Dan Hill's EQ Spotlight: Recent Episodes
Dan Hill
Discussions with thought leaders about the importance of emotions in politics, culture and life Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/dan-hills-eq-spotlight
Today I talked to Jennifer Moss about her new book The Burnout Epidemic: The Rise of Chronic Stress and How We Can Fix It (HBRP, 2021). Workplace burnout is such an urgent issue that up to 700,000 people are believed to have died primarily due to workload stress – and yet many company leaders remain in denial. Their stance is that self-care will provide the solution when, in fact, it’s the workplace eco-system in which these victims are operating that so often drives their unfair fate. From workloads to a perceived lack of control over one’s job, to poor work relationships and a pervasive sense of injustice on the job, burnout can be driven by many factors. The solution, however, is relatively straightforward as suggested by Jennifer Moss in this interview. Leaders need to get out of their corner offices and talk to employees, learn what they’re dealing with and what the impediments are to being happier and more productive at work. If they do so, the rewards are immense both personally and financially as studies show that a truly healthy work environment can lift ROI by 20% or more. Jennifer Moss is an award-winning Canadian journalist, author, and international speaker. Her articles have appeared in HuffPost, Forbes, Fortune, and elsewhere. Dan Hill, PhD, is the author of ten books and leads Sensory Logic, Inc. (https://www.sensorylogic.com). His latest two books are Blah Blah Blah: A Snarky Guide to Office Lingo and Emotionomics 2.0: The Emotional Dynamics Underlying Key Business Goals. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/dan-hills-eq-spotlight
Today I talked to Yael Schonbrun about her book Work, Parent, Thrive: 12 Science-Backed Strategies to Ditch Guilt, Manage Overwhelm, and Grow Connection (Shambala, 2022). The positive psychology movement and Buddhism have more than a little in common, as confirmed by Yael Schonbrun during this discussion of how to find synergy and richness in what might seem at times to be the utterly conflicting roles we play in life. Underlying this book’s twelve strategies is ACT (Acceptance and Commitment Therapy) with its emphasis on being in the moment, practicing acceptance, and diffusing (or unhooking) from perspectives that might be holding us back. Also of note in this discussion is the interplay between two core ingredients of happiness: meaningfulness and pleasure. To leverage those two ingredients while finding a way to move through learned helplessness (also known as emotional gridlock), listen is as Schonbrun offers advice derived from not only her academic readings but her real-life experiences with his patients, kids, larger family and friends alike. Yael Schonbrun is a clinical psychologist who specializes in treating relationships. She is also a cohost of the podcast Psychologists off the Clock, an assistant professor at Brown University, and a parent of three children. Dan Hill, PhD, is the author of ten books and leads Sensory Logic, Inc. (https://www.sensorylogic.com). His latest two books are Blah Blah Blah: A Snarky Guide to Office Lingo and Emotionomics 2.0: The Emotional Dynamics Underlying Key Business Goals. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/dan-hills-eq-spotlight
Behavioral science recognizes that human beings aren’t so much pro-active decision-makers as they are people seeking to take short-cuts and operate in default mode to save mental energy. This book covers a range of behavioral science principles and biases, applied in this case in terms of six emotional markets: a desire for Self-Expression, Exploration, Interpersonal (relationships), dedication to Causes and Nurturing, while also seeking Affirmation. In Using Behavioral Science in Marketing: Drive Customer Action and Loyalty by Prompting Instinctive Responses (Kogan Page, 2022), Nancy Harhut takes on the challenge of illustrating in each case one or two behavioral science principles that may fit best, providing examples to flesh out her rationale. Finally, the episode ends with an example of just how important Autonomy is as a human desire, as illustrated by what happened in an experiment involving an assisted living facility in Colorado. Tune in to learn what this experiment discovered! Nancy Harhut is Co-Founder and Chief Creative Officer at HBT Marketing, whose clients have included H&R Block, AARP, Four Seasons and TransAmerica. Prior to those roles, she served in senior creative positions at advertising agencies within the IPG and Publis networks. She’s been recognized as an Online Marketing Institute Top 40 Digital Strategist and Ad Club Top 100 Creative Influencer. Dan Hill, PhD, is the author of ten books and leads Sensory Logic, Inc. (https://www.sensorylogic.com). His latest two books are Blah Blah Blah: A Snarky Guide to Office Lingo and Emotionomics 2.0: The Emotional Dynamics Underlying Key Business Goals. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/dan-hills-eq-spotlight
Today I talked to Charlotte Fox Weber about her book Tell Me What You Want: A Therapist and Her Clients Explore Our 12 Deepest Desires (Atria Book, 2023). What we often want most is what we shouldn’t want or at least don’t dare admit to wanting. That’s but one point Charlotte Fox Weber is keen on exploring. Aren’t we always (especially in therapy, perhaps) like little kids still, playing games of (emotional) hide-and-seek? We long for attention, for ego gratification but also know it’s not “polite” to admit as much. This episode touches on a variety of topics, from a client named Alice who longs for the “darkness” that she finds more real than health, to at the end an exploration of Prince Harry’s travails with the Royal Family. In between, the episode touches on Weber’s favorite term from the book’s glossary: Sufferiority, a sense of pride and exceptionalism mixed with feelings of shame and inadequacy. Few guests are as free-form and intriguing as this one. Charlotte Fox Weber is a psychotherapist and writer. She cofounded Examined Life and was the founding head of the School of Life Psychotherapy. She grew up in Connecticut and Paris and now lives in London with her husband and two young children. Dan Hill, PhD, is the author of ten books and leads Sensory Logic, Inc. (https://www.sensorylogic.com). His latest two books are Blah Blah Blah: A Snarky Guide to Office Lingo and Emotionomics 2.0: The Emotional Dynamics Underlying Key Business Goals. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/dan-hills-eq-spotlight
In some ways, Hackman’s Emotional Labor: The Invisible Work Shaping Our Lives and How to Claim Our Power (Flatiron Books, 2023) serves as a natural update to Arlie Hochschild’s classic, The Managed Heart. After all, in public life it’s most often the women members of the service economy—in retail, in nursing, teaching, and elsewhere—who are asked to exercise emotional skills that often go undervalued and, therefore, also under-compensated. Hackman goes further, however, by also exploring the private realm where men rarely help to fully join in to aid the household, whether in the form of childrearing, aid to ailing parents, and the marriage itself. As Hackman adroitly points out, the situation becomes even worse for black households because 50% of black women have a loved one who is incarcerated. This episode also naturally turns to how men could and should get out of the “man box” of an emotionally destitute existence that is harming themselves and those around them. Rose Hackman is a British journalist who grew up largely in Belgium and now lives in Detroit. For The Guardian, she writes on issues involving gender, race, labor, policing, housing and the environment, with an eye to historically entrenches injustices. Dan Hill, PhD, is the author of ten books and leads Sensory Logic, Inc. (https://www.sensorylogic.com). His latest two books are Blah Blah Blah: A Snarky Guide to Office Lingo and Emotionomics 2.0: The Emotional Dynamics Underlying Key Business Goals. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/dan-hills-eq-spotlight
Today I talked to Mark Staff Brandl about his new book A Philosophy of Visual Metaphor in Contemporary Art (Bloomsbury, 2023). Brandl is an artist and art historian with a PhD from the University of Zurich. He is an Associate Professor of Art History Emeritus at the Art Academy of Liechtenstein and Higher Professional College for Art in St. Gallen, Switzerland. His work has been shown in galleries and museums in America, Europe, Egypt and elsewhere. Brandl is by his own admission an iconoclast, and somebody who mixes philosophical discourse with more polemical “rants” in advocating for creativity. For instance, as addressed in this episode Brandl does not hesitate to find fault with contemporary artists who take the “cheap out” of relying (too much) on irony, instead of sparking hope; and likewise with collectors of art who often function merely as speculators. Brandl’s approach honors Lakoff and Johnson’s seminar book, Metaphors We Live By, while applying their approach to the visual arts. A notable example is that for Brandl the artist Van Gogh can be thought of in terms of a passionate flame (the metaphor being, passion is hot), with cypress trees that can appear like candles in the way they’ve been painted. To understand how form and content intertwine in art, this episode offers a good jumping off point. Dan Hill, PhD, is the author of ten books and leads Sensory Logic, Inc. (https://www.sensorylogic.com). His latest two books are Blah Blah Blah: A Snarky Guide to Office Lingo and Emotionomics 2.0: The Emotional Dynamics Underlying Key Business Goals. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/dan-hills-eq-spotlight
Today I talked to Chris De Santis about his new book Why I Find You Irritating: Navigating Generational Friction at Work (Ampify, 2022).Soon, those who qualify as Millennials or part of Gen Z will constitute 70% of the workplace in America. What kinds of work environments and interactive styles will appeal or repel them most? Among the suggestions that Chris De Santis makes is to have a mentor or mentors with whom you feel an organic connection help you “interpret” your latest performance review. Why? The answer is that such reviews are by their very nature political documents, a set of opinions as more or more than they tend to be a helpful pathway forward in your career. Rather than numbers that deliver a series of grades, better would be comments or adjectives that serve as dialogue cues, as in you’re “good” at this and this, with both of those instances being ways in which you’re “lopsided” in favor of what you enjoy doing well and will be well-served to do more of. In this and other ways, the author’s goal as evidenced in this interview is to create a more democratic, more just work environment.Chris De Santis is an organizational behavior practitioner, speaker, podcaster, and author, working primarily with clients in professional services firms worldwide. Chris holds degrees from Notre Dame, the University of Denver, and Loyola University.Dan Hill, PhD, is the author of ten books and leads Sensory Logic, Inc. (https://www.sensorylogic.com). His newest book is Emotionomics 2.0: The Emotional Dynamics Underlying Key Business Goals. To check out his related “Dan Hill’s EQ Spotlight” blog, visit https://emotionswizard.com.Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoicesSupport our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/dan-hills-eq-spotlight
Today I talked to Victoria Grady about her book (co-authored with Patrick McCreesh) Stuck: How to WIN at Work by Understanding LOSS (Productivity Press, 2022) The attachment styles we form by eight months of age can endure our entire lives, with an appreciable impact on how we relate to both our boss and the physical environment at work. A case in point is the famous Peanuts character Linus Van Pelt, as he lugs around his “security blanket.” Grady has made the importance of connection her mission, whether it be leaders responsible for cultivating a healthy company culture or managers trying to engage and motivate their staffs. Victoria Grady is the academic director of the MSM Graduate Program and associate professor of Management/Organizational Behavior in the School of Business at George Mason University. She’s also a professor in residence for Forvis. Besides other previous books, Grady has written articles for publications like the Harvard Business Review and the Journal of Change Management. Dan Hill, PhD, is the author of ten books and leads Sensory Logic, Inc. (https://www.sensorylogic.com). His newest book is Emotionomics 2.0: The Emotional Dynamics Underlying Key Business Goals. To check out his related “Dan Hill’s EQ Spotlight” blog, visit https://emotionswizard.com. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/dan-hills-eq-spotlight
Today I talked to Richard Reeves about his important new book Of Boys and Men: Why the Modern Male Is Struggling, Why It Matters, and What to Do about It (Brookings Institution, 2022). The statistics are stunning. Men have a 9% lower graduation rate from college. One in three men without a completed high school education are now out of the workforce. About 40% of births take place outside of marriage (up from 11% in 1970). And men are 50% more likely to die from Covid-19 than women after contracting the virus. The long and short of it, while also advocating for full, real opportunities for women, short shrift is often being given to the problems men face. Neither ignoring the problem (the liberal choice, often) or suggesting we turn-back-the-clock to the 1950s (the conservative choice, often) will suffice. In this episode, Richard Reeves dares to propose some real solutions regarding education reforms, workplace opportunities, and pro-childrearing roles for all dads, married or otherwise. Richard Reeves is a senior fellow in economic studies at the Brookings Institution. He’s the author of the 2017 book Dream Hoarders and is also a regular contributor to The New York Times, Washington Post, Wall Street Journal, and The Atlantic. Dan Hill, PhD, is the author of ten books and leads Sensory Logic, Inc. (https://www.sensorylogic.com). His newest book is Emotionomics 2.0: The Emotional Dynamics Underlying Key Business Goals. To check out his related “Dan Hill’s EQ Spotlight” blog, visit https://emotionswizard.com. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/dan-hills-eq-spotlight
Today I talked to Jim Wilson about his book (co-authored with Paul Daugherty) Radically Human: How New Technology Is Transforming Business and Shaping Our Future (HBR Press, 2022). Technology has evolved from device intelligence to data intelligence (big data) to now the new stage of a more human-centric approach where the user/worker’s needs, wants and biases are being taken into account to make technology easier to deploy and more of an equal partner. That’s the progression Jim Wilson champions in this book and on-air conversation. Covid-19 ushered in not only a host of human behavior changes, e.g., hybrid work arrangements and the Great Resignation, the pandemic also spurred the Great Acceleration as companies rushed to adopt technology that will transform their business practices. How to do so in a way that will democratize technology, empowering employees and rewarding customers along the way, is the challenge that Wilson addresses here. After all, technology innovations that don’t also safeguard and enhance trust will instead create “algorithm aversion,” and undercut the promise of how technology can benefit companies, societies and individuals alike. Jim Wilson is the Managing Director of Thought Leadership & Technology Research at Accenture Research. Jim speaks to business audiences worldwide, is a long-time contributor to the Harvard Business Review and has been cited as one of the top 50 Business Innovators by CODEX. Dan Hill, PhD, is the author of ten books and leads Sensory Logic, Inc. (https://www.sensorylogic.com). His newest book is Emotionomics 2.0: The Emotional Dynamics Underlying Key Business Goals. To check out his related “Dan Hill’s EQ Spotlight” blog, visit https://emotionswizard.com. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/dan-hills-eq-spotlight
Today I talked to David Livermore about his book Digital, Diverse & Divided: How to Talk to Racists, Compete with Robots, and Overcome Polarization (Berrett-Koehler, 2022). While the author argues that cultural intelligence (CQ) begins where EQ leaves off, in truth key attributes of EQ like understanding another person’s motivations and figuring out how to address them matter in both cases. Nowadays the challenge of connecting well only becomes harder, of course, given how social media means we often occupy echo chambers that merely reinforce what we already know and believe, as opposed to achieving a better understanding of how a person from a different place, or of a different race, gender, faith or political persuasion might see the matter at hand. This episode delves into how organizations must live up to their espoused values, plus instances where that fails to happen and what the corrective steps might be. David Livermore is the president and cofounder of the Cultural Intelligence Center in East Lansing, Michigan, and a research fellow at Nanyang Technological University in Singapore. He’s held a variety of leadership positions in nonprofit organizations around the world and taught at numerous universities in addition to being a speaker and advisor to Fortune 500 companies and governments in over 100 countries. Dan Hill, PhD, is the author of ten books and leads Sensory Logic, Inc. (https://www.sensorylogic.com). His newest book is Emotionomics 2.0: The Emotional Dynamics Underlying Key Business Goals. To check out his related “Dan Hill’s EQ Spotlight” blog, visit https://emotionswizard.com. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/dan-hills-eq-spotlight
Today I talked to Jamie Fahey about his book Futsal: The Indoor Game That Is Revolutionizing World Soccer (Melville House, 2021). Some 60 million people player futsal worldwide, as this five-a-side version of football (soccer) is both a fast-moving, highly-entertaining sport in its own right as well as a breeding ground for great footballers on the world stage. Played on a field somewhere between the size of a basketball and handball court, futsal is a game with “no time, no space,” requiring mental agility from those who play. As this week’s guest also notes, the equivalent would be football played with 37-a-side. As for the coaching duties involved, well, with as many as 80 substitutions a game versus the two allowed in football matches, getting the most out of your players means empowering them to make decisions on the field in real time. If by analogy, soccer is lumbering corporate bureaucracy, then futsal is five entrepreneurs in action. Jamie Fahey is a Guardian journalist with over 20 years of experience on several U.K. national newspapers. Consumed by football (soccer) and futsal since his childhood in Liverpool, Jamie has played semi-professionally and been a coach. He’s the Guardian’s primary futsal reporter, and a previously played a coach-mentor role in the English Football Association (FA). Dan Hill, PhD, is the author of ten books and leads Sensory Logic, Inc. (https://www.sensorylogic.com). His newest book is Emotionomics 2.0: The Emotional Dynamics Underlying Key Business Goals. To check out his related “Dan Hill’s EQ Spotlight” blog, visit https://emotionswizard.com. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/dan-hills-eq-spotlight
Today I talked to Eric Posner about his book How Antitrust Failed Workers (Oxford UP, 2021). When anti-trust cases are brought forward, typically they involve monopolies exercising undue power in regards to products or services. Rarely do labor issues get the same treatment. Reasons vary from the previous power of unions, to the expense and risk of going to trial, to whether the potential for unfair, uncompetitive practices get scrutinized at all. Posner points in this episode to why the laws may need strengthening. Issues include stagnant wages, and the use and abuse of non-poaching, non-complete and arbitration clauses in the contracts that workers sign. Add in the practice of gig workers and rising inequality issues related to household wealth, and you can’t find a more timely topic than this one. Eric Posner is a professor of Law at the University of Chicago. He’s currently on leave and working for the Anti-Trust Division of the U.S. Justice Department. (Note that his views do not necessarily reflect those of the Justice Department.) Two previous books by Posner were each separately chosen as a book of the year in 2018, one by The Economist and the other by The Financial Times. Dan Hill, PhD, is the author of ten books and leads Sensory Logic, Inc. (https://www.sensorylogic.com). His newest book is Emotionomics 2.0: The Emotional Dynamics Underlying Key Business Goals. To check out his related “Dan Hill’s EQ Spotlight” blog, visit https://emotionswizard.com. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/dan-hills-eq-spotlight
Today I talked to John List about his book The Voltage Effect: How to Make Good Ideas Great and Great Ideas Scale (Currency, 2022). Want to go on an exuberant, incisive ride through why so many initiatives flounder and how, conversely, you can increase the odds of success? Then listening to John List will be for you. List takes us through his favorite, highly relevant behavior economic principles: loss aversion, confirmation bias and framing among them. Then this episode digs into why 50 to 90% of initiatives fail to scale. List emphasizes the role that false positives and unscalable ingredients play. As to the secrets of building out an idea, knowing when to quit stands out for reasons worth listening in for. Finally, the importance of scaling a company’s culture explains why the gladiatorial culture at Uber wasn’t sustainable at scale. John List is a professor of economics at both the University of Chicago and the Australian National University. After being the chief economist at Uber and Lyft, he now holds that role at Walmart. He’s also previously been on the Council of Economic Advisers for The White House. Dan Hill, PhD, is the author of ten books and leads Sensory Logic, Inc. (https://www.sensorylogic.com). His newest book is Emotionomics 2.0: The Emotional Dynamics Underlying Key Business Goals. To check out his related “Dan Hill’s EQ Spotlight” blog, visit https://emotionswizard.com. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/dan-hills-eq-spotlight
