Radio Free Leader: Recent Episodes
David Burkus
Radio Free Leader is a podcast dedicated to helping you lead smarter by tearing down the walls between the ivory tower and the corner office. Each week, host David Burkus interviews outstanding thinkers and doers in leadership, innovation, and strategy like Daniel Pink, Marcus Buckingham, Tom Rath, Adam Grant, and more.
A special announcement for everyone subscribed to Radio Free Leader. Listen to this announcement, then stay connected for updates on future projects at http://davidburkus.com/join
Daniel McGinn is the author of "Psyched Up: How the Science of Mental Preparation Can Help You Succeed." McGinn works as a senior editor at Harvard Business Review, where he edits the IdeaWatch and How I Did It sections, manages the magazine’s annual Best Performing CEOs in the World ranking, and edits feature articles on topics including negotiation, sales, and entrepreneurship. He has appeared as a guest on NBC’s Today Show, the CBS Morning Show, PBS’s NewsHour, CNN, CNBC, MSNBC, and NPR.
Sam Walker is The Wall Street Journal’s deputy editor for enterprise, the unit that directs the paper’s in-depth page-one features and investigative reporting projects. A former reporter, sports columnist, and sports editor, Walker founded the Journal’s prizewinning daily sports coverage in 2009. In addition to The Captain Class, he is the author of Fantasyland, a bestselling account of his attempt to win America’s top fantasy baseball expert competition (of which he is a two-time champion). Walker attended the University of Michigan. He lives in New York City with his wife and two children.
Dr. Srini Pillay is Assistant Professor of Psychiatry (Part-Time) at Harvard Medical School. He is known for combining “head and heart” (figuratively and literally) in an approach to personal development and goal mastery that blends science, spirituality, and horns-grabbing joie de vivre to combat the stresses faced by ambitious and high-achieving people in academia, business, and life. After graduating at the top of his class from medical school in South Africa, he received a Medical Research Council Scholarship to study the neurochemistry of panic. Thereafter, he completed his residency in psychiatry at McLean Hospital—Harvard’s largest freestanding psychiatric hospital—with the most accolades ever given to a single resident. Srini also completed fellowships in Psychopharmacology, Structural Brain Imaging and Functional Brain Imaging. He has been an expert guest for CNN, Fox, NPR, The New York Times, Washington Post, Huffington Post, Harvard Business School, Cosmopolitan, Elle, Forbes, Fortune, Business Insider and many other news outlets in a variety of media and is known as a highly entertaining guest.
Claire Díaz-Ortiz is an author, speaker, and technology innovator who has been named one of the 100 Most Creative People in Business by Fast Company. Claire was an early employee at Twitter, where she was hired to lead corporate social innovation.
Andrew Davis is a bestselling author and internationally acclaimed keynote speaker. Before co-founding, building and selling a thriving digital marketing agency, Andrew Davis created programming for local television, produced for NBC’s Today Show, worked for The Muppets in New York and wrote for Charles Kuralt. He has marketed for tiny start-ups and Fortune 500 brands. In 2016, Davis founded Monumental Shift, the world’s first talent agency for marketing thought leaders.
Jeff Goins is the author of four books, including the national best seller, The Art of Work. He is also a full-time blogger, speaker, and entrepreneur. Jeff’s award-winning blog, GoinsWriter.com, has been visited by over four million people from around the world. His work has been featured in the Washington Post, USA Today, Entrepreneur, Forbes, and Psychology Today. He and his wife, Ashley, live just outside of Nashville, TN with their two children and dog.
Jocelyn K. Glei is obsessed with how we can find more creativity and meaning in our daily work. Her latest book is Unsubscribe, a modern guide to killing email anxiety, avoiding distraction, and getting real work done. Her previous books include Manage Your Day-to-Day, Maximize Your Potential, and Make Your Mark, which offer pragmatic, actionable advice for creatives on managing their time, their careers, and their businesses. She was formerly the founding director of the 99U Conference and editor-in-chief of 99u.com, which earned two Webby Awards for Best Cultural Blog. Jocelyn has given talks at leading creative companies and conferences all over the world, including Google, The Guardian, How To Academy, The Next Web (TNW), and CreativeMornings, among others. Her writing and ideas have been featured in outlets including NPR, New York Magazine, Fast Company, BuzzFeed, SELF, Harvard Business Review, GQ, and Brain Pickings. You can find her online at jkglei.com.
Jim Kouzes is a bestselling author, an award-winning speaker and, according to the Wall Street Journal, one of the twelve best executive educators in the United States.
Currently Jim is Dean’s Executive Fellow of Leadership, Leavey School of Business, at Santa Clara University, and also lectures on leadership around the world to corporations, governments, and nonprofits. In 2010, Jim received the Thought Leadership Award from the Instructional Systems Association, the most prestigious award given by the trade association of training and development industry providers. He was listed as one of HR Magazine’s Most Influential International Thinkers for 2010 and 2011, named one of the 2010 and 2011 Top 100 Thought Leaders in Trustworthy Business Behavior by Trust Across America, and ranked by Leadership
Having been involved in a lot of well-intentioned innovation and change initiatives in industry, government and small businesses, Dave Gray noticed that people have an astonishing ability to miscommunicate and misunderstand one another, and often work at cross-purposes to the very things they are trying to accomplish. In 1993 He founded XPLANE, the visual thinking company, to help people develop shared understanding, so they can make better, faster decisions, and work better together to create more lasting, sustainable impact. In this interview, we discuss what's blocking many people from making lasting change, and how to overcome it.
Eric Barker’s humorous, practical blog, "Barking Up the Wrong Tree", and book of the same name, presents science-based answers and expert insight on how to be awesome at life. Over 290,000 people subscribe to his weekly newsletter and his content is syndicated by Time Magazine, The Week, and Business Insider. He has been featured in the New York Times, the Wall Street Journal, The Atlantic Monthly, and the Financial Times. In this interview, we talk about why common sense wisdom about success is soften so wrong, and what is right.
Judah Pollack is an author and speaker. He has worked with everyone from US Army Generals and Special Forces to non-profit founders and social good pioneers. A regular speaker at Berkeley’s Haas School of Business, Judah engages people in asking what does it mean to be human? In this interview, we dive deep into how your brain thinks, and how to trigger breakthrough thinking.
SCOTT HARTLEY is a venture capitalist and startup advisor. He has served as a Presidential Innovation Fellow at the White House, a partner at Mohr Davidow Ventures, and a venture partner at Metamorphic Ventures. Prior to venture capital, Hartley worked at Google, Facebook, and Harvard's Berkman Center for Internet & Society. Hartley first heard the term "fuzzy" at Stanford, to refer to any liberal arts major at Stanford. In this interview, we discuss his observations that many of the most innovative "techie" firms need liberal arts minds as well.
Michael C. Mankins is a partner in Bain & Company's San Francisco office and a leader in the firm's Organization practice. He is also a senior member of Bain's Strategy and Industrial Goods & Services practices. Much of his work has focused on the strategic and organizational initiatives that drive performance and long-term value. He is the co-author of "Time, Talent, Energy: Overcome Organizational Drag and Unleash Your Team’s Productive Power." In this interview, we discuss how the organization's most precious resources rarely end up on a balance sheet.
As a new product professional, Adam has always believed in the power of possibility—accepting new approaches, questioning conventional wisdom, and being open to anything. This impulse led him to a career in developing new products for innovative companies such as M&M/Mars, Melaleuca and American Harvest, before joining Ideas To Go in 2001. His path to innovation process started with an MBA in product management from Indiana University. He also cultivated his passion for New Product Development as the VP of Association Development for PDMA, and has also enriched his own practice through training in Innovation Engineering. In this interview, we discuss how our biased hold us back...and how to hold them back in return.
Melissa Agnes is a sought-after, international crisis management keynote speaker. She delivers powerful talks that help today’s organizations understand the realities that loom when crisis strikes. Her customized presentations provide tools and strategies that create a proactive, crisis-ready corporate culture. In this interview, we discuss how leaders can best respond to a crisis.
Erik Wahl is an internationally recognized graffiti artist, # 1 best-selling author and entrepreneur. Erik redefines the term “keynote speaker.” Pulling from his history as both a businessman and an artist, he has grown to become one of the most sought-after corporate speakers available today. Erik’s on-stage painting seamlessly becomes a visual metaphor to the core of his message, encouraging organizations toward profitability through innovations and superior levels of performance. His list of clients includes AT&T, Disney, London School of Business, Microsoft, FedEx, Exxon Mobil, Ernst & Young, and XPrize; Erik has even been featured as a TED presenter. The responses received have been nothing short of incredible, with standing ovations to prove it.
