journey, she has created a life in which her leadership both reflects and empowers her as a human being.

In my experience, that is all too rare. Most leaders relentlessly prioritize solving their company’s problems over their own personal development.

Leadership is a moving target. And if you’ve listened to this podcast before, you’ll know that great leadership requires that more than one thing be true at once.

You have to care about others. And you have to care about yourself.

And sometimes, not in that order.

This episode's guest is Keesha Jean-Baptiste. She is the Senior Vice President, Chief Talent Officer at Hearst Magazines.

During her career, she’s also been the Senior Vice President of Talent, Engagement and Inclusion at the American Association of Advertising Agencies (4A’s) and the Director of Talent and Human Resources at Wieden and Kennedy.

Keesha is brilliant. She is brave. And she is black. And all three of those attributes make her an extraordinarily insightful and powerful advocate for the work that companies need to undertake if their workforces are truly going to reflect society.

Today, that work falls under the heading of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion or DEI - and there are many businesses that are filled with good intentions and meaningful efforts to improve their DEI performance.

In some cases these efforts lead to tangible and lasting results. In others the work has little impact on the hiring practices or culture of the business.

The difference in whether the work works, frequently comes down to one variable. The leader.

I don’t think it’s ever been harder to be a leader. Less is certain and more is expected. There is less to rely on and more to invent. There are fewer shadows to disappear into and many more bright lights to bring the truth into sharp relief.

One of the truths is that it’s still disproportionately harder to be a minority in America.

And if that fact is going to change, actually change, we need leaders who are willing to step forward and who know what to do when they find themselves standing in that light.

My conversation with Keesha covers a lot of ground. She talks openly about her own upbringing, about childhood events that shaped her, and about how she sees the challenges and opportunities that leaders face today, as they struggle to come to terms with what’s needed in DEI committed companies.

It’s a conversation that’s filled with practical advice about a sensitive and complex topic.

It’s a conversation that will make you a better leader.

Edited highlights of our full conversation.

This episode's guest is Keesha Jean-Baptiste. She is the Senior Vice President, Chief Talent Officer at Hearst Magazines.

During her career, she’s also been the Senior Vice President of Talent, Engagement and Inclusion at the American Association of Advertising Agencies (4A’s) and the Director of Talent and Human Resources at Wieden and Kennedy.

Keesha is brilliant. She is brave. And she is black. And all three of those attributes make her an extraordinarily insightful and powerful advocate for the work that companies need to undertake if their workforces are truly going to reflect society.

Today, that work falls under the heading of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion or DEI - and there are many businesses that are filled with good intentions and meaningful efforts to improve their DEI performance.

In some cases these efforts lead to tangible and lasting results. In others the work has little impact on the hiring practices or culture of the business.

The difference in whether the work works, frequently comes down to one variable. The leader.

I don’t think it’s ever been harder to be a leader. Less is certain and more is expected. There is less to rely on and more to invent. There are fewer shadows to disappear into and many more bright lights to bring the truth into sharp relief.

One of the truths is that it’s still disproportionately harder to be a minority in America.

And if that fact is going to change, actually change, we need leaders who are willing to step forward and who know what to do when they find themselves standing in that light.

My conversation with Keesha covers a lot of ground. She talks openly about her own upbringing, about childhood events that shaped her, and about how she sees the challenges and opportunities that leaders face today, as they struggle to come to terms with what’s needed in DEI committed companies.

It’s a conversation that’s filled with practical advice about a sensitive and complex topic.

It’s a conversation that will make you a better leader.

This week’s guest is Julia Goldin. She is the Global Chief Product & Marketing Officer at The LEGO Group.

How do you lead a business that depends on play?

How do you deliver results today and build for tomorrow?

How do you find yourself when your whole company is watching?

And how do you build a team that dreams of possibility when the whole world is craving certainty?

Leadership is a lot about pushing the boundaries. And if you’re not doing that, you’re not actually leading. You’re just managing someone else’s problems.

But even if you show up every day willing to imagine new possibilities and fueled by a clear vision of a new future, you can only do that by yourself for so long.

Eventually, if you’re going to change the world, you’re going to need help.

And the more that those people are able to explore and adapt, the more they are willing to see change as an ally not a threat, the greater the success they will help you create.

Encouraging the people around you to think and behave like children requires flexibility. On how you see them. And how you see yourself.

In a world that’s suddenly so serious, that seems risky and maybe even absurd.

But the adults haven’t done that great recently.

Maybe it’s time to let the children inside all of us see what they can do.

Edited highlights of our full conversation.

This week’s guest is Julia Goldin. She is the Global Chief Product & Marketing Officer at The LEGO Group.

How do you lead a business that depends on play?

How do you deliver results today and build for tomorrow?

How do you find yourself when your whole company is watching?

And how do you build a team that dreams of possibility when the whole world is craving certainty?

Leadership is a lot about pushing the boundaries. And if you’re not doing that, you’re not actually leading. You’re just managing someone else’s problems.

But even if you show up every day willing to imagine new possibilities and fueled by a clear vision of a new future, you can only do that by yourself for so long.

Eventually, if you’re going to change the world, you’re going to need help.

And the more that those people are able to explore and adapt, the more they are willing to see change as an ally not a threat, the greater the success they will help you create.

Encouraging the people around you to think and behave like children requires flexibility. On how you see them. And how you see yourself.

In a world that’s suddenly so serious, that seems risky and maybe even absurd.

But the adults haven’t done that great recently.

Maybe it’s time to let the children inside all of us see what they can do.

This week’s guest is Gerry Graf. He’s the co-founder of Slap Global. They describe themselves as a business accelerator fueled by creativity. Gerry is best known as the founder of Barton F. Graf 9000 - which he built into one of the most acclaimed advertising agencies in America.

Business Insider named Gerry “The Most Creative Man in Advertising”. Newsweek called him one of the “New Don Drapers”. PBS featured Barton as one of the new innovative shops in “The Real Mad Men of Madison Ave”. Forbes named Barton one of the 14 Most Influential Agencies in America. Fast Company named Barton one of the Most Innovative Advertising Agencies and Gerry one of the 100 Most Creative People in Business. And AdAge included Barton in their A-List issue 8 out of 9 years and named Gerry one of the 50 “biggest and best thinkers and doers from 20 years of advertising and consumer culture.”

Despite all of this, the company closed after ten years.

Success and failure are cousins. So are risk and fear. You can’t have one without the other.

How we see them and what we learn from them shape the course of our lives.

In a pre-pandemic world, a lot of leaders got their titles as a rite of passage or a reward for longevity. They weren’t leaders at all. They were in the right place at the right time, and the playbook they used was well thumbed and easy to follow.

We’re living in a time in which the rules are different. Many of them no longer exist. And yet so many leaders are still trying to turn the clock back to 2019. Most of the references we hear today are about returning. But the winners will be those who re-imagine.

Human beings, by nature, are creatures of habit and risk adverse. And the status quo is a compelling drug.

But leadership has always been about looking ahead. About telling a story, building trust and keeping people moving forward.

There’s risk involved in all of that. You might be wrong. It might not work.

Which is when leaders step forward and try again.

Which, when you think of it, sums up the entire history of human evolution.

What story do you want to write?

Edited highlights of our full conversation.

This week’s guest is Gerry Graf. He’s the co-founder of Slap Global. They describe themselves as a business accelerator fueled by creativity. Gerry is best known as the founder of Barton F. Graf 9000 - which he built into one of the most acclaimed advertising agencies in America.

Business Insider named Gerry “The Most Creative Man in Advertising”. Newsweek called him one of the “New Don Drapers”. PBS featured Barton as one of the new innovative shops in “The Real Mad Men of Madison Ave”. Forbes named Barton one of the 14 Most Influential Agencies in America. Fast Company named Barton one of the Most Innovative Advertising Agencies and Gerry one of the 100 Most Creative People in Business. And AdAge included Barton in their A-List issue 8 out of 9 years and named Gerry one of the 50 “biggest and best thinkers and doers from 20 years of advertising and consumer culture.”

Despite all of this, the company closed after ten years.

Success and failure are cousins. So are risk and fear. You can’t have one without the other.

How we see them and what we learn from them shape the course of our lives.

In a pre-pandemic world, a lot of leaders got their titles as a rite of passage or a reward for longevity. They weren’t leaders at all. They were in the right place at the right time, and the playbook they used was well thumbed and easy to follow.

We’re living in a time in which the rules are different. Many of them no longer exist. And yet so many leaders are still trying to turn the clock back to 2019. Most of the references we hear today are about returning. But the winners will be those who re-imagine.

Human beings, by nature, are creatures of habit and risk adverse. And the status quo is a compelling drug.

But leadership has always been about looking ahead. About telling a story, building trust and keeping people moving forward.

There’s risk involved in all of that. You might be wrong. It might not work.

Which is when leaders step forward and try again.

Which, when you think of it, sums up the entire history of human evolution.

What story do you want to write?

This week’s guest is Michael Korda, the Editor-in-Chief Emeritus of Simon & Schuster.

We could spend this entire episode talking only about the highlights of Michael’s life. He grew up in 1930s London in a family of movie industry icons. As you’ll hear, he became close friends with Graham Greene, traveled to Budapest to attend the Hungarian Revolution, and joined the RAF. He did all this before he turned 25.

At Simon and Schuster he published books by Richard Nixon, Ronald Reagan, Henry Kissinger, Harold Robbins and Jacqueline Susann, among others. He edited and published all 43 of Mary Higgins Clark’s books, and most, if not all, of Larry McMurtry’s books, including Lonesome Dove.

As a writer, he published over two dozen books of his own, from the autobiographical to the definitive historical accounts of Robert E. Lee and TE Lawrence, better known as Lawrence of Arabia.

He has lived several lives in this one, and helped countless others tell the story of theirs.

He has survived wars, the London Blitz and cancer. And at the end of our conversation, I asked him about the role that fear has played in his extraordinary life.

In a world growing more uncertain by the day, living a full and rich life is increasingly challenging. The media fills us with reasons to be afraid. And the debate between trying to stay informed, and trying to get on and live life can fill the mind with a Rubik’s cube of choices.

When you add on top of that, the challenges and risks that come with the responsibility of leading others, then the potential for fear to take over from rational thinking becomes a serious threat.

Fear is a powerful force. In daylight we are embarrassed by it. At night, we are scarred by it. Rarely do we choose to shine a light on it.

But it is only when we do, only when we admit to ourselves that we are afraid, can we hope to move beyond it. And only then can we help others to join us on the other side.

And then, you can have a life so rich with possibility that it is unimaginable that everything you have experienced could belong to one person.

Edited highlights of our full conversation.

This week’s guest is Michael Korda, the Editor-in-Chief Emeritus of Simon & Schuster.

We could spend this entire episode talking only about the highlights of Michael’s life. He grew up in 1930s London in a family of movie industry icons. As you’ll hear, he became close friends with Graham Greene, traveled to Budapest to attend the Hungarian Revolution, and joined the RAF. He did all this before he turned 25.

At Simon and Schuster he published books by Richard Nixon, Ronald Reagan, Henry Kissinger, Harold Robbins and Jacqueline Susann, among others. He edited and published all 43 of Mary Higgins Clark’s books, and most, if not all, of Larry McMurtry’s books, including Lonesome Dove.

As a writer, he published over two dozen books of his own, from the autobiographical to the definitive historical accounts of Robert E. Lee and TE Lawrence, better known as Lawrence of Arabia.

He has lived several lives in this one, and helped countless others tell the story of theirs.

He has survived wars, the London Blitz and cancer. And at the end of our conversation, I asked him about the role that fear has played in his extraordinary life.

In a world growing more uncertain by the day, living a full and rich life is increasingly challenging. The media fills us with reasons to be afraid. And the debate between trying to stay informed, and trying to get on and live life can fill the mind with a Rubik’s cube of choices.

When you add on top of that, the challenges and risks that come with the responsibility of leading others, then the potential for fear to take over from rational thinking becomes a serious threat.

Fear is a powerful force. In daylight we are embarrassed by it. At night, we are scarred by it. Rarely do we choose to shine a light on it.

But it is only when we do, only when we admit to ourselves that we are afraid, can we hope to move beyond it. And only then can we help others to join us on the other side.

And then, you can have a life so rich with possibility that it is unimaginable that everything you have experienced could belong to one person.

This week’s guest is Justin Thomas-Copeland, the CEO of DDB, North America. He’s a dynamic, charismatic leader with a long history of building successful businesses and creating change.

It would be great if the state of society allowed us to end the story there. But for all of his many, many accomplishments, Justin’s appointment generated attention because of one characteristic that is incredibly rare among CEOs of major companies. He’s black.

In fact, rare might be an exaggeration. For instance, the Fortune 500 contains four black CEOs. That’s down from its all-time high of six. If the leadership of Fortune 500 companies simply reflected American society, there would be 67.

It is beyond absurd, beyond outrageous that we even have to say this out loud. Things need to change. And Justin Thomas-Copeland is a change agent.

We talk too often about leaders guiding their people through periods of change. But in a business fueled by its capacity to unlock creative thinking and innovation, change is not a temporary state but a permanent one. A company needs to be different tomorrow. It needs to know more and understand better. It has to have a higher tolerance for risk, a greater appetite for exploration and deeper self awareness. And that needs to be true every day.

And what makes all that work is showing up as a leader with what Justin describes as the right intent. A set of values and beliefs that withstand the short term set-backs that get in the way, and which overcome the skepticism, the suspicion and the fear that greet most leaders who are trying to lead systemic change.

The lack of diversity among the senior leadership of American business is a systemic issue.

Changing it will require determination and trust at an unprecedented scale. It will require leaders who have the right intent.

What’s yours?

Edited highlights of our full conversation.

This week’s guest is Justin Thomas-Copeland, the CEO of DDB, North America. He’s a dynamic, charismatic leader with a long history of building successful businesses and creating change.

It would be great if the state of society allowed us to end the story there. But for all of his many, many accomplishments, Justin’s appointment generated attention because of one characteristic that is incredibly rare among CEOs of major companies. He’s black.

In fact, rare might be an exaggeration. For instance, the Fortune 500 contains four black CEOs. That’s down from its all-time high of six. If the leadership of Fortune 500 companies simply reflected American society, there would be 67.

It is beyond absurd, beyond outrageous that we even have to say this out loud. Things need to change. And Justin Thomas-Copeland is a change agent.

We talk too often about leaders guiding their people through periods of change. But in a business fueled by its capacity to unlock creative thinking and innovation, change is not a temporary state but a permanent one. A company needs to be different tomorrow. It needs to know more and understand better. It has to have a higher tolerance for risk, a greater appetite for exploration and deeper self awareness. And that needs to be true every day.

And what makes all that work is showing up as a leader with what Justin describes as the right intent. A set of values and beliefs that withstand the short term set-backs that get in the way, and which overcome the skepticism, the suspicion and the fear that greet most leaders who are trying to lead systemic change.

The lack of diversity among the senior leadership of American business is a systemic issue.

Changing it will require determination and trust at an unprecedented scale. It will require leaders who have the right intent.

What’s yours?

This week’s guest is Khurrum Malik. He is the Head of Global Business Marketing at Spotify, which makes him and his team responsible for bringing the company’s benefits to listeners and advertisers alike. It also places him at the border crossing of creativity and technology.

The pressure from both sides of those territories is relentless. And you can’t manage them alone for long without being run over.

Science versus uncertainty. Data versus instinct. The art of leading companies that rely on creative thinking and innovation requires - or more accurately, demands - that you are open and available and supporters of all.

It also demands that you bring in help to stand alongside you.

People with their own talents, experiences and passions.

A team that you trust to share your beliefs and your principles.

Today, it’s never been harder to build that team.

Creativity is the most human - perhaps uniquely human - characteristic. It is revealed by a problem, powered by a tolerance for risk and scaled by the capacity to trust.

For every company, your growth potential and your trajectory is directly correlated to your leadership’s capacity to engender trust.

I’m going to have a lot more to say about this in an upcoming episode. But for now, this quick checklist will help.

At the end of every call, make a quick note to yourself that captures the answers to these four questions.

Did I ask them how they were? Do I remember what they said?

Did I say what I meant? Did I mean what I said?

If you can’t honestly, hand on heart honestly, answer yes to every question after every call — every call — you have a trust gap.

And until you close it, you’ll have a creativity and innovation gap.

Edited highlights of our full conversation.

This week’s guest is Khurrum Malik. He is the Head of Global Business Marketing at Spotify, which makes him and his team responsible for bringing the company’s benefits to listeners and advertisers alike. It also places him at the border crossing of creativity and technology.

The pressure from both sides of those territories is relentless. And you can’t manage them alone for long without being run over.

Science versus uncertainty. Data versus instinct. The art of leading companies that rely on creative thinking and innovation requires - or more accurately, demands - that you are open and available and supporters of all.

It also demands that you bring in help to stand alongside you.

People with their own talents, experiences and passions.

A team that you trust to share your beliefs and your principles.

Today, it’s never been harder to build that team.

Creativity is the most human - perhaps uniquely human - characteristic. It is revealed by a problem, powered by a tolerance for risk and scaled by the capacity to trust.

For every company, your growth potential and your trajectory is directly correlated to your leadership’s capacity to engender trust.

I’m going to have a lot more to say about this in an upcoming episode. But for now, this quick checklist will help.

At the end of every call, make a quick note to yourself that captures the answers to these four questions.

Did I ask them how they were? Do I remember what they said?

Did I say what I meant? Did I mean what I said?

If you can’t honestly, hand on heart honestly, answer yes to every question after every call — every call — you have a trust gap.

And until you close it, you’ll have a creativity and innovation gap.

This week’s guest is Hashem Bajwa. He describes himself as a creative leader that uses imagination, intuition and inclusivity to create experiences that bring people together. He’s done that at Goodby Silverstein, at Droga5, and for the last six years at Apple, where he was Director of Strategy, working with Angela Ahrendts to reimagine Apple retail, including the Apple Store.

I’ve spent a lot of time over the last few episodes talking with my guests about the personal and human challenges of leadership in a COVID, climate change, DEI driven world.

Hashem and I discussed that too.

But this episode is a case study in managing change at enormous scale, to the highest standards and under the brightest of lights. It is filled with practical explanations that have helped create one of the most creative, innovative, visible and valuable businesses of any lifetime.

Leading what’s right in front of you is challenging. Leading people who are miles and time zones and cultures apart is exponentially harder. Force of personality quickly get diluted over time and space, and out of sight, out of mind willingly steps in to fill the gaps.

Before you know it, you’re not leading an organization, you’re managing siloed problems armed with a ‘not invented here’ resistance to change.

I’ve seen this up close in big businesses and small. In complex corporations and founder-led partnerships and in all cases, the leaders who were successful planted ‘experience principles’ into the fabric of their organization and then used those to guide, support and ultimately determine decision making across issues both small and business-changing.

When you’re the leader, there’s never enough of you to go around. And as we learn to work across hybrid work weeks and sometimes physical, sometimes virtual offices, the chances that you will find yourself in the right place at the right time all the time, has become essentially zero.

