The Conversation Factory

Marcy Syms is a pioneering businesswoman and advocate for respect in leadership. She's seen leadership fads come and go. She was a CEO when people still thought "women shouldn't do that sort of thing" And she's done something many folks have never had to endure - shuttering her family's business while making her key creditors whole - an act deeply in line with her core value of respect. Marcy shares insights from her journey in the retail industry, her experiences with leadership dynamics and her advocacy for the Equal Rights Amendment - something she hopes to see made part of the constitution while she's still around to enjoy it! Why Respect? 🗝️Respect drives sustainable growth - respect for your team allows them to feel empowered to be the face of your business and to build the processes and systems that make growth sustainable. 🗝️Giving respect helps you get respect - starting first, leading the conversation with respect at the core helps get things done, especially in times of stress and turbulence. 🗝️Respect is outer behavior and inner work - to make it a core habit and your default behavior takes strategic reflection and personal growth. Check out the full conversation 👇 🎙️ Spotify: https://spoti.fi/3QzcPAW 🍎 Apple: https://apple.co/4ifh6pb 📺YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@danielstillman-TCF-podcast 🌐more episodes at https://theconversationfactory.com/listen And please subscribe on Spotify or iTunes! Also! support the podcast with a monthly contribution here: https://theconversationfactory.com/conversation-factory-insider or a one-time donation here.: https://dastillman.gumroad.com/l/dscoffee Don't have time to watch or listen to the full episode? To learn more about leading conversations more powerfully and beautifully, watch these short clips 👇 👀make respect a habit and start from within https://youtu.be/tmURMgvcnIs 👀How to Respond to Disrespect with Dignity and Strategy https://youtu.be/f21aAalKGLU 👀To Scale you need to Respect your team https://youtube.com/shorts/HczFY9-ASFw 👀Leadership Balances Top Down Strategy and Bottom up Insights https://youtube.com/shorts/57yWfiQtykw 👀Know your board as humans https://youtu.be/eH5Mv95iunE One Takeaway to not forget: Fight for the ERA! Marcy shares how she sees the ERA as the ultimate sign of respect and continues to fight for women's full inclusion in the constitution. Watch here: https://youtu.be/YAbEAqIVxzU Key Links: Marcy's book: Leading with the Respect Marcy's website

Get free chapters of my book, Good Talk, and master the art of conversations big and small: https://www.danielstillman.com/good-talk Please support the podcast! 💌 subscribe on Spotify: https://spoti.fi/3QzcPAW 💌 iTunes: https://apple.co/4ifh6pb or with a monthly contribution here: https://bit.ly/support-tcf-monthly one-time donation here: https://bit.ly/support-tcf-once Check out the episode page for the full transcript and video highlights. Episode page: https://theconversationfactory.com/podcast/innovation-connection-and-conscious-leadership-with-othership-ceo-robbie-bent AI Summary: Introduction and Connection: Daniel Stillman introduces Robbie Bent, highlighting the connection through mutual acquaintance Robbie Hammond. Inception of OtherShip: Robbie shares the story of starting with a backyard ice bath, fostering community connections without the influence of alcohol. Innovative Experiences: Discussion on unique offerings at OtherShip, such as comedy nights and men's work sessions, blending wellness with entertainment. Creativity and Experimentation: Robbie emphasizes the importance of allowing creativity to emerge through testing and iteration. Challenges and Growth: Insights into the challenges faced in expanding OtherShip, including managing stress and maintaining personal well-being. Community and Relationships: The role of community in personal and business growth, with Robbie working closely with his wife and friends. Facilitating Conversations: The significance of open communication and addressing conflicts early in both personal and professional settings. Future Aspirations: Robbie's excitement about expanding OtherShip and continuing to innovate in the wellness space. Links Othership - https://www.othership.us/ Follow Robbie Bent on Instagram | LinkedIn IG: https://www.instagram.com/robbiebent/?hl=en LI: https://www.linkedin.com/in/robbiebent/

Get free chapters of my book, Good Talk, and master the art of conversations big and small: https://www.danielstillman.com/good-talk Please support the podcast! 💌 subscribe on Spotify: https://spoti.fi/3QzcPAW 💌 iTunes: https://apple.co/4ifh6pb or with a monthly contribution here: https://bit.ly/support-tcf-monthly one-time donation here: https://bit.ly/support-tcf-once Check out the episode page for the full transcript and video highlights: https://theconversationfactory.com/podcast/join-or-die-behind-the-scenes-of-creative-collaboration Key Chapters 00:00 Growing Up Together: A Family Legacy 02:58 The Birth of a Documentary Idea 06:02 Navigating the Journey: Challenges and Growth 09:02 The Lens of Community: A New Perspective 12:01 Conflict and Collaboration: The Art of Working Together 14:54 The Long Haul: Commitment and Transformation 22:15 The Transformative Power of Art 24:13 Inner Growth Through Creative Confidence 26:32 Finding Hope in Community Engagement 29:56 The Long-Term Commitment to Projects 31:20 Community Screenings as a Tool for Connection 34:10 The Role of Community in Film Distribution 36:20 Best Practices for Effective Gatherings 45:34 Identifying Barriers to Community Engagement 48:15 Building Community Through Shared Activities 49:26 The Importance of Civic Engagement 54:52 Convenience vs. Community 01:00:22 Bridging Political Divides 01:05:38 Lessons from the Past for a Hopeful Future

Master the art of conversations big and small - both inside yourself and in your teams and organization. Get free chapters of my book, Good Talk: https://www.danielstillman.com/good-talk Please support the podcast! 💌 Subscribe on Spotify: https://spoti.fi/3QzcPAW 💌 iTunes: https://apple.co/4ifh6pb or with a monthly contribution here: https://bit.ly/support-tcf-monthly or make a one-time donation here: https://bit.ly/support-tcf-once For the full transcript, video highlights, and more show links, check out the episode page here: https://theconversationfactory.com/podcast/the-inner-work-of-leadership-with-carole-robin-phd Every conversation - especially the hard ones - is an opportunity to learn more about yourself, to learn about another person and to learn about interpersonal dynamics - if you can set aside judgment and be open to curiosity. I'm SO excited to share this epic podcast conversation with the "queen of Touchy Feely" - Carole Robin, PhD. Carole taught the most popular elective at Stanford Graduate School of Business, Interpersonal Dynamics (mostly known affectionately as "Touchy Feely"!) for nearly 20 years and is co-author (with co-teacher David Bradford) of the excellent book Connect: Building Exceptional Relationships with Family, Friends and Colleagues. She has a vast reserve of wisdom to share. We discuss the importance of navigating vulnerability and intentional connection as an essential leadership skill and unpack some of her most powerful principles of effective communication. We also talk about Carole's conversations with her own personal AI, trained on all of her past writings and course notes…and how it helped her evolve how she tells her own story! Building exceptional relationships is work that's done one conversation at a time. Carole's insights can help you unlock the potential in each conversation. Key Moments 00:00 The Art of Greeting with Interpersonal Dynamics in mind 03:00 AI and Personal Narratives: The Evolution of Carole's Story in collaboration with her personal AI 06:01 Leadership Lessons: Emotions in Business 09:06 Vulnerability vs. Strength: The Leadership Paradox 12:04 Transparency in Leadership: The Balance of Sharing 14:58 Strategic Authenticity: Navigating Vulnerability 18:01 True and Kind: The Principles of Effective Communication 20:50 The Importance of Self-Care for Leaders 21:59 Navigating Emotions in Leadership 23:49 Vulnerability and Authenticity in Leadership 30:07 Self-Management and Emotional Discipline 32:59 Curiosity as Leadership superpower 37:57 The Work of Building Relationships

If you want to change the game, changing the rules and incentives of the game is a powerful approach. Few people who watch the news - or those folks who avoid watching the news! - would say the political system in the United States is going according to plan. The founding fathers, if they were alive today, would be aghast at the unbridgeable chasm that seems to have developed in our political culture, making dialogue, compromise and progress nearly impossible on some of our most pressing issues. In fact, our founding fathers warned against the rise of what they called factions in their time, and what we today call political parties. All of this is happening at a time when the majority of Americans agree that common-sense laws for guns, healthcare and other issues are badly needed. If you look at the numbers, we're closer together on more issues than you'd think. Research shows that our leaders are often much more polarized than we as a people are. Meanwhile, the US and local governments get less done, eroding our confidence in our democracy. What can we do to change the game? Some people say "let's get rid of the electoral college!" but such large scale changes are hard. My guest today has a simple solution that starts at the local level to change the political conversation. Nick Troiano is a civic entrepreneur based in Denver, Colorado, and is the Executive Director of Unite America –– a non-partisan organization that seeks to foster a more functional and representative government. Nick has been a leader in the political reform movement over the last decade, beginning as a founding staff member of Americans Elect in 2010. Nick ran for Congress in Pennsylvania's 10th District in 2014 and drew national attention as both the youngest candidate that cycle and the most competitive independent U.S. House candidate in nearly two decades. He subsequently worked for Change.org to launch a mobile application to help voters cast informed ballots. In 2016, Nick was named to the "Forbes 30 Under 30" for Law & Policy. He earned a Master's degree in American Government from Georgetown University. He has spoken on the topics of political and fiscal reform to dozens of groups across the country, including along three national bus tours that collectively visited over 40 states. Nick is the author of The Primary Solution an *excellent* book that explains the challenge and a viable set of solutions to political division in America, and a producer on the 2024 film Majority Rules which lets you watch political change unfold in real-time. I highly recommend watching Majority Rules - you can rent it on Youtube now! You will see partisan politicians learn to navigate a different political game as the rules are changed - and become more issues-focused instead of attacking personalities, and more inclusive than divisive. I also highly recommend supporting primary reform in your region - it's a non-partisan issue that can help us become less partisan! Listen to the end where Nick and I discuss how he leads his organization and builds coalitions while living his leadership and political values. Head over to theconversationfactory.com/listen for full episode transcripts, links, show notes and more key quotes and ideas. You can also head over there and become a monthly supporter of the show for as little as $8 a month. You'll get complimentary access to exclusive workshops and resources that I only share with this circle of facilitators and leaders. Links The Primary Solution https://www.simonandschuster.com/books/The-Primary-Solution/Nick-Troiano/9781668028254 Majority Rules. https://majorityrulesfilm.com/ David Mayhew's Book "Congress: The Electoral Connection"

Sometimes the bold goals we set out to achieve actually happen, and sometimes something even more amazing happens - something better than we can imagine. Usually that happens because of the people we meet along the way, the conversations we have, the unexpected connections we make that open up new doors - in a word, Serendipity. I had always wondered about what amazing, powerful and sustained conversations led to the High Line Park in New York City becoming a reality. Have you walked the High Line? Literally millions of people a year walk some of its 1.45 mile length, enjoying expansive views of the city and hundreds of local plantings, as well as amazing art installations. But it was slated for demolition and considered an eyesore and a relic, as long ago as the 1980s. Built in 1933, it was at the time a revolutionary elevated train line that was colloquially called the Lifeline of New York City since it was regularly bringing millions of tons of meat, dairy and produce by rail, directly into the warehouses and factories of lower manhattan for preparation and distribution. The rail line wasn't just a lifeline because of the food it brought, it also moved the rail lines safely above the city's growing traffic - in the 1910s, hundreds of people were killed by the ground-level trains that ran in the middle of the bustling 10th avenue! By the 1960s the line was growing obsolete due to the rise of trucking, and by the 1980s, it was a hulking relic of the past. In 1999, Robbie Hammond, my guest for this conversation, co-founded the Friends of the High Line along with Joshua David. The two met at a local community board meeting where the High Line's future was being discussed. Rudy Guliani, NYC's mayor at the time, had signed an executive order for its demolition - many property owners wanted it gone so they could take back the land occupied by the tracks and build bigger buildings - a dream of greater square footage and increased rent rolls. Currently Robbie is the President & Chief Strategy Officer for Therme Group US, where he is leading an initiative to bring large scale bathing facilities to the United States. He also currently serves on the boards for Little Island, Sauna Aid, Grounded Solutions Network, and the San Antonio Museum of Art. When I was a little kid in NYC in the 80s, I looked up at the hulking tracks and thought "what the hell is that doing in the middle of the city?!" Many adults thought the same thing. Robbie and Josh looked at the tracks and thought "we should really do something cool with that instead of tearing it down." In 2009 the first section of the high line opened to the public. In 2019 and 2023 new sections were completed. Against all odds, "two neighborhood nobodies" (as one writer described them!) created a coalition, learned to raise money and garner the favorable attention of local politicians, and persisted and succeeded. The park is maintained, operated, and programmed by Friends of the High Line in partnership with the NYC Department of Parks & Recreation and is run on donations. There are many amazing angles to the story of the Highline: Maybe you DON'T need a coherent or complete Vision or Mission?! Robbie makes it clear that they didn't even have a clear vision or strategic plan for some time…just the idea that the elevated line was worth saving and doing something with…they discovered what they wanted to create along the way. He actually credits the vagueness of the mission with creating a "big tent" that attracted more people to the organization. From a conventional dream to something better than anyone could imagine One surprising insight is that the property owners had a rather conventional dream - tear the elevated tracks down so they could build bigger. Turning the High Line into a park seemed like a low-value, impossible pipedream - sex workers and drug users congregated under the overpasses, after all! But the High Line's millions of visitors have transformed the value of the area far beyond the addition of a few extra square feet. The High Line as a symbol for dreamers of impossible dreams One of Robbie's greatest points of pride is that the High Line now stands as a symbol to many "crazy dreamers" who find inspiration in the story of outsiders persisting and accomplishing more than they ever dreamed possible. The High Line is now a global inspiration for cities to transform unused industrial zones into dynamic public spaces. But Robbie loves the personal stories of folks who come up to him at talks, who are working on all sorts of projects and who find inspiration in Robbie and Josh's "keep going against all odds" story. The importance of Talking to People Robbie talks about how he was always willing to pick up the phone and talk to anyone - the fearlessness of someone raised in sales. But the Friends of the High Line were also willing to host conversations with community groups and listen to them, and learn from them and communicate with them about why they were listening to their ideas and why, in some cases, they weren't going to. Open lines of consistent communication made the High Line possible. The Alchemy of the Co-Founder Relationship In this conversation, Robbie is bracingly reflective and shines a sometimes harsh light on himself. Here at the 15th anniversary of the opening of the Highline and the 25th anniversary