Podcast

Matthew is friends with the guy who built the white nationalist online community, Stormfront. He is also an observant orthodox Jew. You may have heard about him because the pair made headlines and appeared on the Daily Show and shows like that. Matthew and Derek Black made headlines because Matthew invited Derek to Shabat dinner in college. They became friends. Derek eventually disavowed his earlier beliefs, in large part because of their friendship. In our conversation, Matthew shares his side of the story. Most interviews featured Derek, which will get more ratings, but I find Matthew's initiative in leading by engaging more inspiring, especially for those of us not raised as white nationalists. I compare how the mainstream approaches people they disagree with---"punch a Nazi"…

Do you have friends that you talk to once or twice a month---someone you can talk about important things beyond the day to day? Dan is one of those friends for me. The week before recording this conversation he told me he had a massive heart attack. He's 46 years old. I was traveling and could only hear part of the story. What I heard made me reflect all week. The pains, hospitals, and doctors were the exciting, if that's the right word, part. The parts about his son and his views on life got me in the gut. He's gone through life and death experiences before, so he could compare reflections and changes this time to others. The part about the changes he's made…

Rarely do you meet someone who created a word that became common. My guests today, Gifford and Libba Pinchot, created the term intrapraneurship. In the world of leadership and entrepreneurship, they created a discipline. After years of activism in the 60s, through entrepreneurship in the 90s, and what attracted me to them most, they started a business school from scratch, the first to offer an MBA in sustainable business. Beyond teaching students, they changed the field, as you'll hear in our conversation. I've worked with a lot of business schools. Today they all have to work on sustainability. As a professor, I can't imagine sustainability and nature not infused into my courses. The Pinchots helped start that trend. In earlier conversations, we talked about them…

Our last episode ended with two subjects either of which I'd love to cover---an NFL tight end picking up other people's garbage and stoicism. We had covered life for a professional team athlete under a pandemic. Then George Floyd and Black Lives Matter eclipsed the pandemic in the media and public discourse. We covered all these topics in this episode, starting with stoicism, which I think set the tone for thoughtful, reflective conversation onimportant but difficult topics. None of my podcasts are scripted, but this was probably my most unscripted. Though it only scratched the surface of sharing personal experiences, hopes, fears, expectations, and other vulnerabilities, it seems the start of what to share. In this case, Chris's thoughtful conversation helped, especially applying stoicism to…

I'm continuing my practice of bringing leadership to sustainability, following my bringing speeches and messages by Patton, Frankl, JFK, King, Mandela, Henry V, and others. Today I bring President Abraham Lincoln's Gettysburg address honoring men who fought and died in battle. I hoped to draw parallels to acting in stewardship today but faced two big differences. First, we don't have to risk our lives---the opposite. Living in harmony with nature creates joy, connection, and community. Second, nearly nobody today acts sustainably! Lincoln could speak in honor of people who acted. We can't today because we feel too entitled to flying when and where we want and everything that goes with it. I see Lincoln's address as motivation for us to act, however easy compared to…

For years I thought fusion could solve our environmental problems. Serious consideration betrays that false promise, illustrating it would only continue the the pattern creating the problems we're trying to solve. Even if it works, it leads to two results I see as problems. One, it will lead us to keep changing our world away from the environment we evolved in to allow us to thrive and enjoy a bountiful world. Two, it will lead us to keep growing beyond the limits of what it can support, as we have with comparable technological advances. If we ever expect to stop growing, why not do it now, when the stakes are lower?

Andreas and I go back five or ten years. He hired me as a coach when he was selling his share of a business he cofounded. He appears in my book Initiative about that experience and what he's done since. I invited him as a guest for two reasons: One, he started the Leadership and the Environment Sweden podcast. I shared with him my vision of working on sustainability in a way to help people become valuable in their communities. I coached him on podcasting. He's still ramping up with only a few guests so far, but you'll hear in this episode his experiences, how shy and introverted he felt before starting, and how much the training led him to enjoy it. Two, he's taken…

I love talking with people who strive to reach their potential and beyond, and who elevate people around them---their teammates. People like that exist everywhere, especially in professional sports. Jaeden plays for the Atlanta Falcons. We start by talking about his first touchdown pass, which you have to watch. It's what you'd dream of for a first touchdown pass. Loving sports as I do and hearing about the personal experience, I indulge in asking about that play. He said he was open, but not much. It looked like a mess except that Matt Ryan through it right to him. He got hit but bounced right back, spiked the ball and did a dance. He shares the inside view, what went different than planned and other…

You've heard people calling for moonshots---challenges so great we take them on as a nation. But regarding sustainability we also ask people to do as little as they can, "here's one little thing you can do for the environment." In this episode, I bring you John Kennedy's speech at Rice on the original moonshot, fraught with peril, expensive, asking a lot. He spoke with resolve we lack today everywhere, entitled as our culture has become, but especially in taking responsibility for our actions that affect others helpless to defend themselves from our hurting them. For our mere comfort and convenience. For our waste! America outright wastes forty percent of our food, which we use more fossil fuels than ever to create. I am endeavoring to…

Margaret is the Executive Director at The Climate Mobilization. Writing Facing the Climate Emergency brought her to me. Her psychology background leads her to approach the climate psychologically, which I appreciate and consider missing. Our internal resistance, fears, and emotions that we don't like facing seem our biggest challenges to act. Of course, more research and education help, but we crossed the threshold of knowing enough to act long ago. We aren't acting not out of ignorance but out of emotion and the skills to manage them. She writes about facing our fears, which leads ultimately to how rewarding acting on so great a challenge feels. People don't get how rewarding acting on our values feels. We both struggled to describe the ineffable emotional and…

Many people are looking to return to something they can call normal since the pandemic undid their earlier normal. In the meantime they struggle. Almost everyone I know knows Viktor Frankl's Man's Search for Meaning. I don't know what they think the book applies to, but it applies to exactly this situation. I'll give the perfectly relevant quote here and elaborate in the episode: We must never forget that we may also find meaning in life even when confronted with a hopeless situation, when facing a fate that cannot be changed. For what then matters is to bear witness to the uniquely human potential at its best, which is to transform a personal tragedy into a triumph, to turn one's predicament into a human achievement.…

I shared a story with a client the other day that he found deeply meaningful. I'd never shared it with anyone before because it felt so shameful. Enough time has passed that I can talk about it, so I'm sharing it here, but I still cringe over it. When others share stories they say make them feel shameful, it never sounds as serious to me as it seems to to them, so I hope my story doesn't either. I'm not going to write it here so you have to listen to the episode if you want to hear it, but it starts with girls, or rather lack of relationships with them, and ends with huge life decisions in other areas that I would not have…

You're about to hear a conversation post-George Floyd by two leadership writers. Normally we write for mostly business audiences. this conversation felt more personal. Normally when a friend introduces a potential podcast guest, we start by talking each other's work and figure out scheduling. With Chester---maybe given his openness and, I think, mine, as well as the protests raging---we jumped into talking about race and our interactions with people of different color. We spoke for a couple hours about a topic that polite conversation often avoids, let alone makes it the first thing two people meeting for the first time discuss. Those past conversations set the tone for the conversation you're about to hear, also the continued protests, media discussion, and our growing friendship to…

Here are the notes I read from for this episode: Stand up comedians Growing up in 70s I thought everyone would want to lead, to give I Have A Dream speech of their generation Felt so natural, though universal So until recently felt others could do better, wouldn't want to compete Dawning on my almost nobody wants to Nobody seems to want to change I expect they'll be happy to change if they don't have to do work After all world has changed. Seems easy to change with it Maybe people are waiting for someone and I can or should be it Crazy for me to think nobody wants it Question I've asked lately: Genie Mandela choice I thought all the people competing to be…

Here are the notes I wrote and read this podcast from: It's no secret the tension between police and protesters in this country. I've talked to a lot of protesters in my day, having protested myself many times, especially in college. In grad school a post-doc once worked as auxiliary policeman Recently listened to Jocko Willink on Joe Rogan's podcast. I won't explain who they are because they're both big public figures and you can look them up. Except Jocko is a former Navy SEAL and Joe hosts the world's top podcast. As a martial artist, he speaks Jocko's language and they both talk about cops and uniformed people. I'm going to play about a minute from their conversation that inspired me. <play clip here>…

Here are the notes I read from (maybe better just to listen): Yesterday two things, I'll start with second because more poignant. Ran into old friend a few weeks ago, clubbing, Submedia. Met at bar, first time since March, ready to walk away, wasn't going to order doof. But distant, outdoor, nearly empty. Talking for about an hour, a lot on how I transitioned. Talking about TV show. As an aside, he remarked knowing my regular background made stewardship more compelling and interesting than just tree hugger. While talking, some guy starts rooting through trash can on street, throwing trash everywhere. I remark, almost act. Then he starts yelling at us, threatening. Dave, fresh from kickboxing stands and advances toward. Guy points at me! throws…

