

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

Aug 23, 2024 • 34min
AGL 379: Greg Davis
About Greg
Greg has served on the Bigleaf Networks’ board of directors since 2020. He has a consistent track record scaling businesses and creating enterprise value through revenue growth, operational performance, and strategic acquisitions. Greg’s technology leadership career spans more than 25 years, where he has led multiple companies from start up to over $100 million in annual revenue. Prior to Bigleaf, Greg served as COO at HungerRush, a national leader in hospitality software. Prior to HungerRush, Greg spent eight years as EVP of Sales at Alert Logic, where he led sales, marketing, and other key area of the business.
Today We Talked About
Greg’s background
Events that lead from Hospitality to Tech
Developing Folks
Solving Problems
Growing people’s careers
Goals
High Performance
Safety
Physical Safety
Intellectual Safety
Financial Safety
Transparency
Trust
Retrospective on ALL Meetings
Connect With Greg
Website
LinkedIn
Leave me a tip $
Click here to Donate to the show
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!

Aug 16, 2024 • 37min
AGL 378: Dr. Marshall Goldsmith
About Marshall
Dr. Marshall Goldsmith has been recognized as one of the Top Ten Business Thinkers in the World and the top-rated executive coach at the Thinkers50 ceremony in London since 2011. Published in 2015, his book Triggers is a Wall Street Journal and New York Times #1 Bestseller! He’s also the author of New York Times best seller and #1 Wall Street Journal Business Book What Got You Here Won’t Get You There, winner of the Harold Longman Award as Best Business Book of the Year.
Today We Talked About
Leadership
Luck
IBM
Coaching
Knowledge Philanthropy
MarshallBot
Connect with Marshall
LinkedIn
Website
AI Bot
Leave me a tip $
Click here to Donate to the show
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!

Aug 9, 2024 • 35min
AGL 377: Dean Guida
About Dean
Dean Guida has led his organization through decades of technological change, cultivating Infragistics from a small startup in 1989 into a global enterprise software leader. Dean oversees all aspects of Infragistics’ business operations and corporate direction, maintaining a steady focus on delighting the customer, delivering value to the market, and inspiring STEM students. With a developer and UX professional community of more than two million, Infragistics has achieved the highest awards in software development, and Infragistics enterprise apps help users collaborate and obtain insights and results for their companies. Dean has developed software solutions that accelerate design, development, and collaboration, including the trailblazing digital workplace platform, Slingshot. A regular contributor to Entrepreneur Magazine and a frequent podcast guest, Dean is the author of When Grit is Not Enough: An Entrepreneur’s Playbook for Taking Your Business to the Next Level (Inc. Original).
Today We Talked About
Dean’s background
What is Grit?
Optimistic
Open to solve problems and not blame
You’re Never “Done”
Tough Skin
Data
Decisions by Data
Leading with Data
Validation
Tough Conversations
Situation Behavior Impact
Hiring and retaining valuable team members
How you write job descriptions
What is it like to work on the team
Soft Skill assessments
Don’t Settle… Hiring is hard
30,60,90,180,365 Success criteria and evaluations
Onboarding is important
Culture is important… Pay is also important, but it’s not #1
Invest in yourself to learn
Build a learning culture
Check-in personally and professionally
Be Authentic
Connect With Dean
LinkedIn
Website
Book
Leave me a tip $
Click here to Donate to the show
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!

Aug 2, 2024 • 31min
AGL 376: The Dystopian Utopia with Carl M.A. Arden
About Carl
Carl is a Swedish-born author with a background in business and international relations. He studied economics at the University of Oxford and completed an MBA at the London Business School. He worked as a diplomat in Moscow and completed one tour of peacekeeping in Kosovo before moving into different roles in investment banking and corporate finance. His main interests are in future trends, disruptive technologies, socio-political and economic systems, risks and uncertainty, sustainable development, and all creative arts. Carl is interested in alternative history novels and realistic books about the near and far future. Despite, or probably because of, his background in economics and finance, he does not believe in single trajectory forecasts, but rather in base-case and outlier scenarios that open our eyes to how the future could unfold. He believes in chaos, in the sense that small changes to our current situation can have a large impact on future development. He is also interested in world-crafting books that describe carefully designed and internally consistent worlds. Carl is interested in the nature of man and in our creative and destructive potential. As a result, he is a keen reader of books on different utopias and dystopias. He tries to follow research institutes like the Future of Life Institute at MIT and the Center for the Study of Existential Risks at Cambridge, which he believes do very important work on what he would refer to as the meta-sustainability of our species. Among non-fiction authors that he finds insightful, Carl would mention Yuval Harari, Toby Ord, William MacAskill, Jared Diamond, David Wallace-Wells, and Nassim Taleb. Among fiction authors that inspire him, he would mention George Orwell, Aldous Huxley, Ray Bradbury, Isaac Asimov, and Frank Herbert. There are of course many more. *The Dystopian Utopia* is Carl’s first book. It is a work of speculative fiction about one (of infinitely many) possible futures for humanity. He is married with two children, lives in Sweden, and enjoys sports and nature.
Today We Talked About
Background
The Title
Be a Hero
A.I.
Dystopia
Why?
What’s next for Humans
Virtual Dreams
Finding Purpose
Connect With Carl
Book
Leave me a tip $
Click here to Donate to the show
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!