of the start of the project, the founding of the Friends of the High Line, Robbie looks back and is refreshingly honest about his own challenges and shortcomings, as well as missed opportunities along the way to do things differently. What was truly surprising to me in this conversation is that Robbie was so open about his challenges as a co-founder, and is so open-eyed about how essential this most intimate of relationships can be…and how much he and Josh were willing to invest (in time, energy and resources) in that relationship to keep it intact, functional and flourishing. The Energy and Anxiety of Creation Robbie suggests that it is common for creative people (which includes entrepreneurs, and anyone that starts anything) to have a drive to accomplish their dream - that is what keeps them going… but that there is often "an undercurrent of anxiety". Meditation helped Robbie reclaim a higher level of happiness as the High Line approached realization, but it took him years to undo the deep grooves anxiety etched in his psyche. It's a worthwhile lesson for anyone listening out there who's creating something, start taking care of yourself sooner rather than later. You can follow Robbie on Instagram at thehighlineguy and stay in the loop on Therme's projects at https://www.thermegroup.com/. Head over to theconversationfactory.com/listen for full episode transcripts, links, show notes and more key quotes and ideas. You can also head over there and become a monthly supporter of the show for as little as $8 a month. You'll get complimentary access to exclusive workshops and resources that I only share with this circle of facilitators and leaders. Links https://www.thermegroup.com/ https://www.instagram.com/thehighlineguy Therme post (2021) Robbie's Book: The Highline:The Inside Story https://www.thehighline.org/history/ Early documents from the highline: Reclaiming The High Line: A Project Of The Design Trust For Public Space With Friends Of The High Line (2002) Talks: Rail Yards Talks 2011 "High Line: The Inside Story of New York City's Park in the Sky" - Richard Hammond https://www.ted.com/talks/robert_hammond_building_a_park_in_the_sky

Today my guests are Lisa Kay Solomon and Chris Ertel, the co-authors of the powerhouse 2014 book Moments of Impact: How to Design Strategic Conversations That Accelerate Change, which celebrates its 10th anniversary this year! I devoured this book 10 years ago and I think you might enjoy it, too! Lisa Kay Solomon is currently a Designer in Residence at the Stanford d. school, where she teaches classes such as Inventing the Future where students imagine, debate and analyze the 50-year futures of emerging tech, and works closely with the K12 community to make futures thinking a mainstay of 21c core curriculum. She has also been named to the Thinkers50 2022 Radar List and is one of ixDA's Women of Design 2020. Chris Ertel is a managing director of Deloitte Consulting LLP with a specialist role designing and providing high-stakes strategic conversations for clients and priority firm initiatives, in the Deloitte Greenhouse® signature environments. Chris is an innovation strategist with 18 years of experience advising leading organizations. He holds a PhD in demography from UC-Berkeley. We talk about What it really means to be a facilitative leader, and why it's so impactful. As Lisa and Chris say in MOI: "At these critical moments, everyone will be looking at you, not for all the answers, but to help them unearth the answers together" The Five Core Principles of Moments of Impact, which can form a Design Process 1. Define your purpose (your design intent!) 2. Engage multiple perspectives (with your facilitation skills!) 3. Frame the issues 4. Set the Scene 5. Make it an experience (even an intense or challenging one!) How designing conversations is different from facilitating them: Lisa makes it clear that Conversation Design is about intent and purpose while Facilitation skills are the tool that helps orchestrate those Moments of Impact. Why Conversation Design isn't taught to leaders but should be (Lisa also tells us why it's so hard to teach, since it brings together strategy, psychology and emotional intelligence) Why Chris always coaches leaders to condense and delete content from their strategic meetings (to 10 slides!) instead of making what communications expert Nancy Duarte calls a "Procument" (something that's neither an easy to use and digest presentation or a leave-behind document!) How crucial discussing decision-making rights are - as Chris suggests many leaders want to keep their options open and wind up creating an "air of democracy without the reality of it" Why You should start becoming a junkie of learning theories The importance of balancing humor and levity with challenging-ness and sparkiness to create productive environments The importance of knowing that the "yeah buts" will come when we're hosting challenging conversations as in: yeah, but, that won't work here! or… yeah, but, what will we be able to report next quarter? Or… yeah, but who's budget is going to cover that? And so much more! If you have Moments of Impact that you need to shape, design, and lead and you *don't* have Moments of Impact on your desk - get it! Head over to theconversationfactory.com/listen for full episode transcripts, links, show notes and more key quotes and ideas. You can also head over there and become a monthly supporter of the show for as little as $8 a month. You'll get complimentary access to exclusive workshops and resources that I only share with this circle of facilitators and leaders. Links Get Moments of Impact! https://www.lisakaysolomon.com/about https://www2.deloitte.com/us/en/profiles/certel.html A plan is not a strategy: The short video from Roger Martin we were talking about!

