Conversations About Collaboration

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Conversations About Collaboration is a timely and multi-disciplinary podcast about how we work together. Award-winning author and recognized collaboration authority Phil Simon chats with smart cookies about remote work, the future of work, productivity, t

Phil Simon

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    • Apr 9, 2024 LATEST EPISODE
    • monthly NEW EPISODES
    • 25m AVG DURATION
    • 88 EPISODES


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    Latest episodes from Conversations About Collaboration

    Episode 83: Slack at Scale With Ksenia Boyer

    Play Episode Listen Later Apr 9, 2024 35:01


    What's it like when a 23,000-person organization uses Slack? If you're curious about all of the communications and change management issues, listen to this episode.  Support the showMore about Conversations About Collaboration: Support the show via Patreon. Contact Phil Simon.

    Episode 82: A Personal Update

    Play Episode Listen Later Mar 12, 2024 8:36


    I've been on a self-imposed podcast hiatus since June of last year. In this quick episode, I tell you why I needed a break, what I've been up to, and my future plans for the pod.  Support the showMore about Conversations About Collaboration: Support the show via Patreon. Contact Phil Simon.

    Episode 81: Build a Better Business Book With Josh Bernoff

    Play Episode Listen Later Jun 27, 2023 28:26


    My friend Josh Bernoff returns today to talk about his excellent new release, Build a Better Business Book: How to Plan, Write, and Promote a Book That Matters. Support the showMore about Conversations About Collaboration: Tweet at Phil Simon. Support the show via Patreon. Contact Phil Simon.

    Episode 80: Saying No With Dr. Vanessa Patrick

    Play Episode Listen Later Jun 13, 2023 32:23


    Dr. Vanessa Patrick joins me today. We talk about her new book The Power of Saying No: The New Science of How to Say No That Puts You in Charge of Your Life. Support the showMore about Conversations About Collaboration: Tweet at Phil Simon. Support the show via Patreon. Contact Phil Simon.

    Episode 79: No-code in the Enteprise With Teresa Cintra

    Play Episode Listen Later May 30, 2023 24:46


    Teresa Cintra joins me. She is the country manager at ncScale. We talk about LC/NC tools, Airtable, Netflix, and Anchorman. It turns out that low-code/no-code is kind of a big deal.Pre-roll for The Nine. Support the showMore about Conversations About Collaboration: Tweet at Phil Simon. Support the show via Patreon. Contact Phil Simon.

    Episode 78: The Empathy Advantage With Chris Shipley

    Play Episode Listen Later Mar 28, 2023 30:49


    Chris Shipley joins me today. We talk about four-day workweeks, pandemic-based relocation, and her new book The Empathy Advantage.Pre-roll for The Nine. Support the showMore about Conversations About Collaboration: Tweet at Phil Simon. Support the show via Patreon. Contact Phil Simon.

    Episode 77: Audio Excerpt From The Nine

    Play Episode Listen Later Mar 21, 2023 15:22


    Enjoy a 13-minute preview of my forthcoming book, The Nine: The Tectonic Forces Reshaping the Workplace.Props to my narrator Jonathan Yen.New book is out. Support the showMore about Conversations About Collaboration: Tweet at Phil Simon. Support the show via Patreon. Contact Phil Simon.

    Episode 76:The Good Enough Job With Simone Stolzoff

    Play Episode Listen Later Mar 7, 2023 28:14


    Simone Stolzoff joins me to talk about his new book The Good Enough Job: Reclaiming Life from Work. We discuss unions, Kickstarter, trust, and much more.New book is out. Support the showMore about Conversations About Collaboration: Tweet at Phil Simon. Support the show via Patreon. Contact Phil Simon.

    Episode 75: Citizen Development at Scale with Amtrak's Michael McCullough

    Play Episode Listen Later Dec 13, 2022 27:30


    Michael McCullough joins me today. He's the Citizen Development Business Architect at Amtrak. We talk about low-code, training, Microsoft, and the challenges of running one of the world's largest citizen development departments.New book is out. Support the showMore about Conversations About Collaboration: Tweet at Phil Simon. Support the show via Patreon. Contact Phil Simon.

    Episode 74: Audio Excerpt From Low-Code/No-Code

    Play Episode Listen Later Nov 17, 2022 25:05


    Here's an excerpt from my new book Low-Code/No-Code: Citizen Developers and the Surprising Future of Business Applications. Support the showMore about Conversations About Collaboration: Tweet at Phil Simon. Support the show via Patreon. Contact Phil Simon.

    Episode 73: Building a No-Code Company With Jon Darbyshire

    Play Episode Play 30 sec Highlight Listen Later Nov 1, 2022 25:52


    Jon Darbyshire joins me today. He's the CEO and co-founder of SmartSuite. We talk about efficiency, automation, Notion, VC funding, how he started his company, and whether we'll ultimately all wind up using a single app. Support the showMore about Conversations About Collaboration: Tweet at Phil Simon. Support the show via Patreon. Contact Phil Simon.

    Episode 72: Making No-Code Happen With Chaya Gutnick and Avi Hercenberg

    Play Episode Listen Later Oct 25, 2022 31:15


    Chaya Gutnick and Avi Hercenberg join me to talk about the staggering amount of choice in the LC/NC world. Other topics include consulting, enterprise systems, HubSpot, Apple, SmartSuite, and supply chains. Support the showMore about Conversations About Collaboration: Tweet at Phil Simon. Support the show via Patreon. Contact Phil Simon.

    Episode 71: Intelligent Automation With Josh Snow

    Play Episode Play 29 sec Highlight Listen Later Oct 4, 2022 25:44


    Josh Snow from SupportDept joins me. We talk about automation, Airtable, teaching yourself new tools, how to improve business processes, and sleep. Support the show

    Episode 70: Geeking Out in Notion With Jennie Blake

    Play Episode Play 33 sec Highlight Listen Later Sep 20, 2022 39:21


    Jenny Blake joins me. Her new book is Free Time: Lose The Busywork, Love Your Business. We talk about tech tuition, Notion, the importance of documentation, automation, yachts, and other cool stuff. Support the show

    Episode 69: Next-Level Slack With Christine McHone

    Play Episode Listen Later Aug 16, 2022 30:23


    Christine McHone joins me today. She's a Slack Capability Leader at Slalom, a management consulting firm. We geek out on Slack, organizational change, and flexible work. Support the show

    Episode 68: Covering the Workplace With Lizzy Lawrence

    Play Episode Listen Later Jul 18, 2022 25:15


    Lizzy Lawrence of Protocol joins me. She covers tools and productivity in the workplace. We talk about productivity, Slack, Canva, Gen Z, organizational change, and other cool stuff.  Support the show

    Episode 67: Building a Second Brain With Tiago Forte

    Play Episode Listen Later Jun 21, 2022 34:08


    Tiago Forte is one productive dude. He joins me to talk about his new book Building a Second Brain: A Proven Method to Organize Your Digital Life and Unlock Your Creative Potential. Legos, productivity, pencils, and metadata are also on the docket. Support the show

    Episode 66: Project Leadership With Anh Dao Pham

    Play Episode Play 30 sec Highlight Listen Later Jun 14, 2022 23:58


    Anh Dao Pham joins me. She is a VP of Product & Program Management at Edmunds. We talk about her book Glue: How Project Leaders Create Cohesive, Engaged, High-Performing Teams. Support the show

    Episode 65: Audio Excerpt From Project Management in the Hybrid Workplace

    Play Episode Listen Later May 26, 2022 50:33


    My new book Project Management in the Hybrid Workplace drops on June 15 of this year. For now, enjoy an excerpt from the audiobook. My narrator Gary Bennett again hits it out of the park.Pre-order the book here.  It should be up for pre-order as an audiobook within two weeks, give or take.  Support the show

    Episode 64: Team-Level Agreements and How the Future Works With Brian Elliott

    Play Episode Listen Later May 17, 2022 42:14


    Brian Elliott, Executive Leader of the Future Forum, joins me again. This time, we talk about his new book How the Future Works: Leading Flexible Teams To Do The Best Work of Their Lives. We also discuss team-level agreements, hybrid work, and the need for experiments.  Support the show

    Episode 63: Managing Multiple Projects With Elizabeth Harrin

    Play Episode Play 30 sec Highlight Listen Later Apr 12, 2022 31:16


    Elizabeth Harrin joins me today. We discuss her new book Managing Multiple Projects, sushi, spaghetti, side dishes, productivity, timeboxing, and more. I had a blast on this one.  Support the show

    Episode 62: Reimagining the Office With Sabine Ehm of Locatee

    Play Episode Play 30 sec Highlight Listen Later Mar 22, 2022 25:43


    Sabine Ehm joins me today. She's a research manager at Locatee. We talk about the future of the office, how much space companies need, ideal configurations, sensors, privacy, The Reset, and a bunch of other topical stuff.Support the show

    Episode 61: Becoming Superhuman With Lucas Miller

    Play Episode Play 39 sec Highlight Listen Later Mar 8, 2022 39:02


    Lucas Miller joins me today. Like me, he wears quite a few hats. The cognitive scientist teaches at UC Berkeley and researches productivity. We talk about technology, how we're wired, his work at Becoming Superhuman, his upcoming class at Section4, and cuddle hormones.Support the show

    Episode 60: Collective Deep Work With Dr. Laura Giurge

    Play Episode Play 40 sec Highlight Listen Later Feb 22, 2022 27:19


    Dr. Laura Giurge joins me today. She is an organizational scholar, speaker, and consultant. We explore the importance of deadlines and clarity, task urgency, accountability, and the notion of pre-mortems. Support the show

    Episode 59: Suddenly Hybrid With Karin Reed

    Play Episode Play 41 sec Highlight Listen Later Feb 8, 2022 41:00


    My friend Karin Reed is the show's first return guest. (Evidently, I was so charming that she couldn't resist coming back.) We talk about her new book Suddenly Hybrid: Managing the Modern Meeting, HR, the future of the office, user interfaces, employee training, and, Succession. Support the show

    Episode 58: Talking Lanes With Sway's Denise Brouder

    Play Episode Play 30 sec Highlight Listen Later Jan 25, 2022 27:56


    Denise Brouder pops by today. The head of Sway Workplace shares her thoughts on a number of interesting subjects: the future of work, the creator economy, web3, the metaverse, the importance of incessantly asking why, and her five-lane theory of work.   Support the show

    Episode 57: Employee Surveys Reimagined With Noah Pusey of Ripple Analytics

    Play Episode Play 30 sec Highlight Listen Later Jan 11, 2022 28:13


    Noah Pusey joins me. He is president and CEO of Ripple Analytics, a company that is redefining performance evaluations and employee surveys. We talk about curiosity, cooperation, traditional performance reviews, Goodhart's Law, GE, and Air Jordan.Support the show

    Episode 56: Intentionality With Dr. Sahar Yousef of Berkeley and Josh Zerkel of Asana

    Play Episode Play 38 sec Highlight Listen Later Dec 7, 2021 29:55


    Dr. Sahar Yousef of Berkeley and Josh Zerkel of Asana join me. We talk about work about work, the role technology plays in employee burnout, intentionality, trust, and clarity. We also discuss Asana's fascinating Anatomy of Work Report.Support the show

    Episode 55: Beyond Simple Screen Sharing With Till Pieper

    Play Episode Play 36 sec Highlight Listen Later Nov 30, 2021 18:27


    Zoom may have introduced millions to screen-sharing, but others have been doing it for decades. Also, why are engineers innately more collaborative than most of us? I talk about these subjects and others with Till Pieper, CEO and co-founder of CoScreen.Support the show

    Episode 54: Everything Is Configurable With Nick Iovacchini

    Play Episode Play 38 sec Highlight Listen Later Nov 16, 2021 25:50


    Nick Iovacchini joins me. He is the co-founder and CEO of Kettle. The company makes software that enables hybrid work. We talk about the formation of the company, the difficulty of scheduling employees, the potential savings of hybrid work, Uber, and transparency Support the show

    Episode 53: Indirect Influence With Vanessa Bohns

    Play Episode Play 32 sec Highlight Listen Later Nov 9, 2021 21:28


    Vanessa Bohns joins me today. She is a social psychologist and professor of organizational behavior at Cornell University. Her new book is You Have More Influence Than You Think: How We Underestimate Our Power of Persuasion, and Why It Matters. We talk about power, hybrid work, virtue signaling, destination weddings, pronouns, and the benefits of showing up to meetings even when you don't speak.Support the show

    Episode 52: Despotic Taylorism With Christopher Mims of the Wall Street Journal

    Play Episode Play 30 sec Highlight Listen Later Nov 2, 2021 22:36


    Christopher Mims joins me today. He is a tech columnist at The Wall Street Journal. His new book is Arriving Today: From Factory to Front Door—Why Everything Has Changed About How and What We Buy. We talk about logistics, the long-term impact of COVID-19 on the supply chain, labor differences between Amazon and UPS, Frederick Taylor, and when things will go back to normal. Support the show

    Special Edition: Lightwerks Keynote Revisited

    Play Episode Listen Later Oct 26, 2021 42:22


    A while back, I gave a keynote for the AV company Lightwerks. The good folks at the company are letting me share it in an audio format. I talk about where we are with the pandemic, the adoption of new collaboration tools, Reimagining Collaboration, and things that people can do today to collaborate better. Support the show

    Episode 52: Talking Teams With Matt Wade

    Play Episode Play 32 sec Highlight Listen Later Oct 19, 2021 25:38


    Matt Wade joins me. He is the co-founder of jumpto365. His new book is Teach Yourself VISUALLY Microsoft Teams. We talk about Microsoft's productivity and collaboration software, the overlap among its products, and the difficulty of getting people to adopt new ways of working.Support the show

    Episode 51: Collaboration Overload With Professor Rob Cross

    Play Episode Play 35 sec Highlight Listen Later Oct 12, 2021 20:44


    Fellow tennis nut Rob Cross joins me today. He's the Edward A. Madden Professor of Global Leadership at Babson College. We talk about the state of work and his excellent new book Beyond Collaboration Overload: How to Work Smarter, Get Ahead, and Restore Your Well-Being. Oh, and Kevin Bacon makes an appearance.Support the show

    Episode 50: A Flux Mind-Set With April Linne

    Play Episode Play 35 sec Highlight Listen Later Oct 5, 2021 20:14


    April Rinne joins me. She's the author of the excellent new book Flux: 8 Superpowers for Thriving in Constant Change. We talk about the intensifying rate of change, agency, playlists, and the importance of letting go of the future. (Yeah, you read right.)Support the show

    Episode 49: The Challenges of Hybrid Work With Dr. Peter Cappelli

    Play Episode Play 30 sec Highlight Listen Later Sep 28, 2021 20:57


    Dr. Peter Cappelli joins me. He is the George W. Taylor professor of management at the University of Pennsylvania's Wharton School and the author of The Future of the Office: Work From Home, Remote Work, and the Hard Choices We All Face. We talk about the difficulties of hybrid work, how it may impact cities and local businesses, and the challenges of onboarding new employees.Support the show

    Episode 48: The Remote Oracle With Darren Murph of Gitlab

    Play Episode Play 35 sec Highlight Listen Later Sep 21, 2021 26:27


    Rock star and remote oracle Darren Murph joins me. He serves as the Head of Remote—cool title—for Gitlab. We talk about organizational alignment, Slack, intentionality, the importance of documentation, software development, talent shows, and much more. Support the show

    Episode 47: The Whole-Person Workplace With Scott Behson

    Play Episode Play 35 sec Highlight Listen Later Sep 14, 2021 22:19


    Scott Behson joins me. He is a professor at Fairleigh Dickinson University. We talk about his new book The Whole-Person Workplace: Building Better Workplaces Through Work-Life, Wellness and Employee Support.Support the show

    Episode 46: The Collaborative Nature of Marketing With John Jantsch

    Play Episode Play 57 sec Highlight Listen Later Sep 7, 2021 21:59


    John Jantsch joins me. He is a prominent marketing consultant, speaker, and the author of a bunch of books, most recently The Ultimate Marketing Engine: 5 Steps to Ridiculously Consistent Growth. We talk about the collaborative nature of marketing, Monday, customer journeys, automation, and referrals.Support the show