Jul 29, 2024 • 40min
AGL 375: Chad Brown
About Chad
Chad Brown is a leadership engagement expert. He coaches founders and executives in the art and science of leadership for themselves, their teams, and clients to create new, unprecedented results and experience fulfillment in their work.
Chad founded a media production studio called Shade Tree Films in 2008 that has serviced global companies such as Volkswagen, Target, and Pixar Animation Studios.
This is where his love and passion for leadership and causing results through others was ignited.
He sold that company in 2021. He thrives in extreme environments and difficult
conversations. Over the last 7 years, Chad has trained and developed leaders at globally recognized brands like Lulu Lemon, and Ironclad Document Services along with many burgeoning start-ups.
When he is not engaging in meaningful conversations with leaders, you will find (or won’t be able to find) Chad on a wild adventure in the mountains with his family. He resides at the foot of the Rocky Mountains in Orem Utah with his wife Katie and three children Addison, Kenya, and Milo.
Today We Talked About
Chad’s background
Team building
Leadership Coaching
Learning from Failure
Ego
Letting Go
Trust isn’t built, its Chosen
Immature Trust
All of us have Snakes in us – Jordan Peterson
Mature Trust
Accountability with no Authority
Information is a social currency
Generously communicating information
Celebrate Failure
Personal Vulnerability
Courage
4 Pillars of Founder Freedom Assessment
Connect with Chad
Website
LinkedIn
Leave me a tip $
Click here to Donate to the show
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!

Jul 19, 2024 • 36min
AGL 374: Richmond Alake
About Richmond
Richmond Alake is an AI/ML Practitioner with an academic background in computer vision, robotics, and machine learning. He has worked in software development and machine learning roles since 2016. Richmond has also taught online AI/ML/Data courses and written over 200 technical articles with over 1 million views. He is passionate about using technology to solve real-world problems.
Today We Talked About
AI/ML
MongoDB
Compute
Data
Models
Opensource Language Models
LLM applications
Prompt Engineering
RAG (Retrieval Augmented Generation) architecture
Credible Sources are important
BAP – Becoming A Person
Connect with Richmond
LinkedIn
MongoDB
YouTube
Register for a Free MongoDB Atlas Account
Understand the AI Stack
Find more AI and MongoDB resources
Leave me a tip $
Click here to Donate to the show
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!

Jul 12, 2024 • 35min
AGL 373: Madeline Miller
About Madeline
Madeline Miller is making executive coaching more accessible and inclusive for rising leaders, specifically, Gen Z and Millennial women; so they can take control of their careers, reduce burnout and develop interpersonal skills and healthy resilience to become the leaders they wish they had. As a lawyer, DEI consultant, and Career and Leadership coach, Madeline founded Coaching With Madeline after 15+ years spent walking the line between milestone successes and frequent uncertainty.
With degrees from The University of Melbourne and UCLA, she’s worked in high-profile roles across the globe (including as production attorney on the James Bond movie franchise). Known for her easy-to-digest content bites and online resources and courses, she helps Gen Z and Millennials identify and align work choices and values, gain clarity on goals, and refine interpersonal skills and influence.
Today We Talked About
Madeline’s background
Leadership
The AIR Framework
Alignment
Influence
Resilience
Purpose
Values
Communication
Fear
“And Then What?”
Saying “No”
Assertive Communication
Connect With Madeline
LinkedIn
Website
Leave me a tip $Click here to Donate to the show
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!