Erik’s bestselling business book "Unthink" was hailed by Forbes Magazine as THE blueprint to actionable creativity and by Fast Company Magazine as “Provocative with a Purpose.” His provocative new book, "The Spark & the Grind: Ignite the Power of Disciplined Creativity," shares how you can train yourself to become creative in your business and everyday life.
Andy Molinsky is a Professor at Brandeis University’s International Business School. Andy helps people develop the insights and courage necessary to act outside their personal and cultural comfort zones when doing important, but challenging, tasks in work and life. His work has been featured in Harvard Business Review, Inc. Magazine, Psychology Today, the Financial Times, the Boston Globe, NPRand Voice of America. Andy was awarded as a Top Voice for LinkedIn for his work in education. In this interview, we discuss if outside your comfort zone is really where the magic happens.
Joshua Spodek, bestselling author of Leadership Step by Step, is an Adjunct Professor at NYU, leadership coach and workshop leader for Columbia Business School, columnist for Inc., and founder of Spodek Academy. He has led seminars in leadership, entrepreneurship, creativity, and sales at Harvard, Princeton, MIT, INSEAD, the New York Academy of Science, and in private corporations. He holds five Ivy League degrees, including a PhD in Astrophysics and an MBA, and studied under a Nobel Prize winner. In this interview, we discuss how leadership development is a practice, and how to practice being the leader others want to follow.
Paul Zak is the founding Director of the Center for Neuroeconomics Studies and Professor of Economics, Psychology and Management at Claremont Graduate University. Pauls’s two decades of research have taken him from the Pentagon to Fortune 50 boardrooms to the rain forest of Papua New Guinea. All this in a quest to understand the neuroscience of human connection, human happiness, and effective teamwork. His academic lab and companies he has started develop and deploy neuroscience technologies to solve real problems faced by real people. His latest book, Trust Factor: The Science of Creating High Performance Companies, uses neuroscience to measure and manage organizational cultures to inspire teamwork and accelerate business outcomes. In this interview, we discuss the key role trust building plays in enhances performance.
Josh Seiden is a designer who has spent most of his career working on the design of complex software applications and integrating design into the product development process. Over the course of 25 years working in technology Josh has developed specialities that include Lean UX, interaction design, service design, and user experience design in agile software development environments. Josh is the co-author of two books, both in collaboration with his writing partner, Jeff Gothelf. Eric Ries called their most recent book, "Sense & Respond," "A crucial framework for the modern world of business.” In this interview, we talk about the role of leaders in engaging customers in ongoing dialogue that shapes new, competitive products and services.
Heidi K. Gardner, PhD, is a Distinguished Fellow in the Center on the Legal Profession at Harvard Law School. Her research focuses on leadership and collaboration in professional service firms. Gardner has lived and worked on four continents, including positions with McKinsey & Co. and Procter & Gamble, and as a Fulbright Scholar. She holds a BA in Japanese Studies from the University of Pennsylvania (summa cum laude, Phi Beta Kappa), a masters degree from the London School of Economics (with honors), and a second masters and doctorate in organizational behavior from London Business School. In this interview, we discuss how leaders (and all successful professionals) win by breaking down silos.
Jennifer earned her PhD in Social and Developmental Psychology at Brandeis University, and has been on the faculty of many top business schools including the Wharton School, Yale School of Management and NYU's Stern School of Business. She published the paper, “The Bias Against Creativity,” which went viral and was downloaded over 65,000 times—receiving more than 100 media mentions. Her book “Creative Change” reveals the answer she found to the question of why people desire but reject creativity. In this interview, we discuss the basic assumptions about how we recognize creative ideas, creative leaders, and the very fabric of how we structure organizations for innovation.
Soren Kaplan is the author of the best-selling and award-winning book "Leapfrogging," an affiliated professor at the Center for Effective Organizations at USC's Marshall School of Business, a contributing writer for Fast Company, a leading keynote speaker, and the founder of InnovationPoint. In this interview, we discuss how to create a culture of innovation, and how you can use that culture to create a competitive advantage.
Laura Gassner Otting has spent the last 20 years working to strengthen organizations that weave our social and civic fabric. Through "Limitless Possibility," Laura collaborates with entrepreneurs and investors to push past the doubt and indecision that consign great ideas to limbo. In this interview, we discuss her catalytic perspective informed by decades of navigating change across the start-up, nonprofit, political, and philanthropic landscapes.
Brad Szollose is the foremost expert on cross-generational leadership development strategies and the award-winning author of "Liquid Leadership: From Woodstock to Wikipedia." Brad is a former C-level executive of a publicly traded company that he co-founded which went from entrepreneurial start-up to IPO in less than three years. In this interview, we discuss the new generation of business leaders, and how to help them maximize their cross-generational corporate culture, management expectations, productivity, and sales growth in The Information Age.
Justin Brady is the founder of the Creativity Cultivator podcast, a in-demand designer, and a consultant/speaker to companies large and small who want to help their people enhance their creative potential. In this interview, we discuss failure, in particular what the current "failure culture" misses and when are the right and wrong times to celebrate failure.
Sally Hogshead is an American author, professional speaker, chief executive officer of Fascinate, Inc and a former advertising executive. She is the author of Fascinate and How the World Sees You. Over the past decade, Hogshead has studied the science of fascination and what persuades and captivates people. In this interview, we discuss how individuals and leaders benefit from knowing what is so fascinating about them and how to put it to work.
Gareth Jones is a Fellow of the Centre for Management Development at London Business School. He is co-author (with Rib Goffee) of “Why Should Anyone Be Led By You?” and the new book “Why Should Anyone Work Here?” In this interview, we discuss how to create an authentic organization and unlock people to do their best work.
Greg McKeown writes, teaches, and speaks around the world on the importance of living and leading as an Essentialist. He has spoken at companies including Apple, Google, Facebook, LinkedIn, Salesforce.com, Symantec, and Twitter and is among the most popular bloggers for the Harvard Business Review and LinkedIn Influencer’s group. In this interview, we talk about how to focus in on what’s essential and pursue less but better in our life and career.
Dr. Seth Stone is an organizational consultant focused on helping leaders uncover latent potential and thrive in the global marketplace using the components of innovation. He’s also the host of the LeadThis podcast. In this interview, we discuss how the most innovative firms shape the future, and how you can too.
Cal Newport is a writer and an assistant professor of computer science at Georgetown University. He also runs the popular website Study Hacks: Decoding Patterns of Success. He is the author of "Deep Work" and "So Good They Can't Ignore You." In this interview, we discuss why deep work creates all the value and how to train yourself to work deeper.
Thomas Wedell-Wedellsborg is a partner at The Innovation Architects, a management consulting firm in New York City. He is co-author of "Innovation as Usual." He is a frequent speaker at corporate events and has worked with managers in nearly all parts of the globe, including China, India, Russia, Singapore, Britain, France, the United States, and his native country, Denmark. He has founded two start-ups and serves as an adviser to BBC Worldwide Labs. In this interview, we discuss how to make creativity a habit, and how to bring innovation to life.
Srinivas Rao uses the internet to make things, and leads a creativity and innovation revolution while he does. Rao is the author of “Unmistakeable” and the founder of the Unmistakeable Creative podcast, where he's interviewed over five hundred creative people. Former guests on the show include Seth Godin, Elle Luna, Tim Ferriss, Gretchen Rubin, Simon Sinek, Adam Grant, and Danielle LaPorte. In this episode, we discuss why being the only in a niche is better than being the best.
Lisa Kay Solomon is co-author of "Design a Better Business." She is a well-known thought leader in design innovation with a focus on building the leadership skills required to ignite change and create lasting impact. Lisa is Principal Faculty and Managing Director of Transformational Practices at Singularity University, a global community of smart, passionate, action-oriented leaders who want use exponential technologies to change the world. In this interview, we discuss how leaders bear the responsibility to help design a better future...and talk tips and tactics for making that happen.
Amy E. Herman is the author of Visual Intelligence and the creator of The Art of Perception course, where she uses works of art to train police officers, medical professions, and everyone else how to be more effective on the job, more empathetic toward their loved ones, and more alert to the trove of possibilities and threats all around them. In this interview, we discuss why we miss so much of the world around us, and who we can see (and think) better.
Dr. Max McKeown is the author of 7 books, including the new book #Now, as well as The Strategy Book, winner of the Commuter Read at the Chartered Management Institute Book of the Year 2013 and Amazon's Best Business Books of 2012. He works as a strategic coach with Fortune 100 companies and is also a popular keynote speaker at conferences worldwide. In this interview, we define a "nowist" philosophy and show why nowists make great leaders.
