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 se...
Oct 26, 2014•42 min•Ep. 163
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 me...
Oct 20, 2014•47 min•Ep. 162
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 Those that refuse to do so will find that their jobs and skills have been replaced by a cheaper and more efficient technology.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 b...
Oct 13, 2014•54 min•Ep. 161
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 ...
Oct 06, 2014•1 hr•Ep. 160
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 tell...
Sep 29, 2014•41 min•Ep. 159
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 re...
Sep 22, 2014•45 min•Ep. 158
Collis Ta'eed - Our guest this week was recently named one of the Top 10 Richest Bloggers in the World! However, that can be slightly misleading because his company is far from a blog (in fact, just insinuating that he is in the same genre as Perez Hilton makes my skin crawl). Not only is he an extremely successful on-line business mogul, but his entire blog and business is built around educating the world on-line. In fact, the company motto is, "Helping people learn and earn online." In this ep...
Sep 15, 2014•50 min•Ep. 157
Jared Dean - Have you ever wondered how your Netflix account knows exactly what movies to recommend? Or how Amazon can keep you continually buying random things you never thought you needed? Or how those Facebook ads are always eerily targeted directly at you? Well the answer is simple, Big Data. Ok - maybe it's not simple, but it is something we can understand and even harness to make a difference in our lives and in our organizations or industries. This week we speak with Jared Dean, author of...
Sep 07, 2014•44 min•Ep. 156
Josh Shenk - Want to be great? Then don't go at it alone. Throughout history teams of exactly 2 people have made the biggest impact - think Lennon and McCartney, Wozniak and Jobs, Orville and Wilbur Wright...the list goes on and on. But why? This week we crush the myth of the "lone genius" and learn how the best creations of all time came from people who worked in pairs. Josh Shenk, author of Powers of Two: Finding the Essence of Innovation in Creative Pairs, tells us not only why 2 is the magic...
Aug 31, 2014•45 min•Ep. 155
Karan Girotra - Any system that we use to accomplish a task can be made better with some simple improvements. If you're talking about the system you use to brush your teeth, this might not be a big deal. But what about the way in which a company builds a product, or the way a doctor analyzes a patient? These systems can have enormous effects on society, and it is imperative that we understand how to innovate on these systems to continually create a better society. This week we speak with Karan G...
Aug 24, 2014•54 min•Ep. 154
McKenzie Funk - Almost everyone is aware that climate change is slowly but surely destroying our planet, however very few know that you can get rich off of it! Want to know how? Or at least know what kind of individual would profit from the destruction of our planet? McKenzie Funk has spent the last six years reporting around the world on how we are preparing for a warmer planet. Funk shows us that the best way to understand the catastrophe of global warming is to see it through the eyes of thos...
Aug 18, 2014•55 min•Ep. 153
Joe Navarro - Not many can say they were personally approached to join the FBI, but this is exactly what happened to Joe Navarro while he was working as a police officer at the tender age of 23. He accepted their offer and became one of the youngest agents ever to join the renowned investigative agency. Joe is quite literally a human lie detector. Having spent over 25 years as a counterintelligence officer with the FBI, Joe has mastered the art of reading non-verbal communication in order to cat...
Aug 11, 2014•55 min•Ep. 152
Roger Hamilton - We promise you will be buzzing with excitement after this episode. Roger is perhaps best known as 'Asia's leading wealth consultant', but in our opinion, he is more of a career and life mentor with a talent for story telling. Roger is the Founder of Entrepreneurs Institute and creator of the Wealth Dynamics, Talent Dynamics & Genius Test profiling systems, used by over 250,000 entrepreneurs and leaders around the world. His newest book, The Millionaire Master Plan: Your Pers...
Aug 03, 2014•55 min•Ep. 151
James Nestor - The ocean is the final, unseen, untouched, and undiscovered wilderness. In fact, we know more about other planets and stars lightyears away than we do about our oceans, which cover more than 2/3 of our planet. Join us this week as we follow author James Nestor on an amazing journey to the depths of the ocean. James is the author of Deep: Freediving, Renegade Science, and What the Ocean Tells Us About Ourselves which is ranked as one of Amazon's best non-fiction books of 2014. The ...
Jul 28, 2014•53 min•Ep. 150
Simon Sinek - This week we talk to one of our favorite speakers and personalities, Simon Sinek. Simon is a popular author who is best known for his book, “Start with Why”. Not only is he an amazing speaker, but he has one of the most popular TEDx videos ever released (How great leaders inspire action). The video is so popular, it ranks in the top 3 TED list with over 17 million views! Simon’s latest book is Leaders Eat Last: Why Some Teams Pull Together and Others Don’t, which focuses on the ide...
Jul 21, 2014•39 min•Ep. 149
Russ Roberts - Our guest this week is the host of the extremely popular EconTalk podcast. In this episode talk economics, education, passion, and more! Although sometimes Economics can seem dry and boring, Russ has made a living out of making it understandable and bringing it to the masses. Russell Roberts is the John and Jean De Nault Research Fellow at the Hoover Institution. He tries to make economics understandable to a general audience. Roberts hosts the weekly podcast EconTalk--hour-long c...
Jul 14, 2014•48 min•Ep. 148
Shamus Khan - What is it really like to be the 1%? The income gap is a hot topic these days, but rarely do we learn what it is truly like to grow up in a world where money is no object. This week we get a behind the scenes look at how the American elite are raised and what it's like to be part of 'high society'. Shamus Khan teaches in the sociology department at Columbia University. He writes on elites and inequality in America. He is the author of Privilege: The Making of an Adolescent Elite at...
Jul 06, 2014•57 min•Ep. 147
Dan Buettner - Do you want to live to 100+? Of course you do, as long as you don't have to wear a diaper! Our guest this week has figured out the key to living to the ripe old age of 100 and beyond and he's here to share it with you. National Geographic writer and explorer Dan Buettner studies the world's longest-lived peoples, distilling their secrets into a single plan for health and long life. He is the author of the New York Times best selling book, The Blue Zones: 9 Lessons for Living Longe...
Jun 29, 2014•28 min•Ep. 146
Daniel Burrus - What if you could see into the future? Our guest this week is considered one of the World’s Leading Futurists on Global Trends and Innovation.The New York Times has referred to him as one of the top three business gurus in the highest demand as a speaker. He is a strategic advisor to executives from Fortune 500 companies helping them to develop game-changing strategies based on his proven methodologies for capitalizing on technology innovations and their future impact. He is the ...
Jun 23, 2014•44 min•Ep. 145
Branko Milanovic - Income inequality in the United States has been increasing since the early 1980's, and it's only getting worse. Perhaps even more worrisome is the continuing growth in the income gap on a global basis. The wealth gap between the richest and the poorest countries is becoming so large that our entire economic system is in danger. This week we are joined by Branko Milanovic, the former head economist in the World Bank's research department as we discuss income inequality around t...
Jun 16, 2014•45 min•Ep. 144
Brad Stone - Amazon.com has revolutionized the way humans around the world shop AND read. From teapots to toilet bowls and everything in between, anything you want is now just a click away. But how did they do it? Many say that amazon.com is a bully, utilizing unfair practices and harsh working conditions to create an advantage, while others tout their genius. This week on the show, Brad Stone provides us with a behind the scenes view of this mammoth on-line retailer. Brad is the author of the h...
Jun 09, 2014•33 min•Ep. 143
Adam Bryant - Don't you wish you could get inside the minds of the top CEO's in the world to learn the secrets of their success? That's exactly what our guest this week has done. Adam is the author of Quick and Nimble; Lessons from Leading CEOs on How to Create a Culture of Innovation. His book is a summation of many of the lessons and anecdotes he has learned through hundreds of interviews with top CEO's as part of his Corner Office' series in The New York Times. Prior to working at The New Yor...
Jun 02, 2014•51 min•Ep. 142
Joe De Sena - CEO and co-founder of the Spartan Race and author of Spartan Up!: A Take-No-Prisoners Guide to Overcoming Obstacles and Achieving Peak Performance in Life. Joe is a legend in endurance and adventure racing. He completed the 135-mile Badwater Ultra-marathon, raced the 140.6 miles of Lake Placid Ironman, and finished a 100-mile trail run in Vermont....all within one week! This week we learn about grit, determination, and the absolute need to live life to the fullest. "The thing that ...
May 25, 2014•41 min•Ep. 141
Suzanna Walters - Gay rights. Recent years have ushered in a whole new meaning to the idea. Many believe that with gay marriage becoming legal and more gay role models we are becoming much more tolerant. But what about the idea that they need to be tolerated in the first place? Do any of us have the right to simply tolerate someone? This week we speak with Suzanna Walters, Director of Women's, Gender, and Sexuality Studies and Professor of Sociology at Northeastern University, as well as the aut...
May 19, 2014•41 min•Ep. 140
Gerald Chertavian - How and why does a Wall Street millionaire start a company to help troubled young adults move from poverty to professional careers in a single year? This week we interview Gerald Chertavian, CEO of Year Up, one of the most incredible non-profit organizations we have ever come across. "You can't give until you have. " - Gerald Chertavian Year Up provides intensive professional education to urban young adults. His organization was recently recognized by Fast Company and The Mon...
May 11, 2014•38 min•Ep. 139
Sam Rashkin - Author of Retooling the U.S. Housing Industry: How It Got Here, Why It's Broken, and How to Fix It. He is currently the Chief Architect of the Building Technologies Office in the Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy. Sam also managed the Energy Star for Homes since its start in 1996. Sam knows everything there is to know about renewable energy and "zero energy homes". "One of the most significant infrastructure issues that we have in this country is the 115+ million exi...
May 05, 2014•46 min•Ep. 138
Tony Stubblebine - CEO and co-founder of Lift, a life changing app that helps you form habits. More than that, Tony is a fanatic about human potential, creativity, and the power of action! Tony is also a "serial entrepreneur", having worked on a number of tech startups, including working with the guys who founded Twitter. Tony often blogs here, on Medium. "It takes 10 years to become an overnight success." -Tony Stubblebine Do you want to build the habit of meditation? Check out Lift's How to Me...
Apr 27, 2014•40 min•Ep. 137
Kevin Roose - Bestselling author of Young Money: Inside the Hidden World of Wall Street's Post-Crash Recruits. Kevin spent more than three years shadowing eight entry-level analysts at leading investment firms. He chronicled their stories, triumphs, and disappointments in this unprecedented (and unauthorized) story. Kevin currently writes for New York magazine and previously for The New York Times. "Writing this book made me want to go to every Ivy League college in the country and give students...
Apr 20, 2014•38 min•Ep. 136
Andrew Yang - Author of Smart People Should Build Things: How to Restore Our Culture of Achievement, Build a Path for Entrepreneurs, and Create New Jobs in America. Andrew is the Founder and CEO of Venture for America, an organization dedicated to connecting promising recent graduates with startups with the hope of fostering a generation of entrepreneurs who can create economic value. Venture for America will recruit the best and brightest college grads to work for two years at emerging start-up...
Apr 14, 2014•44 min•Ep. 135
Carrie Schwab-Pomerantz - President of the Charles Schwab Foundation, Senior Vice President at Charles Schwab & Co., and the daughter of Charles Schwab! Her newest book is The Charles Schwab Guide to Finance After Fifty: Answers to Your Most Important Money Questions. This week we discuss what it was like for Carrie growing up, how finance was in her blood, her deep understanding of the tough financial questions and what you can do to tackle your toughest money issues at any age. Through Car...
Apr 06, 2014•39 min•Ep. 134
