Smart People Podcast

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

This week, we speak with Jeffrey Gitomer. Jeffrey is best known as the "King of Sales." He is an author, a professional speaker, and a business trainer. Jeffrey has written thirteen books, including multiple New York Times best sellers. His works range from The Sales Bible to The Little Gold Book of YES! Attitude to The Little Red Book of Selling. He's sold millions of copies and has been translated into 14 languages!Jeffrey's newest book, Truthful Living: The First Writings of Napoleon Hill comes out on October 30th.To find out more about Jeffrey, head over to his site at: www.gitomer.com.We discuss: What if you don't know what to sell or don't have anything that you deem valuable? How do you figure out what you should be spending your time on to keep growing? How do you handle what things to focus on when you have multiple interests? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Dr. Staats is a professor at the University of North Carolina Kenan-Flagler Business School and author of Never Stop Learning: Stay Relevant, Reinvent Yourself, and Thrive. Brad also works with companies around the world to develop their learning and analytics strategies. He advises individuals and organizations on how to learn and improve in order to stay relevant, innovate, and succeed on an ongoing basis.Brad is published in numerous places and has won numerous awards, including the Wickham Skinner Early-Career Research Accomplishments Award from the Production and Operations Management Society, the Poets & Quants award, and the Warren Bennis Prize for the best article in Harvard Business Review.To find out more about Brad, head over to his site at: www.bradleystaats.com.We discuss: How much of lifelong learning is inherent curiosity and how much is cultivated because people recognize they need to grow? Why wouldn't we want to specialize versus continuously learn throughout our life? How do we work around our brain when it constantly wants us to take the 'easy route'? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices