

A Geek Leader Podcast - inspiring technical and creative leaders around the world
John Rouda: technical leader, author, speaker, educator
The ultimate podcast for aspiring leaders in the creative or technology fields. John Rouda discusses leadership topics, interviews some of the greatest minds today and teaches you practical leadership tips, techniques, tricks and hacks to improve motivation, negotiation, and other much needed skills for leaders today.
Episodes
Mentioned books

Mar 13, 2020 • 38min
AGL 147: Coach John Havlik – Former Navy Seal
About Coach
The Leadership Killer: Reclaiming Humility in an Age of Arrogance
CAPT John “Coach” Havlik, U.S. Navy SEAL (Retired), led special operations teams around the world during his 31-year naval career, to include the Naval Special Warfare Development Group, the SEAL’s most elite operational unit. CAPT Havlik was a nationally-ranked swimmer, and is a member of the West Virginia University Sports Hall of Fame and Mountaineer Legends Society, WVU’s Ring of Honor equivalent.
Born in Munich, Germany, Coach grew up an Army brat, following his father around the world, eventually spending most of his childhood in Glen Burnie, MD.
29 years of distinguished service in the Naval Special Warfare (SEAL) community
Graduated from West Virginia University
Four year Swimming Letterman; three-time team MVP
First swimmer in school history to qualify for the U.S. Olympic Swimming Trials (1980)
Qualified for the NCAA Division 1 Swimming Championships (3 times)
Served as tri-captain of the first undefeated men’s swim team in school history his senior year
Graduated with M.A. in National Security and Strategic Studies from Naval War College in Newport, RI
Coach enlisted in the Navy in 1982, and was subsequently assigned to the United States Naval Academy as a swim coach/physical education instructor upon completion of Boot Camp. He was commissioned as a naval officer via Officer Candidate School in November 1984. Coach successfully completed Basic Underwater Demolition/SEAL (BUD/S) training in 1985.
His military assignments have included a full range of duties in Sea, Air, Land (SEAL) Teams, Special Boat Teams, and Naval Special Warfare Development Group. He commanded several times and completed numerous deployments to named and contingency operations around the world, to include one deployment to Iraq, where he oversaw the complete redeployment of all Special Operations forces and equipment from Iraq after ten years of combat operations. Coach’s naval career included overseas assignments in the Philippines, Panama and Bahrain. He has worked extensively with inter-agency and international partners.
Today We Talked About
John’s past
Navy Seal Life
Going Back To School at Age 60
Leadership Killers
Hubris and Ego
Consistency
One-on-Ones
Communication
Be the Example
Discipline
Culture
Humility
Evaluate and change to stay in-front
Check yourself
Have a Master Chief
Open up your mental aperture
Get out of your office
Connect to Coach
Twitter
Website
LinkedIn
The Leadership Killer Book
Leadership Kill Website
I hope you enjoyed this show, please head over to iTunes and subscribe and leave me a rating and review, even one sentence will help spread the word. Thanks again!
Private Internet Access
I’ve been a customer of Private Internet Access for over 3 years now and I love this service. I was at a security conference a few years ago and I connected to the hotel wifi. Immediately my endpoint protection software began to alert me of hacking attempts. I launched my VPN from Private Internet Access and all of the attempts were stopped. My data and internet connection was secure. Another great use of the VPN service is connect from different geo locations, which is very helpful when testing DNS and CDN caching. To get a your VPN account starting at $3.33 per month, please visit https://ageekleader.com/vpn

Mar 6, 2020 • 37min
AGL 146: Working Remote with Gonçalo Silva CTO of Doist
About Gonçalo
Gonçalo Silva is obsessed with building the workplace of the future. That’s why he joined Doist almost a decade ago, and it’s why he remains there today as CTO, helping to build tools like Todoist and Twist that help over 13 million people worldwide be more productive.
Today we talked About:
History with technology
Doist
Growth
Remote work
Leading remotely
Motivating Remote Teams
Mission
On-boarding Remote Employees
Managing Independence
Communication for tech leaders
Ownership
Trust
Tight feedback loop
Radical Candor
Red – Yellow – Green checkin
Vulnerability
Start, Stop, Continue
Body language
Remote Employees
Connect with Gonçalo
Twitter
Doist
Special Thanks to Splashtop for sponsoring today’s show.
Splashtop is a premier remote desktop, and remote support solution. I’ve been using Splashtop personal for more than 7 years now and Splashtop Enterprise at my company for 3 years. Their products are fantastic and their support is second to none. I love and highly recommend their products and I’m super stoked that they are giving A Geek Leader listeners 20% off their first year when you go to https://ageekleader.com/splashtop
I hope you enjoyed this show, please head over to Apple Podcast and subscribe and leave me a rating and review, even 1 sentence will help spread the word. Thanks again!