Jul 5, 2024 • 40min
AGL 372: Sol Rashidi
About Sol
Sol Rashidi, a former C-Suite executive, is now a consultant and influencer within the AI, data, and technology space, having helped IBM launch Watson back in 2011 and involved in “hands on” AI deployments since. She’s been named 50 Most Powerful Women in Tech, Top 100 Innovators in Data & Analytics, CAO of the Year, CDO of the Year, Global Data Power Women, and holds eight patents. Her new book, The AI Survival Guide: Scraped Knees, Bruised Elbows, and Lessons from Real World AI Deployments (Wiley, April 30, 2024), was named among Best Books in AI by CEOWorld and made it to the bestseller list in less than one month. Learn more at https://www.solrashidi.com/
Today We Talked About
Sol’s background
Sol’s executive journey
learning
Watson… what was that like?
Practitioner to Executive
Connect with Sol
LinkedIn
Website
Book
Leave me a tip $
Click here to Donate to the show
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!

Jun 28, 2024 • 36min
AGL 371: Rhea Wessel
About Rhea
Rhea Wessel, an American writer, specializes in empowering companies to expand their reach by enhancing their storytelling capabilities. She provides guidance on ideation, messaging, and the art of articulating one’s best ideas to drive innovation. With a prolific career in journalism, Rhea has penned thousands of articles for esteemed publications such as The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, and BBC. As a corporate writer, she has crafted and refined countless narratives spanning across 30 diverse industries. Rhea proudly leads The Institute for Thought Leadership. For further insights, visit the website at www.instituteforthoughtleadership.com.
Today We Talked About
Rhea’s background
Leadership
Why
AI for writing
Thought Leadership
Finding your niche
Frame it
Flesh it out
List making
Mind Mapping
Using Generative AI
Finding your Audience
Pitfalls of writting
Don’t put in too much
Connect with Rhea
FaceBook
FB Author
Linkedin
Book
Leave me a tip $
Click here to Donate to the show
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!

Jun 21, 2024 • 36min
AGL 370: Powerful Phrases
About Karin And David
Karin Hurt helps human-centered leaders find clarity in uncertainty, drive innovation, and achieve breakthrough results.
She’s the Founder and CEO of Let’s Grow Leaders, a global leadership development firm known for practical tools and techniques for human-centered leaders.
A former Verizon Wireless executive with more than two decades of experience in sales, customer service, and human resources, Karin is known for growing courageous leaders, building great cultures, and inspiring high-performance teams.
Since 2013, Karin and her husband, David have grown tens of thousands of leaders on every continent (except Antarctica) with their leadership development programs and keynotes. In addition to encouraging courage around the world, they also provide clean water to the people of Cambodia through their Winning Wells philanthropic initiative.
Karin is an award-winning author of five books, including:
Courageous Cultures – How to Build Teams of Micro-Innovators, Problem Solvers and Customer Advocates
Powerful Phrases for Dealing With Workplace Conflict: What to Say Next to Destress the Workday, Build Collaboration and Calm Difficult Customers
She is the host of the popular LinkedIn show, Asking for a Friend. And she was recently named by Inc. Magazine as a Top 100 Great Leadership Speaker.
David Dye helps human-centered leaders find clarity in uncertainty, drive innovation, and achieve breakthrough results.
He’s President of Let’s Grow Leaders, a global leadership development firm known for practical tools and techniques for human-centered leaders.
A former executive, David is known for helping leaders and teams achieve transformational results without sacrificing their humanity
Since 2013, Karin and David have helped grow tens of thousands of leaders on every continent (except Antarctica) with their leadership development programs and keynotes. They also provide clean water to the people of Cambodia through their Winning Wells philanthropic initiative.
David is an award-winning author of six books including:
Courageous Cultures – How to Build Teams of Micro-Innovators, Problem Solvers and Customer Advocates
Powerful Phrases for Dealing With Workplace Conflict: What to Say Next to Destress the Workday, Build Collaboration and Calm Difficult Customers
Tomorrow Together- Essays of Hope Healing and Humanity
David also hosts the popular podcast, Leadership Without Losing Your Soul.
Today We Talked About
Backgrounds
Dimensions of Collaboration
Connection
Clarity
Curiosity
Commitment
Acknowledgement of the Emotion
What went right?
It sounds to me like you’re feeling _____, Do I have that right?
Do we need conflict?
What would a successful outcome do for you?
What does it matter?
Managing Up.
Whys?
I hear you, and I am concerned ____
The sooner you handle something, the easier it will be.
Have I set clear expectations?
Are they in conflict because of me.
What do you want me to know?
Vent or Intervention?
Should the 3 of us talk together?
Notice the pattern
What is most needed?
The 12 GOATs
Connect with Karin
Karin’s LinkedIn
David’s LinkedIn
Website
Book
Leave me a tip $
Click here to Donate to the show
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!