Rabbi Tarfon said: The day is short, and the work is plentiful…It is not your duty to finish the work, but neither are you at liberty to neglect it. (Pirkei Avot 2:15-16) My conversation today with Jerry Colonna closes with him paraphrasing this powerful notion - and the work we are discussing is the work on yourself and the work to create a better world - one where everyone feels like they truly belong. In a world where many organizations are retreating from Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Belonging initiatives, I'm grateful that Jerry is leaning into this conversation. I see the work of antiracism as firmly in the realm of what my peoples call Tikkun Olam, repairing the world. It's absolutely essential that men in positions of power and especially men who present as White, do not neglect this work. Jerry is a graduate of Queens College and a Brooklyn native. Jerry helps people lead with humanity and equanimity. His unique blend of Buddhism, Jungian therapy, and entrepreneurial know-how has made him a sought-after coach and leader, working with some of the largest firms in the country. In his work as a coach, he draws on his experience in Venture Capital as Co-founder of Flatiron Partners, one of the most successful early-stage investment programs. Later, he was a partner with J.P. Morgan Partners, the private equity arm of J.P. Morgan Chase. As a partner with J.P. Morgan Chase, Jerry launched the Financial Recovery Fund with The Partnership for the City of New York, a $10 million-plus program aimed at creating grants for small businesses impacted by the attacks on the World Trade Center. Along with a strong commitment to the nonprofit sector, Jerry is the author of two books: REBOOT: Leadership and the Art of Growing Up (2019) and REUNION: Leadership and the Longing to Belong. (2023) Reboot was met with critical acclaim, stirring up a big question in the hearts and minds of people: "How have I been complicit in creating the conditions I say I don't want?" Jerry's second book builds on this question, asking us what benefit we get from the conditions we say we don't want - the systems of oppression that those who have eyes to see, can see. Reunion is a highly personal book that asks us all to examine our history of longing to belong - and the ways in which we have been excluded or excluded others. Key Threads in the Conversation We discuss Jerry's Journaling practice and how it is an essential conversation he has with himself, each morning. We explore what it means to be a "good man" - and how in his first book, REBOOT, he questioned whether he was a good man, while in REUNION, he built upon the assumption that he is a good man and explored (and expanded) what it means to be a good man in a world where there is division and polarization. And I get Jerry to coach me on one of my favorite questions: understanding the disowned parts of ourselves, exploring the reasons behind disconnecting from them, and the importance of integrating them back without denying them - very much in line with the process of REUNION. All while working to authentically grow in ways that matter, without self-abuse or denial. Those parts of ourselves we wrestle with wrestle back at us. Many leaders I coach want to be feel or been seen as more or less of some quality or another - they, like so many of us, feel they must be other than they are in order to belong. In my experience, fighting against our parts without understanding and loving them is a losing battle. Jerry asks us to understand the stories behind our self doubt, and to honor the ways that part of us has sought to care for and protect us in the past. I find great empathy and lovingkindness in spending time nurturing my denied parts and my clients do, too. I'm so grateful to absorb Jerry's approach to self-integration, and to expand our inner work towards creating not just a life we love, but a world we want to live in. Head over to theconversationfactory.com/listen for full episode transcripts, links, show notes and more key quotes and ideas. You can also head over there and become a monthly supporter of the show for as little as $8 a month. You'll get complimentary access to exclusive workshops and resources that I only share with this circle of facilitators and leaders. Links Reboot Jerry's profile at Reboot Some other solid interviews with Jerry: On Being with Kista Tippett: Can you really bring your whole self to work? Noah Kagan, from AppSumo, interviewing Jerry on being a better human and a better leader

My guest today is James Rutter, Chief Creative Officer at COOK, the pioneering frozen food company, where he oversees internal and external branding and communications. COOK is a founding UK B Corp, committed to using its business as a force for good in society, and has been ranked in the top 100 Best Companies To Work For every year since 2013. COOK's award-winning frozen meals and puddings (which are desserts, btw) are made by hand in Kent and Somerset, and sold from 98 of its own shops nationwide, in 950 concessions and through its own home delivery service. James joined COOK in 2010 after 15 years as a financial journalist and editor, and he speaks and writes regularly about purpose-driven business and brands. You should really follow him on LinkedIn! James and I talk about the glory that is a proper Fish Pie, and about citizenship and participation. James' leadership philosophy for his internal team is grounded in a sense of play and a recognition of community. He shares some of his favorite insights from Peter Block's book, "Community: The Structure of Belonging" and the deep value he's found in working with Jon Alexander on Citizenship and Participation. Jon Alexander is the author of the bestselling book, "Citizens." James references Jon Alexander's Participation Premium Equation in the opening quote. There is so much goodness in this episode! At Minute 27 James shares his community and transformation insights from Peter Block, including the essential idea that a small group, a community, is the fundamental unit of change, especially when that group is grounded in possibility. He also goes to share the impact that Block's ideas of Inversion have had on him: As James says, summarizing Block: "It's not the performer who creates the performance, but the audience… And again, in a conversation sense… it's the listener who creates the conversation whereas we often think it's the speaker who creates the conversation… it's the child who creates the parent, not the parent who creates… this is (not) some kind of answer, but… a thought to play with. What if that's the way it works? How would you approach it differently? If the audience creates the performance, then how are you seeking to bring the audience into it? How are you giving them the power?" At Minute 42 we discuss the importance of Connection over content: "...you've got to seek to build the human bonds first before you seek to do whatever the worky thing is you want to do." In essence, we are marinating in Danny Meyer's ideas of an Employee-First workplace, which is why we talk, at the end of the episode, about how Happy Cooks make Happy Food, referencing an earlier conversation we had. And James insisted on talking about my Mom being on the Mike Douglas show with John Lennon, Yoko Ono and Chuck Berry in 1972, hosting a historical cooking segment - this episode is famous because it's the first time John and Chuck met and Played together. You can see A Tiny Video Clip of my mom on TV here (most of them seem to get pulled down). At a crucial moment in the cooking segment, my mother, just 22 and not actually my mother yet (or anyone's!) realized that the studio band was playing chaotic music, and that everyone was in a chaotic space, and she announced that unless we had a calm, peaceful environment, the food would taste chaotic - our intention and our energy would flow into the food. The Host, Mike Douglas, asked the band to play something quieter and more mellow, and John Lennon, assigned to cut cabbage, began reciting the mantra he wanted to suffuse the food: "Rock n Roll…Rock n Roll…Rock n Roll" What do YOU want to suffuse your work with? Head over to theconversationfactory.com/listen for full episode transcripts, links, show notes and more key quotes and ideas. You can also head over there and become a monthly supporter of the show for as little as $8 a month. You'll get complimentary access to exclusive workshops and resources that I only share with this circle of facilitators and leaders. Links James Rutter on LinkedIn Fish Pie Recipes! Peter Block on Community: The Structure of Belonging Jon Alexander's book Citizens Jon's Agency Equation: A Proposal Agency = Purpose + Belonging + Power Agency: the ability to shape the context of one's life Purpose: the belief that there is something beyond your immediate self that matters Belonging: the belief that there is a context to which you matter in turn Power: practical access to genuine opportunities to shape that context Exit, Voice, Loyalty: An essential book on people and organizations Finding flourishing and play at work - inspiration in https://www.punchdrunk.com/work/ Quotes no one said: "Teach Them to Yearn for the Vast and Endless Sea" Via quote investigator: https://quoteinvestigator.com/2015/08/25/sea/ Minimum Viable Transformation Matt LeMay on Agile Conversations Happy Cooks make happy food: On Daniel's Mom being on the Mike Douglas show with John Lennon, Yoko Ono and Chuck Berry Hosting a cooking segment: Context and History! Why this episode is famous - it's the first time John and Chuck met and Played together. A Tiny Video Clip of my mom on TV! (most of them seem to get pulled down)

My guest today is Jay Ruparel, co-founder and CEO of VOICEplug AI, a Voice-AI company empowering restaurants to leverage AI and automate food ordering using natural language voice ordering at drive-thrus, over the phone, websites, and mobile apps. VOICEplug's technology integrates with existing systems and apps, allowing customers to interact with the restaurant using natural voice commands, in multiple languages and be serviced seamlessly. I wanted to sit down with Jay to unpack what he has learned about how conversations are structured (for computer-to-human interaction) that he brings into his CEO (human-to-human) conversations - crucial conversations, with his senior leadership team and his broader organization - does an AI-savvy conversation-aware CEO approach conversations and interactions with a different eye? We also focused on a few questions of deep concern for our culture today: the responsible and ethical use of AI and how it might impact the future of work. Through our conversation, it became clear that: AI is great for: Repetitive or highly similar and constrained tasks. Ordering fast food at a drive-in, VOICEplug's use case, is a perfect context for AI. In these kinds of conversations, there are boundaries on the scope of the interaction and a clear set of intents and possible goals. Jay also points out that his AI is trained on many, many different instances of people ordering food from other people. So,the voice-driven bot can get better and better at these kinds of conversations, all the time. Humans are best for: High-risk and high-complexity conversations with no clear comparables or no clear scope. For Jay's conversations with key industry stakeholders, at company-all-hands, and with his leadership team, AI can give him ideas or first drafts, but ultimately, he needs to navigate nuance with his human conversational intelligence ++++++++++++ AI is great for: Crunching lots of data (which is always from the past) and summarizing it. Humans are best for: Deciding what kind of future they want to create. Jay points out in the opening quote that the Human mind can think, reflect, envision and CHOOSE an ideal future, creatively. AI can do a lot of that…but it can't choose the future it wants. That is still a uniquely human strength - to dream and to choose to create that dream. Jay dreams of a future where work is a deeper and deeper collaboration between humans and AI, where humans focus on higher-value activities while AI takes over repetitive tasks. Jay goes on to suggest that curiosity and powerful questions are THE most critical of human skills. When I asked Jay to share his favorite ways of designing conversations, he shared three tips: Take just a few minutes before a meeting to be very clear about your key one or two objectives for the conversation. In other words, start the end in mind. Another way of putting it is to take time to set an intention. You might enjoy my conversation with Leah Smart, the host of one of LinkedIn's top podcasts, on just this idea. If Jay is meeting with folks he doesn't know as well, from outside the company, like new clients or stakeholders, he'll deliberately slow down the conversation and delay getting to the core objective. Instead, he'll spend 20-30% of the meeting time getting to know them, talking about other things, all in service of trying to understand them as people, and their conversational style Jay consciously chooses some conversational areas to NOT be highly scalable or automated - he shares a story about being offered an AI tool that would send automated and personalized birthday emails to his employees. As he says "What is the point of me having to use that as the CEO (when)…that relationship, that wishing someone on their birthday as a personalized conversation means so much to me. That's the last thing I would want to ever automate." Not all conversations, even ones that can seem small and inconsequential SHOULD be automated. It is possible that a real, human touch will be the ultimate in luxury in the future. Head over to theconversationfactory.com/listen for full episode transcripts, links, show notes and more key quotes and ideas. You can also head over there and become a monthly supporter of the show for as little as $8 a month. You'll get complimentary access to exclusive workshops and resources that I only share with this circle of facilitators and leaders. Links https://voiceplug.ai/ Jay on LinkedIn

My guest today, Emily Levada, is a seasoned Chief Product & Technology Officer. Currently, she is the Chief Product Officer and Interim co-CEO at Embark Veterinary, a company dedicated to leveraging genetics to enhance the health and longevity of dogs. During her tenure, the company has achieved notable recognition, ranking as the #3 fastest-growing private company in Massachusetts and earning a spot on Forbes' list of promising venture-backed startups. She also serves as a Board Member at JCC Greater Boston, bringing her expertise to contribute to the organization's growth and development and holds a significant role as a Member of the Customer Advisory Board at UserTesting, where she actively engages in guiding and advising the company. Emily is also a two-time podcast guest, my first ever! We did an episode a few years back where she shared some wonderful insights and frameworks about Trust, Communication and Psychological Safety in teams. Emily was also gracious enough to be a guest mentor for the Innovation Leadership Accelerator cohort I co-ran with my friend Jay Melone from the product innovation consultancy New Haircut some years back. In this conversation, we sat down to talk about managing organizational emotions, especially negative emotions, and especially during critical junctures, like layoffs - something that many folks have been through, and many folks in the past year. I knew that Emily had some experience with this in the past and had some great thinking to share around this crucial leadership topic. There's no *good* side to be on in a downsizing event - the people who are losing their jobs and income are also losing a sense of identity and need to navigate an uncertain future. But the loss of identity and the need to face an uncertain future is also true for the folks who are still with the company - both the "rank and file" and the leadership. Layoffs done poorly can dent a company culture. Emily emphasized the importance of transparency in the period leading up to a layoff, as it builds trust and can mitigate negative emotions. On the other hand, leaders often have a desire to protect people from such difficult conversations until the last possible moment, so the whole team can focus on their day-to-day jobs. I explored this polar tension between these two fundamental values, transparency and protection, with Emily using a tool called Polarity Mapping, developed by Barry Johnson Ph.D., the creator (and registered trademark holder!) of The Polarity Map®! You can read more about polarity mapping in my friend Stephen Andserson's short blog post here and check out Dr. Johnson's company, Polarity Partnerships here. IMHO, Stephen's version of Barry's diagram (below) is a bit clearer! The basic idea of Polarity mapping is that often we feel pulled by two values, like: Should we focus on Innovation or Efficiency? Should we prioritize Deadlines or Quality? Growth vs. Consolidation? Short-term Gains vs. Long-term Organic Growth? Centralization vs. Decentralization? (thanks for these examples, Stephen!) In my own coaching work, I've found leaders can struggle to navigate conflicting parts of themselves, forming inner polar tensions that leave them feeling stuck, like: "I need to be flexible vs I need to be firm" "I need to lead the conversation vs I need to let the conversation flow" "I need to be aggressive or I have to be more passive" "I need to listen more vs I feel the need to fix challenges" "I want to be authentically myself vs I need to be a chameleon to get by" And because we get pulled between them, and feel the polarity to be an unwinnable double bind of "damned if I do," we kind of flub the balancing act. Polarity mapping asks us to be ultra-specific about the positives of both values AND to be very clear on the downsides of over-indexing on one value to the detriment of the other. Doing a mapping like this can help us thread the needle of polarity, and look out for the early warning signs of over-indexing in one direction or another. Below is a version of a polarity map for the tension Emily describes in our conversation, between Transparency and Protection. Emily points out that these polarities pop up, not just at crucial moments in a business like layoffs, but in day-to-day operations, too. Leaders can feel that Emotions are Inconvenient, but Team Emotions have real impact Emily shares the top three negative organizational emotions she finds can deeply impact a team's ability to learn (ie, be willing to experiment), be creative (ie, being able to innovate) and be fundamentally effective: Anxiety (Fear)BoredomApathy Fear, anxiety, and boredom are detrimental to creativity and productivity in knowledge work. Leaders need to address these emotions and create an environment that fosters engagement and challenge - and ultimately, create a learning organization. "People cannot do creative knowledge work when they feel fear and anxiety and boredom. Those things are just incompatible." Emily suggests that well-run one-on-one meetings are crucial for understanding how team members are feeling and detecting signs of overwhelm, underwhelm, or "whelm" in their job. One-on-ones can help build a foundation of trust and safety, on which we can build honest and productive conversations. Emily also shares some straightforward approaches for shifting these key negative emotions: Anxiety: focus on building psychological safety for teams experiencing anxiety, and provide more transparency and context. Boredom: create relevant challenges Apathy: create accountability and challenge for teams experiencing apathy Head over to theconversationfactory.com/listen for full episode transcripts, links, show notes and more key quotes and ideas. You can also head over there and become a monthly supporter of the show for as little as $8 a month. You'll get complimentary access to exclusive workshops and resources that I only share with this circle of facilitators and leaders. Links Trust, Communication, and Psychological Safety with Emily Levada The Joys of Polarity Mapping, by Stephen Anderson Polarity Partnerships

