
A Geek Leader Podcast - inspiring technical and creative leaders around the world
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.
Latest episodes

May 17, 2024 • 34min
AGL 365: AI with Adityo Prakash
Adityo Prakash, CEO of Verseon, talks about his background in video streaming and revolutionizing drug discovery using AI and quantum physics. They discuss advancements in personalized medicine and the importance of community support in driving meaningful change.

May 10, 2024 • 40min
AGL 364: AJ Jacobs on Living Constitutionally
About AJ
A.J. Jacobs is a journalist, lecturer and human guinea pig who has written four bestselling books—including Drop Dead Healthy and The Year of Living Biblically—that blend memoir, science, human and a dash of self-help. A contributor to NPR, The New York Times, and Esquire, among other media outlets, Jacobs lives in New York City with his family.
Today We Talked About
Books
Gratitude
Puzzles
Curiosity
18 century mindsets
News intake
Flexibility
Focus
Slow down
Privateers
Virtues
Connect with AJ
Books
Website
X
Facebook
LinkedIn
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May 3, 2024 • 44min
AGL 363: Financial Planning with Landon Loveall
About Landon
Landon Loveall is a certified financial planner and dedicated advocate for tech professionals to increase their wealth through financial, investment, and stock option planning. He is a partner of KB Financial Advisors which has been specializing in maximizing stock options for tech employees since 2014.
Landon regularly shares his thought leadership on the KB Financial Advisors blog about the unique scenarios presented by employee stock options. When he's not assisting clients, Landon enjoys kayaking down the Duck River with his wife Melissa and their three children in Columbia, Tennessee.
Today We Talked About
Financial Planning Basics
401K planning
Maxing out your retirement
Supplemental Wages
Taxes
Investments
Roth IRA
Budgets
Consistence
YNAB - YNAB
Connect with Landon
X
LinkedIn
Website
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Apr 26, 2024 • 31min
AGL 362: Moral Code with Lois Melbourne
About Lois
Lois’ eighteen years as CEO and co-founder of a workforce analytics and talent management software company, gave her front-row seats to people watching within the corporate habitat. Working with clients around the world developed her deep curiosity around people’s choices and the stories surrounding them.
She continues to collaborate with her software co-founder and husband, Ross. She weaves the stories around his technology vision in their debut novel, titled Moral Code. A science-fiction for readers from book clubs to AI technologists. Bringing strong women in STEM into the possibilities of powerful ethical artificial intelligence has been creative passion project.
Upon selling their company, Lois founded the nonprofit My Future Story and published two children’s books to engage kids in their exploration of career opportunities. “STEM Club Goes Exploring” and “Kids Go To Work Day”.
Lois is now engaged in writing and advocacy for voting rights and civic education. She volunteers with several organizations improving education and many other issues that matter to her communities.
She writes because there are stories to tell and wonders to interpret and translate for others. She believes in science and rejects the concept that embracing technology leads to a dystopian future.
Raised in Iowa and then Missouri, Lois moved to warmer Texas, as soon as she had the power to choose. Her favorite quote is “Live like others won’t, until you can live like others can’t.” Residing on a tree-filled acreage, she seldom writes creatively in a conventional desk chair.
Today We Talked About
Lois's background
AI
Co-founding Software Company
Reseach for fiction writers
Moral Code
STEM
Leading through the community
Using Interns properly
Connect with Lois
Website
LinkedIn
Book
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Apr 19, 2024 • 35min
AGL 361: The Ask Approach, by Jeff Wetzler
About Jeff
Jeff Wetzler is co-CEO of Transcend, a nationally recognized innovation organization, and an expert in learning and human potential.
Wetzler combines unique leadership experiences spanning more than 25 years in business and education, as a management consultant to the world’s top corporations, a learning facilitator for leaders around the world, and as Chief Learning Officer at Teach For America.
Jeff earned a Doctorate in Adult Learning and Leadership from Columbia University and a bachelor’s in psychology from Brown University.
Based in New York, he is a member of the Aspen Global Leadership Network and is an Edmund Hillary Fellow.
Today We Talked About
Jeff's background
Ask?
Learning
Fear
Curiosity
We feel certain
respect by trying first
Start with Why
Make it Safe
The ASK approach
5 Practices
Choose Curiosity - what can I learn from this person?
Make it Safe
Pose Quality Questions - Underutilized questions (reactions)
How we Listen to the answers - door knob moment
Reflect and Reconnect - sift it and turn it
Connect with Jeff
LinkedIn
Website
Book
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I hope you enjoyed this show, please head over to Apple Podcasts and subscribe and leave me a rating and review, even one sentence will help spread the word. Thanks again!

Apr 12, 2024 • 40min
AGL 360: Programmed to Fail with Brandon Epstein
About Brandon
Brandon Epstein is a world class Mental Performance Coach with over fifteen years of experience coaching professional athletes, entrepreneurs, and executives. He founded the Jump Rope Dudes Initiative, an online fitness community with over a million members, and is the author of Programmed To Fail: How to Break Through Your Mental Blocks and Achieve Greatness. He lives in in Fort Lauderdale, FL with his wife and two daughters.
Today We Talked About
Brandon's background
Chris Weidman
Don't operate from obligation
Ego
Focus
Mindset
Jump Rope
Inspiration vs. Obligation
Mindset
Connect with Brandon
Website
LinkedIn
Book
Instagram
Youtube
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I hope you enjoyed this show, please head over to Apple Podcasts and subscribe and leave me a rating and review, even one sentence will help spread the word. Thanks again!

Apr 5, 2024 • 39min
AGL 359: AI Doctor with Dr. Ronald Razmi
About Dr. Ronald Razmi
RONALD M. RAZMI, MD is a cardiologist and the co-founder and Managing Director of Zoi Capital, a venture capital firm that invests in the applications of AI in healthcare. He completed his medical training at the Mayo Clinic and holds an MBA from Northwestern University's Kellogg School of Management.
Ron was one of the pioneers in application of MRI systems in managing cardiac patients. He built the software system, cardiovascularmri.com, to serve as a platform for education and training of cardiologists in using MRI in managing their patients. He is a co-author of the textbook "Handbook of Cardiovascular Magnetic Resonance Imaging."
Ron was a McKinsey consultant with focus on investments and buyouts of medical technologies. In 2011, he founded a population health management software company at the dawn of digital health. He saw firsthand the confluence of clinical, technical, and business factors that need to come together for new technologies to gain adoption in healthcare. Much of what he learned is covered in his new book, AI Doctor: The Rise of Artificial Intelligence in Healthcare, to educate innovators, buyers and investors about the roadmap of technology adoption in healthcare. AI Doctor has received international media coverage, including the World Economic Forum, Newsweek, ABC, and more. Ron has been one of the prominent voices in digital health over the last 15 years.
In 2021, he launched AI Doctor, one of the only blogs focused solely on the applications of AI in healthcare. He's a frequent speaker at conferences, guest on podcasts, and author of medical and business articles.
Today We Talked About
Ron's background
AI
Medicine
Digital Data Sharing
Data in the same language
Short-term, Mid-term, Long-term outlooks
The future
Challenges of AI in healthcare
Connect with Ron
LinkedIn
Website
Book
Leave me a tip $
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I hope you enjoyed this show, please head over to Apple Podcasts and subscribe and leave me a rating and review, even one sentence will help spread the word. Thanks again!

Mar 29, 2024 • 32min
AGL 358: Elliott Parker on the Illusion of Innovation
About Elliott
Elliott is CEO of High Alpha Innovation, the leading venture builder that partners with organizations and entrepreneurs to solve big problems through startup creation. Prior to High Alpha Innovation, Elliott led business design at High Alpha, the Indianapolis-based venture studio; he has also worked in innovation and strategy consulting at Innosight, in corporate venturing, and as an entrepreneur to bring new ideas to market. Originally from California, Elliott has a deep entrepreneurial background as a founder, advisor, and investor. He earned a B.S. in Finance from BYU and an M.B.A. from the UCLA Anderson School of Management, where he was a Venture Fellow.
Today We Talked About
Elliott's background
Digital Transformation
Scaling business
Start-ups
Efficiency vs Innovation
Facebook
Innovation in Nature
More Experiments
Faster, Cheaper, Weider.
Structure your experiments
Autonomy
Launch External Startups
Be surprised by what you learn
Learning Problem vs. Execution Problem
Connect with Elliott
LinkedIn
Website
X
Book
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I hope you enjoyed this show, please head over to Apple Podcasts and subscribe and leave me a rating and review, even one sentence will help spread the word. Thanks again!

Mar 22, 2024 • 37min
AGL 357: Alex Natskovich
About Alex
He is a seasoned engineering leader and CEO. Born in Belarus, he harbored a lifelong dream of becoming an engineer. After graduating from university, he moved to the USA.
During the initial years, he resided in New York, working as a software engineer in various companies. One of the most notable was the startup Conductor, where he joined as the 5th employee. It has now evolved into the leading global SEO and content intelligence platform. During his tenure there, Alex was responsible for building and maintaining an industry-leading link-building system. Simultaneously, he embarked on building his own company, MEV (named after the mega-electron-volt) - a strategic software development partner for fast-growing companies. Afterward, he decided to settle in the Bay Area.
While at the helm of his company, he assisted esteemed companies such as Cartier, Novo Nordisk, Daiichi Sankyo, and Avadel in overcoming complex business challenges through software solutions. Additionally, he aided numerous startups in developing stable and scalable digital products, making them attractive for acquisition.
Alex is passionate about empowering businesses with the right technology. He firmly believes in the power of teams. Building a high-performing team, in his view, necessitates being open-minded and always striving to thoroughly understand the team's objectives and needs for success. This solution-oriented mindset and team focus form the cornerstone of his company.
Today We Talked About
Alex's background
Software Development
Master Purpose Autonomy
Motivation 3.0
Values
Empathy
In-house and Outsourced Teams
Full integration
Aligned autonomy
Culture of Ownership
Eliminate Toxic Cultures
Ukraine vs. Russia War
Focus on what you can control
Take
Connect with Alex
LinkedIn
Website
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I hope you enjoyed this show, please head over to Apple Podcasts and subscribe and leave me a rating and review, even one sentence will help spread the word. Thanks again!

Mar 15, 2024 • 45min
AGL 356: John Fisher
About John
John has worked for a wide variety of companies including BPP, GP Strategies (on the HSBC contract), Training 2000 Ltd, Balfour Beatty Utility Solutions and BAe Systems designing and delivering leadership and personal Development interventions, coaching and Project Management. He is experienced at operating at all organizational levels providing, not only development training but also coaching and Boost Growth business consultancy Background John designs, develops and facilitates learning in a highly interactive environment, based on participants own experience. His sessions involve group activities and facilitate discussion to elicit key points. This is to allow participants to gain a thorough working knowledge, with constructive feedback, in a safe environment. John is an experienced coach and trained counsellor who works from a Constructivist perspective that encourages individuals to explore their own solutions.
Today We Talked About
John's background
Soft Skills
Coaching
IF/THEN
"Leadership is what you lack when you don't know what to do."
George Kelly
Change Curve
Fear, Threats, Anxiety
Change is hard
Make Windows from Walls
Managing The Horizon
Timeline Therapy
Hypnotherapy
Connect with John
Website
LinkedIn
Leave me a tip $
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I hope you enjoyed this show, please head over to Apple Podcasts and subscribe and leave me a rating and review, even one sentence will help spread the word. Thanks again!