Leadership has a lot to do with giving people clarity and vision while encouraging them to bring their own unique thinking to the decision-making moments.

Today, that means finding ways to both guide and inspire their thinking even when you’re not in the room.

Have you defined experience principles for your organization?

Edited highlights of our full conversation.

This week’s guest is Hashem Bajwa. He describes himself as a creative leader that uses imagination, intuition and inclusivity to create experiences that bring people together. He’s done that at Goodby Silverstein, at Droga5, and for the last six years at Apple, where he was Director of Strategy, working with Angela Ahrendts to reimagine Apple retail, including the Apple Store.

I’ve spent a lot of time over the last few episodes talking with my guests about the personal and human challenges of leadership in a COVID, climate change, DEI driven world.

Hashem and I discussed that too.

But this episode is a case study in managing change at enormous scale, to the highest standards and under the brightest of lights. It is filled with practical explanations that have helped create one of the most creative, innovative, visible and valuable businesses of any lifetime.

Leading what’s right in front of you is challenging. Leading people who are miles and time zones and cultures apart is exponentially harder. Force of personality quickly get diluted over time and space, and out of sight, out of mind willingly steps in to fill the gaps.

Before you know it, you’re not leading an organization, you’re managing siloed problems armed with a ‘not invented here’ resistance to change.

I’ve seen this up close in big businesses and small. In complex corporations and founder-led partnerships and in all cases, the leaders who were successful planted ‘experience principles’ into the fabric of their organization and then used those to guide, support and ultimately determine decision making across issues both small and business-changing.

When you’re the leader, there’s never enough of you to go around. And as we learn to work across hybrid work weeks and sometimes physical, sometimes virtual offices, the chances that you will find yourself in the right place at the right time all the time, has become essentially zero.

Leadership has a lot to do with giving people clarity and vision while encouraging them to bring their own unique thinking to the decision-making moments.

Today, that means finding ways to both guide and inspire their thinking even when you’re not in the room.

Have you defined experience principles for your organization?

This week’s guest is Laura Holson of The New York Times. She is a brilliant and award-winning feature writer and visual editor who has written extensively about Hollywood, Silicon Valley, as well as powerful figures in finance and politics.

Our conversation covered a lot of areas. Her love of and approach to writing compelling stories. Why and how she created The Box Session salons which pull together extraordinarily creative people from all areas of the creative industries. Her firsthand and up-close insights into the leadership of Steve Jobs at Pixar, and Michael Eisner and Bob Iger at Disney. And her own views of the priorities and challenges faced by today’s leaders.

At the heart of all of it is Laura’s own journey, one that included a bout of long COVID that she wrote about in the Times earlier this year.

Like a lot of us, Laura has had time to reflect about life.

Creativity is a human attribute. It also scares a lot of people.

But then so does life.

We spend so much time tying to find our place in the world, so much time trying to adapt, to adjust and to fit in. We care so much about what other people think of us. Of what we do. Or how we behave.

Then suddenly life is over, and in the process of fitting into other people’s definitions of who we are, we suddenly discover that we never found out who we could have been.

Or we can choose another path. One that we design ourselves. One in which we show up as the full version of who we are.

And then watch people follow your leadership.

How do you do that? Perhaps, Mark Twain said it best.

“Sing like no one is listening, love like you never been hurt, dance like no one is watching and live like it is heaven on earth.”

Edited highlights of our full conversation.

This week’s guest is Laura Holson of The New York Times. She is a brilliant and award-winning feature writer and visual editor who has written extensively about Hollywood, Silicon Valley and powerful figures in finance and politics.

Our conversation covered a lot of areas. Her love of and approach to writing compelling stories. Why and how she created the Box Session salons which pull together extraordinarily creative people from all areas of the creative industries. Her first-hand and up close insights into the leadership of Steve Jobs at Pixar, and Michael Eisner and Bob Iger at Disney. And her own views of the priorities and challenges faced by today’s leaders.

At the heart of all of that is Laura’s own journey, one that included a bout of long COVID that she wrote about in the Times earlier this year.

Like a lot of us, Laura has had time to reflect about life.

Creativity is a human attribute. It also scares a lot of people.

But then so does life.

We spend so much time tying to find our place in the world, so much time trying to adapt, adjust and fit in. We care so much about what other people think of us. Of what we do. Or how we behave.

Then suddenly life is over, and in the process of fitting into other people’s definitions of who we are, we suddenly discover that we never found out who we could have been.

Or we can choose another path. One that we design ourselves. One in which we show up as the full version of who we are.

And then watch people follow your leadership.

How do you do that? Perhaps, Mark Twain said it best.

“Sing like no one is listening, love like you never been hurt, dance like no one is watching and live like it is heaven on earth.”

This week’s guest is Jesse Joeckel, the founder, owner and designer at Whalebone Creative. Based in Montauk, New York, Whalebone describes itself as a lifestyle brand that’s built around art, design, and surf culture. They sell super soft t-shirts, hoodies, hats and more, and they’ve been doing so since 2010. And they have become the definition of a very, very cool brand.

Over the eleven years since he started Whalebone, Jesse has never strayed far from his definition of success. And happiness.

Over the last few months, many, many people - maybe most people - have spent time thinking about what they want from life.

Based on the number of people who are leaving their jobs during what has come to be known as the ‘Great Resignation’, the answer is ‘not this.’ Indeed, in some industries, a third of the people resigning have no clear idea about what they will do next or where.

By the millions, people are challenging their own definitions of success. And even more fundamentally, their definitions of what it means to be happy.

This week’s guest is Lisa Mehling, the owner of Chelsea Pictures, who last month were named the winner of the Palme D’Or as the Production Company of the Year at the Cannes Lions Festival of Creativity.

Lisa doesn’t like to talk about herself. But her journey is an important one to understand as we struggle to build a society that supports all people.

The single biggest decision we make in our lives is this. How will we use the time we get while we are here? How will we spend this moment? And this one? And this?

Are we reacting or acting? Waiting or moving? Hoping or choosing?

Time has moved differently over the last 18 months. We have learned new rhythms - some faster, some slower. But very little about the way we have spent our time has felt familiar.

Until we got used to it, and it did. Sometimes in good ways. Sometimes in bad.

And then the vaccines came. And now we have to figure out how we spend our time all over again.

Which makes this moment a gift.

I’m fortunate to see across and inside a wide range of industries and businesses. And what I’m increasingly certain of is that what came before 2020 will have increasingly little to do with what comes after.

We have been living for a long time with norms and expectations that were designed and implemented during the Industrial Age. The 40 hour work week for instance, despite all the data that shows working fewer hours dramatically increases both performance and personal well-being. The Industrial Age started in about 1760 and ended sometime in the mid 20th century. Conservatively, that means we left the Industrial Age about 70 years ago. And yet we’re still tied to its apron strings.

Human beings are creatures of habit, genetically and biologically built on rhythms. The rising of the sun, the speed of our breathing, the gestation period of creating new life. There are so many fundamental aspects of our existence that we can't control.

But if you’re listening to this podcast, there are many, many things about your life that you can control. You have agency. To decide and to act. To test the boundaries of what is possible and to discover who you are in the process.

The power to unlock creative thinking and innovation depends on challenging assumptions and breaking down norms.

Or, as Lisa said, of not waiting for permission that you don’t need.

These moments are fleeting. New structures and practices and expectations and processes will be here before we know it.

So you can wait until someone tells you what’s allowed.

Or you can save yourself ten years and decide yourself.

Edited highlights of our full conversation.

This week’s guest is Lisa Mehling, the owner of Chelsea Pictures, who last month were named the winner of the Palme D’Or as the Production Company of the Year at the Cannes Lions Festival of Creativity.

Lisa doesn’t like to talk about herself. But her journey is an important one to understand as we struggle to build a society that supports all people.

The single biggest decision we make in our lives is this. How will we use the time we get while we are here? How will we spend this moment? And this one? And this?

Are we reacting or acting? Waiting or moving? Hoping or choosing?

Time has moved differently over the last 18 months. We have learned new rhythms - some faster, some slower. But very little about the way we have spent our time has felt familiar.

Until we got used to it, and it did. Sometimes in good ways. Sometimes in bad.

And then the vaccines came. And now we have to figure out how we spend our time all over again.

Which makes this moment a gift.

I’m fortunate to see across and inside a wide range of industries and businesses. And what I’m increasingly certain of is that what came before 2020 will have increasingly little to do with what comes after.

We have been living for a long time with norms and expectations that were designed and implemented during the Industrial Age. The 40 hour work week for instance, despite all the data that shows working fewer hours dramatically increases both performance and personal well-being. The Industrial Age started in about 1760 and ended sometime in the mid 20th century. Conservatively, that means we left the Industrial Age about 70 years ago. And yet we’re still tied to its apron strings.

Human beings are creatures of habit, genetically and biologically built on rhythms. The rising of the sun, the speed of our breathing, the gestation period of creating new life. There are so many fundamental aspects of our existence that we can't control.

But if you’re listening to this podcast, there are many, many things about your life that you can control. You have agency. To decide and to act. To test the boundaries of what is possible and to discover who you are in the process.

The power to unlock creative thinking and innovation depends on challenging assumptions and breaking down norms.

Or, as Lisa said, of not waiting for permission that you don’t need.

These moments are fleeting. New structures and practices and expectations and processes will be here before we know it.

So you can wait until someone tells you what’s allowed.

Or you can save yourself ten years and decide yourself.

None us succeed alone. And the bigger the ambition, the more we need other people to reach it. The age of the iconic, solo, white male leader are almost behind us. Not a moment too soon.

Welcome to the age of leadership partnership. And if you think what came before was challenging, well, as the song goes, you ain’t seen nothing yet.

As humans, we want so badly to belong, that we’re attracted - almost compulsively - by the idea of partnership. It is a light calling us home. Or to the flame.

There are many, many kinds of partnerships. Strategic. Impulsive. Circumstantial. Convenient. And those that are deeply, deeply personal.

Successful and satisfying partnerships are rare. So rare, that when we find them we should take some time to understand why they work.

This week’s guests are Nancy Reyes, the CEO of TBWA\Chiat\Day New York and Chris Beresford-Hill, the agency’s Chief Creative Officer.

As you will hear, their relationship embodies two of the most critical elements of any successful and sustainable partnership.

First, you’ve got to like each other. Because you’re going to spend a lot of time having difficult conversations and making hard decisions.

And second, once the decision is made - whether you agreed or not - you’ve got to develop the ability to support each other.

Love and the ability to disagree well.

Sometimes it’s just that simple.

And that complicated.

How well does your partnership work?

Edited highlights of our full conversation.

None us succeed alone. And the bigger the ambition, the more we need other people to reach it. The age of the iconic, solo, white male leader are almost behind us. Not a moment too soon.

Welcome to the age of leadership partnership. And if you think what came before was challenging, well, as the song goes, you ain’t seen nothing yet.

As humans, we want so badly to belong, that we’re attracted - almost compulsively - by the idea of partnership. It is a light calling us home. Or to the flame.

There are many, many kinds of partnerships. Strategic. Impulsive. Circumstantial. Convenient. And those that are deeply, deeply personal.

Successful and satisfying partnerships are rare. So rare, that when we find them we should take some time to understand why they work.

This week’s guests are Nancy Reyes, the CEO of TBWA\Chiat\Day New York and Chris Beresford-Hill, the agency’s Chief Creative Officer.

As you will hear, their relationship embodies two of the most critical elements of any successful and sustainable partnership.

First, you’ve got to like each other. Because you’re going to spend a lot of time having difficult conversations and making hard decisions.

And second, once the decision is made - whether you agreed or not - you’ve got to develop the ability to support each other.

Love and the ability to disagree well.

Sometimes it’s just that simple.

And that complicated.

How well does your partnership work?

This week’s guest is Will Travis - the Founder of Elevation Barn. They describe themselves as a global network united to elevate each other’s clarity of purpose for personal, business and philanthropic goals.

Will works with individual leaders. And I think the conversation about individual purpose is really important.

Businesses talk a lot about purpose. Most do very little about it. They pre-sell or post rationalize. But very few change the way they spend money as a result of their purpose.

What the best businesses do have in common is that they are intentioned. They’re clear about where they’re trying to get to and the journey that will get them there.

In my experience, that’s often enough to achieve significant competitive advantage and serious success.

There are a lot of highly effective leaders who have discovered the same thing about their own lives. Declare your intention for your business, define the journey it will take to get there, and you can often attract the kind of talent and funding that you’ll need.

The only limitation is that it leaves an important bit out of the equation. You. What matters to you? Who do you want to be?

Will’s work at the Elevation Barn really resonates with me.

Like Will, I meet leaders who have become incredibly good at fitting square pegs into round holes. Often, they are the square peg.

They have adapted themselves to the needs of the business. They conform to a set of expectations created by someone else for someone else in some other moment.

They do what they think they should, conscious of a growing sense of disconnection, but never stopping to ask themselves, what matters to me? Who do I want to be?

Life is short. Nothing is guaranteed. Let us hope the lasting lessons of the last 16 months are at least that.

What do you want to do with your time here? What legacy do you want to leave behind?

Leadership is an opportunity to unlock the potential of people and to shape the world in the process.

One of those people whose potential you unlock, can be you.

Edited highlights of our full conversation.

This week’s guest is Will Travis - the Founder of Elevation Barn. They describe themselves as a global network united to elevate each other’s clarity of purpose for personal, business and philanthropic goals.

Businesses talk a lot about purpose. Most do very little about it. They pre-sell or post rationalize. But very few change the way they spend money as a result of their purpose.

What the best businesses do have in common is that they are intentioned. They’re clear about where they’re trying to get to and the journey that will get them there.

In my experience, that’s often enough to achieve significant competitive advantage and serious success.

There are a lot of highly effective leaders who have discovered the same thing about their own lives. Declare your intention for your business, define the journey it will take to get there, and you can often attract the kind of talent and funding that you’ll need.

The only limitation is that it leaves an important bit out of the equation. You. What matters to you? Who do you want to be?

Will’s work at the Elevation Barn really resonates with me.

Like Will, I meet leaders who have become incredibly good at fitting square pegs into round holes. Often, they are the square peg.

They have adapted themselves to the needs of the business. They conform to a set of expectations created by someone else for someone else in some other moment.

They do what they think they should, conscious of a growing sense of disconnection, but never stopping to ask themselves, what matters to me? Who do I want to be?

Life is short. Nothing is guaranteed. Let us hope the lasting lessons of the last 16 months are at least that.

What do you want to do with your time here? What legacy do you want to leave behind?

Leadership is an opportunity to unlock the potential of people and to shape the world in the process.

One of those people whose potential you unlock, can be you.

This week’s guest is David Kolbusz - the Chief Creative Officer at Droga5 in London.

He’s worked for many of the most iconic agencies in the advertising industry. BBH, Goodby Silverstein, Wieden & Kennedy and Droga.

Most of the time, he’s found a great fit. Occasionally, he hasn’t. But at every step of the way he’s brought a distinctive perspective and point of view.

David talks about the fact that he does not consider himself a risk taker.

But he is absolutely willing to see the status quo for what it is. An artifice. And a falsehood.

Leading inside the lines is a choice. Pushing against them is another. But recognizing they don’t actually exist is perhaps the most powerful starting point for any form of creative leadership.

In a world in which everything we thought we knew has been thrown up in the air, playing by an old set of artificial rules will get us to one place fast - a broken version of the past.

Leading the future starts when you imagine the world without rules. And let the most powerful force of all - your imagination - run wild.

Edited highlights of our full conversation.

This week’s guest is David Kolbusz - the Chief Creative Officer at Droga5 in London.

He’s worked for many of the most iconic agencies in the advertising industry. BBH, Goodby Silverstein, Wieden & Kennedy and Droga.

Most of the time, he’s found a great fit. Occasionally, he hasn’t. But at every step of the way he’s brought a distinctive perspective and point of view.

David talks about the fact that he does not consider himself a risk taker.

But he is absolutely willing to see the status quo for what it is. An artifice. And a falsehood.

Leading inside the lines is a choice. Pushing against them is another. But recognizing they don’t actually exist is perhaps the most powerful starting point for any form of creative leadership.

In a world in which everything we thought we knew has been thrown up in the air, playing by an old set of artificial rules will get us to one place fast - a broken version of the past.

Leading the future starts when you imagine the world without rules. And let the most powerful force of all - your imagination - run wild.

Stephanie Mehta is the Editor-in-Chief of Fast Company. They study, explore, analyze and report on innovation like no other media brand.

Stephanie has been a writer almost since birth. Like the rest of us, she’s learned how to lead through trial and error and experience and asking and listening.

Leadership used to be a two dimensional, top down, hierarchical practice. I say. You do.

Today, it is a three dimensional role, powered by a leader's ability to use influence and in which they are the visionary, guide, architect, storyteller, as well as the supporter of multiple constituencies.

Today, the leader is expected to have a point of view or to be clear - and credible - about why they don’t.

The best way and, in fact, the only way, for leaders to navigate this complexity, is to establish a set of principles that guide them in moments of crisis and consternation.

If you take the time to define your principles now - when things are quiet and the microphone isn’t being pushed in your face - you will dramatically increase the chances that what you come up with when the heat is on, will be clear, consistent and compelling.

Three words by which to measure anyone’s leadership.

And which increase the chances that whatever you say, you can live with the consequences of having said it.

Edited highlights of our full conversation.

Stephanie Mehta is the Editor-in-Chief of Fast Company. They study, explore, analyze and report on innovation like no other media brand.

Stephanie has been a writer almost since birth. Like the rest of us, she’s learned how to lead through trial and error and experience and asking and listening.

Leadership used to be a two dimensional, top down, hierarchical practice. I say. You do.

Today, it is a three dimensional role, powered by a leader's ability to use influence and in which they are the visionary, guide, architect, storyteller, as well as the supporter of multiple constituencies.

Today, the leader is expected to have a point of view or to be clear - and credible - about why they don’t.

The best way and, in fact, the only way, for leaders to navigate this complexity, is to establish a set of principles that guide them in moments of crisis and consternation.

If you take the time to define your principles now - when things are quiet and the microphone isn’t being pushed in your face - you will dramatically increase the chances that what you come up with when the heat is on, will be clear, consistent and compelling.

Three words by which to measure anyone’s leadership.

And which increase the chances that whatever you say, you can live with the consequences of having said it.

Faith Popcorn is a futurist. To many of us she is the original and still the best.

She told Kodak about digital imagery, Ford about electric cars and Coke about bottled water before any of them existed. In the 1980s she told P&G that everything would be home delivered. In every case they either laughed or threw her out of the room. That’s the price of forecasting change.

The ability to see the future is, by definition an uncertain science. No matter how often you are right, you will be wrong far more often.

And yet it is the what-ifs that we get remembered for. The what-ifs that change lives.

Life is short. And unpredictable. And we have much less control over it than we think.

Leadership is an opportunity to make a difference while we’re here.

Developing your appetite for the unlikely and redefining your view of the impossible make you an infinitely better leader of any business that depends on creative thinking and innovation.

What do you think will definitely not happen over the next five years?

And are you sure?

Edited highlights of our full conversation.

Faith Popcorn is a futurist. To many of us she is the original and still the best.

She told Kodak about digital imagery, Ford about electric cars and Coke about bottled water before any of them existed. In the 1980s she told P&G that everything would be home delivered. In every case they either laughed or threw her out of the room. That’s the price of forecasting change.

The ability to see the future is, by definition an uncertain science. No matter how often you are right, you will be wrong far more often.

And yet it is the what-ifs that we get remembered for. The what-ifs that change lives.

Life is short. And unpredictable. And we have much less control over it than we think.

Leadership is an opportunity to make a difference while we’re here.

Developing your appetite for the unlikely and redefining your view of the impossible make you an infinitely better leader of any business that depends on creative thinking and innovation.

What do you think will definitely not happen over the next five years?

And are you sure?

A recent study by the World Health Organization reveals that working more than 55 hours a week causes a significant increase in premature death.

If that’s true, it’s just one more reason why leaders should make decisions faster. And why they need to create an environment in which it’s easier for others to make decisions faster too.

What’s the reason that decisions often take too long to get made? Risk.

Risk of failure for sure.

But also, and no less importantly, the risk of being wrong. The human fear that is often hidden behind a carefully designed wall of over-analyzed data and needlessly complex strategies.

What’s worse than being wrong?

Allowing risk to prevent you from discovering that you might be right.

This week’s guest is Jenny Just - the co-founder of PEAK6 Investments. She’s been described as the most successful business woman you’ve never heard of.

Edited highlights of our full conversation.

A recent study by the World Health Organization reveals that working more than 55 hours a week causes a significant increase in premature death.

If that’s true, it’s just one more reason why leaders should make decisions faster. And why they need to create an environment in which it’s easier for others to make decisions faster too.

What’s the reason that decisions often take too long to get made? Risk.

Risk of failure for sure.

But also, and no less importantly, the risk of being wrong. The human fear that is often hidden behind a carefully designed wall of over-analyzed data and needlessly complex strategies.

What’s worse than being wrong?

Allowing risk to prevent you from discovering that you might be right.

This week’s guest is Jenny Just - the co-founder of PEAK6 Investments. She’s been described as the most successful business woman you’ve never heard of.

This week’s guest is Charlie Cole, the CEO of FTD. As you’re about to hear, Charlie is relentlessly positive, endlessly optimistic. Essential skills in leading a turnaround.

Over the last year, Charlie discovered something brand new about himself. That he has a breaking point.

Edited highlights of our full conversation.

This week’s guest is Charlie Cole, the CEO of FTD. As you’re about to hear, Charlie is relentlessly positive, endlessly optimistic. Essential skills in leading a turnaround.

Over the last year, Charlie discovered something brand new about himself. That he has a breaking point.

Warby Parker is a twenty first century business. A case study in what purpose driven, values based, agile, innovative and disruptive looks like. At the beginning of 2010, the company didn’t exist. Mid-way through 2020, it was valued at $3 billion dollars. They have given away more than 8 million pairs of eyeglasses, offering the gift of sight and changing the lives of people around the world.

Today’s guest is Dave Gilboa, co-founder and co-CEO of Warby Parker.

Books have been written about the strategic steps they have taken to grow this business. But I wanted to understand the personal journey that led to him starting this company and how he, his co-founder Neil Blumenthal and their senior leadership team are adapting to the challenges of our new world. What guides them today?

Edited highlights of our full conversation.

Warby Parker is a twenty first century business. A case study in what purpose driven, values based, agile, innovative and disruptive looks like. At the beginning of 2010, the company didn’t exist. Mid-way through 2020, it was valued at $3 billion dollars. They have given away more than 8 million pairs of eyeglasses, offering the gift of sight and changing the lives of people around the world.

Today’s guest is Dave Gilboa, co-founder and co-CEO of Warby Parker. Books have been written about the strategic steps they have taken to grow this business.

But I wanted to understand the personal journey that led to him starting this company and how he, his co-founder Neil Blumenthal and their senior leadership team are adapting to the challenges of our new world. What guides them today?

This episode’s guest is Andy Nairn, co-founder of Lucky Generals, who describe themselves as a creative company for people on a mission. Andy has been named the top brand strategist in the UK for the last three years and has also been named one of the top 5 creative people in world advertising.

Andy has just written a book called Go Luck Yourself, which discusses the role luck can and should play in unlocking creative thinking and innovation.

How do leaders lead when none of us have ever been here before?

This week, I’m going to do something a little different.

Some people have suggested that every few weeks they’d like me to put a broader context around what I’m learning about leadership, both from these conversations and from my own work. How do the leaders who are best at unlocking creativity and innovation in the people that work for them, do that?

So, let’s start here. What is leadership?

This episode’s guest is Greg Lyons - the Chief Marketing Officer of PepsiCo, North America. Greg and I spoke during the CMO spotlight series on Cannes Lions live back in October and I was struck by his willingness to share his own journey.

Greg lost his wife, Andrea in December of 2016. Before she died, she gave him and their two children three pieces of advice. There is nothing more important than family and friends. Your health is critical. And spend time doing what you love.

We are shaped by what we live through.

And what all of us have lived through for the last 14 months will change us forever. There is no going back. And how we go forward will depend on how we see ourselves and how we are seen.

Leadership, particularly in companies that depend on creative thinking and innovation, requires that we look forward, relentlessly and urgently. The status quo is poison. Where are we going, is oxygen.

If we are to convince people to take that journey with us, we will need to understand that they arrive in front of us different than when we last saw them in person.

They will be closer to their family and friends. Their health will matter more to them. And they will care more about doing what they love.

Some have been close to illness, perhaps death. Others will wish that parts of the last year could become permanent. Some will be thrilled to be back out in society. Others terrified.

Leading the future will ask that we know and care about the people that work for us on a deeper level than we did before this pandemic. The question, how are you, will need to wait for an answer and that answer will need to matter to us.

We must make progress while we are rewriting the rules. And the winners will be those businesses that are led by people who are empathetic. Genuinely, truly empathetic.

This episode’s guest is Nils Leonard - the co-founder of Uncommon, the London-based Creative Studio. They were just named Agency of the Year by Campaign UK.

He believes that, 'Good things happen to people who do stuff’. He’s got enviable energy. And he’s in a hurry.

He’s not alone in that. Most leaders are in a hurry. Sometimes constructively. Sometimes not.

People are really going to be in a hurry this year. They already are. To go back. To move forward. To not get left out.

Those instincts can take over. Progress becomes everything and the quality of that progress becomes secondary. Sometimes, it even becomes a nuisance.

Nils told me that he slowed down earlier this year. He was diagnosed with COVID-19 and ended up in hospital. Suddenly what was important became clearer. Some things became even more so. Some things dramatically less.

It’s human nature to be in a hurry. We want to make progress. It’s how we’ve survived as a species.

And making progress is critical to leadership. It’s how we keep our people interested.

But progress is relevant. It requires context. From where to where? And why?

Take away that context and you have no way to judge what is important and what isn’t.

In that sense, context is the leadership equivalent of a hospital bed. Only less frightening.

What are you doing today and why? How are you making progress?

This episode’s guest is Heidi Hackemer, the Executive Creative Director of OATLY! North America. She is intentioned and reflective.

Leadership used to be exerted through command and control. Identify the levers of power and pull them.

Rely on that today and you’ll soon discover if your company is built to unlock creative thinking and innovation. If people do what you say, it’s not.

Original thinkers aren’t interested in being told what to do. They want to be convinced. Which means that the key to successful leadership of the most talented people depends on a fundamental requirement.

Do they trust you?

Leading the future is going to demand that of leaders like never before. When are we in the office, when are we not? Who’s vaccinated? Why are we doing this? What will make us successful?

Add to that, the fact that each of us arrive in this moment having lived through an entirely unique version of this shared trauma, and the complexity of what we face is unprecedented.

We have no history, no evidence, no data to help us make the decisions we are about to make. We have only trial and error. And our instincts.

If we want people to follow us, we’re going to need them to trust us. And unlike creative thinking and innovation, trust is a finite resource. Use it up and it’s gone.

This episode’s guest is Marc Pritchard, the Chief Brand Officer of Procter & Gamble. He focuses every day on being useful to the people around him. And that allows him to see the world through an invaluable lens. Theirs.

2020 was complicated. But, 2021 is going to re-define the word. For the last year, the playing field has been level. Everyone stayed home.

But as vaccine rates increase and cases decrease, the questions about who returns, when they return, and what they return to, become ever more complicated.

On one extreme, there are already reports in the press of companies implying that they will terminate anyone who won’t come back into the office once they are vaccinated.

At the other end of the spectrum, some companies are giving up millions of square feet of office space and creating entirely new expectations about what working will look like.

In the middle of all this sits the leader.

Whether you go back fully, partially, or not at all, there is one measurement of success that will provide the foundation on which all other measurements will sit.

Are your people engaged? Do they care, are they inspired, do they feel included?

There will be many, many ways to make sure they do.

And even more that would guarantee they don’t.

At that point, the only question left to answer would be a simple one.

Who will be leaving first? The people who feel left out. Or the leaders who left them out.

This episode’s guest is Adam Bryant, the Managing Director of the Americas at Merryck - a leadership advisory group. Adam is also a noted author, and before joining Merryck, was a writer and journalist for the New York Times. He is perhaps best known for his column, the Corner Office, in which he interviewed over 500 CEOs. He is an extraordinarily astute observer of leadership.

The last year has, in many ways, brought us to the future faster. We have seen and solved problems that 12 months ago we could barely imagine. We have reacted and responded and adapted, perhaps further and faster than at any time in the history of humankind.

And as we begin to emerge, blinking, back into the light, those attributes will be necessary for some time to come.

But sitting above is something else. An ability that all leaders need and which too few demonstrate.

The ability to define where we are going and how we will know when we get there.

On May 25, 1961, John F. Kennedy said this.

“I believe that this nation should commit itself to achieving the goal, before this decade is out, of landing a man on the moon and returning him safely to the earth.”

Vision. Mission, KPIs In 31 words.

JFK had been dead for 6 years when success was achieved.

Where are you taking your business? How will you know when you get there? And are those answers so meaningful that people will pursue them long after you have left the building?

This episode’s guest is Susan Credle, the Global CCO of FCB.

2020 blew up the leadership playbook. Suddenly there were no rules. There was only you and how you chose to lead.

It was the year when it became obvious who the real leaders are and who had just been wearing the robes.

The leaders that have risen from the experiences of the last 12 months have done so because they showed up with openness, with honesty and with courage. They were vulnerable. They were human.

Being human is an element of leadership that often gets lost in the conversations about missions and strategies and metrics. You need those things. But you need to be human first.

Welcome to Season 3, which we’re calling, “Leading The Future”.

We’re living in an unprecedented time. An epoch in which the collision of science, technology and humanity is changing everything we thought we knew.

How do leaders lead when none of us have ever been here before?

This week’s guest is Joanna Coles. She has been an observer and shaper of society and culture for most of her professional life.

She has worked for some of the world’s most iconic publications. The Spectator, The Guardian, The Times of London, she has been the editor of Marie Claire and of Cosmo. And the Chief Content Officer for Hearst Magazines.

Today, she is the Chairman and CEO of Northern Star, an investment vehicle that has just agreed to acquire Bark Box, a subscription service for dog lovers, in a deal that values the startup at $1.6 billion.

She sees the world through multiple lenses and that is a skill every successful leader is going to have to develop in the months and years to come.

Today’s guest is Vicki Maguire, the Chief Creative Officer of Havas London.

Vicki is clear about who she is and she’s driven to create an environment in which people can be authentic. She’s also clear what it means to be authentic.

We talked about what 2020 has taught her and which of the changes will stick around into 2021 and beyond.

What have you learned from this year? And what do you want to be true 12 months from now?

Good questions on which to start a brand new year.

This week’s guest is Malcolm Poynton, the Global Chief Creative Officer of Cheil Worldwide.

In the early weeks of the pandemic, Malcolm got stuck in New Zealand while his family were in London. He experienced first hand one of the very best governmental responses and learned some leadership lessons that I suspect will prove timeless for all of us.

What’s your intention and what is the greatest obstacle to that?

Leadership means knowing the answer to both. And then getting your ego out of the way.

This week’s guest is Mae Karwowski, the founder and CEO of Obviously. They describe themselves as a team of best in class marketers and technologists who are obsessed with pushing the cutting edge of influencer marketing.

When your company’s success depends on creating and maintaining virtual connections, how do you keep your own company physically connected when the world is pushing us apart?

Effectively solving that problem has been behind the success of almost every business that has increased its value and reputation in 2020.

This week’s guest is Rich Bressler, the President, Chief Operating Officer and Chief Financial Officer of iHeartMedia and iHeartCommunications.

iHeart is both a highly creative and a highly complicated business. The company has 13,000 employees in the United States, spread over 150 offices for 850 radio stations.

Add to all of that the realities of a global pandemic and a historic civil rights moment and you create a multi-layered leadership test.

In an environment crying out for certainty, how do you encourage experimentation and individuality? How do you produce original thinking and innovation?

And how do you create room for listening in a world filled with sound?

This week’s guest is Justin Spooner, the co-founder of the London-based consultancy, Unthinkable Digital.

Justin knows more and thinks more than anyone I know about how people learn and how they connect.

In a world that has moved mostly online, that understanding has become essential not only for our business success but for our humanity - and increasingly for our sanity.

Like all great conversations, I learned a lot from this one. And have applied some of the revelations to the problems faced by my own clients.

So, what do you need your people to understand and what problems do you need them to solve? And, how are you teaching them that?

This week’s guest is Frank Spotnitz, the Founder and CEO of Big Light Productions. They’re a London and Paris-based production company.

Under Frank’s leadership, Big Light has produced a number of high-end drama productions including Amazon’s Emmy award-winning The Man in the High Castle, Ransom, The Indian Detective and three seasons of Medici for Netflix. He has also co-created the new drama series Leonardo, which he talks about during our conversation.

Frank was also executive producer of The X Files. Writing or co-writing more than 40 episodes, he shares three Golden Globes for Best Dramatic Series and a Peabody Award and was Emmy-nominated both for writing and Outstanding Drama Series.

I’m fascinated by the role that stories play in shaping society. They affect our personal lives, our politics and our businesses.

And I’ve never met an impactful leader who couldn’t tell a compelling story - about their vision for the future and why it matters.

What’s your story? And how do you tell it?

Nicki Sprinz is the Managing Director of B-corp digital product studio ustwo. In the six years that she has been with the company, she has eradicated the company’s gender pay gap .

In her past, she’s been a journalist for the Sunday Times and The Guardian, before going on to work in the NHS. She also co-founded Ada’s List in 2013, a supportive global community of more than 3,000 women working in tech.

That is an extraordinary list of achievements. What makes her story even more compelling is what she has overcome in her personal life long before her professional life began.

As a teenager she overcome viral encephalitis- a life threatening illnesses that forced her to literally learn how to walk and talk again. And then she overcame Graves disease.

As a leader, she has brought gender pay equity to her business. A challenge at which most businesses are absurdly still failing. And she brings relentlessly positive and upbeat energy with her.

As Anne Richards once famously said, “Ginger Rogers did everything that Fred Astaire did, only backwards and in high heels.”

She left out, with a smile.

In an era in which we are faced with enormous challenges, challenges that some days seem insurmountable, Nicki’s story serves to me to as a reminder of what human beings are capable of.

And what women leaders are capable of.

This episode is being published within a couple of days of the very sad news that Sir Ken Robinson has died. He was perhaps the world’s leading thinker and expert on creativity and innovation. His original TED talk, do schools kill creativity, is the most watched in the history of TED. If you haven’t seen it, take 18 minutes and watch it. It’s extraordinary.

Ken believed in the potential of every child. At its core, his message was profound and simple. Every human being is remarkable.

I was fortunate to spend a fair amount of time with Ken between 2006 and 2008. Everywhere he went, people stopped him to say that watching his talk had changed their life.

My sense from watching people’s response to Ken was they thought he believed in them more than they believed in themselves.

He was 70 when he died, much too young. But his legacy is extraordinary.

If you haven’t watched his TED talks, I encourage you to take a few minutes and do that.

They might just change your life.

This episode is a conversation with Stephanie Nadi Olson - founder and CEO of We Are Rosie.

They are a very modern business, built to match marketing talent with opportunity in dynamic and flexible ways. If you were going to design a business to confront the challenges of these two viruses, WeAreRosie would be a pretty good blueprint to follow.

They are built to unlock the potential of people.

I suspect Sir Ken would have approved.

Marcel Marcondes is the U.S. Chief Marketing Officer for Anheuser-Busch.

We talked about what he’s learned about leading a culture that embraces minorities after experiencing racism in his own life.

And about the need to show up as a human being first and a leader second.

We also talked about why he’s listening now, more than ever. And then turning what he hears into action.

That last point is especially important, I think.

Listening has become a new metric for leaders. But if listening is all you do, you’re hoping someone else will make the tough calls.

In this extraordinary time in which we’re living, some leaders are stepping forward and it’s remarkable to see. Others are sliding back, behind the cover of chaos, their communications and digital body language filled with excuses and justifications for decisions that they hope no one will notice or they hope will soon be forgotten.

Hope is necessary for all of us. But it has never been a strategy and it is not a substitute for making hard decisions.

So, as you look at the people you’re responsible for, maybe ask yourself this.

Are you leading? Or just hoping?

This conversation is with the film and television producer Stephen Garrett.

During his career, Stephen’s been responsible for an extraordinary range of content - from The Night Manager, to the long-running series Spooks (MI-5 here in the U.S.), to Life on Mars to Salmon Fishing in the Yemen.

He brings stories to life. And he has a rare gift for observing humanity.

As almost everything about our world seems to be changing by the minute, I talked to Stephen about the stories that will be told going forward, about who are today’s heroes and who are the enemies and about how and when production will come back.

Pamela Culpepper; Erin Gallagher and Caroline Dettman are the three founders of Have Her Back Consulting. They describe themselves as a culture consultancy working with companies to tackle equity for all.

When I interviewed Caroline in January - in what now seems like an almost unimaginably different world - we talked extensively about the steps that businesses and society needed to take to create gender equity.

With George Floyd’s murder, conversation - and in some cases - action has now shifted.

As leaders struggle to come to terms with simultaneously fighting these two viruses - corona and racism - what happens to the efforts to create gender equity, how do we design companies and society for the future and who risks getting left behind?

Justin Gignac is the co-founder of Working Not Working - a curated community of 80,000 of the best creatives in the world.

Most businesses today are led and staffed by predominantly white people. Very, very few companies reflect society.

Leaders are suddenly galvanized to fix this problem, publishing staffing numbers and pledging to hire diverse talent.

I believe them when they say it. I believe them when they say they’re going to work to create environments that support and embrace the emotional and cultural safety of every person.

But the question that too few leaders are addressing is where will we find these people?

