Meikles & Dimes

Meet Brent Dunn, a volcano hunter and LSAT instructor who has taught thousands of students. Learn about his unique experiences from driving a Zamboni to poking sticks into flowing lava. Discover his journey into reasoning and logic teaching, helping students achieve their dreams.

Justin Tozer is a math and science prodigy who grew up on a farm where formal education was all but prohibited. Yet, somehow Tozer would make his way to the world’s most prestigious firms, first in Silicon Valley and later in Los Alamos at the world’s preeminent scientific lab. Yet no professional accomplishment compares to the countless lives Tozer has saved, changed, and enhanced. In this episode we discuss the following: LK99 Superconductor Tozer going to work for GE Astro Space Tozer getting recruited to work for the National Lab in Idaho Follow Me: Twitter: https://twitter.com/nate_meikle LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/natemeikle/ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/nate_meikle/

Justin Tozer is a math and science prodigy who grew up on a farm where formal education was all but prohibited. Yet, somehow Tozer would make his way to the world’s most prestigious firms, first in Silicon Valley and later in Los Alamos at the world’s preeminent scientific lab. Yet no professional accomplishment compares to the countless lives Tozer has saved, changed, and enhanced. In this episode we discuss the following: How Tozer and his team at IBM invented MR technology How Tozer is better at talking to a horse than a human Follow Me: Twitter: https://twitter.com/nate_meikle LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/natemeikle/ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/nate_meikle/

Justin Tozer is a math and science prodigy who grew up on a farm where formal education was all but prohibited. Yet, somehow Tozer would make his way to the world’s most prestigious firms, first in Silicon Valley and later in Los Alamos at the world’s preeminent scientific lab. Yet no professional accomplishment compares to the countless lives Tozer has saved, changed, and enhanced. In this episode we discuss the following: Two specific examples of youth he mentored The mental rules he uses to manage the stress of mentoring youth Internships he had while in college Follow Me: Twitter: https://twitter.com/nate_meikle LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/natemeikle/ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/nate_meikle/

Marc Schulz is the associate director of the Harvard Study of Adult Development, an 85-year study of individuals and families. He is also the author of The Good Life: Lessons from the World's Longest Scientific Study of Happiness. Marc earned an undergraduate degree from Amherst College and a Ph.D. from California Berkeley. In this episode we discuss the following: The Harvard Study of Adult Development has followed more than 2,000 people spanning more than 85 years. The one finding that stands out above all others: Relationships keep us happier and healthier through our lives.  Relationships help us navigate stress, overcome challenges, deal with emotions, figure out our path, and connect us with our past. Relationships are also where we experience our most joy, and they also predict our health and happiness. The risk of mortality associated with loneliness is about the same as smoking 15 cigarettes a day. One of the biggest problems with loneliness is that it’s quite prevalent. In the United States, in a given week, 20-50% of adults report being lonely. Given that loneliness is as damaging to health as smoking 15 cigarettes/day, the surgeon general talks about this is a public health crisis. In the past, people had to get out of their house to see whether the Jones’s where better off than them. But now we can socially compare ourselves from our phones. And most of us come out of those comparisons feeling worse about ourselves. By going more virtual and focusing on efficiency we miss out on informal connections, like talking to people in the hallway. Just as physical fitness is important predictor of health and happiness, so too is social fitness. By thinking about our social lives in terms of what’s working, and then prioritizing our positive social relationships, we can improve our happiness. When people in their 80s discuss their regrets, most regrets are centered on relationships. For example, losing contact with friends, or not being as kind as they could have been to the people they loved. Social fitness is all about making time for our friends and loved ones. Eating lunch with them, going on walks with them, or calling them. As the key finding from the 85-year Harvard Study of Adult Development shows, relationships keep us happier and healthier through our lives.   Follow Marc LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/marc-schulz-20663222a/ Website: https://www.brynmawr.edu/inside/people/marc-schulz The Good Life Book: https://amzn.to/41ShAe3 Follow Me: X: https://twitter.com/nate_meikle LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/natemeikle/ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/nate_meikle/ Website: https://natemeikle.com

Andy Reid's leadership qualities are praised by his star players, who credit him for their success. From lessons learned from role models to staying calm under pressure, Andy's leadership style is discussed. The importance of honesty, trust, consistency, and genuine care for players is highlighted as key factors in effective leadership.