    Episode 45: Stories and Videos With Voodle CEO Forest Key

    Play Episode Play 31 sec Highlight Listen Later Aug 31, 2021 23:15


    Forest Key joins me. He is the founder and CEO of Voodle. We talk about stories, Slack, Clubhouse, Zoom, e-mail, asynchronous communication, and personalized videos.Support the show

    Episode 44: The Intersection of Design and Collaboration With Ring Central's Michael Peachey

    Play Episode Play 36 sec Highlight Listen Later Aug 24, 2021 22:33


    Michael Peachey joins me. He is the VP of User Experience at RingCentral. We discuss collaboration personas, Ready Player One, maker time vs. manager time, and unified communications.Support the show

    Episode 43: Bridging the IT-Business Divide With Chris Fenning

    Play Episode Play 28 sec Highlight Listen Later Aug 17, 2021 30:02


    Chris Fenning is my guest today. We talk about communication styles, types, the English neo-prog band Marillion, and his award-winning book The First Minute: How to Start Conversations That Get Results.Support the show

    Episode 42: Chartering a New Future With Erin Grau

    Play Episode Play 34 sec Highlight Listen Later Aug 10, 2021 24:00


    Erin Grau joins me. She's the co-founder and COO of Charter, a company that seeks to transform work. We talk about parental leave, equity, Jerry Maguire, and the massive opportunity for organizations to reimagine work.Support the show

    Episode 41: Debugging People With Rajiv Ayyangar

    Play Episode Play 32 sec Highlight Listen Later Aug 3, 2021 23:54


    Rajiv Ayyangar is my guest this week. He's the CEO of Tandem—the virtual office for distributed teams. We talk about hybrid work, Yahoo! (yes, Yahoo!), productivity, presence, Spotify, Britney Spears, and debugging people.Support the show

    Episode 40: The Future Office With Chris Good

    Play Episode Listen Later Jul 27, 2021 24:11


    Chris Good joins me. He's the Creative Director at One Workplace.We talk about reimagining the office, going to work to get away from home, and the massive opportunity for companies to differentiate themselves via design.Support the show

    Episode 39: Organizational Improv With Coonoor Behal

    Play Episode Listen Later Jul 20, 2021 26:33


    Coonoor Behal is my guest today. She runs Mindhatch—a firm that using creativity to help companies get better results. She is also the author of I Quit! The Life-Affirming Joy of Giving Up. We talk about The Great Resignation, improv comedy, saying no, and the choices that employees make.  Support the show

    Episode 38: Amazon Unbound With Brad Stone

    Play Episode Play 21 sec Highlight Listen Later Jul 13, 2021 23:52


    Brad Stone is a Senior Executive Editor at Bloomberg News. He joins me this week to talk about his excellent book Amazon Unbound: Jeff Bezos and the Invention of a Global Empire. We talk about automation, HQ2, Prime Studios, fake reviews, Seinfeld, and the tension between creativity and analytics at the world's largest e-tailer.Support the show

    Episode 37: Making Work More Fun With Pim de Morree

    Play Episode Play 36 sec Highlight Listen Later Jul 6, 2021 28:05


    Pim de Morree joins me. He's the co-founder of Corporate Rebels and co-author of Corporate Rebels: Make work more fun. We talk about self-management, employee trust, Spotify, hybrid work, e-commerce, and the world coming around to his line of thinking. Support the show

    Episode 36: Trust, Culture, and Teams With Larry English of Centric Consulting

    Play Episode Listen Later Jun 29, 2021 24:31


    Larry English joins me. He's the president of Centric Consulting and the author of Office Optional: How to Build a Connected Culture with Virtual Teams. We talk about trust, teams, culture, change management, and hybrid work.Support the show

    Episode 35: Automation, Businesses Processes, and Economics With AirSlate CEO Borya Shakhnovich

    Play Episode Play 37 sec Highlight Listen Later Jun 22, 2021 20:49


    AirSlate CEO Borya Shakhnovich and I discuss the obstacles that inhibit organizations from automating manual business processes. We also talk about small businesses, change management, and the economics of automation.Support the show

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