If you're really going to fix this problem, you’re going to have look for talent in different places, define a successful candidate in different terms and hire in different ways.

This episode is part of Season 2 - which we’ve sub-titled, “Leading In The Time Of Virus”.

Today, leadership requires that you meet the challenges of two viruses - COVID-19 and racism.

In this environment, unlocking creative thinking has never been more valuable or essential.

John Couch is the VP of Product Design at Hulu and author of “The Art of Creative Rebellion: How to champion creativity, change culture and save your soul”.

He is also the child of an interracial marriage, at a time when interracial marriages were illegal.

He has suffered prejudice from both sides of his ancestry. And he has emerged, thoughtful, philosophical and committed to making a lasting difference.

This episode is part of season 2 - which we’ve sub-titled, “Leading In The Time Of Virus.”

Since the outbreak of COVID-19, this podcast has been focused on how leaders are adapting to a global health pandemic.

But the death of George Floyd has finally and fully exposed what millions of people already knew. Another virus has already infected our society. Racism. It’s been here for centuries. It adapts and evolves, it is fueled by hate and fear and it leaves in its wake deep, wide and lasting damage. And pain.

Today, leadership requires that you meet the challenges of both the coronavirus and of racism.

Talking will not do it. Well written manifestos will not do it. Posting employment statistics will not do it. You have to make hard decisions, in some cases financially expensive decisions. Otherwise, you’re complicit.

This episode is a conversation with Ian Davis, Founder + Principal at Age Of The Creative. They describe themselves as a creative consulting firm that problem solves for companies and brands. They bridge the disparate worlds of business, strategy and artistry through deep relationships with their network of over 200 influential creative artists.

I invited Ian on the show after reading an open letter that he posted on LinkedIn in early June.

Ian is a black man and his letter was addressed to Jonathan Shipman, who was Head of Production at McCann, when Ian was a producer at the ad agency a little over ten years ago. In the letter, Ian describes two incidents in which he believed Jonathan and other members of McCann’s leadership perpetrated what he later came to understand were micro-aggressions. Micro-aggressions are another form of racism.

I’ve known Jonathan Shipman for a number of years and I believe him to be a caring, sensitive man. Reading Ian’s post, I was struck by three things. Ian’s courage in writing the letter. Jonathan’s honest and humble responses to the post. And to my own reaction, which was to wonder whether I might have been guilty of similar behavior without recognizing it in the past.

Racism is a virus.

If Black Lives Matter is to be a vaccine or at the very least a therapeutic, we need to shine a light on racism in all its forms. And many of us, many of us need to be much better educated about how racism shows up so that we can take real action to wipe it out.

This conversation is part of that work.

This episode is part of Season 2 - which we’ve sub-titled, “Leading In The Time Of Virus”.

In these conversations we discover how some of the world’s most innovative and creative leaders are adapting their leadership to our new reality.

These people are among the world’s best problem solvers.

This episode is a conversation with Carl Johnson, one of the founding partners and the Executive Chairman of Anomaly.

It was recorded just before George Floyd’s death. But it is filled with insights and truths that I believe must be at the heart of modern leadership as together we invent a future that welcomes and supports everyone.

Carl was my guest on Episode 2 of the podcast, 3 years ago. He has always been a disruptor - unafraid to break the rules. In fact, he wants to. Faced by a pandemic or inspired by a movement for lasting social change and he’ll lead the charge - whether it’s inventing the office of the future or redefining how great companies attract and unlock the potential of all talent.

In these conversations, one thing’s becoming clear to me. The better leaders are moving faster. And as the saying goes, they’re not satisfied with predicting the future. They’re inventing it. The expectations for which have never been higher.

This episode is part of Season 2 - which we’ve sub-titled, “Leading In The Time Of Virus”.

In these conversations we discover how some of the world’s most innovative and creative leaders are adapting their leadership to our new reality.

These people are among the world’s best problem solvers.

This episode is a conversation with Adam Tucker of Ogilvy and WPP. It was recorded just before the events in Minneapolis took place and the subsequent protests that are now spreading around the world.

Leadership is not about trying to be the loudest or the toughest or the smartest.

It is about caring about the people you lead. About being human.

During our conversation Adam talked about three questions that he thinks have become critical.

Are you okay? Are you really okay? How can we help?

As the world catches fire, these questions become more important every day.

This episode is a conversation with Lisa Clunie and Jaime Robinson, the co-founder of Joan - a 4 year old independent creative company.

I knew Lisa and Jaime before they knew each other. When they finally met, they each asked me to work with them to decide if they would be good partners for each other.

As you’ll hear, their chemistry was obvious immediately.

If you’ve listened to the podcast much, you’ll know I’m an advocate for women ruling the world. And for the qualities that women leaders bring.

This conversation and my recent episode with Gina Hadley of the Second Shift highlight an obvious truth. Working from home is no longer a compromise. And can never be seen as one again. Which means the disruption caused by this pandemic has created a unique opportunity for us to reinvent businesses so that they work for everyone. So that women can play much bigger and more significant roles in their companies AND in their families. Now, perhaps, finally, there is a way to design businesses so that women do not feel the need to compromise.

The plans are being drawn, the cement is being poured. Now is the time for women and their supporters to design and build the companies of the future.

What role do you want to play in that?

This episode is part of Season 2 - which we’ve sub-titled, “Leading In The Time Of Virus”.

In these conversations we discover how some of the world’s most innovative and creative leaders are adapting their leadership to our new reality.

These people are among the world’s best problem solvers.

This episode is a conversation with Gina Hadley, the co-founder of The Second Shift. In their words, they are on a mission to connect empowered women with companies who need their skills, their talent, and their voices.

The pandemic is accelerating change across society. I personally hope that the Second Shift will help to bring about one of the most meaningful changes that could come from all this. Namely, the ability to connect companies with talented women who want to work on a more flexible basis.

Gina talked about how to fully understand what your employees need, about the benefits of real empowerment of your employees, and about the personal challenge of living in the moment.

This episode is a conversation with Simon Cook - the Managing Director of Cannes Lions.

The focus of the Lions is to explore, provoke and celebrate the power of creativity and innovation in the business world.

The annual Cannes Lions festival is formed by 20,000+ people coming together every June in the south of France and all that goes with that.

Except this year. When for the first time in almost 70 years, there will be no physical festival.

Simon talked about how to adapt an organization that was built for one reality into one that delivers value to its community even in an entirely different set of circumstances, about the need to eradicate assumed knowledge, and about why walking in London is so important to him.

This episode is our eleventh of Season 2 - which we’ve sub-titled, “Leading In The Time Of Virus”.

In these conversations we discover how some of the world’s most innovative and creative leaders are adapting their leadership to our new reality.

These people are among the world’s best problem solvers.

This episode is a conversation with the people who lead 72andSunny - John Boiler, Glenn Cole, Matt Jarvis and Evin Shutt.

Partnerships are hard. In some cases they’re destructive.

This partnership is one of the best I’ve ever seen.

We talked about connecting and reconnecting, about resilience, and about reimagining the future.

This episode marks the three year anniversary of Fearless. When we started this podcast in 2017, none of could have forecast the state of the world three years later.

One thing has become obvious - creative and innovative thinking has become even more critical as we start to build a new future.

And leaders who can unlock creativity and innovation will be the most valuable and sought after resource for every business.

This episode is our tenth of Season 2 - which we’ve sub-titled, “Leading In The Time Of Virus”.

These people are among the world’s best problem solvers.

This episode is a conversation with Rosemarie Ryan, the co-founder of CO: Collective. CO describes themselves as a creative and strategic transformation partner for purpose-led businesses.

They are some of the best strategic problem solvers and business builders I know.

Rose talked about creating a sense of community within your company, about being willing to confront your company’s biggest problems out loud, and explains why listening is the most important leadership attribute.

This episode is our ninth of Season 2 - which we’ve sub-titled, “Leading In The Time Of Virus”.

In these conversations we discover how some of the world’s most innovative and creative leaders are adapting their leadership to our new reality.

These people are among the world’s best problem solvers.

This episode is a conversation with Emma Cookson, a partner at You & Mr Jones which describes itself as the 'world's first Brandtech group' working to disrupt the world of traditional marketing and advertising.

Before that, Emma was the chairman of BBH New York.

She’s one of the clearest thinkers that I know.

Emma talked about the need to focus on the important, not just the urgent, about assigning different groups to look at distinctive time horizons, and about the opportunity to forge more respectful relationships.

This episode is our eighth of Season 2 - which we’ve sub-titled, “Leading In The Time Of Virus”.

In these conversations we discover how some of the world’s most innovative and creative leaders are adapting their leadership to our new reality.

These people are among the world’s best problem solvers.

This episode is a conversation with Greg Hahn, until recently the Creative Vice Chairman of BBDO Worldwide, and the Chief Creative Officer of BBDO New York.

A few days ago, Greg was let go by BBDO. He is not the first leader to lose their job as a result of the pandemic, and he will not be the last. Within the advertising world, however, this was a significant moment as the industry struggles to redefine itself.

Greg talked about the shock of getting fired, about how he unlocks creativity in others and about how he’s looking at the future.

This episode is our seventh of Season 2 - which we’ve sub-titled, “Leading In The Time Of Virus”.

These are shorter, focused conversations in which we discover how some of the world’s most innovative and creative leaders are adapting their leadership to our new reality.

These people are among the world’s best problem solvers.

This episode is a conversation with David Lee, the Chief Creative Officer of Squarespace.

David talked about the importance of creating opportunities for spontaneity, about getting away from a meeting culture, and about where ideas come from.

This episode is our sixth of Season 2, which we’ve sub-titled, “Leading In The Time Of Virus”.

These are shorter, focused conversations in which we discover how some of the world’s most innovative and creative leaders are adapting their leadership to our new reality.

These people are among the world’s best problem solvers.

This is a conversation with Jonathan Mildenhall, the founder of TwentyFirstCenturyBrand and the former CMO of AirBNB.

Jonathan talked about the enormous difficulties of navigating a young business through these extraordinary times, about how brands need to come together to be relevant in the new society, and about why leaders need to take care of themselves as well as everyone else.

This episode is our fifth of Season 2, which we’ve sub-titled, “Leading In the Time of Virus”.

These are shorter, focused conversations in which we discover how some of the world’s most innovative and creative leaders are adapting their leadership to our new reality.

These people are among the world’s best problem solvers.

This episode is a conversation with Susan Credle, the Global Chief Creative Officer of FCB. Susan is not only one of the most creative thinkers that I know, she also has a rare ability to create practices that unlock creativity across diverse clients and multiple offices and cultures.

Susan talks about why she sees people taking more chances, about the importance of setting some structure to each day and about why a generous mindset matters more than ever.

This episode is our fourth of Season 2, which we’ve sub-titled, “Leading In the Time of Virus”.

These are shorter, focused conversations in which we discover how some of the world’s most innovative and creative leaders are adapting their leadership to our new reality.

These people are among the world’s best problem solvers.

This episode is a conversation with Brad Hiranaga of General Mills - one of the most human leaders I know.

Brad talks about casting the right personalities as well as the right skills in a virtual office, about the need to take time to connect with people on a personal level and about how companies will evolve if they’re to become part of the new society that is already being formed.

Here’s Brad Hiranaga.

This episode is our third of Season 2 - shorter, focused conversations in which we discover how some of the world’s most innovative and creative leaders are adapting their leadership to our new reality.

These people are among the world’s best problem solvers.

This episode is a conversation with Nils Leonard - co-founder of Uncommon - and one of the most thoughtful and original leaders I know.

Nils describes the role of leaders in moments like this as dealers in hope.

We also talked about recognizing the energy that different people bring and tapping into that. About the benefit of giving people time to focus. About what’s going to happen to society’s complacency. And why, to quote Virginia Wolf, “you can’t find peace by avoiding life”.

This episode is our second of Season 2, which we’ve sub-titled, “Leading In the Time of Virus”.

These are shorter, focused conversations in which we discover how some of the world’s most innovative and creative leaders are adapting their leadership to our new reality.

These people are among the world’s best problem solvers.

This episode is a conversation with Mindy Grossman - the CEO of WW - formerly Weight Watchers.

Mindy is one of the clearest, and most effective leaders I’ve ever met.

We talked about hiring for culture, about practicing offense versus defense in times of crisis and about empowering other people to lead.

With this episode, we’re launching season 2 - which we’ve sub-titled, “Leading In the Time of Virus”.

These are shorter, focused conversations in which we discover how some of the world’s most innovative and creative leaders are adapting their leadership to our new reality.

These people are among the world’s best problem solvers. And that’s exactly what we need right now.

This episode is a conversation with Karim Bartoletti who is living in Milan at the epicenter of the region hardest hit by the virus so far. Karim is a partner in Indiana Production - a multimedia production company.

"The Questioning Leader".

Madeleine has been the Director of The MCA Chicago for 12 years. She thinks about art and its role in society four-dimensionally. She thinks about museums the same way.

In the last two weeks, some of our conversation will feel like it is from another era. Because it is.

But regardless of how much we flatten the curve or don’t, a new society will form out of the one we are leaving behind.

It is the way of human beings to evolve and adapt. And art and museums will be both a provocation for and a reflection of the decisions we make.

Every decision has consequences.

It’s important to worry about the intended ones.

But the unintended ones matter just as much.

And sometimes more.

"The Questioning Leader".

15 minute edited highlight of our full conversation.

I recorded this episode just over 2 week ago. Before the world changed. It’s a conversation with Madeleine Grynsztejn - the Pritzker Director of the Museum of Contemporary Art in Chicago.

Over the last few days, I’ve thought a lot about whether to publish this episode because so much of what we talked about seems at first glance to be from a different reality.

But I think, it’s an important interview for a couple of critical reasons.

Madeleine talks about the role of art and the role of museums in both reflecting and shaping society. About the importance of constantly looking for the things that we don’t know, for breaking our own assumptions of what happens next.

Suddenly, that feels like the most important question for us to start raising as leaders.

"The Blessed Leader".

Cecile Richards is the co-founder of Supermajority, which describes itself as a new home for women's activism that is fighting for gender equality. Before that, she spent 12 years as the President of Planned Parenthood, a that provides to 2.5 million women annually.

Public service and activism are part of Cecile’s DNA.

Her mother — Ann Richards — shattered conventional wisdom when, as a woman and a Democrat, she was elected Governor of Texas in 1990.

In the seventh grade, Cecile was taken to the principal’s office for wearing an armband in protest of the Vietnam War.

In the eighth grade, she brought food to the strikers on a picket line in her hometown of Austin.

Her first job after college, was as a union organizer in New Orleans, helping hotel workers trying to get by on minimum wage.

Cecile has been called “the most badass feminist EVER” and “The heroine of the resistance”.

"The Blessed Leader".

15 minute edited highlight of our full conversation.

Cecile Richards is the co-founder of Supermajority, which describes itself as a new home for women's activism that is fighting for gender equality. Before that, she spent 12 years as the President of Planned Parenthood, a that provides to 2.5 million women annually.

Public service and activism are part of Cecile’s DNA.

Her mother — Ann Richards — shattered conventional wisdom when, as a woman and a Democrat, she was elected Governor of Texas in 1990.

In the seventh grade, Cecile was taken to the principal’s office for wearing an armband in protest of the Vietnam War.

In the eighth grade, she brought food to the strikers on a picket line in her hometown of Austin.

Her first job after college, was as a union organizer in New Orleans, helping hotel workers trying to get by on minimum wage.

Cecile has been called “the most badass feminist EVER” and “The heroine of the resistance”.

"The 'How Do I Spend My Time' Leader".

Anne Devereux-Mills is the founder of Parlay House, which describes itself as a modern salon for women. Their mission is to provide a safe and supportive environment in which women can have authentic conversations and build meaningful relationships.

Anne has been the CEO of multiple companies. She’s also a wife, a mother and a four-time cancer survivor.

"The 'How Do I Spend My Time' Leader".

15 minute edited highlight of our full conversation.

Anne Devereux-Mills is the founder of Parlay House, which describes itself as a modern salon for women. Their mission is to provide a safe and supportive environment in which women can have authentic conversations and build meaningful relationships.

Anne has been the CEO of multiple companies. She’s also a wife, a mother and a four-time cancer survivor.

"The Listening Leader".

Carter Murray is the global CEO of FCB. He is 6’7” and shows up larger than that. In his own words, he lives on the front foot, charging forward.

But the truth is more complex.

When he took the job 7 years ago, the agency was named DraftFCB and was seen by most observers as a turnaround. Others wondered if the world needed FCB anymore.

But some people had a different view. The people that still worked there.

"The Listening Leader".

15 minute edited highlight of our full conversation.

Carter Murray is the global CEO of FCB. He is 6’7” and shows up larger than that. In his own words, he lives on the front foot, charging forward.

But the truth is more complex.

When he took the job 7 years ago, the agency was named DraftFCB and was seen by most observers as a turnaround. Others wondered if the world needed FCB anymore.

But some people had a different view. The people that still worked there.

"The 'Do You, Boo' Leader".

Sarah Moffat is the Global Chief Creative Officer of Turner Duckworth - a design company that was formed in London in 1992 by David Turner and Bruce Duckworth.

Bruce and David are still around, but they don’t run the business any more. In late 2018 they handed over the reins to two long-term employees - Joanne Chan who became CEO and to Sarah.

New title, new responsibilities, new expectations. How do you make that transition successfully?

"The 'Do You, Boo' Leader".

15 minute edited highlight of our full conversation.

Sarah Moffat is the Global Chief Creative Officer of Turner Duckworth - a design company that was formed in London in 1992 by David Turner and Bruce Duckworth.

Bruce and David are still around, but they don’t run the business any more. In late 2018 they handed over the reins to two long-term employees - Joanne Chan who became CEO and to Sarah.

New title, new responsibilities, new expectations. How do you make that transition successfully?

“The Fear Seeker”.

Brad Hiranaga is a disruptor. Working inside one of the world’s most storied and established companies, he is bringing about systemic change to the way General Mills shows up in the world.

Unlocking creative and innovative thinking at scale requires not just an ability to take risks but a willingness to search for them.

"The Fear Seeker".

15 minute edited highlight of our full conversation.

Brad Hiranaga is a disruptor and a change agent. Working inside one of the world’s most storied and established companies, he is bringing about systemic change to the way General Mills shows up in the world.

Unlocking creative and innovative thinking at scale requires not just an ability to take risks but a willingness to search for them.

"The Trust Maker".

Marc Maltz describes himself as an organizational clinician, and he’s brilliant at getting the CEOs of tech companies and their senior teams to work together more effectively.

Marc has become a good friend and I have huge respect for his work and how he does it and I thought it would be invaluable to hear his thinking on some of the issues I see every day in my own work.

Whether you’re writing code or ads, whether you’re building platforms or teams, the need to unlock creative and innovative thinking sits at the heart of the world’s most valuable businesses.

And what makes that heart beat is trust.

This episode is called “The Trust Maker.”

"The Trust Maker".

15 minute edited highlight of our full conversation.

Marc Maltz is an organizational clinician, and he’s brilliant at getting the CEOs of tech companies and their senior teams to work together more effectively.

