Unmessable Podcast

If there is one skill to master in life, it is selling. Why? Because no matter what you do, whether you are a product designer, an executive, an entrepreneur, or a preacher, if you develop the ability to sell your idea, your vision, your strategy, or your product/service, the sky is the limit. And more than merely selling, ultimately, mastery of selling comes when you develop the ability to be of service while selling. What does it mean to be of service while selling? It means that you authentically listen for people's concerns (whether in the foreground or background) and align on resolving it (if possible) within the context of your work/offering. That’s what John O’Leary -- #1 National best selling author, inspirational speaker, and top podcast host -- does and as he puts it, his job is to serve.  John's life journey has been everything but easy though.  At the age of 9 years old, 100 percent of his body was burned in a terrible fire. John was given a 1 percent chance to live but after a 5-month hospital stay, dozens of surgeries, and the amputation of all of his fingers, he pulled through. Today, John is the best-selling author of On Fire: The 7 choices to ignite a radically inspired life that sold upwards of 120,000 copies and was translated into more than 12 languages, as well as most recently In Awe: Rediscover your childlike wonder to unleash inspiration, meaning and joy. Live Inspired, John’s podcast ranks top #10 in iTunes and has over several million downloads. Having spoken at more than 1,600 events, and for more than a half a million people, in 48 states and in 11 Countries, John has found his true calling: Inspire and uplift people.  Tune in to the full episode to learn about: John's life journey The invaluable lessons his mother taught him How John's business was impacted by COVID-19 (hint: it's brutal) and what he did to address it What John does when he needs inspiration In AWE (the book) and how to reconnect with our childlike wonder What you can do to improve the quality of your life (practices you can use) Tanya Privé · EP 36 What Leadership Will Look Like Over The Next 10 Years Connect with John O'Leary: Linkedin Twitter Instagram Website Books John O'Leary's Story: In 1987, John O’Leary was a curious nine-year-old boy. Playing with fire and gasoline, John created a massive explosion in his home and was burned on 100% of his body. He was given less than a 1% chance to live. This epic story of survival was first showcased in his parents’ book, Overwhelming Odds, in 2006. Originally printing 200 copies for friends and family, his parents have sold 60,000+ copies. It was this book that first invited John to embrace his miraculous recovery and share it with the world. John inspires 50,000+ people at 100+ events each year. He speaks to companies and organizations across industries, such as: sales, healthcare, safety, marketing, finance, faith, education and insurance. Consistently described as “the best speaker we’ve ever had,” John receives nearly 100% of his engagements from referrals. His schedule is a testament to the power of his message and who he is as an individual. His emotional story-telling, unexpected humor and authenticity make each of his presentations truly transformational. John’s first book ON FIRE: The 7 Choices to Ignite a Radically Inspired Life was an instant #1 National Bestseller; 200,000+ copies have sold and it has been translated into 12 languages. John’s Live Inspired Podcast is top-rated on Apple Podcast and has more than 2,000,000 downloads. His second book IN AWE: Rediscover Your Childlike Wonder to Unleash Inspiration, Meaning and Joy will be published by Penguin Random House in May 2020. John considers his greatest success to be his marriage to his wife Beth, their four children and his relationships with friends and family. * * *

What will it take to lead effectively over the next decade? How can you prepare yourself for what will likely be called for as we navigate times ahead? Well, according to the author of Future Leader Jacob Morgan, who interviewed 140 global CEOs (of companies like Audi, Mastercard, Unilever, Oracle, and SAP) and surveyed over 14,000 employees, there are four mindsets and five skills that our current business leaders believe will be needed in our future leaders. Curious what they are? Tune in to the full episode to learn about: What current global CEOs believe leadership will require over the next decade What mindsets and skillsets you should develop to position yourself strategically to lead effectively Micro and Macro trends that influence leadership What it takes to build a brand for yourself The dynamics involved in writing a book (hint: you might be surprised at the distribution of effort) Tanya Privé · EP 36 What Leadership Will Look Like Over The Next 10 Years Connect with Jacob Morgan: Linkedin Twitter Youtube Website Books Jacob Morgan's Story: After graduating with honors in business management economics and psychology from the University of California Santa Cruz, Jacob was excited to join the corporate world. At his first job he was told that he’d be traveling the country, meeting with executives and entrepreneurs, and doing all sorts of exciting work. A few months in, he was stuck doing data entry, cold calling, and PowerPoint presentations. One day the CEO came out of his nice corner office, handed Jacob a $10 bill, and said, “I’m late for a meeting, go grab me a cup of coffee, and get something for yourself as well.” That was the last corporate job he ever had. Today, Jacob Morgan is a trained futurist and one of the world’s leading authorities on leadership, the future of work, employee experience, and leadership. He speaks in front of tens of thousands of people each year and his content is seen over a million times a year. Jacob is the best-selling author of four books: The Future Leader (Wiley 2020) The Employee Experience Advantage (Wiley, 2017), The Future of Work (Wiley, 2014), and The Collaborative Organization (McGraw Hill, 2012). He speaks at over 50 conferences a year including TED Academy which is one of the largest TED events in the world. In addition, Jacob provides advisory and thought leadership services to various organizations around the world. He is the founder of The Future of Work University at FutureOfWorkUniversity.com, an online education and training platform that helps individuals and organizations thrive in the rapidly changing world of work. Courses explore topics such as employee experience, the future of work, and leadership skills. Jacob also created “The Future If,” a global community of business leaders, authors and futurists who explore what our future can look like IF certain technologies, ideas, approaches and trends actually happen. The community looks at everything from AI and automation to leadership and management practices to augmented reality and virtual reality, the 4th industrial revolution and everything in between. * * * Full Transcription: Jacob Morgan:  For leaders who are constantly being pulled in different directions where we constantly have notifications and things buzzing and binging all over the place, being able to listen is going to be very, very crucial, and it’s becoming very, very hard to do. Tanya:  That’s Jacob Morgan, four-time best-selling author, TED speaker, and Founder of The Future of Work University whose research explores what it takes to be an effective leader and what employees care most about in terms of their work. After interviewing more than 140 CEOs and 14,000 employees, Jacob Morgan shares critical learnings about what t...

What role does trust play, within your company, when it comes to your individual and team performance?  Well, it turns out a lot. As Joel Peterson  -- Chairman of JetBlue, Consulting Stanford Professor, Author, and Founder of Peterson Partners which is part Private Equity and Venture Capital firm with over $1 billion under management-- puts it: "Trust is the most powerful operating system you can have. A lot of people think of it as this fuzzy feel-good thing; I like somebody, therefore, I trust them. In the book I wrote The Ten Laws of Trust, the fundamental thesis was that you can factor analyze trust, and if a leader will follow these laws, they can actually build a high trust culture. A high trust culture is really a more powerful one because it can deliver on promises. A high trust leader can delegate more easily because the people under him or her are able to predict what they are going to do. People who are low trust, everybody is afraid of them and they’re afraid to make decisions. They’re unable to really empower others." In the absence of a high trust culture, what's possible for the company gets negatively impacted as trust is the foundation upon which relationships are built. In its most basic form, companies are made up of people working together and the quality of the interactions is correlated to the degree of trust. Also, Joel not only has pioneered and led some of the most forward-thinking companies but has also financed them. As a 2X author, Joel is uniquely positioned to understand what fundamentally successful companies do and has gracefully shared these operating principles in his latest book: Entrepreneurial Leadership: The Art of Launching New Ventures, Inspiring Others and Running Stuff? Tune in to the full episode to learn about: The importance of trust in organizations How to restore trust The correlation between trust and integrity, and how that impacts performance What is an entrepreneurial leader The difference between entrepreneurs and entrepreneurial leaders The framework for being an entrepreneurial leader How to spearhead your company culture amidst a crisis Connect with Joel Peterson: Linkedin Twitter Website Book: The 10 Laws of Trust: Building the Bonds that Make a Business Great Book: Entrepreneurial Leadership: The Art of Launching New Ventures, Inspiring Others and Running Stuff Joel Peterson's Story: Joel Peterson is the chairman of JetBlue Airways and the founding partner of Peterson Partners, a Salt Lake City-based investment management firm. Joel has a long history of successful growth capital investments in a variety of industries. He currently teaches Entrepreneurial Management at Stanford’s Graduate School of Business, is the Chairman of the Board of Overseers at the Hoover Institution at Stanford as well as the Chairman of the Board at JetBlue Airways, and serves as a Director of Franklin Covey. He served formerly as Managing Partner of Trammell Crow Company. He holds an MBA from Harvard Business School. Joel is the author of The 10 Laws of Trust: Building the Bonds that Make a Business Great and Entrepreneurial Leadership: The Art of Launching New Ventures, Inspiring Others and Running Stuff. * * * Full Transcription: Joel Peterson: I think a lot of people confuse honesty. They think integrity just means honesty, and they see it as a virtue. I think of it more like structural integrity. There’s no gap between what I say and what I do. People can rely on my promises. They can predict my responses. This is the way to empower your team, to have them know that what you’ll say and do are the same. Tanya: That’s Joel Peterson, Chairman of JetBlue, consulting professor of Stanford, author and founder of Peterson Partners, which is part private equity and part venture capital firm, with over a billion dollars under management. Joel has not only pioneered and led some of the most forward-thinking c...

How many women do you know want it all and try their best to have it? Work full-time, be there for the kids, volunteer for Parent Association at the kids' school, run the household (which is a full-time job in itself) and have somewhat of a life? There's a lot, right? As Romi Neustadt -- author, entrepreneur and mom -- puts it: You Can Have It All: Just Not At The Same Damn Time (which is also the title of her book). As a former corporate chick who traded in the billable hour to become an entrepreneur, she’s figured out how to juggle being a wife, a mom, a professional success, and a healthy human without losing her mind. And she’s on a mission to help other women Have It All too. Romi’s first book, Get Over Your Damn Self: The No-BS Blueprint to Building a Life-Changing Business, was selected as a Forbes Best Business Book for Women and sold over 200K copies. Her second book You Can Have It All: Just Not At The Same Damn Time makes a distinction between doing it all (which is where most of us go wrong) and having it all. Romi provides a framework to get your life on track and in line with what really matters to you. Tune in to the full episode to learn about: How to have it all: key insights to leverage in your life The difference between doing it all and having it all The difference between your priorities and goals How to free yourself from doing stuff that doesn't excite you How to get your life on track Connect with Romi Neustadt: Linkedin Twitter Website Romi Neustadt's Story (said in her words): It’s possible to have all the things that are really important to us. How do I know? Because I’ve done it, and I’ve made it my mission to help other women Have It All too. Like you, I’m a lot of things. I’m John Neustadt’s wife. He’s a naturopathic doctor, an entrepreneur and an insanely incredible husband and dad who makes us laugh on the daily. I’m Nate and Bebe’s mom, and it’s the most important job and biggest honor I’ll ever have. These two precocious, vivacious, hilarious humans are growing up way too fast and teaching me as much (or more) than I’m teaching them. My family is by far my greatest achievement and the most important part of my All. I’m a yoga-loving flexitarian who lives for big adventures and everyday magical moments. I’m a world traveler and a total sucker for a gorgeous coastline. As much as I love serving people, I crave quiet time with John and the kids and sacred alone time to recharge. I’m a lover of good movies, good books, a good night’s sleep and sometimes a good long cry. I’m also an entrepreneur who’s built an enormously successful direct sales business. It allowed this former lawyer-turned-PR-exec to leave my billable-hour career and design a life where I call the shots—when and where I work and who I want to work with. I’m a best-selling author who wrote a book to teach others in direct sales, network marketing and other sales professions (real estate, insurance, fundraising and more) to build a life-changing business too. I’m a speaker and life and business coach who loves to share my hard-earned wisdom on stage in front of thousands, streaming in virtually to hundreds or having coffee talk or a glass of wine with big handfuls of the most driven women who are ready to dream their wildest dreams and are committed to achieving them. * * * Full Transcription: Romi Neustadt: You write down an H next to the things that you think you have to be doing and an S next to the things you think you should be doing. It’s in the things marked with an H or an S that I help people find more time, and it’s in those two categories often times that, really, you should be delegating or deleting them. Tanya: That’s Romi Neustadt, former corporate chick who traded in the billable hours to become a successful entrepreneur. She’s figured out how to juggle being a wife, a mom, a professional success,

To put this female versus male diversity deficiency into perspective at senior levels in Corporate America, among chief executives of S&P. 1500 firms, for each woman, there are four men named John, Robert, William or James according to the New York Times. There’s been a lot of talk these past years about the need to have more women in leadership roles, yet progress is slow. Why is that? I believe it is because we haven’t gotten to the source of what’s really getting in the way: our inherited bias on gender. And I’m not just talking about the perception of women in the workforce, but the one we women have about ourselves, which stops us from taking on things we are not highly certain we can deliver on.  And here's someone that is doing something about this (hint: you can too)... In speaking with Dr. Amel Karboul, who was the Former Minister of Tourism in Tunisia, is an Author, Speaker, Philanthropist, and non-profit Business Leader (who was one of few women to hold a top government position and took on extraordinary responsibilities in her career), she explains how she would often push the women on her team to take on roles that they didn’t know how to do, which would, ultimately, lead to their growth. Not only does Dr. Amel Karboul stand for more female leadership but is focused on nurturing and empowering the next generation of leaders towards a sustainable future. In partnership with the Education Commission team, Dr. Karboul has played a leading role in a major global initiative engaging world leaders, policymakers and researchers, and she has developed a brilliant and compelling investment plan for achieving equal educational opportunity for children and young people, which you will hear more about in this episode. (The financing model is fascinating and is also impact investing!!) Tune in to the full episode to learn about: What it's like to be a senior political cabinet member and female How to best lead women into leadership positions Creative impact investing models Venture investing for good How to overhaul the non-profit sector and bring in the for-profit investors What is broken about our education system: why kids are not learning What needs to be the focus to create a global breakthrough in this area Connect with Dr. Amel Karboul: Linkedin Twitter Website TED Talk Dr. Amel Karboul's biography: Amel Karboul nurtures and inspires a new generation of responsible leaders, teams and organizations to create breakthroughs in their thinking, to transform themselves and to work towards a just and sustainable future. Together with the Education Commission team, she has played a leading role in a major global initiative engaging world leaders, policymakers and researchers, and she has developed a renewed and compelling investment case and financing pathway for achieving equal educational opportunity for children and young people. Karboul has also built The Maghreb Economic Forum (MEF) as a non-partisan think- and do-tank, and with her team she has engaged a new type of conversation between public and private audiences and nurtured new solutions for education (including de-radicalisation), employment, leadership and gender equality. She also co-lead the establishment of first democratic society in Arab nation, began economic reform and created and deployed effective pioneering digital media engagement between government and citizen on very limited budget as cabinet minister. Karboul published her book, Coffin Corner, outlining a new leadership culture suited to the complexity and dynamics of the 21st century. Nominated as one of ten leading young African politicians, her professional brand is first and foremost that of a highly intelligent, well connected, creative and inspirational go-getter with a track record of making things happen. Karboul received a Master's degree with honors in mechanical engineering from Karlsruhe Institute of T...

If there is one organization that is highly effective in aligning their troops, it's the army. But ever wonder how they do it? Or if their strategy is replicable in business or with your team? Rach Ranton is a TED speaker, corporate leader, author, and motivational consultant who served in the Australian Army for 11 years. Her TED Talk titled “Where are we trying to end up?” and book DAUNTLESS: Leadership lessons from the front line draw parallels between leadership concepts the military is especially brilliant in executing and how those concepts can be leveraged in business. In particular, Rach calls out one tactic: Commander's Intent. Commander's intent is a technical term used in the army to get aligned and initiate coordinated actions. When alignment and coordinated action are present, can you guess what becomes possible? High performance. It's a thing of beauty. I've seen it in teams we coach but Rach breaks it down to a 3 step process. Tune in to the full episode to learn about: Commander's Intent: how to align your team and organization Major leadership lessons learned from the front lines How to apply these lessons at work Foundational principles that must exist for high performing teams Connect with Rach Ranton: Linkedin Website TED Talk Rach Ranton's biography: Rach Ranton spent a decade in the Australian Army including deployments to East Timor and Afghanistan. Serving as an Electronic Warfare Operator, she conducted intercept and analysis of enemy communications whilst embedded with frontline troops, providing advice to commanders on the battlefield.  Rach took what she learned in the military about leadership, teams, culture and courage and applied it to her post-military career, leading broad and varied teams across corporate Australia in service, sales, inclusion and organizational development. She is now a sought-after keynote speaker and facilitator working internationally with governments, large corporates and businesses to help them consider leadership, inclusion, change and organizational culture through the lens of the leadership lessons she learned in the military. Rach is a TED speaker and award-winning leader, receiving a commendation for the role she played in Afghanistan and in 2018 being named ‘Prime Minister’s Veteran Employee of the Year’ at the Prime Minister’s Veteran Employment Awards and Professional Alumnus of the Year at her Alma Mater the University of Southern Queensland for her veteran’s advocacy work. Along with her partner, their son and their ‘mates who are family’, Rach loves wakeboarding, fishing, the beach and camping adventures across the wild and remote parts of Australia DAUNTLESS: Leadership lessons from the front line * * * Full Transcription: Rach Ranton: Trust and empowerment and that culture in your team, if that’s not right, it doesn’t matter how good the mission is, or how good the strategy is, or how much people know about it. If they don’t feel like they have the power to be able to get stuff done and to make great decisions, then it holds you back, absolutely. Tanya: That’s Rach Ranton, TED speaker, corporate leader, author, and now motivational consultant who served in the Australian Army for 11 years. Her TED Talk titled “Where are we trying to end up?” draws parallels between leadership concepts the military is especially brilliant in executing and how those concepts can be leveraged in business. Rach, you really had an interesting career where you decided to take a quite unconventional path. Can you tell us about it? Rach Ranton: Yeah, absolutely. I grew up in a small town in the country here in Australia so way out in the bush, only about 1200 people that lived there. As I got towards the end of my high school, I really started to think about what do I want to do next? I was desperate to escape that small town, and so I think that’s a big part of why I ended up joining the military.

Dr. Stephen Trzeciak is a Physician-Scientist, TED speaker, and Professor of Medicine at the Cooper Medical School of Rowan University, who’s dedicated a large portion of his career to helping patients in the intensive care unit. More recently, he authored the book Compassionomics: The Revolutionary Scientific Evidence that Caring Makes a Difference where he studies how compassion impacts patient outcomes. At the core of his research, he asked one fundamental question: Does compassion really matter? It turns out, it does. When authentic, it plays a big role in positively impacting patient outcomes, and I will dare to say that this finding doesn't only limit itself to the medical field. Think of its application in the business world. Within team dynamics. How compassion contributes to company cultures and trust. Tune in to learn about how compassion drives higher returns: What is compassion really? How is compassion different than empathy (and how both play out) The inter-dependency of empathy and compassion How does compassion drive a measurable impact Data shows we are in the midst of a compassion crisis- here's why? Knowing when you are burnt out and how to overcome it The role that being present plays in driving compassion Connect with Stephen Trzeciak: Linkedin Twitter Website TED Talk Stephen Trzeciak's biography: Stephen Trzeciak, MD, MPH is a physician-scientist, Chief of Medicine at Cooper University Health Care, and Professor and Chair of Medicine at Cooper Medical School of Rowan University in Camden, New Jersey. Dr. Trzeciak is a practicing intensivist (specialist in intensive care medicine), and a National Institutes of Health (NIH)-funded clinical researcher with more than 100 publications in the scientific literature, primarily in the field of resuscitation science. Dr. Trzeciak's publications have been featured in prominent medical journals, such as: Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA), Circulation, and The New England Journal of Medicine. His scientific program has been supported by research grants from the American Heart Association, the National Institute of General Medical Sciences, and the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute, with Dr. Trzeciak serving in the role of Principal Investigator. Currently, Dr. Trzeciak’s research is focused on a new field called “Compassionomics”, in which he is studying the scientific effects of compassion on patients, patient care, and those who care for patients. He is an author of the best-selling book: Compassionomics: The Revolutionary Scientific Evidence that Caring Makes a Difference. Broadly, Dr. Trzeciak’s mission is to make health care more compassionate through science. Dr. Trzeciak is a graduate of the University of Notre Dame. He earned his medical degree at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, and his Master’s of Public Health at the University of Illinois at Chicago. He completed his residency training at the University of Illinois at Chicago, and his fellowship in critical care medicine at Rush University Medical Center. He is board-certified in internal medicine, critical care medicine, emergency medicine, and neurocritical care.   * * * Full Transcription: Dr. Stephen Trzeciak: Really, we’re asking this big question: Does compassion really matter? Most people in healthcare would say, well, of course compassion matters. We have a moral imperative. There’s a duty. We ought to treat patients with compassion, and of course, I agree. Is compassion just an ought that belongs in the art of medicine, or are there also evidence-based effects belonging in the science of medicine? Tanya: That’s Dr. Stephen Trzeciak, Physician Scientist, TED speaker, and Professor of Medicine at the Cooper Medical School of Rowan University, who’s dedicated a large portion of his career to helping patients in the intensive care unit. Dr.

Leadership as a keyword has over 4.4 billion search results on Google. The corporate leadership training industry is big too. Organizations in the US alone spend upwards of $14 billion annually on training their employees to be leaders and leadership development is ranked as one of the top three things senior executives (and business leaders) are most interested in. Yet, somehow, most of these leadership programs fail to deliver on their promise: access to being a leader. Why on earth would that be the case? In a remarkable conversation with Lynne Twist -- a pro-activist and acclaimed author who raised hundreds of millions for philanthropic causes (standing in the vision of a world that works for everyone, with no one and nothing left out) -- who had the opportunity to work alongside iconic world leaders like Mother Teresa, Buckminster Fuller, Maya Angelou and the Dalai Lama (to name a few), points to something very important on the access of leadership. Here's the tip of the iceberg in terms of our conversation together on this episode: "When you make that kind of commitment, when you take a stand with your life, what comes through you is a level of effectiveness, inspiration, and I’ll call it guidance that one doesn’t even know is possible. You stop living your life, your little life starring you, and you live your stand. When you take a stand, you let go of any position you have. You take a stand that gives you incredible access. Archimedes said, “Give me a place to stand and I’ll move the world.” You can and you do." - Lynne Twist Tune in to learn about: The root access to true leadership Dealing with both ends of the spectrum: deep pain and extreme joy What it's like to stand for something bigger than yourself (a world that works for everyone, with no one and nothing left out) The Hunger Project and its global initiatives The Pachamama Alliance — a social profit (nonprofit) organization whose mission is to empower indigenous people of the Amazon rainforest About the book The Soul of Money: Transforming Your Relationship with Money and Life   Connect with Lynne Twist: Linkedin Twitter Website TED Talk Lynne Twist's biography: For more than 40 years, Lynne Twist has been a recognized global visionary committed to alleviating poverty, ending world hunger and supporting social justice and environmental sustainability. From working with Mother Teresa in Calcutta to the refugee camps in Ethiopia and the threatened rainforests of the Amazon, as well as guiding the philanthropy of some of the world's wealthiest families, Lynne’s on-the-ground work has brought her a deep understanding of people’s relationship with money. Her breadth of knowledge and experience has led her to profound insights about the social tapestry of the world and the historical landscape of the times we are living in. Her compelling stories and life experiences inspired Lynne to write her best-selling, award-winning book “The Soul of Money: Transforming Your Relationship with Money and Life” (W.W. Norton, 2003) which has been translated into nine languages including Korean, Chinese, Vietnamese, French, Spanish, German, Japanese, Bulgarian and Portuguese. In addition, Lynne has contributed chapters to more than ten books including: Women of Courage: Inspiring Stories from the Women Who Live Them, by Katherine Martin (New World Library, 1999) Nonprofit Management 101: A Complete and Practical Guide for Leaders and Professionals” by Darian Rodriguez Heyman (Jossey-Bass, 2011) Einstein’s Business: Engaging Soul, Imagination, and Excellence in the Workplace” by Dawson Church, Ph.D. (Elite Books, 2007) Birth 2012 and Beyond: Humanity’s Great Shift to the Age of Conscious Evolution by Barbara Marx Hubbard (Shift Books, 2012) Ms. Twist has written numerous articles for RSF Quarterly, Fetzer Institute, Noetic Sciences Quarterly, and YES!