Jurgen Appelo is a pioneering management consultant who helps creative organizations survive and thrive in the twenty-first century. He is the author of Managing for Happiness, andd the CEO of the global business network Happy Melly. In this interview, we discuss how the changing nature of work requires a change in management…and why management is too important to be left up to managers alone.
In This episode, You’ll Learn:
Why traditional performance measurement fails Why management is everybody’s business Why happy workers are creative workers
Enjoy This Episode? If you enjoyed the show, please rate it on iTunes or Stitcher and write a brief review. That would really help get the word out and raise the visibility of the show.
John Ruhlin is the founder of The Ruhlin Group, a gift logistics company that helps clients like the Chicago Cubs, Wells Fargo, Caesar s Entertainment, Miami Dolphins, Morgan Stanley, and The John Maxwell Company execute year-round gifting strategies. He is also the author of the new book, "Giftology." In this interview, we discuss how to give better gifts and make better investments into the relationships that matter.
ason and Jodi Womack are the wife and husband team behind the Get Momentum Leadership Academy, a coaching program designed to help people realize their full potential. They are also the co-authors of the aptly-titled book "Get Momentum." In this interview, we discuss why we get stuck in various areas of our life, how to get started and how to build momentum towards what we want to achieve.
Emma Seppälä is Science Director of the Center for Compassion and Altruism Research and Education at Stanford University and a leading expert on health psychology, well-being, and resilience. Her research has been featured in the New York Times, ABC News, Forbes, the Boston Globe, U.S. News & World Report, the Huffington Post, INC, and Fast Company. She is also the author of "The Happiness Track." In this interview, we discuss how the science of happiness can accelerate your success.
Tim Sullivan is the co-author of The Inner Lives of Markets. He is editorial director of Harvard Business Review Press and has worked at Basic Books, Portfolio, and Princeton University Press, where he helped build one of the most successful academic economics lists in the world. In this interview, we discuss how we shape markets and how they shape us.
Leigh Stringer is a workplace strategist who blends her master's in architecture with her MBA and a passion for research with practical application. She works for EYP, an architecture, engineering and building technology firm. She is also author of "The Healthy Workplace." In this interview, we discuss how the workplace affects the well-being of employees...and a company's bottom line.
Liz Wiseman teaches leadership to executives around the world. She is president of The Wiseman Group, a leadership research and development center headquartered in Silicon Valley, California. Her newest book is Rookie Smarts and, in this interview, we discuss why learning beats knowing in the new game of work.
Nancy Duarte is a communication expert and he of Duarte, Inc. Her firm has created more than a quarter of a million presentations for the world’s most influential businesses, institutions, causes, and authors. As a persuasion specialist Nancy developed a unique methodology, which applies storytelling and visual thinking principles to business communications that shift audience beliefs and behaviors. In this interview, we discuss how to ignite change through speeches, stories, ceremonies, and symbols.
Anders Ericsson is the world's foremost expert on expertise and the author of "Peak: Secrets From The New Science of Expertise." He is a Conradi Eminent Scholar and professor or psychology at Florida State University. His work has been written about in great books like Malcolm Gladwell's "Outliers" and bestsellers like "Moonwalking with Einstein" and "How Children Succeed". In this interview, we discuss the truth about the 10,000 hour rule that's based on his work AND how anyone can utilize deliberate practice to enhance their performance in all domains.
Bruce N. Pfau is KPMG’s Vice Chair of Human Resources and Communications. He holds a PhD in Psychology from Loyola University of Chicago. He is also co-author of "The Human Capital Edge: 21 People Management Practices Your Company Must Implement (Or Avoid) To Maximize Shareholder Value." In this interview, we discuss the common misconceptions about millennials in the workplace and what it takes to engage employees regardless of their generation.
Matthew E. May is an award-winning author and noted thought leader on strategy and innovation. A popular speaker, facilitator, and coach, he works with individuals and organizations all over the world. His new book, "Winning the Brain Game," attacks the bad habits of thinking that set back our problem solving. In this interview, we how to have better decision-making, higher levels of creativity, clearer strategies, and overall success in business, work and life.
Mark Babbitt is President of SwitchandShift.com, a site and consultancy dedicated to leadership in the Social Age. He is co-author of "A World Gone Social." In this interview, we talk about how the world, and the world of work, has changed and how leaders have to adapt to survive.
Ron Carucci is a principal at Navalent, an organizational consulting and leadership consulting firm, and former Associate Professor of Organizational Behavior. He is co-author (with Eric Hansen) of "Rising to Power." In this interview, we break down Ron's 10 year study of the career paths of executives and discover the patterns in the journey of exceptional leaders.
Dave Ulrich is the Rensis Likert Collegiate Professor of Business Administration at the Ross School of Business, University of Michigan, and a partner at the RBL Group consulting firm. He is the author the new book "The Leadership Capital Index," which proposes a Moody's or Standard and Poor's type rating for leadership. In this interview, we talk about the difference leaders make and how they create measurable value for all stakeholders.
Maurice Schweitzer is the Cecilia Yen Koo Professor at the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania. He received his Ph.D. from the Wharton School. He is co-auhor, with Adam Galinksy, or the new book Friend & Foe. Combined, Galinsky and Schweitzer have published over 250 scientific articles and chapters in the fields of management, psychology, and economics. Their work has been cited in The Economist, The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, The Financial Times, The New Yorker, National Public Radio, and more. In this interview, we discuss how to know when to compete or cooperate and how to succeed at both.
Sydney Finkelstein is the Steven Roth Professor of Management at the Tuck School of Business at Dartmouth College and the director of Tuck’s Center for Leadership. He is consistently voted one of the top thinkers in management by Thinkers50. In this episode, we discuss what he calls "SuperBossess" (also the title of his new book), and the role that exceptional managers play in personal and organizational success.
Martin Lindstrom is the bestselling author of "Buyology" and one of the world's foremost marketing consulting. His new book, "Small Data," argues that it's the tiny clues (not the big data conclusions) that yield breakthrough insights. In this interview, we discuss small data, how a boyhood Martin once got sued by LEGO, and why he spends most nights sleeping in other people's homes.
Need Doshi and Lindsay McGregor are partners in life, work, and writing. The are the founders of the consulting firm Vega Factor and authors of "Primed to Perform." In this interview, we dive deep into culture, systems, and motivation. We define TOMO and outline how the science of motivation can help build high performing cultures.
Michael Bungay Stanier is the author of The Coaching Habit, whose new book touches on similar themes as my new release, Under New Management. So in this special joint venture episode, Michael and I discuss the future of work, the changes that are coming, and why managers need to get better at coaching their people in order to survive the shift.
Liann Eden is the co-founder of Eden McCallum, a consultant firm with no consultants. Using an innovative organizational design, Eden is able to bring the brightest consultants to client projects by forming bespoke teams. In this interview, we talk about how the model developed and why writing the org chart in pencil is the way of the future.
Dane Atkinson is the founder and CEO of SumAll, a company that made headlines for committing to salary transparency and sharing with employees what every other employee gets paid. In this interview, Dane and I discuss the downsides of secrecy and the surprising upside of pay transparency.
Tim Sanders is the former Yahoo! Chief Solutions Officer and the author of four books, including the new book "Dealstorming." He is a co-founder of the research consultancy Deeper Media, Inc. and a top-rated speaker, lecturing widely at sales rallies, company kickoffs, and conventions. In this interview, we discuss why sales is everyone's business, how to prepare for meetings, and how to lead team's to genius solutions.
Daniel Korschun is an Associate Professor of Marketing at Drexel University’s LeBow College of Business and the author of "We Are Market Basket." In this interview, we discuss how the uniqueness of a business was due to the unique leadership of Arthur T. Demoulas and how reciprocal loyalty made for a successful business and a revolutionary act of followership.
Strategy guru Roger L. Martin and Skoll Foundation President and CEO Sally R. Osberg are co-authors of "Getting Beyond Better: How Social Entrepreneurship Works." In this interview, they describe how social entrepreneurs target systems that exist in a stable but unjust equilibrium and transform them into entirely new, superior, and sustainable equilibria. All of these leaders—call them disrupters, visionaries, or changemakers—develop, build, and scale their solutions in ways that bring about the truly revolutionary change that makes the world a fairer and better place.
Shawn Murphy is CEO and founder of Switch & Shift, an organization dedicated to the advancement of human-centered organizational practices and leadership. He is the author of The Optimistic Workplace. In this interview, Shawn and I discuss why our best work is the product of a positive environment and how to build that environment.