I have huge respect for his work and I thought it would be invaluable to hear his thinking on some of the issues I see every day in my own work.

Whether you’re writing code or ads, whether you’re building platforms or teams, the need to unlock creative and innovative thinking sits at the heart of the world’s most valuable businesses.

And what makes that heart beat is trust.

"The Less-Is-More Leader".

This podcast has listeners in 84 countries. Most of those are pretty open, democratic societies where freedom of thought and movement are both expectations and rights.

Born and raised in Russia, Leonid Sudakov had neither in his formative years. His father was not allowed a passport until he was 50. Leonid didn’t meet a foreigner until he was 16, when he moved to Moscow carrying with him a bag of potatoes and his wits.

From these beginnings he has become an exceptionally creative and thoughtful leader, unlocking innovative and creative thinking at every stop, including 3 years as the global CMO for Mars Petcare, a $20 billion global business.

We are all heavily influenced by our upbringing. Whether we use those experiences as catalysts or obstacles depends on how we see them.

"The Unreasonable Man".

I’ve learned a lot in the three years since I started this podcast.

Carl Johnson was my second interview. I was re-reading the transcript the other day and was struck by the fact that so much of what Carl said was timeless. The insights and understanding he offered haven’t decayed. In fact, I find that they are more valuable than ever. So I’m going to replay that interview. Whether you’ve listened to it before or not, I’d encourage you to hear what he has to say.

"The Opportunity Creator".

Dame Carolyn Fairbairn is the Director-General of the Confederation of British Industry. The CBI represents 190,000 British businesses, and campaigns the government for policies that support the needs of companies up and down the land.

When Dame Carolyn took the job in the summer of 2015, a vote on whether Britain should leave Europe was a David Cameron election promise. A year later, Brexit had become the greatest driver of uncertainty and hostility in the British economy. Almost four years after that, it still is.

It’s much easier to lead when things are going well, the future is clear and results are trending up.

It’s a different story when you’re faced with endless uncertainty and personal attacks. In those conditions, staying the course and showing up every day requires something more than short-term goals. Something more than quarterly earnings reports or the next industry award.

You’ve got to be clear of the difference you want to make.

"The Female Leader".

Caroline is one of the co-founders of Have Her Back Consulting. They describe themselves as a culture consultancy, and they work with brands and companies to advance gender equity for women while driving business outcomes.

Have Her Back was formed in the slipstream of Times’s Up and MeToo. For many, the realization that systemic harassment has been going on every day for years has hit like a tidal wave.

In that tsunami, I’ve found it easy to understand the issues intellectually. But, I’ve sometimes found it difficult to fully feel what it is like to be someone who has experienced them first-hand. My conversation with Caroline changed that.

This episode is called, “The Female Leader”.

"The Vulnerable Leader".

Marc Pritchard is the CMO of Procter & Gamble -- the largest advertiser in the world. Over 4 billion people buy P&G brands which means the choices the company makes have staggering human, as well as business, implications.

Marc’s leadership journey has brought him to a position of enormous influence. As you’ll hear, that journey has been marked by his willingness to look at himself honestly. To listen to other people’s observations about his leadership, and to consistently raise his own expectations of himself.

"The Vulnerable Leader."

A 15 minute edited version of our full-length conversation.

“The Creativity Catalyst”.

Simon Cook is the Managing Director of Cannes Lions. In my experience, it is the most valuable business week of the year, the convergence of people and ideas creating new networks of both the neural and personal kind.

Simon and the Cannes Lions team believe that creativity is a catalyst for business and personal growth. If you’ve listened to this podcast before you know that I do too. Passionately.

In fact it’s why this podcast exists. To unlock the most powerful fuel available to the business world - creativity - through the most valuable levers - business leaders.

This is not an easy challenge. It is not a straight line. For the simple reason that creativity confuses people.

"The Focused Leader".

Marcel Marcondes is the U.S. Chief Marketing Officer for Anheuser-Busch.

He wants to make a difference. He’s clear about what that looks like. And he’s deliberate about bringing others into that journey.

"The Pioneer".

This is my conversation with Trey Laird - the founder of Laird + Partners. His company works with many of the world’s most iconic fashion, beauty, and luxury, brands.

Trey is a pioneer. And, as you’ll hear, he steps in to possibility.

"The Creative Leader".

My guest in this episode is one of the most famous leaders the creative industries have ever known.

He’s also one of the most controversial and most polarizing.

Sir Martin Sorrell has been called many things in the 34 years since he founded WPP.

Some people have described him to me as the most supportive and insightful leader they’ve ever worked for.

Others have been much less charitable. Much less.

I wanted to try to gain some insight into the complexities of a leader who drives so much opinion. To better understand how he sees himself.

What I learned surprised me.

"The Creative Leader".

A 15 minute edited highlight of our full-length conversation.

My guest in this episode is one of the most famous leaders the creative industries have ever known.

He’s also one of the most controversial and most polarizing.

Sir Martin Sorrell has been called many things in the 34 years since he founded WPP.

Some people have described him to me as the most supportive and insightful leader they’ve ever worked for.

Others have been much less charitable. Much less.

I wanted to try to gain some insight into the complexities of a leader who drives so much opinion. To better understand how he sees himself.

What I learned surprised me.

"The Partners - Revisited".

This is the 100th episode of ‘Fearless Creative Leadership’.

So what stands out 100 episodes in? What makes fearless creative leaders successful? If you’ve listened to even a few of these conversations you’ll know there are many themes. But, two show up over and over again.

The best leaders are hopeful.

And the best leaders listen.

And that’s a real change in how the role of leadership has been defined for the last fifty years.

In this episode, I sit down with my guests from Episode 1 - Justin Stefano and Philippe von Borries, the founders of Refinery29 - about what they've learned in the two years since our first conversation.

Note: We talk about Zappos management structure and philosophy. It's called Holocracy.

"The People Leader."

Emmanuel Andre is the Chief Talent Officer of Publicis Groupe. They own iconic companies such as Bartle Bogle Hegarty, Fallon, and Leo Burnett.

Collectively, Publicis employs 80,000 people and are working to change themselves from being a traditional holding company to a unifying platform.

Emmanuel is pragmatic, philosophical and an artist. His decisions affect the lives of many people every day.

This episode is called, “The People Leader."

"The People Leader."

A 15 minute edited highlight of our full-length conversation.

Emmanuel Andre is the Chief Talent Officer of Publicis Groupe. They own iconic companies such as Bartle Bogle Hegarty, Fallon, and Leo Burnett.

Collectively, Publicis employs 80,000 people and are working to change themselves from being a traditional holding company to a unifying platform.

Emmanuel is pragmatic, philosophical and an artist. His decisions affect the lives of many people every day.

This episode is called, “The People Leader."

"The Believer".

Ruth Browne is the CEO of the Ronald McDonald House in New York. And she is surrounded by death. This Ronald McDonald House on the upper east side of Manhattan, is built to accommodate 95 families living there at any one time. And the reason that the overwhelming majority of those families are there? They have a child who is being treated for cancer.

As Ruth describes it, “our primary mission is cancer.”

Leading this kind of organization, in which the outcome of the work is life and death, it would be easy to be afraid. Of your own judgement. Of the consequences of decisions. Of the accuracy of the information on which you based the decisions. And the talent of the staff on whom you depend to carry out those decisions.

And yet, Ruth Browne is not afraid. She makes decisions quickly. And laughs easily.

This episode is called, “The Believer”.

"The Believer".

A 15 minute edited highlight of our full-length conversation.

Ruth Browne is the CEO of the Ronald McDonald House in New York. And she is surrounded by death. This Ronald McDonald House on the upper east side of Manhattan, is built to accommodate 95 families living there at any one time. And the reason that the overwhelming majority of those families are there? They have a child who is being treated for cancer.

As Ruth describes it, “our primary mission is cancer.”

Leading this kind of organization, in which the outcome of the work is life and death, it would be easy to be afraid. Of your own judgement. Of the consequences of decisions. Of the accuracy of the information on which you based the decisions. And the talent of the staff on whom you depend to carry out those decisions.

And yet, Ruth Browne is not afraid. She makes decisions quickly. And laughs easily.

This episode is called, “The Believer”.

"The Courageous Conversationalist".

Pam Kaufman is the President of Viacom Nickelodeon Consumer Products. Her job is to lead worldwide licensing and merchandising for Viacom Media Networks and Paramount Pictures.

Pam’s job is to expand the relationships that Viacom and Nickelodeon have with their audiences. And she does that by building personal relationships in every part of her work. She also believes in telling the people that work for her what they need to know to get better - and doing that in real time. From a leadership perspective, that makes her rare.

This episode is called, “The Courageous Conversationalist”.

"The Courageous Conversationalist".

A 15 minute edited highlight of our full-length conversation.

Pam Kaufman is the President of Viacom Nickelodeon Consumer Products. Her job is to lead worldwide licensing and merchandising for Viacom Media Networks and Paramount Pictures.

Pam’s job is to expand the relationships that Viacom and Nickelodeon have with their audiences. And she does that by building personal relationships in every part of her work. She also believes in telling the people that work for her what they need to know to get better - and doing that in real time. From a leadership perspective, that makes her rare.

This episode is called, “The Courageous Conversationalist”.

"The Existentialist".

Brian Collins is instantly memorable. He’s a designer by profession, practice and passion. He is an original thinker, and a storyteller. He founded and owns an award winning business. And he’s a man of a thousand voices. You’ll hear what I mean.

He also asks compelling questions.

This episode is called “The Existentialist”.

"The Existentialist".

A 15 minute edited highlight of our full-length conversation.

Brian Collins is instantly memorable. He’s a designer by profession, practice and passion. He is an original thinker, and a storyteller. He founded and owns an award winning business. And he’s a man of a thousand voices. You’ll hear what I mean.

He also asks compelling questions.

This episode is called “The Existentialist”.

"The Successor".

It’s hard to follow a legend. Sometimes because they’re unique. Sometimes because history is written by the winners and they write themselves that way.

John Hegarty - Sir John Hegarty - is the former. A true original thinker and the creative head of what - for a number of years - was one of the most creative companies of all time.

Following a legend is a challenge. Following a legend who is still a powerful presence in your industry requires a strong sense of self. You also need an understanding of what you can bring to the table.

Pelle Sjoenell has both. As the worldwide chief creative officer of Bartle Bogle Hegarty his job is to replace a legend.

Doing that, he has learned, is not about taking credit, but about taking responsibility.

"The Successor".

A 15 minute edited highlight of our full-length conversation.

It’s hard to follow a legend. Sometimes because they’re unique. Sometimes because history is written by the winners and they write themselves that way.

John Hegarty - Sir John Hegarty - is the former. A true original thinker and the creative head of what - for a number of years - was one of the most creative companies of all time.

Following a legend is a challenge. Following a legend who is still a powerful presence in your industry requires a strong sense of self. You also need an understanding of what you can bring to the table.

Pelle Sjoenell has both. As the worldwide chief creative officer of Bartle Bogle Hegarty his job is to replace a legend.

Doing that, he has learned, is not about taking credit, but about taking responsibility.

"Owned By No One - Part 1".

I’m just back from the Cannes Lions festival of creativity and recorded some podcasts while I was there. This is the first of them.

The topic is the idea of Nils Leonard - founder of Uncommon and a guest on "Fearless” a couple of years ago.

Creativity requires risk and uncertainty. Two attributes that the business world has developed powerful resistance to. Want to try something new? In a publicly traded company, you’ve got to convince the c-suite, the board, the analysts and the shareholders. That’s a lot of institutional antibodies.

What then of the flip side of ownership? When you own the company yourself? Does that more easily produce the conditions in which creativity and innovation can thrive?

In this conversation I’m joined in the Vice Penthouse overlooking the Croisette in Cannes by three people who have previously been guests on ˜Fearless’ - Nils Leonard of Uncommon, Alex Goat of Livityand Mohan Ramaswamy of Work & Co. And by Spencer Baim, who is the Chief Brand Officer of Vice Media.

"Owned By No One - Part 1".

A 15 minute edited highlight of our full-length conversation.

Creativity requires risk and uncertainty. Two attributes that the business world has developed powerful resistance to.

What then of the flip side of ownership? When you own the company yourself? Does that more easily produce the conditions in which creativity and innovation can thrive?

In this conversation I’m joined by Nils Leonard of Uncommon, Alex Goat of Livity and Mohan Ramaswamy of Work and Co. And by Spencer Baim, the Chief Brand Officer of Vice.

"The Legacy Builder."

Josh Wyatt is the CEO of Neuehouse.

I’ve been producing this podcast for over two years and have interviewed almost a hundred leaders. In my role as a confidant and advisor to some of the most creative leaders in the world, I’ve gotten to know many more.

This conversation with Josh Wyatt has stayed with me in the days since we recorded it, as much as any of them.

Josh wants to make a difference, for his family, his friends, his partners and his talent - his description for the people that work for him.

Josh’s desire and determination to make a difference are not unique.

The circumstances of his life, the environment that created that desire and determination, are.

His is an extraordinary story. Of Leadership. Of legacy. And of life.

"The Legacy Builder".

A 15 minute edited highlight of our full-length conversation.

Josh Wyatt is the CEO of Neuehouse. He wants to make a difference, for his family, his friends, his partners and his talent - his description for the people that work for him.

Josh’s desire and determination to make a difference are not unique.

The circumstances of his life, the environment that created that desire and determination, are.

His is an extraordinary story. Of Leadership. Of legacy. And of life.

"The Honest CEO".

A 15 minute edited highlight of our full-length conversation.

Joanne McKinney is the CEO of Burns Group- an advertising brand consultancy and innovation company.

She's worked on the agency and client side. She's lived and worked in the US and in Europe. She's started her own company, been named one of 24 global agency innovators by The Internationalist, and has succeeded at every step of her career. And while doing all that she's been a wife and a mother to two children.

She's a year into being a CEO. She's smart, self aware and honest.

"The Honest CEO".

A 15 minute edited highlight of our full-length conversation.

Joanne McKinney is the CEO of Burns Group- an advertising brand consultancy and innovation company.

She's worked on the agency and client side. She's lived and worked in the US and in Europe. She's started her own company, been named one of 24 global agency innovators by The Internationalist, and has succeeded at every step of her career. And while doing all that she's been a wife and a mother to two children.

She's a year into being a CEO. She's smart, self aware and honest.

"The Boy Scout".

I first interviewed Eric Baldwin two years ago when he and his new partner Jason Bagley came on the show, 6 months after they had been named to run Wieden + Kennedy Portland.

I wanted to talk to him this time about what he’s learned about leadership two years later with two agency of the year titles under their belt as well as being named Fast Company’s most innovative marketing company of the year and just this week being named agency of the year by the One Show.

We’ve worked together closely over those two years and Eric Baldwin is one of the most honest people I know. But even he lies. Which in his case is particularly surprising.

Because Eric is a Boy Scout. Literally.

"The Boy Scout".

A 15 minute edited highlight of our full-length conversation.

I first interviewed Eric Baldwin two years ago when he and his new partner Jason Bagley came on the show, 6 months after they had been named to run Wieden + Kennedy Portland.

I wanted to talk to him this time about what he's learned about leadership two years later with two agency of the year titles under their belt as well as being named Fast Company's most innovative marketing company of the year and just this week being named agency of the year by the One Show.

We've worked together closely over those two years and Eric Baldwin is one of the most honest people I know. But even he lies. Which in his case is particularly surprising.

Because Eric is a Boy Scout. Literally.

"The Dancer".

Julie Kent has not always been Julie Kent. The Kent name was suggested to her by Mikail Baryshnikov when he asked her to co-star in his film The Dancers just after he had watched her audition for the American Ballet Theatre in New York.

Julie went on to become the longest-serving ballerina in American Ballet Theatre’s 75-year history, and performed as a principal dancer for 23 years.

She has danced in well over 100 ballets, been named one of People Magazine’s “50 Most Beautiful People”, and in 2016, she became the Artistic Director of The Washington Ballet. She is a world-renowned star by any definition.

"The Dancer".

A 15 minute edited highlight of our full-length conversation.

Julie Kent has not always been Julie Kent. The Kent name was suggested to her by Mikail Baryshnikov when he asked her to co-star in his film The Dancers just after he had watched her audition for the American Ballet Theatre in New York.

Julie went on to become the longest-serving ballerina in American Ballet Theatre’s 75-year history, and performed as a principal dancer for 23 years.

She has danced in well over 100 ballets, been named one of People Magazine’s “50 Most Beautiful People”, and in 2016, she became the Artistic Director of The Washington Ballet. She is a world-renowned star by any definition.

"The Transparent Leader".

Nancy Dubuc is the CEO of Vice Media. When she took over the job just under a year ago, she was inheriting two of the hardest circumstances for any leader. She was replacing the founder. And she was stepping into a crisis. Actually several.

There were reports that there was a pattern of sexual harassment at Vice among senior male executives and that HR had been unsupportive about the complaints. The company had missed its revenue targets by more than $100 million. And New York Magazine published a story that claimed that Vice had been “built on a bluff”.

Taking over in that environment meant defining the future and providing hope. It meant keeping what was working and changing what was not.

Most of all, it meant bringing people together and establishing trust.

"The Transparent Leader".

A 15 minute edited highlight of our full-length conversation.

Nancy Dubuc is the CEO of Vice Media. When she took over the job just under a year ago, she was inheriting two of the hardest circumstances for any leader. She was replacing the founder. And she was stepping into a crisis. Actually several.

There were reports that there was a pattern of sexual harassment at Vice among senior male executives and that HR had been unsupportive about the complaints. The company had missed its revenue targets by more than $100 million. And New York Magazine published a story that claimed that Vice had been “built on a bluff.”

Taking over in that environment meant defining the future and providing hope. It meant keeping what was working and changing what was not.

Most of all, it meant bringing people together and establishing trust.

"The Removal Men".

If you’re interested in unlocking creativity in the people around you then Wieden + Kennedy is a real-time case study. Like all great creative companies, it is three-dimensional, and no two sides look the same. Understanding how and why it works means looking at it from several angles.

In earlier episodes, I’ve talked to Colleen DeCourcy, who has a global perspective; Eric Baldwin and Jason Bagley, who had just taken over the leadership of Wieden in Portland; and Jesse Johnson and George Felix, about how the agency/client relationship works when Wieden is at its best. This episode is a conversation with Neal Arthur and Karl Lieberman, who run W+K New York.

They came together just over three years ago, following a long period of uncertainty in the leadership of that office. Since joining forces, they have provided focus, consistency, care and hope. They also have clear expectations of themselves and those around them.

"The Removal Men".

A 15 minute edited highlight of our full-length conversation.

If you're interested in unlocking creativity in the people around you then Wieden + Kennedyis a real-time case study. Like all great creative companies, it is three-dimensional, and no two sides look the same. Understanding how and why it works means looking at it from several angles.

In earlier episodes, I've talked to Colleen DeCourcy, who has a global perspective; Eric Baldwin and Jason Bagley, who had just taken over the leadership of Wieden in Portland; and Jesse Johnson and George Felix, about how the agency/client relationship works when Wieden is at its best.

This episode is a conversation with Neal Arthur and Karl Lieberman, who run W+K New York.

They came together just over three years ago, following a long period of uncertainty in the leadership of that office. Since joining forces, they have provided focus, consistency, care and hope. They also have clear expectations of themselves and those around them.

"The More-Than-Me Leader".

Alex Goat is the CEO of Livity, a self-described, "youth-led creative network”. Their purpose is to create a more positive life for young people by partnering with marketing, talent and policy clients. Their goal is to make youth culture that creates change.

Alex is on a mission to make the world better. It gets her up in the morning and it keeps her up at night.

"The More-Than-Me Leader".

A 15 minute edited highlight of our full-length conversation.

Alex Goat is the CEO of Livity, a self-described, "youth-led creative network”. Their purpose is to create a more positive life for young people by partnering with marketing, talent and policy clients. Their goal is to make youth culture that creates change.

Alex is on a mission to make the world better. It gets her up in the morning and it keeps her up at night.

"The 'I Don't Know' Leader".

Rick Brim is the Chief Creative Officer of Adam&Eve/DDB - one of the world’s most creative companies.

Rick is down to earth, self reflective, supportive and passionate. He cares a lot.

Adam&Eve/DDB are perhaps most famous for the annual John Lewis Christmas campaign that produces one of the standout commercials of the year. For this and for many other reasons, they generate high praise and enormous attention.

Which brings with it the other side of success. Expectation.

That’s when the pressure of leadership really shows up.

———

Charles also announces the launch of UCx - a unique organizational diagnostic tool that measures any company’s creativity. UCx identifies where creativity is being blocked or lost and why. Visit www.unlockcreativity.com

"The 'I Don't Know' Leader".

A 15 minute edited highlight of our full-length conversation.

Rick Brim is the Chief Creative Officer of Adam&Eve/DDB - one of the world’s most creative companies.

Rick is down to earth, self reflective, supportive and passionate. He cares a lot.

Adam&Eve/DDB are perhaps most famous for the annual John Lewis Christmas campaign that produces one of the standout commercials of the year. For this and for many other reasons, they generate high praise and enormous attention.

Which brings with it the other side of success. Expectation.

That’s when the pressure of leadership really shows up.

———-

Charles also announces the launch of UCx - a unique organizational diagnostic tool that measures any company’s creativity. UCx identifies where creativity is being blocked or lost and why. Visit www.unlockcreativity.com .

"The Ambitious Leader".

Susanne Preissler is the founder of Independent Media, an advertising and entertainment production company that represents a group of some of the best known film and television directors around - from Ben Affleck to Janusz Kaminski to Tony Goldwyn.

Susanne is also a leader of intention and determination. She has high standards, a point of view and an innate ability to solve problems. She also wants to make a difference.

"The Ambitious Leader".

A 15 minute edited highlight of our full-length conversation.

Susanne Preissler is the founder of Independent Media, an advertising and entertainment production company that represents a group of some of the best known film and television directors around - from Ben Affleck to Janusz Kaminski to Tony Goldwyn.

Susanne is also a leader of intention and determination. She has high standards, a point of view and an innate ability to solve problems. She also wants to make a difference.

"The Documentarian".

From the Oscar-winning Taxi to the Dark Side, which tells the story of an Afghanistan taxi driver who was tortured and killed at Bagram Air Force Base in 2002. To the Emmy Award-winning Going Clearwhich looks closely at the world of Scientology. To We Steal Secrets- the story of Wiki leaks. As Alex Gibney describes it, he's drawn to stories that reveal abuses of power.

He's been called the most important documentarian of our time by Esquire Magazine.

I assumed, as I sat down with Alex, that this was a man of strong beliefs, determined to tell stories that right what he saw as wrongs.

But his story and his view of the world is much more complex than that.

"The Documentarian".

A 15 minute edited highlight of our full-length conversation.

From the Oscar-winning Taxi to the Dark Side, which tells the story of an Afghanistan taxi driver who was tortured and killed at Bagram Air Force Base in 2002. To the Emmy Award-winning Going Clearwhich looks closely at the world of Scientology. To We Steal Secrets- the story of Wiki leaks. As Alex Gibney describes it, he's drawn to stories that reveal abuses of power.

He's been called the most important documentarian of our time by Esquire Magazine.

I assumed, as I sat down with Alex, that this was a man of strong beliefs, determined to tell stories that right what he saw as wrongs.

But his story and his view of the world is much more complex than that.

"The Confidence Builder".

Since I started this podcast, some people have said they’d like to hear how I’d answer some of my own questions. What have I learned through my own experiences as a leader.

So I asked Adam Bryant - the founder of the Corner Office Column in The NYT and now the Managing Director at Merryck & Co - If he’d come back on the show and interview me.

Adam is a good friend and he said he would. So today my guest is me.

"The Confidence Builder".

A 15 minute edited highlight of our full-length conversation.

Since I started this podcast, some people have said they’d like to hear how I’d answer some of my own questions. What have I learned through my own experiences as a leader.

So I asked Adam Bryant - the founder of the Corner Office Column in The NYT and now the Managing Director at Merryck & Co - If he’d come back on the show and interview me.

Adam is a good friend and he said he would. So today my guest is me.

"The Economist".

Bertrand Cesvet is the CEO of Sid Lee - a multidisciplinary, brand-building creative company with offices in Montreal, Toronto, New York, Paris, and Los Angeles.

He looks constantly to the future, is sensitive to the different needs of the people that works for him and sees the world through both the lens of the possible and the lens of the practical. He is a business builder, an author, a creator, a tennis player and a father.

Oh, and he says what he thinks.

"The Economist".

A 15 minute edited highlight of our full-length conversation.

Bertrand Cesvet is the CEO of Sid Lee- a multidisciplinary, brand-building creative company with offices in Montreal, Toronto, New York, Paris, and Los Angeles.

He looks constantly to the future, is sensitive to the different needs of the people that works for him and sees the world through both the lens of the possible and the lens of the practical. He is a business builder, an author, a creator, a tennis player and a father.

Oh, and he says what he thinks.

"The Alchemist".

Today’s conversation is with Andrew Essex. He’s the co-founder of Plan_A - a self described marketing services company. He’s best known for his time as the CEO of Droga 5, and before that as the Chief Executive Officer of Tribeca Enterprises, the parent company of the Tribeca Film Festival.

He’s sharp witted, a quick thinker and has a relentless curiosity for what’s next.

"The Alchemist".

A 15 minute edited highlight of our full-length conversation.

Today's conversation is with Andrew Essex. He's the co-founder of Plan_A- a self described marketing services company. He's best known for his time as the CEO of Droga 5, and before that as the Chief Executive Officer of Tribeca Enterprises, the parent company of the Tribeca Film Festival.

Andrew is sharp witted, a quick thinker and has a relentless curiosity for what's next.

"The Explorer".

It would take a longer podcast to describe all of the places that Kara DeFrias has worked - the Oscars, the Emmys, the Women’s World Cup, The Super Bowl, and the White House, to name a few.

She’s passionate, funny, caring and a survivor. A three-times survivor. She was fired once two days after starting a job.

So this week’s theme is Curiosity.

"The Explorer".

A 15 minute edited highlight of our full-length conversation.

It would take a longer podcast to describe all of the places that Kara DeFrias has worked - the Oscars, the Emmys, the Women's World Cup, The Super Bowl, and the White House, to name a few.

She’s passionate, funny, caring and a survivor. A three-times cancer survivor.

This week's theme is Curiosity.

"The Gentle Leader".

Cindy Judge is the President and CEO of Sterling-Rice Group, a Colorado based creative consultancy.

She is thoughtful, focused and sensitive about how to get the most creative thinking out of other people.

So this week’s theme is Influence.

"The Gentle Leader".

A 15 minute edited highlight of our full-length conversation.

Cindy Judge is the President and CEO of Sterling-Rice Group, a Colorado based creative consultancy.

She is thoughtful, focused and sensitive about how to get the most creative thinking out of other people.

So this week’s theme is Influence.

"The Direction Finder".

Tom Stockham is the CEO of ExpertVoice. Before that, he was the CEO of ancestry.com and the President of ticketmaster.com when that particular rocket took off.

He is interested in making change that makes a difference, sees the future faster and more clearly than most and worries about how to bring other people on the journey.

So, this week’s theme is action.

"The Direction Finder".

A 15 minute edited highlight of our full-length conversation.

Tom Stockham is the CEO of ExpertVoice. Before that, he was the CEO of ancestry.com and the President of ticketmaster.com when that particular rocket took off.

He is interested in making change that makes a difference, sees the future faster and more clearly than most and worries about how to bring other people on the journey.

So, this week’s theme is action.

"The Generous Leader".

Susan Credle is the global chief creative office of FCB. She is original, open-minded and generous.

As the global CCO of a multinational agency, her job is to inspire, teach and hold to account a network of talented individuals, most of whom work in different cities than the one she calls home - New York.

Providing creative leadership to a large network brings different challenges. Building trust with people you see only intermittently is one of the most important.

Knowing yourself - your strengths, your weaknesses, your tendencies and, perhaps most importantly, your own heart - is a competitive advantage in any leadership situation. In a complex, organizational structure, it’s even more valuable.

This week’s theme is self-awareness.

"The Generous Leader."

A 15 minute edited highlight of our full-length conversation.

Susan Credle is the global chief creative office of FCB. She is original, open-minded and generous.

As the global CCO of a multinational agency, her job is to inspire, teach and hold to account a network of talented individuals most of who work in different cities than the one she calls home - New York.

Providing creative leadership to a large network brings different challenges. Building trust with people you see only intermittently is one of the most important.

Knowing yourself - your strengths, your weaknesses, your tendencies and, perhaps most importantly, your own heart - is a competitive advantage in any leadership situation. In a complex, organizational structure, it’s even more valuable.

So, this week’s theme is self-awareness.

"The Honest Leader".

Mark Thompson has been the CEO of the New York Times for the last six years.

For the eight years before that, he was Director General of the BBC.

He acts with intention, values the knowledge that comes from mistakes, and cares passionately about the institutions that he is entrusted with and the ideals they represent.

Under his leadership, the New York Times has expanded its number of digital subscribers from 668,000 to over 3 million and its total subscriber base to 4 million.

These numbers are the reflection of a strategic choice - to focus the purpose of the New York Times on news, not paper.

He oversaw a similar evolution at the BBC, guiding the storied and historic broadcaster into the digital age.

When you run organizations with the kind of public profile of the New York Times and the BBC, you come under scrutiny. But against historical norms, it takes a certain kind of leadership to stand in the face of relentless attacks from the President of the United States.

In the era of so-called #fakenews, and at a time when the truth is suddenly up for debate, the characteristics necessary to lead any organization through a time of radical strategic change, would be easy to put aside.

In our conversation, we cover the role of honesty in modern leadership, the need to create room for people to make mistakes, and Mark's view of where the leaders of Facebook are getting it wrong.

"The Honest Leader".

Mark Thompson has been the CEO of the New York Times for the last six years.

For the eight years before that, he was Director General of the BBC.

He acts with intention, values the knowledge that comes from mistakes, and cares passionately about the institutions that he is entrusted with and the ideals they represent.

Under his leadership, the New York Times has expanded its number of digital subscribers from 668,000 to over 3 million and its total subscriber base to 4 million.

These numbers are the reflection of a strategic choice - to focus the purpose of the New York Times on news, not paper.

He oversaw a similar evolution at the BBC, guiding the storied and historic broadcaster into the digital age.

When you run organizations with the kind of public profile of the New York Times and the BBC, you come under scrutiny. But against historical norms, it takes a certain kind of leadership to stand in the face of relentless attacks from the President of the United States.

In the era of so-called #fakenews, and at a time when the truth is suddenly up for debate, the characteristics necessary to lead any organization through a time of radical strategic change, would be easy to put aside.

In our conversation, we cover the role of honesty in modern leadership, the need to create room for people to make mistakes, and Mark's view of where the leaders of Facebook are getting it wrong.

“The Path Finder”.

Skyler Mattson is the President of Wongdoody - a small creative agency that’s been successful for 25 years.

She’s also the cofounder of June Cleaver is Dead, the agency’s consultancy whose expertise is in brand experiences for moms.

Skyler is caring, determined and not a surfer. Which, metaphorically, is surprising because she rides the waves of a rapidly changing set of creative industries with great skill and grace.

This week’s theme is intention.

”The Path Finder”.

A 15 minute edited highlight of our full length conversation

Skyler Mattson is the President of Wongdoody - a small creative agency that’s been successful for 25 years.

She’s also the cofounder of June Cleaver is Dead, the agency’s consultancy whose expertise is in brand experiences for moms.

Skyler is caring, determined and not a surfer. Which, metaphorically, is surprising because she rides the waves of a rapidly changing set of creative industries with great skill and grace.

This week’s theme is intention.

"The Inner Voice".

David Lee is the CCO of Squarespace.

He is thoughtful, self-aware and restless. As you’ll hear, he’s allergic to the status quo.

Which makes David and Squarespace a good fit.

In many ways, Squarespace have been at the heart of the democratization of the internet. Unleashing creativity for millions of people who suddenly found they could be the designer of their own web presence.

As a species, human beings crave control. With control, we can take care of the bottom two layers of Maslow’s hierarchy of needs. Without it, everything else that we aspire to and yearn for is hopelessly out of reach with the emphasis on the hopeless.

This week’s theme is listening.

"The Inner Voice".

A 15 minute edit of our full-length conversation

David Lee is the CCO of Squarespace.

He is thoughtful, self-aware and restless. As you’ll hear, he’s allergic to the status quo.

Which makes David and Squarespace a good fit.

In many ways, Squarespace have been at the heart of the democratisation of the internet. Unleashing creativity for millions of people who suddenly found they could be the designer of their own web presence.

As a species, human beings crave control. With control, we can take care of the bottom two layers of Maslow’s hierarchy of needs. Without it, everything else that we aspire to and yearn for is hopelessly out of reach with the emphasis on the hopeless.

This week’s theme is listening.

“The Difference Seeker”.

Dan Gardner is the co-founder of Code and Theory - a creatively-led company that creates products, content and campaigns across physical and digital worlds.

They have four offices across three continents and a statement on the website that says, “We are always looking for motivated, multi-talented, and organized people to join our diverse team.”

Dan has an open-heart, an open-mind and a conscience. He wants to make a difference, and wants to build a company that lets other people contribute.

This week’s theme on Fearless is Diversity.

“The Difference Seeker”.

This is a 15 minute edited version of our full conversation.

Dan Gardner is the co-founder of Code and Theory - a creatively-led company that creates products, content and campaigns across physical and digital worlds.

They have five offices across three continents and a statement on the website that says, “We are always looking for motivated, multi-talented, and organized people to join our diverse team.”

Dan has an open-heart, an open-mind and a conscience. He wants to make a difference, and wants to build a company that lets other people contribute.

This week’s theme on Fearless is Diversity.

"The Results Driver".

Nathalie Molina Niño is the CEO of BRAVA Investments and the author of LEAPFROG, which she wrote as a guide to help Women Entrepreneurs succeed.

She’s a technologist, a coder, and a business builder. She also describes herself as a storyteller at her heart.

She founded Brava Investments on the basis of delivering returns to investors while making a catalytic impact on women in the world.

Impact is one of the 13 themes we’ve seen show up regularly in these conversations with the best creative leaders and Impact is this week’s theme on Fearless.

You’ll find more of our thinking on Impact on the Fearless Creative Leadership website.

"The Humanist".

Jonathan Mildenhall is the founder of 21st Century Brand, and the former CMO of AirBNB.

The launch of his new marketing practice has generated a lot of attention across the creative industries. That’s not a surprise - his reputation as a leader of rare influence precedes him. Jonathan wears his heart on his sleeve. And draws you towards him. The first time we ever spoke was a year ago when I asked him to come on this show. He not only said, yes. He gave me a way to think about Fearless that raised my own ambitions for what the show could become.

His openness during that first conversation has stayed with me. It is a characteristic you find in some of the most Fearless creative leaders.

Which is why this week’s theme is Vulnerability. You’ll find more on Vulnerability on the Fearless Creative Leadership podcast website, and read more about The Power of Vulnerability here.

Here's Jonathan Mildenhall.

"The Magnetic Leader".

Paul Venables is the co-founder of Venables, Bell and Partners. A San Francisco ad agency with self described ‘good intentions.’

Last year, VB+P, was named one of Fast Company’s most innovative companies and one of the top ten companies in media and advertising. So having good intentions is clearly working for them.

Which makes you wonder why more companies wouldn’t claim such apparently low hanging fruit.

After all, it’s easy to claim ‘good intentions’ as your operating principle. Easy in the sense that no one knows what’s really in your heart -as a company or as a leader - except you.

Or do they?

Which is why this week’s theme is Leadership Values.

You can read more about Leadership Values here.

'The Pressure Valve Leaders'

Jaime Robinson and Lisa Clunie are the founders of the New York agency, Joan Creative.

These two women are building a company on their terms and establishing new ways to get the best out of the people that work for them.

This week's theme on Fearless is 'team-building' and you'll hear examples of how Joan brings people together - clients and employees - to unlock new possibilities.

You'll also hear why their partnership surprised them both when it started and how it has quickly evolved into a relationship that brings out the best of both of them.

You can read more about team building here.

'The Sensitive Leader'.

We've added a weekly theme focus. This week we're looking at Empathy. You'll find more of our thinking on empathy here.

This episode is my conversation with Alain Sylvain - the founder of Sylvain Labs - an innovation and brand design consultancy.

Sylvain Labs is 8 years old and describe their tools as science and whimsy. Their client roster is diverse, from Google to Nike. From Chobani to GM.

Before starting his own company, Alain was the managing director of Redscout and a lead strategist at Mother New York.

He creates and invests in new products, works closely with HELP, a merit- and needs-based scholarship program, the Global Poverty Project and the Lower East Side Girls Club. And sits on the board of VCU’s Brandcenter.

And he thinks deeply about how the work he does affects the people that make it and the people that experience it.

'The Explosion Expert'.

This is my conversation with David Abraham of Wonderhood Studios in which we talk about taking calculated risks.

Wonderhood is a startup - a modern media company built around a content and programming studio and a full-strength creative agency for major brands.

David’s experience comes first from the London creative agency world of CDP and Chiat / Day. And most recently from seven years running Channel Four in the UK.

'The Servant Leaders'.

In 2018, KFC was named marketer of the year. Wieden + Kennedy were named agency of the year. And their partnership produced the Campaign of the year. Their partnership is driving business results and changing culture.

It’s also the embodiment of the Wieden + Kennedy philosophy that Jason Bagley and Eric Baldwin described in our podcast last year - a philosophy they describe as ‘branded everything’.

George Felix and Jesse Johnson are the two people at the heart of this very modern creative partnership.

'The One-of-Many Leader'.