Andrea Karnes' book Women Painting Women (Delmonico Books, 2022) documents a wide-ranging exhibit inclusive of women as both the makers and subjects of paintings. The artists hail from around the world, and over the past half-century. Our conversation took several directions. One was to discuss the power of the gaze; who’s looking, who’s being seen, and the poses evident more a matter of self-agency or passivity. Another angle was the body itself, with these female images being more realistic and often far less glamorous than commercial popular culture allows for. Third, what subject matter tropes are being overturned – from Christianity to pornography, and points in between. As the exhibit strived to accomplish, there should be something here for everyone – women especially. Andrea Karnes is the Chief Curator at the Modern Art Museum of forth Worth. She joined the museum as a receptionist in 1989 and has risen through the ranks into her current role, where she has served as the curator for over 40 shows that mostly focus on female artists. Dan Hill, PhD, is the author of ten books and leads Sensory Logic, Inc. (https://www.sensorylogic.com). His newest book is Emotionomics 2.0: The Emotional Dynamics Underlying Key Business Goals. To check out his related “Dan Hill’s EQ Spotlight” blog, visit https://emotionswizard.com. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/dan-hills-eq-spotlight
Today I talked to Melina Palmer about her book What Your Customer Wants and Can’t Tell You: Unlocking Consumer Decisions with the Science of Behavioral Economics (Mango, 2021) Once you realize that the average person makes 35,000 decisions a day, it makes total sense that habits drive 95% of our behavior. Otherwise, we’d become paralyzed with analysis paralysis in trying to choose what to do next. As Melina Palmer fully recognizes, behavioral economic principles help to unlock the mystery of why people do things that seem so confounding. How could it be, for instance, that giving the gift of two mints with your check in the restaurant can lead to a 14% increase in the average tip for the waiter? Well, gratitude—the principle of reciprocity—weighs in. From the difference between satisfaction and delight to what the peak/end rule can make a small business more prosper if used well, this is both a fun and meaningful episode. Melina Palmer is the founder and CEO of the Brainy Business and hosts the podcast by that same name. She received a Masters in behavior economics from the Chicago School of Professional Psychology, teaches at the Texas A&M Human Behavior Lab, and writes a column for Inc. magazine. Dan Hill, PhD, is the author of ten books and leads Sensory Logic, Inc. (https://www.sensorylogic.com). His newest book is Emotionomics 2.0: The Emotional Dynamics Underlying Key Business Goals. To check out his related “Dan Hill’s EQ Spotlight” blog, visit https://emotionswizard.com. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/dan-hills-eq-spotlight
Today I talked to Alenka Triplat about Profit from the Source: Transforming Your Business by Putting Suppliers at the Core (HBR Press, 2022). Want to know the challenges bedeviling NATO as it seeks to arm Ukraine? This week’s guest is as good a source as any given how much the combination of Covid-19 and the war in Ukraine have put the focus on procurement. An area normally the “corporate equivalent of being sent to Siberia” (to quote this book) has now moved front-and-center. Triplat and the other three colleagues at BCG who collaborated on Profit from the Source emphasize the need not just to save costs, but to optimize the innovation process together. Right now the average CEO spends no more than about 5% of his or her time on the procurement process. And yet often over 50% of a company’s expenditures involve suppliers. As such, clearly a realignment of priorities is long overdue. Alenka Triplat is a partner and managing director at the Boston Consulting Group, based in BCG’s Vienna office. She advises global leaders in the high-tech, defense, and industrial goods sectors. Dan Hill, PhD, is the author of nine books and leads Sensory Logic, Inc. (https://www.sensorylogic.com). His new book is Blah, Blah, Blah: A Snarky Guide to Office Lingo. To check out his related “Dan Hill’s EQ Spotlight” blog, visit https://emotionswizard.com. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/dan-hills-eq-spotlight
Today I talked to Greg Hoffman about his new book Emotion By Design: Creative Leadership Lessons from a Life at Nike (Twelve, 2022). For this week’s guest Greg Hoffman, the characteristics of empathy and curiosity are central to everything from finding your place in the world, to connecting with others, and building a brand that exhibits a true sense of purpose by empowering people to realize their potential. Along the way, this episode explores both the value and limits of data-driven marketing takes on the central role of smartphones today, and goes back into Hoffman’s own backstory as a mixed-race child growing up in a nearly all-white suburb of Minneapolis. In art and sports, Hoffman found his way forward. Greg Hoffman is a global brand leader, advisor, speaker, and former Nike Chief Marketing Office. He’s now the founder and principal of the brand advisory group Modern Arena as well as a branding instructor at the University of Oregon’s Lundquist School of Business and a member of the Board of Trustees at the Minneapolis College of Art and Design (MCAD). Dan Hill, PhD, is the author of nine books and leads Sensory Logic, Inc. (https://www.sensorylogic.com). His new book is Blah, Blah, Blah: A Snarky Guide to Office Lingo. To check out his related “Dan Hill’s EQ Spotlight” blog, visit https://emotionswizard.com. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/dan-hills-eq-spotlight
Today I talked to Ximena Vengoechea about Listen Like You Mean It: Reclaiming the Lost Art of True Connection (Portfolio, 2021). What’s your default listening mode? Are you perhaps a pivoter, a distractor, a withdrawer, an explorer or, like today’s guest, an innate problem-solver trying to find a solution to whatever is troubling the person you’re having a conversation with? Three different kinds of difficult conversations get covered here: 1) an imbalance-of-power conversation between a boss and a subordinate; 2) a competitive-conversation between divorced parents navigating childcare; and 3) a regressive-conversation where an elderly parent and child can easily fall into roles they played years ago. In each case, Ximena Vengoechea offers sound, sympathetic advice on how to steer clear of the usual pitfalls. Ximena Vengoechea is a user researcher, writer, and illustrator whose work on personal and professional development has been published in Inc., The Washington Post, Newsweek, Fast Company, and elsewhere. Her career has included positions at Pinterest, LinkedIn, and Twitter. Dan Hill, PhD, is the author of nine books and leads Sensory Logic, Inc. (https://www.sensorylogic.com). His new book is Blah, Blah, Blah: A Snarky Guide to Office Lingo. To check out his related “Dan Hill’s EQ Spotlight” blog, visit https://emotionswizard.com. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/dan-hills-eq-spotlight
Today I talked to Richard Chataway about his book The Behaviour Business: How to Apply Behavioural Science for Business Success (Harriman House, 2020). Ever seen the TED talk video on Youtube where Capuchin monkeys get enraged when some receive cucumbers and other monkeys more delicious grapes for completing the same task? Welcome to the inequality basis, whereby a lack of fairness drives all of us crazy. Whether it’s a matter of employees getting different pay for the same job, or consumers feeling like some people get better deals than others, feelings of injustice or disappointment or pride---you name it—drive our behavior. How often is what people say and how they feel and behave identical? Not especially, says my guest this week. Indeed, Richard Chataway would estimate that verbal input might at best get you 50% of the way to understanding how somebody might behave in actuality. Other topics covered in this episode include why inspiring disgust helped an anti-smoking campaign do so well and how Hilton Hotels leveraged the use of the Big Five personality model to increase clicks and shares online. Richard Chataway is the CEO of BVA Nudge Consulting UK and the founder of the Communication Science Group. Clients have included: Lloyds Banking Group, Google, and IKEA. He’s also a former board member of the Association of Business Psychology in the UK. Dan Hill, PhD, is the author of nine books and leads Sensory Logic, Inc. (https://www.sensorylogic.com). His new book is Blah, Blah, Blah: A Snarky Guide to Office Lingo. To check out his related “Dan Hill’s EQ Spotlight” blog, visit https://emotionswizard.com. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/dan-hills-eq-spotlight
Today I talked to Mike Errico about his new book Music, Lyrics, and Life: A Field Guide for the Advancing Songwriter (Backbeat Books, 2022). Brain teasers invite you; brain embarrassers are songs you can’t get a handle on readily enough, causing listeners to give up. That is but one of the many fine distinctions Mike Errico makes in this engaging, whimsical-and-yet-serious book about the art of crafting songs. This episode spans a range from what constitutes a mission song (which lay out the story of the artist, e.g. Bruce Springsteen’s wanderlust), to what kind of flavor gets created depending on whether the melody starts on, before or after the downbeat. Melodies that start on the downbeat feel authoritative (think “Yesterday”). Melodies that start before the downbeat feel urgent, with the singer taking control (think “She Loves You”). And those that follow the downbeat feel conversational (think “All You Need Is Love”). Want to know about the Four Quadrants of Trust? Then give his episode a listen. Mike Errico is a New York-based record artist, writer, and lecturing professor at universities including Yale, Wesleyan, and NYU. Besides international touring, Mike has had his opinions and insights appear in the New York Times, the Wall Street Journal, Fast Company, and elsewhere. Dan Hill, PhD, is the author of nine books and leads Sensory Logic, Inc. (https://www.sensorylogic.com). His new book is Blah, Blah, Blah: A Snarky Guide to Office Lingo. To check out his related “Dan Hill’s EQ Spotlight” blog, visit https://emotionswizard.com. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/dan-hills-eq-spotlight
Today I talked to Morris Altman about his book Worker Satisfaction and Economic Performance (Routledge, 2021). What sometimes gets overlooked is that Adam Smith not only became the “father of capitalism” by writing The Wealth of Nations; he also wrote The Theory of Moral Sentiments. Empathy matters, and this week’s guest Morris Altman argues that sustainable capitalism practices fairness. Too often the basic, economic needs of rank-and-file workers are being overlooked in a global economic where the wealthy are calling the shots. From anti-immigrant rhetoric to events in Ukraine, this is a timely episode that puts the purported move from shareholder capitalism to stakeholder capitalism under the lens for skeptical examination. Want more engaged workers? Make them more truly empowered, and the beneficiaries of reciprocity whereby their input is acted on and rewarded alike. Morris Altman is the Dean of the University of Dundee’s School of Business. He’s published over 130 referred papers and 17 books. He’s also held academic posts at the University of Saskatchewan, Victoria University, Newcastle University, and at Hebrew University, Stanford, Cornell and Duke. Dan Hill, PhD, is the author of nine books and leads Sensory Logic, Inc. (https://www.sensorylogic.com). His new book is Blah, Blah, Blah: A Snarky Guide to Office Lingo. To check out his related “Dan Hill’s EQ Spotlight” blog, visit https://emotionswizard.com. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/dan-hills-eq-spotlight
Today I talked to Zarak Khan and Laurel Newman about their book Building Behavioral Science in an Organization (Action Design Press, 2021). As an academic discipline, behavioral science is as the book’s introduction states, an umbrella term that includes social psychology, behavioral economics, and sociology among other fields. As applied in business and government, for instance, behavioral science is often a matter of creating small “nudges” in designing changes to human behavior in hopes of achieving buy-in rather than resistance from those who are wedded to the status quo. Khan and Newman, who co-edited and contributed to this book, are candid about the challenges involved. They are also faithfully committed as professionals to achieving real innovations and transformational advances whenever feasible. In particular, this episode focuses on a pair of behavioral science applications: in HR and in promoting innovation. Zarak Khan is a Senior Behavioral Researcher at Duke University’s Center for Advanced Hindsight, as well as a Behavioral Science Fellow at the University of Pennsylvania and a board member of Action Design Network. Lauren Newman is a behavioral scientist at Edward Jones, and a former psychology professor at Fontbonne University. Dan Hill, PhD, is the author of nine books and leads Sensory Logic, Inc. (https://www.sensorylogic.com). His new book is Blah, Blah, Blah: A Snarky Guide to Office Lingo. To check out his related “Dan Hill’s EQ Spotlight” blog, visit https://emotionswizard.com. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/dan-hills-eq-spotlight
Today I talked to Belinda Gannaway, co-author (with Emma Bridger) about her book Employee Experience by Design: How to Create an Effective EX for Competitive Advantage (Kogan Page, 2021). Covid-19 has drastically changed the workplace, causing “essential workers” to contemplate what they essentially want from their jobs over and above decent pay and benefits. High on such a list of priorities is gaining greater autonomy, an opportunity to learn and to achieve a sense of purpose on the job. Cast aside as my guest this week indicates are myths that the employee experience (EX) is about perks, that HR “owns it” alone, that attracting and retaining employees covers the bases so far as EX is concerned, and that EX applies only to privileged, high-end employees working remotely as opposed to on the frontlines or in warehouses. No, EX can’t wait because EX is happening everyday – whether in good, bad or ugly ways. Hear Belinda Gannaway talk about the need to democratize the workplace and you’re sure to come away impressed by her commitment and knowledge. Belinda Gannaway is a director at the employee experience consultancy Fathom XP. Her fascination with organizational culture began when she was a journalist working in the U.K. Houses of Parliament. Dan Hill, PhD, is the author of nine books and leads Sensory Logic, Inc. (https://www.sensorylogic.com). His new book is Blah, Blah, Blah: A Snarky Guide to Office Lingo. To check out his related “Dan Hill’s EQ Spotlight” blog, visit https://emotionswizard.com. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/dan-hills-eq-spotlight
Today I talked to Mark L. Sirower about his book (co-authored with Jeff Weirens) The Synergy Solution: How Companies Win the Mergers and Acquisitions Game (HBP, 2022). First impressions really do matter, and the M&A deals that receive a positive reaction on Announcement Day tend to outperform, over time, those deals where due diligence wasn’t practiced up front. Indeed, as this episode’s guest, Mark Sirower, notes, in two-thirds of cases a negative initial reception is a sign that the deal will never gain momentum. What leads to success? Among the key elements is focusing on the employee experience. Smart companies get “ahead of the pain” by acknowledging that workers have moved from the highest rung of Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs (self-realization) to fearing for their material well-being, their security, i.e., the lowest, most basic rung of the ladder. In short, at a time of vast, globalized M&A deal-making, EQ has never been more important as companies navigate the emotional earthquake most employees are going to experience. Mark L. Sirower is a leader in Deloitte’s M&A and Restructuring practice and was, previously, a global M&A leader at the Boston Consulting Group. He teaches M&A at the NYU Stern School of Business and has also authored The Synergy Trap. Dan Hill, PhD, is the author of nine books and leads Sensory Logic, Inc. (https://www.sensorylogic.com). His new book is Blah, Blah, Blah: A Snarky Guide to Office Lingo. To check out his related “Dan Hill’s EQ Spotlight” blog, visit https://emotionswizard.com. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/dan-hills-eq-spotlight
Today I talked to DDS Dobson-Smith about You Can Be Yourself Here: Your Pocket Guide to Creating Inclusive Workplaces by Using the Psychology of Belonging (Lioncrest, 2022). While the episode’s title wasn’t directly addressed during my conversation with DDS, the answer can be found in his remark prior to taping: namely, the Great Resignation is really the Great Self-Realization. In other words, employees are realizing what matters to them and are changing jobs and careers to better align with their own values and desire to be themselves on the job. What’s standing in the way? Too often, the answer is executives who implore employees to change while not really wanting to take a candid look at their own assumptions. Besides acknowledging that dynamic, DDS is forthright about how employee resource groups work best when their groups’ leaders can financially compensated for what proves to be work over and above their official call of duty. From a variety of angles, this episode is about inspiring greater empathy in the workplace. DDS Dobson-Smith is the founder of the executive coaching consultancy Soul Trained and was certified as an Executive Coach by the Oxford School of Coaching and Mentoring. Prior to founding Soul Trained, he held senior roles at Marks & Spencer, Eurostar International, Sony Music Entertainment, and the world’s largest advertising agency, WPP. Dan Hill, PhD, is the author of nine books and leads Sensory Logic, Inc. (https://www.sensorylogic.com). His new book is Blah, Blah, Blah: A Snarky Guide to Office Lingo. To check out his related “Dan Hill’s EQ Spotlight” blog, visit https://emotionswizard.com. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/dan-hills-eq-spotlight
Today I talked to Mohammad F. Anwar and Frank Danna about their book Love as a Business Strategy: Resilience, Belonging & Success (Lioncrest, 2021). Rarely will executives leave themselves vulnerable by sharing what they did wrong in managing people, which in turn led them to take corrective actions. Mohammad Anwar is that rare exception, even going so far as to share on the air his “infamous refrigerator email” where he tore into employees for leaves a “disgusting” mess in the company’s breakroom refrigerator. How to create a psychologically safe place to work is the underlying theme of this episode, which ranges from answering why new hires at Softway always start on a Friday to explaining, a little, about how giving “spot raises” have superseded the previous “fish market” system of dickering for pay increases as part of annual performance reviews. Mohammad F. Anwar is the founder and CEO of Softway, a business-to-employee solutions company that helps build high-performing companies. Frank Danna is a Director at Softway. Dan Hill, PhD, is the author of nine books and leads Sensory Logic, Inc. (https://www.sensorylogic.com). His new book is Blah, Blah, Blah: A Snarky Guide to Office Lingo. To check out his related “Dan Hill’s EQ Spotlight” blog, visit https://emotionswizard.com. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/dan-hills-eq-spotlight
Today I talked to Roberta Moore, author of Emotion at Work: Unleashing the Secret Power of Emotional Intelligence (Conscious Choice, 2018). Much like methodologies that focus on a range of personality traits, the approach taken by today’s guest looks at 16 different skills grouped into five categories. Those categories are self-perception, self-expression, interpersonal, decision-making, and stress management. Which are you best at? Where might you falter? Compare your answers to those Moore shares from two decades of work with clients in leadership roles across a range of industries. One notable client: a high-powered art dealer whose ability to handle stress is challenged anytime a “cargo” of Van Goghs, for instance, run the risk of going unguarded on the tarmac when the flight schedules change! Roberta Ann Moore is a business executive and licensed therapist, certified in Dr. Reuven Bar-On’s model of emotional intelligence. She provides assessments, training and developing using the EQ-I 2.0 and EQ 360 programs as a framework. Dan Hill, PhD, is the author of nine books and leads Sensory Logic, Inc. (https://www.sensorylogic.com). His new book is Blah, Blah, Blah: A Snarky Guide to Office Lingo. To check out his related “Dan Hill’s EQ Spotlight” blog, visit https://emotionswizard.com. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/dan-hills-eq-spotlight
Today I talked to Clint Pulver about his new book I Love It Here: How Great Leaders Create Organizations Their People Never Want to Leave (Page Two, 2021). If you’ve ever completed an annual employee survey by filling-in-the-bubbles, this episode is for you. Clint Pulver’s approach to knowing what employees are thinking (and feeling) has been to pose as if he’s a job seeker at that company or organization so he can catch the “vibe” in an anonymous, candid conversation with his would-be colleagues. Why is the Great Resignation happening? Clint suggests it’s because workers remember how they were treated when Covid-19 first struck (indifferently) and that a Great Rethinking of careers prompted the Great Resignation. Learn as well about Clint’s perspective on managers, and why the ideal type, the mentor manager, is premised on earned trust and being an advocate for those on staff. Clint Pulver is an Emmy award-wining speaker, aka the Undercover Millennial, and also a musician, pilot, and workforce expert whose specialty is employee retention. As a professional drummer, he’s appeared in feature films and on America’s Got Talent. Dan Hill, PhD, is the author of nine books and leads Sensory Logic, Inc. (https://www.sensorylogic.com). His new book is Blah, Blah, Blah: A Snarky Guide to Office Lingo. To check out his related “Dan Hill’s EQ Spotlight” blog, visit https://emotionswizard.com. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/dan-hills-eq-spotlight
Today I talked to Lindsey Pollak about her book Recalculating: Navigate Your Career Through the Changing World of Work (HarperCollins, 2021). How can envy be a positive catalyst for changing your career? Why is curiosity so vital? (Hint: it’s been said that “Learning is the new pension.”) These are among the topics, and emotions, covered in this episode that runs the gamut from getting hired to managing both your boss and your personal brand. Along the way, this episode delves into what kinds of emotions one might feel at every stage in one’s career. While fear is likely during the job search, and a mixture of happiness, pride and relief on starting the new job, it’s important as well not to let shame keep you from getting the credit you deserve for a job well done. After all, as Pollak notes performance is table stakes, and vital to success. But so is burnishing your image and getting exposure. A job well done that isn’t noticed won’t advance your fortunes. Lindsey Pollak is the New York Times bestselling author of three previous books and was named to the 2020 Thinkers50 Radar List of global management thinkers. Her consulting and keynote speaking clients have included over 250 various corporations, law firms, and universities. Dan Hill, PhD, is the author of nine books and leads Sensory Logic, Inc. (https://www.sensorylogic.com). His new book is Blah, Blah, Blah: A Snarky Guide to Office Lingo. To check out his related “Dan Hill’s EQ Spotlight” blog, visit https://emotionswizard.com. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/dan-hills-eq-spotlight
Today I talked to Mike Robbins about his new book We're All in This Together: Creating a Team Culture of High Performance, Trust, and Belonging (Hay House, 2020). COVID-19 has spurred two major issues for companies in general, and often their HR departments in particular: remote/hybrid work, and retention given the Great Resignation as workers leave companies to find workplaces that better align with their values and dreams. This week’s guest, Tim Robbins, is intimately familiar with both of those challenges as well as the topic of DEI (Diversity/Equity/Inclusion) in the aftermath of George Floyd’s death and so many others in recent years. Long-term, Robbins has also addressed EQ, employee burn-out, mental health, and how best to handle teamwork and conflict over his 20+ year career. Binding it all together is an approach outlined in this episode, which involves the four pillars of providing psychological safety, inclusivity, constructive “sweaty-palm” conversations (to resolve conflict) and a caring approach. Mike Robbins is the author of four previous books. He’s a speaker, consultant, and thought leader whose clients have included Google, Wells Fargo, Microsoft, Gap, and the Oakland A’s. Besides being a regular contributor to Forbes, his work has been featured in The Harvard Business Review, The New York Times, Fast Company, the Wall Street Journal, and NPR. Dan Hill, PhD, is the author of nine books and leads Sensory Logic, Inc. (https://www.sensorylogic.com). His new book is Blah, Blah, Blah: A Snarky Guide to Office Lingo. To check out his related “Dan Hill’s EQ Spotlight” blog, visit https://emotionswizard.com. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/dan-hills-eq-spotlight
Today I talked to Gautham Pallapa about his new book Leading with Empathy: Understanding the Needs of Today's Workforce (John Wiley and Sons, 2021). The World Health Organization’s director-general has called Covid-19 more traumatic than World War Two. Add in other issues like racism, sexism, and inequality and there’s never been a more important moment for leaders to step up and be more empathetic. What are the limiting beliefs that may hinder their ability to be so? As my guest observes, too often being the “strong silent type” with a kind of militaristic mindset means these leaders may practice cognition empathy, but rather progress beyond it to emotional and compassionate empathy. What do those two versions entail? Not merely seeing the other person’s point of view, but going on to form a real connection, feeling the other person’s pain points and doing something to reduce them. In this episode, the emphasis is on creating psychological safety so employees can collaborate and innovate in meaningful ways that create not just a better work/life balance, but a work/soul balance as it were. Gautham Pallapa, PhD, is the founder of Transformity and an executive advisor at VMware. Gautham was born in Bangalore, India and received his PhD from the University of Texas, Arlington. Dan Hill, PhD, is the author of nine books and leads Sensory Logic, Inc. (https://www.sensorylogic.com). His new book is Blah, Blah, Blah: A Snarky Guide to Office Lingo. To check out his related “Dan Hill’s EQ Spotlight” blog, visit https://emotionswizard.com. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/dan-hills-eq-spotlight
Today I talked to Daniel H. Pink about his new book The Power of Regret: How Looking Backward Moves Us Forward (Riverhead Books, 2022). After the emotion of love, regret is the second most common emotion people report feeling. Regret is therefore our single most common negative emotion, and yet an emotion that we can benefit from. In this episode, the celebrated author Daniel H. Pink explains that what we regret also serves as a compass pointing us toward what we value most and want to get right in our lives. What did Pink learn from his global survey that catalogued over 16,000 regrets? That they fit into four categories: connection regrets, boldness regrets, foundation regrets, and moral regrets. From the goals of love, learning, stability, to being lovable, these regrets compel us to be better by ideally reflecting, rather than brooding, over what might have been better. One fun or at least intriguing take-away from this episode: you can hear about Pink’s own Regret Resume, i.e., the two take-away lessons that reflecting on his regrets taught him first and foremost. Daniel H. Pink is the author of the New York Times bestsellers A Whole New Mind, Drive, To Sell Is Human, and When. His books have sold millions of copies and have been translated into 42 languages. His TED talk has been viewed over 38 million times. Daniel hosted the TV series Crowd Control on the National Geographic Channel. Dan Hill, PhD, is the author of nine books and leads Sensory Logic, Inc. (https://www.sensorylogic.com). His new book is Blah, Blah, Blah: A Snarky Guide to Office Lingo. To check out his related “Dan Hill’s EQ Spotlight” blog, visit https://emotionswizard.com.Today I talked to Daniel H. Pink about his new book The Power of Regret: How Looking Backward Moves Us Forward (Riverhead Books, 2022). Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/dan-hills-eq-spotlight
Today I talked to Carl Rhodes about his book Woke Capitalism: How Corporate Morality is Sabotaging Democracy (Policy Press, 2021). When Milton Friedman published Capitalism and Freedom in 1962, whose freedom was he referring to? When you know the answer is corporations, you can begin to understand both what neoliberalism was all about and why today Woke Capitalism may not be so much a harbinger of socialism as it is a way to distract the conversation from real economic reforms. That’s indeed the take of Carl Rhodes, whose book explores the plutocracy that America and otherwise democratic countries are at risk of becoming if they haven’t gotten there already. Abraham Lincoln’s Gettysburg Address famously included the pledge that government “of the people, by the people, and for the people” shall not perish. Rhodes is warning, in effect, that the world of George Orwell’s Animal Farm in which some pigs are more equal than others may be now dangerously closer to the truth. Carl Rhodes is Professor of Organization Studies at the University of Technology Sydney. There he researches the ethical and democratic dimensions of business and work. Carl regularly writes for the mainstream and independent press alike on issues related to ethics, policy, and the economy. Dan Hill, PhD, is the author of nine books and leads Sensory Logic, Inc. (https://www.sensorylogic.com). His new book is Blah, Blah, Blah: A Snarky Guide to Office Lingo. To check out his related “Dan Hill’s EQ Spotlight” blog, visit https://emotionswizard.com. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/dan-hills-eq-spotlight
Today I talked to Shameen Prashantham about his book Gorillas Can Dance: Lessons from Microsoft and Other Corporations on Partnering with Startups (Wiley, 2021). In a nutshell, the distrust that must be overcome in business partnerships involving large companies and startups consists of Will they screw up? versus Will they screw us over? In other words, corporations harbor concerns about the competency and reliability of their startup partners. In turn, entrepreneurs worry that they will be taken advantage of, with their I.P. being co-opted or outright stolen. To establish trust rather than fear isn’t easy, as Dr. Prashantham acknowledges in this episode. A lot of stress can only be resolved by establishing how the partnership is a true win-win. At the same time, the person at the “bridge” on the corporation’s side must be at once an advocate, a diplomat and mentor, spanning boundaries within the corporation to bring multiple business units on-board to ensure the collaboration can succeed. All this and more gets covered in this episode, which concludes by exploring how the answer to what’s the “next China” may actually be China outside of its largest, showcase cities. Dr. Shameen Prasantham is Professor of International Business & Strategy and Associate Dean (MBA) at China Europe International Business School (CEIBS) in Shanghai, China. His academic specialty is business partnerships that contribute to sustainable development goals. Dan Hill, PhD, is the author of nine books and leads Sensory Logic, Inc. (https://www.sensorylogic.com). His new book is Blah, Blah, Blah: A Snarky Guide to Office Lingo. To check out his related “Dan Hill’s EQ Spotlight” blog, visit https://emotionswizard.com. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/dan-hills-eq-spotlight
Today I talked to Martin Wells about his new book No One Playing: The Essence of Mindfulness in Golf and in Life (John Hunt, 2022). As Martin Wells explains, to imagine you’re in control, on a golf course or otherwise in life, is downright “absurd.” It’s not that you “get into the zone”; instead, the zone finds you. In those and other ways, this delightful book and author both honor golf as a sport and find much more in playing this game that offers us insights into human nature and behavior. Want to know which emotions may help you putt better? Why there’s a thin line between humility and humiliation? Want to hear about the saga that has been Tiger Woods’ career? Then this episode is for you. Addition highlights include a discussion of Jean Van de Velde’s epic 1999 Open Championship meltdown, along with the wisdom of Bobby Jones’ observation that “The length of a golf course is five inches—the space between your ears.” Martin Wells has worked as a psychotherapist in the National Health Services (NHS) for over 30 years. He lives in Bristol, England, and at age 70 is still a single figure handicap golfer. He’s also played senior amateur and semi-professional soccer for nearly 20 years. Dan Hill, PhD, is the author of nine books and leads Sensory Logic, Inc. (https://www.sensorylogic.com). His new book is Blah, Blah, Blah: A Snarky Guide to Office Lingo. To check out his related “Dan Hill’s EQ Spotlight” blog, visit https://emotionswizard.com. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/dan-hills-eq-spotlight
Today I talked to Leonard Mdlodinow about his new book Emotional: How Feelings Shape Our Thinking (Pantheon, 2022). "On or around December 1910, human character changed,” Virginia Woolf memorably wrote, citing the rise of Modernism. Take things ahead a century, and Leonard Mdlodinow is making a similarly striking statement that advances in how neuroscientists can trace the connectivity of neurons has led to another striking advancement in intellectual life since approximately 2010. From the 1980s until that date, psychologists and neuroscientists were both appreciating and refining the concept of emotions as inherited from Charles Darwin. Since then, what emotions are and how they operate has undergone a conceptual revolution. This episode follows Mlodinow’s guidance as he outlines how scientists today focus on emotions as functional agents, thoroughly emmeshed in how we selectively perceive and adapt to the circumstances we find ourselves in. One tangible example of the revolution: now we know that childhood can literally change our DNA as we react and adjust to emotionally-laden experiences that leave their emotional fingerprint on us all. Leonard Mlodinow received his PhD in theoretical physics from the University of California, Berkeley, was a fellow at the Max Planck Institute, and has been on the faculty at CalTech. His previous, award-winning books include two written with Stephen Hawking, and another written with Deepak Chopra. Dan Hill, PhD, is the author of nine books and leads Sensory Logic, Inc. (https://www.sensorylogic.com). His new book is Blah, Blah, Blah: A Snarky Guide to Office Lingo. To check out his related “Dan Hill’s EQ Spotlight” blog, visit https://emotionswizard.com. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/dan-hills-eq-spotlight
Today I talked to Ben M. Bensaou about his new Built to Innovate: Essential Practices to Wire Innovation into Your Company’s DNA (McGraw Hill, 2021). This episode could have just as easily been called “The Democratization of innovation.” After all, the fundamental thrust of this book and our conversation was about moving innovation beyond the “usual suspects,” i.e., executives and the R & D Department, and spreading innovation opportunities throughout companies and organizations. Most promising of all for soliciting input is actually likely to be front-line employees, for instance, who know best the frustrations and disappointments of customers. In truth, every employee and every department should be given a chance to innovate, with current and potential customers, distributors, and other business allies invited into the mix as well. Where might resistance emerge to such an expansive view of the innovation process? The answer would be middle managers, who are focused on executing the current business model. To win them over, it may be necessary to combine coaching about the importance and means of innovating with incentives. Why? Because as the saying goes, “It’s not that people see the light so much as they feel the heat.” Ben Bensaou is a professor and former Dean of Executive Education at INSEA. He’s also been a visiting professor at the Harvard Business School, a research fellow at the Wharton School of Management, and a visiting scholar at the Haas School of Business at UC Berkeley. Dan Hill, PhD, is the author of nine books and leads Sensory Logic, Inc. (https://www.sensorylogic.com). His new book is Blah, Blah, Blah: A Snarky Guide to Office Lingo. To check out his related “Dan Hill’s EQ Spotlight” blog, visit https://emotionswizard.com. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/dan-hills-eq-spotlight
Today I talked to Minal Bopaiah about her new book Equity: How to Design Organizations Where Everyone Thrives (Berrett-Koehler, 2021). Remember the Marlboro Man? Of course you do, as he symbolizes the myth of rugged individualism. Minal Bopaiah is here to suggest that the idea of the “making it on your own” is and has always been a myth. There’s always a social context, which favors one group more than another. It’s not that individual efforts aren’t valid; it’s just that the story is always more complicated, and there are those in positions of power eager to camouflage the degree to which the “game” is tilted by factors involving gender, race, and other factors. Many aspects of this book and discussion are unique when it comes to Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI). This episode explores the world of non-profits, where “doing good” has aspects to it that should welcome reform. At the same time, how about the 19% of the population that have a disability? Rarely do they get addressed as part of what DEI initiatives should entail. Minal Bopaiah is among the most impassioned, incisive guests the show has had on. Give her a listen! Minal Bopaiah is the founder of Brevity & Wit, a strategy and design firm focused on DEI initiatives. She’s written for the Stanford Social Innovation Review and TheHill.com an author, among other activities and career accomplishments. Dan Hill, PhD, is the author of nine books and leads Sensory Logic, Inc. (https://www.sensorylogic.com). His new book is Blah, Blah, Blah: A Snarky Guide to Office Lingo. To check out his related “Dan Hill’s EQ Spotlight” blog, visit https://emotionswizard.com. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/dan-hills-eq-spotlight
Today I talked to Colleen Ammerman about her new book (co-authored with Boris Groysberg) Glass Half Broken: Shattering the Barriers That Still Hold Women Back at Work (HBR Press, 2021). The statistics are annoying, exasperating: choose your adjective. The proportion of female CEOs struggles to break 10%. On Fortune 500 boards, only about 0% of the seats are held by women. The problems with achieving gender fairness go on and on. Fortunately, my guest Colleen Ammerman covers many potentially solid ways of addressing the injustices still present. They include not tolerating bad behavior from “rainmakers”—even to the point of disallowing severance pay or other benefit if terminated due to sexual misconduct. Declining invitations to events that don’t prioritize gender diversity among speakers is another avenue of applying some pressure for change. From job interviews being structured before, to ensuring mentors are available, Ammerman offers a wealth of ideas. For anybody who wants to witness both structural changes and cultural changes within companies, this episode is well worth a listen. Colleen Ammerman, the director of the Harvard Business School Gender Initiative. She’s also a researcher with Life and Leadership After HBS. Dan Hill, PhD, is the author of nine books and leads Sensory Logic, Inc. (https://www.sensorylogic.com). His new book is Blah, Blah, Blah: A Snarky Guide to Office Lingo. To check out his related “Dan Hill’s EQ Spotlight” blog, visit https://emotionswizard.com. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/dan-hills-eq-spotlight
Today I talked to Pamela Slim about her new book The Widest Net: Unlock Untapped Markets and Discover New Customers Right in Front of You (McGraw Hill, 2021). Almost all the new jobs created in America come from small businesses, Pamela Slim reports. The precise number may be as high as over 99%. And those same businesses provide over 50% of the nation’s GDP. So why not focus more on them? Slim does so by being expansive. Her focus includes Native American, Black, Latinx, Asian, disabled and LGBTQ entrepreneurs. How can they find their niches, then expand them? Who’s their ideal customer? What challenges or problems does a company’s branded offer solve? What kind of partners can one find? What kind of eco-system of “watering holes” allows one to join a greater community and thrive together? What do cohort-based courses like Wes Kao and Seth Godin’s altMBA program look like? If taking a business partner, what pitfalls to be on guard against? Those are among the topics this episode explores. Pamela Slim is an author, community builder, business coach, and former director of Training and Development at Barclays Global Investors. Among her accomplishments is partnering with author Susan Cain to build and launch The Quiet Revolution. Among her books is Escape from Cubicle Nation: From Corporate Prisoner to Thriving Entrepreneur. Dan Hill, PhD, is the author of nine books and leads Sensory Logic, Inc. (https://www.sensorylogic.com). His new book is Blah, Blah, Blah: A Snarky Guide to Office Lingo. To check out his related “Dan Hill’s EQ Spotlight” blog, visit https://emotionswizard.com. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/dan-hills-eq-spotlight
Today I talked to Nathalie Nahai new book Values, Uncertainty and the Psychology of Brand Resilience (Kogan Page, 2022) David Brooks once joked that in the end the “revolution” promised us by the Baby Boomers amounted to nothing much more than the founding of Whole Foods. What will Millennials bring us? Already it seems that the answer is a workforce and consumer-citizens for whom the values they want to live by and be known for on social media will be paramount. Why is that the case? As Nathalie Nahai argues, a primary reason is the looming environmental disaster of global warming. The stakes are high, and the result is that nothing can be taken for granted. With trust being the emotion of business, today’s agile, atomized and antagonized workplace wants more justice: for women, for blacks, for everyone who feels like the mantra of “profit with purpose” at least helps to offset, a little, the raging economic inequality of today’s economy. From cancel-culture to woke-washing, this is a hugely timely episode. Nathalie Nahai is an acclaimed international speaker, author, and consultant, with clients ranging from Google to Unilever, Accenture and beyond. Dan Hill, PhD, is the author of nine books and leads Sensory Logic, Inc. (https://www.sensorylogic.com). His new book is Blah, Blah, Blah: A Snarky Guide to Office Lingo. To check out his related “Dan Hill’s EQ Spotlight” blog, visit https://emotionswizard.com. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/dan-hills-eq-spotlight
Today I talked to Sarah and Larry Nannery about their new book What to Say Next: Successful Communication in Work, Life, and Love with Autism Spectrum Disorder (Tiller Press, 2021). What’s it like to live a life where there’s a time delay as you process what others are saying, what it might mean, and how you feel in response? Sarah Nannery knows that experience intimately, gaining in ability over the years to navigate everything from office politics to her personal life more adeptly given her ASD Brain. As a “neurotypical brain” person, her husband Larry Nannery adds his “two-cents” perspective here in terms of observing and helping Sarah and himself navigate their experiences together. Highlights of this conversation include: what internalization means to Sarah in coping with being “bottled up inside” more than perhaps most people, and how one makes a “conversational sandwich” as a way of handling small talk when it looms large as a challenge. Sarah Nannery is the director of development for Autism Initiatives at Drexel University. Larry Nannery is a technology consultant who focuses on organizational change and life-coaching. Dan Hill, PhD, is the author of nine books and leads Sensory Logic, Inc. (https://www.sensorylogic.com). His new book is Blah, Blah, Blah: A Snarky Guide to Office Lingo. To check out his related “Dan Hill’s EQ Spotlight” blog, visit https://emotionswizard.com. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/dan-hills-eq-spotlight