Zoe Chance, Yale lecturer and author of the international bestseller, INFLUENCE IS YOUR SUPERPOWER, studies persuasion, decision making, and how people can lead happier, healthier, more fulfilling lives. At Yale, Zoe teaches one of Yale’s most popular classes, Mastering Influence and Persuasion. She also collaborates with Google and Optum Health. Prior to her engagement at Yale, Zoe marketed a $200 million segment of the Barbie brand at Mattel and developed an executive education leadership program at Harvard. Her research has been covered in the New York Times, the Wall Street Journal, the Economist, Scientific American, Psychology Today, Financial Times, and Discover. Zoe received her doctorate from Harvard, MBA from the University of Southern California, and bachelor’s degree from Haverford College. In this episode we discuss the following: Those who had advantages were seven times more likely to ask for help than those who didn’t. But, if we help those who ask and don’t seek out and support those who don’t ask for help, we further perpetuate inequality. By developing policies with an eye towards helping those who are less likely to ask for help, we can help level the playing field. A lot of privilege in this world is a result of asking for help. But when we help those who ask for help, we can unintentionally perpetuate the Asking Gap, as we help those who already have more privilege. An employee who had just had a child was struggling to keep up with work. So, she asked to work remotely. The manager, being kind, agreed. But the two previous mothers who had just given birth, but hadn’t asked to work remotely, were short changed. So, the company created a policy allowing all mothers the same benefit. To reduce the Asking Gap, Zoe automatically grants a two-day extension to anyone who asks. All they have to do is send an email to an email address which automatically responds with the extension. Follow Zoe X: https://twitter.com/zoebchance LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/zoebchance/ Website: https://www.zoechance.com/ Book: INFLUENCE IS YOUR SUPERPOWER, Follow Me: X: https://twitter.com/nate_meikle LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/natemeikle/ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/nate_meikle/ Website: https://natemeikle.com

Dolly Chugh is an award-winning psychologist at New York University. She studies how and why most of us, however well-intended, are still prone to race and gender bias, as well as what she calls “bounded ethicality.” Dolly’s work has been covered on the TODAY Show, the Wall Street Journal, the New York Times, the Atlantic, The goop Podcast, NPR, Dr. Phil, and other media outlets. And Dolly’s TED Talk was named one of the 25 Most Popular TED Talks of 2018 and currently has more than 5 million views. Prior to becoming an academic, Dolly worked at Morgan Stanley, Merrill Lynch, and Time Inc. Dolly earned a psychology and economics degree from Cornell University and an MBA, M.A. and PhD from Harvard. In this episode we discuss the following: Just as our brains are limited in how quickly they can process and store information (bounded rationality), our brains are also limited when it comes to ethical decision making (bounded ethicality). By using systems, we can safeguard ourselves against some of our biases. So, for example, rather than just hiring for fit, and possibly perpetuating inequality, we can formalize the hiring system and hire for behavioral competencies. Just as we need financial literacy to understand finance and how to invest, we also need psychological literacy to understand ethics and how to behave ethically. Follow Dolly: Website: https://www.dollychugh.com/ X: https://twitter.com/DollyChugh LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/dolly-chugh/ Book: https://amzn.to/4aPkPHh Follow Me: X: https://twitter.com/nate_meikle LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/natemeikle/ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/nate_meikle/

Stanford Professor Bob Sutton emphasizes the importance of leaders being trustees of others' time. He shares a story about the California DMV's efficient process. The podcast discusses the benefits of adopting a subtraction mindset to maximize efficiency and the role of love in workplace dynamics and healthcare operations. Examples from CEOs and companies showcase the positive outcomes of removing friction and prioritizing customer needs.

Hayagreeva "Huggy" Rao, professor at Stanford University, is the author of several bestselling books, including his most recent, with co-author Bob Sutton, The Friction Project. His books have been covered in the Wall Street Journal, Financial Times, Inc. Magazine, Amazon, Forbes, and Washington Post among others. Huggy has also consulted with organizations such as British Petroleum, CEMEX, General Electric, IBM, Mass Mutual, American Cancer Society, the FBI and CIA. In this episode we discuss the following: Whether leaders are wasting others’ time or underestimating coordination problems, they are creating bad friction that leads people to say things like, “After pouring myself into my BS work each day, I only have scraps of myself for my family.” Not all friction is bad. Creating friction for the Oakland Police Department led to less African Americans and Latinos being unjustly stopped. A leader has two primary jobs: remove obstacles that infuriate. And insert obstacles that educate. Follow Huggy X: https://twitter.com/huggyrao LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/hayagreevarao/ Website: https://huggyrao.com/ The Friction Project Book: https://amzn.to/48BVX3I Follow Me: X: https://twitter.com/nate_meikle LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/natemeikle/ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/nate_meikle/ Website: https://natemeikle.com