Have you ever felt that you were neurodiverse in some way? Did you ever struggle with the traditional school system? Did you or someone you know take away from school the worst of all possible learnings, that you or they were unintelligent? Well, today I have invited Professor Simon Barron-Cohen, the author of The Pattern Seekers: How Autism Drives Human Invention, to be on the show. This is part one of two interviews in which Simon takes from his 40 years of research at the University of Cambri...
Mar 23, 2023•36 min•Ep. 181
I've become aware recently that I haven't really shared very much with you about my experience and adventure here at the University of Cambridge, and for the next four solo episodes I'm going to try and put that right. Have you ever found yourself in a place that made it easier for you to detect your mission in life? By the end of this episode, you will feel inspired, I hope, to seek out places that increase the probability of you detecting, understanding and hearing that mission that is so ofte...
Mar 21, 2023•14 min•Ep. 180
Have you ever felt you had more life experience and talent than your job requires or even allows you to use? Today I've invited Soren Kaplan to the show to talk about how you can better tap into that experience yourself, and also in the people around you. I've long believed that what we know about other people is less valuable than what we don't know. That there's an enormous amount of potential under the surface. What's not on someone's resume, what's not in their current job title, and our abi...
Mar 16, 2023•40 min•Ep. 179
How are you doing at applying essentialism to your leadership responsibilities? By the end of this episode, you will have specific things you can do right now to be more attentive, more efficient, and more essentialist in your leadership. Join my weekly newsletter at GregMcKeown.com/1mw Learn more about my books and courses at GregMcKeown.com
Mar 14, 2023•18 min•Ep. 178
What is happening to the psychological safety of people at work? Is it going up? Is it going down? What is the primary threat to it today, and is it the same as what we had 20 years ago? Well, to discuss this and other questions I've invited back Dr. Amy Edmondson. She's a celebrated Harvard professor, one of the best listeners that I have ever interviewed. She's present, she's real, and by the end of this episode, you are going to be more empowered to be able to create psychological safety in a...
Mar 09, 2023•34 min•Ep. 177
Welcome to the Greg McKeown podcast. Greg is in Monk Mode this week. Today's episode is a replay of one of his most popular episodes, Eliminate the Nonessentials. Thanks for listening. Join my weekly newsletter at GregMcKeown.com/1mw Learn more about my books and courses at GregMcKeown.com
Mar 07, 2023•23 min•Ep. 176
Do you feel psychologically safer at work now than you did several years ago? It's an interesting question, and today I've invited perhaps the preeminent expert in the world on the subject of psychological safety to discuss that and other things with us. This is Dr. Amy Edmondson, a professor at Harvard, and the person most responsible for making the term psychological safety ubiquitous in the world after she published a paper more than 20 years ago focused on this subject. I knew it was going t...
Mar 02, 2023•37 min•Ep. 175
Have you ever felt that your ability to pay attention was in free fall? If you have, you are not alone. By the end of today's episode, you will have a better understanding of why this is happening and one specific tool that you can use to do something about it over the next two weeks. I'm going to share an insightful story from a book I've been reading, 'Stolen Focus' by Johann Hari, and also some actionable advice, which I'll invite you to participate in alongside me. Join my weekly newsletter ...
Feb 28, 2023•22 min•Ep. 174
Do you ever feel like there's something in the modern world that fries your brain, that leaves you in red brain, where you're just so pulled in a million directions all the time that it's hard to actually give attention to what's essential? Well, in part two of my conversation with Dr. Gloria Mark, we get into some specific questions you can ask yourself to be able to assess how you are doing and what you can do to increase, and then protect, your peak attention hours. Join my weekly newsletter ...
Feb 23, 2023•33 min•Ep. 173
Have you ever had an ongoing disagreement with somebody that was perplexing for you? Today I will share a simple story about misunderstanding, something counterintuitive I have learned from it and some actionable advice. By the end of this episode, you will be able to use the most important question in any conversation, especially where misunderstanding is taking place. Join my weekly newsletter at GregMcKeown.com/1mw Learn more about my books and courses at GregMcKeown.com
Feb 22, 2023•18 min
Everyone is distracted by technology, and all of us have experienced this sense that our level of distraction is increasing. Even the speed with which we move from website to website, from app to app seems to be increasing in pace. And there's lots of people out there willing to talk about what we should do and how we can improve. But very few of those people have the data to help us think through this problem and what to do about it with precision. That's why I've invited Dr. Gloria Mark onto t...