Jeffrey Pfeffer is the Thomas D. Dee II Professor of Organizational Behavior at the Graduate School of Business, Stanford University, where he has taught since 1979. In this interview, we take a hard-hitting dissection of the leadership industry and ways to make workplaces and careers work better.
Bill George is professor of management practice at Harvard Business School, where he has taught leadership since 2004. Mr. George is the former chairman and chief executive officer of Medtronic. He is the author of the new book, Discover Your True North, an updated version of his bestseller True North. In this interview, we discuss how to become an authentic leader.
Tom Rath is a researcher, author, and filmmaker who studies the role of human behavior in business, health, and well-being. He has been described by business leaders and the media as one of the greatest thinkers and nonfiction writers of his generation. Tom’s most recent work includes the bestselling book Are You Fully Charged? and the documentary Fully Charged. In this interview, we discuss the key elements of energizing one’s work and life.
Daniel H. Pink is the author of five provocative books — including three long-running New York Times bestsellers, A Whole New Mind, Drive, and To Sell is Human. Dan’s books have been translated into 34 languages and have sold more than 2 million copies worldwide. In this interview, I catch up with what Dan is working on now, and get some counterintuitive career advice.
A new year's announcement from David Burkus, host of LDRLB....or...wait....host of Radio Free Leader.
Whitney Johnson is the leading thinker on driving corporate innovation through personal disruption. She cofounded Rose Park Advisors, a boutique investment firm, with Clayton Christensen, and was an Institutional Investor-ranked analyst for eight consecutive years, including at Merrill Lynch. She is the author of Disrupt Yourself: Putting the Power of Disruptive Innovation to Work. In this interview, we describe how to upend your career and move into the leadership role you've always wanted.
Aaron Olson and BK Simerson are the authors of Leading with Strategic Thinking: Four Ways Effective Leaders Gain Insight, Drive Change, and Get Results. In this interview, we discuss why leadership and strategy are mistakingly treated as separate topics and how effective leaders drive strategic change.
Fred Kiel is the author of "Return on Character." He is is a founding partner of the leadership development and strategic analytics firm KRW International and a pioneer in the field of executive coaching. In this interview, we discuss his recent research showing how the character of corporate leaders can make a tangible difference to the bottom line.
Mike Figliuolo is the Founder and Managing Director of thoughtLEADERS, LLC - a leadership development and training firm. He's also the author of "Lead Inside the Box" and "One Piece of Paper." Mike graduated as an Honor Graduate from West Point and served in the US Army. He was a consultant with McKinsey & Co. and also had several executive roles at Capital One Financial and Scotts Miracle-Gro. In this interview, we discuss how smart leaders guide their teams to exceptional results.
Josh Davis, Ph.D., is the director of research and lead professor at the NeuroLeadership Institute, a global institute dedicated to synthesizing scientific research and guiding its use in the business and leadership domains. He has taught at Columbia University, New York University, and Barnard College of Columbia University. He is the author of "Two Awesome Hours: Science-Based Strategies to Harness Your Best Time and Get Your Most Important Work Done." In this interview, we discuss why work so rarely happens at work and how to get your best work done.
Susan Fowler is the author of "Why Motivating People Doesn't Work...And What Does." She is the lead developer of The Ken Blanchard Company's Optimal Motivation program, which has been implemented worldwide. In this interview, we discuss strategies for optimal motivation and what Maslow’s hierarchy won’t tell you about motivation.
Jean-Philippe Vergne is the author of "The Pirate Organization." He is an assistant professor of strategy at the Richard Ivey School of Business at the University of Western Ontario. His ongoing research on the global arms industry received the inaugural Grigor McClelland Doctoral Dissertation Award in 2011. In this interview, we discuss how pirates and misfits preserve the spirit of capitalism.
Ryan Hartwig is Chair and Associate Professor, Department of Communication Studies at Asuza Pacific University, where he teaches courses on Group Communication and Leadership. He is co-author of "Teams That Thrive." In this interview, we discuss the myth of meaningful work, its leadership implications, and Ryan's recent TEDx talk on the subject.
Todd Henry is the founder of Accidental Creative, a company that helps creative people and teams be prolific, brilliant and healthy. He regularly speaks and consults with companies about how to develop practices that lead to everyday brilliance. His new book, Louder Than Words, outlines the role of a authentic voice as an individual and a leader.
Donald Sull is a global expert on strategy and execution in turbulent markets. He is a senior lecturer at the MIT Sloan School of Management. Kathleen Eisenhardt is the S. W. Ascherman Professor of Strategy at Stanford, a highly cited author, and the co-director of the Stanford Technology Ventures Program. The are the authors of the new book "Simple Rules: How to Thrive in a Complex World." In this interview, we talk about the complexity that surrounds all of us, and how by developing a few simple yet effective rules, people can best even the most complex problems.
Lee Cockerell is the former Executive Vice President of Operations for the Walt Disney World Resort. As the Senior Operating Executive for ten years Lee led a team of 40,000 Cast Members and was responsible for the operations of 20 resort hotels, 4 theme parks, 2 water parks, a shopping and entertainment village, and the ESPN sports and recreation complex. In this interview, we discuss how Lee created and led Disney magic and how you can too, no matter who you work for.
Heidi Grant Halvorson is a social psychologist and Associate Director of the Motivation Science Center at Columbia Business School. She is the author of four bestselling books, including "Nine Things Successful People Do Differently" and her new book No One Understands You and What To Do About It." In this interview, we discuss the cognitive biases that make authentic interactions so difficult...and what to do about it.
Dan Ariely is a behavioral economist and triple New York Times bestselling author. His most recent projects include Timeful, a calendar app aimed at using behavioral science to maximize productivity, a documentary on dishonesty, and Irrationally Yours, a compilation of essays on applying behavioral economics to every day life. In this interview, we discuss how to better bridge the gap between social science and everyday practice.
Nilofer Merchant is the Jane Bond of Innovation. From working with Steve Jobs at Apple, to defeating Microsoft in an epic industry battle, to advising the C-Suites of GE, IBM, Logitech and more, Merchant brings a world-class pedigree to her work. You’ve probably seen her byline and ideas in publications like the Harvard Business Review, Wired, and Oprah. A TED speaker, she shares the stage with luminaries regularly, including Malcolm Gladwell, and Bono (yes, THAT Bono). In this interview, we talk about how collaboration is the future of strategy.
Michael Lee Stallard is the author of "Connection Culture: The Competitive Advantage of Shared Identity, Empathy, and Understanding at Work." He is co-founder and president of E Pluribus Partners and a respected and recognized expert on the human connection aspects of leadership and culture. He speaks, teaches, coaches and consults for clients including General Electric, Google, M.D. Anderson Cancer Center, NASA, Texas Christian University, U.S. Department of Treasury and Yale New Haven Health System. In their interview, we discuss what Bono and U2 can teach leaders about making a great work culture.
Tom Rath is the author of several best-selling books, including Strengths Finder 2.0, Strengths-Based Leadership and Eat Move Sleep. His latest book, Are You Fully Charged?, focuses on the small actions that make a big difference in everyday effectiveness in life and work. In this interview, we talk about The 3 keys to energizing your work and life
Dorie Clark is the author of "Reinventing You" and "Stand Out." A former presidential campaign spokeswoman, she is a frequent contributor to the Harvard Business Review, Forbes, and Entrepreneur, and the World Economic Forum blog. Clark is a marketing strategy consultant and speaker for clients including Google, Microsoft, Yale University, Fidelity, and the World Bank. She is an Adjunct Professor of Business Administration at Duke University's Fuqua School of Business and a Visiting Professor for IE Business School in Madrid. In this interview, we talked about how to find your breakthrough idea and build a following around it.
Christopher J. White is Managing Director of the Center for Positive Organizations and adjunct faculty in Management & Organizations at the University of Michigan’s Ross School of Business. He is the author (with Gerald Davis) of "Changing Your Company From the Inside Out." In this interview, we talk about how to make even large, established companies a force for good through social intrapreneurship.
Ray Fisman and Tim Sullivan are the authors of newly updated and paperback edition of "The Org: The Underlying Logic of the Office." Fisman is the Lambert Family Professor of Social Enterprise at Columbia Business School. Tim Sullivan is the editorial director of Harvard Business Review Press. In this interview, we discuss why even illogical seeming organizational practices have purpose and how to renovate an organization without tearing the whole thing down.
Herminia Ibarra is an expert on professional and leadership development. She is the Cora Chaired Professor of Leadership and Learning at INSEAD, the founding director of The Leadership Transition executive education program at INSEAD. She is the author of "Act Like a Leader, Think Like a Leader." In this interview, we discuss how managers and executives at all levels can step up to leadership by making small but crucial changes in their jobs, their networks, and themselves.