Today I talked to Thom Hartmann about his new book The Hidden History of American Healthcare: Why Sickness Bankrupts You and Makes Others Insanely Rich (Berrett-Koehler, 2021). To hear Thom Hartmann tell it, the battle over whether healthcare should be seen as a right or a privilege has two phases in American history. From the 1880’s to the 1980’s the idea of universal American healthcare was opposed due to racist bias, i.e., to provide it would favor aiding African-Americans, too. Then from the Reagan Revolution to today, greed has taken over because the current system favors industry insiders benefitting while the average American pays more for less than is true elsewhere in the so-called Developed World. Get ready for plenty of surprises here, starting with the fact that the debate about healthcare got launched by three Germans: Karl Marx, Otto von Bismarck, and a person named Frederick Ludwig Hoffman. Never heard of the third guy? Well, at a time when Prudential Insurance was the biggest player in its sector Hoffman provided the platform for denying the healthcare that Bismarck had decided was a way to counter the appeal of Marxism. Thom Hartmann is a four-time winner of the Project Censored Award, a New York Times bestselling authority of 32 books, and America’s #1 progressive talk radio show host. Dan Hill, PhD, is the author of nine books and leads Sensory Logic, Inc. (https://www.sensorylogic.com). His new book is Blah, Blah, Blah: A Snarky Guide to Office Politics. To check out his related “Dan Hill’s EQ Spotlight” blog, visit https://emotionswizard.com. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/dan-hills-eq-spotlight
Today I talked to Jamie Mustard about his new book The Iconist: The Art and Science of Standing Out (BenBella Books, 2019). Ever feel like you’re “screaming” to be heard but in a world saturated by social media messages, et cetera, your “messages” are falling on deaf ears? If so, Jamie Mustard has a solution to propose. In short, you need to follow the Primal Laws of Attention. In essence, that means be bigger, brighter, and bolder than ever before in history to break through the clutter. In greater detail, those laws entail steps like the following: use repetition, deliver an emotional jolt by addressing the audience’s primary emotional concern, and practice transparency that establishes your authenticity. Most of all, engage in radical simplicity. If what you are saying can’t be readily understand, forget it. Then to back up that radical simplicity, the “shaft” behind that arrowhead of simplicity is sufficient information to make the messaging worthwhile. All of that—and more—delivered by Mustard in an impassioned episode. Jamie Mustard is a London School of Economic graduate; he’s also an artist, filmmaker, consultant, and a leading authority on branding, art, design, and media perception. Dan Hill, PhD, is the author of nine books and leads Sensory Logic, Inc. (https://www.sensorylogic.com). His new book is Blah, Blah, Blah: A Snarky Guide to Office Politics. To check out his related “Dan Hill’s EQ Spotlight” blog, visit https://emotionswizard.com. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/dan-hills-eq-spotlight
Today I talked to David Avrin about his new book Why Customers Leave (And How to Win Them Back) (Career Press, 2019). There are three central themes to this book: immediacy (customers want instant gratification), individuality (offer flexible, customized assistance) and humanity (show interest and concern for those you are assisting). Of them, as David Avrin notes in this pleasing, semi-rant of an interview, immediacy should be the easiest for companies to act on. Unfortunately, automation is paradoxically making immediacy often harder to achieve. Other ironies worth noting from Avrin’s perspective include: companies trying to head off negative off-line reviews with surveys that don’t bring about change; and front-line employees who can figure out quicker than their managers what could and should be improved on. If upgrades don’t happen, what’s the solution? Run an exercise where employees are encouraged to formulate plans on how a competitor could undercut the company they currently work for by making the changes they detect would be beneficial. That move—or threat--would get management’s attention if nothing else will! David Avrin is a highly popular speaker and consultant on the topics of the customer experience as well as on marketing. He’s a former CEO group leader and speaker for Vistage International. This is his third book, following It’s Not Who You Know, It’s Who Knows You and Visibility Marketing. Dan Hill, PhD, is the author of nine books and leads Sensory Logic, Inc. (https://www.sensorylogic.com). His new book is Blah, Blah, Blah: A Snarky Guide to Office Politics. To check out his related “Dan Hill’s EQ Spotlight” blog, visit https://emotionswizard.com. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/dan-hills-eq-spotlight
Today I talked to Christine Kane about her book The Soul Sourced Entrepreneur: An Unconventional Success Plan for the Highly Creative, Secretly Sensitive & Wildly Ambitious (BenBella, 2020). Sick of the frequent images of entrepreneurs as machismo, take-no-prisoner, Rambo-like action figures? Look no farther than this episode, in which Christine Kane admits that bulimia was her first business mentor as she had to learn to deal with her 10-year battle with binging and purging to fit an idealistic body image that wasn’t rooted in reality. One demon conquered gave her the fortitude to, first, enter the music industry on her own terms, and then in turn help thousands of (often female) fans become entrepreneurs on their own terms by offering advice. In a phrase from Kane’s book, Soft is Hard because the “human” or soul part of business is at least as important as focusing on strategy. The soft part IS hard, and yet it allows you to stretch and grow as a person and businessperson alike. If ready for some authentic, honest perspective, Christine Kane is a natural choice. Christine Kane is the founder of Uplevel You, a multimillion-dollar business coaching company, which evolved from her 15-year career as a touring singer-songwriter with her own record label. Both businesses were built without any investors. Dan Hill, PhD, is the author of nine books and leads Sensory Logic, Inc. (https://www.sensorylogic.com). His new book is Blah, Blah, Blah: A Snarky Guide to Office Politics. To check out his related “Dan Hill’s EQ Spotlight” blog, visit https://emotionswizard.com. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/dan-hills-eq-spotlight
Today I talked to April Rinne about her new book Flux: 8 Superpowers for Thriving in Constant Change (Berrett-Koehler, 2021) What’s your relationship to change? Do you embrace it, filled with hope for the future? Or are you somebody who’s more cautious, even worried about what change might portend? In this episode, April Rinne offers advice based on her 8 rules for navigating change more adroitly. Part of her advice has to do with slowing down, setting a sustainable pace to avoid burnout in ever more demanding careers. But there’s more. How may higher education change, including MBA programs, in a world where more of more of us will be part of the Gig Economy? And within companies, how can leaders create trust when inequality in pay between executives and rank-and-files members threaten even the possibility of a “we” identity? Listen in for Rinne’s unique perspective. April Rinne is one of the 50 leading female futurists in the world, a Young Global Leader at the World Economic Forum and a Fulbright Scholar. She’s also traveled to over 100 countries as part of having a front-row seat to a world in flux. Dan Hill, PhD, is the author of nine books and leads Sensory Logic, Inc. (https://www.sensorylogic.com). His new book is Blah, Blah, Blah: A Snarky Guide to Office Politics. To check out his related “Dan Hill’s EQ Spotlight” blog, visit https://emotionswizard.com. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/dan-hills-eq-spotlight
Today I talked to Nika Kabiri about her new book Money off the Table: Decision Science and the Secret to Smarter Investing (Houndstooth Press, 2020). Adam Smith not only helped to create the field of economics; the guy was also a moral philosopher who readily accepted the role of emotions in decision-making. How surprised he might have been to discover that it took decades upon decades for the field to come back to accepting the role that emotions and biases play in decision-making! My guest this week, Nika Kabiri, has no such blind spot. She knows that the Confirmation Bias is among the most important factors to weigh in helping her clients. Along the way, this conversation takes in the movie The Big Short and Jerome Powell and what may lay ahead for the economy. Five types of investors are also discussed, from the more-is-better investor to the what-has-always-worked investor. Like not to be poor? This episode is therefore worth a listen. Nika Kabiri teaches Decision Science at the University of Washington, and is the founder and owner of Kabiri Consulting LLC, where she uses Decision Science to help businesses grow. Dan Hill, PhD, is the author of nine books and leads Sensory Logic, Inc. (https://www.sensorylogic.com). His new book is Blah, Blah, Blah: A Snarky Guide to Office Politics. To check out his related “Dan Hill’s EQ Spotlight” blog, visit https://emotionswizard.com. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/dan-hills-eq-spotlight
Today I talked to Michele Wucker about her new book You Are What You Risk: The New Art and Science of Navigating an Uncertain World (Pegasus Books, 2021) Your risk fingerprint is a mixture of how personality traits, experiences, and social context have shaped how you approach risk and uncertainty in life. Also crucial is your risk empathy and the degree to which you are risk-savvy, both of which value reading your environment in analyzing the risk you and others face and how people are coping with unknowns. This episode explore risk in terms of a variety of situations and segments of the population. Are millennials risk-averse or risk savvy? Why are white male who are risk-takers people who tend to trust institutions and be anti-egalitarian? How should companies approach mergers and acquisitions when the two companies have very different risk cultures? And finally, which professions tend to be the most prone to over-confidence? In every case, “it depends” is a fair answer but by no means all that you will hear on these and other topics. Michele Wucker has been honored as a Young Global Leader of the World Economic Forum and a Guggenheim Fellow. Her third book, The Gray Rhino, inspired a popular TED talk and has influenced world markets, government policy and business strategies. Dan Hill, PhD, is the author of nine books and leads Sensory Logic, Inc. (https://www.sensorylogic.com). His new book is Blah, Blah, Blah: A Snarky Guide to Office Politics. To check out his related “Dan Hill’s EQ Spotlight” blog, visit https://emotionswizard.com. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/dan-hills-eq-spotlight
Today I talked to Adam Kahane about his new book Facilitating Breakthrough: How to Remove Obstacles, Bridge Differences, and Move Forward Together (Berrett-Koehler, 2021). You’re helping South Africa make the transition from apartheid to democracy under Nelson Mandela. You’re helping end a half-century civil war in Columbia. You’re working with the First Nations in Canada. That’s a small part of the scope that Adam Kahane has been involved in over the recent decades. It’s meaningful, enlightened work that recognizes that the two typical modes of reaching “agreements” don’t yield optimal results. The vertical approach leads to rigidity and domination by ultimately shutting down dissent. The collegial, horizontal approach can lead to fragmentation and gridlock. What’s the new, third way forward? For Kahane, that means doing what Martin Luther King, Jr. did and looking for inspiration in the work of the German existential theologian Paul Tillich. Love offers unity, power the opportunity for self-realization, and justice looks to ensure that power bring equity for all. If ever you’ve had to work out disagreements to resolve a conflict, this episode is for you. Adam Kahane is the director of Reos Partners, an international social enterprise that helps people move forward together on their most important and intractable issues. Dan Hill, PhD, is the author of nine books and leads Sensory Logic, Inc. (https://www.sensorylogic.com). His new book is Blah, Blah, Blah: A Snarky Guide to Office Politics. To check out his related “Dan Hill’s EQ Spotlight” blog, visit https://emotionswizard.com. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/dan-hills-eq-spotlight
Today I talked to Sue Unerman about her new book, co-authored with Kathryn Jacob and Mark Edwards, Belonging: The Key to Transforming and Maintaining Diversity, Inclusions and Equality at Work (Bloomsbury, 2020). How is it that $8 billion a year gets thrown at diversity training and yet next-to-nothing changes? One person who isn’t giving up is Sue Unerman, who along with her co-authors Kathryn Jacob and Mark Edwards favors a full-court press of changes in order to improve the degree to which women get represented in the ranks of senior management at companies. From how meetings are run, to how teams are built, and of course who gets promoted and receives how much in compensation, the scope of this episode is broad. A particular focus is detrimental “banter” that’s hardly as light-hearted as it’s made out to be. Add to that the Glass Slipper problem of people trying to fit into a culture that should, instead, be blown wide-open and allow all types, and you’ve got a feel for how Unerman is urging reforms. Sue Unerman is the Chief Transformation Office at MediaCom, the largest media agency in the UK with over 200 clients. Along with Kathryn Jacob, she is also the co-author of The Glass Wall. Dan Hill, PhD, is the author of nine books and leads Sensory Logic, Inc. (https://www.sensorylogic.com). His new book is Blah, Blah, Blah: A Snarky Guide to Office Politics. To check out his related “Dan Hill’s EQ Spotlight” blog, visit https://emotionswizard.com. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/dan-hills-eq-spotlight
Today I talked to Jackie Fast about her new book Rule Breaker: Rebellious Leadership for the Future of Work (Kogan Page, 2021). Imagine finding yourself in a career sector, sponsorship, because it’s the way to get a visa and stay in England. Well, that’s what happened to Jackie Fast. And as things turned out, she was very good at sponsorship work. In a few years her ability to put two brands together for a campaign, or more, a kind of temporary Merger and Acquisition, meant she was spending time doing work for Richard Branson on an island he owns in the Caribbean. From the vantage point of her highly successful, entrepreneurial career, what strikes Fast is, indeed, how fast the world is changing. Few if any older executives will manage the transition, she believes, to a world where the internet has democratized big business and where Millennials and Gen Z members favor a values-based approach that puts meaningful work you enjoy front and center in their career aspirations. Jackie Fast is the founder of the venture capital firm Sandbox Studios, which invests in celebrity-owned brands and has worked with The Rolling Stones, Red Bull, Zoom, Formula One, Virgin, Allianz and Universal Music among others. Dan Hill, PhD, is the author of nine books and leads Sensory Logic, Inc. (https://www.sensorylogic.com). His new book is Blah, Blah, Blah: A Snarky Guide to Office Politics. To check out his related “Dan Hill’s EQ Spotlight” blog, visit https://emotionswizard.com. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/dan-hills-eq-spotlight
Today I talked to Soo Bong Peer about her new book The Essential Diversity Mindset: How to Cultivate a More Inclusive Culture and Environment (Career Press, 2021) In 1967, bans on interracial marriages were finally declared unconstitutional in America. Only a decade earlier than that, merely 4% of Americans endorsed them. Today, the figure is 87% approval. So clearly, progress has been made in a country whose citizens are often multiracial as well as in interracial marriages and relationships. How can the momentum to accepting people as they are and not by dividing us based on race, gender and sexual orientation be reignited in these divisive times? Soo Bong Peer’s suggestions are of both a personal and systemic nature, ranging from practicing greater empathy to having leaders seek to be more open to dialogue with employees with distinctly different perspectives and experiences from theirs. One idea, inspired by this book: to cite Roger Ebert, movies “are like a machine that generates empathy.” So instead of movie night at home or lecture-style, lunch-’n-learn sessions at company headquarters, maybe movies-at-lunch should become a Friday feature! Soo Bong Peer is a strategy consultant and executive coach for Fortune 500 companies. The daughter of a prominent South Korean general and ambassador to Mexico, she has lived in multiple countries, including the U.S. for the past 50 years. Dan Hill, PhD, is the author of nine books and leads Sensory Logic, Inc. (https://www.sensorylogic.com). His new book is Blah, Blah, Blah: A Snarky Guide to Office Politics. To check out his related “Dan Hill’s EQ Spotlight” blog, visit https://emotionswizard.com. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/dan-hills-eq-spotlight
Today I talked to Martin Reeves and Jack Fuller about their new book The Imagination Machine: How to Spark New Ideas and Create Your Company’s Future (Harvard Business Review Press, 2021). Since the 1990s, the fade rate (i.e., the inability of companies to stay out ahead of their closest rivals) has gone from sustaining a lead on average for 10 years to now merely a single year. So focusing on offer innovation alone won’t suffice. A company that will survive and thrive must re-imagine really every aspect of the company’s culture and operations to succeed. That move requires an open mind and an inquisitive spirit not averse to surprise but, instead, welcoming of them. Who better than these two authors to take on that task? Reeves is in his own words a “failed” musician and biologist turned businessperson, and Fuller likewise prefers to go “inside” people and organizations to understand how their minds and even their very “souls” perform. This is an episode devoted, in short, to how can a company re-humanize itself in an age when converging forces requires a wholesale change. Martin Reeves is a Senior Partner and Managing Director at BCG, i.e., the Boston Consulting Group. He’s also the Chairman of the BCG Henderson Institute, BCG’s internal think tank. Jack Fuller is a former special project manager at the BCG Henderson Institute, and the founder of Casati Health, a company that reimagines mental and physical health. He’s a Rhodes Scholar with a background that combines neuroscience and philosophical theology. Dan Hill, PhD, is the author of nine books and leads Sensory Logic, Inc. (https://www.sensorylogic.com). His new book is Blah, Blah, Blah: A Snarky Guide to Office Politics. To check out his related “Dan Hill’s EQ Spotlight” blog, visit https://emotionswizard.com. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/dan-hills-eq-spotlight
Today I talked to Maya Hu-Chan about her new book Saving Face: How to Preserve Dignity and Build Trust (Berrett-Koehler Publishers, 2020) There are so many sayings that involve the face, but perhaps none is more central to at least Asian culture than “saving face.” That’s because it represents retaining one’s dignity versus being embarrassed or humiliated in front of others. In truth, though, everyone wants nothing more than to be appreciated, as the psychologist William James recognized long ago. In this episode, Maya Hu-Chan puts “faces” into a business context for listeners. In a meeting between Western versus Eastern executives, for instance, how will a long silence be handled? Odds are usually that it’s the Americans who will jump in first, breaking the silence. Given more than 20 years of international business experience, Hu-Chan takes listeners through why regional, company and individual personality differences matter so much. Are you a high-context or low-context person? It’s time to find out by taking in this episode that involves the platinum rule, i.e., treating others they way they wanted to be treated. Maya Hu-Chan is the founder and president of Global Leadership Associates and the co-author of Global Leadership: The Next Generation. She’s trained and coached leaders from Fortune 500 companies to non-profits around the world. Dan Hill, PhD, is the author of nine books and leads Sensory Logic, Inc. (https://www.sensorylogic.com). His new book is Blah, Blah, Blah: A Snarky Guide to Office Politics. To check out his related “Dan Hill’s EQ Spotlight” blog, visit https://emotionswizard.com. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/dan-hills-eq-spotlight
Today I talked to Eileen McDargh about her new book Burnout to Breakthrough: Building Resilience to Refuel, Recharge, and Reclaim What Matters (Berrett-Koehler, 2020). What’s another way to frame both living-in-the-moment and respecting colleagues at work: seeing them as human beings as opposed to merely humans doing. That’s but one indication of the energy Eileen brings to this episode. The emphasis here is on shifting from a sense of being without resources – mental, physical, emotional, and otherwise—to finding energy through refocusing on what matters most right then. People need a sense of connectivity to ward off loneliness, and to take stock of their situation without devolving into what Eileen calls “red-ant thinking”: looking for what’s wrong. As Eileen notes, it might sound trivial to take five minutes per staff member in an introductory meeting to share something about yourself, visually. But doing so builds togetherness that will later empower results. To try to stay in your head all the time simply isn’t sustainable, nor productive. Eileen McDargh is the CEO (Chief Energy Officer) at the Resiliency Group. In 2019, Global Gurus International ranked her first among the World’s Top 30 Communication Professionals. She’s also been elected into the CPAE Speaker Hall of Fame, placing her among the top 3% of speakers in America. Dan Hill, PhD, is the author of nine books and leads Sensory Logic, Inc. (https://www.sensorylogic.com). His new book is Blah, Blah, Blah: A Snarky Guide to Office Politics. To check out his related “Dan Hill’s EQ Spotlight” blog, visit https://emotionswizard.com. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/dan-hills-eq-spotlight
