12 Geniuses Podcast

In the competitive business of professional sports, there is no template or formula for building a winner. It does, however, require effective leadership from ownership, general managers, and coaches all the way down to the trainers, traveling secretaries, and front-office personnel. Lou Nanne has been involved in professional hockey for six decades and has studied the attributes of winning cultures across the major professional team sports throughout that time. In this interview, Lou discusses the creation of a championship professional sports franchise and the leadership necessary to build a winner. Lou talks about culture creation, dealing with failure, mitigating the complications of a mid-season trade, setting expectations, managing emotions, creating a sense of belonging, promoting pro-social behavior, forgiving failure, and how the lessons he has learned about leadership in professional sports apply to other businesses. Lou Nanne has been a leading figure in the hockey community for decades. Lou was captain of the 1968 United States Olympic Hockey team. Later he played, coached, and served as general manager for the Minnesota North Stars. Lou is a member of the United States Hockey Hall of Fame and the International Ice Hockey Federation Hall of Fame. He has also been awarded the Lester Patrick trophy for his impact on the sport of hockey.

Imagine spending a night homeless on the streets of Los Angeles. Now imagine spending two years doing that…as a teenager. When Janae Sergio was 16-years-old, she didn’t realize her homeless odyssey would last two years, but it did. Remarkably, Janae navigated that precarious time and has become an inspiration for young people who feel or have literally been abandoned. Along the way, Janae has developed into an incredible leader who has cleared the way for women in the military during her service, proven that authenticity and vulnerability are essential to creating trust, and has proven the importance of positive thinking regardless of the circumstances. In this interview, Janae talks about her life as a homeless teen, how her optimism helped her overcome the abandonment she felt, her willingness to advocate for herself and other women during her military service, the role of mentors in her development, and how she managed her self-talk as a homeless teen and now as a leader responsible for 5,000 people around the world. Janae also discusses her role as a leader to her two daughters and she provides advice for young people who may be in vulnerable circumstances. Janae Sergio is a philanthropist, fashion entrepreneur, social media motivator, and the Chief of Air Force Lodging where she manages a portfolio of 88 Air Force Inns. She is a Combat Navy Veteran who was amongst the first group of service members to be forward deployed aboard the USS John C Stennis one month after the 9/11 attacks to kick off Operation Enduring Freedom. Her Navy achievements include dual warfare certifications and four Navy and Marine Corps Achievement (NAMs) medals. In addition to being responsible for the US Air Force lodging around the world and running a fashion boutique, Janae prides herself on being a wife and mother who shares her story of resilience so others can be inspired to become their own hero.

When a situation is at its worst, that's when Matt Gerber rushes in. For more than two decades, Matt has volunteered in danger zones after hurricanes, earthquakes, and even during wars. As you might imagine, during the chaos of a humanitarian crisis, a clear head and great leadership are needed. Those are two of the gifts Matt brings to the table.In this interview, Matt talks about how he has grown and developed as a leader from being a part of disaster recovery efforts. He also talks about his role in the corporate social responsibility space and how it is helping to attract and retain talent at Gartner. Matt closes with a discussion on mental health as he shares advice for individuals who may be struggling to find the words to describe how they are feeling and the leaders who are positioned to help navigate employees through mental health challenges. Matt Gerber is Global Lead for Community Impact for Gartner ESG/CSR where he focuses on the intersection of business strategy, employee engagement, and community impact. Throughout his career, Matt has been able to conduct volunteer work around the world. This has enabled him to travel to more than 80 countries including places like Indonesia, Ethiopia, Syria, Pakistan, and, most recently, war-torn Ukraine to conduct humanitarian aid. He has been a member of Rotary International for more than 25 years and is on the board of directors for ShelterBox USA which was nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize in 2018 and 2019.

Musician and writer Dessa has made a career of bucking genres and defying expectations—her résumé as a musician includes performances at Lollapalooza and Glastonbury, co-compositions for 100-voice choir, performances with the Minnesota Orchestra, and top-200 entries on the Billboard charts. She contributed to the #1 album The Hamilton Mixtape and the RBG documentary. As a writer, she’s been published by The New York Times and National Geographic Traveler, broadcast by Minnesota Public Radio, and published a memoir-in-essays (My Own Devices, 2018) in addition to two literary collections. She’s also the host of Deeply Human, a podcast created by the BBC and American Public Media. In this interview, Dessa talks about how she leads in her roles as a musician, podcast host, and writer. She says there is a fluidity in her leadership. She knows when to lead and when to get out of the way so the experts in the room can do their jobs. One of the keys to her success in getting the best performance out of others is understanding where people want to go in their careers and how she can help them get there. Dessa also talks about her collaboration with the Minnesota Orchestra and how she needed to understand the orchestra’s culture and language in order to maximize the talents of all the musicians involved in the joint performance.

Bret Griess is Executive Partner at the private equity firm Siris Capital. Prior to joining Siris, Bret spent 25 years with CSG Systems International where he rose through the ranks to become President and Chief Executive Officer. He oversaw the development of CSG’s first comprehensive cybersecurity program, introduced the industry’s first public, cloud-based business support solution, and led the company through its largest acquisition and contracts, valued at more than $2 billion. Bret is currently a member of the Board of Directors at Nebraska Methodist Health System, Midland University, and Equiniti.In this interview, Bret talks about his rise from an entry-level position to the C-Suite of a publicly traded company, the importance of mentorship to his development, his approach to investing in learning and development for himself and the people he led, how he worked with his Board of Directors while he was CEO, and what roles he plays as a member of a Board of Directors. Bret also shares advice for young people who aspire to lead a company, how private equity companies think about the importance of leadership when making investments, and what he would like his legacy to be.

In this interview, U.S. Navy Rear Admiral Ronald Piret discusses his background and why he chose a career in the Navy, the importance of mentorship to his career development, the mission of the Naval Meteorology and Oceanography Command, the advantages of leading a blend of civilian and uniformed personnel, and the vast amounts of information captured and processed on a daily basis by the Command. He also talks about building trust, recruiting highly technical people, dealing with failure, the importance of diversity, how recognition is a key driver of engagement, how great leaders resist the urge to use their rank to get things done, and advice he has for young people who want a role in leadership.

Zach Mercurio, Ph.D. is an author, researcher, speaker, and consultant specializing in purposeful leadership, meaningful work, and positive organizational psychology. He wrote “The Invisible Leader: Transform Your Life, Work, and Organization with the Power of Authentic Purpose.” Zach earned his Ph.D. in Organizational Learning, Performance, and Change from Colorado State University where he serves as an Honorary Fellow in the Department of Psychology’s Center for Meaning and Purpose and as an Instructor in the Organizational Learning, Performance, and Change program.In this interview, Zach discusses the benefits of knowing and living your purpose. He also talks about the importance of aligning your purpose with the purpose of your organization, and how great leaders create a sense of “mattering.”

In this episode, Daniel Sisson joins the show. With an international business background, Daniel has spent his career in the San Francisco tech industry in a wide variety of roles for startup companies. He is a self-taught developer obsessed with virtual reality. the Metaverse. and the potential those technologies will present to the world. In this interview, Daniel shares some of the newsletter sources he finds valuable for his research, he talks about political polarization in the United States and Europe, and he discusses the technologies he finds fascinating including virtual reality, the Metaverse, cryptocurrency and blockchain, artificial intelligence and robotics, and even space colonization. The interview concludes with what fills Daniel with optimism - the rise of the creator class and the attitudes of young people who are putting an emphasis on the “life” part of work/life balance.

In this episode, CAPT Ken Wallace joins the show. Based in Hawaii, CAPT Wallace is a third-generation career Naval Officer. A graduate of the U.S. Naval Academy, he started his career as a naval flight officer. In 2001, he transferred into the Navy Meteorology and Oceanography community. He is currently on the Pacific Fleet staff as the Force Oceanographer after completing his Major Command tour as Commanding Officer of the Naval Oceanographic Office. In this interview, CAPT Wallace discusses why he leans on history to make sense of the future. He discusses how he vets the sources he finds valuable and the importance of a close network of peers to his development as a Naval Officer. Additionally, CAPT Wallace discusses the advantages and disadvantages of remote work, tips for quickly building trust while moving into a new leadership position, the importance of innovation and development to support autonomous underwater vehicles (AUVs), and what fills him with a sense of optimism.

In this episode, Ross Dawson joins the show. Based in Australia, Ross is globally recognized as a leading futurist, keynote speaker, strategy advisor, best-selling author, and entrepreneur. He is Founding Chairman of the Advanced Human Technologies Group of companies and Founder of Bondi Innovation. His books include Living Networks, which The New York Times credits with predicting the social networking revolution, the Amazon.com bestseller Developing Knowledge-Based Client Relationships, Implementing Enterprise 2.0, and Getting Results From Crowds. His latest book - Thriving on Overload: The 5 Powers for Success in a World of Exponential Information - will be available September 6, 2022.In this interview, Ross discusses the sources he values and trusts as he does his research. He talks about a few trends he is following closely, including polarization in many aspects of our lives, smart glasses, and machine/brain interfaces. Ross closes out the interview by sharing what is filling him with a sense of optimism.