Category Archives: Podcast

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481: How to See What Others Don’t with Constance Dierickx, PhD

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This week’s guest—someone who I once referred to as “a hoot”—makes her second appearance on the show, her first in nearly six years.

constance dierickx

Her name is Dr. Constance Dierickx. We last heard from her way back in Episode #190 to talk about her book High Stakes Leadership.

This time she’s here to discuss her brand new book, Meta-Leadership: How to See What Others Don’t and Make Great Decisions.

All top leaders make mistakes, she says, simply because they are human. In fact, the more senior and successful they are, the more susceptible they are to making errors due to over-confidence and perhaps, hubris. But, as Constance demonstrates, this doesn’t have to be your fate.

In her new book, she draws on a vast body of research from psychology and business to show how great leaders can improve their judgment for stronger, more profitable results. Incorporating leading-edge data and research on the science of thinking, emotional regulation, and behavior, Meta Leadership offers fascinating stories, incisive insights, and useful takeaways for better leadership and better outcomes.

Whether you are at the start of your leadership journey or have held a senior leadership role for years, Meta-Leadership will arm you with knowledge and insights to achieve the highest results from yourself and your team.

I hope you’ll click the play button below to learn more about Constance and her work. For a summary, just keep scrolling.

Join in on our chat below

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480: The Case for Good Jobs with Zeynep Ton

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Two years ago, my 81-year-old mother, fell in love with Turkish culture. Credit Turkish men. Suffice to say, there’s not a Turkish movie or soap opera she hasn’t seen at least twice. She’s even teaching herself the language.

zeynep ton

This means, of course, that possibly for the first time ever, she’ll be excited to give one of my episodes a listen because Turkey is from where my guest today originally hails.

Her name is Zeynep Ton (Zeynep, according to my mother, is a popular girl’s name in Turkey. It’s even the name of a leading character on one of her “shows.”).

And Zeynep’s new book, released just a few weeks ago, is called The Case for Good Jobs: How Great Companies Bring Dignity, Pay & Meaning to Everyone’s Work.

From healthcare facilities to call centers, fulfillment centers to factories, and restaurants to retail stores, companies are struggling to find or keep workers, Zeynep says, because the jobs they offer are low-paying, stressful, and provide little chance for growth and success.

Workers want good jobs, and many leaders want to provide them.

But they don’t think they can offer higher pay and more motivating work without hurting the bottom line. Most business leaders want to win with customers, but their companies are hobbled by a host of service and operational problems largely driven by high employee turnover—turnover that’s partly driven by low pay.

With expertise drawn from spending time on the front lines with workers and their managers, Zeynep knows what’s keeping most companies mired in mediocrity and how implementing a good jobs system makes them more competitive, more resilient, and more likely to attract and retain loyal customers and dedicated employees.

I hope you’ll click the play button below to learn more about Zeynep and her work. For a summary, just keep scrolling.

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479: Finding Clarity, Confidence, and Courage with Dr. Heather Penny

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Once in a great while, a book title just grabs you in a way that makes you want to stop what you’re doing right then and there and open it up to experience the gems you know are waiting inside.

dr. heather penny

I recently discovered just such a book, and its gems were numerous to say the least.

I’m talking about a new book titled The Life You’re Made For: Finding Clarity, Confidence, and Courage to Be Fully Alive by Dr. Heather Penny.

Heather helps you blaze a path to the life of your dreams through a transformative process she calls 3C Living. Her guidance helps individuals and teams get traction in their personal and professional lives.

Whether you’re new to executive leadership or are feeling like your career is on pause and your personal life is dragging you down, 3C Living provides a practical, proven blueprint to take you from where you are to where you want to be.

But don’t worry. This isn’t one more book about doing more. You’re probably already doing too much.

This is a book about building rest into your hectic schedule, recognizing and reducing mind chatter, identifying the Givers in your life as well as those who may be taking too much.

You’ll read about the art of receiving, how to “spiral up” rather than down, and how to pursue that unique dream that goes beyond just surviving day to day to actually thriving. Along the way, Heather provides a few simple exercises, questions, and cautions to empower you to stay on track.

I hope you’ll click the play button below to learn more about Heather and her work. For a summary, just keep scrolling.

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478: Protecting Your Brain in the Digital Age with Dr. Carl Marci

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In the conclusion of my book Read to Lead (BakerBooks, 2021), I argue that the evolution of our brains have been adversely impacted by technology. That books helped rewire our brains in a positive way when they came on the scene hundreds of years ago, and that today’s screens—and the ways in which we interact with them—are undoing much of that rewiring.

dr. carl marci

One only need to read the book written by today’s guest to confirm my not-so-positive assertion.

It’s called, appropriately, Rewired: Protecting Your Brain in the Digital Age and it’s written by Dr. Carl D. Marci.

He says that living in an age of digital distraction has wreaked havoc on our brains―but there’s much we can do to restore our tech–life balance.

We live in a world that is always on, where everyone is always connected. But we feel increasingly disconnected. Why? The answer lies in our brains.

Dr. Marci, a leading expert on social and consumer neuroscience, reviews the mounting evidence that overuse of smart phones and social media is rewiring our brains, resulting in a losing deal: we are neglecting the relationships that sustain us and keep us healthy in favor of weaker and more ephemeral ties.

As a psychiatrist working at the forefront of research on the impact of digital technology, Dr. Marci has seen this transformation up close and developed a range of responses. 

Rewired provides scientifically supported solutions for everyone who wants to restore their tech–life balance―from parents concerned about their children’s exposure to the internet to stressed workers dealing with the deluge of emails and managing the expectation of 24/7 availability.

I hope you’ll click the play button below to learn more about Carl and his work. For a summary, just keep scrolling.

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477: Why Work is No Longer Working and What Do To About It with Seth Godin

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Today is a real treat for me (and for you), as I get to welcome—for the third time—the person I consider to be one of the world’s greatest thinkers and authors. He’s certainly had a huge impact on me and my life.

seth godin

That thinker and author is the one and only Seth Godin. He’s written his twenty-first book, and today is the day we get to welcome it to the world.

It’s called The Song Of Significance: A New Manifesto for Teams.

Seth argues that real value at work is no longer measured by easy indicators of industrial productivity, but by effective personal interactions, innovation, creative solutions, and resilience. In a world ruled by remote work and artificial intelligence, leaders must disentangle themselves from the pervasive industrialized management system created in the early twentieth century and adopt a new leadership style that places humans at the forefront.

The futility of commanding people to care and managing for short-term results has become clear to
everyone. Instead, leaders must aspire to create the best jobs their employees have ever had while
creating conditions for systemic change. The emotional labor of employees who truly participate in an organization’s mission is the competitive advantage that all businesses need and what the exceptional ones produce.

In The Song of Significance, Seth provides a roadmap for the business leaders who are willing to
create a meaningful future while bravely rejecting the outmoded management models that are no longer serving us. As he writes, “Choosing significance is to dance with fear, and choosing fear
requires belief that what we’re doing matters.”

I hope you’ll click the play button below to learn more about Seth and his work. For a summary, just keep scrolling.

Join in on our chat below

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