Today I talked to Angelica Malin about her new book She Made It: The Toolkit for Female Founders in the Digital Age (Kogan Page, 2021). Female entrepreneurs don’t tend to receive the same funding assistance as do their male counterparts, but in turn they have the advantage of often connecting more effectively with their target markets. It’s their soft skills, in effect, that can see them through observes Angelica Malin. Plus one should never forget the power of having a greater purpose, a sense of mission by, for instance, by addressing a need that other, often male entrepreneurs may overlook. This guest has no fear of public speaking, whatsoever – and it shows. This is a very engaging episode as Angelica gives crisp, lively answers to questions like: why it helps to be personal and quirky in addressing journalists, how Instagram has changed in recent years, and how Taylor Swift helped make She Made It possible. Angelica Malin is the Editor-in-Chief of About Time Magazine and the U.K.’s rising voice for championing women founders and entrepreneurs. She’s appeared on the BBC News and LBC Business Hour and has been featured in The Telegraph, Forbes, and Real Business. Dan Hill, PhD, is the author of nine books and leads Sensory Logic, Inc. (https://www.sensorylogic.com). His new book is Blah, Blah, Blah: A Snarky Guide to Office Politics. To check out his related “Dan Hill’s EQ Spotlight” blog, visit https://emotionswizard.com. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/dan-hills-eq-spotlight
Today I talked to Ann Latham about her new book The Power of Clarity: Unleash the True Potential of Workplace Productivity, Confidence, and Empowerment (Bloomsbury, 2021). On the factory floor, the processes have been honed for efficiency. Enter the company’s headquarters, however, and the office functions in a way that brings to mind two of Anne’s favorite terms: “kitchen sink syndrome” and “hand-me-down ambiguity.” In other words, things move slowly and endless reviews and overthinking or failing to think at all are the two modes that seem to predominate in the workplace. What’s the solution? Recognize that meetings need to make a difference to justify the 25% or more of people’s workdays that they swallow up. Who should be there? Those who can, should and will actually input on the decision to be made, and those who can authorize the decision. Everybody else, not so much. For anybody who can’t stand the quagmire at work, Ann’s your person. Ann Latham has consulted for major global companies like Boeing and Medtronic, as well as Public Television, and she’s the author of two other books: The Clarity Papers and Uncommon Meetings. She’s been interviewed by The New York times, Bloomberg Business Week, and Forbes, where she’s also an expert blogger. Dan Hill, PhD, is the author of nine books and leads Sensory Logic, Inc. (https://www.sensorylogic.com). His new book is Blah, Blah, Blah: A Snarky Guide to Office Politics. To check out his related “Dan Hill’s EQ Spotlight” blog, visit https://emotionswizard.com. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/dan-hills-eq-spotlight
Ella L. J. Bell Smith and Stella M. Nkomo, Our Separate Ways: Black and White Women and the Struggle for Professional Identity (Harvard Business Press, 2021) Ella Bell Smith is a professor of business administration at the Tuck School of Business. She’s also the founder and president of ASCENT: Leading Multicultural Women to the Top. Stella M. Nkomo is a professor in the Department of Human Resource Management at the University of Pretoria. She was the founding president of the Africa Academy of Management. A “glass ceiling” that holds women back from attaining the top levels of management within a company is a familiar term. But how about a “cement wall”? That’s how these two authors describe the struggle that confronts women of color and often African-American women particularly as they try to rise through the ranks. What black women must deal with is often a lack of both visibility and authority. This episode explores why it is that so little progress has been made so far in the 21st century. While white female professionals now occupy about 1/3rd of all management roles (still not enough), black women’s share amounts to 4%. How can diversity be realized more organically, rather than through a series of lectures that likely won’t “move the needle”? Listen to this episode to find out. Dan Hill, PhD, is the author of nine books and leads Sensory Logic, Inc. (https://www.sensorylogic.com). His new book is Blah, Blah, Blah: A Snarky Guide to Office Politics. To check out his related “Dan Hill’s EQ Spotlight” blog, visit https://emotionswizard.com. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/dan-hills-eq-spotlight
Today I talked to Jonathan Brill about his new book Rogue Waves: Future-Proof Your Business to Survive and Profit from Radical Change (McGraw-Hill Education, 2021) There are ten big trends that Brill identifies as disrupting business now and into the future. Each is a wave of change onto self, but the intersection of many of them contributes to forming monster waves that threaten to drown companies not open to rapid, successive adaptations. What are the avoidable causes of failure? What kind of executive will do best? (Hint: it’s not those too full of pride.) From automation and artificial intelligence to Sherlock Holmes and abductive reasoning, this episode has a little of everything, as befits a world in turmoil. Hard to resist a book with this wonderful quote from Anais Nin: “We don’t see things as they are, we see them as we are.” It’s human fallacies, especially the confirmation bias, that so often limits our ability to adapt. Jonathan Brill is the former Global Futurist and Research Director for HP, a board member and advisor to the Chairman at Frost & Sullivan, and the Futurist-in-Residence at Territory Studio. He’s been a consultant to numerous companies and the managing partner at innovation firms that generated over $27 billion in new revenue for customers. Dan Hill, PhD, is the author of eight books and leads Sensory Logic, Inc. (https://www.sensorylogic.com). To check out his related “Dan Hill’s EQ Spotlight” blog, visit https://emotionswizard.com. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/dan-hills-eq-spotlight
Today I talked to David Birch about his new book Pandora's Book: 401 Philosophical Questions to Help You Lose Your Mind (with Answers) (Iff Books, 2021). We were joined by Fred Matser, author of Beyond Us: A Humanitarian’s Perspective on Our Values, Beliefs and Way of Life (Iff Books, 2021) “Is perfume art?” That might not be the kind of philosophical inquiry you expect! Just a sign of how innovative David Birch’s book is as he explores both the usual seminal questions that philosophers have pondered through the ages, as well as questions his students would enjoy. As a result, this episode spans a range of topics from “Are you a stranger to yourself?” to “Is it possible to have dignified sex?” David’s rich answers propel the conversation here, but no more so than does Fred Matser’s own deliberations. Fred’s mission – to restore a sense of curiosity that doesn’t settle for living a life that privileges the intellect over how we experience the world through our senses and feelings. A fun, final question: “Which of these would you most like to excel in: strength, intelligence, kindness or beauty?” You have to listen to the episode to learn which option David and Fred, in turn, chose—plus the option favored by your host, when everyone laid-their-cards-on-the-table. David Birch teaches philosophy and religious studies at Highgate School in London and also works with the Philosophy Foundation. Fred Matser is the founder and chairman of the Fred Foundation and a leading Dutch humanitarian. Dan Hill, PhD, is the author of eight books and leads Sensory Logic, Inc. (https://www.sensorylogic.com). To check out his related “Dan Hill’s EQ Spotlight” blog, visit https://emotionswizard.com. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/dan-hills-eq-spotlight
Today I talked to BJ Fogg about his new book Tiny Habits: The Small Changes That Change Everything (Mariner Books, 2020). Yo-yo diets that come and go is one thing. What BJ Fogg is after is something different and greater altogether. The key formula is B = MAP (Behavior = Motivation & Ability & Prompts). Rather than trying to force a change of behavior that’s like trying to land an alien spaceship amid the landscape of your life, why not try for something more organic? That means you need to recognize habit(s) you want to change; realize that motivation is fickle, but ability is reliable if you start small regarding a habit you want to change. As for the prompt, those are the sensory signposts that should be embedded into routines you already have. In this episode, BJ Fogg takes you through the elegantly simple system he’s devised over the past 15 years and that has helped individuals and companies alike enact behavioral changes related to habits they want to shed or adopt. BJ Fogg founded the Behavior Design Lab at Stanford University. He teaches industry innovators and created the Tiny Habits Academy to help people around the world. He lives in Northern California and Maui. Dan Hill, PhD, is the author of eight books and leads Sensory Logic, Inc. (https://www.sensorylogic.com). To check out his related “Dan Hill’s EQ Spotlight” blog, visit https://emotionswizard.com. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/dan-hills-eq-spotlight
Retaining Freedom After Speech Today I talked to Jim Detert about his book Choosing Courage: The Everyday Guide to Being Brave at Work (Harvard Business Review Press, 2021) Jim Detert is the John L. Colley Professor of Business Administration at the University of Virginia’s Darden School of Business. He’s won multiple awards for his teaching and curriculum development at both UVA and Cornell University. The title of this episode comes from a quote cited in Detert’s book. A Nigerian journalist remarks that there is freedom of speech in his country. The question, however, is whether there is freedom after one makes a candid remark about the country’s leadership. Those in business can relate. The estimate is that merely 20% of people at companies feel as if they can speak honestly about the problems they encounter. Whether democracy will ever flower in the corporate ranks is doubtful. Nevertheless, Detert in this episode takes on practical solutions to better one’s odds of both offering honest, constructive feedback and surviving long enough to help make the recommended change happen. One tool is to create a Courage Ladder, identifying the successively more difficult rungs one wants to climb. Another is practicing how to employ advocacy and inquiry to reframe a current situation such that the other party will recognize why improvements are in order. Jim Detert is the John L. Colley Professor of Business Administration at the University of Virginia’s Darden School of Business. He’s won multiple awards for his teaching and curriculum development at both UVA and Cornell University. Dan Hill, PhD, is the author of eight books and leads Sensory Logic, Inc. (https://www.sensorylogic.com). To check out his related “Dan Hill’s EQ Spotlight” blog, visit https://emotionswizard.com. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/dan-hills-eq-spotlight
Today I talked Gordon Glenister about his new book Influencer Marketing Strategy: How to Create Successful Influencer Marketing (Kogan-Page, 2021) Gordon Glenister is the Global Head of Influencer Marketing for the Brand Content Marketing Association. He’s also the host of the Influence podcast, and was formerly the Director General of the British Promotional Merchandise Association for over a decade. Why are 77% of influencers female, and are so young (averaging 28 years of age)? Part of the answer may be that women rarely attract venture capitalist funding and yet are the majority of buyers in most categories. So they are close to the action of what’s going on commercially without being invited to partake. Their response has been to become, in effect, not only their own brands but their own media companies. In the process, they challenge and may replace to a degree both advertising agencies and traditional retailers as they help companies reach committed, niche audiences that aren’t necessarily small at all. This episode covers those topics, and more. The degree to which trust has leached from companies and moved over to more authentic influencers is one key. Another is that companies would be wise to consider employees as brand advocates, i.e. internally-based influencers in their own right. Dan Hill, PhD, is the author of eight books and leads Sensory Logic, Inc. (https://www.sensorylogic.com). To check out his related “Dan Hill’s EQ Spotlight” blog, visit https://emotionswizard.com. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/dan-hills-eq-spotlight
Today I talked to Gorick Ng about his new book The Unspoken Rules: Secrets to Starting Your Career Off Right (HBR, 2021). This book takes you through one’s career, from getting hired and oriented to trying to gain promotions. The interview follows a similar path, emphasizing how to get along with colleagues and one’s boss most of all. The “north star” of Ng’s advice gleaned from interviewing 500 people across professions and roles is to demonstrate competence (ability), commitment (excitement) and compatibility (pleasant to be around). Get the 3-C’s model right, and you can avoid coming across as too overbearing or threatening as you form work connections, figure out what’s missing and needs to be addressed in a meeting, and how to resolve conflicts. Speaking of conflicts, is a conflict deep down mostly about the people involved, the position one holds, or is it about the place? If the latter, then maybe it’s time to move on to another organization instead. Gorick Ng is a career adviser at Harvard College, specializing in coaching first-generation, low-income students. He’s also managed new employees at Boston Consulting Group and worked in investment banking at Credit Suisse. His work has been featured on “The Today Show,” and in The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, and elsewhere. Every Harvard Business School student received a copy of Ng’s book this past year to aid their careers. Dan Hill, PhD, is the author of eight books and leads Sensory Logic, Inc. (https://www.sensorylogic.com). To check out his related “Dan Hill’s EQ Spotlight” blog, visit https://emotionswizard.com. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/dan-hills-eq-spotlight
Today I talked to Chester Elton, coauthor of Anxiety at Work: 8 Strategies to Help Teams Build Resilience, Handle Uncertainty, and Get Stuff Done (Harper Business, 2021). During my interview with Elton, the theme was really about the importance of creating a sense of psychological safety for employees, with gratitude being the other key in terms of providing social support. As to specific solution, quelling uncertainty, signaling that perfectionism can be harmful, and that a philosophy that less can be more when it comes to curbing burn-out were all keys. So too is normalizing conversations about anxiety on the job because, right now, 90% of workers don’t feel like this crucial topic is something they can discuss with their boss. Finally, employees can manage to be resilient more easily when these three motivators are in place: a job role that enables making an impact, ongoing learning, and doesn’t compromise the importance of family. The two lead authors have teamed up on three previous New York Times and Wall Street Journal bestsellers and have sold over 1.5 million copies worldwide. Adrian Gostick is ranked among the top 10 global gurus in leadership and organizational culture. Chester Elton is ranked number 2 among organizational culture experts globally and in the top 10 for leadership. Anthony Gostick adds a millennial perspective to this work. Dan Hill, PhD, is the author of eight books and leads Sensory Logic, Inc. (https://www.sensorylogic.com). To check out his related “Dan Hill’s EQ Spotlight” blog, visit https://emotionswizard.com. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/dan-hills-eq-spotlight
Today I talked to Melody Wilding about her new book Trust Yourself: Stop Overthinking and Channel Your Emotions for Success at Work (Chronicle Prism, 2021). Are you what Wilding calls a Sensitive Striver like herself, somebody who indexes high on the personality traits of conscientiousness, neuroticism, and agreeableness? If so, this episode is for you. The dilemma of doubting yourself at the same time that everybody depends on you to do great work and likely carry more than your fair share of the workload is the dilemma Sensitive Strivers know all too well. What’s the way out? Wilding takes listeners through steps like recognizing your core values and overcoming what she calls the Honor Roll Hangover. Getting “unstuck” is a process that can benefit from Wilding’s tips, like those captured in Speak Up Shortcuts and her Four Feelings Test. Become your own hero, and in the process of self-discovery you may join the 60-80% of Wilding’s clients who have made a major career shift since the onset of Covid-19. Melody Wilding has been named one of Business Insider’s “Most Innovative Coaches,” with clients that range from Fortune 500 companies to the United Nations. Her work has been featured in The New York times, Oprah Magazine, The Washington Post, Fast Company, and on NBC News. A licensed social worker, Wilding received a master’s degree from Columbia University. Dan Hill, PhD, is the author of eight books and leads Sensory Logic, Inc. (https://www.sensorylogic.com). To check out his related “Dan Hill’s EQ Spotlight” blog, visit https://emotionswizard.com. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/dan-hills-eq-spotlight
Today I talked to Debi Kleiman about her new book First Pitch: Winning Money, Mentors, and More for Your Startup (Babson College Publishing, 2020). For anyone who has ever watched Shark Tank, you know that investors respond not only by investigating business metrics but also by trying to get a sense of the entrepreneurs’ drive, smarts, and openness to coaching. This episode covers both the “clues” investors look for like confidence and the 4H framework that Kleiman has honed by listening to well over 1,000 pitches in-person during the course of her career. From a headline that sets the context, to making the audience feel something, taking them on a hero’s journey of what might be possible if this startup gets funded is crucial. Not to be overlooked is Kleiman’s advice on how female founders that do better than the meager 2% of all venture funding that typically comes their way to date. Debi Kleiman is an award-winning marketer, educators, and mentor. Now a managing partner of the Upside Angels, which invests in early-stage startups, she was previously the Executive Director of the Arthur M. Blank Center for Entrepreneurship at Babson College. Her MBA is from Harvard Business School. Dan Hill, PhD, is the author of eight books and leads Sensory Logic, Inc. (https://www.sensorylogic.com). To check out his related “Dan Hill’s EQ Spotlight” blog, visit https://emotionswizard.com. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/dan-hills-eq-spotlight
Today I talked to Jessica Helfand about her new book Face: A Visual Odyssey (MIT Press, 2019) Helfand is a designer, artist, and author. She’s taught at Yale University for more than 20 years, cofounded Design Observer, and has had additional roles at a variety of institutions ranging from the American Academy in Rome to the California Institute of Technology. We’ve always visited churches and museums to gaze at faces. So what’s now changed? Today, about two billion images get uploaded daily to social media – of which nearly 100 million are estimated to be selfies. As Daniel Boorstin presaged in his seminal 1962 book The Image: A Guide to Pseudo-Events in America, we’ve become consumed as a culture by our own self-reflections. In this episode, Helfand guides listeners through everything from caricatures (i.e., loaded portraits), to Facebook and selfie-sticks hitting the mainstream in 2006, to how now every third photograph taken by people from 18 to 24 years of age is of themselves. From the question of who’s behind the camera to othering as part of biased behavior, this episode has it all as, indeed, do faces as an enduring centerpiece to how we judge ourselves and others. Dan Hill, PhD, is the author of eight books and leads Sensory Logic, Inc. (https://www.sensorylogic.com). To check out his related “Dan Hill’s EQ Spotlight” blog, visit https://emotionswizard.com. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/dan-hills-eq-spotlight
Today I talked to Paul Davis about her new book Beating Burnout at Work: Why Teams Hold the Secret to Well-Being and Resilience (Wharton School, 2021) What if companies held executives responsible for the turn-over rate, absenteeism rate, and the degree to which employees in the department they direct had higher-than-usual chronic mental and physical health issues? Might that be a different, more humane world of work? The answer is yes, most likely; and Davis’s book and this episode explores what causes stress and burn-out as well as solutions. Adjusting the workload, providing a sense of recognition and rewards, allowing for flexibility as opposed to micro-managing, and building teams that foster a feeling of trust and belonging are among the keys. The bottom line here is that managing people by offering support and imposing control is the single best recipe for lowering the level of burnout for staffs everywhere. Paula Davis, JD, MAPP, is the founder and CEO of the Stress & Resilience Institute. A former lawyer, Paula earned a M.A. in applied psychology from the University of Pennsylvania. She’s been featured in The New York Times, Oprah Magazine, and The Washington Post, and she contributes to Forbes, Fast Company and Psychology Today. Dan Hill, PhD, is the author of eight books and leads Sensory Logic, Inc. (https://www.sensorylogic.com). To check out his related “Dan Hill’s EQ Spotlight” blog, visit https://emotionswizard.com. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/dan-hills-eq-spotlight
Joanna Scott is the author of 12 works of fiction, including Arrogance, a PEN/Faulkner finalist; and The Manikin, a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize. Her awards include a MacArthur Fellowship, a Guggenheim fellowship, and the Rosenthal Award from the American Academy of Arts and Letters. The episode explores the line between fact and fantasy, between what’s known, forgotten, or less known than characters in these short stories may believe. The degree to which we’re all limited by our sense of perspective is a related theme here as Scott argues, aptly enough, that a story is always in the first-person at some level because it’s an act of make-belief in a world without certainty. Among other writers invoked in this session were Harold Pinter and his ability to bring characters from distinctively different backgrounds into conflict, Marcel Proust for his attention to detail (a writerly trait Scott shares), and finally Jorge Borges for the ability to show a mind at play with the kind of paradoxes that Scott likewise relishes. Dan Hill, PhD, is the author of eight books and leads Sensory Logic, Inc. (https://www.sensorylogic.com). To check out his related “Dan Hill’s EQ Spotlight” blog, visit https://emotionswizard.com. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/dan-hills-eq-spotlight
Today I talked to Carla Diana about her new book My Robot Gets Me: How Social Design Can Make New Products More Human (Harvard Business Review Press, 2021). Carla Diana is a robot designer responsible for the creative aspects of Diligent Robotics’ new hospital service robot named Moxi. She created and leads the 4D Design masters program at the Cranbrook Academy of Art, wrote the world’s first children’s book on 3D printing, LEO the Maker Prince, and she cohosts the Robopsych Podcast. The author is intrigued by where technology is headed—the “electronic guts” of high-tech offerings--at the same time that she never loses focus on what kind of gut reaction a user will have in interacting with a product. This episode therefore ranges from discussing modalities central to Diana’s work (sound, movement, and lighting) to addressing how important it is for designers and engineers alike to engage in “bodystorming” exercises that align everyone around what the user’s experience will be like. Delight and ease of use are both key criteria in achieving success. If there’s a Frankenstein aspect to helping bring robots “alive,” fortunately Diana is somebody concerned with all the ethical challenges that arise. Dan Hill, PhD, is the author of eight books and leads Sensory Logic, Inc. (https://www.sensorylogic.com). To check out his related “Dan Hill’s EQ Spotlight” blog, visit https://emotionswizard.com. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/dan-hills-eq-spotlight
Today I talked to Nicole Tersigni about her book Men to Avoid in Art and Life" (Chronicle Books, 2020). Nicole Tersigni is a comedic writer experienced in improve comedy and women’s advocacy. She lives in metro Detroit with her husband, daughter, and two dogs. This episode takes a romp through five types of men to avoid like the plague: the mansplainer, the concern troll, the comedian, the sexpert, and the patronize. Tersigni talks through what each type means and an example from her book pairing an older painting (often from either the Metropolitan Museum of Art or the Rijksmuseum) with her own contemporary caption. In turn, host Dan Hill adds in what type of emotional response stood out among the women depicted per type of men, e.g. anger in response to mansplainers, contempt for concern trolls, fear in response to sexperts, and the slightest of smiles in dealing with a patronizer. Dan Hill, PhD, is the author of eight books and leads Sensory Logic, Inc. (https://www.sensorylogic.com). To check out his related “Dan Hill’s EQ Spotlight” blog, visit https://emotionswizard.com. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/dan-hills-eq-spotlight
Today I talked to Jon Levy about his new book You’re Invited: The Art and Science of Cultivating Influence (Harper Business, 2021). Jon Levy is a behavioral scientist who over a decade ago founded The Influencer Dinner, a secret dining experience for industry leaders. He’s the author of The 2 AM Principle: Discover the Science of Adventure and has also served as a consultant on influence, connectivity and decision making for companies looking to transform how they do business. This episode starts with discussing Jon’s idea of launching dinners where famous people would come together to cook a meal, talk, and clean up afterwards. It grew from there to covering why connectivity is so important, and what can make an event compelling: generosity, novelty, (good) curation, and the ability to create a sense of awe. Without pushing oneself, in other words, the event can’t by definition be remarkable. Another insight is what Jon calls the IKEA Effect; just as putting your own furniture together makes you commit more to it, so likewise does an event benefit by having people come together in an activity or activities where they feel engaged and hence have a greater sense of belonging. Dan Hill, PhD, is the author of eight books and leads Sensory Logic, Inc. (https://www.sensorylogic.com). To check out his related “Dan Hill’s EQ Spotlight” blog, visit https://emotionswizard.com. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/dan-hills-eq-spotlight
Today I talked to Kim Scott about her new book Just Work: Get Sh*t Done, Fast & Fair (St. Martin's Press, 2021). Kim Scott and her fellow guest on this episode, Trier Bryant, co-founded the company Just Work to help organizations and individuals create more equitable workplaces. Scott was a CEO coach at Dropbox, Qualtrics, Twitter, and other tech companies. She was a member of the faculty at Apple University and before that led various teams at Google. Bryant has been a leader at Goldman Sachs, Twitter, Astra, and proudly served in the United States Air Force as a Captain, leading engineering teams. Every situation where somebody gets harmed at work—socially, emotionally, physically—involves the person harmed, an upstander (observer), the bully, and ultimately the leader who should be nurturing a better workplace where justice presides. How to handle those situations, and the difference between bias vs. prejudice is central to this episode. Along the way, the discussion touches on having a Code of Conduct at work; whether and how HR can be helpful; and a clear gender split given the reality that 70% of office bullies are men, whereas 60% of those bullied are women. Dan Hill, PhD, is the author of eight books and leads Sensory Logic, Inc. (https://www.sensorylogic.com). To check out his related “Dan Hill’s EQ Spotlight” blog, visit https://emotionswizard.com. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/dan-hills-eq-spotlight
Today I talked to Mathew Sweezy about his new book The Context Marketing Revolution: How to Motivate Buyers in the Age of Infinite Media (Harvard Business Review Press, 2020). Mathew Sweezey is Principal of Marketing Insights for Salesforce. His work has appeared in leading publications such as AdAge, Forbes, Brand Quarterly, The Economist, and The Observer. He’s also the author of Marketing Automation for Dummies. On June 24, 2009, we entered the era when private individuals became the largest producers of media in the world, eclipsing businesses and traditional media outlets. A perfect case-in-point is Tesla, which follows a market-sell-build-market (some more) model that engages customers with a greater purpose (weaning us off fossil fuels) and invites customers to co-create the cars they want. Tesla spends about $6 on advertising per car it sells, versus the nearly $1,000 that Mercedes-Benz spends per car sold. This episode explores the Tesla example, how Gen I members want to be “influencers” as their dream job, and what it means to have conversations with consumers rather than interrupt them with ads. Dan Hill, PhD, is the author of eight books and leads Sensory Logic, Inc. (https://www.sensorylogic.com). To check out his related “Dan Hill’s EQ Spotlight” blog, visit https://emotionswizard.com. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/dan-hills-eq-spotlight
Today I talked to Eric Rupp about his book The Transformational Travel Journal: Your Guide to Creating a Life-Changing Journey (TTC, 2020). Eric Rupp is a founding partner at the Transformational Travel Council, and runs an insightful naturalist guiding company. He’s a traveler, storyteller, an engineer, a carpenter, a designer, and a woodsman. He’s built traditional Spanish stone homes in Andalucia, Spain, and run a small university in Santa Cruz, Bolivia. He currently splits his time on- and off-grid around Seattle, Washington. My favorite part of this episode was Eric describing the Unpacking List before you go on a trip, i.e., preparing to dispense with one’s usual routines and mental habits to prepare for the life-affirming physical, emotional, spiritual, social, and mental challenge that a fulfilling travel experience will entail. Along the way, the episode touches on Joseph Campbell’s “hero” narrative, as a good journey has both an internal and external component. The episode also looks at how one might form new neural pathways through immersive sensory and social activities, and grow via meaningful conversations with fellow travelers. Finally, no journey is complete without reflecting on it afterwards. Dan Hill, PhD, is the author of eight books and leads Sensory Logic, Inc. (https://www.sensorylogic.com). To check out his related “Dan Hill’s EQ Spotlight” blog, visit https://emotionswizard.com. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/dan-hills-eq-spotlight
Today I talked to Adam Bryant about his new book (co-authored with Kevin Sharer), The CEO Test: Master the Challenges That Make or Break All Leaders (Harvard Business Press, 2021). Adam Bryant is managing director of Merryck & Co, a leadership development and mentoring firm. Before then, Adam was a journalist for 30 years, including at the New York Times where he authored the “Corner Office” column. He’s a speaker, teacher, and frequent contributor on CNBC. This episode is rooted in the seven parts of what a good CEO needs to master, from a simplified game plan that rank-and-file employees can follow to not trying to artificially resolve the various paradoxes intrinsic to being a leader, such as Creating Freedom and Structure and to Be Compassionate and Demanding. Along the way, the conversation delved into creating a company culture where there’s no daylight between what leaders say and do when it comes to values that define the organization. Also of note, why do so many leaders find it hard to coach the people around them to improve? And what are leaders missing that accounts for so many Mergers & Acquisitions not working out? Dan Hill, PhD, is the author of eight books and leads Sensory Logic, Inc. (https://www.sensorylogic.com). To check out his related “Dan Hill’s EQ Spotlight” blog, visit https://emotionswizard.com. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/dan-hills-eq-spotlight
Today I talked to Kali Nicole Gross about her new book (co-authored with Daina Ramey Berry) A Black Women's History of the United States (Beacon Press, 2020). This episode covers a litany of instances in which black women have shown remarkable courage and resiliency. Yes, the episode starts with Meghan Markle, Harry, their son Archie, and how the Royals are emblematic of British society’s troubled history with racism. But the episode also covers Ida B. Wells campaigning against black suppression after the Civil War in Memphis; how the Great Migration was spurred in no small part by black domestic servants being subject to rape in the households where they served; and how Anita Hill and Pauli Murray are among a long list of black heroines who had to battle both racism and sexism at the hands of black leaders. From “Jane Crow” to the fact that the Statue of Liberty was meant to celebrate the abolitionist cause, the episode is full of surprises. Kali Nicole Gross is Acting Professor of African American Studies at Emory University. Her previous books include Hannah Mary Tabbs and the Disembodied Torso, winner of the 2017 Hurston/Wright Legacy Award for nonfiction. Dan Hill, PhD, is the author of eight books and leads Sensory Logic, Inc. (https://www.sensorylogic.com). To check out his related “Dan Hill’s EQ Spotlight” blog, visit https://emotionswizard.com. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/dan-hills-eq-spotlight
Today I talked to David A. Lees about his book Memphis Mayhem: A Story of the Music That Shook Up the World (ECW Press, 2020) David Less has studied Memphis music for over 40 years, including work done for the National Endowment for the Humanities, the Smithsonian Institution, and the Gibson Guitar Foundation. He’s been published in Rolling Stone and DownBeat, among other places. This episode seizes first on three major events that happened in Memphis: the formal start of the blues (W.C. Handy 1909), the start of rock n’ roll (Elvis Presley 1954), and the tragic assassination of Martin Luther King (1968). Along the way, this episode explores everything from the impact of yellow fever epidemics on Memphis racial dynamics, including the rise of the South’s first (black) millionaire; and later the development of Beale Street into “Black America’s Main Street.” Other highlights include: the creation of America’s first all-female radio station (WHER, 1955) by Sam Phillips of Sun Studio fame; and the wealth of independent studios from Stax to Ardent that made Memphis the 3rd largest center for recording music in America for over a decade from the early 1960s onward. Dan Hill, PhD, is the author of eight books and leads Sensory Logic, Inc. (https://www.sensorylogic.com). To check out his related “Dan Hill’s EQ Spotlight” blog, visit https://emotionswizard.com. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/dan-hills-eq-spotlight
Today I talked to David G. White, Jr. about his book Disrupting Corporate Culture: How Cognitive Science Alters Accepted Beliefs About Culture and Culture Change and Its Impact on Leaders and Change Agents (Routledge, 2021). David G. White, Jr. is a cognitive anthropologist working with organizations on culture, change, and leadership issues. He’s the co-founder of Ontos Global, a boutique consulting firm. David previously held leadership roles at Microsoft, Mercer, and IBM, and he is also a professional jazz musician with 7 CDs to his credit. This episode challenges myths that hinder true culture change at companies, such as Culture Starts at the Top and Culture Is What We Say We Care About. Instead, David argues that new neural pathways form in the brain based on tangible, physical practices that change. So leaders spouting off about “shared values” (talking the talk) won’t be nearly as productive as investigating a company’s dominant logic and how that may serve or hinter the company’s prospects. In other words, David argues that culture is shaped by tasks and the basic operating assumptions that underlie them. Dan Hill, PhD, is the author of eight books and leads Sensory Logic, Inc. (https://www.sensorylogic.com). To check out his related “Dan Hill’s EQ Spotlight” blog, visit https://emotionswizard.com. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/dan-hills-eq-spotlight
Today I talked to Michael P. F. Smith about his book The Good Hand: A Memoir of Work, Brotherhood, and Transformation in an American Boomtown (Viking, 2021) Michael Smith is a folk singer who has shared the stage with luminaries such as Ramblin’ Jack Elliott. He’s also a playwright, whose works include Wood Guthrie Dreams and Ain’t No Sin. The Good Hand is his first book. This episode looks at what life is like in the oil fields of North Dakota. It covers a wide range of topics from how much oil (black gold) has influenced our standard and style of living to just how miserable the wages are for workers handling the rigs. Lonely, often violent men blanket Williston, North Dakota, many of them the earlier victims of abusive fathers. The episode touches on notable characters like Huck and the Wildebeest, and most of all Magic Mike (the author and narrator). It’s safe to say that the open spaces of North Dakota are another feature the episode addresses. Dan Hill, PhD, is the author of eight books and leads Sensory Logic, Inc. (https://www.sensorylogic.com). To check out his related “Dan Hill’s EQ Spotlight” blog, visit https://emotionswizard.com. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/dan-hills-eq-spotlight
Today I talked to Ming-Hui Huang about her book (coauthored with Roland T. Rust), The Feeling Economy: How Artificial Intelligence Is Creating the Era of Empathy (Palgrave MacMillan, 2021) This episode covers the movement of the economy from brawn to brains to hearts. Put another way, the focus here is on the movement from the Physical Economy (farming, factories, etc.) to the Thinking Economy to now the dawning of the Feeling Economy. In the near-term future, artificial intelligence (AI) will handle the thinking tasks and humans on the job will focus on adding value through empathy and their interpersonal skills. The episode explores everything from workers re-skilling, cross-skilling and up-skilling to handle this change, to the impact of this change to being feeling-centric on our politics, educational practices, and the expectations of consumers. Of special note is that the new economic era may privilege female “soft” skills over the “hard” skills men are known by and often more comfortable with. Ming-Hui Huang holds a number of posts. She’s a Distinguished Professor at National Taiwan University; a fellow of the European Marketing Academy (EMAC); an International Research Fellow of the Centre for Corporate Reputation, University of Oxford, UK; and a Distinguished Research Fellow of the Center for Excellence in Service, University of Maryland, USA. She is also the incoming Editor-in-Chief of the Journal of Service Research. Dan Hill, PhD, is the author of eight books and leads Sensory Logic, Inc. (https://www.sensorylogic.com). To check out his related “Dan Hill’s EQ Spotlight” blog, visit https://emotionswizard.com. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/dan-hills-eq-spotlight
Today I talked to Candacy Taylor about her book Overground Railroad: The Green Book and the Roots of Black Travel in America (Abrams Press, 2020). Taylor is an award-winning author, photographer and cultural documentarian. She’s been a fellow at Harvard University under the direction of Henry Louis Gates Jr. and her projects have been funded by organizations ranging from National Geographic to The National Endowment for the Humanities. Her work has received extensive media coverage in places like the PBS Newshour and The New Yorker. This episode covers the African-American travel guidebook made famous by the Academy-award-winning movie Green Book. Taylor’s book more accurately and completely covers the more than 10,000 former black- and white-owned businesses establishments that served black travelers during the era from 1936-1967, when editions of the guidebook helped black motorists find gas stations, restaurants and lodging that catered to them in segregated America. The episode also addresses the reasons why 75% of those sites are now gone, falling victim to everything from urban renewal and redlining to soaring incarceration rates that have devasted black communities across America. Dan Hill, PhD, is the author of eight books and leads Sensory Logic, Inc. (https://www.sensorylogic.com). To check out his related “Dan Hill’s EQ Spotlight” blog, visit https://emotionswizard.com. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/dan-hills-eq-spotlight
Imagination with a Straight Jacket Alan Lightman is a writer, physicist, and social entrepreneur. He has served on the faculties of Harvard and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) and was the first person at MIT to receive dual faculty appointments in science and in the humanities. He is the author of many books, both fiction and nonfiction, including the international best seller Einstein’s Dreams and The Diagnosis, a finalist for the National Book Award. This episode goes to both what’s epic in scope and to what’s more intimate and personal. Epic is knowledge now about how the universe began and that it will end with the sun basically engulfing the earth and then burning out. More personal is that the book explores the moral, even religious issues that scientific knowledge brings with it. Most of all, this episode explores the act of intellectual inquiry and exploration through the careers of leading scientists. Dan Hill, PhD, is the author of eight books and leads Sensory Logic, Inc. (https://www.sensorylogic.com). To check out his related “Dan Hill’s EQ Spotlight” blog, visit https://emotionswizard.com. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/dan-hills-eq-spotlight
Today I talked to Paul O. Jenkins about his book Bluegrass Ambassadors: The McLain Family Band in Appalachia and the World (West Virginia UP, 2020). This episode covers a band that defies expectations. Coming from Hindman, Kentucky, this band formed in 1968 served as ambassadors of U.S. culture in over 60 countries. T were also fairly unique in being an intergenerational band and by having female band members who were both singers and musicians. roles beyond being singers to be musicians as well. The episode explores how bluegrass music varies from country music, and how musically inventive the group was. Finally, comparisons to the Beatles close out the episode. Paul O. Jenkins is the University Librarian at Franklin Pierce University. A music lover since childhood, he has written books and articles on numerous musicians, including Richard Dyer-Bennet, the McLain Family Band, and the Beatles. Dan Hill, PhD, is the author of eight books and leads Sensory Logic, Inc. (https://www.sensorylogic.com). To check out his related “Dan Hill’s EQ Spotlight” blog, visit https://emotionswizard.com. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/dan-hills-eq-spotlight
This episode covers a range of topics from Old’s use of line breaks (enjambment that runs contrary to the tedious, end-stopped rhyming lines of hymnals) to the degree to which any art work can be really considered to be autobiographical as artists work from intuition. The episode features Olds reading from two of her poems in Arias (Knopf, 2019). Sharon Olds is the author of twelve books of poetry. Arias was short-listed for the 2020 Griffin Poetry Prize and her 2012 collection Stag’s Leap won both the Pulitzer Prize and England’s T. S. Eliot Prize. Olds is the Eric Maria Remarque Professor of Creative Writing at New York University’s Graduate Creative Writing Program. Dan Hill, PhD, is the author of eight books and leads Sensory Logic, Inc. (https://www.sensorylogic.com). To check out his related “Dan Hill’s EQ Spotlight” blog, visit https://emotionswizard.com. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/dan-hills-eq-spotlight
