
The Warrior Poet
**Get yourself unstuck and be a leader.** Andrew "Sri" Sridhar is a former Navy SEAL, Harvard MBA, Wall Street escapee, and technologist. He interviews top military leaders, academic thinkers, and business phenoms to up your game. The Warrior Poet is a tightly woven tapestry of leadership expertise, philosophical inquiry, and pop culture. It's a portmanteau of Brainpickings, Wait But Why, and (Sri only wishes) Seinfeld. Yes, Sri sometimes writes haikus.
Latest episodes

Dec 21, 2020 • 33min
#55: Focus Pocus
Focus is all the rage in self-help culture, but what does it really mean? And what does true focus entail? "Tools and techniques" of successful people amount to self-help porn, which is worse than regular porn because of how easy it is to tell yourself you're being productive. Successful people are already focused, while you are probably not. No matter how much you optimize your mornings or drink the right mushroom tea, none of that will achieve your goal. Focus takes care of everything else. The problem is that most of us are too busy living up to society's expectations to actually focus, to truly commit. EXPLICIT EPISODE: If you have kids in the car, we hope you’ll choose another.Connect with Sri on Instagram: @sri_the_warrior_poet + @sri_actually notesGuy nails every accent (Youtube) Infinite Jest by David Foster WallaceLongest novels (Wikipedia)Intro and/or outro music in most episodes is by Paul Sridhar ( Spotify ). \Disclaimer: Any audio clips are included with every intent and steps taken to abide by Fair Use and serve the purpose(s) of illustration, education, augmentation, or promotion of source content.💬 Have a question? Shoot us a text! 📌 FEELING STUCK? LIMITED TIME: Book a free clarity call with Sri to get your priorities in order and start getting unstuck. 📩 Get free elite performance tools weekly through the Warrior Poet newsletter 👉 join ✅_____Follow Sri for elite leadership tips: ➡️ LinkedIn.com/in/andrewsridhar Connect on Instagram: @sri_the_warrior_poet + @sri_actually Intro and/or outro music in most episodes is by Paul Sridhar. 🎧 Disclaimer: Any audio clips are included with every intent and steps taken to abide by Fair Use and serve the purpose(s) of illustration, education, augmentation, or promotion of source content.

Dec 16, 2020 • 31min
#54: The Dark Quadrant
Sri talks about a type of knowledge that is largely ignored relative to its siblings: the unknown known. Connect with Sri on Instagram: @sri_the_warrior_poet + @sri_actually notesWikipedia description of the Donald Rumsfeld press conference that brought the concept of "known knowns" (etc) to lighthttps://www.communicationtheory.org/the-johari-window-model/Intro and/or outro music in most episodes is by Paul Sridhar ( Spotify ). Disclaimer: Any audio clips are included with every intent and steps taken to abide by Fair Use and serve the purpose(s) of illustration, education, augmentation, or promotion of source content.💬 Have a question? Shoot us a text! 📌 FEELING STUCK? LIMITED TIME: Book a free clarity call with Sri to get your priorities in order and start getting unstuck. 📩 Get free elite performance tools weekly through the Warrior Poet newsletter 👉 join ✅_____Follow Sri for elite leadership tips: ➡️ LinkedIn.com/in/andrewsridhar Connect on Instagram: @sri_the_warrior_poet + @sri_actually Intro and/or outro music in most episodes is by Paul Sridhar. 🎧 Disclaimer: Any audio clips are included with every intent and steps taken to abide by Fair Use and serve the purpose(s) of illustration, education, augmentation, or promotion of source content.

Dec 8, 2020 • 23min
#53: Tandem Jump
Organizations tend to value displaying coordination than truly being coordinated. Operating at world-class levels demands trust, mission orientation, clear division of responsibility, direct communication, and lack of BS. Contrast that with inefficient organizations, which prize meetings, trackers, asking permission, and slide decks to executives who are detached from the details. EXPLICIT EPISODE: If you have kids in the car, we hope you’ll choose another.Connect with Sri on Instagram: @sri_the_warrior_poet + @sri_actually notesJonathan Richman, father of punkin the classic Something About Mary "Tandem Jump" (Spotify)on Conan O'Brien“Silent Treatment” (YouTube)“I was dancing in the lesbian bar” (YouTube)Merrill's Marauders (Wikipedia)The 1945 movie Objective, Burma! Intro and/or outro music in most episodes is by Paul Sridhar ( Spotify ). Disclaimer: Any audio clips are included with every intent and steps taken to abide by Fair Use and serve the purpose(s) of illustration, education, augmentation, or promotion of source content.💬 Have a question? Shoot us a text! 📌 FEELING STUCK? LIMITED TIME: Book a free clarity call with Sri to get your priorities in order and start getting unstuck. 📩 Get free elite performance tools weekly through the Warrior Poet newsletter 👉 join ✅_____Follow Sri for elite leadership tips: ➡️ LinkedIn.com/in/andrewsridhar Connect on Instagram: @sri_the_warrior_poet + @sri_actually Intro and/or outro music in most episodes is by Paul Sridhar. 🎧 Disclaimer: Any audio clips are included with every intent and steps taken to abide by Fair Use and serve the purpose(s) of illustration, education, augmentation, or promotion of source content.

Nov 30, 2020 • 35min
#52: Departures Magazine
Party in the back: Four desserts that should exist in this world | "The Pitbull Option" Business in the front: It's tough balancing when to work on setting goals and planning vs. just executing with your head down like a bull. If you plan too much, you miss out on serendipitous relationships and opportunities. You sacrifice learning in favor of process. Meanwhile, if you just execute all the time, you find yourself in situations where you can't win -- or where your upside is severely limited. Connect with Sri on Instagram: @sri_the_warrior_poet + @sri_actually Intro and/or outro music in most episodes is by Paul Sridhar ( Spotify ). Disclaimer: Any audio clips are included with every intent and steps taken to abide by Fair Use and serve the purpose(s) of illustration, education, augmentation, or promotion of source content.💬 Have a question? Shoot us a text! 📌 FEELING STUCK? LIMITED TIME: Book a free clarity call with Sri to get your priorities in order and start getting unstuck. 📩 Get free elite performance tools weekly through the Warrior Poet newsletter 👉 join ✅_____Follow Sri for elite leadership tips: ➡️ LinkedIn.com/in/andrewsridhar Connect on Instagram: @sri_the_warrior_poet + @sri_actually Intro and/or outro music in most episodes is by Paul Sridhar. 🎧 Disclaimer: Any audio clips are included with every intent and steps taken to abide by Fair Use and serve the purpose(s) of illustration, education, augmentation, or promotion of source content.

Nov 28, 2020 • 36min
#51: Charmonium
It is fashionable to celebrate the idea that leaders can be quiet, unassuming, and uninspiring. Sri has a different take. Connect with Sri on Instagram: @sri_the_warrior_poet + @sri_actually notesMusic video for "She Don't Use Jelly" by the Flaming LipsJack Black sings "She Don't Use Jelly" (Youtube)The Dancing Wu Li Masters by Gary Zukav (a physics book)Steve Jobs' rhetoric: post on study from Warwick Business SchoolIntro and/or outro music in most episodes is by Paul Sridhar ( Spotify ). Disclaimer: Any audio clips are included with every intent and steps taken to abide by Fair Use and serve the purpose(s) of illustration, education, augmentation, or promotion of source content.💬 Have a question? Shoot us a text! 📌 FEELING STUCK? LIMITED TIME: Book a free clarity call with Sri to get your priorities in order and start getting unstuck. 📩 Get free elite performance tools weekly through the Warrior Poet newsletter 👉 join ✅_____Follow Sri for elite leadership tips: ➡️ LinkedIn.com/in/andrewsridhar Connect on Instagram: @sri_the_warrior_poet + @sri_actually Intro and/or outro music in most episodes is by Paul Sridhar. 🎧 Disclaimer: Any audio clips are included with every intent and steps taken to abide by Fair Use and serve the purpose(s) of illustration, education, augmentation, or promotion of source content.

Nov 16, 2020 • 17min
#50: Leader As Therapist
Management is usually obsessed with things it can measure -- and rightly so. But this can go too far. One example is focusing too much on hard skills like coding, data analysis, or design skills. While these are important, they are generally learnable. Often they are a commodity. And they are less important as one advances in her career. More importantly, failure to deliver results usually has little to do with a skills gap. More often it has to do with the beliefs and behaviors of the individual. Even when improvement is indeed needed in a certain functional area, the path to repairing the gap often turns the leader into more of a therapist than subject matter expert. Connect with Sri on Instagram: @sri_the_warrior_poet + @sri_actually notesAmazon Leadership PrinciplesIntro and/or outro music in most episodes is by Paul Sridhar ( Spotify ). Disclaimer: Any audio clips are included with every intent and steps taken to abide by Fair Use and serve the purpose(s) of illustration, education, augmentation, or promotion of source content.💬 Have a question? Shoot us a text! 📌 FEELING STUCK? LIMITED TIME: Book a free clarity call with Sri to get your priorities in order and start getting unstuck. 📩 Get free elite performance tools weekly through the Warrior Poet newsletter 👉 join ✅_____Follow Sri for elite leadership tips: ➡️ LinkedIn.com/in/andrewsridhar Connect on Instagram: @sri_the_warrior_poet + @sri_actually Intro and/or outro music in most episodes is by Paul Sridhar. 🎧 Disclaimer: Any audio clips are included with every intent and steps taken to abide by Fair Use and serve the purpose(s) of illustration, education, augmentation, or promotion of source content.

Nov 10, 2020 • 29min
#49: Half and Half
Sri discusses an overlooked Godfather character and why companies get fat.Innovative companies get caught in a no man's land, i.e. halfway, between innovation and collection of innovation 'rents.' And agile process can give the impression that true innovation is happening even though startups operate very differently than what are considered successful companies. Sri adds his own explanations -- and what to do about it in your own business -- to Clay Christensen's classic Innovator's Dilemma. Connect with Sri on Instagram: @sri_the_warrior_poet + @sri_actually notesWired article on Innovator's Dilemma"How Will You Measure Your Life?" -- TED talk by Clay Christensen (Youtube)Anything You Want by Derek Sivers (Audible/Amazon)Intro and/or outro music in most episodes is by Paul Sridhar ( Spotify ). 💬 Have a question? Shoot us a text! 📌 FEELING STUCK? LIMITED TIME: Book a free clarity call with Sri to get your priorities in order and start getting unstuck. 📩 Get free elite performance tools weekly through the Warrior Poet newsletter 👉 join ✅_____Follow Sri for elite leadership tips: ➡️ LinkedIn.com/in/andrewsridhar Connect on Instagram: @sri_the_warrior_poet + @sri_actually Intro and/or outro music in most episodes is by Paul Sridhar. 🎧 Disclaimer: Any audio clips are included with every intent and steps taken to abide by Fair Use and serve the purpose(s) of illustration, education, augmentation, or promotion of source content.

Nov 3, 2020 • 29min
#48: Project-Based Yearning
How a project-based focus can transform your work and lifenotesRelated article from Sri: "When Will We Escape the Prison of Work" (Medium)💬 Have a question? Shoot us a text! 📌 FEELING STUCK? LIMITED TIME: Book a free clarity call with Sri to get your priorities in order and start getting unstuck. 📩 Get free elite performance tools weekly through the Warrior Poet newsletter 👉 join ✅_____Follow Sri for elite leadership tips: ➡️ LinkedIn.com/in/andrewsridhar Connect on Instagram: @sri_the_warrior_poet + @sri_actually Intro and/or outro music in most episodes is by Paul Sridhar. 🎧 Disclaimer: Any audio clips are included with every intent and steps taken to abide by Fair Use and serve the purpose(s) of illustration, education, augmentation, or promotion of source content.

Oct 28, 2020 • 1h 2min
#47: Free Radical
This is not a political podcast. Sri’s been “clean” from politics for years. But he takes a break to explain why he's not voting in the imminent election. Plus, curated covers of one of the best pop-rock songs of the 90s. EXPLICIT EPISODE: If you have kids in the car, we hope you’ll choose another.Connect with Sri on Instagram: @sri_the_warrior_poet + @sri_actually notesAcademic paper: What is a free radical? (link)Rocked reviews the New Radicals album Maybe You've Been Brainwashed Too [sic] on Youtube. (Leave a comment, and tell him we sent you :) The classic 90s song 'You Get What You Give' by New Radicals:That iconic video in the mall The covers in order as they appeared in this episode (all on Youtube): by Press Play, a live wedding band in the UKby Keetonby Grace Grundy by Sonja Midtune and Katie Ferrara Music Discovery Club reviews the album with songwriter Matt Farley. One of them *totally* disagrees with me on the title track (my video link starts when they discuss this song). 💬 Have a question? Shoot us a text! 📌 FEELING STUCK? LIMITED TIME: Book a free clarity call with Sri to get your priorities in order and start getting unstuck. 📩 Get free elite performance tools weekly through the Warrior Poet newsletter 👉 join ✅_____Follow Sri for elite leadership tips: ➡️ LinkedIn.com/in/andrewsridhar Connect on Instagram: @sri_the_warrior_poet + @sri_actually Intro and/or outro music in most episodes is by Paul Sridhar. 🎧 Disclaimer: Any audio clips are included with every intent and steps taken to abide by Fair Use and serve the purpose(s) of illustration, education, augmentation, or promotion of source content.

Oct 12, 2020 • 27min
#46: Hunger Strike
Sri discusses what to do with your life with Charlie Munger and Temple of the Dog. Connect with Sri on Instagram: @sri_the_warrior_poet + @sri_actually notesThe Psychology of Human Misjudgment, by Charlie MungerAyo, the author: How to Decide What to Do With Your Life Reagan - A Time For Choosing - YouTube“Hunger Strike” cover - Temple of the Dog performed by Steve Hall - YouTubeIntro and/or outro music in most episodes is by Paul Sridhar ( Spotify ). Disclaimer: Any audio clips are included with every intent and steps taken to abide by Fair Use and serve the purpose(s) of illustration, education, augmentation, or promotion of source content.💬 Have a question? Shoot us a text! 📌 FEELING STUCK? LIMITED TIME: Book a free clarity call with Sri to get your priorities in order and start getting unstuck. 📩 Get free elite performance tools weekly through the Warrior Poet newsletter 👉 join ✅_____Follow Sri for elite leadership tips: ➡️ LinkedIn.com/in/andrewsridhar Connect on Instagram: @sri_the_warrior_poet + @sri_actually Intro and/or outro music in most episodes is by Paul Sridhar. 🎧 Disclaimer: Any audio clips are included with every intent and steps taken to abide by Fair Use and serve the purpose(s) of illustration, education, augmentation, or promotion of source content.