Feb 28, 2020 • 42min
AGL 145: Respectful Leadership with Gregg Ward
About Gregg
Gregg Ward is the CEO of the Gregg Ward Group, a management consulting, training and coaching firm that focuses on helping leaders develop their Respectful Leadership, Emotional Intelligence, and Executive Presence skills. For over 25 years, Gregg has worked with Fortune 100 and 500 organizations around the world to inspire respect and leadership, emphasizing the measurable, bottom-line benefits they bring to leaders and their organizations. Gregg is also the Founder & Executive Director of the non-profit Center for Respectful Leadership.
After graduating from Boston University and working as a theatre professional around the U.S., Gregg started his career in the 1980s as a specialist trainer for the New York City Police Department. Collaborating with a team of experts, he developed a powerful experiential learning program for police officers based on Live Theatre Training techniques and the performance, improv, and facilitation skills that Gregg was incorporating into his onstage performances. This program was considered a huge success by NYPD’s leadership, and was featured in major media including The New York Times and CNN.
Since then, Gregg has developed, delivered, and facilitated thousands of keynote addresses, experiential learning programs, and executive coaching sessions for a wide range of global clients including ADP, Booz Allen Hamilton, Bristol-Myers Squibb, Harley-Davidson, InterContinental Hotels Group, Kaiser Permanente, Kraft Foods, Novartis, Qualcomm, Raytheon, Siemens, the University of California, the US Navy, and Warner Brothers Studios.
A former journalist on assignment throughout Europe for BBC Radio, Scotland on Sunday, and other UK media, Gregg is also the author of the best-selling, award-winning business book The Respectful Leader.
Today we talked about
Gregg’s history
Coaching and Leadership
Respect in Leadership
You don’t have to be nice to be respectful
Respect is the golden rule working with the platinum rule
Feedback
One-on-Ones
Take care of the person, but deliver the feedback in a way that addresses the problem, not the person
Handling Defensiveness
Respectful Remarks
Acknowledge Reality
“I wouldn’t be doing my job if…”
Contrasting comparison
Reptilian brain
Brain Chemicals
We are not thinking beings with emotions… we are emotional beings who think
Self-awareness
Connect with Gregg
Book
Website
Twitter
LinkedIn
I hope you enjoyed this show, please head over to Apple Podcast and subscribe and leave me a rating and review, even 1 sentence will help spread the word. Thanks again!
Private Internet Access
I’ve been a customer of Private Internet Access for over 3 years now and I love this service. I was at a security conference a few years ago and I connected to the hotel wifi. Immediately my endpoint protection software began to alert me of hacking attempts. I launched my VPN from Private Internet Access and all of the attempts were stopped. My data and internet connection was secure. Another great use of the VPN service is connect from different geo locations, which is very helpful when testing DNS and CDN caching. To get a your VPN account starting at $3.33 per month, please visit https://ageekleader.com/vpn

Feb 21, 2020 • 36min
AGL 144: Future Proof with Diana Wu David
About Diana
Diana Wu David is the author of Future Proof: Reinventing Work in an Age of Acceleration and works with global leaders to enhance their ability to adapt, contribute, collaborate and grow. Formerly an executive with Financial Times, she is also an adjunct professor at Hong Kong University Business School and EMBA Global program focused on leadership and interpersonal dynamics. Her clients have included the Mandarin Oriental Hotel Group, the World Bank, Expedia, AXA, Randstad and JP Morgan.
Today We Talked About:
Diana’s career
Future Proof
Things are moving faster
Living Longer
Globalization
experiment and reinvent yourself
upgrade yourself
Virtual teams
Personal User Manual
Trust
Speed of Trust – book
Values
David Brooks TedX Talk
Connect with Diana:
Twitter
Website
Book
LinkedIn
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wBObnvIZGwE
Special Thanks to Splashtop for sponsoring today’s show.
Splashtop is a premier remote desktop, and remote support solution. I’ve been using Splashtop personal for more than 7 years now and Splashtop Enterprise at my company for 3 years. Their products are fantastic and their support is second to none. I love and highly recommend their products and I’m super stoked that they are giving A Geek Leader listeners 20% off their first year when you go to https://ageekleader.com/splashtop
I hope you enjoyed this show, please head over to Apple Podcast and subscribe and leave me a rating and review, even 1 sentence will help spread the word. Thanks again!