Most of us like to think that we use data to inform our decision-making process and path forward, but there's one challenge. It's possible and quite common that we seek out data to validate what we already believe. That's called confirmation bias. In speaking with Alex Edmans, a TED and Davos speaker, rigorous academic researcher and Professor of Finance at the London Business School, he argues that confirmation bias can lead us down the wrong path in business and in life, and provides ways to counteract this automatic human tendency. Alex’s research has been covered by the Wall Street Journal, New York Times, and The Economist, among others and he was interviewed by some of the most respected television channels like Bloomberg, BBC, CNBC, and CNN just to name a few. In addition, as the author of Grow The Pie: How Great Companies Deliver Both Purpose and Profit, Alex outlines actionable and evidenced-based ways for organizations to upgrade their leadership and drive the company into an empowering growth paradigm where everyone wins. Tune in to learn about: What is confirmation bias How you can effectively deal with confirmation bias as to elevate your leadership skills What the next era of business will look like (hint: all stakeholders win) The importance of learning soft skills in school and in business About the book Grow The Pie: How Great Companies Deliver Both Purpose and Profit   Connect with Alex Edmans: Linkedin Twitter Website TED Talk Alex Edmans' biography: Alex Edmans is Professor of Finance at London Business School and Academic Director of the Centre for Corporate Governance. Alex graduated from Oxford University and then worked for Morgan Stanley in investment banking (London) and fixed income sales and trading (New York). After a PhD in Finance from MIT Sloan as a Fulbright Scholar, he joined Wharton in 2007 and was tenured in 2013 shortly before moving to LBS. Alex’s research interests are in corporate finance (corporate governance, executive compensation, investment/growth/innovation, and M&A), behavioural finance, corporate social responsibility, and practical investment strategies. He has published in the American Economic Review, Journal of Finance, Journal of Financial Economics, Review of Financial Studies, and Journal of Economic Literature. He is Managing Editor of the Review of Finance, Associate Editor of the Journal of Financial Economics, a Research Fellow of the Centre for Economic Policy Research, and a Fellow of the European Corporate Governance Institute. He was previously Associate Editor of the Review of Financial Studies and a Faculty Research Fellow of the National Bureau of Economic Research. He won the Moskowitz Prize for Socially Responsible Investing, the FIR-PRI prize for Finance and Sustainability, the Investor Responsibility Research Centre prize, and the WRDS Award for Best Empirical Finance Paper at the WFA; was a finalist for the Smith-Breeden Prize for best paper in the Journal of Finance; and was named a Rising Star of Corporate Governance by Yale University and a Rising Star of Finance by NYU/Fordham/RPI. Alex’s research has been covered by the Wall Street Journal, Financial Times, New York Times, The Economist, and The Times; and interviewed by Bloomberg, BBC, CNBC, CNN, ESPN, Fox, ITV, NPR, Reuters, Sky News, and Sky Sports. Alex has spoken at the World Economic Forum in Davos, testified in the UK Parliament, presented to the World Bank Board of Directors as part of the Distinguished Speaker Series, and given the TED talk What to Trust in a Post-Truth World and the TEDx talk The Social Responsibility of Business. He has written op-eds for the Wall Street Journal and Financial Times, writes regularly for Harvard Business Review, Huffington Post, World Economic Forum, and CityAM, and runs a blog, Access to Finance, that aims to make complex finance topics accessible to a general audience.

Innovation and critical thinking are key skillsets in business, but have you ever wondered what makes them possible? The answer is creativity. In speaking with the co-founder of acclaimed off-broadway show Blue Man Group, which was acquired in 2017 by one of the most renowned entertainment companies out there -- Cirque du Soleil -- whose shows have been seen by over 160 million people, Matt Goldman shared how a horrific school experience inspired him to co-founder the Blue School, a progressive independent school in New York City with over 300 students that explores creative ways to educate the leaders of the future. Tune in to learn about Matt's fascinating entrepreneurial journey and: How you can harness your creative juices to drive innovation How traditional schooling might be stifling creativity What it takes to overcome the "real" entrepreneurial journey Thriving in the face of learning disabilities How a fun social game can foster creativity in ways you wouldn't expect (and it's up for grabs!) Connect with Matt Goldman: Linkedin Twitter TED Talk   Matt Goldman's biography: A few of Matt Goldman's titles include award-winning writer and performer, Grammy-nominated musician and composer, co-founder of the international theatrical sensation Blue Man Group, CEO of its parent organization Blue Man Productions, and co-founder of the NYC-based Blue School. Goldman spent his boyhood in New York City, with parents who encouraged him to learn about a diverse range of interests. After earning an MBA degree, he began a career in software development, only to step away from the growing industry to follow where the Blue Man path would lead. His business knowledge assisted the friends early on, guiding them to make decisions in regard to the longevity and ownership of their creative work. After nearly twenty years at the Blue Man helm with Chris Wink and Phil Stanton, Goldman made the decision to follow his passion for learning and education. The threesome teamed up with other artists and educators to form Blue School in New York City. With over 300 students enrolled in Pre-K through 8th grade, the school is designed to reimagine a more complete, balanced and exuberant approach to education. Goldman serves as Board Vice-Chair and co-Founder of the school. * * * Full Transcription: Matt Goldman: It was thrilling. We were trying to create a movement, so to speak, and that we were trying to inspire creativity in ourselves and our audiences. Tanya: That’s Mike Goldman, co-founder of Blue Man Group, an off-Broadway production that has become a sensation known for its humor, blue body paint, and wild stunts. The show Blue Man has been viewed by millions in New York, Boston, Chicago, Las Vegas, Orlando and Berlin. In 2017, Cirque du Soleil, the internationally renowned entertainment company, whose shows have been seen by upwards of 160 million around the world, acquired Blue Man Group. Additionally, Matt founded the Blue School, a progressive independent school for kids aged two through eighth grade, based in Lower Manhattan. As a seasoned executive and creative innovator, Matt’s TED talk titled the Search for A-ha Moments has been viewed by millions and touches a very important subject and that is how traditional school systems can mislabel people and limit true learning. You co-founded Blue Man Group 31 years ago, which seems like an eternity and Blue Man Group is famously known for the Blue Man Show in New York particularly, where I know you’re based and I’m based. What was your journey like leading up to co-founding the business? What were you doing before then? Matt Goldman: One of my two partners, Chris Wink and I, had gone to school together since we were 12 years old. It was always so interesting because both our families always said, oh you guys are going to do something together when you get out of college.

Did you ever react to someone or something and know it was not going to end well? Have you ever been triggered by a boss or colleague and behaved in a way that you knew was not going to be effective? Sure, we all have. But did you ever stop to think why that happens? Here's the short answer: brain patterns. More specifically, the cause of these knee-jerk reactions or automatic responses are because of neural pathways in your brain that are triggered. Basically, your default brain wiring may, at times, get in the way of your effectiveness when someone or some situation triggers you. So the question is, how do you disrupt this brain pattern? Dr. Tara Swart -- TED speaker, senior MIT lecturer, neuroscientist, and author -- shares fascinating information about how she works with clients to expand their mental resilience and emotional intelligence, which ultimately leads to more effective leadership. In her book: The Source: The Secrets of the Universe, the Science of the Brain, Dr. Tara Swart lays out, with great scientific rigor, the universal truths of what it is to be human. Tune in to learn about how you can increase your leadership effectiveness, specifically: How to immediately put people at ease when you meet them How to develop your leadership skills at work How to build emotional intelligence How to build mental resilience What supplements and regiments you can use to optimize for performance How to create new neural pathways in the brain and rid unwanted behaviors Connect with Dr. Tara Swart: Linkedin Twitter Website TED Talk   Dr. Tara Swart's biography: Dr. Tara Swart is a neuroscientist, leadership coach, award-winning author and a medical doctor. She works with leaders all over the world to help them achieve mental resilience and peak brain performance, improving their ability to manage stress, regulate emotions and retain information. Tara is the only top-tier leadership coach with both a PhD in neuroscience and former medical career as a psychiatrist. Educated at Oxford University and King’s College London, her role as Faculty at MIT and King’s College London, and as guest lecturer at Oxford SAID, ensures that she remains at the forefront of the latest developments in her sector. Tara’s clients include FTSE100, Fortune 500 and Magic Circle firms, as well as UHNWI entrepreneurs. She specialises in sectors that face unusual levels of stress or change. Tara is an award-winning, best-selling author, and her newest book, The Source, shows us how the ancient tools of manifestation and visualisation are fundamentally powerful and incredibly effective at freeing us of self-limiting behaviours and propelling us toward our truest, most authentic selves. Swart reveals how and why these systems actually work by offering the latest breakthroughs in neuroscience and behavioural psychology, including lessons in neuroplasticity, magneticism, emotional and logical thinking, as well as hydration, self-care, and relaxation. She is also lead author of the award-winning book, Neuroscience for Leadership: Harnessing the Brain Gain Advantage. The book examines new evidence that positive leadership can be learned and how by harnessing key competencies and creativity, leaders can make better decisions and improve performance. * * * Full Transcription: Dr. Tara Swart: The way that you think really determines some of the things that happened in your life and a lot about physicality and mindfulness and just dealing with stress because that is such a big factor to everyone. I mean, the people that listen to your podcast at [01:46], 75% of that demographic of person is chronically stressed. The way that that affects our physical health, our mental reasoning, our ability to master our emotions to access our intuition is frightening. Tanya: That’s Dr. Swart. TED speaker, senior MIT lecturer, neuroscientist,

How amazing would it be to regrow diseased or missing body parts? I am hopeful it will happen someday, but science is not quite there yet. What is more realistic short-term is to teach your body how to heal faster, and that's precisely what Dr. Kaitlyn Sadtler-- an immunologist by trade and former postdoctoral fellow at MIT who’s been selected as one of Forbes 30 Under 30 in science-- is working on. More specifically, her potentially groundbreaking research is focused on how the immune system can regenerate functional tissue. So think of a scar that fully heals itself, leaving that previously wounded area as if nothing happened. Amazing right? It certainly sounds like science fiction but the process of getting to a major breakthrough like this is brutal. Think, lots of failures, dead ends and questions that lead to other questions. It takes something extraordinary to stick with it and in the process of struggle, lies the possibility of breakthroughs. Tune in to learn about what it takes to lead groundbreaking discoveries: What is takes to produce a breakthrough What it's like to be a woman in science How to be with failure What the path to success looks like Connect with Dr. Kaitlyn Sadtler: Linkedin Twitter Website TED Talk   Dr. Kaitlyn Sadtler's biography: Kaitlyn Sadtler, Ph.D. joined NIBIB as an Earl Stadtman Tenure-Track Investigator and Chief of the Section for Immunoengineering in 2019. Prior to her arrival to the NIH, she completed a postdoctoral fellowship at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology with Daniel Anderson, Ph.D. and Robert Langer, Ph.D., focusing on the molecular mechanisms of medical device fibrosis. During her time at MIT, Dr. Sadtler was awarded an NRSA Ruth L Kirschstein Postdoctoral Fellowship, was listed on BioSpace’s 10 Life Science Innovators Under 40 To Watch and StemCell Tech’s Six Immunologists and Science Communicators to Follow. In 2018, she was named a TED Fellow and delivered a TED talk which was listed as one of the 25 most viewed talks in 2018. She was also elected to the 2019 Forbes 30 Under 30 List in Science, selected as a 2020 TEDMED Research Scholar, and received multiple other awards. Dr. Sadtler received her Ph.D. from the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine where her thesis research was published in Science magazine, Nature Methods, and others. She was recently featured in the Johns Hopkins Medicine Magazine as an alumna of note. Dr. Sadtler completed her bachelor’s degree summa cum laude at the University of Maryland Baltimore County, followed by a postbaccalaureate IRTA at the Laboratory of Cellular and Molecular Immunology at NIAID. * * * Full Transcription: Dr. Kaitlyn Sadtler: If we can understand how the good materials work, then we can engineer further toward really promoting tissue regeneration. Tanya: That’s Dr. Kaitlyn Sadtler, an immunologist by trade and former postdoctoral fellow at MIT who’s been selected as one of Forbes 30 Under 30 in science for her groundbreaking research around how the immune system can regenerate functional tissue. In her TED Talk titled “How We Could Teach Our Bodies to Heal Faster,” she shares details on her research findings, which resonated with millions. More recently, Dr. Kaitlyn Sadtler was hired by the National Institutes of Health to lead her own lab and pursue scientific breakthroughs in her field. You have a very interesting segue into the sciences and laboratory space and academia, really. You started off as a veterinarian technician. How was that experience like? Dr. Kaitlyn Sadtler: I had, really, a great opportunity growing up. I grew up about three miles away from a veterinary clinic back in rural Maryland, and I actually started working there when I was in high school. At the beginning of that, as opposed to what you think of with veterinary technicians drawing blood, things like that,