L. David Marquet is the author of Turn The Ship Around and the new workbook Turn YOUR Ship Around. He is a former submarine captain in the US Navy and sought-after leadership authority. In this interview, we discuss how to turn followers into leaders.
John Richard Bell is a retired CEO, a strategy consultant, and author of "Do Less Better." In this interview, we discuss the power of strategic sacrifice in complex world.
Ron Friedman, Ph.D. is an award-winning psychologist and founder of ignite80, a consulting firm that helps smart leaders build extraordinary workplaces. He is the author of The Best Place to Work. In this interview, we discuss the science behind creating an extraordinary workplace.
Ed Hess is the author of "Learn or Die" and a host of other great books. He is professor of business administration and Batten Executive-in-Residence at the Darden Graduate School of Business. His current research focuses on innovation systems and organizational learning cultures, behaviors, and processes. In this interview, we talk about who to use science to build a leading-edge learning organization.
Joshua Wolf Shenk is a curator, essayist, and author, most recently, of "Powers of Two." His magazine pieces include cover stories in Harper’s, Time, and The Atlantic, where his essay "What Makes Us Happy?" was the most read article in the history of that magazine’s website. In this interview, we discuss how the essence of innovation starts in creative pairs, not solo work.
Max McKeown is the author of "The Innovation Book." Max holds a PhD and MBA with a speciality in strategic change and an MSc in Psychology. He teaches at Warwick Business School and consults with companies such as Phillips, Langham Hotels, Oracle, PWC, Microsoft, and Virgin. In this interview, we discuss how to manage ideas and execution for outstanding results.
Chris Taylor is the founder of actionablebooks.com, a training and development company that spreads actionable insights from business books in the form of summaries and workshops. In this interview, we discuss the role of culture in leading virtual teams.
Warren Berger is the author of "A More Beautiful Question." He is a journalist and book author who has spent his career profiling a wide range of highly creative people and companies, sharing best practices and innovation secrets with readers. In this interview, we discuss the power of inquiry to spark breakthrough ideas
S. Chris Edmonds is the author of "The Culture Engine." He is a S. Chris Edmonds is a sought-after speaker, thought leader, and executive consultant. Chris has been a senior consultant with the Ken Blanchard Companies since 1995. In this interview, we talk about how to use culture to drive results, inspire people, and transform your workplace.
Tanveer Naseer is the co-author of "Leadership Vertigo." He is also the Principal and Founder of Tanveer Naseer Leadership, a leadership coaching firm that works with executives and managers to help them develop practical leadership and team-building competencies to guide organizational growth and development. In this interview, we discuss why even the best leaders go off course and how they can get back on track.
Scott Eblin is the the author of "Overworked and Overwhelmed: The Mindfulness Alternative," and founder of the Eblin Group, a professional development firm committed to helping executives and managers improve their leadership presence by being fully present. In this interview, we talk about the growing number of overwhelmed leaders and how mindfulness and purpose contribute to better leadership and better lives.
Dorie Clark is the author of "Reinventing You: Define Your Brand, Imagine Your Future." She is a former presidential campaign spokeswoman, a former divinity student, a faculty member at Duke University, and a contributor to Harvard Business Review, Forbes, and the American Management Association's publications. In this interview, we talk about how to rebrand yourself for future leadership roles.
Rich Horwath is a New York Times, Wall Street Journal and USA Today bestselling author on strategy, including his new book "Elevate." In this interview, we discuss the three disciplines of advanced strategic thinking and how to cultivate them inside any organizations.
Rajiv Narang is the author of "Orbit-Shifting Innovation" and founder of Erehwon, a 20 year old pioneering Innovation firm, where he has helmed the redefining and recasting of Innovation. Recognized as India's Innovation thought leader, Rajiv has inspired leaders and organizations across cultures and across the world in adopting orbit-shifting innovation. In this interview, we discuss the mindsets and dynamics of ideas that create history.
Henry is co-author (with Colm Foster) of "Step Up: Lead in Six Moments that Matter." He is the founder and Managing Partner for Dynamic Results, LLC, providing coaching and consulting solutions to companies and individuals. He provides performance coaching to independent executives, as well as those in national organizations, helping each achieve their desired goals. In this interview, we talk about how to lead when it matters and how to know when it matters.
Edward Slingerland is the author of "Trying Not to Try: The Art and Science of Spontaneity." He is Professor of Asian Studies and Canada Research Chair in Chinese Thought and Embodied Cognition at the University of British Columbia. Educated at Princeton, Stanford and the University of California, Berkeley, he is an internationally renowned expert in Chinese thought, comparative religion, and cognitive science. In this interview, we discuss how the modern science of cognition and influence are proving valid ancient Chinese wisdom.
Dean Schroeder is co-author (with Alan Robinson) of "The Idea-Driven Organization.” As an educator, Dean is the Herbert and Agnes Schulz Professor of Management at Valparaiso University. As a consultant and speaker, he has worked with many types of companies and organizations in North America, Europe, and Asia. In this interview, we discuss how to leverage the entire organization and benefit from the power of bottom-up ideas.
Christoph Lueneburger is the author of "A Culture of Purpose: How to Choose the Right People and Make the Right People Choose You." He is a partner at Egon Zehnder, where he founded the firm's Sustainability Practice and now heads the firm's global private equity practice. In this interview, we discuss how innovative leaders create meaningful cultures that attract and retain top talent.
David Craig is a Senior Vice President at CannonDesign in New York, where he leads the firm’s Workplace Strategy Practice globally. Craig is a recognized expert and leader in developing, implementing and promoting innovative workplaces for a wide range of global organizations. In this interview, we talk about the history of workplace design and its effect of workplace design on culture and performance.
Aubrey C. Daniels is the author of the bestselling management classic Performance Management: Changing Behavior that Drives Organizational Effectiveness, recently re-released in a fifth addition. His management consulting firm, Aubrey Daniels International, works with business leaders around the world. Daniels is an internationally recognized expert on management, leadership, and workplace issues. He has been featured in The Wall Street Journal, The New York Times, Fortune, and on CNN and CNBC. In this interview, we chat about the birth of performance management as a discipline and how to create a culture the drives organizations to excel.
Larry Downes is co-author of Big Bang Disruption: Strategy in the Age of Devastating Innovation. He is an Internet industry analyst and author on the impact of disruptive technologies on business and policy. In this interview, we discuss how old models of strategy and innovation make the wrong assumptions and how to craft a strategy when the market is ever-changing.
Les McKeown is the author of Do Lead: Share your vision. Inspire others. Achieve the Impossible. Les McKeown is the President and CEO of Predictable Success, a leading advisor on leadership and organisational development. He has started over 40 companies in his own right, and was the founding partner of an incubation consulting company that advised on the creation and growth of hundreds more organisations worldwide. In this interview, we talk about how to answer the call for leadership and how to REALLY embrace failure.
Dr. Kathy Cramer is the author of Lead Positive: What Highly Effective Leaders See, Say, and Do. A psychologist by training, she created and has dedicated her life to asset-based thinking (ABT), a way of looking at the world that helps leaders, influencers, and their teams make small shifts in thinking to produce extraordinary impact. As a business consultant, she has worked with clients such as DuPont, Prudential Real Estate, Starbucks, and Microsoft, as well as many educational and nonprofit organizations. In this interview, we discuss the importance of thinking positive…and why that’s more than just blinded optimism.
Orly Lobel is the author of Talent Wants to Be Free: Why We Should Learn to Love Leaks, Raids, and Free Riding. Lobel is the Herzog Professor of Law at University of San Diego. Her work has been featured in CNBC, Fortune, CNN Money and HuffPost. In this interview, we discuss how to REALLY win the talent war and why we should learn to live and work without non-compete clauses.
Denise Brosseau is the author of Ready to be a Thought Leader. Denise is an award winning author, thought leadership consultant and keynote speaker with a long track record of results with an international clientele including Abbott Labs, Deloitte, Cisco, Gracenote and Roche. In this interview, we discuss how to how to increase your influence, impact, and success.
Shawn Hunter is the author of Out Think: How Innovative Leaders Drive Exceptional Outcomes. Shawn is Executive Producer & Vice President for Leadership Development Channel at Skillsoft. For over a decade Hunter has interviewed, collaborated with, and filmed, hundreds of leading business authors, executives, and business school faculty in an effort to assemble video learning solutions, as both an entrepreneur and later as a product developer for Skillsoft. In this interview, we discuss how leaders drive positive outcomes by doing simple, yet remarkable things.
George Bradt is the co-author of First Time Leader: Foundational Tools for Inspiring and Enabling Your New Team. George has a unique perspective on transformational leadership based on his combined senior line management and consulting experience. After his education at Harvard and Wharton, George progressed through sales, marketing and general management roles around the world at Fortune 500 companies including Unilever, Procter & Gamble, Coca-Cola, and then J.D. Power and Associates as chief executive of its Power Information Network spin off. In this interview, we talk about why moving into leadership is such a daunting task and also how to set-up first-time leaders for success.
Dr. William Cohen is the president of the California Institute of Advanced Management and the first graduate of Peter Drucker’s executive PhD program. He is the author of The Practical Drucker: Applying the Wisdom of the World’s Greatest Management Thinker. In this interview, we talk about rules for engagement, how to promote the right people, and how Peter Drucker was pretty much right about everything.
Julian Birkinshaw is Professor and Chair of Strategy and Entrepreneurship at the London Business School. Julian is a recognised expert on innovation, entrepreneurship and renewal in large corporations, with over eighty articles published in such journals as Harvard Business Review, Sloan Management Review, Strategic Management Journal and Academy of Management Journal. His most recent book is Becoming a Better Boss: Why Good Management is So Difficult. In this interview, we discuss why management still matters, and why good management is still so hard to practice.
Alan Gregerman is the President and Chief Innovation Officer of VENTURE WORKS Inc. He is the author of The Necessity of Strangers: The Intriguing Truth About Insight, Innovation, and Success. An experienced consultant on strategy and innovation, his work focuses on helping companies and organizations to unlock the genius in all of their people in order to deliver the most compelling value to their customers. In this interview, we discuss how to generate more insights and enhance innovation by engaging with weak ties and total strangers.
Andrew King is co-author (with Jeanne Liedtka and Kevin Bennett) of Solving Problems with Design Thinking: Ten Stories of What Works. He is a research associate for the Batten Institute inside the Darden School of Business at the University of Virginia. In short: he’s well-studied in design thinking. In this interview we talk about how to develop new business models, find new competitive advantages, and how design thinking is more than just product design.
As part of the pre-order campaign for my new book, I interviewed two individuals profiled in The Myths of Creativity as part of special, advance episodes of LDRLB. Today, we’re releasing the second of those two interviews to our entire audience. Gianfranco Zaccai is the Chairman, President & Chief Design Officer of Continuum, an innovation consultantcy that designs award-winning products, services, and experiences for their clients. In this interview, we talk about the founding of Continuum, their approach to organizational design, and how design thinking is transforming more than just commercial products.
Ray Fisman and Tim Sullivan are the authors of The Org: The Underlying Logic of the Office. Fisman is the Lambert Family Professor of Social Enterprise and co-director of the Social Enterprise Program at the Columbia Business School. Tim Sullivan is the editorial director of Harvard Business Review Press. In this interview, we discuss why there is no perfect organizational model, the real value of managers, and why even Al Qaeda needed a little organizational structure.
As part of the pre-order campaign for my new book, I interviewed two individuals profiled in The Myths of Creativity as part of special, advance episodes of LDRLB. Today, we’re releasing the first of those two interviews to our entire audience. Jennifer Anastasoff is the head of an amazing organization called Fuse Corps, which places mid-career professionals and entrepreneurs inside city and state government in order to create innovations in the public sector. They’re a relatively new organization that has already created amazing change.
Todd is the founder of Accidental Creative, a company that helps creative people and teams generate brilliant ideas. Todd’s work has been featured by Fast Company, Fortune, Forbes, HBR.org, US News & World Report, and many other major media outlets. Todd’s first book, The Accidental Creative: How To Be Brilliant at a Moment’s Notice offers strategies for how to thrive in the creative marketplace. His latest book, Die Empty: Unleash Your Best Work Every Day, unlocks the forces that cause even the brightest, most skilled people to become stagnant in their life and career. In this interview, we talk about how to take responsibility for your own engagement and why some people really do regret not working better on their death bed.
To celebrate the launch of his new book, David Burkus has turned over his microphone to friend and LDRLB contributor Soren Kaplan. In this interview, David and Soren discuss why brainstorming isn’t even, why the most creative teams fight, and the new book The Myths of Creativity: The Truth About How Innovative Companies and People Generate Great Ideas.
Patrick J. Murphy is professor of management at DePaul University. He has consulted to or advised more than 100 entrepreneurial ventures and is he is chair of the management history division of the Academy of Management. He is co-author of Mutiny and Its Bounty: Leadership Lessons from the Age of Discovery (Yale, 2013). In this interview, we discuss the historical truths around mutinies and their lessons for entrepreneurial leaders.
Larry Keeley is a strategist who has worked for over three decades to develop more effective innovation methods. Larry is President and co-founder of Doblin Inc, an innovation strategy firm known for pioneering comprehensive innovation systems that materially improve innovation success rates. Doblin is now a unit of Deloitte Consulting, where Keeley serves as a Director. He is also co-author of Ten Types of Innovation: The Discipline of Building Breakthroughs. In this interview we talk about what innovation looks like and how to get it to happen more in your organizations.
Scott Barry Kaufman, Ph.D. is the author of Ungifted: Intelligence Redefined. He is a cognitive psychologist specializing in the development of intelligence, creativity, and personality in education, business, and society. Scott holds a doctorate from Yale University and a Masters degree from Cambridge University, where he was a Gates Cambridge Scholar. He is adjunct assistant professor of Psychology at New York University. In this interview, we talk about the need and failure to properly define intelligence and how potential is a moving target.
Judah is the co-author (with Ori Brafman) of The Choas Imperative: How Chance and Disruption Increase Innovation, Effectiveness, and Success. He is an expert in the art of leadership in a rapidly changing world. A regular speaker at Startx, Stanford’s incubator, Berkeley’s Haas School of Business and TEDx’ he has spent the past three years designing for and speaking to The US Army’s General staff and Special Forces. In this interview, we talk about the need to create white space and encourage chaos in order to drive innovation.
Rita Gunther McGrath, a Professor at Columbia Business School, is a globally recognized expert on strategy in uncertain and volatile environments. Her thinking is highly regarded by readers and clients who include Pearson, Coca-Cola Enterprises, General Electric, Alliance Boots, and the World Economic Forum. She is the author of The End of Competitive Advantage: How to Keep Your Strategy Moving as Fast as Your Business. In this interview, we discuss the end of sustainable competitive advantage and a the new strategy playbook for establishing a transient advantage.
Michael E. Raynor is a Director at Deloitte Services LP and the Innovation Theme Leader in the firm’s Eminence function. In addition, Raynor is an advisor to senior executives in many of the world’s leading corporations across a wide range of industries. He is the co-author (with Mumtaz Ahmed) of The Three Rules: How Exceptional Companies Think. In this interview, we discuss why companies need to pursue better before cheaper, revenue before cost, and…well…nothing else really.
Eric Lowitt is a globally recognized expert in the fields of competitive strategy, growth, and sustainability. He is the author of The Collaboration Economy: How to Meet Business, Social, and Environmental Needs and Gain Competitive Advantage. In this interview, we discuss the shift toward collaboration, how to meet social and environmental needs profitably and we invent a new phrase: “SUSTAINABLE sustainable competitive advantage.”
Adam Grant is the youngest tenured professor and single highest-rated teacher at The Wharton School. He is a former record-setting advertising director, junior Olympic springboard diver, and professional magician. He is the author of Give and Take: A Revolutionary Approach to Success. In this episode, Adam and I discuss why nice guys don’t finish last, why it’s so hard to identify potential talent, and how to get seats on a private jet.
Michael Roberto is the Trustee Professor of Management at Bryant University in Smithfield, Rhode Island. He has served on the faculty at Harvard Business School and as a visiting professor at NYU’s Stern School of Business. He is the author of the newly updated Why Great Leaders Don’t Take Yes For An Answer. In this interview, we discuss how great leaders balance consensus and conflict in making the best decisions, and how history sometimes precedes the research on great leaders.
Heidi Grant Halvorson is Associate Director of the Motivation Science Center at the Columbia Business School. She is co-author (with E. Tory Higgins) of Focus: Use Different Ways of Seeing the World for Success and Influence. In this interview, we talk about the two different motivational focuses people can have on the world, how it affects their behavior, and how mastering these two perspectives can make you a better teammate, leader and even spouse.
Sometimes adding to the number of people on a team can actually subtract from the quality of the teams output. This isn’t a rare occurrence, it’s a well researched phenomenon. In this episode, we review the research on social loafing and share three options for counteracting the negative effect of more people.
Alexander Osterwalder is an entrepreneur, speaker, and business model innovator. In their book, Business Model Generation, he and Professor Yves Pigneur revealed the Business Model Canvas, a practical tool to visualize, challenge and re-invent business models. In this interview, we talk about the need for visual business tools, business model strategy, and why good leaders build a portfolio of business models in their organizations.
Strategy is a heavy topic. Either it requires a seemingly infinite time commitment, or it is easily mistaken for an organizational vision or (perhaps worse) a short-term operational plan. If you’re trying to build a solid strategy, then there are a number of resources you can draw from. No matter what tools you use, ultimately you’re strategy has to answer two questions, brilliantly posed by Roger Martin and A.G. Lafley: “Where will we play?” and “How will we win?”
Dr. Keith Sawyer is the author of the new book Zig Zag: The Surprising Path to Greater Creativity.
He is one of the world’s leading scientific experts on creativity and innovation. In his first job after graduating from MIT, he designed videogames for Atari. He then worked for 6 years as a management consultant in Boston and New York, advising large corporations on the strategic use of information technology. He’s been a jazz pianist for over 30 years, and performed with several improv theater groups in Chicago, as part of his research into jazz and improvisational theater. He currently serves as a professor of education, psychology, and business at Washington University in St. Louis. In this interview, we talk about the innovation process, the research on personal creativity and the entrepreneurial pivot.
Francesca Gino is Associate Professor of Business Administration in the Negotiation, Organizations, & Markets Unit at the Harvard Business School. Her research focuses on judgment and decision making, social influence, and ethics and creativity. Her studies have been featured onCNN and NPR, as well as in leading print publications including Economist, Financial Times, New York Times, Newsweek, Scientific American, and Psychology Today.
She is the author of the new book Sidetracked: Why Our Decisions Get Derailed, and How We Can Stick to the Plan.
Jody Thompson is the co-creator of the Results-Only Work Environment (ROWE) and co-author of the new book Why Managing Sucks And How to Fix It. In this interview, we discuss ROWE, crab-in-the-basket theory, and how to succeed in business without really trying (the movie, not the career strategy).
Saul Kaplan is the Founder and Chief Catalyst of Business Innovation Factory and the author of Business Model Innovation Factory. In this interview, we discuss why the landscape of business is changing and why leaders need to keep up by innovating their business models or risk being “netflixed.” What is being netflixed? Listen and find out.
Interesting new research from Shai Bernstein at Stanford University’s Graduate School of Business suggests that companies that go public experience a significant decline in innovation post-IPO. Top talent leaves and the talent that stays is typically less productive. Hitting an Innovation wall doesn’t have to be the fate of all companies post-IPO, you just have to train your investors properly.
Daniel Pink is the author of the New York Times Bestseller To Sell Is Human: The Surprising Truth About Moving Others. In this interview, we talk about the new ABCs of influencing others, the power of attunement for leaders, and why we are all in sales now.
Karen Martin is the author of The Outstanding Organization: Generate Business Results by Eliminating Chaos and Building the Foundation for Everyday Excellence and an experienced consultant and thought leader in lean business practices. In this interview, we discuss how to build the foundation of an outstanding organization, our love-hate relationship with chaos, and how chair-flying like the Blue Angels can help build an outstanding organization.
For the premiere of season four we talk about potential. Not our potential, but some recent research demonstrating that potential has significantly more allure than accomplishment. It turns out, we have a preference for people who show the potential for future achievements over those whose past is full of achievement.
Matthew May is is the author of The Laws of Subtraction: 6 Simple Rules for Winning in the Age of Excess Everything, as well as three previous, award-winning books. A popular speaker, creativity coach, and close advisor on innovation to companies such as ADP, Edmunds, Intuit, and Toyota, Matt is a regular contributor to the American Express OPEN Forum Idea Hub and the founder of Edit Innovation, an ideas agency based in Los Angeles.
In this Season Three Finale of LDRLB, Matt and David discuss how subtraction can add to your life and leadership ability.
Soren Kaplan is the author of the Wall Street Journal bestselling book Leapfrogging: Harness the Power the of Surprise for Business Breakthroughs. Through his book and his consulting, he helps innovative leaders disrupt mindsets and markets. In this interview, we discuss how the most innovative companies and leaders savor surprises to lead their organization forward.
John Baldoni is an internationally recognized leadership consultant, coach, author and speaker. He is the president of Baldoni Consulting LLC, an executive coaching and leadership development firm. John is the author of 11 books on leadership develo
pment including his new release The Leader’s Pocket Guide: 101 Indispensable Tools, Tips, and Techniques for Any Situation. In this interview, we discuss his brief but insightful tips for organizational leaders new and old.
Talent Anarchy is the dynamic speaking duo of Jason Lauritsen and Joe Gerstandt. These Talent Anarchists use their collective experiences, common beliefs and different perspectives to deliver thought-provoking, actionable keynote and workshop presentations in an engaging and, at times, comical way. Jason and Joe have been making the rounds at HR and management conferences for several years and have compiled some of their collective wisdom in their new book, Social Gravity: Harnessing the Natural Laws of Relationships.
In this interview, we discuss how organizations hold their talented people back, how natural relationships form and how to become a rock star in the business conference world.
Innovation requires creativity. And Todd Henry knows something about creativity.
Todd is the founder and CEO of Accidental Creative, a company that helps creative people and teams generate brilliant ideas. He regularly speaks and consults with companies, both large and small, about how to develop practices and systems that lead to everyday brilliance. Todd’s work has been featured by Fast Company, Fortune,Forbes, HBR.org, US News & World Report, and many other major media outlets.
In this episode, we talk about Todd’s book, The Accidental Creative: How To Be Brilliant at a Moment’s Notice which offers strategies for how to thrive in the creative marketplace and how to lead creative teams.
Cynthia A. Montgomery is the Timken Professor of Business Administration and immediate past head of the Strategy Unit at Harvard Business School, where she’s taught for over twenty years. For six years she led the strategy track in the School’s highly regarded Owner, President, Manager Program (OPM), attended by top managers of mid-sized companies from around the globe. Currently, she is a core faculty member in the School’s Advanced Management Program.
In this episode, we discuss Cynthia’s new book The Strategist: Be The Leader Your Business Needs. Cynthia boldly redefines strategy and issues a call to arms for leaders to take back their rightful claim to be Strategists of their own organizations.
Max McKeown is a a new breed of business guru. He works consultant, researcher and writer focused on innovation and strategy. He is the author of two recently published books: The Strategy Book andAdaptability. In this interview, we discuss both books and why the best strategy for the future might just be adaptability.
Scott Eblin is the co-founder and president of The Eblin Group, Inc., a leadership development and strategy firm that supports organizations in ensuring the success of their executive level leaders. Through his work as an executive coach, leadership strategist, speaker and author, Scott has become known as a thought leader in identifying the behaviors that executives need to pick up and let go as they transition into new and larger roles. In this episode, we discuss Scott’s book The Next Level: What Insider’s Need to Know About Executive Success.
Bob Frisch, managing partner of The Strategic Offsites Group, has worked with organizations ranging from Fortune 500 companies to German mittelstand family businesses to the U.S. Department of State. Bob’s work has been featured in the Harvard Business Review, theWall Street Journal, Bloomberg Businessweek, and Fortune. In this interview, we talk about the difference between senior management teams and kitchen cabinets, why he hates matrix organizations and his new book Who’s in the Room: How Great Leaders Structure and Manage the Teams Around Them.
David A. Owens is professor of the practice of management at Vanderbilt’s Graduate School of Management, where he also directs the Executive Development Institute. Specializing in innovation and new product development, he is known as a dynamic speaker and is the recipient of numerous teaching awards. In this interview, we discuss his new book Creative People Must Be Stopped.
Creative People Must Be Stopped shows how individuals and organizations sabotage their own best intentions to encourage “outside the box” thinking. It shows that the antidote to this self-defeating behavior is to identify which of the six major types of constraints are hindering innovation: individual, group, organizational, industry-wide, societal, or technological. Once innovators and other leaders understand exactly which constraints are working against them and how to overcome them, they can create conditions that foster innovation instead of stopping it in its tracks.
Marcus Buckingham is a key soloist in the strengths movement choir. He is a best-selling author, popular keynote speaker and business consultant who champions the idea that people and organizations reach peak performance by leveraging their strengths.
In this interview, we discuss his latest project, StandOut, a combination book and strengths assessment that uses an innovative new research methodology to reveal your top two “strength Roles.” StandOut goes beyond description to give people practical strategies that fit their strengths, and provide managers with quick insights on how to get the best from each member of their team.