Today I talked with Gary Hamel and Michele Zanini about their book Humanocracy: Creating Organizations As Amazing As the People Inside Them (HBR, 2020). This episode attacks the way bureaucracies are “innovation-phobic” and “soul crushing.” How can motivation, productivity and innovation be radically enhanced? By dismantling traditional power structures within large companies, giving employees the opportunity to become “micropreneurs.” Tying compensation to contribution and enabling true empowerment are the ways to go. Gary Hamel is on the faculty of the London Business School and has been hailed by the Wall Street Journal as the world’s most influential business thinker. Michele Zanini is, along with Hamel, the cofounder of the Management Lab. An alumnus of McKinsey & Company, Zanini has a degree from the John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University. Dan Hill, PhD, is the author of eight books and leads Sensory Logic, Inc. (https://www.sensorylogic.com). To check out his related “Dan Hill’s EQ Spotlight” blog, visit https://emotionswizard.com. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/dan-hills-eq-spotlight
Today I talked to Michael Gorra about his new book The Saddest Words: William Faulkner's Civil War (Liveright, 2020). This episode touches on two of William Faulkner’s novels in particular: The Sound and the Fury as well as Absalom, Absalom! It considers the role of memory and history, Faulkner’s alcoholism, the sexual exploitation practiced by plantation owners, and the greater presence of Nathan Bedford Forrest over Robert E. Lee in Faulkner’s fiction writings. Ties to today’s reckoning for racial justice is a part of the episode, too. The author of Portrait of a Novel, a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize, Michael Gorra is a Professor English Language and Literature at Smith College and the editor of the Norton Critical Editions of As I Lay Dying and The Sound and the Fury. Dan Hill, PhD, is the author of eight books and leads Sensory Logic, Inc. (https://www.sensorylogic.com). To check out his related “Dan Hill’s EQ Spotlight” blog, visit https://emotionswizard.com. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/dan-hills-eq-spotlight
Today I talked to David Smith and Brad Johnson about their new book Good Guys: How Men Can Be Better Allies for Women in the Workplace (HBR Press, 2020). This episode addresses some of the many ways in which women face challenges in the workplace, from pay equity issues, to sexual harassment, to being interrupted by men 3x more than men get interrupted by men or women alike. The importance of trust to offset gaslighting that undermines women’s confidence was yet another topic covered during this episode. David G. Smith is Associate Professor of sociology in the College of Leadership and Ethics at the U.S. Naval War College. Brad Johnson is Professor of psychology in the Department of Leadership, Ethics and Law at the U.S. Naval Academy, and a Faculty Associate in the Graduate School of Education at Johns Hopkins University. Dan Hill, PhD, is the author of eight books and leads Sensory Logic, Inc. (https://www.sensorylogic.com). To check out his related “Dan Hill’s EQ Spotlight” blog, visit https://emotionswizard.com. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/dan-hills-eq-spotlight
Today I talked to Chris Hamby about his book Soul Full of Coal Dust: The True Story of an Epic Battle for Justice (Little Brown, 2020). Hamby looks into why there has been a surge in black-lung disease in West Virginia and elsewhere in recent years. Poor self-policing and rapacious business practices go a long way in explaining the upsurge. Add in a tradition of fatalism caused by King Coal, and it becomes a minor miracle –but a miracle all the same—that some miners have been able to secure a measure of justice. Chris Hamby is an investigative reporter for the New York Times. He won the Pulitzer Prize for Investigative Journalism in 2014 and was a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize in International Reporting in 2017. Dan Hill, PhD, is the author of eight books and leads Sensory Logic, Inc. (https://www.sensorylogic.com). To check out his related “Dan Hill’s EQ Spotlight” blog, visit https://emotionswizard.com. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/dan-hills-eq-spotlight
Today I talked to Daniel Lieberman about his book Exercised: How We Did Not Evolve to Exercise and What to Do about It (Pantheon, 2021). In the book Lieberman explodes 12 different myths, chief among them we’re supposed to want to exercise. Much of the conversation explores differences between Westerners and their lifestyles, including of course exercise, versus the daily energy expenditures of non-Westerners and especially people in Africa. It provides insights to show how aging and senescence are not necessarily linked, and offers some ways in which we might enjoy exercise more. Daniel E. Lieberman is the Lerner Professor of Biological Sciences in the Department of Human Evolutionary Biology at Harvard University. He received degrees from Harvard and Cambridge Universities. Lieberman studies and teaches how and why the human body is the way it is, and how our evolutionary history affects health and disease. Dan Hill, PhD, is the author of eight books and leads Sensory Logic, Inc. (https://www.sensorylogic.com). To check out his related “Dan Hill’s EQ Spotlight” blog, visit https://emotionswizard.com. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/dan-hills-eq-spotlight
In this episode I talked to Russell T. Warne about his book In the Know: Debunking 35 Myths about Human Intelligence (Cambridge UP, 2020). Warne takes on the “nature versus nurture” debate regarding the source of intelligence. It also looks at a host of other angles related to IQ: from the failures of the No Child Left Behind act to what are the disadvantages to society are of an emerging intellectual meritocracy. Along the way it explores differences in scores based on ethnic/racial origins, plus how well EQ holds up as a separate form of intelligence. Russell T. Warne is an associate professor of psychology at Utah Valley University. He earned his PhD in education psychology from Texas A&M University in 2011. Dr. Warne has published two books and nearly 60 scholarly articles. He teaches classes on statistics, psychology, research methods, psychological testing, and intelligence. Dan Hill, PhD, is the author of eight books and leads Sensory Logic, Inc. (https://www.sensorylogic.com). To check out his related “Dan Hill’s EQ Spotlight” blog, visit https://emotionswizard.com. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/dan-hills-eq-spotlight
Today I talked to Steven W. Webster about his book American Rage: How Anger Shapes Our Politics (Cambridge UP, 2020). We discuss the behavioral implications of anger in American politics, from increased intolerance, blame, and aggression, to an ever-deepening lack of trust in government’s efficacy. Among the topics addressed was the role of the media and internet in stoking anger, and how democratic norms are threatened by partisan taunting and the way anger invites narrow loyalty to party over country. Steven W. Webster is an assistant professor of political science at Indiana University, Bloomington. His research and writings focus on the role of anger in American politics, including the growth of “negative partisanship” in our country, and the ever greater polarization separating Democrats and Republicans. Dan Hill, PhD, is the author of eight books and leads Sensory Logic, Inc. (https://www.sensorylogic.com). To check out his related “Dan Hill’s EQ Spotlight” blog, visit https://emotionswizard.com. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/dan-hills-eq-spotlight
On this episode I speak to Ellen Van Oosten about Helping People Change: Coaching with Compassion for Lifelong Learning and Growth (Harvard Business Review Press, 2019). The book explores both personal and organizational change, especially how does a leader pursue an ideal self that aligns activities, goals and values. Key emotions include awe, joy, curiosity and gratitude, with the latter emotion having a strong social, connective focus. The key is self-awareness and making the effort to change sustainable by ensuring the change has deep meaning for the person involved. Ellen Van Oosten is an Associate Professor of Organizational Behavior and Faculty Director of Executive Education at the Weatherhead School of Management, Case Western Reserve University. She is also the Director of the university’s Coaching Research Lab. Dan Hill, PhD, is the author of eight books and leads Sensory Logic, Inc. (https://www.sensorylogic.com). To check out his related “Dan Hill’s EQ Spotlight” blog, visit https://emotionswizard.com. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/dan-hills-eq-spotlight
Leigh Thompson is a Professor of Dispute Resolution and Organizations at the Kellogg School of Management, Northwestern University. An acclaimed researcher, author, and speaker, she has developed several online and in-person courses on negotiation, leading teams, creativity, and virtual collaboration. Leigh is a best-selling author of 10 books including Negotiating the Sweet Spot: The Art of Leaving Nothing on the Table (HarperCollins, 2020). This episode covers why dividing the pie and supposedly win/win solutions aren’t good enough. Myths about negotiations successfully are addressed, as well as the differences between scripted and unscripted negotiations. Specific “hacks” or solutions are raised, including The Anger Hack in personal life negotiations and The Dessert Tray hack in business situations. Finally, how virtual negotiations involves their own dynamics is covered, too. Dan Hill, PhD, is the author of eight books and leads Sensory Logic, Inc. To check out his related “Dan Hill’s EQ Spotlight” blog, visit this site. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/dan-hills-eq-spotlight
In her new book Engaged: Designing for Behavior Change (Rosenfeld Media, 2020), Amy Bucher analyzes both the barriers and levers to achieving behavioral change. Among the barriers are cognitive biases, like a Status Quo Bias, as well as growing both emotionally and mentally exhausted by changes that require too much willpower on behalf of the user. Opportunities to promote change include having accountability buddies to help guide you, and avatars that have proven highly effective in providing information in a trust-building, nonjudgmental manner. Amy Bucher, PhD, works in Behavior Change Design at Mad*Pow and previously worked at CVS Health and Johnson & Johnson. She received her A.B. from Harvard University and her M.A. and PhD in organizational psychology from the University of Michigan. Dan Hill, PhD, is the author of eight books and leads Sensory Logic, Inc. (https://www.sensorylogic.com). To check out his related “Dan Hill’s EQ Spotlight” blog, visit https://emotionswizard.com. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/dan-hills-eq-spotlight
Stop Solving the Wrong Problem! In this episode we discuss Thomas Wedell-Wedellsborg's book What's Your Problem?: To Solve Your Toughest Problems, Change the Problems You Solve (HBR Press, 2020) and focus on hisRapid Reframing Method for solving in particular people-related problems. Specific topics include: how emotions can either facilitate or hinder the challenging of established mental models, how reframing fits the top 3 skills of importance for the future economy, and why “vagueness” is the enemy of change. Wedell-Wedellsborg is a globally recognized expert on innovation and problem solving whose clients have included The United Nations. His research has been widely featured in the media and he’s been named a “Top 20 International Thinker” by HR Magazine. Dan Hill, PhD, is the author of eight books and leads Sensory Logic, Inc. (https://www.sensorylogic.com). To check out his related “Dan Hill’s EQ Spotlight” blog, visit https://emotionswizard.com. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/dan-hills-eq-spotlight
In his book The Serenity Code: How Brain Plasticity Helps You Live Without Stress, Anxiety and Depression (SAD) (Depth Insights, 2020), Christophe Morin explains how you can rewire your brains to escape stress and anxiety. Dr. Christophe Morin is passionate about decoding the relationship between the brain and human behaviors. He’s received multiple speaking, publishing, and research awards during his career. He holds an MBA from BGSU, and both a MA and a PhD in Media Psychology from Field Graduate University. This episode covers stress transformational steps to combat stress, anxiety and depressions. The first is a better understanding of oneself, specifically how one’s brain is wired and the personality traits that may help to define you. Second, utilizing self-love including through understanding the positive impact of neurotransmitters. Third, the episode also delves deep into seven habits—involving nature, pets, breath, laughter, music, stories and the spirit—of concrete help in coping with emotional difficulties. Dan Hill, PhD, is the author of eight books and leads Sensory Logic, Inc. (https://www.sensorylogic.com). To check out his related “Dan Hill’s EQ Spotlight” blog, visit https://emotionswizard.com. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/dan-hills-eq-spotlight
Are robots going to be our overlords? In Human Work in the Age of Smart Machines (RosettaBooks, 2020), Jamie Merisotis says they don't have to be. We can make them our friends. Jamie Merisotis is a globally recognized leader in philanthropy, education, and public policy. Since 2008, he’s served as president and CEO of Lumina Foundation, an independent, private foundation committed to making opportunities for learning beyond high school available to all. Jamie previously served as co-founder and president of the nonpartisan, D.C.-based Institute for Higher Education Policy. This episode covers the need to link ongoing learning and work in a virtuous cycle that provides workers with both meaning and stability. It addresses the challenges of the 4th Industrial Revolution and how in the new people-centered economy it’s important to develop those flexible skills and capabilities that will enable workers to distinguish themselves from what automation and artificial intelligence is capable of. Dan Hill, PhD, is the author of eight books and leads Sensory Logic, Inc. (https://www.sensorylogic.com). To check out his related “Dan Hill’s EQ Spotlight” blog, visit https://emotionswizard.com. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/dan-hills-eq-spotlight
How do we promote peace in the streets? In his new book Bleeding Out: The Devastating Consequences of Urban Violence--and a Bold New Plan for Peace in the Streets (Basic Books, 2019), Thomas Abt explains. Abt teaches, studies, and writes about the use of evidence-informed approaches to reduce urban violence. Abt is a Senior Fellow with the Council on Criminal Justice in Washington, D.C. Prior to the Council, he served as a Senior Fellow at the Hard Kennedy and Law Schools. Before that, he held leadership positions in the New York Governor’s Office and the U.S. Department of Justice. Abt’s work has been featured in major media outlets, including the Atlantic, the Economist, Foreign Affairs, the New Yorker, the New York Times, the Wall Street Journal, CNN, MSNBC, PBS, and National Public Radio. This episode covers an array of topics, from the estimated $10 million cost to society per homicide; to strategies involving people, places, and things (related to behavior-based strategies) that can most effectively combat urban violence. Dan Hill, PhD, is the author of eight books and leads Sensory Logic, Inc. (https://www.sensorylogic.com). To check out his related “Dan Hill’s EQ Spotlight” blog, visit https://emotionswizard.com. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/dan-hills-eq-spotlight
Why Give a Damn About Strangers? In his book The Kindness of Strangers: How a Selfish Ape Invented a New Moral Code (Basic Books, 2020), Michael E. McCullough explains. McCullough is a professor of psychology at the University of California San Diego, where he directs the Evolution and Human Behavior laboratory. Long interested in prosocial behavior and morality, he’s conducted research on forgiveness, revenge, gratitude, empathy, altruism, and religion. His other books include Beyond Revenge: The Evolution of the Forgiveness Instinct. This episode covers four evolved human instincts related to empathy; why “natural selection is a penny-pincher; and seven hinges of history that explain the historical progression of empathy—culminating in today’s Age of Impact. Dan Hill, PhD, is the author of eight books and leads Sensory Logic, Inc. (https://www.sensorylogic.com). To check out his related “Dan Hill’s EQ Spotlight” blog, visit https://emotionswizard.com. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/dan-hills-eq-spotlight
What are the limitations of relying on logic as an upfront filter in pursuing ideas? Find out as I talk to Rory Sutherland about his new books Alchemy: the Dark Art and Curious Science of Creating Magic in Brands, Business, and Life (William Morrow, 2019) Sutherland is Vice Chairman of Ogilvy, a legendary advertising agency. He’s also a columnist for The Spectator and a past president of the London-based Institute of Practitioners in Advertising (IPA). His TED Talks have been viewed over 6.5 million times. Topics covered in this episode include:
What’s to be gained from realizing that evolution likes fitness, not accuracy.
Why biology is different from physics, thereby meaning that there will likely never be a Newton of biology, of marketing, or other fields, where universal laws don’t apply. Instead, the focus is on noting the exceptions and finding patterns.
Realizing how much people are context-dependent in realizing solutions to problems. Many forms of measurement create more problems than successful outcomes.
Dan Hill, PhD, is the author of eight books and leads Sensory Logic, Inc. (https://www.sensorylogic.com). To check out his “Faces of the Week” blog, visit https://emotionswizard.com. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/dan-hills-eq-spotlight
What are the similar ways in which animals and people try to intimidate others? In his new book, Threats: Intimidation and Its Discontents (Oxford UP, 2020), David Barash explains. Barash is a research scientist and writer who spent 43 years as a professor of psychology at the University of Washington. He’s authored over 240 peer-reviewed scientific papers, and authored or co-authored 41 books. Among his awards is being named a Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science. Topics covered in this episode include:
The degree to which bluffing is intrinsic to animals’ survival strategy, with better success at bluffing generally speaking than is true of human beings.
What advice did Roy Cohn give Donald Trump and how exaggerating one’s prowess is an essential part of that advice.
The degree to which many Americans feel besieged, and in looking for a solution might see Democrats as the “mommy party” and Republicans as the “daddy party.”
Dan Hill, PhD, is the author of eight books and leads Sensory Logic, Inc. (https://www.sensorylogic.com). To check out his “Faces of the Week” blog, visit https://emotionswizard.com. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/dan-hills-eq-spotlight
What are we to make of the year’s first presidential debate? Listen in as John R. Hibbing, Jonathan Weiler and I discuss this question and others surrounding the 2020 presidential race. Hibbing is a Foundation Regents University Professor of political history and psychology at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. He’s been a Guggenheim Fellow, a NATO Fellow and a Senior Fulbright Fellow. He is the author of Predisposed: Liberals, Conservatives, and the Biology of Political Differences (Routledge, 2014). Weiler is the director of undergraduate studies and a professor of global studies at the University of North Carolina. He is the author of Prius or Pickup? How the Answers to Four Simple Questions Explain America’s Great Divide (Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2018) Topics covered in this episode include: • How well did Donald Trump and Joe Biden each do respectively in attracting undecided voters, who might slightly favor either a liberal/fluid or conservative/fixed innate perspective. • The role of disgust in affirming a fixed perspective, given Trump emoting 10x as much disgust as Biden in this debate. • What are the prospects, if any, for the two sides to reconcile in an election that could be decided by the Supreme Court, Congress, or in a matter of speaking through the Street in the form of protests and militia-style violence. Dan Hill, PhD, is the author of eight books and leads Sensory Logic, Inc. (https://www.sensorylogic.com). To check out his “Dan Hill’s EQ Spotlight” blog, visit https://emotionswizard.com. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/dan-hills-eq-spotlight
What is it that makes hatred so addicting? In her new book Hatred: Understanding Our Most Dangerous Emotion (Oxford University Press, 2020), Berit Bogaard explains. Berit is a Professor of Philosophy and a Cooper Fellow at the University of Miami. Her areas of research include the topics of perception, emotions, and language. She’s published five books, four with Oxford University Press over the past decade, plus The Superhuman Mind, published by Penguin in 2015. Topics covered in this episode include:
The two-fold nature of hatred, which has both a personal dimension and a group dimension to it. Hatred runs hotter and longer than anger, having more intensity and an attitudinal element.
How a 6th trait, honesty-humility, is a contender to supplement to the usual Big 5 personality model because it brings into the equation the role of narcissism, and its likely relationship to contempt.
How it is that some relatively privileged white men could be so prone to hatred toward women and minorities, with that hatred growing in times of greater economic inequality.
Dan Hill, PhD, is the author of eight books and leads Sensory Logic, Inc. (https://www.sensorylogic.com). To check out his “Faces of the Week” blog, visit https://emotionswizard.com. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/dan-hills-eq-spotlight
How does any organization invite the true, full participation of its members? In his new book The 4 Stages of Psychological Safety: Defining the Path to Inclusion and Innovation (Berrett-Koehler, 2020), Timothy Clark explains. Clark is the founder and CEO of LeaderFactor, and ranks as a global authority on senior executive development, strategy acceleration and organizational change. He’s the author of five book, and over 150 articles. Clark earned a doctorate degree in Social Science from Oxford University. Topics covered in this episode include:
Why showing respect and granting permission are the keys to unlocking potential.
