Curious Minds at Work

We each have work we were born to do, but it can take time and effort to find it. Becoming comfortable with the search is half the battle, because we need to try different kinds of jobs and work environments. With each experience we gain greater insight into the skills and knowledge we have to share, and we find our perfect blend of work, skills and meaning. In his latest book, Born for This, Chris Guillebeau, bestselling author of The $100 Startup and The Happiness of Pursuit, shares his own experiences and the stories of the many people he has interviewed, to help us navigate this process and choose our own path. Chris is the creator and host of The World Domination Summit, and a successful entrepreneur, speaker, and blogger. After a 10-year personal quest, he has visited every country in the world. In this episode, we talk about: Why you see yourself as self-employed, even if you work for someone else The joy-flow-money framework for evaluating creative opportunities What it means to bet on yourself The environments that support your best work The skills you most need to learn (and they are not what you think they are) Why giving up is actually a good thing Strategies for hacking new products and services Why curiosity is so important Episode Links @ChrisGuillebeau ChrisGuillebeau Born for This by Chris Guillebeau The $100 Startup by Chris Guillebeau The Happiness Pursuit by Chris Guillebeau The World Domination Summit Steve Jobs Seth Godin Facebook Shenee Howard Manifest Destiny If you enjoy the podcast, please rate and review it on iTunes. For automatic delivery of new episodes, be sure to subscribe. As always, thanks for listening!

We are taught to think before we act. But what happens when we need to act in order for that thinking to make sense? Herminia Ibarra’s research suggests that is exactly the case when learning to lead. Based on decades of research, teaching, experience, and interviews, her latest book, Act Like a Leader, Think Like a Leader, outlines ways that we can assume larger leadership roles. Her work also confirms that, until we adjust to these new roles and responsibilities, we may feel fake or unlike ourselves. All of that is normal. Herminia is a Professor of Leadership and Learning at INSEAD and the Founding Director of The Leadership Transition program. In this episode, we talk about: The small but crucial changes we can take on a daily basis to step up to leadership Ways to redefine our jobs to make more strategic contributions What it means to diversify our networks for learning Ways to inject playfulness into how we see ourselves to ensure growth and change Why it is natural to feel like a fake when we take on new roles and responsibilities How to network within rather than outside of or on top of our jobs The importance of taking action over spending time endlessly reflecting and thinking Episode Links @HerminiaIbarra http://herminiaibarra.com Act Like a Leader, Think Like a Leader by Herminia Ibarra Working Identity: Unconventional Strategies for Rethinking Your Career by Herminia Ibarra Outsight Principle Mark Snyder Steal Like an Artist by Austin Kleon Zelig If you enjoy the podcast, please rate and review it on iTunes. For automatic delivery of new episodes, be sure to subscribe. As always, thanks for listening!

Should we expect distractions at work? Or are we unwittingly cooperating in our own ineffectiveness? In this conversation, Cal Newport, bestselling author of Deep Work: Rules for Focused Success in a Distracted World, shares how deep work has become the superpower of the 21st century. Cal argues that today’s workplace is a minefield of distractions. With email, open floor plans, and instant messaging systems, we’re continually pulled away from meaningful, productive work. And the very tools our workplaces rely on to promote productivity are actually contributing to increased distraction and inefficiency. Learning to take control of our own attention is not only the key to a meaningful life, but it is the key to economic viability in a distracted age. Cal is Assistant Professor of Computer Science at Georgetown University, as well as the bestselling author of five books. His ideas and writing are frequently featured in major publications, and he is author of the popular blog, Study Hacks. In this episode, we talk about: What makes deep work so valuable How deep work makes life more meaningful What deep work looks like and how little distraction it takes to ruin it Why boredom is actually the key to doing deep work Why relationships hold the key to deep work Why we should be teaching young people to engage in deep work The value of being lazy when it comes to deep work Why you need a philosophy for doing deep work Cal also shares his deep curiosity to rethink cognitive workflows in a post-industrial age. Episode Links @CalNewport Calnewport.com Deep Work: Rules for Focused Success in a Distracted World Georgetown University MIT Slack Eric Barker The Second Machine Age by Andrew McAfee and Erik Brynjolfsson Madmen Adam Grant Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania Sophie LeRoy and attention residue Jack Dorsey Square Twitter Industrial Revolution Henry Ford Scientific management Assembly lines Knowledge worker Wilhelm Hofmann Roy Baumeister How to Live on 24 Hours a Day by Arnold Bennett Downton Abbey The Collaboration Curse in The Economist If you enjoy the podcast, please rate and review it on iTunes. For automatic delivery of new episodes, be sure to subscribe. As always, thanks for listening!

Why do we love certain foods? What role do families and memories play in our tastes? How can we help our children to eat well and wisely? While we may think our food preferences are innate, most are learned when we are young. And that also means we can change our preferences if we choose. In her bestselling book First Bite: How We Learn to Eat, Bee Wilson helps us rethink everything we thought we knew about eating. Bee is the author of four books, a writer for The Guardian & the London Review of Books, and the BBC Radio Food Writer of the Year. In this episode, we talk about: how our food likes and dislikes are less about biology and more about learned habits whether children know instinctively how to eat healthy foods how our home environment shapes our preferences why children reject new foods and how to get them to eat a wide variety the fascinating role of schools in influencing our eating habits how to change the types of foods that we like the role that gender plays in the formation of eating habits choices Japan made to change its eating patterns how we often overlook the single biggest influence on our eating habits Bee also speculates on how our healthcare systems could improve our health and save billions of dollars by teaching how to eat. Episode Links @KitchenBee Bee Wilson Consider the Fork First Bite: How We Learn to Eat Clara Davis Supertasters Food neophobia Lucy Cook Tiny Tastes Keith Williams and Tiny Tastes Karl Duncker Julie Mennella Bulimia Anorexia Eating in Post-War Japan If you enjoy the podcast, please rate and review it on iTunes. For automatic delivery of new episodes, be sure to subscribe. As always, thanks for listening!

How can you better forecast the future? What are the characteristics and habits of mind of those who are the best in the world at doing it? And why are those people rarely the forecasters featured in the national and international media? In their  bestselling book Superforecasting: The Art and Science of Prediction, Philip Tetlock and Dan Gardner have shared their research on the elite few who correctly predict events that have not yet happened. Dan is an award-winning journalist, an editor, and the author of two other books, Risk and Future Babble. He recently joined the Canadian Prime Minister’s office as a senior advisor. In this episode, we talk about: what separates superforecasters from others making predictions the limits of even the best forecasters the two types of forecasters -- Hedgehogs and Foxes -- and which one is better how the intelligence community learned surprising things about their predictions the most common mistakes of amateur forecasters why the best forecasters are not smarter and don’t have more access to information the role of intellectual humility in forecasting how to learn to be a superforecaster Dan also shares the things he’s most curious about working on next. Episode Links @dgardner @ptetlock Philip Tetlock Superforecasting: The Art and Science of Prediction The Good Judgement Project The Fox and the Hedgehog George Soros IARPA Groupthink John F. Kennedy Bay of Pigs Cuban Missile Crisis Daniel Kahneman Thinking Fast and Slow Paul Slovic If you enjoyed the podcast, please rate and review it on iTunes. For automatic delivery of new episodes, be sure to subscribe. Thanks for listening!

If you are going to have a boss (or be a boss), make it a Superboss. Why? Because a Superboss leads individuals, teams, and organizations in ways that move the world. Sydney Finkelstein, bestselling author of Super Bosses: How Exceptional Leaders Master the Flow of Talent, shares these insights in our interview. Sydney is Professor of Management and Faculty Director of the Tuck Executive Program at the Tuck School of Business at Dartmouth where he specializes in business leadership and strategy. In this episode, we talk about: why working for a Superboss may be the best thing you ever do for your career what sets Superbosses apart when it comes to hiring why Superbosses dismiss textbook approaches to leadership how Superbosses leverage collaboration and competition in teams how losing incredible talent only strengthens Superbosses and their organizations what you can do right now to become a Superboss how Superbosses pursue deep passions outside of work Sydney shares incredible stories from his research and captures how Superbosses often act in fascinating and counterintuitive ways. Episode Links @sydfinkelstein Superbosses: How Exceptional Leaders Master the Flow of Talent by Sydney Finkelstein NFL, Bill Walsh, 49ers Lorne Michaels and SNL, Tina Fey, Jimmy Fallon, Mike Myers Norman Brinker and Chilis, Steak and Ale Jon Stewart Ralph Lauren Larry Ellison Marc Benioff and Salesforce.com Julian Robertson Jay Chiat Bill Sanders George Lucas and Skywalker Ranch, Industrial Light and Magic Pixar Alice Waters and Chez Panisse Chase Coleman, III General Electic (GE) Harvard Business Review and Why Chief Human Resource Officers Make Great CEOs Network effect Thomas Frist and HCA If you enjoyed the podcast, please rate and review it on iTunes. For automatic delivery of new episodes, be sure to subscribe. Thanks for listening!

Abraham Lincoln, Lucy Stone, Martin Luther King, Jr., and Steve Jobs: What set them apart and helped them achieve such world-altering success? In his latest book, Originals: How Non-Conformists Move the World, Adam Grant  shares the research on the mindsets, behaviors, and emotional resilience that lead to incredible breakthroughs in innovation and creativity. He also explains how we can apply these findings to our own lives. Adam Grant is the youngest tenured, highest-rated professor of management and psychology at the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania. He is a contributing writer for the New York Times, and he’s consulted with organizations like Google, the United Nations, and the U.S. Army. He is also the bestselling author of Give and Take: Why Helping Others Drives Our Success. In this episode, we talk about: why Originals rarely accept the status quo breadth versus depth -- which one drives innovation and creativity? the role of risk in the mindset of Originals what Originals do differently when faced with the same fears as everyone else why we are the worst judges of our own ideas and who can help us the importance of status over power in rallying others around our ideas why enemies can become our biggest advocates what really causes groupthink and prevents innovation the power of getting pulled into leadership roles role models versus mentors and how it can be easier to find them why we need to rethink optimism, happiness, and contentment for achievement and innovation why your first 15 ideas are less original than your next 20 Adam also shares how he uses these ideas in his classroom. Episode Links @AdamMGrant Adam Grant website Originals: How Non-Conformists Move the World by Adam Grant vuja de Albert Einstein Tiger Mom Galileo Galilei Dean Simonton Segway Steve Jobs Jerry Seinfeld and Comedians in Cars Getting Coffee Frenemies Basecamp David Heinemeier Hansson Abraham Lincoln Martin Luther King, Jr. Michelangelo Irving Janis and Groupthink Devils advocates and Charlan Nemeth at University of California, Berkeley Mark Cuban and Shark Tank and Mavericks Elon Musk Peter Thiel Lord of the Rings Sheryl Sandberg Jeff Bezos A Wrinkle in Time Mark Zuckerberg Enders Game Disney Michael Eisner The Lion King King Lear Hamlet Bambi Uber TED Talk If you enjoyed the podcast, please rate and review it on iTunes. For automatic delivery of new episodes, be sure to subscribe. Thanks for listening!

Every day we have problems to solve and decisions to make. Too often, the steps we take to address them result in more complexity, rather than less. That is where simple rules come in. Donald Sull, bestselling author of Simple Rules: How to Thrive in a Complex World offers a six-step framework for better decision-making that has been tested with individuals and with organizations. An expert in global strategy, Don is a senior lecturer at MIT and a former professor at Harvard University and the London Business School. Using vivid examples and powerful stories, Don helps us see the creative impact of developing and applying simple rules. In this episode, we talk about: ways simple rules support strategy and encourage innovation the ways simple rules beat out one-size-fits-all rules the six-part framework to make simple rules of your own why we need to involve the users of the rules in the creation process how feedback only makes rules better over time how simple rules can support personal and organizational agency and ownership Episode Links @simple_rules donsull.com Simple Rules: How to Thrive in a Complex World by Donald Sull and Kathleen Eisenhardt Oakland As Billy Beane The Gates Foundation Why the French Do Not Get Fat Mindless Eating: Why We Eat More Than We Think by Brian Wansink Collin Payne Pierre Chandon Murmuration Craig Reynolds Orcs Lord of the Rings by J. R. R. Tolkien Zipcar and Robin Chase Votorantim Contagious: Why Things Catch On by Jonah Berger Young Presidents Organization Elmore Leonard Tina Fey and 30 Rock If you enjoyed the podcast, please rate and review it on iTunes. For automatic delivery of new episodes, be sure to subscribe. Thanks for listening!

What does it take to pursue your dream? For Miki Agrawal, it took a catastrophic event that had a direct impact on her work and her life. It woke her up to three goals she had always wanted to achieve. And it led her to become the serial entrepreneur she is today. Along the way, Miki has been upending industries and winning all kinds of awards, including the Tribeca Film Festival 2013 Disruptive Innovation Award and Forbes 2013 Top 20 Millenials on a Mission. Just this past year, she received the 2015 World Technology Summit Social Entrepreneurship award for her company, THINX, a stain-resistant line of sustainable underwear for women. In this episode, we talk about: the event that prompted Miki to rethink her life the wish list that led her to entrepreneurship the secret to asking others to participate in your dreams how freelance work primed her for working for herself how passion and ignorance go a long way in risk taking the role trial and error play in building a new product Miki shares the ways she is disrupting an industry and prioritizing social responsibility. She also talks about her passion for rethinking culture and confronting cultural taboos. Episode Links Do Cool Sh*t  WILD Tao Restaurant and Rich Wolf Alex Koren Toms Warby Parker AFRIPads Tushy If you enjoyed the podcast, please rate and review it on iTunes. For automatic delivery of new episodes, be sure to subscribe. Thanks for listening!

We all want to do meaningful work that gives our lives purpose and lets us be creative. And yet, the very tools that help us stay organized and connected can cause the kind of distractions that erode time spent on meaningful work. Jocelyn Glei, bestselling author and editor of Manage Your Day-to-Day, Founding Editor-in-Chief and Director of Behance’s 99U and the 99U Conference, talks about this and more in this episode. And she helps us rethink what we know about creativity, meaningful work, and happiness. In this episode, we talk about: why creative work is so important how being busy can distract us from doing work that matters the creative rituals and routines that result in more meaningful work why we need to redesign and manage our relationship with technology the positive roles of productive procrastination and anxiety in creative, meaningful work short-term happiness versus long-term purpose and meaning Jocelyn also gives us a glimpse into her upcoming book on the distractions of email. She is the author of two additional books, Make Your Mark and Maximize Your Potential. Episode Links @JKGlei Brene Brown Jonathan Adler Zine MIT Press The Acceleration of Addictiveness by Paul Graham Hooked by Nir Eyal The Achievement Habit by Bernie Roth Out of Sheer Rage by Geoff Dyer Miranda July Evernote Scrum The Gift by Lewis Hyde The Concept of Anxiety by Soren Kierkegaard Seth Godin If you enjoyed the podcast, please rate and review it on iTunes. For automatic delivery of new episodes, be sure to subscribe. Thanks for listening!