Dr. Hurley is a Professor at Fordham University and President of Hurley Associates. Dr. Hurley consults with organizations on leadership development, top team development, coaching, managing transformational change and developing and implementing strategies to maximize customer value. He has published over 30 articles or book chapters. His work has appeared in the Wall Street Journal, California Management Review, and Harvard Business Review. He is the author of the new book The Decision to Trust.
In this episode, we talk to Dr. Hurley about the importance of trust, how the decision to trust is made and how leaders can become more trustworthy.
Les McKeown (not the one from the Bay City Rollers) is is the President & CEO of Predictable Success. He has has started over 40 companies in his own right, and was the founding partner of an incubation consulting company that advised on the creation and growth of hundreds more organizations worldwide. Since relocating from his native Ireland to the US in 1998, Les advises CEOs and senior leaders of organizations on how to achieve scalable, sustainable growth. His clients range from large family-owned businesses to Fortune 100 companies, and include Harvard University, American Express, T-Mobile, United Technologies, Pella Corporation, The US Army, Microsoft and the NSA.
In this episode, we welcome back Les to the podcast and discuss his new book The Synergist, which focuses on getting executive teams to work better together.
Kevin Oakes is co-author of The Executive Guide to Integrated Talent Management. He is the CEO and founder of the Institute for Corporate Productivity (i4cp), the fastest growing and largest corporate network focused on the practices of high-performance organizations. Kevin has been a leader in the human capital field for the last two decades, and was previously the Founder and the President of SumTotal Systems, the largest provider of talent and learning solutions in the world.
In this interview, we discuss the problem of silos in talent management, including what some of the world’s foremost thought leaders recommend and what leading practitioners are doing to fix it.
Mike is the Founder and Managing Director of thoughtLEADERS, LLC – a professional training firm focused on leadership development.
He graduated from the United States Military Academy at West Point in 1993 where he was an honor graduate and a Distinguished Cadet. Upon graduation, he was commissioned as an officer in the United States Army. He spent five years as an Armor officer in a variety of roles including Platoon Leader, Executive Officer, Personnel Officer and ROTC Instructor at Duke University.
After leaving the Army, he joined McKinsey and Company as a management consultant before starting THOUGHleaders. His new book One Piece of Paper: The Simple Approach to Powerful, Personal Leadership is designed to help leaders define who they are and what their personal leadership philosophy is.
Teresa Amabile is the Edsel Bryant Ford Professor of Business Administration and a Director of Research at Harvard Business School. Originally educated as a chemist, Teresa received her doctorate in psychology from Stanford University. She studies how everyday life inside organizations can influence people and their performance. Teresa’s research encompasses creativity, productivity, innovation, and inner work life – the confluence of emotions, perceptions, and motivation that people experience as they react to events at work.
In this interview, we discuss her latest research project, chronicled in her new book The Progress Principle: Using Small Wins to Ignite Joy, Engagement, and Creativity at Work. The book, based on research into nearly 12,000 daily diary entries from over 200 professionals inside organizations, illuminates how everyday events at work can impact employee engagement and creative productivity
Pam Fox Rollin is an executive coach and the head of IdeaShape, a coaching and consulting firm for senior executives. Pam is an experienced consultant who has worked with leading organizations such as Verizon, eBay and Charles Schwab. Pam is the author of 42 Rules for Your New Leadership Role. In this interview, we discuss what “rules” leaders need to know as the take on a senior leadership position.
Jesse Lyn Stoner has worked closely with leaders for over twenty-five years, helping them create collaborative, engaged organizations that make a powerful and positive impact on the world. A business consultant, former executive, and bestselling author, Jesse has worked in a wide range of industries including Fortune 500s, small startups, government agencies, and nonprofits. In this interview, we discuss her book Full Steam Ahead (co-authored with Ken Blanchard).
Dr. Mitchell Kusy, an international consultant, has worked internally in several organizations including American Express Financial Advisors as head of leadership development. He is a full professor in the Ph.D. Program in Leadership & Change at Antioch University. He is the co-author of The Little Book of Leadership Development. In this podcast, we discuss the simple ways everyday managers can develop the leaders on their teams.
Tim Harford is a senior columnist for the Financial Times. His column, “The Undercover Economist,” reveals the economic ideas behind everyday experiences. He is also the author of Adapt: Why Success Always Starts with Failure. In this interview, we discuss how leader’s can build organizations ready to learn from their (and others’) failures.
Todd Dewett, Ph.D., is a tenured Professor of Management in the Raj Soin College of Business at Wright State University. He is also a noted speaker and consultant on leadership and management. In this interview, we talk to Todd about the various projects he has underway, including his new book The Little Black Book of Leadership.
Guy Kawasaki is the former Chief Evangelist of Apple and current head of Alltop. He is the author of the new book Enchantment and, in this interview, talks about what it takes for leaders to enchant their followers…and for followers to be enchanting back.
Guy Harris describes himself as a Recovering Engineer. He has served as an officer aboard a US Navy Submarine, and he has held leadership positions in both major multi-national and small businesses. Guy is the author, with Kevin Eikenberry, or From Bud to Boss, a new book that focused on equipping newly promoted leaders.
Siddhartha Herdegen is the Assistant Chair of Leadership, Ethics and Law at the United States Naval Academy in Annapolis, Maryland. In this podcast, we discuss the methods and challenges of developing leadership among the midshipmen of the Naval Academy.
Les McKeown is the President & CEO of Predictable Success. He has started over 40 companies in his own right, and was the founding partner of an incubation consulting company that advised on the creation and growth of hundreds more organizations worldwide. His book, Predictable Success, discusses the lifecycle of organizations in plain English.
Jim Kouzes has been a fixture in the world of leadership studies for over 30 years. He is co-author, with Barry Posner, of the seminal The Leadership Challenge and the duo have just released a new book, The Truth About Leadership.
Diana Whitney Ph.D. is the President of Corporation for Positive Change, an international consulting firm specializing in the application of Appreciative Inquiry – the revolutionary process she helped develop and spread – to resolve the most pressing challenges of our time. In fields ranging from healthcare to education; from peace-building to business; from community development to government, Diana coaches executives and their teams in support of organization culture transformation, and strategic development.
Robert Sutton is Professor of Management science at the Stanford Engineering School and researcher in the field of Evidence-based management. He is an IDEO Fellow and a Professor of Organizational Behavior, by courtesy, at Stanford Graduate School of Business. In this interview, we discuss his known famous book The No Asshole Rule and his newest release Good Boss, Bad Boss.
Liz Wiseman is president of The Wiseman Group, a leadership research and development center headquartered in Silicon Valley. She advises senior executives and leads strategy and leadership forums for executive teams worldwide. A former executive at Oracle Corporation, she worked as the Vice President of Oracle University and as the global leader for Human Resource Development for 17 years. She is the author of Multipliers: How the Best Leaders Make Everyone Smarter. In this interview, we talk about how aspiring leaders can become multipliers with their people.
Michael Lee Stallard and Jason Pankau are co-founders of E Pluribus Partners. They are also co-authors of Fired Up or Burned Out. In this podcast, they make a compelling case for why the next competitive advantage is engaged employees and explain how to build the connection culture that engages them.
Becky Robinson is the blogger behind LeaderTalk, a recent addition but a staple in the blogging community. In addition she serves as an adjunct at Mountain State University’s School of Leadership and Professional Development. In this interview, we discuss MSU, LeaderTalk and the wealth of information found in the blogging community.
Steve Farber is the president of Extreme Leadership, Incorporated—an organization devoted to the cultivation and development of Extreme Leaders in the business community. His latest book,Greater Than Yourself: The Ultimate Lesson In Leadership, is a Wall Street Journal® and USA Today® bestseller.
Dr. Marshall Goldsmith is a world authority in helping successful leaders get even better by achieving positive, lasting change in behavior for themselves, their people and their teams. Marshall is an executive coach, speaker and author or editor of 29 books including What Got You Here Won’t Get You There and his newest release MOJO.
Michael Petty is the managing partner of North Star Partners, a firm that assists companies in the areas of leadership development, strategic thought and application, and financial stewardship.
Daniel Pink is the author of several New York Times best-selling books including his new release, Drive: The Surprising Truth About What Motivates Us. In Drive, Dan explores new research that suggests that our traditional ideas about motivation may be way off.
This inaugural episode’s guest is Bret Simmons, PhD. Dr. Simmons is a professor of organizational behavior and leadership at the University of Nevada, Reno. His interests include leadership, followership and positive organizational behavior. Additionally, Dr. Simmons runs corporate training sessions and blogs regularly at bretlsimmons.com.