This is my conversation with Mohan Ramaswamy - one of the partners of Work & Co. Mohan and I recorded this conversation at the Cannes Creativity Festival in June.

Work and Co is unusual because they have 14 partners - all of whom are involved in all the major decisions of the company. For a business whose reputation and success has grown rapidly, that kind of community leadership is rare.

'The Empowering Leader'.

This is my conversation with Avery Baker - the Chief Brand Officer of Tommy Hilfiger. It was recorded live on stage as part of this year’s Cannes Creativity festival.

Over the last two years, Avery has been instrumental in changing how Tommy Hilfiger shows up in the world. From a business that required five months to take clothes from the runway to the consumer, she led an internal and external revolution that produced a brand capable of delivering ‘see now buy now’ fashion.

I wanted to talk to her about how she encouraged so many people across the organization to take the leap with her, and how she learned to push herself out of her own comfort zone in the process.

'The One-Company Leader'.

I first met John Seifert in 1983. We were both working at Ogilvy & Mather in New York on the TWA business. The world was very different back then.

What hasn’t changed much is John.

John and Ogilvy always seemed to fit together. You couldn’t imagine hime working anywhere else.

Thirty nine years later, he still hasn’t. Today he is the company's CEO.

In an era and industry defined by upheaval, I wanted to talk to John about why he has stayed at one company for so long.

'The Son'.

This conversation with Thomas Benski - the founder of Pulse Films - is the second of my interviews from the Cannes Creativity festival and was recorded in front of a live audience. Vice is an award winning modern-day content studio, which two years ago was bought by Vice.

Thomas is charming and charismatic. He is relentlessly energized and filled with original ideas. He is engaged. Interesting. And Interested.

He is driven in large part by what happened to his family when he was growing up.

So this episodes is called, “The Son.”

'The Preacher, The Teacher, The Weird Kid and The Absurdist'.

This is my conversation with the four people at the heart of over the last 14 years. The two initial founders: John Boiler and Glenn Cole. And the two people they added soon after to help build the business. Evin Shutt and Matt Jarvis.

Rarely - too rarely - do I see partnerships that - both in their intention and in their casting, have been formed on lasting foundations.

Ego, insecurity and yes, fear get in the way. Common sense and win-wins leave the building. Replaced by missed opportunities, broken promises and in some cases life long resentment.

But when you get it right, it sounds like this conversation.

'The Pace Setter'.

This week, my conversation with Chris Weil - the CEO of Momentum.

Chris has always struck me as clear, confident and charismatic. He welcomes people into his world and puts them at ease. And he relishes change.

I wanted to talk to Chris about where his confidence and openness comes from.

A five minute edited highlight of our full conversation.

'The Instinctive Leader'.

This is my conversation with Robin Domeniconi - CEO/Founder of Threaded Tales and one of the founders of Real Simple magazine.

I was struck by Robin’s history. By the diversity of things she has done. Of the size and significance of the organizations she has led.

And during our conversation - as she talked about what she has overcome and how she has overcome it - I was reminded again of how even the best of the best are human. And that it is their ability to use that to their advantage that separates them from other leaders.

'The Gymnast'.

My conversation with Kat Gordon - founder of the 3% Percent Conference and CEO of the 3% Movement.

Kat started 3% in 2008, to highlight the fact that only 3 percent of creative directors at major ad agencies were women

Kat is a change agent, moving into previously unoccupied spaces, doing things that hadn’t been done before. A revolutionary in a time of revolution.

I wanted to understand where that willingness to take on the status quo in such a public and sustained way comes from.

A five minute edited highlight of our full conversation.

'The Open Leader'.

This week, my conversation with Cheryl Abel-Hodges, the Group President of Calvin Klein North America and The Underwear Group.

Cheryl welcomes debate and exploration and new ways of looking at things. She welcomes it whether the conversation is about her business or about her leadership.

So, this episode is called, "The Open Leader."

I was struck by Cheryl’s clarity, her openness and her generosity. And by the environment she creates for real give and take.

I’m curious what you think.

A five minute edited highlight of our full length conversation.

'The Young Leaders'.

Adolescent Content is the idea of the filmmaker Ramaa Mosley, and is based on the simple insight that content intended for youth would be more impactful if it was conceived and created by youth.

Their creators, directors and photographers are as young as 11. They have developed marketing concepts and content for iconic brands, shot feature films and given TED talks.

Ramaa and I were joined by one of her directors, sixteen year-old Aniya Wolfe.

Aniya is a member of Gen Z, which, as she reminds us, is the largest generation in history. The oldest member of Gen Z is 21. As Aniya shows in our conversation, this generation is coming of age much much earlier than that.

A five minuted edited highlight of our full-length conversation.

'The Teacher'.

I’ve known David Slocum for a decade or so and he’s been kind enough to invite me to speak to his executive MBA class at the Berlin School in Cannes for the last several years.

He has a rare gift for combining the theoretical with the practical, and I’ve watched scores of his students become more thoughtful and intentioned leaders as a result of his teaching.

One of the areas we talked about was why talented people are willing to work for demanding leaders. ‘Demanding’ sometimes being a euphemism for rude or worse.

Let me know what you think at charles@fearlesscreativeleadership.com

A five minute edited highlight of our full conversation.

'The Cultural Anthropologist'.

This week, my conversation with Kim Wijkstrom, the CMO of One Main Financial.

He has seen the world of creativity through an extraordinarily diverse set of lenses. He has been in the room with Steve Jobs. He has touched the work of Vincent Van Gogh. He has worked with dynamic companies and rebuilt tired brands. Through it all he has used creativity as a language for change.

'The Millennial Leader'.

This is the one year anniversary episode of ‘Fearless’.

I’m inspired by so many of the people I’ve spoken to. Some I knew before ‘Fearless’. Some I’ve met as a result.

With each conversation, I find out more about what makes the best leaders the best. More about how they overcome the obstacles that are part of being human. More about their ambition to make a difference.

This week, my conversation with Chris Sojka. the co-founder and Chief Creative Officer of Madwell.

I was interested in talking to Chris because he’s already owned his own business for eight years and he’s still only 32. And I wondered what he’d learned about himself along the way and how leadership has changed him.

A five minute edited highlight of our full conversation.

'The Mistake Maker'.

Wesley ter Haar is the founder and Chief Operating Officer of MediaMonks, a global creative production company with 11 offices and almost 700 people.

We talked about hiring bad people, about how to scale while holding on to your standards, and about the importance of building and maintaining momentum.

A five minute edited highlight of our full conversation.

'The Timing Expert'.

This week my conversation with Shannon Lords of Great Bowery Film.

We talked about the importance of casting when assembling talented teams, about working with world class directors and about the art and timing of saying no.

A five minute edited highlight of our full conversation.

'The Buddhist'.

Mark is the CEO of COMMON - a company that accelerates the launch and growth of businesses that take care of the planet and all the creatures on it.

He has grown up with and lived with tension in multiple forms and has been on a journey to discover his through line.

My conversation with Mark made me think about my own through line.

I hope it does the same for you.

I talked to Mark about becoming a Buddhist, about leading from behind and about his fear of what’s possible.

A five minute edited highlight of our full-length conversation

'The Problem Finder'.

Dan Pink is a rare combination. A powerful storyteller with an extraordinary eye for patterns and truth in a white-out blizzard of data and possibilities.

His books have been a big part of my personal journey.

His most recent book is called, When - the Scientific Secrets of Perfect Timing

You'll find all his books at DanPink.com

Dan and I talked about when he realized he was a writer, about why writing a book is like a marriage and about how he helped me put a room full of 200 people to sleep.

When: The Scientific Secrets of Perfect Timing

A five minute edited highlight of our full length conversation.

'The Leader Builder'.

Lori Bradley is the Executive Vice President of Global Talent Management for PVH Corp. PVH owns Calvin Klein, Tommy Hilfiger, Van Husen and Speedo among other brands.

Lori holds a Ph.D. and M.A. in Industrial/Organization Psychology and no one that I know, knows more about leadership assessment and development, succession management, and organization design.

She also has a masters in English Literature.

Lori and I talked about the relationship between fear and creativity, about the importance of experiments in complex organizations, and about the role creativity played in getting her kicked out of vacation bible school.

A five minute edited highlight of our full length conversation.

'The Diversity Leader'.

Singleton Beato is the personification of a leader determined to create a better future for everyone.

She is the Chief Diversity & Engagement Officer at McCann Worldgroup, a position she came to after seven years as the Executive VP, for Diversity Strategy and Talent Development at the 4As.

She is a thought leader in the issues that create the absence of diversity in organizations, and she’s an expert in the behaviors and practices that organizations must embrace if they want to develop workforces that reflect society.

During our conversation, she talked about the role that her race played in her upbringing, about why she waited until she was 32 to go to college, and about how to create environments that embrace differences.

It was a timely conversation when we recorded it a couple of weeks ago. It has become even more relevant in the aftermath of the announcement of TimesUp Advertising.

A five minute edited highlight of our full length conversation.

'The Freelance Leader'.

This week, my conversation with Justin Gignac, co-founder of Working Not Working - an online marketplace for creative freelancers.

Our conversation was recorded on-stage at the 4as Talent2030 Conference. At some points, you’ll hear us discussing a chart. The graphic of that chart is included in the transcript of this episode at the FearlessCreativeLeadership website.

Justin Gignac has been a cheerleader, a professional mascot and an entrepreneur.

We talked about what it was like to grow up as the son of a clown, about the extraordinarily simple idea that was the genesis of WNW, about the army he’s building, and about what we should be teaching our children.

A five minute highlight of our full conversation.

'The Math and Magic Man'.

Bob Pittman has lived several lives in the course of this one.

At 27 he gave birth to MTV. Then turned Nickelodeon into a lasting success and launched VH-1 and Nick at Night.

He was at the center of the creation of Time Warner, ran Six Flags theme parks and then Century 21 real estate before becoming CEO of AOL. He did all of that before the Millennium.

In this century he has been the COO of AOL-Time Warner and co-founded, Pilot, LLC an investment group with a remarkably diverse portfolio, before joining Clear Channel Media and Entertainment.

From 2011-14 he was named the most powerful man in radio.

In 2014, the company was re-named and Bob became Chairman and CEO of iHeartMedia.

He has also been the chairman of the Robin Hood Foundation, fighting poverty in NYC, the Chairman of New York Public Theater, and served on the boards of an extraordinary number of companies and not for profits.

Along the way, he’s found time to spend 6,000 hours behind the controls of a plane, and learned to fly helicopters too.

He is a human being of diverse interests. He is a man of intention and intense action.

We talked about the science and showmanship of leading creativity, about tortured geniuses and what he thinks about his failures and his legacy.

This an action packed thirty minutes. A reflection of the man.

I hope you enjoy it.

A 5 minute edited highlight of our full length conversation.

'The Team Builder'.

Dianne Wilkins is the CEO of Critical Mass - a global digital experience design agency. She is also a talent magnet, drawing people to her with her openness and her commitment to their success.

She is also a survivor.

We talked about her willingness to jump in, the tragedy that changed her life, and the role that ice cream played in shaping her remarkable career.

Let me know what you think.

A five minute edited highlight of our full length conversation

'The Thoughtful Leader'.

Rei Inamoto is unique. And he’s an identical twin. His professional life has encompassed some of the most prominent and powerful leadership positions in the creative industries, including five years at R/GA and then as the worldwide chief creative officer at AKQA.

In 2016, he and his partner Rem Reynolds, launched Inamoto and Co - a "business invention studio" focused on design, data, technology and digital transformation.

Rei and I met in their offices in Brooklyn and talked about the impact of having a twin, of life as an outsider, and about the importance of humility.

A couple of days after we recorded our interview, Rei emailed me and said that he’d been thinking about one of my questions since we met, and wanted to give a more thoughtful answer. He included a recording and asked if I minded including it.

I didn’t mind. And I have included it at the very end of the show. It’s worth listening to. In fact, it’s potentially much more than that.

A five minute edited highlight of our full-length conversation.

'The Confidence Builder'.

My conversation with Kojo Marfo - Director and Founder, My Runway Group

Kojo has a passion to change the world. He focuses on social impact through instilling self belief in young adults. His ventures - including myrunwaygroup.com, are targeted at providing a platform for youth development and creative growth.

A five minute edited highlight of our full-length conversation.

'The Business Starter'.

John Borthwick is the founder and CEO of Betaworks, a New York based business described variously as a company of builders, a start-up studio, and a seed stage venture capital company.

Betaworks has built a diverse range of companies that sit at the intersection of media and technology, including Giphy, TweetDeck, and Dots. Last year, they announced the launch of a $50 million early-stage fund called betaworks ventures, designed to support all three of the company’s investment portfolio models - from Betaworks owned, to theme based accelerators to investment in outside companies.

John and I talked about why small is beautiful when it comes to unlocking creativity, about the first time he saw the Internet, and why using technology to connect people isn’t enough.

A five minute edited highlight of our full conversation.

'The Society Changer'.

Trevor Robinson is renowned for his contribution to society and for encouraging future talent.

In 1995 Trevor set up Quiet Storm, the first agency to write, direct and produce its own work. He’s chaired the IPA’s Ethnic Diversity Forum and set up “Create Not Hate” to tackle gun crime by getting disenfranchised youth into advertising and creative projects.

He was awarded an OBE in 2009 for his services to charity and advertising.

This episode was recorded at the Eurobest festival in London.

A five minute edited highlight of our full conversation.

'The Reputation Builder'.

Kerrie Finch is the Founder & CEO of FinchFactor - one of the most successful reputation management companies within the creative, tech innovator and startup sectors, with offices in Amsterdam, London, Los Angeles and New York.

Kerrie is the founder of SheSays Amsterdam and an ADCN board member.

She's also incredibly warm and genuine.

I talked to Kerrie at Eurobest in London.

A five minute edited highlight of our full conversation.

'The Self-Aware CEO'.

Mindy Grossman is a 40 year long success story. She has built innovative, creative businesses at every step of her career. From Ralph Lauren to Nike to the Home Shopping Network to Weight Watchers.

She is one of only 51 women CEOS of Fortune 1000 companies and she turned HSN into the second best performing Fortune 1000 company of this century.

Since taking over as the CEO of Weigh Watchers last summer, the company’s share price and membership have risen dramatically.

I talked to Mindy about the life changing decisions she made at 19, about unlocking creativity from the C-Suite and about the importance of Winnie the Pooh.

A five minute edited highlight of our full length conversation

'The Fashion Critic'.

Vanessa Friedman is the fashion director and chief fashion critic for The New York Times. Her approval is sought by the most famous and successful designers in the world and she has built a reputation as a brilliant, thoughtful and fair judge of what is relevant in this the most creative of industries.

I talked to her about the challenge faced by people who make things from their minds, about the importance of structure, and about the high-flying nature of her secret hobby.

A five minute edited highlight of our full conversation

'The Self Believer'.

Geoff Edwards has been leading on his terms for his entire career. He is a story teller, unafraid to open new doors or take a new path, unafraid to try to change the world on his terms. He has been featured on the cover of Creativity Magazine’s inaugural “Creativity 50” and Boards Magazine's “Top 50 Art Directors” In America.

Today, he is Head of Creative at CAA Marketing and Co-Founder of SATURDAY MORNING, a coalition for Peace.

I talked to Geoff about superheroes and kryptonite, about building a business with Spike Lee, and about the decision he made that he still thinks about.

A five minute edited highlight of our full conversation

'The Cyber-Feminist'.

My conversation with Laura Jordan-Bambach - the Chief Creative Officer and Co-Founder of Mr President/SheSays

She describes the early part of her career as a cyber-feminist-code-hacking artist. Today, she is the Chief Creative Officer and partner of one of London’s most influential agencies, Mr President. She co-founded SheSays, the Great British Diversity Experiment and the Cannt Festival and she was recently named one of the BBC's top 100 innovators.

A five minute highlight of our full conversation.

Recorded at Eurobest in London.

'The Producer'.

Ash is one of the UK’s best known comedy producers, responsible for, The Office and the IT Crowd. He has won five BAFTAs and a Golden Globe.

In 2007, he co-founded the independent production company, Roughcut TV with Tim Sealey and over the last decade the company has established itself on both sides of the Atlantic with deals with the BBC, NBC and HBO.

A five minute highlight of our full conversation.

'The Influencer'.

Tom Goodwin is the definition of a disruptive thinker. He was recently named one of LinkedIn’s most influential contributors and brings to any conversation a natural unwillingness to accept the status quo.

I talked to Tom about the importance of embracing difference in others, about the power of trust and about the freedom of being wrong.

A five minute highlight from our full conversation.

“My hope, as this podcast begins its own journey, is that Fearless will become a place where the people that are best at unlocking creativity in their business, and in themselves - leaders I’ve known for some time, and leaders that I’ve never met before - will come and share their stories, their hopes and their fears. My goal is to have them tell us what inspires them, what they’ve learned and what gets in the way.”

Back in May when I launched Fearless, I laid this out as my ambition. To say that it has exceeded my every expectation would be an understatement. 31 episodes in, and the response has been incredible. So thank you for being part of this and there is much more to come.

In the spirit of creativity and innovation, we’re going to evolve Fearless in the coming weeks.

In addition to the regular full-length episode, each week we’re also going to produce ‘Fearless in Fifteen’ - a fifteen minute highlights version of each episode.

And for those of you who believe less is more, you’ll be happy to hear that we’re also going to produce ‘ Fearless in Five’ - a five minute snapshot of each episode with one or two key thoughts.

If both of these versions take off, we’ll keep them both going. If one seems more valuable than another, we’ll adapt and evolve again.

Creativity at work. Where it’s happiest.

'The Connector'.

Michael Kassan is perhaps the best connected person in the creative industries. As the founder Chairman and CEO of Medialink, he creates and unlocks relationships at the intersection of advertising, entertainment, technology and finance. Put another way he connects Silicon Valley, Madison Avenue, Hollywood and Wall Street.

I talked to Michael about the criteria he looks for in people he wants to interact with, about what he’s learned about doing deals on the back of a napkin and about what he loves about being in the room when it happens.

A five minute highlight from our full conversation.

'The Director'.

Neil Tardio is a hall of fame film director, responsible for some of the most iconic advertising ever created. His 1977 Xerox commercial, "Brother Dominic", is part of any list of the greatest Super Bowl commercials of all time.

I talked to Neil about working with some of the most legendary creative figures of the last fifty years, about the challenges of marrying art and commerce in one of the most pressurized environments, the film set, and about the lasting power of creating simple human connections.

'The Non-Linear Person'.

The most meaningful and actionable definitions of success are your own. The ones that you are self-aware, intentioned and brave enough to establish for yourself.

These personal KPI’s are the ones that drive Fearless leaders when the rubber hits the road. For those leaders, the ability to look themselves in the eye and know that they held themselves to their own standards is the most meaningful definition of success.

For those leaders, the future is built on two words that begin with i. Intention and integrity. They also happen to be two of the conditions in which profitable creativity flourishes.

That’s what’s known as a win-win.

Colleen DeCourcy is the co-Chief Creative officer of Wieden & Kennedy. During her career she has been at the heart of some of the most original and disruptive thinking of any of the creative industries. She has experienced life as an employee of a holding company, an employee of her own company and of an independent company. She has been described by Dan Wieden as “the real deal.”

As she approaches the end of her fifth year at Wieden, I talked to her about discovering that months don’t always start on Mondays, about her role as a change agent, and about the one thing she wishes she had more of.

'The Teacher'.

Gerry Laybourne has spent her life unlocking the creativity of others. From her early beginnings as a teacher and film-maker, she created not one but two game-changing networks. First, Nickelodeon, which placed the care and nurturing of children at the heart of its DNA. And then the Oxygen network, a revolutionary and innovative commitment to the voice and needs of women.

Along the way, she was named the most influential woman in the entertainment industry and one of the 25 most influential people in America by Time magazine.

She is a visionary, a business builder and an audience advocate.

I talked to Gerry about calling out the strengths of people, about the importance of giving yourself credit for the things you do well, about the challenge of hiring 750 people all at once, and about the management approach she’d use building a company today.

A five minute edited highlight of our full conversation.

'The Partners'.

Amanda Hesser and Merrill Stubbs are the co-founders of Food52.com. Their goal was to create the first crowd sourced, online cook book. As you will see if you visit the site, they have already achieved much, much more than that - a fully realized food, cooking and lifestyle community and ecommerce destination.

I talked to Amanda and Merrill about the birth and evolution of their partnership, about why they spent 5 years testing 1400 recipes and about the existential challenge of auditioning to play the part of you.

A five minute edited highlight of our full conversation.

'The Dancer'.

Rosemarie Ryan has been leading creativity most of her life. She has helped to build some of the most famous and effective creative companies of their time, leaving behind her a wake of improved businesses and more thoughtful people.

Today, she is the co-founder of CO Collective, a strategy and innovation company based in New York.

I talked to Rose about the role her family played in unlocking her leadership at a very early age, about the importance of hard conversations when you’re the leader, and about the role of generosity in her leadership philosophy.

A five minute edited highlight of our full conversation.

'The Optimist'.

Technology is increasingly the platform on which fearless creative leadership sits. The challenge of this is twofold.
First, we need the capability to get the answers to the questions that we know. How do I solve these known problems, and what role does technology play in that?
And second, we need the courage to ask questions that until now have been unimaginable or inconceivable. Today, like never before, real-world technology can take us to places that used to be the stuff of fantasy - ideas that existed only in the recesses of our imagination and were never allowed past our office building’s security guard once we got to work in the morning.
Today, leaving those ideas at the door can be the difference between success and failure.
Rewiring ourselves to expand our own curiosity and understanding of what might be possible is a fundamental requirement of successful modern leadership. It's no longer enough to think that a linear progression based on what we know today is anything like enough to figure out what will be needed tomorrow. The best leaders are constantly provoking conversations and exploration about what the future could look like - and should look like - so that they can light the trails and take the leaps required of companies as they reach the top of their current S-curve, and stare into what comes next.
Those conversations and that exploration is literally impossible without exposing ourselves to the outer limits of what technology will be capable of in 5-10 years. If, as leaders, we don't stretch our own imagination, we cannot hope to make decisions in the short-term that will maximize the possibility that this company will still be relevant in the long-term.
The day-to-day demands of leadership require we place one eye firmly on the ground directly in front of us. But the speed with which the future is coming at us, requires that we train our mind’s eye to see beyond the unlikely, and instead help us imagine a world in which the impossible becomes the inevitable.
As the Global Design Practice Director at IBM, Elizabeth Kiehner applies some of the world’s most powerful technology to solve the problems of today and tomorrow.
I talked to Elizabeth about the expansion of natural language technology in our daily lives, about a machine’s ability to edit tennis highlights without human involvement and about how to design solutions for problems that will exist 5 years from now.

A five minute edited highlight of our full conversation.

'The Difference Maker'.

Over time and with experience, the best leaders are able to quiet the internal noise. The voice in their head becomes less critical and more confident - more certain and more consistent.

That’s when things really start to happen. When it really gets interesting. For them. And for the people around them.

It requires a willingness to look within. To ask the questions and face the answers.That ’s where the journey towards being a Fearless Creative leader begins.

Where it finishes is up to you.

Nils Leonard is the definition of a self-made success. As you’ll hear, his journey carried him from humble roots to becoming the chairman and chief creative office of one of the most celebrated ad agencies in London before he turned 40.

Today, he is the co-founder of Uncommon, a company that builds brands that people wished existed in the world. He is a disruptive and somewhat controversial figure.

I met Nils on a recent trip to London in Uncommon’s offices, and we talked about why tattooing played a critical role in his early life, about what he’s learned about unlocking creative talent, and about his own personal evolution and understanding of what matters most.

A five minute edited highlight of our full conversation.

'The Futurist'.

Faith Popcorn has spent almost half a century living in the future. She has predicted everything from the inevitable to the unbelievable. Her company, Faith Popcorn’s Brain Reserve has been instrumental in unlocking what comes next for many of the world’s largest companies and most iconic brands.

I met Faith in her townhouse in Manhattan and she talked about the importance of conflict…about why companies hate change…..and about the future of the human race.

For more information: www.FearlessCreativeLeadership.com

A five minute edited highlight of our full conversation.

'The Listener'.

Adam Bryant is the creator of ‘The Corner Office’, a weekly feature of The New York Times in which he interviews business leaders from diverse industries. The Corner Office has been around since 2008, and if you haven’t come across it, I encourage you to go and explore the library of knowledge and insights it provides.

I talked to Adam about what he’s learned from interviewing hundred of business leaders, about a new description of the most meaningful influences over a company’s culture and about the art of listening.

A five minute edited highlight of our conversation.

'The Poet'.

Today’s guest is Wendy Clark, the CEO of DDB, North America. She has been the President of Strategic Marketing at Coca-Cola and the SVP of Global Marketing at AT&T. She was named Ad Age’s Executive of the Year for 2017 and she is rewriting the rules of the advertising industry.

She is also is a wife, the mother of three and one of the most respected and warmly held leaders in today’s creative industries. And, she will ‘crush’ you if you underestimate her.

I talked to Wendy about growing up as the outsider, about the place she never takes her phone, and about her mother’s role in helping her pass her poetry class.

This is Wendy Clark unfiltered.

A five minute edited highlight of our conversation.

Welcome to the twentieth episode of Fearless. After four months, nineteen interviews and roughly two hundred thousand spoken words, I thought this was a good time to take stock.

And so this episode is called… “The Story so Far.”

What makes a Fearless Creative Leader in today’s moving at the speed of thought world?

Based on conversations with companies as diverse as: Hearst Anomaly, Calvin Klein, Google, Refinery29, Panera Bread and W+K, one - perhaps surprising - theme stands out already.

Hear from some of the world's most creative leaders including: Joanna Coles; Emma Cookson; Steve Shiffman; Carl Johnson; Jim Stengel; Lisa Gersh; Lars Bastholm; Eric Baldwin & Jason Bagley, Carter Murray and Justin Stefano.

'The Lawyer'.

Lisa Gersh is a lawyer by training and a leader by instinct. After a career practicing law, she became the co-founder of the Oxygen network, before becoming the CEO of Martha Stewart omni-media and then the CEO of Gwyneth Paltrow’s company, Goop. Today, she is the CEO of Alexander Wang.

Along the way, she has proven over and over again, her willingness to listen, to learn and to lead.

I talked to Lisa about the childhood event that changed her focus, about learning how to nod and about the biggest mistake she ever made.

A five minute edited highlight of our full conversation.

'The World Changers'.

"We're trying to figure out how do we get vaccines delivered to places that have no physical addresses."

Torrence Boone and Lars Bastholm work at Google. Their jobs are multi-faceted but fundamentally they share a responsibility for helping others to unlock the business and societal potential of Google’s capacity for original thinking.

Being a leader at Google demands reaching for the stars while figuring out how to pay the bills. It requires you consider the impossible and the commercial in the same breath. It encourages those who want to change the world.

I talked to Torrence and Lars about their evolutions from Baltimore dancer and Danish film-maker to creative leaders and collaborators at one of the world’s most technologically advanced companies, about what they have learned about building teams and about their own experiences of being outsiders.

For more information: www.fearlesscreativeleadership.com

A five minute edited highlight of our full length conversation.

"The Simplifier."

Emma Cookson has been able to filter the noise for brands and businesses throughout her career. She is regarded as one of the world's foremost brand strategists, taking over the role of Global Head of Strategic Planning at BBH before becoming CEO and then Chairman of BBH, New York.

Today she is a partner at You and Mr Jones, the disruptive company designed to build brands by combining marketing and technology expertise.

I talked to Emma about how she turned an Oxford university english literature degree into a career in advertising, about her unique definition of a brand and about her personal desire for global domination.

For more information:

www.FearlessCreativeLeadership.com

www.youandmrjones.com

A five minute highlight of our full conversation.

"The Story Teller."

Joanna Coles has been finding and telling stories since she was a young girl. She has been a writer, a publisher, a salesperson, a journalist, a reporter, an editor, an author and on-camera talent in a reality-tv show.

She’s an original thinker, a ground breaker, a glass ceiling raiser, a mentor, and a reference point. She’s also the inspiration for a new tv show based largely on her life.

She has worked for some of the world’s most iconic publications. The Spectator, The Guardian, The Times of London, and she has been the editor of Marie Claire and of Cosmo. And a year ago she was named Chief Content officer for Hearst Magazines.

I talked to Joanna about her early lessons as a very young writer, about how a double murder changed the course of her career, and about her correspondence with the Queen.

For more information: www.FearlessCreativeLeadership.com

A five-minute highlight of our full conversation

'The Chef'.

Dan Kish knows more about food than anyone I’ve ever met. He has been an entrepreneurial chef, a teacher and an executive. He has always been a student. A few months ago he left his position as Head Chef at Panera Bread where he was responsible for developing the menu for 2000 restaurants across America to become a consultant.

Over the last few years, he has met with the world’s greatest chefs, learned how to predict the date an Avocado will turn ripe and sourced suppliers capable of providing hundreds of thousands of pounds of antibiotic-free turkey.

He understands the growing conditions, the harvesting practices, the shipping methodologies, the preparation techniques, the chemistry of, the cooking of and the delivery of food that tastes like a memory and is good for you.

Dan is the embodiment of someone in flow with their work. Someone able to unlock their own creativity and the creativity of others, every day.

For more information: www.FearlessCreativeLeadership.com

A five minute edited highlight of our full conversation

"The New Leaders."

To be a successful creative leader, you need to be able to celebrate an environment that revels in the chaos of original thinking and behavior, and from that produce the reliable performance required of any business.

And sometimes, it requires doing that when your only experience of leading an actual business is none at all. When your success has been based on your capacity to break all the rules and change the expectations.

One day you’re throwing tea into the Harbour. The next you’re sitting on a throne with a crown on your head. At that point, the fact that it’s heavy is not your greatest problem. Your greatest problem is the fact that everyone is staring at you expectantly.

Jason Bagley and Eric Baldwin, are the ECD’s of Wieden + Kennedy, Portland. As creative partners, they were responsible for one of the most iconic advertising campaigns of the last decade - Old Spice’s, "the man your man could smell like. Between them, they have almost 25 years of experience at the agency.

I spoke to them about what makes Wieden + Kennedy a relentless creative force, about how they're leading the Portland office through its own transformation and about the adjustments they have had to make now that they have become the leaders.

For more information:

Wieden+Kennedy

www.FearlessCreativeLeadership.com

A five minute edited highlight of our full conversation.

"The Equalizer."

Shelley Zalis has made the business of equality the focus of this stage of her life and career. A successful entrepreneur in her own right, she founded the Girl’s Lounge to provide professional women a place to get together at major conferences and support and learn about each other.

From that platform, she has now built the Female Quotient - an organization dedicated to driving equality in the workplace.

She is an evangelist, a disruptive force, a community builder and a change agent. She is also putting her money where her beliefs are.

I talked to Shelley about the role her childhood played in her becoming a disruptor, about why she decided to make gender equality her business, about what needs to happen next and about the moment she wondered if it was all over.

For More Information:

www.TheFemaleQuotient.com

www.FearlessCreativeLeadership.com

A five minute edited highlight of our full conversation.

'The Visionary CEO'.

Steve Shiffman has been CEO of Calvin Klein for almost exactly three years. In that time he has led what has been described by the New York Times as, ‘the biggest redefinition of American fashion in decades.’

Steve talks about why he was willing to disrupt one of the world's most successful and iconic brands, about the challenges of guiding an $8.5 billion global business towards a single creative vision and about why he is doubling down on creativity.

For more information: www.FearlessCreativeLeadership.com

A five minute edited highlight of our full length conversation

'The Experience Designer'.

Design has become one of those terms used with increasing regularity across the creative industries - sometimes insightfully, sometimes not.

The introduction of the word 'design' suggests a method, a process, a plan. And yet, as with all powerful and impactful expressions of creativity, the very act of designing requires an openness to trial and therefore to error.

Nick Scappaticci is one of the founders of Tellart - an experience design company. Their projects range from the playful to the provocative. From the magical to the mind-bending.

Nick and I talked recently about what defines experience design, the environment in which it flourishes, the art of attracting and unlocking a diverse eco-system of talent and the key to turning ideas into physical expressions that live in the real world.

For more information:

www.Tellart.com

www.FearlessCreativeLeadership.com

A five minute edited highlight of our full conversation

'The Psychoanalyst'.

Unlocking creativity requires celebrating uncertainty and embracing risk. Most businesses aren't designed that way. Nor are most human beings.

Instead, we stop ourselves, unconsciously and consciously. We act against our own self interest, willingly and unwillingly. We are hesitant, we are anxious, and very often - far more often than we realize or are prepared to admit - we are afraid.

Leading a successful business requires we confront our own frailties at the very same time that we are grappling with the multi-faceted threats to modern businesses.

Kerry Sulkowicz is a leadership confidant, advising the CEOs and boards of some of the world’s largest and most powerful corporations.

He is also a psychiatrist and psychoanalyst.

Kerry joins me to talk about the very human challenges that leaders face, the mistakes that most leaders make when stepping into new roles and the deeper human impulses that exist in all of us. For more information: www.FearlessCreativeLeadership.com

A five minute highlight of our full conversation

'The Modern Women'.

Gina Hadley and Jenny Galuzzo created The Second Shift to provide talented, accomplished, professional women with opportunities to re-enter the workforce on their terms. It is an idea of its time. An idea of this time. Like all great ideas it is simple and obvious. Like most revolutionary ideas, it still has some work to do to break down a stubborn status quo. In this case, the status quo of how businesses design their organizations and engage talent.

I recently sat down with Gina and Jenny to talk about why they started the Second Shift, about the challenges of turning an idea into a scalable company and about what they have learned about blowing up the status quo.

Find more at: www.TheSecondShift.com

www.FearlessCreativeLeadership.com

A five minute highlight from our full conversation.

'The Dean of Purpose'.

Jim Stengel has unlocked creativity throughout his career. As a brand manager and then Global Marketing Officer at P&G, as a founder of his own consultancy and as a thought leader, author and teacher. He has been described as the 'Dean of Purpose' and a 'CMO Consigliere'.

Jim talks to me about how Purpose became part of his professional and personal life, what he has learned about unlocking creativity at scale and about the one thing a leader must do above all else.

For more information, visit: www.FearlessCreativeLeadership.com

A five minute highlight of our full conversation.

'The Taste Maker'.

Umber Ahmad has lived many lives in one lifetime. Professional violinist at 13. Pilot at 15. Aspiring surgeon at 18. Financier. Investor. Entrepreneur. And finally, (although probably not lastly) baker. She talks about the inspiration that set her on her path, the triumphs and despair she has encountered along the way, the moment when she realized that even $10 was more than she could afford, and how she turned a brothel into one of New York City's best bakeries.

For more information:

Mah-Ze-Dar Bakery

www.FearlessCreativeLeadership.com

A five minute highlight of our full conversation.

'The Power Couple'.

Carter Murray and Susan Credle are one of the advertising industry’s power couples. Smart, brave and generous, they successfully marry art and commerce on a daily basis. In this episode of Fearless, they talk about their partnership, their disagreements and how they help each other keep their eyes on the stars and their feet on the ground.

For more information:

FearlessCreativeLeadership.com

A five minute highlight of our full conversation.

'The Mad Man'.

Barry Day is the author of 38 books covering creative luminaries as diverse as Noel Coward, Johnny Mercer and Raymond Chandler.

Before he started documenting the life of other creators, he was a legendary ad man responsible for some of the most famous commercials of all time. He was also a thought leader - before anyone knew what that meant - bringing the thinking of Marshall McLuhan into mainstream marketing.

And along the way, he found time to change the face of British Politics.

Join me for this voyage through, around, and finally with my father.

www.fearlesscreativeleadership.com

A five minute highlight of our full conversation

'The Magicians'.

Jon Collins, the President of Integrated Advertising at Framestore, runs one of the most multi-disciplinary and technologically complex creative businesses in the world. He talks to me about how he has guided the company through its evolution from a classic visual effects supplier into a collaborative network of world-renowned, award-winning creators of consumer-centric magic.

For more information:

Framestore.com

FearlessCreativeLeadership.com

A five minute highlight from our full conversation.

'The Intentioned Woman'.

Heidi Hackemer is building a brand strategy business in her own unique image - purposeful, opinionated and conscious. The journey that brought her and her company to today covers thousands of miles of reflection and exploration. In this episode of Fearless, Heidi talks to me about why becoming a waitress was a critical career step, what she has learned is the single most important truth for every modern brand, and the very personal challenges of becoming a leader.

For more information: www.FearlessCreativeLeadership.com

Five minute edited highlights from our full conversation.

'The Unreasonable Man'.

Carl Johnson, the co-founder and CEO of Anomaly, talks about what makes him an 'unreasonable man', why Anomaly was named Ad Age's 2017 Agency of the Year despite not being an ad agency, and what he thinks is critical to ensuring the future of his company.

A five minute highlight from our full conversation.

'The Founders'.

Justin Stefano and Philippe von Borries are the co-founders and co-CEO's of Refinery29 - a 12 year old media and content company built for, 'the most powerful generation of women around the world.'

They are listed as one of America’s fastest growing private companies and the site is reported to generate one billion page views annually.

I sat down with Philip and Justin in the Refinery 29 offices in lower Manhattan a few days ago, and talked to them about their partnership, how they built a half billion business from a sketch they drew literally on the back of a napkin in a coffee shop on the upper east side, and what the future looks like from where they sit.

For more information:

Refinery29.com

FearlessCreativeLeadership.com

A five minute highlight from our full conversation.

Welcome to Fearless, where we explore the art and science of leading creativity.

Each week, we talk to leaders of the world’s most disruptive companies about how they’re jumping into the fire, crossing the chasm and blowing up the status quo.

Leaders who’ve mastered the art of turning the impossible - into the profitable.

The world needs leaders who can unlock creativity like never before. Fearless leaders.

Why shouldn't that be you?