Dr. Frans de Waal, a two-time TED Speaker, twelve-time author, biologist, and ethologist spent the majority of his life studying primate behavior and social interactions. In our oddly fascinating conversation, he debunks commonly held beliefs we hold about our closest relatives and draws interesting parallels in our leadership practices. Who knew we were so similar in the way we operate and lead? Could that be due to the fact that we share 99% of the same DNA? Named by Time Magazine as one of the 100 Most influential people today, Frans published hundreds of peer-reviewed papers and is currently a Professor of Primate Behavior in the Department of Psychology at Emory University. Tune in to learn about the striking leadership similarities between humans and primates: Leadership practices that date back millions of years Leadership principles that govern primates and humans How cultural norms influence behaviors How female and male leadership differ in the primate world The role of alpha males and characteristic traits of successful leaders Connect with Frans de Waal: Website TED Talk * * * Full Transcription: Frans de Waal: Another thing that people think is what animals do must be instinctive and what humans do is based on whatever; culture, education, things like that. I think that’s an enormous simplification because animals, of course, also have cultures. They transfer knowledge and habits to each other. A chimpanzee is adult when they’re 16 or something, so they have an enormous amount of time in which to learn how to live their life and do things. I would say in the primates, things are – the balance between, let’s say, what is learned and what is cultural and what is natural or instinctive is very similar to our species. Tanya: That’s Frans de Waal, two-time TED speaker, 12-time author, biologist, and ethologist that, through his research, draws fascinating parallels between primates and humans, In his TED talk titled Moral Behaviors in Animals, which has been viewed by millions of people, he shares groundbreaking research that debunks preconceptions we have long-believed to be true about animals and our proximity to them. Named by Time Magazine as one of the 100 most influential people today, Frans has published hundreds of peer-reviewed papers and is currently a professor of primate behavior in the department of psychology at Emory University. Frans, what drove you to studying primates and where did your love for primates, or for animals really, start? Frans de Waal: Well, I’ve always been, as a child already, been interested in animals. At that time, it was small animals and usually fish or salamanders or something. The primates itself, that was secondary. That came much later when I was a student. Of course, I had no primates around in the Netherlands at the time. Tanya: What really prompted your interest to start really diving into the behaviors of primates. At what point did that happen in your life? Frans de Waal: Well, I went to study biology and I was very disappointed. I went to study biology because I was interested in animals and then all the animals I saw were already dead and I had to dissect them. It was very much focused on anatomy and on systematic of plants and things like that, and biochemistry, which we now call molecular biology. Those were the subjects that I was dealing with and I was really disappointed. I started working in a psychology lab, just over the summer to earn some money. They had two chimpanzees, which is unusual of course. In a way, it’s ridiculous for a psychology lab to have two chimps sitting around, among the offices basically. That was really fun and that got me interested in the primates. Then I moved to another university where I could do, finally, animal behavior and I started working with birds and with rats. The birds actually were wild birds,

Have you ever heard the expression when life gives you lemons, make lemonade? Few people truly embody this concept like Lizzie Velasquez does, who is an ordinary woman standing for something extraordinary: love, acceptance, and peace. Lizzie is a uniquely petite powerhouse that weighs in at 65 pounds because she, and only 2 other people in the world, suffer from a rare syndrome that prevents her body from storing fat. In a pivotal moment of cyberbullying, where she was called the ugliest woman on the internet in a youtube video that went viral, she decided to stand up for herself, in the most loving and peaceful way, and show the bullies that they are better than that. Fast forward several years, and she is a 4-time author, college graduate and global motivational speaker, that has graced the stage at well over 1,000 events and appeared on major TV networks like The Today Show, The View, Nightline, National Geographic and on Katie Couric to name a few. In addition to doing a Ted talk titled "What defines you?" which has been viewed by tens of millions, and resonated across the globe, she was featured in a deeply touching documentary called Brave Heart. Tune in to hear some of Lizzie's extraordinary life lessons and journey: Get a sense for her off the charts leadership How she became an agent for change How she stood for global growth and empowerment How she chose to counteract hate with love and what resulted from that What it takes to stand up for something bigger than yourself Finding courage in your darkest moments Incredible life lessons Connect with Lizzie Velasquez: Youtube Instagram Twitter TED Talk * * * Full Transcription: Lizzie Velasquez: I had to realize that I had been waiting for this answer my whole life, and I was 25 years old at the time. When you are so used to being defined as a question mark and then in one conversation that question mark that you’ve had for all these years is now just a period at the end of a sentence, how do you adjust to that? Tanya: That’s Elizabeth (Lizzie) Velasquez Velasquez, a uniquely petite powerhouse that weighs in at 65 pounds because she and only 2 other people in the world that we know of have a rare syndrome that prevents her body from storing fat. In a pivotal moment of cyberbullying where she was called the ugliest woman on the internet in a YouTube video that went viral, she decided to stand up for herself, and in the most loving and peaceful way, show the bullies that they are wrong about her. Fast forward several years, and she’s a four-time author, college graduate, global motivational speaker that’s graced the stage at over 1,000+ events and appeared on major TV networks like The Today Show, The View, Nightline, National Geographic, and on Katie Couric, just to name a few. In addition to doing a TED Talk titled “What Defines You,” which has been viewed by tens of millions of people and resonated across the globe, she was featured in a deeply touching documentary called Brave Heart. Lizzie Velasquez, what were you like as a child? Lizzie Velasquez: I was a really fun child looking back. I mean, obviously, I don’t remember everything, but I think I was really adventurous. I was very bossy. I can remember being bossy, and I’ve seen home videos that prove how bossy I was. I think I just have the same personality that I do now but just sounding more like a little tiny mouse. Tanya: That’s amazing. The bossiness definitely served you well. This is interesting. You were born six weeks prematurely, and you weighed in at 2 pounds, 10 ounces, which is tiny. Obviously, you wouldn’t remember this, but what did your parents tell you about that experience? Lizzie Velasquez: What they told me was that my mom had went in, and they did an ultrasound and realized that I had stopped growing and were told that they needed to have the emergency C-section. When I came out,

Tammy Lally -- a certified money coach, author of Money Detox and TED Speaker -- works with her clients on the one thing that prevents people from reaching financial freedom, and that is our relationship with money. Financial planning is not a mysterious thing that only certain people understand and get access to. It's actually straight forward (and there's a lot of resources out there to get informed), but where we go awry is in our relationship to money. How it makes us feel. How we think it makes us look. How we value ourselves against what we own. So, in order to feel empowered and get to financial freedom, the emotional part of the equation needs to be addressed first. Many of us were taught to never discuss money, religion, and politics at a dinner table, and for good reasons. But Tammy says that in order to break free from the money shame and/or whatever else you have going on in your relationship with money, you have to be willing to talk about it. Get uncomfortable. Get real. And only then, will you take ground. Tammy's journey to financial freedom is very personal. In 2007, things came crashing down. Tammy lost her brother Keith to suicide, shortly after he received a foreclosure notice, which was the last straw in a long battle of financial shame and suffering. Then, she lost her business overnight and was forced to eventually declare personal bankruptcy.  In this episode, Tanya and Tammy get real and talk about what it took to crawl out of the toughest moment in Tammy's life and how she helps her clients do the same. Tune in to get the full conversation and learn about: How money shame manifests itself for people Where it stems from How to overcome relationship constraints that exist around money Getting to financial freedom Breaking free from inherited cultural behaviors that don't serve you What it looks like to have financial integrity Personal well-being and healthy mindset Tammy Lally's biography: Tammy Lally is a Certified Money Coach, TED Speaker, and Author of Money Detox. She helps others master their finances by first conquering their emotions around money, then by creating a comprehensive financial plan. Tammy has over 17 years of experience in the financial industry and 27 years of study in psychology, addiction, recovery, and spirituality. Her teachers include Brené Brown, Marianne Williamson, Pia Melody, and Byron Katie. Tammy brings a distinctive blend of financial industry experience, psychological knowledge, and spiritual consciousness to her work. She offers a compassionate approach to money and money shame, which is truly powerful in helping her clients achieve transformative outcomes. Tammy created her signature "Money Detox" process, a seven-step journey that allows anyone to achieve financial freedom and joy. “After seventeen years in the financial industry, I know a ‘financial plan’ is not enough to help those looking for the path to financial freedom and to escape the loop of money shame. Money issues and shame continue to be a major life struggle for millions of people, and I have dedicated my life to assisting them." Tammy's combined professional experience and passionate commitment to assist others on their path are keys to helping her clients achieve unparalleled results. Tammy is most often sought out by individuals, couples, groups, and businesses. Connect with Tammy Lally: Website Linkedin Twitter TED Talk * * * Full Transcription: Tammy Lally: My own money shame and my lack of awareness around it drove me into some real, real trouble, real problems. Tanya: That's Tammy Lally, Certified Money Coach, TED speaker and author, who has been outspoken on our need to rid our shame around money. This subject touches close to home, as Tammy lost her brother when he committed suicide shortly after he received a foreclosure notice, which was the last straw in a long battle of financial sh...

In this episode, Dr. Jennifer Wilcox, who is the James H. Manning Chaired Professor of Chemical Engineering at Worcester Polytechnic Institute, a former Stanford Professor and acclaimed TED speaker shares her research findings on how we could remove CO2 from the air to help fight against the global climate crisis.  “We have the capability to build synthetic forests that have the potential to remove some of the CO2 that is emitted into the atmosphere each year, ” Dr. Wilcox said. “Ideally, we avoid CO2 emissions to begin with, but we are not doing that at the scale required to meet our climate goals and so now we have to start pulling CO2 out of the air to avoid reaching a climate change tipping point.” In addition to honorable awards received such as the NSF Career award and authoring the first carbon capture textbook, according to Google Scholar, Dr. Jennifer Wilcox’s work has been cited close to 7,000 times (and growing). Tune in to get the full conversation and learn about: Global climate crisis Climate change Global warming Carbon capture Removing CO2 from the air Greenhouse gases Dr. Jennifer Wilcox's biography: PhD Chemical Engineering University of Arizona 2004 MA Physical Chemistry University of Arizona 2004 BA Mathematics Wellesley College 1998 Jennifer Wilcox works on ways to test and measure methods of trace metal and carbon capture, to mitigate the effects of fossil fuels on our planet. Jennifer Wilcox is the James H. Manning Chaired Professor of Chemical Engineering at Worcester Polytechnic Institute. Having grown up in rural Maine, she has a profound respect and appreciation of nature, which permeates her work as she focuses on minimizing negative impacts of humankind on our natural environment. Wilcox's research takes aim at the nexus of energy and the environment, developing both mitigation and adaptation strategies to minimize negative climate impacts associated with society's dependence on fossil fuels. This work carefully examines the role of carbon management and opportunities therein that could assist in preventing 2° C warming by 2100. Carbon management includes a mix of technologies spanning from the direct removal of carbon dioxide from the atmosphere to its capture from industrial, utility-scale and micro-emitter (motor vehicle) exhaust streams, followed by utilization or reliable storage of carbon dioxide on a timescale and magnitude that will have a positive impact on our current climate change crisis. Funding for her research is primarily sourced through the National Science Foundation, Department of Energy and the private sector. She has served on a number of committees including the National Academy of Sciences and the American Physical Society to assess carbon capture methods and impacts on climate. She is the author of the first textbook on carbon capture, published in March 2012. Connect with Dr. Jennifer Wilcox: Website Twitter TED Talk * * * Full Transcription: Jennifer Wilcox: It’s only going to get worse if we continue not to act in a way that we need to. Now we’re at a point where it’s like avoiding CO2 is just no longer enough, and now we need to also remove it from the atmosphere. Tanya: That’s Dr. Jennifer Wilcox, the James H. Manning Chaired Professor of Chemical Engineering at Worcester Polytechnic Institute, former Stanford professor, and acclaimed TED speaker who’s actively working to remove CO2 from the air to help fight against the global climate crisis. In her TED Talk, which has been viewed by millions, she proposes different solutions to help produce global warming in a hopes to save our beloved planet. In addition to honorable awards such as the NSF CAREER Award and authoring the first carbon capture textbook, according to Google scholar, Dr. Jennifer Wilcox’s work has been cited close to 7,000 times and growing. You were brought up in Maine,

Does your full schedule eat into how much you sleep at night? Are you frequently in noisy areas? Have you ever thought that maybe your sleep deprivation and surroundings (even if you can function well) are impacting your short-term performance and long-term health? Well, it is. And science can prove it. Dr. Mathias Basner -- an associate professor in the department of psychiatry at the University of Pennsylvania Perelman School of Medicine-- who spent the past two decades researching how sleep and noise impact your cognitive functions (short-term performance) and long-term health, shares startling research findings that you might want to know. Among other things, Basner's research showed that at six hours of sleep per night, you will reach similar cognitive decline levels to those who do not sleep for a full night after 10-12 days, and at four hours per night, you will reach this level after five to seven days. The brain, while sleeping, performs critical functions, including emotional processing and information triaging. Basner shared that one of the hottest theories right now is that sleep allows for brain plasticity, meaning your brain's ability to modify its neural network connections or, in other words: rewire itself. If brain plasticity is impaired, you experience lowered ability to focus, memory problems, higher emotional instabilities, etc... And that's just the tip of the iceberg... think about how this affects your experience of life and effectiveness as a leader. Tune in to get the full conversation and learn about: Clarity of the mind: effective leadership Emotional Intelligence The role of sleep in your life and for your body How sleep deprivation may be impacting your ability to lead effectively Short-term effects of sleep deprivation How sleep impacts cognitive functions Sleep deprivation research findings How noise impacts your health short and long term Research findings on brain plasticity The trap (hint: blissful ignorance) What is the optimum sleep amount per night Key workarounds if you can't get enough sleep Dr. Mathias Basner's biography: Mathias Basner, MD, PhD, MSc is an associate professor in the department of psychiatry at the University of Pennsylvania Perelman School of Medicine. His primary research interests concern the effects of sleep loss on neurobehavioral and cognitive functions, population studies on sleep time and waking activities, the effects of traffic noise on sleep and health, and astronaut behavioral health on long-duration space missions. These research areas overlap widely. Basner has published more than 80 journal articles and reviewed articles for more than 80 scientific journals. He is currently on the editorial board of the journals Sleep Health and Frontiers in Physiology. Between 1999 and 2008, Basner conducted several large-scale laboratory and field studies on the effects of traffic noise on sleep at the German Aerospace Center. For this research, Basner was awarded the German Aerospace Center Research Award in 2007 and the Science Award of the German Academy for Aviation and Travel Medicine in 2010. Basner developed an ECG-based algorithm for the automatic identification of autonomic activations associated with cortical arousal that was used in several field studies to non-invasively assess the effects of aircraft noise on sleep. He is currently funded by the FAA to obtain current exposure-response functions describing the effects of aircraft noise on sleep for the United States. Basner has been an advisor to the World Health Organization (WHO) on the effects of traffic noise on sleep and health on a number of occasions. He performed a systematic evidence review on the effects of noise on sleep for the recently published revision of WHO's Environmental Noise Guidelines for the European Region. Basner is currently President of the International Commission of Biological Effects of Noise (ICBE...

The state of our climate and the advancement of global warming is top of mind these days. It's in the news. Just this week, crowds in the millions, around the world united (#strikeforclimate) to show our political leaders the urgency and importance of the issue. Teenage activist, Greta Thunberg addressed the United Nations in an impassioned speech some days ago demanding that our leaders rise to the occasion and wake up. On this episode, Dr. J. Marshall Shepherd -- former NASA research meteorologist and deputy project scientist -- who is currently the Distinguished Professor and Director of the Atmospheric Sciences program at the University of Georgia, echoes the severity of the climate crisis. He explains what science is predicting and brings clarity to what most of us don't understand.   Tune in to get the full conversation and learn about: Leadership lessons from NASA State of the climate crisis Global warming What science predicts Sea levels rising Weather modeling Changes we can expect as a result of climate change What you can do to help Dr. J. Marshall Shepherd's biography: Dr. J. Marshall Shepherd is a leading international expert in weather and climate and is the Georgia Athletic Association Distinguished Professor of Geography and Atmospheric Sciences at the University of Georgia.  Dr. Shepherd was the 2013 President of American Meteorological Society (AMS), the nation’s largest and oldest professional/science society in the atmospheric and related sciences. Dr. Shepherd serves as Director of the University of Georgia’s (UGA) Atmospheric Sciences Program and Full Professor in the Department of Geography where he is Associate Department Head. Dr. Shepherd is also the host of The Weather Channel’s Award-Winning Sunday talk show Weather Geeks, a pioneering Sunday talk show on national television dedicated to science and a contributor to Forbes Magazine. In 2018, he was honored with the AMS Helmut Landsberg Award for his research on the urban weather-climate system and the UGA First Year Odyssey Seminary Faculty Teaching Award. In 2017, he received the AMS Brooks Award, a high honor within the field of meteorology. Ted Turner and his Captain Planet Foundation honored Dr. Shepherd in 2014 with its Protector of the Earth Award. Prior recipients include Erin Brockovich and former EPA Administrator Lisa Jackson. He is also the 2015 Recipient of the Association of American Geographers (AAG) Media Achievement award, the Florida State University Grads Made Good Award and the UGA Franklin College of Arts and Sciences Sandy Beaver Award for Excellence in Teaching. In 2015, Dr. Shepherd was invited to moderate the White House Champions for Change event. Prior to UGA, Dr. Shepherd spent 12 years as a Research Meteorologist at NASA-Goddard Space Flight Center and was Deputy Project Scientist for the Global Precipitation Measurement (GPM) mission, a multi-national space mission that launched in 2014. President Bush honored him on May 4th 2004 at the White House with the Presidential Early Career Award for pioneering scientific research in weather and climate science.  Dr. Shepherd is a Fellow of the American Meteorological Society. Two national magazines, the AMS, and Florida State University have also recognized Dr. Shepherd for his significant contributions. In 2016, Dr. Shepherd was the Spring Commencement speaker at his 3-time Alma Mater, Florida State University and was recently selected for the prestigious SEC Academic Leadership Fellows program. Dr. Shepherd is frequently sought as an expert on weather, climate, and remote sensing. He routinely appears on CBS Face The Nation, NOVA, The Today Show, CNN, Fox News, The Weather Channel and several others. His TedX Atlanta Talk on “Slaying Climate Zombies” is one of the most viewed climate lectures on YouTube. Dr. Shepherd is also frequently asked to advise key leaders at NASA, the White House, Congress,

Dr. Paula Williams spent 13 years as the host of a national television show (viewed by millions) and served as the Chairman and CEO of The Orchard Group -- a non-profit organization that starts new churches in the US-- for 34 years. Then her name was Paul. From a very young age, Paula knew she was transgender, but given her upbringing in a conservative religious household, she learned to keep this secret to herself. She eventually married, had children of her own, and was successful by many measures. But something was missing. One night, Paula (then Paul) had a life-altering realization. She knew that if she transitioned to being a woman it would inflict pain onto the people she loved most and she would put everything she worked for at risk, but it was bigger than her. It was a calling towards authenticity. When Paula finally mustered up enough courage to face her biggest fear and come out, she lost everything: all her jobs, her pension, her friends, and the news sent her family into disarray. Few people in her religious community understood or supported her. She says that was a brutal time for everyone in her family, especially for her ex-wife and kids. With some years behind the pivotal transition, Paula's experience of being initially a man, then a woman gave her a front-row seat to how women and men are treated differently at work and in life. Her unique journey has compelled her to advocate for gender equity, LGBTQ inclusion, executive leadership and American religion. In this episode, she shares about how different it feels leading in the business world as a woman, versus when she was a man and opens up about her inspiring journey towards authenticity. Tune in to get the full conversation and learn about: Leadership challenges Societal expectations and limitations The courage to be authentic The powerful journey of a transgender woman How men and women are treated differently in life and at work Cultural biases men and women live Challenges of women and LGBTQ in executive positions Rev. Dr. Paula Williams' biography: Dr. Paula Stone Williams is a national public speaker specializing in Gender Equity, LGBTQ Inclusion, Executive Leadership and American Religion. As a transgender woman, Paula has been featured in the New York Times, the Denver Post, Colorado Public Radio, The Huffington Post, TEDxMileHigh, NPR's Radiolab, Radio New Zealand, New Scientist Magazine, and a host of other media outlets. Her TEDxMileHigh talk on Gender Discrimination, which was Tweeted by Amy Schumer, has been viewed over 2.4 million times on YouTube. Over the past two years Paula has spoken in over 100 venues, including Fortune 500 Corporations, Public and Private Universities, State and Federal Government Agencies, Religious Institutions, and Non-Profit Organizations. Paula holds two Masters Degrees and a Doctor of Ministry Degree in Pastor Care. To see a full list of Paula's clients, visit her website at paulastonewilliams.com. Connect with Dr. Paula Williams: Website Twitter Linkedin TED Talk TEDx Talk * * * Full Transcription: Dr. Paula Williams: We were brief and they were not pleasant. I expected to lose them not in the way in which I did. I lost all of my jobs, and at the time, I actually was doing about four. I’ve always been a renaissance person. Tanya: That’s Dr. Paula Stone Williams. TED speaker, activist, and thought leader for gender equity and LGBTQ inclusion. She’s the chair and CEO of Road Less Traveled Pathways, a non-profit organization that provides psychotherapy, pastoral counseling, and coaching to couples, families and groups. As an outspoken transgender woman, Paula has been featured on TED, The New York Times, Jada Pinkett Smith’s talk show Red Table Talk, and the The Huffington Post just to name a few. As a transgender woman, she gave a brilliant TED Talk on how men and women are treated differently which has been ...

If you are like most people and know something bad is happening with global warming but are not sure how it will impact you, and more importantly, how to help slow it down, this podcast episode is for you. Retired Rear Admiral David Titley, and former Naval Meteorologist and Oceanographer was tasked with assessing and planning for security risks our country faced with regards to global warming. Having spent 32 years in the Navy, David remains especially concerned about sea levels rising. He expects sea levels to rise up to 6 feet by the year 2100. Then, he predicts that by the time the sea levels stabilize, we could be looking at a 30 feet increase in sea levels globally.  What does this mean for you or perhaps your offsprings? This means Orlando becomes the southernmost point of Florida. Baton Rouge is the southernmost point of Louisiana. Everybody in Harlem, New York are elated because they now have beachfront properties. And that’s just the tip of the iceberg. Tune in to get the full conversation and learn about: Climate change Global warming Sea levels rising Potential related security risks to come Changes we can expect as a result of climate change What you can do to help Dr. David Titley's biography: Before retiring, David Titley was the Professor of Practice in the Department of Meteorology at the Pennsylvania State University, and founding Director of Penn State’s Center for Solutions to Weather and Climate Risk.  The Center helps organizations and citizens prosper and succeed in today's and tomorrow's weather and climate environment by taking advantage of all the skill in weather and climate forecasts. Mr. Titley served as a naval officer for 32 years and rose to the rank of Rear Admiral.  Dr. Titley’s career included duties as commander of the Naval Meteorology and Oceanography Command; oceanographer and navigator of the Navy; and deputy assistant chief of naval operations for information dominance.  He also served as senior military assistant for the director, Office of Net Assessment in the Office of the Secretary of Defense. In 2009, Dr. Titley initiated and led the U.S. Navy’s Task Force on Climate Change.  After retiring from the Navy, Dr. Titley served as the Deputy Undersecretary of Commerce for Operations, the chief operating officer position at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. Dr. Titley serves on numerous advisory boards and National Academies of Science committees, including the CNA Military Advisory Board, the Advisory Board of the Center for Climate and Security, the Science and Security Board of the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists, and the National Academy of Science Board on Atmospheric Sciences and Climate. Dr. Titley is a fellow of the American Meteorological Society.   He was awarded an honorary doctorate from the University of Alaska, Fairbanks.  In 2017, Dr. Titley was the recipient of the College of Earth and Mineral Science Wilson Award for excellence in service. Connect with Dr. David Titley: Twitter Linkedin TED Talk * * * Full Transcription: David W. Titley: Ladies and gents, that could be child’s play compared to what we will see if we don’t get a handle on greenhouse gas emissions pretty much now. Tanya: That’s Dr. David William Titley, former US Navy and Rear Admiral who spent ten years at sea and served his country for over 32 years. With a PhD in Meteorology and a deep expertise as the Navy’s oceanographer. David has been asked to testify before congress on numerous occasions to discuss the state of climate change. Once neutral on the subject, David is now an avid believer that climate change is real, and immediate action should be taken to address the imminent threat to our planet. You really had an amazing career in meteorology and oceanography, and you spent 32 years in the Navy, and then did a lot of other stuff afterwards which we’ll get into,

Dr. Amy Edmondson is a seven-time author who got her PhD in Organizational Behavior from Harvard, then went on to teach Leadership at Harvard Business School (for the past 23 years and counting) as the Novartis Professor of Leadership and Management, where she has tenure. In this episode, Amy discusses some of the groundbreaking principles she outlines in her book The Fearless Organization: Creating Psychological Safety in the Workplace for Learning, Innovation, and Growth and shares important pitfalls that eat away at having an empowering culture in the workplace. Amy and Tanya talk about what leadership is, how people can gain access to it and what is absolutely mission critical for effective team collaboration and high-performing organizational cultures. Tune in to get the full conversation and learn about: Leadership defined Leadership fundamentals The current state of leadership Leadership pitfalls What allows for high-performing teams Organizational high-performance cultures Psychological safety at work CEO bubble (leadership bubble) dangers The difference between management and leadership, and when to use each What makes a great leader Dr. Amy Edmondson's biography: Amy C. Edmondson is the Novartis Professor of Leadership and Management at the Harvard Business School, a chair established to support the study of human interactions that lead to the creation of successful enterprises that contribute to the betterment of society. Edmondson has been recognized by the biannual Thinkers50 global ranking of management thinkers in 2011, 2013, 2015 and 2017 and was honored with the Talent Award in 2017.  She studies teaming, psychological safety, and leadership, and her articles have been published numerous academic and management outlets, including Administrative Science Quarterly, Academy of Management Journal, Harvard Business Review and California Management Review. Her books – Teaming: How organizations learn, innovate and compete in the knowledge economy (Jossey-Bass, 2012), Teaming to Innovate (Jossey-Bass, 2013) and Extreme Teaming (Emerald, 2017) – explore teamwork in dynamic organizational environments. In Building the future: Big teaming for audacious innovation (Berrett-Koehler, 2016), she examines the challenges and opportunities of teaming across industries to build smart cities. Her new book, The Fearless Organization: Creating Psychological Safety in the Workplace for Learning, Innovation and Growth (Wiley, 2018), offers a practical guide for organizations serious about success in the modern economy. Before her academic career, she was Director of Research at Pecos River Learning Centers, where she worked on transformational change in large companies. In the early 1980s, she worked as Chief Engineer for architect/inventor Buckminster Fuller, and her book A Fuller Explanation: The Synergetic Geometry of R. Buckminster Fuller (Birkauser Boston, 1987) clarifies Fuller's mathematical contributions for a non-technical audience. Edmondson received her PhD in organizational behavior, AM in psychology, and AB in engineering and design from Harvard University. Connect with Dr. Amy Edmondson: Website Twitter Linkedin TED Talk * * * Full Transcription: Amy Edmondson: I started out as an engineer and some of the projects that I was working on not surprisingly required lots of people to work together on teams to get things done, and lo and behold, it was not so easy. Tanya: That’s Dr. Amy Edmondson, seven-time author who got her PhD in Organizational Behavior followed by a 23-year and counting teaching gig as the Novartis Professor of Leadership and Management at Harvard where she has tenure. Amy outlines groundbreaking principles in her book, The Fearless Organization: Creating Psychological Safety in the Workplace for Learning, Innovation, and Growth as well as giving brilliant TED talk which has been viewed by millions ...

Dr.Erika Hamden is a TED fellow, Ph.D. Astrophysicist, and Assistant Professor at the University of Arizona who has been nominated by NASA for the Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers in 2019. Erika leads the team building FIREBALL, a project funded by NASA which is a large telescope that hangs from a giant balloon at the very edge of space and looks for clues on how our stars are created. Erika’s scientific endeavors have received close to $4 million in grant funding from partners like NASA and MSF. She got her A.B., in Astronomy & Astrophysics from Harvard, a Ph.D., in Astronomy from Colombia and did her Postdoctoral Fellow at California Institute of Technology.  Despite these achievements, Erika struggled early-on when she first attended college. She felt anxious and didn't quite fit into student life. She dropped out of MIT after a short attendance period and worked at a local bookstore for 1 year. Oddly enough, she thought that maybe she was one of those smart people that couldn't thrive in high-pressure situations. She finally gathered her courage to try her luck at college again and got into Harvard. She gave herself permission to not ace everything, but rather ease into it. Her willingness to try again led to a career as an astrophysicist and innovator. She shares that being at the edge of what's known, meaning, work to discover the unknown through cutting edge initiatives, has proved to teach her some of her most important lessons on failure and resilience. Scientists fail 90% of the time as they navigate uncharted paths and Erika's relationship to failure and resilience is fundamental in her success. In a candid discussion, she shares the ups and downs in her riveting journey to discover the universe. Tune in to get the full conversation and learn about: Launching telescopes into space FIREBALL project What it takes to stand at the edge of what's known How to deal with failure What role resilience plays in success Science at it's finest Leadership lessons How to manage a team Dealing with uncertainty Dr.Erika Hamden's biography: Dr.Erika Hamden is an astrophysicist. She studies the universe. She builds telescopes and spectrographs to observe (mostly) hydrogen in its faintest and most diffuse forms throughout our galaxy and the universe. Primarily in the ultraviolet, but sometimes the visible. She's leading a proposal for a Small Explorer class UV telescope called Hyperion. She's a professor at the University of Arizona. Dr. Erika Hamden used to be a chef. Her instagram is excellent but her CV is something else. Dr.Erika Hamden's e-mail address is: hamden at email dot arizona dot edu Connect with Dr.Erika Hamden: Website Twitter Linkedin Instagram * * * This is a picture of FIREBALL (the telescope that is supported by an air balloon) next to the moon, sent by your very own Dr.Erika Hamden and co. Full Transcription: Erika Hamden:  I was a pretty nerdy kid, oblivious about a lot of things actually. Tanya:  That’s Professor Erika Hamden, TED fellow, Ph.D. Astrophysicist, and Assistant Professor at the University of Arizona who was nominated by NASA for the Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers in 2019. Erika leads the team building FIREBALL, a project funded by NASA which is a large telescope that hangs from a giant balloon at the very edge of space and looks for clues on how our stars are created. Erika’s scientific endeavors have received close to four million in grant funding from partners like NASA and MSF. Erika Hamden:  My family, I have four sisters. I am the second to last one, so there was a lot of us around. In some ways, that was nice because no one gets too much focused attention. I spent a lot of time reading. I was always trying to talk somebody into driving me to the bookstore or the library so I could get more books. 

Dr. Andrew Newberg, is a ten-time author, TEDx speaker, leading researcher, and neuroscientist who studies the relationship between brain function and various mental states. He's appeared on Dr. Oz and a Netflix documentary hosted by Morgan Freeman called God, and his work referenced in countless media publications including The New York Times, O Magazine, and Reuters, just to name a few. In this episode of Unmessable, Dr. Newberg and Tanya discussed what enlightenment is and the role it plays in you being an effective leader.  Hint: enlightenment is correlated to leadership. They also discuss how one can practice enlightenment by design and how words change your brain. Additionally, Dr. Newberg shares some of his scientific findings on how to build trust and resolve conflict at work and in life. Tune in to get the full conversation and learn about: How your brain changes with meditation, religious and spiritual practices Why we believe what we believe How words change your brain How to build trust and resolve conflict Neuroscience concepts Leadership Enlightenment Mental health and states Dr.Andrew Newberg's biography: Dr. Andrew Newberg is the director of research at the Marcus Institute of Integrative Health and a physician at Jefferson University Hospital. He is board-certified in internal medicine and nuclear medicine. Andrew has been asking questions about reality, truth, and God since he was very young, and he has long been fascinated by the human mind and its complex workings. While a medical student, he met Dr. Eugene d’Aquili, who was studying religious experiences. Combining their interests with Andrew’s background in neuroscience and brain imaging, they were able to break new theoretical and empirical ground on the relationship between the brain and religion. Andrew’s research now largely focuses on how brain function is associated with various mental states—in particular, religious and mystical experiences. His research has included brain scans of people in prayer, meditation, rituals, and trance states, as well as surveys of people's spiritual experiences and attitudes. He has also evaluated the relationship between religious or spiritual phenomena and health, and the effect of meditation on memory. He believes that it is important to keep science rigorous and religion religious. Andrew has also used neuroimaging research projects to study aging and dementia, Parkinson's disease, epilepsy, depression, and other neurological and psychiatric disorders. Connect with Dr.Andrew Newberg: Website Twitter * * * Full Transcription: Andrew:  I think a lot of my interest really did grow out of some of the thought processes I had as a kid. I was always just surprised that people had such diverse perspectives on things. I didn't understand why we had different religious, why we had different political parties. To me, I felt like aren't we all looking at the same world and shouldn't we all believe the same thing? Tanya:  That's Dr. Andrew Newberg, ten time author, TedX speaker, leading research, and neuroscientist who studied the relationship between brain function and various mental states. He's appeared on Dr. Oz and Netflix's documentary hosted by Morgan Freeman called God, and his work referenced in countless media publications including The New York Times, O Magazine, and Reuters, just to name a few. Dr. Newberg is the director of research at the Marcus Institute of Integrative Health and is a physician at the Jefferson University Hospital. He is board-certified in internal medicine and nuclear medicine. Andrew:  Those distinctions, I think for me, really weighed heavily on my mind and were in some senses upsetting to me, especially jumping forward to today's world when you see such hostility amongst people for different ways of thinking and believing. To me, it's very concerning to think about that,

Manny Medina grew up in Ecuador and spent most of his summers on his stepmother's shrimp farm helping during harvest. In addition to working on the shrimp farm, Manny was obliged to read a number of books during his summer vacation. A little unusual, but it served Manny well in developing a curiosity for learning. The first time Manny set foot in the US was to come to college where he completed his Masters in Computer Science at Penn State, then he got his MBA at Harvard. The culture shock was real and although he knew some English when he arrived, he wasn't proficient enough to have a full conversation. To compensate for this obvious barrier, he consciously sought out a publication to study, in this case, the Economist because he fancied the writing style.  Manny spent countless hours teaching himself how to speak and write in the Economist voice, which seems ambitious but once again, served him well. After a corporate stint at Amazon and Microsoft, Manny decided to launch his own business in partnership with his co-founders. But things didn't go so well initially. In fact, after 3 years of trying countless business models and product features, and having almost burned through $1 Million dollars of investment capital, he was contemplating shutting down. At this point, they were inventorying computers and selling them for cash to pay for outstanding invoices. It was that close to the end. While weighing what to do with the company, Manny attended the TechCrunch Awards Conference. During a break, a lightbulb went off. It dawned on him that this one feature he had built (a side feature to the core business at the time) was something prospective clients were showing interested in. Why not build that out and turn it into the core business? He saw it so clearly but needed to get his co-founders on board. After delivering the pitch of his life, and getting his co-founders energized and on board, they did their final pivot. And thank god. It worked. Today, Outreach.io is the leading sales platform, employs 350 people, raised $250 Million in venture capital money and produces millions of dollars in revenue annually. Not to mention, growing at a rocketship pace. Tune in to listen to the incredible pivot Manny pulled off as a last-ditch effort to save the company and his story behind building one of the leading sales platforms out there. In this episode you will learn about: Pivoting Runway challenges Growth hack strategies Product Market Fit Raising capital Differentiation strategies Scaling operations Product development- how to build a product people love Leadership mistakes and lessons   Manny Medina's biography: CEO of Outreach, the #1 Sales Engagement Platform. Previously led GroupTalent, Microsoft’s Windows phone Business Development team in Latin America and Canada. Prior to that, engineered Amazon's compensation system for Amazon Associates (the web's largest and most successful affiliates business) and Web-Services which accounts for 15% of A's traffic. MBA from Harvard Business School, MS in Computer Science from the University of Pennsylvania. Connect with Manny Medina: Website Twitter Linkedin * * * Full Transcription: Manny:  I grew up in Ecuador. I don’t know if that makes any difference or not. Tanya:  That’s Manny Medina, Harvard grad, founder and CEO of outreach.io, the number one sales engagement platform that raised $250 million in funding and now employing a team of 350. Outreach made it to the Forbes Next Billion-Dollar Startup 2017 list and is a two-time winner of the Forbes Cloud 100  Manny:  I didn’t grow up with a lot of technology. I did grow up with a lot of people. People tend to be an important thing where I’m from. However, I’m more of an introvert than an extrovert so a lot of times, I, sort of, lived inside my head. I’d play games that I would make up and for teams that I would live in my own ...

Heini Zachariassen grew up on a little island logged between Iceland and Norway where the total population hovers around 49,000 habitants. While Heini thinks it's the most beautiful place on earth, the weather is not always great. He stayed there until the age of 22 years old, then moved to Denmark. From a young age, Heini tinkered with computers and fell fast in love. It was a passion he shared with his father, which never left him. Heini always had a knack for building things and was drawn to the world of entrepreneurship. Serving almost every executive role you can think of from CTO, COO, CEO, Chairman of the Board, Heini has proven one thing, he knows how to build products people love. In 2010, when Heini and his co-founder Theis launched Vivino, they were the 600th wine App on the market. Within a few short years, they managed to climb to the top with 36 million users, looking up 2 million wines every single day, and organically attracting 600,000 new users each month. To date, Vivino has raised $57 Million in funding and is operational in 16 markets. He shares 5 strategies to break into a crowded market and win.  Tune in to listen to the rocket ship journey Heini went through with Vivino and his lessons learned along the way In this episode you will learn about: Founder experiences Growth hack strategies Product Market Fit Raising capital Runway challenges Differentiation strategies Scaling operations Product development- how to build a product people love Leadership mistakes and lessons   Heini Zachariassen's biography: Heini Zachariassen is the founder and CEO of Vivino, which provides users with any wine’s rating, review and average price. Vivino is also the world’s largest wine community, claiming more than 15 million users. With more than $37 million in funding, Zachariassen continues to drive Vivino’s global expansion, via users now in 227 countries and on every continent around the world. Having co-founded several startups, including antivirus software company BullGuard, Zachariassen has a varied background in software development and mobile innovation and a track record for building successful global businesses. He leads the team from Vivino’s headquarters in San Francisco. Connect with Ander Michelena: Website Twitter Linkedin * * * Full Transcription: Heini:  I think it’s got something to do with my ethnicity where I’m from. It’s a pretty common name, actually. Tanya:  That’s Heini, founder and chief evangelist of Vivino, the world’s largest wine marketplace that has over 33 million users looking up 2 million wines every single day and organically attracting 600, 000 new users each month. To date, Vivino has raised 57 million in funding and is operational in 13 markets. Heini:  I’m from a place called the Faroe Islands where I also grew up. Faroe Islands are located between Scotland and Iceland in the middle of North Atlantic. It is the most beautiful place in the world, but the weather is not amazing. Actually, here in California today we have pretty Faroese weather, wet and a little bit cold. Tanya:  How long did you stay in the Faroe Islands? Heini:  Yeah, I grew up there. I was born there, and I grew up there. I moved out of there when I was – must’ve been 20 years – no 24, 22 years old. I moved to Denmark. I spent all my childhood there, and back then, it’s 50,000 people. It’s in the middle of the North Atlantic. It is isolated, and the winters are dark. It’s a very special place to grow up, for sure. I think now it’s changed a lot where people are so online and so on. I think I read an article somewhere that Iceland was one of the highest penetration of Facebook in the world, but I’m pretty sure the Faroe Islands would beat that. People are extremely online and well educated and so on, so it’s a very different place now than it was when I grew up.

As an insatiable kid, Ander Michelena, originally born in Spain, intuitively knew he was destined for the entrepreneurial journey. Although he kicked off his career in finance at Morgan Stanley in London, specifically focused on merger, acquisitions and IPOs of European financial institutions, his vision was always to create a high-growth business. During his time at Morgan Stanley, Ander actively looked for proven business models in the US that were not available yet in Europe or LATAM and stumbled upon Stubhub, a successful technology platform that sold tickets online. A lightbulb went off for Ander. He saw that if he could successfully replicate Stubhub's model in Europe to start, he could potentially build a valuable business. Fast forward 7 years, Ander not only cofounder (with Jon Uriarte) Ticketbis but had scaled it to 300 employees in 48 countries with a total annual gross merchandise volume of $100 Million. In 2016, Ticketbis, after a 12-month due diligence process and a two-year courtship, inked an acquisition deal with Ebay for €165 Million (at the time the transaction came out to be close to $200 Million USD given currency conversion). The best part, Ander had 2 weeks left of runway (cash in the bank). Knowing the lucrative deal was underway, he refused to raise capital to avoid further equity dilution. Luckily the transaction closed, but it was risky given how long the process took. Tune in to listen to the grueling process Ander went through to make this acquisition happen. In this episode you will learn about: First-time founder experiences Startup growth strategies Raising capital Runway challenges International expansion Scaling operations Selling companies Acquisition strategies Post-acquisition transition Leadership mistakes and lessons   Ander Michelena Llorente : Graduated in Business Administration and Finance in the Universidad Pontifica de Comillas ICADE (Madrid). He start his career in Morgan Stanley London, where he specialized in merger, acquisitions and IPOs of European financial institutions. In 2009 he left the Bank to create Ticketbis.com, a market where fans can buy or sell tickets, with his partner Jon Uriarte. In 2014, Ticketbis became the leader in South Europe and Latam with presence in 30+ countries and over 300 employees in 14 offices around the word with revenues of Eur 60m. Ticketbis has recently started operations in Asia with a special focus on the Japonese market throught Ticketbis Japan After the acquisition of Ticketbis for $165 Million, Ander launched the VC fund All Iron Ventures. Connect with Ander Michelena: Website Twitter Linkedin * * * Full Transcription: Ander:  My momma actually say, oh, you were good, but. She always had this but, but you’re didn’t stop. I was a kid. I was constantly moving, constantly doing things. Tanya:  That’s Ander Michelena, who founded and sold Ticketbis, the ticket sales platform for Europe, Asia, and Latin America to eBay for 165 million euros. At the time of sale, Ticketbis had over 400 employees worldwide and had only raised 26 million in funding. Now dedicated to venture investing, Ander is the founding partner at All Iron Ventures with an expertise in helping their portfolio companies expand internationally. Ander:  It’s funny now because [01:15] space for it and actually, my kid, I have a 2-year-old, and my mom said he’s a copy of you. He does this. Tanya: Oh, really? Ander:  Yeah, he is. He good at things, super funny, moving. He’s awesome. He’s super [01:29] in that he does this stop. My mom always compare it to what I was. I have a small version of myself, at least on that sense, and also, I know what she meant now. Tanya:  That’s amazing. What did you not stop with? Was it sports? Was it video games, projects, reading? Ander:  When I was very small, it was just very nervous kid, just moving a lot,

Leadership: what works and what doesn't from on an 11 year run as CEO of TNC.

As a serial entrepreneur, Alex Mashinsky raised over $1 Billion in financing across his eight startups, generating over $3 Billion in exits and authored over 35 patents that cover aspects of Smart Grid, Ad Exchanges, Twitter, Skype, and Netflix. But his journey was everything but easy. Raised in the USSR -- Ukraine, a communist country at the time, he saw first hand the struggle his parents went through. They both had jobs and incoming money but the lack of food was a constant worry. On many occasions, his family would wait in line for whatever food was available and by the time they got to the front, there would be nothing left. A common occurrence in communist countries. That was his first seven years of life. Then his parents decided to migrate to Isreal, where the political environment continued to be tumultuous. Within the first six months, the Yom Kippur War (also known as the Arab-Israel War) was in full swing and the country was nearly overtaken by the opposition. To intensify things, national military service is mandatory for all Israeli citizens over the age of 18, and when the time came, Alex was called to duty. The things he saw and experienced were unimaginable, but he credits much of his perseverance and winning mindset to his early year experiences. He learned to trust himself-- to figure things out and survive -- two foundational skill sets you need as an entrepreneur. At some point in his young life, he decided to come to New York, with just a few dollars in his pocket and never left. Since entering the US, he founded a total of eight startups including Groundlink, Transit Wireless (a $1 billion business that powers the wireless system in New York City’s 300 subway stations, bringing 4G and WiFi coverage to 8.5 million daily commuters), Governing Dynamics (a venture fund that invests in promising tech companies), and his current venture Celsius Network -- a crypto wallet which pays interest on the top 20 blockchain coins. Tune in to listen to Alex Mashinksy's incredible entrepreneurial journey. In this episode you will learn about: Resilience Leadership Leadership mistakes Building a company Exiting a company Managing and scaling a team Raising capital Failing Entrepreneurship   Alex is one of the inventors of VOIP (Voice Over IP) with a foundational patent dating back to 1994 and is now working on MOIP (Money Over IP) technology. Alex is a serial entrepreneur and founder of seven startups, raising more than $1 billion and exiting over $3 billion. Alex founded two of New York City’s top 10 venture-backed exits since 2000: Arbinet, with a 2004 IPO that had a market capitalization of over $750 million; and Transit Wireless, valued at $1.2 billion. Alex has received numerous awards for innovation, including being nominated twice by E&Y as ‘Entrepreneur of the Year’, in 2002 & 2011; Crain’s 2010 Top Entrepreneur; the prestigious 2000 Albert Einstein Technology medal; and the Technology Foresight Award for Innovation (presented in Geneva at Telecom 99). As one of the pioneers of web-based exchanges, Alex authored over 35 patents that cover aspects of the Smart Grid, ad exchanges, Twitter, Skype, App Store, Netflix and many other popular web companies. Connect with Alex Mashinsky: Website Twitter Linkedin * * * Full Transcription: Alex Mashinsky:  I think part of the secret for the disruption and the innovation that I’ve experienced my entire life is being – behaving like a kid, asking a lot of questions, and challenging all the perceived realities that most adults get used to pretty quickly. Growing up, I was born in communism in the Ukraine, was part of the USSR, going back to the USSR. My parents struggled. It was a very difficult environment in the late 60s, early 70s. Basically, we were worried about are we going to have any food to eat. It wasn’t so much just because we weren’t making money; both of my ...