Feb 14, 2020 • 34min
AGL 143: Leadership from a SEAL with Dan Mulroy of 373 North Leadership
About Dan
Dan Mulroy spent 14 years as a U.S. Navy SEAL working the most elite individuals there are in the military. Amongst these elite few, he saw how effective leadership and teamwork can enable you to accomplish any mission, no matter the odds. After leaving the military, he saw how these same principles, and the lack thereof, affected an organizations’ abilities to accomplish their own missions.
As a leadership and business coach, Dan is devoted to bringing the knowledge, skills and experiences he has gained over the years to you and your organization through leadership development programs and coaching. His goal is to enable you and your entire organization to operate at the highest levels of efficiency, productivity and goal achievement.
As a Navy SEAL, Dan has led a wide range of cross-functional teams in complex operations around the world, designed and implemented three-year training programs for foreign nation special operation forces, managed multi-million dollar budgets, and worked with foreign military and governments to develop local real estate projects for security purposes. After leaving the military, he was partner and VP of Operations at DebtMaven Inc., a debt-financing startup. He has also been a consultant to companies in healthcare and CPG. Through these experiences he brings to you the knowledge, skills, training and coaching that will enable you to build and lead effective teams and organizations.
Today We Talked About
How to think about becoming a better leader
Difference between a manager and a leader
Managing is controlling
Leading – the process of influence of leading through motivation and inspiration
How leadership looks different at different levels
How coaching can help leaders
Hiring Vets
Changing Perspectives
Understanding people and communication
Humility
Honesty
Ask for Feedback
Military Leadership
Putting your ego aside
Relationship
Legacy book
Setting Examples
373 North Leadership (why 373??)
Connect with Dan
LinkedIn
Website
I hope you enjoyed this show, please head over to Apple Podcast and subscribe and leave me a rating and review, even 1 sentence will help spread the word. Thanks again!
Private Internet Access
I’ve been a customer of Private Internet Access for over 3 years now and I love this service. I was at a security conference a few years ago and I connected to the hotel wifi. Immediately my endpoint protection software began to alert me of hacking attempts. I launched my VPN from Private Internet Access and all of the attempts were stopped. My data and internet connection was secure. Another great use of the VPN service is connect from different geo locations, which is very helpful when testing DNS and CDN caching. To get a your VPN account starting at $3.33 per month, please visit https://ageekleader.com/vpn

Feb 7, 2020 • 40min
AGL 142: The Self-Evolved Leader with Dave McKeown
About Dave
Dave McKeown helps individuals, teams, and organizations achieve excellence by doing the ordinary things extraordinarily well. He is the CEO of Outfield Leadership and author of the upcoming book The Self-Evolved Leader – Elevate Your Focus and Develop Your People in a World That Refuses to Slow Down.
He has a wealth of experience in connecting individual and team performance to improved business results with a particular focus on fast-growing, complex organizations.
Dave started his career as a Consultant at Accenture, quickly moving to become the COO and then President of Predictable Success, a boutique consultancy focussed on helping complex businesses achieve scalability.
Whilst at Predictable Success he also ran Inc. Consulting, a joint venture with Inc. Media which helped companies on, or aspiring to be on, the Inc. 5000. achieve consistent, scalable growth.
As Founder and CEO of Outfield Leadership, Dave now speaks, coaches and trains on moving from execution to excellence. His goal is to help organizations build a culture of real, authentic but ultimately results-driven leadership.
He has shared his leadership strategies at the Inc. 500 and Growco conferences, Bank of America, for the British Government, Entrepreneur’s Organization, Bamboo HR and countless others. And has worked with leaders at Spectrum Health, Renewal by Andersen, Akamai, NYSE and many smaller, fast-growing organizations.
Dave is the host of the podcast ‘Lead Like you Give a Damn‘ and writes a weekly column for Inc.Com.
A native of Ireland, Dave now resides in Southern California with his wonderful wife, Paris and awesome Staffie, Maggie.
Today We Talked About
Dave’s leadership journey
What is a self-evolved leader
Take control of your own growth
Leadership Essentials
Vulnerability
Empathy
Locus of control
Vision
Pulse
Discipline
attention management
facilitating team flow
symbiotic conversation
supporting your team
building shared accountability
Setting Goals
Attention
Listening to your team
Celebrating success
The 1st 90 days Book
90 day sprints
Sustaining Leadership Success
Connect with Dave
Book
Website
Twitter
LinkedIn
Special Thanks to Splashtop for sponsoring today’s show.
Splashtop is a premier remote desktop, and remote support solution. I’ve been using Splashtop personal for more than 7 years now and Splashtop Enterprise at my company for 3 years. Their products are fantastic and their support is second to none. I love and highly recommend their products and I’m super stoked that they are giving A Geek Leader listeners 20% off their first year when you go to https://ageekleader.com/splashtop
I hope you enjoyed this show, please head over to Apple Podcast and subscribe and leave me a rating and review, even 1 sentence will help spread the word. Thanks again!