Joe DeSena founded the Spartan Race and hosts the Spartan Up podcast. For those who know about me and my burpees, cold showers, rowing a marathon, picking up garbage daily, and so on, you can imagine I love what he does. Joe has made it his mission to bring the emotional rewards of joy, service, happiness, resilience, grit, toughness, and all those things to the world by creating a culture and community that works for it. Some people expect tough means suffering, but I hope you'll catch what I found at the root of Joe's message and life, which is emotional and physical growth. I heard fun, connection, playfulness. Physical activity enables these things. It's not the goal. The meaning and purpose behind it and…

Here are the notes I read from for this episode. Following pattern of effective speeches and leadership to lead people to love doing things not obviously personally benefiting. If you've seen movie Patton, George C Scott delivers a shorter, cleaner, but better acted version. Compare what he's asking his men to do with what it takes to pollute less What is required of us in environmental stewardship is almost nothing in comparison. I'll read it, but translate while I'm reading it. The language is obviously of the time and would cause him to be canceled today except that he helped defeat Rommel and Hitler and save the free world from the Nazis taking over, which probably even the most offended person would value. Some parallels:…

The actions we can take to preserve the environment are so simple anyone can do them. They improve our lives, connecting us to each other, freeing us from distraction of craving and separation. Role models help. Nelson Mandela worked harder and faced risks greater than any of us need to---if we even face any, since eating more fruits and vegetables and spending time with people close to us improve our lives. I bring to you the closing words of his speech at the close of his trial that led to the Apartheid government imprisoning him for 27 years: I have dedicated my life to this struggle of the African people. I have fought against white domination, and I have fought against black domination. I have…

George and I talked about three big topics George Floyd demonstrations and riots from the view of a man watching his businesses and his communities' businesses vandalized and destroyed. You'll also hear him reflect as a man who dismissed Colin Kaepernick---in his view disrespecting the flag.Why did he have that view? For supporting veterans, especially veteran suicide, through incredible runs---ultramarathons, 100-mile-plus runs, and longer. The more he ran for others, the more rewarding it became, to where he ran across the country through injury.We talked about finding your limits, serving others, and how much each helps your life. My key takeaway: that he got more out of his challenges than he put into them, for serving others. He explained better than I why I act…

Here are the notes I read from on recounting the potential I saw for the Spartan Race community and its founder, Joe De Sena, if they chose to prioritize environmental stewardship. Context: Joe: carries chain up 1,000-foot hill, brings others withhim, invites people to climb hill for 24 hours, leads to SpartanRun.Brings people up to carry boulders up steep hill, which they pay to do.Community: Integrity, personal motivation, fun, supportiveTasks: Learn about yourself, great joy, striving, constantly improving They understand the mental and physical side, learning, growing, deeper satisfaction and reward than cookies and ice cream.Got me to go to Vermont and run up and down hill seven times.Environment: abysmal: trash, doof, little fruits and vegetables, bottles, ignoring well water, no natural fibersTexts from kidsBut…

"Don't ask kids what they want to be when they grow up. Ask them what problem they want to solve." Jaime explains what his title of Google's "Education Evangelist" means, how he got it, and how it results in him advancing education globally. We talk about education when student-driven, how that paradigm differs from what nearly all schools now do. Also how it is everywhere in life. He gives an insider's view of Google, how it reacted and transitioned from the pandemic, physically on the inside of its buildings. The most exciting part of the conversation comes at the end, when our conflicting views on the environment, the future, and technology build to a crescendo of disagreement, but also curiosity, but not checkmating each other.…

Steven Pressfield's War of Art is a perennial bestseller. If you haven't read it, I recommend reading it, even if you delay listening to this podcast. Well, listen to this episode since it will prepare you. Before I read it, I could not have imagined someone writing it. I can't think of another book like it. It's helped countless people start acting on passions. Steven shares how the book emerged---things you won't get from just reading it. After we finished recording, he told me how he shared new things in this episode and he's appeared on many podcasts. I also commented on how the resistance he described to the individual on the verge of creating translates almost perfectly to two places, the individual acting on…

While I was jogging (actually plogging) along the Hudson River around 7:30am, a person not wearing a mask stepped into my path, blocking me, saying the person's shoes had been stolen. The person seemed to let me pass, but then threatened me and threw a bottle that shattered at my feet as I ran past. I kept running, the hair on the back of my neck standing up and my adrenaline high. I don't know if the person had a weapon. I describe more and some of how it affected me in the audio. I was first going to say I was threatened since he didn't touch me. I'm not a lawyer so I looked up the definition. According to FindLaw.com's page on Assault Torts…