unSILOed with Greg LaBlanc

David Cleevely, a British entrepreneur and telecoms expert, discusses the art of engineered serendipity, emphasizing how to design environments that enhance fortunate coincidences. He explores historical examples like the Lunar Society and Cambridge's innovation ecosystem to highlight the interplay of chaos and order. Cleevely argues for intentional physical designs, such as seating plans, to facilitate chance encounters. He warns that remote work may hinder these spontaneous interactions, revealing the intricate dynamics of trust, networks, and interdisciplinary collaboration.

Joel J. Miller, an author and former publishing executive, explores the profound impact of books as the original 'hardware' for knowledge. He discusses how writing shifted our thinking and compares it with oral tradition. The conversation dives into the codex revolution, metadata's role in libraries, and how book culture adapts in the digital age. Miller illustrates the symbiotic relationship between books and ideas, pondering their future against the backdrop of declining reading rates. He even touches on Jefferson's influence on American thought through his library.

Paul Blustein, an accomplished author and journalist with the Center for Strategic and International Studies, delves into the fascinating world of the US dollar's dominance. He uncovers how historical agreements like Bretton Woods shaped its rise and discusses the dollar's multifaceted strengths as a store of value and medium of exchange. Blustein also explores the geopolitical nuances of U.S. sanctions, the limitations of cryptocurrencies, and how Russia and China are navigating around dollar reliance. His insights reveal the intricate interplay of finance and global power dynamics.

In this engaging discussion, Jay Barney, a strategic management professor at the University of Utah and author on culture change, delves into the relationship between business theory and practice. He highlights how theoretical concepts can be translated into actionable strategies, emphasizing the challenges of organizational culture and implementation. Jay also shares insights on entrepreneurship and the importance of socially complex resources for sustainable competitive advantage. His innovative teaching methods and real-world applications make for a thought-provoking conversation.

Tomas Chamorro-Premuzic, a professor of business psychology and author, challenges the notion that authenticity is essential for success. He argues that the advice to 'just be yourself' can be misguided and that strategic impression management often leads to better outcomes. Their discussion highlights how emotional intelligence aligns with this management, the limitations of corporate culture's 'bring your whole self to work,' and the impact of AI on human potential. Chamorro-Premuzic also critiques how toxic leaders can rise within organizations and the importance of data in identifying them.

Guy Kawasaki, Chief Evangelist at Canva and former Apple evangelist, discusses the intertwining of evangelism and business. He shares insights on shifting from professional success to personal legacy, emphasizing that true sales involves genuine care for others. Guy critiques the chase for passion, suggesting a focus on interests instead. He highlights the necessity of ethics in business education and character development, and delves into the qualities of remarkable people—growth, grit, and grace—and how curiosity acts as a superpower.

Donald C. Kieffer, a lecturer at the MIT Sloan School of Management and founder of ShiftGear Work Design, shares insights on transforming work culture. He discusses the importance of dynamic work design, making invisible elements of work visible, and reducing inefficiencies across industries like healthcare and banking. Kieffer warns against the pitfalls of crisis-driven leadership and emphasizes the need for managers to observe real work to enhance flow and engagement. His practical advice includes mapping workflows and focusing on continuous improvements.

In a captivating discussion, Judd Kessler, a Wharton School professor and author of *Lucky by Design*, delves into the intricacies of everyday markets. He reveals how non-price allocation mechanisms affect restaurant reservations, concert tickets, and college admissions. Judd explains the balance of efficiency, equity, and ease in market design, touching on the pitfalls of first-come, first-served systems and exploring innovative solutions like centralized matching. He also shares strategies for navigating these hidden markets to enhance your chances in life.

What strange thing happens when a neuron is left alone? Are there ways to moderate stress and anxiety, and even channel them into productive and helpful signals there to assist you in making good decisions? How can you develop initiative, and what has to change in today’s education landscape to accomplish this? Angus Fletcher is a Professor of Story Science at Project Narrative of Ohio State University. He also teaches screenwriting and is a screenwriter, as well as the author of several books including Primal Intelligence: You Are Smarter Than You Know, Storythinking: The New Science of Narrative Intelligence, and Wonderworks: The 25 Most Powerful Inventions in the History of Literature.Greg and Angus discuss the intersection of story science and philosophy, emphasizing the importance of mythos and narrative thinking as opposed to logos, the purely logical, data-driven approaches in areas like decision-making and leadership. Angus outlines how neurophysiology and the brain's natural restlessness contribute to human intelligence and explores the practical applications of narrative cognition in fields ranging from military operations to education and business. He highlights the role of literature in developing imagination, perspective, and emotional intelligence, arguing for its integration into educational systems and other training programs to cultivate better leaders, thinkers, and problem-solvers.*unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.*Episode Quotes:Why fear and anger are the two most powerful emotions41:50: I worked a long time with operators on this, and we particularly worked on fear and anger because those are our two most powerful emotions. Those are our fight-or-flight responses. Fear is flight, and anger is fight. And you know what is going on there? Well, what is going on there is your brain has a bias to action. Your brain always wants to be doing something. The moment that your brain is sitting still, it feels extremely vulnerable, so it always wants to have a plan. And when your brain experiences a severe threat and it realizes this threat is so new, so different, that it does not have a plan that it has confidence in, it does not know what to do here—that is when your brain starts to feel scared. That is when you feel fear. So the question is, why is fear the emotion that your brain evolved? Why did it not evolve some other emotion, like curiosity or whatever? And the answer is just because fear makes you incredibly susceptible to outside influence. The more scared you are, the smarter other people's suggestions sound.Emotion is the smartest thing in your brain41:06: Emotion is the smartest thing in your brain. If you're not using your emotions, you're severely limiting your intelligence. And the reason that we know emotion is the smartest thing in the brain is it's the oldest form of intelligence in the brain, so it's been keeping you alive for hundreds of millions of years.Stories help us imagine alternatives13:11: When you tell someone a story effectively, it allows them to imagine themselves in that position. And then what they do in that position is they imagine, what could I do? And when that's done effectively, what it allows them to do is imagine alternatives—not just alternatives from what they themselves are doing in their own lives, but alternatives to what the individuals did in that situation.Why modern life produces so much anxiety46:21: Why is it that so many people are experiencing over-anxiety in our modern world? Well, the first thing is that too many people spend their time inside these artificially stable environments where they're just not used to anything being unstable. If you spend all your time in the suburbs, and bananas are always there, even in the middle of the winter when you go to the supermarket and the whatnot, you know, then you're not ever coping or having to engage with even a mild amount of instability or volatility. So the moment you encounter any of it, you immediately freak out and think that something must be wrong.Show Links:Recommended Resources:MythosLogosDaniel KahnemanDual Process TheoryI. A. RichardsWilliam ShakespeareCase StudySteve JobsMike TysonRonald CraneNew CriticismPostmodernismPost-StructuralismSchadenfreudeThe Chicago SchoolAeschylusSophoclesFight-or-Flight ResponseGuest Profile:Faculty Profile at Ohio State UniversityProject Narrative Profile | Ohio State UniversityAngusFletcher.co | WebsiteAngus Fletcher | Wikipedia PageProfile on LinkedInSocial Profile on InstagramGuest Work:Amazon Author PagePrimal Intelligence: You Are Smarter Than You KnowNarrative Creativity: An Introduction to How and Why (Elements in Creativity and Imagination)Storythinking: The New Science of Narrative Intelligence (No Limits)Wonderworks: The 25 Most Powerful Inventions in the History of LiteratureCreative Thinking: A Field Guide to Building Your Strategic CoreComic Democracies: From Ancient Athens to the American RepublicScreenwriting 101: Mastering the Art of StoryEvolving Hamlet: Seventeenth-Century English Tragedy and the Ethics of Natural SelectionAngus Fletcher | IMDB Page Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Barry Schwartz, Emeritus professor at Swarthmore College and author of influential works on decision-making, dives into the pitfalls of rational choice theory and its overreach in judgment. He discusses how oversimplification can obscure critical insights, urging a blend of intuition and rationality in decision-making. Schwartz critiques how quantification often misrepresents values and stresses the need for ethical considerations in choices. He advocates for teaching practical wisdom in education, framing it as essential for navigating modern complexities.