Annie McKee is is a best-selling author, PhD, speaker and advisor. She is a coach to executives in Fortune 500 companies and organizations all over the world. She is also a Senior Fellow at the University of Pennsylvania and teaches the PennCLO Executive Doctoral program and the MedEd Master’s program.Annie's book, How to Be Happy at Work: The Power of Purpose, Hope, and Friendship is a must read and is available now!To learn more about Annie, visit her website at: www.anniemckee.com.We discuss: Why does executive coaching exist? Why do so many executives need coaching? What are the "happiness traps?" How do they weigh on us at work? How can we offer "purpose" to everyone across all jobs? This episode is sponsored by: Blinkist - To start a 7 day trial, head to blinkist.com/smart Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Sean McFate is an author, novelist, and foreign policy expert. To expand on his already awesome background, Sean is a professor of strategy at the National Defense University and Georgetown University’s School of Foreign Service. He is also an Advisor to Oxford University's Centre for Technology and Global Affairs.Sean's book, The New Rules of War: Victory in the Age of Durable Disorder is available now!To learn more about Sean, head over to: www.seanmcfate.com.We discuss: When it comes to the topic of war, why can't we all just get along? What or who is the biggest threat to our civilization? What is an example of someone yielding wealth and taking power for their individual gain? How is America doing when it comes to the 'future of war'? This episode is sponsored by:Blinkist - To start a 7 day trial, head to blinkist.com/smart Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Cheryl Heller is a strategist and designer, who has had an amazing career. She is the Founding Chair of the first MFA program in Design for Social Innovation at the School of Visual Arts. She was awarded a Practitioner Fellowship in the Rockefeller Foundation Bellagio Center Program. This only scratches the surface!Cheryl's most recent book is The Intergalactic Design Guide: Harnessing the Creative Potential of Social Design.To learn more about Cheryl, head over to: heller.commonwise.design.We discuss: What is social design? How does social design help put structure to complexity? What is the most foundational aspect of social design? Links mentioned: https://workingnarratives.org/article/public-narrative http://marshallganz.usmblogs.com/files/2012/08/Public-Narrative-Worksheet-Fall-2013-.pdf This episode is sponsored by: Professor Dave Explains YouTube Channel - professordaveexplains.com Blinkist - To start a 7 day trial, head to blinkist.com/smart Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

2018 is over and we sit down to reminisce about the year that has passed... and drink a little whiskey while doing it! We have a whiskey tasting (listen to the end of the episode!), answer some listener questions, and take some time to reflect. Enjoy!Don't worry! We return to your regularly scheduled interview next week.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This week, we speak with Mark Manson. Mark is a New York Times bestselling author, a blogger, and internet entrepreneur. He often writes about what he considers to be life's most important topics: happiness, self-knowledge, habits, and relationships.Mark's book, The Subtle Art of Not Giving a Fck: A Counterintuitive Approach to Living a Good Life is a must read!To learn more about Mark, check out his website: markmanson.net.We discuss: How did you make your transformation into the self-help genre? How do I figure out what I want to do with my life? Where is Mark now in his life (this was 2 years ago!)? What would you tell a 21 year old to figure out what will work for them? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This week, we speak with Karen Wickre. Karen is a Silicon Valley veteran. She worked at Google for a decade and moved to Twitter as the Editorial Director. She is a member of the Board of Visitors for the John S. Knight Journalism Fellowships at Stanford University, and serves on the boards of the International Center for Journalists, the News Literacy Project, and the Yerba Buena Center for the Arts. She has also been a featured columnist for Wired.Karen’s new book is, Taking the Work Out of Networking: An Introvert’s Guide to Making Connections That Count.To learn more about Karen, follow her on Twitter @kvox.We discuss: As a former twitter executive, what are the best practices to grow a brand on social media? What were the early days of Google like? How do I network if I don’t really like being around strangers? What’s the point of making so many connections on places like LinkedIn? Is email dead? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This week, we speak with Todd Rose. Todd is the co-founder of Populace, a social impact organization that focuses on our understanding of individuality. Todd dropped out of high school, obtained his GED, went to Weber State University. He received his Doctorate in Human Development from the Harvard Graduate School of Education and completed a postdoctoral fellowship at the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics.Todd's most recent book is, Dark Horse: Achieving Success Through the Pursuit of Fulfillment. To learn more about Todd, head over to toddrose.com.We discuss: What is a Dark Horse? Who are examples of Dark Horses? What shocked Todd when studying about success? Is there a common theme that Dark Horses displayed? This week's episode is brought to you by the Smart People Podcast Amazon Link. Support Smart People Podcast when doing your Amazon shopping: http://smartpeoplepodcast.com/amazon. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This week, we speak with James Clear. Yup, that's right. James Clear!!! James is an author an entrepreneur and you might know him best for his fantastic newsletter. He writes about habits and human potential. His focus is on self-improvement tips based on proven scientific research, and he has new book called, Atomic Habits: An Easy & Proven Way to Build Good Habits & Break Bad Ones.To learn more about James, sign up for his awesome newsletter, or download a free chapter of his book, head over to https://jamesclear.com.We discuss: As a creator, how did you get over the fear of rejection? Why is the book called 'Atomic Habits'? Where do you find a 'vision' falling in the realm of habit creation? How do we identify our weak links in the system so that we can change them to give us better outcomes? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This week, we speak with Dr. James Lewis. Dr. Lewis' clinical and research interest focuses on the treatment and prevention of school problems, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), and behavior and learning problems. Dr. Lewis is Board Certified by the American Board of Pediatrics, with a subspecialty certification in Neurodevelopmental Disabilities. Dr. Lewis' new book, Making Sense of ADHD: Overcoming The Unique Conditions and The Complexity of Coexisting Conditions will be released in November.To find out more about Dr. Lewis' book, head over to: cherryhillhightide.com/adhd.We discuss: At its basic level, what is ADHD? What is the believed prevalence of ADHD and is it increasing? How do you recommend parents deal with the diagnosis of ADHD within their child? How do we medically treat a behavioral disorder? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This week, we speak with Alexandra Levit. Alexandra conducts primary workplace research on behalf of several Fortune 500 companies. She is a former nationally syndicated columnist for the Wall Street Journal and a writer for the New York Times, Fast Company, and Forbes. Alexandra has authored many books, but Alexandra's latest book, Humanity Works: Merging Technologies and People for the Workforce of the Future hits store's shelves on October 28th. Check it out!To find out more about Alexandra, head over to her site at: humanityworksbook.com.We discuss: In preparation of the future workforce, where do you think the education model is going? Do high school and college students have the 'soft skills' they need to be successful in the workforce? Does the next generation have to be invested in technology education moving forward? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices