Episodes
Nov. 24, 2018
102: Col. Everett Spain, West Point's Head of Behavioral Sciences and Leadership
Many who serve in the military become leaders in business, politics, entrepreneurship, sports, and many other places. Why? What does the military teach so well? Few people can answer better than Everett, as the head of West …
Nov. 15, 2018
101: Seth Godin: Work that matters for people who care
I'm posting this conversation today because Seth just launched his book, This is Marketing , already a #1 bestseller. As he points out, his marketing is close to what I call leadership: how to influence people, to discover y…
Nov. 6, 2018
100: Michael O'Heaney: Story of Stuff
Michael is the Executive Director of an organization that inspired me as much as any---The Story of Stuff. They continue to inspire me to think bigger and to focus on the details it would be easier to ignore but that matter.…
Oct. 26, 2018
099: Jethro Jones: No Excuse Stewardship
Stewardship is Jethro's core message, as I heard---of his community, especially children in it, his country, and the natural world we share. This world is a beautiful, abundant gift we could wreck if we don't steward it as w…
Oct. 24, 2018
098: Would You Free Your Slaves?
Imagine you were born into a slave holding family. You didn't ask to be born into it. You didn't create the system. You didn't make slavery legal. Every landowner around you would own slaves. You would inherit yours. Would y…
Oct. 23, 2018
097: Sir Tim Smit: Changing the World with No Special Skills
Tim Smit is the co-founder and Vice Chairman of the Eden Project in Cornwall, in the southwest of England. He turned a lifeless, poisoned abandoned mine into a bountiful green world-class garden people love to visit. Eden ha…
Oct. 19, 2018
096: Chris Bailey: Hyperfocus, The New Science of Attention
Chris Bailey shares how to focus and create intention---how to become more productive on the outside and live with more meaning and purpose on the inside by focusing on what is important to you. Focus isn't necessarily easy,…
Oct. 10, 2018
095: How Would-be Leaders Move Us Backward
I want to differentiate between telling people facts and what to do or what they should do on one side, and leading them on the other. I see a lot of people telling others what to do. Not a lot of people leading. Martin Luth…
Oct. 9, 2018
094: Where Reason Fails and Leadership Works
Many people think if you just reason enough, you'll get to what's right and wrong in a way everyone will believe. This happens in the environment and many other places in life. In the environment, you may believe we should p…
Oct. 8, 2018
093: Want to win elections? Clean your neighborhood. Be a steward.
How do we elect people, including a United States President, who act on and steward the environment? I'm going to present a plan that I believe can win the next election that transcends the usual divisions that led to today'…
Oct. 6, 2018
092: Paternalism and pride: why fly to Africa to eek out minor efficiencies when we waste hundreds of times more?
First world people pollute hundreds of times more than third world people yet the material prosperity doesn't translate to greater happiness. We could reduce our waste by 75% while improving our quality of life, yet we claim…
Sept. 28, 2018
091: What Works That We Can Build On
People ask if I think we can make it out of our environmental mess. I don't know, but I act on my values. Many examples of cultural change suggest we can make it, including Smoking Drunk driving Seat belts Leaded gas and pai…
Sept. 25, 2018
090: Obesity and the Environment
How we treat our bodies is how we are treating our environment. How we treat the environment is how we are treating our bodies. The fat and CO2 concentrations aren't the cause of the problem. The are the effects. The cause i…
Sept. 24, 2018
089: Evelina Utterdahl, part 1: Traveling the world without flying
Evelina Utterdahl travels more than most. She writes travel columns. She loves travel as much as anyone, maybe more. Yet she chooses not to fly, as she wrote in Why I have chosen to travel the world without flying . If you'v…
Sept. 20, 2018
088: Bea Johnson: The Priestess of Waste-Free Living
Bea has become a role model, maybe even a hero to me. People keep saying they're impressed with my waste. It's easy to allow your standards to slide. One problem: my fellow Americans waste more than nearly anyone in human hi…
Sept. 17, 2018
087: The U.S. Constitution guides my environmental behavior
Why do I think about the United States Constitution when my pressure cooker finishes cooking? Or when I leave a room? The U.S. Constitution guides my environmental behavior and has since I learned it in elementary school. To…
Sept. 12, 2018
086: Awareness means nothing. Or less.
Neither the environment nor your life responds to your awareness. They respond to your behavior. People who speak the truth say, "I'm telling the truth." People who lie say the same thing. People who are aware say they are a…
Sept. 11, 2018
085: Daniel Bauer, part 2, Going car-free is beautiful
Going car-free is beautiful Daniel got rid of a car! He chose to from Texas! And he thanks me for inspiring him. Would you think losing a car would cripple your life? Listen on to hear how it brought him joy and happiness. Y…
Sept. 10, 2018
084: Geoffrey West, part 1: Simplicity beneath it all
Geoffrey West's work beautifully and elegantly ties biology to how we interact with our environment. Amazingly, his unique views lead to the same conclusions as mine, though coming from totally unrelated directions. You've n…
Sept. 8, 2018
083: Alisa Cohn, part2: Gurus are people too
Alisa shares what happens behind the scenes to everyone, including world-ranked coaches and speakers. Listening to a podcast with leadership in the title means you've probably read many gurus' books and watched their videos,…
Sept. 7, 2018
082: Ben Feder, Part 1, Take off your shoes
Ben Feder is a high level executive who realized he was losing the things that were important to him due to his pursuit of success -- until then defined by others' values. We talk about him taking a year sabbatical with his …
Sept. 4, 2018
081: Jonathan Haidt: The Coddling of the American Mind
I met Jonathan at the World Science Festival and recorded a podcast interview of him that changed my approach to leadership—in principle and in practice. I seek more opposing views. I listen more. I look to learn their inten…
Aug. 31, 2018
080: Nataly Kogan, Part 1, Influencing others to live happier
Happier Now Nataly starts by sharing her personal story of her family escaping Russia to America, navigating life with immigrant parents. She shares some vulnerable and raw experiences. Even so, she shares feeling blessed to…
Aug. 28, 2018
079: Andrew Revkin, Part 1; Global Warming, pollution, and hope for our future
I met Andrew Revkin through the World Science Festival this year, then recorded at my visited me in my New York apartment. I wish I could have brought you the whole conversation. You get the highlights. We covered global war…