When my wife, Marcella, retired from Box of Crayons about three years ago, she spent a bit of time feeling her way into what retirement means. But, a year or so ago, she totally found her groove; she’s become part of a brilliant group of smart, funny, make-your-path-in-this-world women, and she’s having a great time. I have to admit, I do look on with a little envy. Sure, I have people I see, talk to, and hang out with, but I don’t have this thing that she has - community. So, where do you find your people, and, how do you gather them? Pamela Slim is a coach and fellow author; her newest book is The Widest Net, and I think it’s her best yet. However, I think her real genius lies in community-building. Get‌ ‌book‌ ‌links‌ ‌and‌ ‌resources‌ ‌at‌ https://www.mbs.works/2-pages-podcast/ Pamela reads two pages from ‘Bird by Bird’ by Anne Lamott. [reading begins at 12:25]Hear us discuss: Connecting to the wonder of the world. [15:18] | A writer’s sense of self and craft: “Call the book in.” [17:47] | The Widest Net. [24:25] | Decentering as a privileged person: “The work itself is the thing that guides you. If it’s your own ego, then we’ll all get lost.” [27:38]

Sometimes it’s just hard to wrap your head around science. How old the planet is, is actually impossible to really grasp; the Tyrannosaurus rex is closer in time to the iPhone, than it is to the Stegosaurus. Five hundred million years is just … unimaginably vast. So, too with exponential growth. Humans are wired to understand linear, but critical to our survival and understanding our current world, is the need to wrap our heads around exponential. Get‌ ‌book‌ ‌links‌ ‌and‌ ‌resources‌ ‌at‌ https://www.mbs.works/2-pages-podcast/ Azeem Azhar is a speaker, an entrepreneur, a podcaster, and the author of the new book Exponential.Azeem reads two pages from ‘The Nature of Technology’ by W. Brian Arthur. [reading begins at 11:15]Hear us discuss: Prosperity versus unease in work: “To not go forward is to go backward.” [16:20] | Understanding Exponential: Talking about Azeem’s book. [18:03] | The most radical idea in the book: “I found myself concluding that we needed more common or collectivist approaches to key issues.” [22:06] | Allowing commonality to emerge. [24:34] | Complicated problems, simple answers: “The outcomes we get will only be as good as the work we put in.” [36:34]

My surname is Bungay Stanier. It used to be just Stanier, but when I got married back in 1995, Marcella and I combined our surnames. ‘Stanier Bungay’ was never going to work, so, Bungay Stanier it was - and so it remains. When people get my surname right, there’s not much expectation that it’s a clue to who I am, where I’m from, or what I do. But that’s not the case with my guest today; her surname and how she shows up in the world appear to be a perfect fit. Liz Wiseman is a unique presence in the management and leadership development world, and a wonderful author. She’s justly celebrated for her book Multipliers, and undoubtedly will be for her current book that’s just coming out, Impact Players. Get‌ ‌book‌ ‌links‌ ‌and‌ ‌resources‌ ‌at‌ https://www.mbs.works/2-pages-podcast/ Liz reads two pages from ‘The Road to Character’ by David Brooks. [reading begins at 16:14]Hear us discuss: What does life want from us?: “Magic happens when you have just enough capability to say ‘yes’ and start a project, but not enough capability to finish it.” [22:02] | Managing a plethora of choices: Recognising native genius and ‘blanket no’s. [25:45] | Impact Players: “Amazing things happen when you figure out what the agenda is, and then you work on it.” [32:26]

What’s the clearest memory you have of something from a while ago? I’ve got a few flash moments that come to mind right away, but the truth is, I remember more of a feeling than I do the details, and I’m not even totally sure of the details I do remember. What if you remembered everything perfectly? Would that be amazing, or would it be onerous? My memory only gets dodgier day by day, as time ticks on. Sometimes I worry about it, and sometimes I remember that forgetting is one of the great adaptive strategies of life.Dr. Scott A. Small is a brain mechanic; a physician who treats pathological memory disorders like Alzheimer’s, and helps people manage the terrible disease. He’s a man who celebrates the benefits of forgetting, so much that he even wrote a book about it. Get‌ ‌book‌ ‌links‌ ‌and‌ ‌resources‌ ‌at‌ https://www.mbs.works/2-pages-podcast/  Scott reads two pages from ‘Funes the Memorious’ by Jorge Luis Borges. [reading begins at 11:45]Hear us discuss: The freedom of forgetting: “You have to forget to forgive.” [21:06] | How to actively forget. [25:03] | Sustaining precious memories: “We need our memories to be ourselves.” [27:27] | Societal benefits of forgetting. [34:34]

I’ve just come back from a run. Today is a beautiful autumn day, and yet I missed most of it. It wasn’t just that I was experiencing the pain of restarting exercise, it was that I was in my head the whole time; thinking about work, thinking about the new book and how to launch it, thinking about all sorts of stuff. Trying to figure it all out, and in doing so, missing the glory of it all. Here’s the thing, sometimes the secret to a good life is realising that it’s not all figure-out-able. Yes, you are at the center of your world, but at the same time, the world continues to turn, regardless. Muriel Wilkins is the author of Own the Room, but she’s best known as the host of a podcast for Harvard Business Review called Coaching Real Leaders, where she coaches real executives in real-time for the whole world to hear. Today, she shares her expertise on a different podcast, with me, and all of you. Get‌ ‌book‌ ‌links‌ ‌and‌ ‌resources‌ ‌at‌ https://www.mbs.works/2-pages-podcast/  Muriel reads two pages from ‘The Untethered Soul’ by Michael Alan Singer. [reading begins at 12:50]Hear us discuss: Being present in the world of work: “I tell my clients, ‘I’m not here to take your challenges away, I’m here to help you lead with a little more ease.’” [21:12] | Letting go of resistance. [25:06] | Living with ambition: “If you hold a rose too tightly, it will eventually die, and in the process, you’ll bleed also.” [27:47] | The source of Muriel’s ambition. [32:01]

If you’re listening to this podcast, my bet is that you, like me, are a reader. You love a good book, and if you’re lucky, you’ve loved them all your life because someone introduced the power of stories to you. My parents read to me when I was young, but the real gateway drug for me was my dad making up stories. As a reader, I followed the conventional path. I started with kids’ books and moved on to what would be called ‘YA’ now, then diving into Literature in high school, and eventually moving on to attain both a Bachelor’s and Master’s Degree in Literature at university. For someone who is happily child-free, I read a lot of Young Adult literature. In part, it’s because my wife trained as a YA librarian, so she’s always finding great books, but also just because they’re great books! It takes a certain gift to write a book that’s brilliant for children and young adults, and grown-ups, like me. The very best of these books are wise, timeless, and fearless. David A. Robertson is one of those people who can write for young people. I mean, he can really write for young people. He’s won numerous awards, including the Governor General’s Literary Award, McNally Robinson Book for Young People Award, and the Indigenous Writer of the Year Award at the High Plains Book Awards. Acknowledging these accolades is easy, but the same can’t be said for pinning down his genre. So far, he’s published over 25 books across multiple genres and has no plans of stopping anytime soon. Get‌ ‌book‌ ‌links‌ ‌and‌ ‌resources‌ ‌at‌ https://www.mbs.works/2-pages-podcast/ David reads two pages from ‘Tom’s Midnight Garden’ by Philippa Pearce. [reading begins at 8:45]Hear us discuss: David’s watershed moment. [13:56] | “I thought, ‘This needs to be out into the world. If no one’s gonna do it, I’ll do it.’ Then I wrote it.” [19:19] | A writer’s relationship with time: “I realised that creating change in the work that I have will take a long time.” [20:30] | The change David wants his work to bring about in the world. [24:51] | The importance of having a strong support system on difficult journeys. [26:54] | Figuring out what to read next. [29:34]

We don’t know about matter. 96% of the universe’s mass is unaccounted for. We don’t understand consciousness either. No one is really sure why or how consciousness works. We don’t even understand time - we don’t know when or how the universe began, and we’re not even clear how it will end. There are theories for all these phenomena, but nobody is quite sure. Spirituality is not an exact alternative to science, but it does seem separate from science. I’ve considered myself an atheist for many years; nonetheless, I find myself spending a lot of time with people who have a more grounded, less performative sense of spirituality, which I’m curious about. So, what does it mean to someone who’s made spirituality the very foundation of their life? KC, short for Kristoffer Carter, is a coach for C-suite executives and start-up founders. Since becoming a coach, his true focus is on mindset - mindset that flows from spirituality. Get‌ ‌book‌ ‌links‌ ‌and‌ ‌resources‌ ‌at‌ https://www.mbs.works/2-pages-podcast/ Kristoffer reads two pages from ‘Autobiography Of A Yogi’ by Yogananda Paramahamsa. [reading begins at 10:30]Hear us discuss: “I never really started out to find the spiritual path, it kinda found me.” [4:09] | Connecting to your power. [16:58] | “Feel all the feelings”: What does it mean? [18:37] | How burdens help shape us. [21:30] | KC’s book and why he chose the world ‘glow.’ [23:57] | Glowing in the light: Recruiting allies and building community. [27:34] | Making change less of a burden. [30:04]

During the first phase of the pandemic I experimented with a type of online gathering, which I called Cocktails and Questions. After getting myself a cocktail, five people in my circle would gather, and we all had six minutes to reflect on a question I had sent them the day before; they would talk without interruption. The question I had sent was designed to provoke reflection, vulnerability, and insight. One of my favourite questions was this: What are you holding on to, and why? Woven into that question is the insight that once we’ve taken hold of something, we become committed to it, often to an extent that’s irrational, and one that no longer serves us. This applies to companies we love as well: it’s hard to let go of the brands we’re committed to.Sandra Sucher is the Professor of Management Practice at Harvard Business School, and author of a new book: The Power of Trust: How Companies Build It, Lose It, Regain It. Smart companies use the power of trust to keep their customers committed to them. How? Here’s a hint: moral reasoning. Get‌ ‌book‌ ‌links‌ ‌and‌ ‌resources‌ ‌at‌ https://www.mbs.works/2-pages-podcast/  Sandra reads two pages from ‘The Making of the Atomic Bomb’ by Richard Rhodes. [reading begins at 13:20] Hear us discuss:What it takes to nurture moral courage. [21:09] | Navigating different morality: “Assume good intent.” [26:18] | Refining your understanding of moral leadership. [27:57] | Being a moral leader in a flawed system: “It’s always possible to be a moral leader.” [34:44] | Welcoming moral leadership in an organisation. [36:07]

Shell ran their first scenario planning session in 1971, and they’ve been sharing some of their insights since then. In their new LENS report from 2013, they talk about three central paradoxes to our world: the prosperity paradox, the leadership paradox, and the connectivity paradox. Here’s the connectivity paradox. On one hand, we’ve never been more connected, and that has, in an extraordinary way, unleashed the ability to connect. And in the same moment, that same connectivity has destroyed the value of IP. While it’s easy to be a creative, it’s hard to fund a life as one. How do you find a way to live a life as someone who creates?I first came across Jessica Abel’s work upon discovering her book, Out on the Wire. The graphic novel is a must-read for anyone interested in the art of storytelling. And though I’ve written my fair share of books, I don’t really know what it takes to create a full-length graphic novel like Jessica does. In this episode, Jessica gives an inside look on life as a cartoonist, coach, and consultant. Get‌ ‌book‌ ‌links‌ ‌and‌ ‌resources‌ ‌at‌ https://www.mbs.works/2-pages-podcast/ Jessica reads two pages from ‘How to Write an Autobiographical Novel’ by Alexander Chee. [reading begins at 5:30]Hear us discuss: Creativity as a career: Are you sacrificing joy? [8:50] | The line between external and internal validation. [12:08] | What is required for creative focus?: “I thought, ‘I can’t do an okay job on drawing. I can’t just be okay, I have to give it my all. I have to spend the time necessary to do it right, or I’m not gonna get up a level.’” [15:07] | “You have to say no to your own ideas. Learn that saying ‘no’ is saying ‘yes.’” [18:45] | What strong autonomy looks and feels like. [24:32] 

Now I’m in my fifties, I’m no longer calling myself ‘young’. That time has come and gone. Being this age, I’m starting to feel the slight insults of my body breaking down. All in all, I’m fine. I adapt, and try to make things easier to accommodate my new limitations. However, all of this is happening to me within the bounds of what you’d call ‘normal.’ I’m cognitively and physically in the middle of the bell curve. What happens when you find yourself on the end of the bell curve? What deep adaptation is asked of you? More importantly, how might or should the world better accommodate and welcome who you are?Sara Hendren grew up in a highly conservative, religious, small town in Arkansas. Now, she’s a professor at Olin College of Engineering, just outside Boston, in the liberal North East of the United States. Just as she has a foot in each of these geographical worlds, her work also finds her straddling two worlds: humanities and technology. In her life, there have been many instances where she’s had to adapt after being thrown a curveball, and she joins me today for a conversation about humanism, accommodation, and adaptation. Get‌ ‌book‌ ‌links‌ ‌and‌ ‌resources‌ ‌at‌ https://www.mbs.works/2-pages-podcast/ Sara reads two pages from ‘Life as We Know It’ by Michael Bérubé. [reading begins at 12:20] Hear us discuss:“Nothing human is alien to me.” [9:02] | The effect and reliability of expert opinion: “Expertise, in many cases, is very well-meaning, but it’s driven by a really powerful idea of ‘the average.’ Statistics and averages are useful to us at population scale, but they fall away when they try to describe our individual lives.” [18:12] | Navigating the line between general statistics and individual needs. [22:36] | Shifting your perspective. [27:03] | The evolution of common space. [32:31]