First-time founder and Harvard grad Carlos Reines, who was nominated by the World Economic Forum as Young Global Leader opens up about his tragic childhood accident and how that shaped his life-work today through RubiconMD -- an eConsult platform that connects clinicians to top specialists. Now serving over 5,000 primary care physicians in 37 States, RubiconMD has saved over 2.5 Million days of patients waiting for specialist consults, which is almost 7,000 years. Carlos talks about his struggles early-on when he launched RubiconMD and how, after many iterations, he designed a dialed-in hiring process to assemble a top tier team that not only has individuals with world-caliber credentials but that act as a team and feel connected to the mission of the company-- democratizing and improving access to quality healthcare. In this episode you will learn about: Healthcare innovation Leadership Leadership Mistakes Building a startup Managing and scaling a team Raising capital Company Culture Effective Feedback   About Carlos Reines: Carlos is one of the cofounders at RubiconMD. The company was founded in 2013 with a driving vision of democratizing medical expertise so that providers can offer every patient the care they deserve. Originally from Spain, he’s passionate about leveraging technology to drive change in healthcare. Prior to RubiconMD, Carlos led a division at Telefonica, one of the largest telecom companies in the world. He began his career at Siemens Healthcare. He earned Masters’ in both Bioengineering and Telecom Management in Madrid, and an MBA from Harvard. Connect with Carlos Reines: Linkedin Twitter Website * * * Full Transcription: Carlos:  I think I always had an easy one because my dad’s name is Carlos as well. I don’t think they had to break that too much. Tanya:  That’s great, so they followed the wonderful Spanish tradition on naming.  Carlos:  Yeah, absolutely. Tanya:  That’s Carlos Reines, Harvard grad and entrepreneur who raised $20 million for his startup RubiconMD, an eConsult platform that connects clinicians to top specialists. Now serving over 5,000 primary care physicians in 37 states in the US, RubiconMD has saved over 2.5 million days of patients waiting for specialist consults, which turns out to be almost 7,000 years. Carlos:  I grew up in Madrid. Actually, all my family is in Madrid. I was born and raised there, lived in the center of the city for the first few years, and then we went to the suburbs when I was about 5 or 6. I’ve really been in Madrid most of my life. When I was 22 is the first time that I went to study abroad. Through different work experiences and educational experiences, I’ve ended up spending time in the Netherlands, in Germany, and obviously, a lot of time in the US. Tanya:  If you were to describe yourself as a kid, how would you describe yourself? Carlos:  I was the only child, only nephew, only me, no cousins, for ten years. My mother is the oldest of six. On my dad’s side, his uncle never had children, so for about ten years, I was there by myself. I was getting a lot of love from the entire family. Tanya:  I can imagine.  Carlos:  At the same time, I was dying to get some folks around. I wanted to have cousins. I wanted to have siblings. In Spain, there is a big tradition in Christmas that the Three Magic Kings will bring you games and toys, and when I was a kid and I would write my letter, I would never ask for any games or toys. I just wanted to have a brother or a sister. I wanted to have that for a long time. It never happened, so I grew up as an only child. At some point, my parents had friends that lived outside of Madrid, and their son moved to Madrid for college. He was about five years older than I am, and he went to live with us. For three years, all of us had – I had an older brother, and it was an awesome experience.

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Born in Bangalore, India, Eswar dedicated ninety-five percent of his time growing up playing cricket, and didn't apply himself much to school. His parents, both English professors weren't overly concerned because he did one thing consistently: read. Eswar was fascinated with military history books and read vivaciously about the topic. In many ways, military history played an influential part in how Eswar viewed leadership. Fast-forward to his college days, something triggered in Eswar when he came to the US to study and realized that he'd been given a tremendous opportunity to do something special with his life. During his Corporate America career, he got to launch some epic products including the Adobe PDF search function, which is probably still using his code today. More impressive though, is his track record as an entrepreneur. His first company, m-Qube, where he led all the technology development and research was acquired by VeriSign for $275 Million and his second company, Quattro Wireless, was acquired by Apple for $275 Million. Once the deal was inked and Quattro Wireless officially joined the Apple conglomerate, Eswar directly reported to Steve Jobs for years before his illness progressed. Throughout his professional journey and particularly in working Steve Jobs, he learned a great deal and shared some key leadership insights on the Unmessable show.   In this episode you will learn about: Working with Steve Jobs Leadership: CTO versus CEO Building a company Exiting a company Managing and scaling a team Raising capital Effective Communication   About Eswar Priyadarshan: Prior to founding BotCentral (acquired by LivePerson), Eswar was Senior Director at Apple Inc., where he held product and engineering leadership positions on Apple iAd, iTunes Radio and Apple TV. Eswar co-founded Quattro Wireless, which was acquired by Apple in 2010 for $275 million. He subsequently led the technical integration and transformation of the Quattro platform into the iAd platform. Prior to Quattro, Eswar was the co-Founder and CTO of m-Qube, Inc. While at m-Qube, Eswar was the leader of all technology research and development. m-Qube was acquired by VeriSign for $250 million in April of 2006. Prior to m-Qube, Eswar was VP Engineering at Open Market Inc. Before Open Market Eswar was the Technical Lead for Adobe Acrobat. Eswar held various engineering positions at Sun Microsystems prior to Adobe. Eswar holds Bachelors and Masters degrees in Computer Science from Boston University. Connect with Eswar Priyadarshan: Linkedin Twitter * * * Full Transcription: Eswar:  I was born in Bangalore, India back when it was a sleepy garden city, very different and exciting these days. As a kid, I probably spent 95% of my life playing cricket, went to a great school, St. Joseph’s Boys’ High School, and I was the fat kid in the class. Tanya:  That’s Eswar Priyadarshan, serial entrepreneur who sold two companies for a combined value north of a half a billion dollars, and one of his acquirers being Apple where Steve Jobs himself endorsed the deal. Eswar:   I grew up being teased and having a label attached to me, and it’s been a thing that’s been with me throughout my life. I guess in some ways has made me a little bit of an outsider inside. I never felt like I completely fit because of the way kids can be when you’re growing up. Tanya:  Very mean, yes, I remember. Eswar:   Yes, yeah, and then the other thing is, apparently, I was very easygoing, didn’t do very well grades-wise. Both my parents were English professors, and so the thing that my father kept saying about me to my mother was, “Don’t worry. He reads a lot. He’ll be okay.” From an early age, I just devoured everything. Somewhere early, early on, it’s going to sound strange but I started to read a lot of military history. I was very interested in history in general, military history,

Born to a Greek father, but British mother, Anthemos had a pretty normal childhood, where his natural tendency was to be introverted, but with time, trained himself to be more extraverted. He loved to read or play video games, and despite his inclination to keep to himself, he had lots of friends. At 18 years old, however, something devastating happened. His mother passed away, after battling a long illness. As an only child, this rocked Anthemos to his core and took the following couple years to recover from the terrible loss. In this pivotal moment, something inside awakened where he developed a deep desire to use his life to make his mother proud. Perhaps it was the realization that life is fragile and not something to take for granted or the grief from losing his mother that motivated him to venture into entrepreneurship-- having nothing hold him back. After raising $90 Million for his startup, Zumper, which aims to make apartment renting as easy as booking a hotel, he shares in this episode the mindset and framework he used to break boundaries and push himself to accomplish what seemed impossible. Projected to help 70 Million renters this year alone to secure rental apartments, Zumper is positioned to be a true game-changer in a clunky, antiquated industry. In this episode you will learn about: Leadership Leadership Mistakes Building a company Exiting a company Managing and scaling a team Raising capital Company Culture Effective Communication About Anthemos Georgiades: Anthemos Georgiades is the co-founder and CEO of Zumper, the largest startup in the rental industry, used by more than 26 million renters last year alone. As CEO, Anthemos has raised $90 million in venture capital from investors including Kleiner Perkins, Goodwater Capital, Breyer Capital and Foxhaven Asset Management, including a Series B round in Oct. 2016 when many start-ups were struggling. He has grown the Zumper team to 50 and counting and successfully completed the acquisition of apartment search platform PadMapper. With a diverse background that includes consulting for Boston Consulting Group and serving as Economic Advisor and speechwriter in the 2010 British Election, Anthemos founded Zumper in 2012 after his own terrible rental experience. He discovered that the marketplace doesn’t work for renters, and the idea for Zumper was born with the goal of evening the playing field and increasing transparency in the marketplace. Originally from London, he has an MBA from Harvard Business School, MPhil from the University of Cambridge, and BA from the University of Oxford. Anthemos lives in San Francisco, where Zumper is HQ’d, with his wife. He remains a huge Tottenham Hotspur fan, and wakes up painfully every Saturday morning to tune into the live English soccer games. Connect with Anthemos Georgiades: Website Linkedin Twitter * * * Full Transcription: Anthemos: Yeah, so I like to throw people because I have a British accent but a very long Greek name. Tanya: That’s Anthemos Georgiades, Harvard grad and former BCG consultant who raised 90 million from top tier venture capital funds to build Zumper, a platform that aims to make renting places as easy as booking hotels, now serving 70 million people annually. Anthemos: Yeah, my name is Anthemos Georgiades. The Georgiades part is pretty common. The Anthemos is even in the Greek world pretty weird. It’s like a super old Greek saint that my father knew about and convinced my British mother to run with. It’s pretty weird. I have a lot of Anthemos handles on social media because there aren’t many of us, but it actually doesn’t mean anything. I think it’s derived from the world flower, which my friends give me a lot of banter about. Yeah, it’s a pretty unique name. I hated it growing up as a kid because I think you want to be named after all your friends, of course. I was annoyed I wasn’t called David,

Former school teacher, Julie Clark hit the jackpot when she created enriching entertainment videos for her kids, in her basement. It turned out, other babies loved it too. Within five years, what was a fun side project grew into a $23 Million dollar generating business which had only five employees, that Disney acquired for $25 Million. Within a few years of selling to Disney, the company was producing close to $300

Serial entrepreneur and author, Will Herman founded and scaled five companies, two of which IPO'ed, for a combined shareholder value of $4 Billion. Along the way, he made a bunch of mistakes, but this one tool, in particular, helped him gain perspective and surface insights, real time, which enabled deep leadership growth. Although he naturally fell into this, he credits his long-time mentor/coach for much of his success as a leader, which stands at the foundation of building and exiting successful businesses. In this Unmessable episode, Will shares some key learnings he derived from his entrepreneurial journey, which might just help you along yours.

Ron Palmeri, serial entrepreneur who turned to venture investing with a special twist, scored some lucky wins early on at Minor Ventures. The fund would incubate and build the businesses itself while Ron was actively involved from a strategy perspective. Included in some of the companies they launched was OpenDNS which was acquired by Cisco for $635 Million and Google Voice (previously Grand Central), which was acquired by Google. Shifting from the venture strategy side, Ron took his luck as an operator when he launched Layer, which was originally announced at TechCrunch Disrupt 2013 and took home the winning prize. Through his experience as a venture investor and operator, Ron candidly shares key insights he learned on how mastering his own personality helped him move passed his leadership limitations and identifies an exercise he found particularly helpful to be more effective in conversations.

Dane Madsen grew up in a small farm town in Idaho, on the lower income side of the equation, but was trained to problem solve and fix things from a young age. His upbringing forced him to be nimble and creative in the solutions he brought forward and this core way of being was at the source of his ability to uncover a huge opportunity in the market when he built Yellowpages.com, which he later sold to what is known today as AT&T, for $100 Million. In this Unmessable episode, Dane shares his internal struggles as he built and sold his company, and more importantly what he learned from his fascinating journey.

Mike Teng, following in his father’s footsteps, became a software engineer and worked in the area of education where he noticed a big problem- there wasn’t a good way to find and schedule substitute teachers, and practically every school experienced the same challenge. With two college friends, he built Swing Education, raised $23 Million from Venture Capitals in Silicon Valley and is now filling over 10,000 teacher absence days per month, across 1,000 schools. Before his entrepreneurial journey, however, Mike experienced the hardship of infertility. For three years, he and his wife tried tirelessly to conceive and through that process, a lightbulb went off in Mike’s head. For the first time, he understood the power of empathy in seeing his wife’s struggle despite being emotionally impacted himself. Through empathy, he was able to connect with her in ways that he didn’t before and it brought them closer. He took that lesson as he led his company which resulted in unbelievable effectiveness- and his stat’s prove it. Swing Education has less than a 7 percent turnover rate annually, while the average is 17.8 percent, and he was able to grow the company’s revenues to $20 Million in 3 years. In this episode, he shares what events shaped who he is today and how he approaches leadership.