Smart People Podcast

Nancy Duarte and Patti Sanchez, authors of, ‘Illuminate: Ignite Change Through Speeches, Stories, Ceremonies, and Symbols’ To be a great leader, you have to first be a great communicator. Think about any historical figure you admire….I bet they had a seemingly innate ability to motivate people. However, the ability to motivate through strong communication is actually a skill that can be easily acquired, with the right knowledge! As a leader, you have the same potential to not only anticipate the future and invent creative initiatives, but to also inspire those around you to support and execute your vision. By harnessing the power of persuasive communication you, too, can turn your idea into a movement. In this episode we speak with two incredible women – Nancy Duarte, CEO of Duarte, Inc., and Patti Sanchez, Chief Strategy Officer at Duarte, Inc. We are talking with them about their brand new book, Illuminate: Ignite Change Through Speeches, Stories, Ceremonies, and Symbols, and Nancy and Patti are going to equip you with the same communication tools that great leaders like Jobs, Howard Schultz, and Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. used to move people. Duarte and Sanchez lay out a plan to help you lead people through the five stages of transformation using speeches, stories, ceremonies, and symbols. NANCY DUARTE is a communications expert and the CEO of Duarte, Inc., the largest design firm in Silicon Valley. She is the author of Resonate: Present Visual Stories that Transform Audiences, Slide:ology: The Art and Science of Creating Great Presentations, and HBR Guide to Persuasive Presentations. She has been featured in Fortune, Forbes, Fast Company, Wired, The Wall Street Journal, The New York Times, Harvard Business Review,and many other outlets. PATTI SANCHEZ, the Chief Strategy Officer for Duarte, has distilled twenty-five years of experience as a communicator into this book. She has led transformative communications initiatives for brands including Cisco, Ericsson, Hewlett-Packard, LexisNexis, Nike, Symantec, VMware, and Compassion International, and has taught hundreds of leaders to become more empathetic and effective communicators. Her work has been honored with awards from IABC, BMA, and Vital Speeches of the Day. — Interested in the Smart People Podcast Mastermind? Sign up

Tim Sanders, author of, ‘Dealstorming: The Secret Weapon That Can Solve Your Toughest Sales Challenges’ Tim Sanders – Former Yahoo executive on leadership development, sales strategy, and human performance. Sales has radically changed in just the past few decades. According to recent research, today’s sale approval has to go through at least 6 key decision makers! So how do you ensure that your message makes it up the chain? How do you create a pitch and a sales structure that thrives in this new environment? You dealstorm of course! In this episode we speak with Tim Sanders, author of the book, Dealstorming: The Secret Weapon That Can Solve Your Toughest Sales Challenges. For marketers and sellers alike, DEALSTORMING, an ingenious combination of deal making and brainstorming, breaks down how to think creatively about the diverse perspectives of today’s customers and engineer the most convincing solutions to their problems.  Tim Sanders spent most of his career on the cutting edge of innovation and change. He was on the ground floor of the quality movement, the launch of the mobile phone industry and, most notably, the birth of the world wide web. He was an early stage member of Mark Cuban and Todd Wagner’s broadcast.com, which had the largest opening day IPO in history. After Yahoo acquired the company, Tim rose to the position of Chief Solutions Officer and later, the company’s Leadership Coach. In 2005, he founded Deeper Media, which provides consulting and training services for leading companies, trade associations and government agencies. — Interested in the Smart People Podcast Mastermind? Sign up at mastermind.smartpeoplepodcast.com! The post 235 – Tim Sanders – Former Yahoo Executive on Leadership Development, Sales Strategy, and Human Performance appeared first on Smart People Podcast.

Morgan Wright, an internationally recognized authority on cyberterrorism, cybersecurity, identity theft and US law enforcement. Although the digital age has brought about marvelous innovation, it has also created a new way for thieves and terrorists to disrupt life as we know it. A recent study determined that approximately 15 million United States residents have their identities used fraudulently each year with financial losses totaling upwards of $50 billion. And in addition to that, our companies, our infrastructure, and our government is under constant attack from cyberterrorism. So what can you do to protect yourself? This week we brought on an expert to help us answer that question.  Morgan Wright is an internationally recognized expert on cybersecurity strategy, cyber terrorism, identity theft and privacy. His landmark testimony before Congress on Healthcare.gov changed how the government collected personally identifiable information. He has made hundreds of appearances on national news, radio, print and web, and has spoken to audiences around the world. Morgan is a highly decorated former state trooper, police officer and detective. Be sure to check out the special Identity Security Guide that Morgan created for our listeners. Visit identitysecurity.com/smart and download the Identity Security Guide: How To Become An Identity Security Warrior. The post 234 – Morgan Wright – Cybersecurity and Identity Theft appeared first on Smart People Podcast.

Dr. David Burkus, author of, ‘Under New Management: How Leading Organizations Are Upending Business as Usual’ Dr. David Burkus is a highly regarded and increasingly influential business school professor who challenges many of the established principles of business management. Drawing on decades of research,  Burkus has found that not only are many of our fundamental management practices wrong and misguided, but they can be downright counterproductive. These days, the best companies are breaking the old rules. At some companies, e-mail is now restricted to certain hours, so that employees can work without distraction. Netflix no longer has a standard vacation policy of two to three weeks, but instructs employees to take time off when they feel they need it. In this episode. Dr. Burkus explains why companies are leaving behind decades-old management practices and implementing new ways to enhance productivity and morale. His new book is Under New Management: How Leading Organizations Are Upending Business as Usual. — Interested in the Smart People Podcast Mastermind? Sign up for the Dave Birss webinar here: Smart People Podcast Mastermind w/ Dave Birss The post 233 – David Burkus – The Old Rules of Business No Longer Apply appeared first on Smart People Podcast.

Andrew Cockburn, author of, ‘Kill Chain: The Rise of the High-Tech Assassins’ Assassination by drone is a subject of deep and enduring fascination. Yet few understand how and why this has become our principal way of waging war. This week we speak with Andrew Cockburn, author of the new book, Kill Chain: The Rise of the High-Tech Assassins, as he helps uncover the real and extraordinary story about drone warfare and the ways in which the technology works and, despite official claims, does not work. Additionally, we discuss what has really happened when the theories underpinning the strategy — and the multi-billion dollar contracts they spawn — have been put to the test. Drawing on sources deep in the military and intelligence establishments, Andrew Cockburn unveils the true effects, as demonstrated by bloody experience, of assassination warfare. Andrew Cockburn is the Washington Editor of Harper’s magazine and the author of many articles and books on national security, including the New York Times Editor’s Choice Rumsfeld and The Threat. He is a regular opinion contributor to the Los Angeles Times and has written for, among others, the New York Times, National Geographic and the London Review of Books. — This episode is brought to you by: Igloo: Go to igloosoftware.com/smartpeople to use Igloo for FREE with up to 10 of your favorite coworkers or customers!! — Interested in the Smart People Podcast Mastermind? Find out more information and take a survey here: Smart People Podcast Mastermind The post 232 – Andrew Cockburn – The Ugly Truth About Drone Warfare appeared first on Smart People Podcast.

Jeff Gramm, author of, ‘Dear Chairman: Boardroom Battles and the Rise of Shareholder Activism’ This week we have a very down to earth conversation with hedge fund manager, professor, and author, Jeff Gramm. Although we cover many topics, we specifically discuss the morality of a career in finance, how to pick a winning company, and Jeff’s new book, Dear Chairman: Boardroom Battles and the Rise of Shareholder Activism.  In this book, Jeff analyzes different eras and pivotal boardroom battles from the last century to understand the factors that have caused shareholders and management to collide. Throughout, he uses never-before-published and rare, original letters from Wall Street icons—including Benjamin Graham, Warren Buffett, Ross Perot, Carl Icahn, and Daniel Loeb – to show how investors interact with directors and managers, how they think about their target companies, and how they plan to profit.  — This episode is brought to you by: Smart People Podcast Amazon Link: Support Smart People Podcast at no cost to you! Use the link smartpeoplepodcast.com/amazon when making your Amazon purchases. — Interested in the Smart People Podcast Mastermind? Find out more information and take a survey here: Smart People Podcast Mastermind The post 231 – Jeff Gramm – Secrets of a Hedge Fund Manager appeared first on Smart People Podcast.

Jacquie McNish, author of, ‘Losing the Signal: The Untold Story Behind the Extraordinary Rise and Spectacular Fall of BlackBerry’ This week on the show we have Senior Wall Street Journal Correspondent, Jacquie McNish. Jacquie is the author of many best selling books and we will be discussing her most recent, Losing the Signal: The Untold Story Behind the Extraordinary Rise and Spectacular Fall of BlackBerry.  In 2009, BlackBerry controlled half of the smartphone market. Today that number is less than one percent. What went so wrong? Losing the Signal is a riveting story of a company that toppled global giants before succumbing to the ruthlessly competitive forces of Silicon Valley. This is not a conventional tale of modern business failure by fraud and greed. The rise and fall of BlackBerry reveals the dangerous speed at which innovators race along the information superhighway, and how you can help avoid these pitfalls, no matter what business you are in. Losing the Signal was short-listed for the 2015 Financial Times and McKinsey Business Book of the Year, it was a Wall Street Journal Best Business Book of 2015, and a Best Business Book of the Year by Forbes Magazine. — This episode is brought to you by: Igloo: Go to igloosoftware.com/smartpeople to use Igloo for FREE with up to 10 of your favorite coworkers or customers!! — Interested in the Smart People Podcast Mastermind? Find out more information and take a survey here: Smart People Podcast Mastermind The post 230 – Jacquie McNish – Whatever Happened to BlackBerry? appeared first on Smart People Podcast.

Samantha Attard, nutrition PhD, wellness coach, and yoga teacher Now that 2016 is in full swing, many of us have already abandoned our New Year’s resolution. But this year it’s going to be different….right? Right! That’s why in this episode we brought on an expert to talk about health, happiness, and how to create good habits. This week on the show we interview Sam Attard, PhD. Sam is a a wellness coach and yoga instructor teaching ambitious adults how to navigate their diets and daily lives with less stress and more ease. So take a listen, and get motivated to make 2016 your best year yet! Find out more about Sam at BeHappyHealthyHuman! — This episode is brought to you by: Mack Weldon: Mack Weldon believes in smart design, premium fabrics and simple shopping. Not only does Mack Weldon’s underwear, socks, and shirts look good, they perform well too. Go to www.mackweldon.com and get 20% off using promo code SMART. — Interested in the Smart People Podcast Mastermind? Find out more information and take a survey here: Smart People Podcast Mastermind The post 229 – Sam Attard – Want To Be Healthy? appeared first on Smart People Podcast.

Lisa Nichols, author of, ‘Abundance Now: Amplify Your Life & Achieve Prosperity Today’ We are extremely excited this week to have on the show New York Times bestselling author, Personal Transformation guru, and life coach for the Steve Harvey Show and Today, Lisa Nichols. Lisa shares her journey from scarcity to abundance, outlining steps everyone can take to create abundance in career, relationships, self, and finances—while creating a legacy for others to follow. Lisa is one of the world’s most-requested motivational speakers, as well as media personality and corporate CEO whose global platform has reached and served nearly 30 million people. From a struggling single mom on public assistance to a millionaire entrepreneur, Lisa’s courage and determination has inspired fans worldwide and helped countless audiences break through, to discover their own untapped talents and infinite potential. Lisa is also a best-selling author of six books and her 7th book, Abundance Now: Amplify Your Life & Achieve Prosperity Today, was just released at the beginning of this year.  — This episode is brought to you by: Casper Mattresses:  Obsessively engineered American-made mattresses at a shockingly fair price. And now, you can get $50 toward any mattress purchase by going to casper.com/smart and using code SMART — Interested in the Smart People Podcast Mastermind? Find out more information and take a survey here: Smart People Podcast Mastermind The post 228 – Lisa Nichols – How to Get More of What You Want appeared first on Smart People Podcast.

George Franklin, author of, ‘Raisin Bran and Other Cereal Wars: 30 Years of Lobbying for the Most Famous Tiger in the World’ What they don’t teach you in business school – and what you need to know. Powerful corporate interests use their lobbyists to wield influence. They impact our daily lives, but who are they and how do they operate? In this episode, George Franklin, previously the head lobbyist for Kellogg Company, gives us an inside look at what it’s really like to represent one of the largest food companies in the world. He gives us a no nonsense look at what it’s like to try to influence government policy for the good of a company. George is a lawyer and former Vice President of Worldwide Government Relations for Kellogg Company. He is currently President of Franklin Public Affairs LLC in Kalamazoo, Michigan, and is the author of the incredible book, Raisin Bran and Other Cereal Wars: 30 Years of Lobbying for the Most Famous Tiger in the World. — This episode is brought to you by: Igloo: Go to igloosoftware.com/smartpeople to use Igloo for FREE with up to 10 of your favorite coworkers or customers!! — Interested in the Smart People Podcast Mastermind? Find out more information and take a survey here: Smart People Podcast Mastermind The post 227 – George Franklin – A Corporate Lobbyist Tells All appeared first on Smart People Podcast.

Mary Roach, author of, ‘Gulp: Adventures on the Alimentary Canal’ and more! This week we are extremely excited to have Mary Roach on the show. Mary is the author of 5 New York Times Bestselling books, including her newest, Gulp: Adventures on the Alimentary Canal. In this episode we spend the first part of the conversation talking about what it is like to be a professional writer, advice to those who want to write, and other keys to success. From there we transition to the alimentary canal as we learn more about what happens when food enters our mouth…and what a unique journey it is. Mary also shares an interesting story about Elvis with us. Spoiler alert: at the 45:50 mark, Mary tells us that Elvis Presley had terrible constipation. In fact, Elvis died while pooping due to a condition called ‘megacolon’. Transcript: Chris: This is typical Mary Roach style. You cover so many things in the book and it’s basically like, let’s take really interesting questions relating to one subject and answer them. And so, one of the ones that I actually didn’t know, and many people might, but for those that don’t… is how Elvis died. Mary: Yeah, that’s interesting. Chris: Can you give it away for us? For those listening, this is just the kind go thing you learn in Gulp and your other books, so let’s hear it. Mary: Yeah, well I was at the Mütter Museum in Philadelphia, which is this wonderful museum of medical curiosities, and the showpiece of the Mütter Museum is a megacolon and it is bigger around than my waist, which is 27 inches or so, maybe 28. That’s HUGE for a colon. A colon is what, 4 inches around or less. It’s grossly distended and becomes useless and impacted. And Elvis had a megacolon. The Mütter Museum does not have Elvis’ I should say. But I was there at the Mütter Museum and I saw this, and the curator said to me, “Oh yeah, Elvis died of that.” — Interested in the Smart People Podcast Mastermind? Find out more information and take a survey here: Smart People Podcast Mastermind The post 226 – Mary Roach – How to Write Bestsellers and More About Her New Book, ‘Gulp: Adventures on the Alimentary Canal’ appeared first on Smart People Podcast.

  ‘Smart People Should Build Things’ by: Andrew Yang 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-ups and early-stage companies in lower-cost cities (e.g., Detroit, Providence, New Orleans). Modeled after Teach for America, Venture for America will provide a path for entrepreneurship to college grads who want to learn how to build companies and create jobs.The goal is that a substantial proportion of VFA Fellows will become successful entrepreneurs, preferably rooted in the communities to which they are assigned. Andrew was recently named one of the “Top 100 Most Creative People in Business” by Fast Company. Quotes from Andrew: “Right now we are not giving our young people genuine choices.  The choices they are being presented with are financial services, management consulting, law school, med school, grad school, and Teach for America.  These choices will be the path for 65% of our top graduates.” “It’s no mystery that so many people are heading down the well lit paths.  These are very much the paths of least resistance right now.” “The risks that we don’t talk about are the risks of waking up and doing a job you don’t like or waking up and not liking the person you see in the mirror.  These are the risks people don’t tell you about.” “We need to repackage the way young people think about risk.” What we learn in this episode: How do we encourage innovation and creativity as opposed to comfort and stability for recent graduates? How do you transition from a career you don’t like to a brand new field at any age? What is the hardest part about starting a company and how do you overcome that? Resources: Smart People Should Build Things: How to Restore Our Culture of Achievement, Build a Path for Entrepreneurs, and Create New Jobs in America http://ventureforamerica.org/ The post Episode 135 – Andrew Yang appeared first on Smart People Podcast.

Another “Best Of’ episode is in the books! This week, we bring you a “Best of technology” episode.  While it was tough selecting some of my favorite technology episodes, I finally picked the ones that made me truly geek out. Sit back, relax, and listen to some of the best clips regarding various aspects of technology. If you want a cheat sheet of what is in this week’s episode, here you go! Part 1 - Clips from Episode 110 - Alexis Ohanian. Alexis discusses Reddit, original (or lack thereof) ideas, and learning to code. Part 2 - Clips from Episode 99 - Nicco Mele. Nicco discusses computer advancements, web content creation, and privacy. Part 3 - Clips from Episode 53 - David-Michel Davies. DMD discusses The Webbys, where technology trends are heading, and the age-old question of, 'Are we really doing more work than previous generations?" Part 4 - Clips from Episode 115 - Scott Sklar. Scott discusses the return on investment of renewable energy and explains solar energy and other types of clean energy to Jon and Chris. Part 5 - Clips from Episode 48 - Josh Klein. Josh discusses the importance of sharing your ideas and the effect of piracy.

Maddy Dychtwald - Author of Influence: How Women's Soaring Economic Power Will Transform Our World for the Better, co-founder of Age Wave, world renowned speaker, leading expert on the changing demographic trends—both generation- and gender-related—shaping the marketplace, the workplace and our lives. The aging of the workforce has been well publicized.  The baby-boom generation is reaching retirement and there is a supposed "talent gap" that is going to be problematic to our economy.  Talent gap? What about awesome young people! Well, let's hope these young people are awesome, because we are all going to be relying on them to fill some big shoes.  And as we have covered in previous episode, the younger generations are technologically savvy and very motivated; however, they also lack experience, and insist that things are done on their schedule, in their way.  Lucky for us all, we have a secret weapon that is helping us fill this talent gap and change the working landscape...women! The increase in women in the work place and in positions of power has really helped off-set the increase in retirees. This shift has not only helped fill the gaps, but has also greatly improved productivity and innovation - and Maddy is going to tell you how! Maddy co-founded Age Wave, the nation’s foremost thought-leader on population aging trends and their profound business, lifestyle and cultural implications.  The company provides breakthrough research, award-winning communications, and results-driven marketing and consulting initiatives to more than half of the Fortune 500. She has spent more than 25 years investigating and forecasting lifestyle and market trends of older adults and the 79 million baby boomers.  Building on this knowledge, she has recently emerged as a renowned authority on the rising economic influence of women and their impact on industries, ranging from financial services and healthcare to consumer marketing. Her newest book, INFLUENCE: How Women’s Soaring Economic Power Will Transform Our World for the Better explores how women are the major change agent of the decade to come. A graduate of New York University, Maddy has been married for more than 25 years and has been a working mom living in the San Francisco Bay Area for much of her adult life.  

This week we bring you a special "best of psychology and human behavior" episode.  Travel back to the beginning of Smart People Podcast with us and enjoy some of the best clips regarding psychology, the human brain, the decision making process, passion and more.  This is a can't miss episode packed full of great information with none of the fluff. Here is a brief overview of what this episode entails, what order it's in, who are guests are, and where you can find the whole episode.  Enjoy! Part 1 - Clips from Episode 58 with Jesse Prinz.  Jesse gets us started by telling us how awesome and unique humans are! Part 2 - Clips from Episode 51 with Srini Pillay.  Srini gives some of the best advice I've EVER heard about how to live an exceptional life.  He also dives into what passion is and how to utilize it properly.  Don't miss this! Part 3 - Quick clip from Episode 13 with Kathryn Schulz.  Kathryn explains why we need to make mistakes and learn from them. Part 4 - Clips from Episode 41 with David McRaney.  Listen and then go pick up his book if you like psychology! Part 5 - Clips from Episode 83 with Venkatesh Rao.  What can robots teach us about how we make decisions? Part 6 - Clips from Episode 43 with Barry Schwartz.  Are you a maximizer or a satisficer?