Tag Archives: work

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524: How to Find What You Love, Love What You Do, and Do It for the Rest of Your Life with Marcus Buckingham (an Encore Presentation of Episode 417)

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What an awesome and incredibly important discussion I have for you today! It’s my long-awaited sit-down with none other than Marcus Buckingham.

marcus buckingham

I first got the chance to hear Marcus speak fifteen, or maybe, twenty years ago at the annual Global Leadership Summit in Chicago. Marcus was captivating AND inspiring that day.

His new book is fantastic! And, the good news for you is, it officially releases TODAY! It’s called Love + Work: How to Find What You Love, Love What You Do, and Do It for the Rest of Your Life.

So, say you’ve long been told to “Do what you love.” Sounds simple, but the real challenge is how to do this in a world not set up to help you.

Most of us actually don’t know the real truth of what we love—what engages us and makes us thrive—and our workplaces, jobs, schools, even our parents, are focused instead on making us conform.

Sadly, no person or system is dedicated to discovering the crucial intersection between what you love to do and how you contribute it to others.

But Marcus shows you how to break free from this conformity—how to decode your own loves, turn them into their most powerful expression, and do the same for those you lead and those you love.

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

Join in on our chat below

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514: How to Fix the Always-On Culture of Business with Malissa Clark

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For the second week in a row, I’m delighted to welcome a guest whose book made my list of the 9 books I’m most looking forward to this year.

malissa clark

That guest is the University of Georgia’s Malissa Clark. She’s written a new book, released just last week, called Never Not Working: Why the Always-On Culture is Bad for Business—and How to Fix It.

Malissa says that many workers believe that, in order to compete with other top talent, they must embrace a culture that rewards long hours and a constant connection to work.

In fact, businesses and society endorse busyness, overwork, and extreme commitment as the most valued traits in workers. Sometimes that endorsement is explicit. More often it’s an implicit contract, a buildup of organizational and cultural norms and the adoption of new technologies that make it easy to tether people to work.

Either way, this workaholic behavior is unhealthy and counterproductive for workers and for organizations. And, according to Malissa, it’s time to fight back.

She shows you how to escape the trap of putting work at the center of everything and thus losing your well-being—or your company’s performance—in the process.

Her book is deeply researched and written for everyone from leaders to individual contributors. You might say Never Not Working is the essential guide to identifying workaholism in yourself and others and starting on the road to recovery.

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

Join in on our chat below

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489: How to Work with (Almost) Anyone with Michael Bungay Stanier

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This week’s guest wrote a book that is considered to be the best coaching book of the century. He and I spoke about that book here several years ago.

michael bungay stainer

His latest book is another winner in my view. His name is Michael Bungay Stanier and the book is How to Work with (Almost) Anyone.

The hard truth, Michael says, is most of us leave many of our relationships to chance. Few of us approach them with any amount of intentionality.

Relationships always get a little broken, or a little stale, or a little worse. C’est la vie, c’est la guerre. Carry on.

But it doesn’t have to be like this. Every working relationship can be better.

Michael’s book shows you how to build the best possible relationship.

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

Join in on our chat below

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484: The Surprising Science of High-Performing Teams with David Burkus

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This week’s guest is making a repeat appearance (or should I say, “three-peat” appearance?). It’s been a while since his last visit, but I can say it is definitely worth the wait.

david burkus

His name is David Burkus. We previously chatted with David about his books Friend of a Friend and Under New Management.

His new book is called Best Team Ever! The Surprising Science of High-Performing Teams.

Talent, David says, doesn’t make the team—the team makes the talent. But why are some teams more motivated, innovative, and successful than others? Why do some groups of talented people fall short against lesser teams? And how do you go about building a high-performing team?

David understands that to build the best team, you must first shape the habits and practices that bring out the best in each member. Best Team Ever reveals what some of the world’s most effective teams do, and shows you how you can do the same.

Banish the frustration of having a team of talented people who can’t perform optimally. Discover how to develop a clear, concise understanding of how your team’s culture affects its performance. Follow this simple, practical blueprint to cultivate a Best Team Ever environment and set your team on a path to success.

I hope you’ll click the play button below to learn more about David and his 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.

Join in on our chat below

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