Feb 16, 2023•32 min•Ep. 171
Have you ever had so much stress and anxiety that you could barely sleep at night? Today I will share a powerful story, something counterintuitive I've learned and some actionable advice. By the end of this episode, you will have five research-based tools for reducing stress in two minutes a day or under. Referenced article: Genomic Counter-Stress Changes Induced by the Relaxation Response Join my weekly newsletter at GregMcKeown.com/1mw Learn more about my books and courses at GregMcKeown.com
Feb 14, 2023•24 min•Ep. 170
Many entrepreneurs fall in love with their products, services, and ideas, but according to my guest today, this is wrong. What Uri Levine argues is that you have to fall in love with the problem, not the solution. Uri Levine is a passionate entrepreneur. Unicorns, companies that reach evaluation of more than a billion dollars, are rare, but URI has built two. He's the co-founder of Waze, which is the world's largest community-based driving, traffic and navigation app with more than 700 million u...
Feb 09, 2023•33 min•Ep. 169
What's the most important thing you need to do today? Today I will share a powerful story or two, something counterintuitive I've learned and some highly actionable advice. By the end of this episode, you'll be able to get clear on the most important thing you need to do today, every day. Join my weekly newsletter at GregMcKeown.com/1mw Learn more about my books and courses at GregMcKeown.com
Feb 07, 2023•21 min•Ep. 168
Many entrepreneurs fall in love with their products, services, their ideas, but according to my guest today, this is wrong. What Uri Levine argues is that you have to fall in love with the problem, not the solution. Uri is a passionate entrepreneur. Unicorns, which are companies that reach valuation of more than a billion dollars, are rare, but Uri has built two. He is the co-founder of Waze, the world's largest community-based driving traffic navigation app with more than 700 million users to d...
Feb 02, 2023•34 min•Ep. 167
Have you ever needed to change the results in a situation where there were lots of things you could not change? It has long been thought that to completely transform morale and performance, you have to have the power to change everything, but this is wrong. What we know now is that there is a smaller, much more doable way to achieve results. Today I will share an inspirational story, some counterintuitive research and some actionable advice. By the end of this episode, you'll be able to use lang...
Jan 31, 2023•22 min•Ep. 166
Have you ever felt like there were just too many tabs open in your mind? Today, I've invited Alison Jones, the author of Exploratory Writing: Everyday Magic for Life and Work. By the end of this episode, you will have the simplest of tools that can produce extraordinary results. You'll discover an idea so simple, you'll get it immediately, and yet you've probably never done it before in your life. It will help you to be able to turn the chaos in your mind into clarity and even creativity. Learn ...
Jan 26, 2023•41 min•Ep. 165
Do you crave being heard, to feel someone else really hears you, notices you, sees you, and that what you said matters to them? Today I will share with you an intriguing story, something counterintuitive I'm just on the edge of learning and some actionable advice. By the end of this episode, you will understand one key reason that humans desire so much to be heard. Join my weekly newsletter at GregMcKeown.com/1mw Learn more about my books and courses at GregMcKeown.com
Jan 24, 2023•22 min•Ep. 164
What would your business or your life look like if you designed it from scratch using essentialist and effortless principles to guide you? It's long been thought that some industries like private equity, medicine and law just take 80 hour weeks to be successful, but this is false. What we know now is that the way these industries are designed to produce this kind of burnout culture. Today is part two of my conversation with Kyle Westaway, who has designed a law firm from scratch using these prin...
Jan 19, 2023•28 min•Ep. 163
Have you ever been to a meeting where a few loud people dominated the meeting, but the quiet people with the answer didn't even get heard? It's long been thought that if you put the right people in the room, then you'll get the right answer, but this is as false as it can be. What we know now is that you need to lead the right process to be able to get the right ideas to come to the surface. Today, I'm going to share a story or two, some counterintuitive research that I've been reading and some ...
Jan 17, 2023•23 min•Ep. 162
Have you ever felt that a monotonous life cannot possibly be an essential life? Have you ever found at the same time that sometimes in what appears to be a monotonous experience, you find something deeply meaningful? Today I have a fascinating conversation with Kyle Westaway. He's an entrepreneur and a lawyer who works with entrepreneurs, and today we discuss how he used essentialism and effortless principles to upend and create a completely new law office, something I've never seen anyone else ...
Jan 12, 2023•31 min•Ep. 161
Have you ever had a wake up call where you just suddenly realize you have missed what really mattered? Most of us have learned that we are supposed to live with no regrets, but this, I think, is wrong. What we know now is that regrets can produce the precise data we need to construct a meaningful, rich and essential life. Today, I will share a powerful story, something counterintuitive I've been learning and some actionable advice. By the end of this episode, you will be able to use regret to de...
Jan 10, 2023•25 min•Ep. 160
Have you ever set a New Year's resolution to get healthier? It's an annual tradition to sign up for gym memberships and then never to use them. It's so established that the entire gym business model is based upon people not actually using the service. After all, it's long been thought that to significantly improve your mental and physical health takes expensive gym memberships, newfangled equipment at home, workout trainers and more. But what if all of this is false? What we know now is that the...
Jan 05, 2023•31 min•Ep. 159
It has long been thought that at the beginning of the new year, you should make a long list of everything that you want to achieve, but that, I believe, is false. What we know now is that what's more important is to have a clear single intent. Instead of simply making an aspiration to do more than you've ever done before, you should focus to do less but better. Have you ever fallen into the trap of making too many New Year's resolutions? Today, I will share a story, something counterintuitive th...
Jan 03, 2023•25 min•Ep. 158
Have you ever noticed that what people say is not the same as what they mean? Today I will share an inspiring story I read this week, something counterintuitive I've Learned, and some actionable advice. By the end of this episode, you will be able to better see behind people's masks to get to what's really happening. Resources mentioned: The Laws of Human Nature by Robert Greene Effortless Essentialism Learn more about Greg, his books and courses at GregMcKeown.com
Dec 20, 2022•27 min•Ep. 157
Have you ever met a person who just wouldn't show weakness? Today, I will share an intriguing story, something counterintuitive I've learned and some actionable advice. By the end of this episode, you will be able to see how perfectionism is making it harder for you to make progress on what's essential. Join my weekly newsletter at GregMcKeown.com/1mw Learn more about my books and courses at GregMcKeown.com
Dec 13, 2022•20 min•Ep. 156
Have you ever suppressed your feelings or honest views at work because you wanted to avoid trouble? Have you ever avoided speaking up with someone at work and instead unloaded onto someone else about it? What if you could find the words to have the conversation you are avoiding? Today I have invited Amy Gallo to the show to help us. Amy is the author of the HBR Guide to Dealing With Conflict and also more recently Getting Along: How to Work with Anyone (Even Difficult People). She's also the co-...
Dec 08, 2022•51 min•Ep. 155
Have you ever wondered why we can't fix burnout culture with a wellness app? What if doing less was actually more effective than giving it 100%? Today I'm going to share an inspiring story, something counterintuitive I've learned and provide some actionable advice. By the end of this episode, you will be able to accomplish more by putting in less effort. Join my weekly newsletter at GregMcKeown.com/1mw Learn more about my books and courses at GregMcKeown.com
Dec 06, 2022•25 min•Ep. 154
Have you ever met a person who had a deeply profound effect upon you? And what was the relationship between that impact and the degree to which they listened and understood you personally and uniquely? Today I have Jack Zenger back for the second part of this interview about what great leaders actually do. They don't do what most people think listening is. They do something very different to that, and that makes all the difference. By the end of this episode, you will understand the difference b...
Dec 01, 2022•32 min•Ep. 153
Today I have invited Jack Zenger to the show. Jack has spent, if you can believe it, five decades and then some working as an entrepreneur and also an academician. He's the CEO and co-founder of Zenger Folkman. He was a faculty member at USC and later taught at Stanford's Graduate School of Business, but beyond all of this, what Jack Zenger is really all about is relevant data. So that instead of just saying, "Well, this is what I think about the world," he actually has captured the data to dist...
Nov 29, 2022•33 min•Ep. 152