What lies beneath stunning statics like, only 36% of business professional believe their companies foster an inclusive culture, and only one-third of workers believe their opinions count; whereas, 50% of workers report being treated rudely at work at least once a week.
How a leader’s “tell-to-ask” ratio relates to whether that person suffers from the narcissism that limits the effectiveness of so many leaders
Dan Hill, PhD, is the author of eight books and leads Sensory Logic, Inc. (https://www.sensorylogic.com). To check out his “Faces of the Week” blog, visit https://emotionswizard.com. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/dan-hills-eq-spotlight
What does it take to connect successfully with somebody you’re trying to “win over”? Colllen Stanley explains in her new book Emotional Intelligence for Sales Leadership(HarperCollins, 2020) Stanley is the president of SalesLeadership, a sales development firm. She’s been named by Salesforce as one of the top sales influencers of the 21st century and also a Top 30 Global Sales guru. Topics covered in this episode include: • In hiring, what should you be on against in both yourself and the job candidate? An eye for the “something” missing that you may or may not be able to resolve is one key. • Exploring a variety of buyer personas, including specifically: The Poker Face prospect, The Nitpicker, and The Glad-Hander. How best to dislodge an incumbent vendor so you can make the sale? • What is mean by helping a person on your sales team “untell” a story that is hindering that person’s effectiveness. Dan Hill, PhD, is the author of eight books and leads Sensory Logic, Inc. (https://www.sensorylogic.com). To check out his “Faces of the Week” blog, visit https://emotionswizard.com. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/dan-hills-eq-spotlight
Today I discussed why music so powerful in eliciting emotions with Roger Kennedy, the author of The Power of Music: Psychoanalytic Explorations (Phoenix Publishing House, 2020) Now at The Child and Family Practice in London, Kennedy is a training analyst and past President of the British Psychoanalytical Society. This is his fourteenth book. Topics covered in this episode include:
The ability of music to reward close listening because of qualities like movement and the web of interactions involved.
How music can draw on and has parallels to a range of situations, like “baby talk” sounds shared by mother and child, and the sounds animals make (especially in mating rituals).
Discussion of parallels between music and entering a dream state, rich with free association as opposed to a concrete, logically coherent “narrative”
Dan Hill, PhD, is the author of eight books and leads Sensory Logic, Inc. (https://www.sensorylogic.com). To check out his “Faces of the Week” blog, visit https://emotionswizard.com. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/dan-hills-eq-spotlight
Why Do Unnecessary and Often Counter-Productive Medical Interventions Happen So Often? Today I talked to Paul Offit about his book Overkill: When Modern Medicine Goes Too Far (HarperCollins, 2020) Offit is a professor of pediatrics at the University of Pennsylvania and the director of the Vaccine Education Center at the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia. A prolific author, he’s also well known for being the public face of the scientific consensus that vaccines have no association with autism. Topics covered in this episode include:
The degree to which opportunities to make money and avoid law suits drives the behavior of doctors, though inertia and unwillingness to accept advances in knowledge are also common explanations for being at times too active in treating patients.
How the marketing campaigns of pharmaceutical companies can warp treatment plans.
The conclusions from countless studies that in at least the 15 common medical interventions covered in this book, many patients are better off with more basic, common sense approaches like eating well, exercise, et cetera.
Dan Hill, PhD, is the author of eight books and leads Sensory Logic, Inc. To check out his “Faces of the Week” blog, visit https://emotionswizard.com. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/dan-hills-eq-spotlight
How is communicating virtually Is like eating Pringles forever? Find out as I talk to Nick Morgan about his new book Can You Hear Me? How to Connect with People in a Virtual World (Harvard Business Review Press, 2018). Morgan is one of America’s top communication theorists and coaches. He’s written for Fortune 50 CEOs as well as for political and educational leaders, and coached people for events ranging from TED talks to giving testimony to Congress. Topics covered in this episode include:
What’s the likeliest way to lose the trust of others during a conference call, and how can you best hope to restore it?
Why are most online webinars a disaster and what kind of format improves them best?
If powerpoint presentations are no longer the way to go in selling to prospects in online calls, what’s the alternative?
Dan Hill, PhD, is the author of eight books and leads Sensory Logic, Inc. To check out his “Faces of the Week” blog, visit https://emotionswizard.com. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/dan-hills-eq-spotlight
What are the policy implications due to a fundamental distrust and dislike of “outsiders”? Today I talked to political scientist John R. Hibbing about his new book The Securitarian Personality: What Really Motivates Trump’s Base and Why It Matters for the Post-Trump Era (Oxford UP, 2020) Hibbing teaches political science at the University of Nebraska and has been both a NATO fellow in Science and a Guggenheim Fellow. Media appearances have included Star Talk, The Hidden Brain, and The Daily Show. Topics covered in this episode include: • What are the biggest misconceptions, among the media and others, about Trump’s staunchest supporters? • In what ways are Trump’s fans different from the Republican party’s traditional base? • In a battle over the soul of whether America might be a democracy or an oligarchy in the future, where do securitarians land and what are the implications for the country? Dan Hill, PhD, is the author of eight books and leads Sensory Logic, Inc. (https://www.sensorylogic.com). To check out his “Faces of the Week” blog, visit https://emotionswizard.com. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/dan-hills-eq-spotlight
What does it take to both fit in and yet also prosper and grow as a person in the workplace? In today's interview, I discuss this question and others with noted psychologist Arthur B. Markman. Markman is a professor of Psychology and Marketing at the University of Texas at Austin, where he also runs the university’s Human Dimensions of Organizations program. Besides his books, Art writes blogs for Psychology Today and Fast Company, and has a radio show/podcast called Two Guys on Your Head. Topics covered in this episode include:
The emotions that often get exhibited in relation to each of the Big 5 traits of Openness, Conscientiousness, Extraversion, Agreeableness and Neuroticism – as well as how a “dream team” working on a special project will embody a variety of those traits.
What it means to be a boss who punishes negligence instead of failure.
What are the kinds of signals you should be alert to in a job interview in order to get a grasp on what kind of corporate culture you might be stepping into.
Dan Hill, PhD, is the author of eight books and leads Sensory Logic, Inc. (https://www.sensorylogic.com). To check out his “Faces of the Week” blog, visit https://emotionswizard.com. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/dan-hills-eq-spotlight
What are best-practices for alleviating stress in the workplace? Today I talked to Cary Cooper about his new book The Apology Impulse: How the Business World Ruined Sorry and Why We Can’t Stop Saying It (Kogan Page, 2020). Cooper explains why managers should say “Sorry, I Wasn’t Feeling." Cooper is the author/editor of over 250 books, and the president of the British Academy of Management. An advisor to the World Health Organization and the EU, he’s received both a knighthood and the CBE award from the Queen of England for “extraordinary contributions” to society. Topics covered in this episode include:
The difference between operational and cultural failures, and why CEOs find it easier to apologize for the latter by pretending the problem has to do with the former.
The percentage of workers who feel bullied by a boss at work on a constant basis, and Cooper’s estimation of the percentage of bosses who won’t be able to benefit from EQ-training and, therefore, should be given roles that don’t involve managing people.
What the implications and solutions for huge CEO pay amid what could now prove to be the single most significant economic downturn in our lives (due to Covid-19).
Dan Hill, PhD, is the author of eight books and leads Sensory Logic, Inc. (https://www.sensorylogic.com). To check out his “Faces of the Week” blog, visit https://emotionswizard.com. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/dan-hills-eq-spotlight
How do we move police forces from a warrior culture to connecting better with communities they serve? Today I talked to David A. Harris about his new book A City Divided: Race, Fear and the Law in Police Confrontations (Anthem Press, 2020). Harris is a professor at the University of Pittsburgh’s law school and is the leading U.S. authority on racial profiling. Also the author of Profiles in Injustice (2002). he hosts the podcast Criminal Injustice. Topics covered in this episode include:
Harris’s vantage point on what the Minnesota legislature got right and only half-right in recently approving a police accountability measure in the wake of the George Floyd killing.
Why navigating fear and anger is so hard for both black suspects and the police alike.
What role a lack of familiarity – and trust – plays for officers and suspects in trying to avoid escalating their encounters.
Dan Hill, PhD, is the author of eight books and leads Sensory Logic, Inc. To check out his “Faces of the Week” blog, visit https://emotionswizard.com. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/dan-hills-eq-spotlight
Why is the corporate fallback being “analytical” (as opposed to nurturing creativity)? Today I talked to Nir Bashan about his new book The Creator Mindset: 92 Tools to Unlock the Secrets to Innovation, Growth, and Sustainability (McGraw-Hill, 2020) Bashan is a creativity expert who has spent the past two decades devising a formula for sustained creativity. Besides his blue-chip corporate clients, Bashan has also worked on album, movies and advertisements for people like Rod Stewart and Woody Harrelson, won a Clio and been nominated for an Emmy. This is his first book. Topics covered in this episode include:
Creativity’s three unlikely personal traits (hint: courage is one of them).
Why self-doubt and complacency are both threats to successful innovation, and how to overcome each in turn.
Design obstacles Bashan has witnessed, plus five more from my book Emotionomics.
Dan Hill, PhD, is the author of eight books and leads Sensory Logic, Inc. (https://www.sensorylogic.com). To check out his “Faces of the Week” blog, visit https://emotionswizard.com. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/dan-hills-eq-spotlight
How Do We Write Our Personal History at the Same Time That It’s Written for Us? Today I talked to Siri Hustvedt about this question and others as we discuss her book Memories of the Future (Simon and Schuster, 2019). The Literary Review (UK) has called Hustvedt “a twenty-first-century Virginia Woolf.” She’s the author of seven novels, four collections of essays, and two works of nonfiction. She has a PhD in English literature from Columbia University and lectures in psychiatry at Weill Cornell Medical College. Hustvedt is the recipient of numerous awards, including the European Essay Prize. Topics covered in this episode include:
What it can mean to be a heroine instead of a hero, including in regards to which emotions might conventionally be considered “off-limits.”
The role that the author’s over-a-dozen drawings play in this novel.
Musings on what the roots of ambition might be, and how ambition and shame as well as memory and imagination are often so intertwined.
Dan Hill, PhD, is the author of eight books and leads Sensory Logic, Inc. (https://www.sensorylogic.com). To check out his “Faces of the Week” blog, visit https://emotionswizard.com. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/dan-hills-eq-spotlight
How does avoidance of conflict ultimately create more conflict in the workplace? Today I talked to Caroline Stokes, author of Elephants Before Unicorns: Emotionally Intelligent HR Strategies to Save Your Company (Entrepreneur Press, 2019) Stokes is the CEO of FORWARD, and the podcast host of The Emotionally Intelligent Recruiter. She is an award-winning leadership coach and thinker, partnering with global leaders throughout their career and leadership cycle. Topics covered in this episode include: • The emotions that inadvertently inspire the behavior of both push-over and bully bosses, and the likely emotional responses of their direct reports. • How the risk of employee disengagement can get short-circuited before it happens. • What are steps that can ensure a better on-boarding experience for the new employee, including CEO’s (whose turn-over rate is 50% within the first 18 months on the job). Dan Hill, PhD, is the author of eight books and leads Sensory Logic, Inc. To check out his “Faces of the Week” blog, visit https://emotionswizard.com. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/dan-hills-eq-spotlight
What does it take for a company’s culture to enable ongoing growth? Today I talked to Charlene Li, author of The Disruption Mindset: Why Some Organizations Transform While Others Fail (IdeaPress, 2019). Li is the author of six books, including the New York Times bestseller, Open Leadership, and is also the co-author of Groundswell. She is the Founder and Senior Fellow at Altimeter, a research and consulting firm, as well as a graduate of Harvard College and Harvard Business School. Topics covered in this episode include:
Five kinds of employees, and how that that model feeds into the four archetypes of disruptive leaders: steadfast managers, realist optimists, worried skeptics, and agent provocateurs.
How mid-size companies can avoid the “permafrost” layer that limits the flexibility of larger companies.
How is the challenge of being a disruptive leader different if you’re female or a minority member versus being a white male?
Dan Hill, PhD, is the author of eight books and leads Sensory Logic, Inc. (https://www.sensorylogic.com). To check out his “Faces of the Week” blog, visit https://emotionswizard.com. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/dan-hills-eq-spotlight
How can we improve our productivity by literally seeing the world differently than before? Today I talked to Emily Balcetis about her new book Clearer, Closer, Better: How Successful People See the World (Ballantine Books, 2020) Balcetis is an associate professor psychology at New York University. She received her PhD from Cornell University and has authored over 70 scientific publications in addition to being a TED speaker. Topics covered in this episode include:
What are the four general perceptual shifts that research suggest make a huge difference in improving our odds of success in tackling projects and other initiatives.
Which emotion or emotions may best fit or spur on each of those four strategies.
Of all the research studies that went into this book, which one is Balcetis’s favorite. Why did this optical “trick” lead to double-digit growth in the likelihood of making progress.
To get a transcript of this episode, click here. Dan Hill, PhD, is the author of eight books and leads Sensory Logic, Inc. (https://www.sensorylogic.com). To check out his “Faces of the Week” blog, visit https://emotionswizard.com. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/dan-hills-eq-spotlight
How are we going to address inequality and put the economy on a sounder footing? Today I talked to Eric Lonergan and Mark Blyth about their new book Angrynomics (Agenda Publishing/Columbia University Press, 2020). Lonergan is an economist and macro fund manager in London whose writings often appear in The Financial Times. Blyth is a political economist at Brown University who received his PhD in political science from Columbia University. Topics covered in this episode include: --An exploration of how the emotions of anger, fear and disgust animate both the long-term economic stresses in society and those brought on by the Covid-19 crisis. --What the differences are between moral outrage versus tribal outrage. --Descriptions of three, potentially viable and game-changing solutions, including among them a “data dividend” and the creation of national wealth funds like those in Norway and beyond. Dan Hill, PhD, is the author of eight books and leads Sensory Logic, Inc. (https://www.sensorylogic.com). To check out his “Faces of the Week” blog, visit https://emotionswizard.com. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/dan-hills-eq-spotlight
What are some of the prevalent ways in which we lie to ourselves and limit our flexibility? Today I discussed this and other questions with David R. Grimes, the author of The Irrational Ape: Why Flawed Logic Puts Us All at Risk, and How Critical Thinking Can Save the World (Simon & Schuster, 2019). Grimes is a cancer researcher, physicist, and writer. He contributes to media outlets such as PBS, the BBC, the Guardian, the Irish Times, and the New York Times. This is his first book. Topics covered in this episode include: --What’s the origin of the term “snake oil” and how it illustrates the book’s larger points. --Which emotions social media, especially Facebook, exploit most effectively and why. How are the “sins” of social media similar to different from how traditional mass media operates? --In both work settings and in one’s private life, what kind of human foibles and illogical fallacies put us most at risk. What one emotion may help us grow and interact with others best. Dan Hill, PhD, is the author of eight books and leads Sensory Logic, Inc. To check out his “Faces of the Week” blog, visit https://emotionswizard.com. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/dan-hills-eq-spotlight
What makes a building’s design come alive as it helps shape our existence? Listen in as I discuss this and other questions with Susie Hodge, author of The Short Story of Architecture: A Pocket Guide to Key Styles, Buildings, Elements & Materials (Laurence King Publishing, 2019) Hodge is an art and design historian, author and artist with over 150 books published for adults and children alike. She’s also a frequent contributor to magazines, museum and gallery web resources, and radio and TV news programs and documentaries. Topics covered in this episode include: --The religious, civic, and cultural buildings that most stand out for Hodge, among the book’s stellar options, with the specific emotional responses each one elicits. --Frank Lloyd Wright, Le Corbusier and Antoni Gaudi weren’t just great architects, they also had forceful, colorful personalities revealed here through select anecdotes. --Which of the houses in this book influenced the top 10 must popular house styles in America? Learn as well which rooms in their houses Americans favor the most. Dan Hill, PhD, is the author of eight books and leads Sensory Logic, Inc. To check out his “Faces of the Week” blog, visit https://emotionswizard.com. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/dan-hills-eq-spotlight
How is the retail sector going to be best able to survive the Amazon juggernaut? I address this question with B. Joseph Pine II and James H. Gilmore in a discussion of their book The Experience Economy: Competing for Customer Time, Attention, and Money (Harvard Business Review Press, 2020). Pine and Gilmore are the cofounders of Strategic Horizons, LLP. Besides their other books and activities, Pine is a Lecturer at Columbia University and Gilmore teaches at Case Western Reserve University. Topics covered in this episode include: --What have been the relevant emotions in play as the economy has evolved across the four stage of commodities, goods, services, and now experiences and transformations alike. --How is achieving “customer satisfaction” too limiting, and what’s the emotional storyline that, first, Walt Disney and now business leaders worldwide must embrace to survive and thrive. --How does the emotional labor of employees being “on stage” as part of an experience square with workers’ and customers’ desire for authenticity. For a transcript of this episode, click here. Dan Hill, PhD, is the author of eight books and leads Sensory Logic, Inc. To check out his “Faces of the Week” blog, visit https://emotionswizard.com. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/dan-hills-eq-spotlight
To what degree did each of The Beatles exhibit emotional intelligence in the band’s final year? You'll find out in the discussion I had with Kenneth Womack about his new book Solid State: The Story of Abbey Road and The End of The Beatles (Cornell University Press, 2019). Womack is the author of a two-volume biography of the life and work of Beatles producer George Martin. His forthcoming book, John Lennon, 1980: The Last Days in the Life, will be available in October 2020. Topics covered in this episode include: --Womack explains what Solid State refers to and where Abbey Road might rank in the band’s legacy. (Fortunately, the Magical Mystery Tour album wasn’t a top-three choice of his!) --Using the Big 5 model for personality traits, what might be the dominant traits of The Beatles given the options of openness, conscientiousness, extraversion, agreeableness, and neuroticism. --Why the band had reached a point where, like a bad marriage, it couldn’t survive any longer. For a transcript of this episode, click here. Dan Hill, PhD, is the author of eight books and leads Sensory Logic, Inc. To check out his “Faces of the Week” blog, visit https://emotionswizard.com. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/dan-hills-eq-spotlight
How did Donald Trump’s leveraging of emotions get him to The White House? Today I discussed this question with Steven E. Schier and Todd E. Eberly, co-authors of the new book How Trump Happened: A System Shock Decades in the Making (Rowman and Littlefield, 2020). Schier is professor emeritus of political science at Carleton College and Eberly is an associate professor of political science at St. Mary’s College of Maryland. This is Schier’s 23rd book as author or editor, and the co-authors fourth book together. Topics covered in this episode include: --The emotive similarities and differences between four political leaders: Donald Trump, George Wallace, Richard Nixon, and Ross Perot, with a special focus on the Trump / Nixon affinity. --Analysis of Trump’s emotional playbook, especially how he elicits and leverages voter anger. --What the lessons are for leaders everywhere in terms of understanding Trump’s successes and failures as the country’s current, all-consuming focal point. A transcript of the episode can be found here. Dan Hill, PhD, is the author of eight books and leads Sensory Logic, Inc. To check out his “Faces of the Week” blog, visit https://emotionswizard.com. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/dan-hills-eq-spotlight
