Episodes

Sept. 24, 2020

388: Nir Eyal, part 2: Another role model avoiding flying pre-pandemic

Nir and my second conversation covered how I inspired him and how he inspired me. If I'm not too presumptuous to say I inspired him, the first part is about his choosing to avoid flying. Several months into the pandemic, we'r...
Sept. 21, 2020

387: Maja Rosén: Leading not flying

The not-flying-by-choice community is fairly small. About 80 percent of humans can't fly because they can't, but among people who can but choose not to, we're limited. Still, I can't believe I only found out about Maja recent...
Sept. 18, 2020

386: Bob Inglis, part 1: the EcoRight, a balance to the Environmental Left

Everyone can lead when everyone around them agrees. How about when your conscience tells you what's right differs from everyone around you? Bob Inglis is a former Congressman from South Carolina---the reddest district in the ...
Sept. 18, 2020

385: Coleman Hughes: Race and social media mobs

I first crossed paths with Coleman at a conference that previous guest Jonathan Haidt organized on promoting viewpoint diversity in academia. I hosted a breakfast panel discussion. Coleman spoke on a panel later that day. He ...
Sept. 17, 2020

384: They would rather switch than fight

Here are my notes that I read from for this episode: Play Thomas N. Todd recording Repeat it, explaining from ad campaign Context was civil rights---that is equal rights for blacks as for whites in the US. I don't know contex...
Sept. 15, 2020

383: Sports, competition, and beating pandemics

Are you fatigued from pandemic defenses like wearing masks and washing your hands? Is your community, like New York City, doing well? Do you feel since we're doing well, we can let up at last? Do you know what happens when co...
Sept. 10, 2020

382: Kelly Allan, part 1: Deming 101, community, and beyond

Kelly is experienced in theory, practice, and community of W. Edwards Deming. If you don't know Deming, you'll hear from this conversation, but for context, growing up my top role models were Gandhi, King, and Mandela. As I p...
Sept. 8, 2020

381: Kevin Edwards Cahill, part 1: The Deming Legacy

Kevin Cahill's grandfather, W. Edwards Deming, changed nations. An emperor awarded him a medal. If you don't know either, listen to the first few minutes when I describe him. Deming has become one of my top role models. He tr...
Sept. 3, 2020

380: Matthew Stevenson, part 1: Why Befriend a White Nationalist?

Matthew is friends with the guy who built the white nationalist online community, Stormfront . He is also an observant orthodox Jew. You may have heard about him because the pair made headlines and appeared on the Daily Show ...
Sept. 1, 2020

379: Dan McPherson, part 1: A Heart Attack Last Week at Age 46

Do you have friends that you talk to once or twice a month---someone you can talk about important things beyond the day to day? Dan is one of those friends for me. The week before recording this conversation he told me he had...
Aug. 27, 2020

378: Libba and Gifford Pinchot III, part 1: Redefining business education

Rarely do you meet someone who created a word that became common. My guests today, Gifford and Libba Pinchot, created the term intrapraneurship . In the world of leadership and entrepreneurship, they created a discipline. Aft...
Aug. 24, 2020

377: Chris Manhertz, part 2: Tough times don't last. Tough people do.

Our last episode ended with two subjects either of which I'd love to cover---an NFL tight end picking up other people's garbage and stoicism. We had covered life for a professional team athlete under a pandemic. Then George F...
Aug. 24, 2020

376: Abraham Lincoln's Gettysburg Address and Stewardship

I'm continuing my practice of bringing leadership to sustainability, following my bringing speeches and messages by Patton, Frankl, JFK, King, Mandela, Henry V, and others. Today I bring President Abraham Lincoln's Gettysburg...
Aug. 23, 2020

375: Vertical farms belie the false hope of fusion

For years I thought fusion could solve our environmental problems. Serious consideration betrays that false promise, illustrating it would only continue the the pattern creating the problems we're trying to solve. Even if it ...
Aug. 22, 2020

374: Andreas Larsson, part 1: Leadership and the Environment Sweden

Andreas and I go back five or ten years. He hired me as a coach when he was selling his share of a business he cofounded. He appears in my book Initiative about that experience and what he's done since. I invited him as a gue...
Aug. 18, 2020

373: Jaeden Graham, Atlanta Falcon: Reaching beyond your potential

I love talking with people who strive to reach their potential and beyond, and who elevate people around them---their teammates. People like that exist everywhere, especially in professional sports. Jaeden plays for the Atlan...
Aug. 13, 2020

372: JFK, the moon, and missing leadership today

You've heard people calling for moonshots---challenges so great we take them on as a nation. But regarding sustainability we also ask people to do as little as they can, "here's one little thing you can do for the environment...
Aug. 12, 2020

371: Margaret Klein Salamon, part 1: Become the Hero Humanity Needs

Margaret is the Executive Director at The Climate Mobilization. Writing Facing the Climate Emergency brought her to me. Her psychology background leads her to approach the climate psychologically, which I appreciate and consi...
Aug. 11, 2020

370: Viktor Frankl on the pandemic

Many people are looking to return to something they can call normal since the pandemic undid their earlier normal. In the meantime they struggle. Almost everyone I know knows Viktor Frankl's Man's Search for Meaning . I don't...
Aug. 8, 2020

369: Another Decision From My Past I Feel Ashamed Of

I shared a story with a client the other day that he found deeply meaningful. I'd never shared it with anyone before because it felt so shameful. Enough time has passed that I can talk about it, so I'm sharing it here, but I ...
Aug. 4, 2020

368: Chester Elton, part 1: Asking and listening across color lines

You're about to hear a conversation post-George Floyd by two leadership writers. Normally we write for mostly business audiences. this conversation felt more personal. Normally when a friend introduces a potential podcast gue...
Aug. 3, 2020

367: The Surprising Mantle of Leadership

Here are the notes I read from for this episode: Stand up comedians Growing up in 70s I thought everyone would want to lead, to give I Have A Dream speech of their generation Felt so natural, though universal So until recentl...
Aug. 2, 2020

366: The Cops, Jocko Willink, and Joe Rogan

Here are the notes I wrote and read this podcast from: It's no secret the tension between police and protesters in this country. I've talked to a lot of protesters in my day, having protested myself many times, especially in ...
July 30, 2020

365: Assaulted again and scammed

Here are the notes I read from (maybe better just to listen): Yesterday two things, I'll start with second because more poignant. Ran into old friend a few weeks ago, clubbing, Submedia. Met at bar, first time since March, re...