Smart People Podcast

Jonathan Levi - Here on Smart People Podcast we get the opportunity to talk with a lot of amazing authors.  Doing this on a consistent basis has turned us into what you might call "book worms".  However, with only so many hours in the day, there are still thousands of books that we'll probably never have the time to read.  If only there were an easier way? What if you could increase your reading speed by five, ten or twenty times and also increase your retention? Think about the possibility! I might have actually done the required reading in college... OK probably not.   Well thanks to one of our top fans (thanks Charlie!) we were introduced to this weeks guest, Jonathan Levi. Jonathan is an entrepreneur, and an expert in speed reading and advanced memorization.  His online course is ranked as one of the top selling of all time on Udemy and has been personally recommended by the CEO. Join us this week as we learn how to speed read, remember more, and be a Super Learner. To receive 90% off of Jonathan's SuperLearner course, go to jle.vi/smartpeople or go to Udemy and use the coupon code smart-people. "Speed reading itself is the easy part." - Jonathan Levi Quotes from Jonathan:  What we learn in this episode: What is a super learner? How do you speed read? What is the "memory palace"? What must you be able to do BEFORE you can speed read effectively? Resources: http://jle.vi/ jle.vi/smartpeople https://www.udemy.com/superlearning-speed-reading-memory-techniques/?dtcode=fvVeEWq1UtUD#/ -- This episode is brought to you by: Igloo: Go to igloosoftware.com/smartpeople to use Igloo for free with up to 10 of your favorite coworkers or customers! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Daniel Cloud - This week we tackle the question, "What is life?" Seriously, our guest wrote an entire doctoral dissertation on that exact question. And we don't just stop there! We also discuss the evolution of human language, where it came from, and where it may be going. Have you ever thought about what words mean and where they came from? Why do you use a certain work in conversation instead of another? The choice of which words to use and in which sense to use them is both a "selection event" and an intentional decision.   Our guest this week is Dan Cloud, and in his brand new book, The Domestication of Language: Cultural Evolution and the Uniqueness of the Human Animal, Dan explores the analogy between Darwin's model of domestication and the evolution of human languages and cultures. Daniel received his Ph.D from Princeton and became a Junior Fellow there soon after.  He currently teaches philosophy at Princeton University.   "The idea of cultural evolution is older than the idea of biological evolution." - Daniel Cloud Quotes from Dan:  What we learn in this episode: What is Schrodinger's Crystal and how might it solve the question, "What is life"? What is an aperiodic pattern?  Why do words mean what they mean? Why do we use particular words in each situation? Why does the world have so many various dialects? Resources: The Domestication of Language: Cultural Evolution and the Uniqueness of the Human Animal http://www.cup.columbia.edu/book/978-0-231-16792-5/the-domestication-of-language/reviews -- This episode is brought to you by: Our Amazon Page! Support the show by making your Amazon purchases through our affiliate link! It's the easiest way to support the show and NO cost to you! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Christine Clapp - Back by popular demand, more than a year later, we are talking with our favorite communications expert - Christine Clapp.  In this episode we cover crucial topics such as the most common mistakes amateur speakers/presenters make, the most powerful ways to persuade others through communication, the 5 steps of Monroe's motivated sequence, and the best system for speaking off the cuff.  Christine covers all of these topics and many more in great detail in her brand new book, Presenting at Work: A Guide to Public Speaking in Professional Contexts. Christine earned two degrees in communication: a bachelor’s degree from Willamette University, where she debated at the national and international levels, and a master’s degree from the University of Maryland, College Park.  Since 2001, she has taught public speaking to undergraduates and currently is a lecturer at The George Washington University.  Christine also served as a communications aide for five years on Capitol Hill.  An active member of the U.S. Senate chapter of Toastmasters International, she received the organization’s highest distinction, Distinguished Toastmaster, in 2008, won a regional speech evaluation contest in 2007 and is a regular contributor to Toastmaster Magazine. Christine is the founder of Spoken with Authority, a consulting firm that allows others to communicate to their highest potential. "A great idea is only as powerful as the way that it is articulated." - Christine Clapp Quotes from Christine:  What we learn in this episode: What is the number one mistake made by amateur speakers and presenters? What are the 2 most powerful techniques to help persuade others through communication? What are the 5 steps of Monroe's motivated sequence? Resources: Presenting at Work: A Guide to Public Speaking in Professional Contexts http://spokenwithauthority.com/ -- This episode is brought to you by: Squarespace: Squarespace, the all-­in-­one platform that makes it fast and easy to create your own professional website, portfolio, and online store. For a free trial and 10% off your first purchase, go to squarespace.com/smartpeople and use promo code expert.   Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Uri Gneezy - Can economics help us understand human motivation? By asking the right questions, and running the right experiments, can we finally understand why we do what we do? Apparently our guest this week believes so, and he's put together a pretty rock solid argument supporting his case. Uri Gneezy is the Epstein/Atkinson Endowed Chair in Behavioral Economics and Professor of Economics & Strategy at the Rady School of Management, UC San Diego. He is also the author of the book, The Why Axis: Hidden Motives and the Undiscovered Economics of Everyday Life. In this episode we talk with Uri about the truth behind many of our decisions and how we can prove this through experimentation. "I'm most interested in finding where the assumptions of economists breaks." - Uri Gneezy Quotes from Uri:  What we learn in this episode: What does behavioral economics show us about our motivations? What is the science behind the "pay as you go" model? The reason behind the infamous head butt by soccer player Zinedine Zidane Resources: The Why Axis: Hidden Motives and the Undiscovered Economics of Everyday Life Materazzi effect and the strategic use of anger in competitive interactions -- This episode is brought to you by: Igloo: Go to igloosoftware.com/smartpeople to use Igloo for free with up to 10 of your favorite coworkers or customers! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Robert Richman - Have you ever noticed that many of the most admired companies these days tend to have one common thread, and it's not just a great product? They have one thing that everyone seems to be talking about, despite what industry they are in, where they are located, or what they do. That one thing is culture. Culture has become a buzzword that gets thrown around in every coffee shop in Silicon Valley. Every CEO dreams of building a culture like Zappos, or Apple - where the employees seem to literally LOVE their job. But what exactly does it mean? And how does a company build a truly incredible, profitable, and unifying culture? Additionally, how do you as an individual figure out which organizational cultures are better for you? We answer these questions and many more this week when we speak with speaker, author, and culture architect, Robert Richman.   Robert is the author of the upcoming book, The Culture Blueprint: A Guide to Building the High-Performance Workplace. Robert was the co-creator of Zappos Insights, an innovative program focused on educating companies on the secrets behind Zappos’ amazing employee culture. Robert built Zappos Insights from a small website to a thriving multi-million dollar business teaching over 25,000 students per year. Through his work, Robert has been responsible for improving the employee culture at hundreds of companies like Procter & Gamble, Whole Foods and Amazon.  As one of the world’s authorities on employee culture, Robert is a sought after keynote speaker at conferences around the world and has been hired to teach culture in person at companies like Google, Toyota, and Eli Lilly. He has pioneered a number of innovative techniques to build culture, such as bringing improv comedy to the workplace. "To build a strong culture you have to first ask yourself, 'What is most important to us above everything else?'" - Robert Richman Quotes from Robert: What we learn in this episode: How did Zappos build one of the most incredible corporate cultures in the world? As an employee, how do you find cultures that align with your values? What works and what doesn't work when building culture in an organization? How do you create alignment in an organization without setting in place too many rules? Resources: The Culture Blueprint: A Guide to Building the High-Performance Workplace - Pre Order Today! http://www.robertrichman.com/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Stephen Law - From Postman to PhD. The beauty and curse of the human mind is that if we want to believe something bad enough, we can convince ourselves that it's true.  And even worse, we will convince others that it's true.  In order to support these fabricated beliefs we will form "intellectual black holes", which are belief systems that we support through a variety of illogical and unsupported mechanisms.  These black holes become the basis for many cultists, conspiracy theorists, alternative medicine promoters, and more. To safeguard us from these tricksters we must be able to recognize that these belief systems exist and to identify them when they are presented to us.  In order to help you in that cause, this week we interview Dr. Stephen Law, author of the book, Believing Bullshit: How Not to Get Sucked into an Intellectual Black Hole. Dr. Law is the Provost of the Centre for Inquiry, UK, a Senior Lecturer in Philosophy at the University of London, and Editor of the philosophical journal, "Think". "Intellectual black holes are belief systems put together in such a way that they turn people into intellectual prisoners.  They shut down your ability to think clearly and rigorously." - Stephen Law Quotes from Stephen:  What we learn in this episode: What's it like to go from a mailman to a PhD/professor/author? Why do philosophy students tend to perform the best on standardized tests? What is an intellectual black hole? What are the warning signs that you are being "sucked in" to an intellectual black hole? Resources: Believing Bullshit: How Not to Get Sucked into an Intellectual Black Hole www.stephenlaw.org https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zvkbiElAOqU -- This episode is brought to you by: Igloo: Go to igloosoftware.com/smartpeople to use Igloo for free with up to 10 of your favorite coworkers or customers! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Ed Hess - Learn or Die. That is the message this week! In order to stay competitive in today's fast paced environment, you must continue to learn and grow.  Those that refuse to do so will find that their jobs and skills have been replaced by a cheaper and more efficient technology. So how do you become a better and faster learner? How do you stay ahead of the curve? These are the questions we discuss this week as we talk with author and professor, Edward Hess. Ed is the author of the brand new best selling book, Learn or Die: Using Science to Build a Leading-Edge Learning Organization.  In this interview, Ed uses his 25 years of research in the fields of behavioral economics, neuroscience and psychology to reveal advances in our understanding of the individual human learner and type of work environment that best enables those capabilities. We talk with Ed about the recent developments in the understanding of how people learn, the role of emotions in the learning process, and the environmental factors that can affect our ability to learn. Edward Hess is a professor of business administration at the University of Virginia’s Darden School of Business and the author of 11 books, including Smart Growth: Building an Enduring Business by Managing the Risks of Growth and The Physics of Business Growth: Mindsets, System and Processes. "I firmly believe that in most businesses, learning is the only sustainable competitive advantage." - Ed Hess Quotes from Ed: What we learn in this episode: How can you become a better learner? How can organizations foster a learning environment? Why are humans lazy thinkers? The average tenure of a CEO today is 4.6 years! Resources: Learn or Die: Using Science to Build a Leading-Edge Learning Organization Videos: Ed Hess presents chapters from his book Darden Ideas to Action -- This episode is brought to you by: Squarespace: Squarespace, the all-­in-­one platform that makes it fast and easy to create your own professional website, portfolio, and online store. For a free trial and 10% off your first purchase, go to squarespace.com/smartpeople and use promo code expert.   Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

For SPP listeners only, the first 100 people to purchase a book via www.leadtosucceed.me will receive a signed copy of "Lead to Succeed". Order now and thank us later :) Chris Roebuck  - Everyone, everywhere is under pressure to work harder.  Many of us work to survive and get paid.  Bored and trapped, performance is low, family relationships suffer and organizational performance deteriorates.  To deliver real success, people must be inspired to be their best.  Whether you're an individual leader, a boss, a manager, an HR professional or a CEO, you must know how to transform both your own and your employees' performances.  So I guess it's a good thing that this week we are interviewing the guy who wrote the book (literally) on leadership. Chris Roebuck is the author of the new bestselling book, Lead to Succeed: The Only Leadership Book You Need. Based on over 30 years of being a leader and developing, assessing and coaching leaders around the world, Chris explains the tried and true basics of leadership and describes them in engaging, useful details. His book has been described as a “breakthrough” in thinking about leadership. Chris takes a view of leadership that can help you or other leaders be effective, ethical, entrepreneurial and engaging. The principle is simple – just two steps – one, maximize the effort your people give, then focus that on what really matters for the organization. In this episode, Chris lays out the first step – maximizing the effort of people – Mach 1 leadership as he calls it. Chris is a visiting Professor of Transformational Leadership at Cass Business School in London and advises major global organizations on improving performance through their people. The UK National Health Service, top legal firms, global investment banks, SMEs and even the Red Cross in Myanmar and Chinese Space Program have all relied on his expertise. He has held senior leadership roles at UBS, HSBC, KPMG & London Underground and has served in the British Army. While Chris was the Global Head of Leadership at UBS the bank won the title Best Company for Leaders in Europe and the story of the organizational success is now a Harvard Business School case study. "Leadership is about making a difference and transforming lives, nothing less. Sadly too few leaders even think that, let alone do it.” - Chris Roebuck Quotes from Chris: What we learn in this episode: What's going on currently in organizations? What is the "new world of work"? What do we all truly want from our boss? How can you maximize the effort your employees want to give you? What is leadership at its most basic level? Resources: To learn more about Chris ideas, blogs, media interviews: www.chrisroebuck.net To learn more about the book and the 2nd step (focus onto what matters - Mach 2): www.leadtosucceed.me To follow Chris on Twitter : @Chris__Roebuck To join the Lead To Succeed Online Community:  http://linkd.in/1sOnSHZ -- This episode is brought to you by: Igloo: Go to igloosoftware.com/smartpeople to use Igloo for free with up to 10 of your favorite coworkers or customers! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Alan de Queiroz  - Have you ever wondered how the same species of monkey (or tree, or snake for that matter) ends up located on different countries around the world? Keep in mind, they obviously can't just swim across the ocean, and they were there far before humans, so we didn't bring them.  Sure, continental drift explains it in some instances, but definitely not all of them.  So how did it happen? The answer will most certainly surprise you! This week, evolutionary biologist Alan de Queiroz tells us what the research says on this topic as we discuss his book, The Monkey's Voyage: How Improbable Journeys Shaped the History of Life. Alan de Queiroz is an evolutionary biologist and adjunct faculty at the University of Nevada, Reno. He has written widely-cited research articles on topics ranging from biogeography to the evolution of behavior to the origins of parasites. For more on the Alan and his work, visit his Facebook page and blog. "Most people understand that evolution is very random, it's caused by chance events." - Alan de Queiroz Quotes from Alan: What we learn in this episode: What is biogeography? Why are there no monkeys in Europe? How do mammals that can't swim come to be found on islands? Resources: The Monkey's Voyage: How Improbable Journeys Shaped the History of Life monkeysvoyage.wordpress.com/ -- This episode is brought to you by: 99Designs: Go to 99designs.com/SMART to get a $99 Power Pack of services for FREE today! Personal Capital: With Personal Capital, you’ll finally be able to see all your accounts in one place and get a clear view of everything you own. To sign up for free go to personalcapital.com/smartpeople. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Savannah Ellis - If men and women are meant to pair up for a lifetime of eternal happiness with the primary goal of continuing the growth of our species, why is it so damn hard? The communication differences between men and women is so apparent, that we often joke that the two sexes are from opposite planets. Much has been said about these differences, but little has been agreed upon.  So let's do our best to learn how to make nice with the opposite sex in order to have long, healthy, romantic relationships.  As an added bonus, Chris was recently married, so we figured it was our duty to get him some good advice. This week we speak with Savannah Ellis, COO of The Relationship Society, CEO and Founder of the Infidelity Coaching Program, and author of the book, I Cheated: Affair Recovery Advice For When You Have Been Unfaithful. Savannah has coached thousands of couples and individuals from Sydney, Australia to Las Vegas, Nevada to help them achieve their relationship and personal goals. Her passion is to help people be authentic to themselves and others. Savannah holds Psychology degrees from Monash University, Australia: Bachelor Behavioral Science (BBSc), and post graduate degrees in Clinical Psychology. "The three most important factors in a relationship are chemistry, personality, and life goals/values." - Savannah Ellis Quotes from Savannah: What we learn in this episode: How do couples learn to communicate better? How do you move on from heartbreak? What are the main differences between the way men and women communicate? Do men always want sex? Resources: I Cheated: Affair Recovery Advice For When You Have Been Unfaithful http://savannahellis.net/ http://relationshipsociety.com/ Youtube - It's Not About the Nail Twitter @infidelityguru -- This episode is brought to you by: 99Designs: Go to 99designs.com/SMART to get a $99 Power Pack of services for FREE today! Personal Capital: With Personal Capital, you’ll finally be able to see all your accounts in one place and get a clear view of everything you own. To sign up for free go to personalcapital.com/smartpeople. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices