The Learning Leader Show With Ryan Hawk

Ken Chenault, former American Express chairman and CEO for 17 years and now chairman of General Catalyst, shares hard-earned lessons on leadership. He explores earning the top job, hiring courageous leaders, building a culture of trust, challenging tradition, and transforming Membership Rewards. He also discusses succession, purpose, scrutiny, character, and the principles that align a company.

Matt Abrahams, a Stanford communication lecturer and author of Think Faster, Talk Smarter, explores how to speak confidently when put on the spot. They discuss structuring messages without memorizing, opening and closing presentations with purpose, using slides and humor effectively, making small talk meaningful, reducing filler words, and turning everyday communication into genuine connection.

Seth Godin, bestselling author, entrepreneur, and marketing pioneer, explores the knots that keep people stuck. He discusses reclaiming freedom, leading without authority, and creating productive tension. From the Savannah Bananas’ rule-breaking joy to practical AI, consistent creativity, generous failure, and systems that change behavior, this conversation is packed with fresh ways to rethink work, leadership, and progress.

Ravi Gupta, an education founder, former Obama campaigner, and writer for Susan Rice, shares his anti-dabbler system: master one new passion each year. He explores pairing reasonable goals with delusional ones, protecting time for creative work, learning through public accountability, and why presence alone falls short in parenting. Along the way: Bourdain-inspired humility, burnout, and the power of finishing what you start.

Vanessa Van Edwards, behavioral researcher, Harvard instructor, and founder of Science of People, explores the art and science of meaningful conversation. She explains why small talk matters, how authentic awe unlocks better stories, and how to avoid conversational autopilot. They also discuss warmth, body language, workplace connection, and nine powerful questions for deepening relationships.

Danny Meyer, founder of Union Square Hospitality Group and Shake Shack, explores how leaders make people feel. He discusses culture as the soil for growth, optimism, curiosity, empathetic sales, and his 49/51 hiring formula balancing skills with hospitality. He also shares the origins of enlightened hospitality, why generosity matters, and how honest feedback can be an act of kindness.

Andy Stanley, founder of North Point Ministries and author of What Great Leaders Do, joins Sam Kaufman, Insight Global’s Chief Revenue Officer who rose from entry-level recruiter to executive. They explore problems to solve versus tensions to manage, why clarity beats certainty, action’s role in uncertainty, three questions behind great decisions, family-centered leadership, accountability, and building organizations that thrive without you.

Daniel Lubetzky, founder of KIND Snacks, PeaceWorks entrepreneur, and Shark Tank investor, explores how his father’s Holocaust survival shaped his values. He discusses building businesses across conflict, grit versus genuine market fit, the power of active listening, and KIND’s origins. He also reveals why honest feedback, resourcefulness, and everyday kindness matter in leadership.

Dr. Martin Seligman, the psychologist who founded positive psychology, explores agency, optimism, resilience, and human flourishing. He breaks agency into efficacy, optimism, and imagination, examines how cultures progress or stagnate, and reveals how psychological language may predict elections and historical change. They also discuss building agency at work, overcoming catastrophizing, social intelligence, and the transformative power of gratitude.

Strauss Zelnick, chairman and CEO of Take-Two Interactive, helped greenlight Dirty Dancing and now oversees Grand Theft Auto and NBA 2K. He discusses the power of candid coaching, disciplined fitness, building cultures around talent, and taking creative risks from a position of financial strength. He also explores AI, humility, difficult conversations, and staying hungry after major success.