Changemaker Mindset

Talia Milgrom-Elcott, founder of 100Kin10 and Beyond100K, is dedicated to overcoming the STEM teacher shortage. She shares how she transformed President Obama's vision into reality in record time. The conversation highlights her innovative network approach to solving complex problems by bringing together key stakeholders. Talia emphasizes the importance of collaboration, building genuine relationships, and identifying keystone challenges to maximize impact. With insights from her journey, she advocates for collective action in addressing systemic educational issues.

What does the word “refugee” mean to you? Poverty? hardship? Misfortune? What about entrepreneurship, innovation and opportunity?Patricia Letayf is the Executive Director at Five One Labs, a groundbreaking organization that empowers refugees to become entrepreneurs in places like Kurdistan, Iraq and Barranquilla, Colombia. Starting with $15,000 in seed money won in a pitch competition in graduate school, it’s become a global force for entrepreneurship. Through incubators, accelerators and a global network of mentors and experts, the organization has supported over 130 startups and awarded nearly $1 million in seed funding to founders since 2017. On this episode, Patricia shares her inspiring story and how she and her co-founders turned an idea into an engine for economic growth, and why investing in refugees isn’t just an act of goodwill—it’s an investment in the future of the communities and countries that welcome them.Five One Labs website:  https://fiveonelabs.org/Five One Labs LinkedIn page: https://www.linkedin.com/company/fiveonelabsFive One Labs Annual Report: https://static1.squarespace.com/static/64b8d2eaacd68b3c353279d7/t/65cc6a078281c75008d6ee06/1734738647141/Annual+Report+2023.pdf Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Jeff Softley, Head of Experian's consumer division, transformed a struggling business into a $1.5 billion powerhouse. He discusses the challenge of competing against free services offered by fintech startups and the necessity of creating new value. Jeff emphasizes the importance of consumer empowerment in finance, sharing how they shifted to a consumer-centric model. By fostering innovation and collaboration, they've been able to redefine organizational identity and enhance credit access, making a significant impact on millions.

Bob Sutton, a Stanford Business School professor and bestselling author, shares his insights on cultivating positive work environments while avoiding toxic behaviors. He recounts his unique journey from a pizza shop to academia, emphasizing the impact of personal relationships and randomness in his career. Sutton discusses the importance of evidence-based management and the effects of leadership styles on employee morale. He also highlights the founding of Stanford's D School, where creativity thrives within constraints, and the vital role of humility in academic success.

One of the most basic responsibilities of a government is to keep its people safe. In a city, that first line of defense is the police. They are trained to investigate crimes, handle violent criminals and put them in jail.Yet police departments also spend a lot of time on repeat nonviolent incidents. They manage domestic disputes, mental health episodes and sometimes just people who are down on their luck.This realization led to the creation of Endmonton’s HELP program, which has been highly successful in reducing police calls and overall crime rates. Perhaps most importantly, it’s improving the lives of Edmonton's most vulnerable citizens. Enyinnah Okere, Edmonton Police Service’s Chief Operations Officer Joins us to tell us the story of how it all developed as well as his own incredible journey. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Whitney Johnson was one of the top analysts on Wall Street. Yet when she met Clayton Christensen, she realized her fate path would lead somewhere else. As she would later write in a landmark in Harvard Business Review, she would disrupt herself and leave her top job at a Wall Street firm.Today, Whitney is regularly ranked as one of the top 50 business thinkers in the world and is one of the most widely sought after executive coaches. Where she once climbed the ladder as a woman in the male-dominated world of Wall Street, now she focuses on empowering others to climb their own s-curve from novice to mastery. Yet she also learned something else along the way: To truly embrace disruption, you must first find safety. It is only from a sense of security and well being that you can embrace the risks you need to reach your full potential!Whitney’s Website: https://thedisruptionadvisors.com/Whitney’s “Disrupt Yourself” article in Harvard Business Review: https://hbr.org/2012/07/disrupt-yourself-3Whitney’s “Thinkers 50” profile: https://thinkers50.com/biographies/whitney-johnson/Whitney’s latest book: https://www.amazon.com/Smart-Growth-Grow-People-Company/dp/1647821150/ Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

We are in the midst of an upskilling crisis. Rapid industrial changes and an increasingly competitive global environment, with countries like China and India emerging as technology superpowers, mean millions of workers need to upskill to remain economically viable.Community colleges play a crucial role in this transformation. Aspen Award winner Russell Lowery-Hart, Chancellor of the 50,000-student Aspen Community College system, believes educators must move beyond being mere gatekeepers. He believes that educators need to love their students to success.If this sounds idealistic or naive, consider Russell’s impressive track record. As President of Amarillo College, he boosted completion rates from 19% to 62% in just five years. Now at Austin, he faces an even greater challenge: preparing the workforce to meet the skill demands of one of the world’s leading technology hubs. Russell’s Biography: https://offices.austincc.edu/chancellor/biography/About the AustinCommunity College system: https://www.austincc.edu/about-acc/ Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Aidan McCullen, a former professional rugby player turned bestselling author and innovation advisor, shares his incredible journey of transformation. He discusses the challenges of shedding his rugby identity to embrace a new path, urging others to do the same. The conversation dives into the importance of flexibility and ongoing personal growth, highlighting how consistent effort leads to opportunities. Aidan also emphasizes the emotional hurdles athletes face when navigating their next steps and the critical role of discipline in fostering success.

Yassmin Abdel-Magied, a prominent engineer, author, and TV personality, shares her incredible journey of resilience after facing severe backlash and public shaming. She discusses her experience of being vilified after a controversial televised statement, navigating dual identities as a Sudanese-Australian, and the impact of social media on cancel culture. With humor and heartfelt anecdotes, Yassmin emphasizes the importance of community, mentorship, and authenticity in overcoming adversity, inspiring others to turn challenges into transformative opportunities.

Every successful changemaker thrives on connection. It is their ability to connect to different people, places and institutions that makes it that much more likely that they will come across that seemingly random piece of information or insight that helps to crack a really tough problem.Nobody personifies that more than Robert C. Wolcott. As Co-Founder & Chairman of The World Innovation Network (TWIN), he leads a global community of 4,000 innovation and growth leaders from over 30 countries that meet and connect to tackle some of the world’s toughest problems. It is through these connections that Rob formed the vision that became his new book, Proximity.Rob is one of the most talented and engaging people you can imagine and we learned a lot from our conversation with him. We know you will too.Links:Robs biography: https://www.twinglobal.org/twin-global/speakers/robert-c-wolcottRob’s LinkedIn Page: https://www.linkedin.com/in/robert-c-wolcott-4a624a/The World Innovation Network (TWIN): https://www.twinglobal.org/Proximity: How Coming Breakthroughs in Just-in-Time Transform Business, Society, and Daily Life: Www.proximitybook.net  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.