Radio Free Leader

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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.

0820 | How the Best Leaders Make Everyone Smarter with Liz Wiseman by David Burkus

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.

0804 | How to Create Meaning with Scott Mautz by David Burkus

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.