Jan 31, 2020 • 47min
AGL 141: Start Finishing with Charlie Gilkey
About Charlie
Charlie Gilkey is the founder of Productive Flourishing, a company that helps professional creatives, leaders, and changemakers take meaningful action on work that matters. He is internationally recognized as a thought leader on productivity, planning, strategy, and leadership for creative people.
Charlie is the author of the forthcoming Start Finishing: How to Go from Idea to Done (Sounds True, September 2019) and The Small Business Life Cycle and is widely cited in media outlets including Inc., Time, Forbes, the Guardian, Lifehacker, and more. He’s also an Army veteran and near-PhD in philosophy.
Today We Talked About:
Getting Things Done
Productivity
Stories we tell ourselves
Making time or your not
SMART Goals
What if I succeed
Need to be creative
Most courageous next step
Breadcrumbs from project to project
Focus Blocks
Thrash Crash
Funday Friday Task
Productive Procrastination
Project Pyramids
Blocks and Tasks (90min and 15min)
Finding Focus Time
Habits, practices, and routines
Atomic Habits
Success Packs
Connect With Charlie:
Productive Flourishing
Podcast
Book – Start Finishing
Twitter
Special Thanks to Splashtop for sponsoring today’s show.
Splashtop is a premier remote desktop, and remote support solution. I’ve been using Splashtop personal for more than 7 years now and Splashtop Enterprise at my company for 3 years. Their products are fantastic and their support is second to none. I love and highly recommend their products and I’m super stoked that they are giving A Geek Leader listeners 20% off their first year when you go to https://ageekleader.com/splashtop
I hope you enjoyed this show, please head over to Apple Podcast and subscribe and leave me a rating and review, even 1 sentence will help spread the word. Thanks again!

Jan 24, 2020 • 44min
AGL 140: Paul Powers, Co-founder of Physna
About Paul
Paul Powers is an award-winning serial entrepreneur and the Co-Founder and Chief Executive Officer of Physna, Inc.
In 2019, Powers was recognized by Forbes Magazine as one of the brightest young entrepreneurs in the United States as a Forbes 30 Under 30 winner.
Powers has been featured in publications around the world including Forbes and Fortune, various news programs such as Lou Dobbs of Fox Business and dozens of others. Paul Powers has presented on the TED Talk stage, at various tech summits and at various tech conferences such as PLMx, StartUp Grind and Startup of the Year at SXSW.
Powers co-founded Physna in 2015, creating industry-leading software to bridge the gap between software and the physical world by normalizing 3D data and applying machine learning. Physna’s proprietary technology is patent-pending in over 120 countries and is increasingly used as an industry default for cybersecurity, protecting the integrity of 3D designs in aerospace, automotive, medical devices, etc. from otherwise untraceable manipulations from cyber attacks. Physna is also used to increase efficiency with CAD design, reduce supply chain / procurement costs, optimize inventory, and make quality control predictions immediately upon design. Physna technology can compare and analyze millions of 3D models in seconds.
Paul Powers graduated from Ruprecht-Karls- Universität Heidelberg, Germany, earning his law degree and passed the bar with more than twice the required points.
Paul has been featured in numerous news articles in Germany and the US highlighting his unique approach to global technology challenges.
Today We Talked About
Paul’s background
Physna – Physical DNS
GitHub for 3D models
Cost savings for manufacturing
Machine Learning
AI
CAD modeling
Cyber Security
Connect with Paul
Physna
LinkedIn
Twitter
I hope you enjoyed this show, please head over to Apple Podcast and subscribe and leave me a rating and review, even 1 sentence will help spread the word. Thanks again!
Private Internet Access
I’ve been a customer of Private Internet Access for over 3 years now and I love this service. I was at a security conference a few years ago and I connected to the hotel wifi. Immediately my endpoint protection software began to alert me of hacking attempts. I launched my VPN from Private Internet Access and all of the attempts were stopped. My data and internet connection was secure. Another great use of the VPN service is connect from different geo locations, which is very helpful when testing DNS and CDN caching. To get a your VPN account starting at $3.33 per month, please visit https://ageekleader.com/vpn