It's not every day that a patient-doctor relationship turns into a Techstars-Funded medical innovation startup. In this episode I sit down with Dr. Onyinye Balogun and Eve McDavid, the co-founders of Mission-Driven Tech, a women's health venture in collaboration with Weill Cornell Medicine dedicated to the transformation of cervical cancer care with modern technology. Onyi, as her friends call her, is the CMO of Mission Driven Tech and also an Assistant Professor of Radiation Oncology at Weill Cornell Medicine specializing in the treatment of breast and gynecologic malignancies and does research into improving cancer care in low and middle income countries. Eve, the CEO, is a former Google executive who is also a Stage IIB Cervical Cancer survivor. Eve and Onyi met during the pandemic, when Eve was undergoing cancer treatment under Onyi's care. I heard Eve and Onyi's presentation at the 2023 Techstars Demo day in New York and was stunned by the fundamental disparities in historical improvement in gynecological cancer outcomes - as they point out in this conversation, in recent years, Prostate cancer treatment has achieved a nearly 100% five year survival rate. In the same period, cervical and uterine cancer mortality has gotten worse, while cancer treatment for all other cancers has improved exponentially. Their company exists to change that story. Co-Founder Communication Insights This conversation is one of a series on co-founder communication. Check out my interviews with the co-founders of online gaming start-up Artie on Pivoting while staying sane (the secret - have a coach and a therapist!), a conversation with Carolyn Gregoire and Scott Barry Kaufman, the co-authors of the 2015 bestseller, Wired to Create, on navigating Paired Creativity, and this interview with the co-founders of collaboration tool Range, Jennifer Dennard and Dan Pupius, on the keys to healthy conflict. One key that Beth Bayouth and Mario Fedelin, the COO and CEO (respectively) of Changeist, a non-profit organization dedicated to youth empowerment, discussed was the importance of co-founders sharing how they are really doing so that they can be sure to not fall apart at the same time, a sentiment that Eve and Onyi echoed. I also discussed the idea of "prototyping partnerships" with Jane Portman and Benedikt Deicke, co-founders of Userlist - and they helped me see that the healthiest companies have partners that have worked together in some capacity - and indeed, in this interview, Onyi and Eve called Eve's cancer treatment their "first collaboration". Know yourself and each other The start of a startup journey can be optimistic, so we explore what they have learned about each other that has helped them to better communicate and collaborate together since they started the project. Accelerators can't do it all for you Eve and Onyi share how the accelerators can help with structure, mentorship, capital and community, but that ultimately you need to have something worth accelerating - a key customer insight or a core technology - both of which Mission-Driven Tech has! Have multiple modes and frequencies of communication Eve and Onyi have a weekly meeting just focused on their flagship product, the Blossom device, and another meeting weekly for other issues, and to simply connect. Meanwhile, they have a Whatsapp thread that enables them to constantly stay connected and in touch with each other. Balancing always-on connectivity and scheduled connectivity is key. A partnership is a marriage and reflective listening is key! Onyi shared their perspective that being in a co-founder relationship is like marriage, and that communication is key for any marriage to work. As she says, "The future of this company rests partly in how well we're able to communicate. So we tell each other the good, the bad and the ugly." She shared their simple and effective approach to communication - making specific time for it, and using active listening intentionally: "I hear what you're saying, I reflect it back to you. You hear what I'm saying and you reflect it back to me." Know who your real audience is We discuss user-driven product development, which Eve and Onyi, as a former patient and doctor, are a unique example of…but we also discuss how in their current stage, investors are their actual "buyers". Onyi discussed how she's developed a keen sense of "push vs pull" when they are making their investment pitch - some investors just get the commitment required to make a startup like this successful, and those people are their real audience. It's not about convincing the wrong people, it's about finding the right people. Balance Now and Next Every startup needs to balance managing their current challenges and opportunities with putting energy into strategic vision and planning. Eve points out that this is a particular challenge for medical and device companies - the rate of change can be slow, due to fundamentals of the problem space. So, there needs to be more patience and intention put into planning and hypothesis testing. As Eve pointed out, There is immense pressure to achieve immediate results, but real impact takes time. Head over to theconversationfactory.com/listen for full episode transcripts, links, show notes and more key quotes and ideas. You can also head over there and become a monthly supporter of the show for as little as $8 a month. You'll get complimentary access to exclusive workshops and resources that I only share with this circle of facilitators and leaders. Links https://missiondriventech.com/ LinkedIn: Onyi: https://www.linkedin.com/in/onyinye-balogun-md-ms-22b57283/ Eve: https://www.linkedin.com/in/evemcdavid/