Jan 17, 2020 • 36min
AGL 139: Alexa is Stealing Your Job with Rhonda Scarf
About Rhonda
Insightful … humorous … entertaining … even contagious … words that are often used to describe Rhonda Scharf. A speaker with the uncanny ability to look at the normal and see something quite different.
Rhonda is a Professional Speaker and member of the Canadian Speaking Hall of Fame, Trainer and Author, based in Ottawa Canada. She has spoken to tens of thousands of people in dozens of different countries.
She knows how to make you laugh and she knows how to get you to question why you do what you do. Her natural warmth and sincerity are balanced by a healthy sense of the absurd, a combination that is useful in any situation.
Rhonda has written eight books, with her latest “Alexa is Stealing her Job” and her best-seller “Common Sense is NOT Common Practice” still available.
Rhonda’s professional speaking career began at age two… when her mother would offer her 25 cents to be quiet for five minutes!
Today We Talked About
Rhonda’s background
AI – Artificial Intelligence
Jobs
Trainers, Sustainers, Explainers
Stop flying under the radar
Add Value
Tons more!
Connect with Rhonda
Twitter
LinkedIn
Facebook
Book – Alexa is Stealing Your Job
Website
Special Thanks to Splashtop for sponsoring today’s show.
Splashtop is a premier remote desktop, and remote support solution. I’ve been using Splashtop personal for more than 7 years now and Splashtop Enterprise at my company for 3 years. Their products are fantastic and their support is second to none. I love and highly recommend their products and I’m super stoked that they are giving A Geek Leader listeners 20% off their first year when you go to https://ageekleader.com/splashtop
I hope you enjoyed this show, please head over to Apple Podcast and subscribe and leave me a rating and review, even 1 sentence will help spread the word. Thanks again!

Jan 10, 2020 • 39min
AGL 138: Laurel Lau – Six Atlas
About Laurel
Laurel Lau is a digital nomad and executive coach, as well as founder of Six Atlas, where she activates organizations to disrupt stagnant business models and take advantage of innovation for immediate impact and competitive advantage. Born in Hong Kong but educated in the United States, Laurel has spent her life navigating changing environments and cultural expectations. Her mission today of helping organizations shift and adjust against rapid innovation & changing technology was largely shaped by her lifelong journey of constantly shifting to “fit in” and best contribute to her colleagues, her employer, or the country in which she found herself. Laurel found clarity at age 22, and carved her own path to discover as much as she could about the human mind and conscious leadership, leveraging both to successfully manage a team or organization facing a disruptive market. Today, Laurel facilitates curated workshops for organizations around the world, creating customized strategies designed around industry trends and each company’s unique internal capabilities. Working with leaders and teams within each organization, Laurel develops a balanced innovation portfolio for the firm, enabling them to stay true to their DNA while building a culture where innovation thrives and success is a given.
Today We Talked About
Laurel’s background
Consulting
Entrepreneurship
Conscience Leadership
Leadership Tips
How you talk about your business
Develop the culture of innovation
Understand your Why
Being a Digital Nomad
Goal Setting
Leadership Mistakes
Connect with Laurel
Twitter
LinkedIn
Six Atlas
Book – Upside-Down
I hope you enjoyed this show, please head over to Apple Podcast and subscribe and leave me a rating and review, even 1 sentence will help spread the word. Thanks again!
Private Internet Access
I’ve been a customer of Private Internet Access for 3 years now and I love this service. I was at a security conference a few years ago and I connected to the hotel wifi. Immediately my endpoint protection software began to alert me of hacking attempts. I launched my VPN from Private Internet Access and all of the attempts were stopped. My data and internet connection was secure. Another great use of the VPN service is connect from different geo locations, which is very helpful when testing DNS and CDN caching. To get a your VPN account starting at $3.33 per month, please visit https://ageekleader.com/vpn


