Meikles & Dimes

Tom Hardin, also known as Tipper X, was a rising Wall Street analyst when he traded on a few insider tips leading to the FBI knocking on his door. He decided to cooperate with the FBI, and became a key informant in Operation Perfect Hedge, the largest insider-trading investigation in U.S. history. He is also the author of the book, Wired on Wall Street. In this episode we discuss the following: Tom’s experience reads like a case study in an ethics textbook. Tom felt like he was on the outside looking in. So when given an insider tip, he traded on it. When Tom’s boss looked the other way, while simultaneously applying pressure, Tom started rationalizing his behavior. After all, he was trying to be a good dad and husband, which made him feel like he had moral credits to spend on illegal trades. Once caught by the FBI, Tom turned his scars into service, contributing to an investigation that resulted in dozens of guilty pleas. Our ethical failures rarely come out of the blue, rather they are the predictable result of surrounding ourselves with the wrong people and making seemingly small ethical compromises.  

Beth Campbell is an award-winning professor of management and leadership development at the University of Minnesota. Her main research projects focus on the consequences high performers spark for themselves and how high performers affect their peers and their teams. She has published in leading academic journals, including the Academy of Management Journal and the Journal of Applied Psychology, while also serving as Chief Operations Officer of the OB Division of the Academy of Management. She also serves on the editorial boards of the Academy of Management Journal, the Journal of Applied Psychology, and as Associate Editor at Personnel Psychology. Beth holds a Ph.D. in management from the University of Maryland and a B.A. in organizational psychology from the University of Michigan. In this episode we discuss the following: Hiring a star performer seems like an easy win, but Beth’s research shows that hiring stars can trigger status conflicts and envy. Research suggests that "star power" hits diminishing returns once a team is composed of more than 20% high performers, as too many "hot shots" can lead to ego clashes rather than collaboration. To avoid these pitfalls, leaders can look for stars who possess humility and high emotional intelligence, as they’re more likely to share credit and lift those around them. Success isn't just about chasing the best talent, but being thoughtful about the character traits of stars and the system they’ll be working in. 

Scott Kaufman is a psychologist, coach, professor, keynote speaker, and best-selling author. He is a professor of psychology at Columbia University and director of the Center for Human Potential. He also hosts The Psychology Podcast which has received over 30 million downloads and is widely considered among the top  psychology podcasts in the world. Scott’s writing has appeared in The Atlantic, Scientific American, Psychology Today, and Harvard Business Review, and he is the author and editor of 11 books. In his most recent book Rise Above: Overcome a Victim Mindset, Empower Yourself, and Realize Your Full Potential, he explores the limiting beliefs and widespread anxiety that puts people in boxes, lowers expectations, and holds them back. In addition to teaching at Columbia, Scott has also been a professor at the University of Pennsylvania and NYU. Scott received a B.S. in psychology and human computer interaction from Carnegie Mellon, an M. Phil in experimental psychology from the University of Cambridge under a Gates Cambridge Scholarship, and a Ph.D. in cognitive psychology from Yale University. In this episode we discuss the following: Scott’s definition of intelligence: the dynamic interplay of engagement and abilities in the pursuit of goals. When we give people a chance to go deep into an area that they love, over a long period of time, they can develop expertise and brain structures that can override some of our IQ limitations. The thing that surprised Scott most as he researched intelligence was just how predictive IQ is. Scott thought he was going to be on a vendetta against IQ but ended up falling in love with the science of IQ, intelligence, and the brain. Differences in ability are both natural and valuable, and recognizing them—rather than denying them—creates better paths for growth and contribution. Unlocking our potential requires intellectual honesty, patience, and environments that allow passion and skill to reinforce one another over time.  

Bob Goodson was the first employee at Yelp, founder of social media analytics company Quid, co-inventor of the Like button, and co-author of the new book Like: The Button That Changed the World. On Oct 1, 2025, Bob spent a day with our MBA students at the University of Kansas, and he shared so much great content that I asked him if we could put together some of the highlights as a podcast, which I've now put together in three chapters: First is Careers, second is Building Companies, and third is AI and Social Media. As a reminder, any views and perspectives expressed on the podcast are solely those of the individual, and not those of the organizations they represent. Hope you enjoy the episode. - [Transcript] Nate:  My name is Nate Meikle. You're listening to Meikles and Dimes, where every episode is dedicated to the simple, practical, and under-appreciated. Bob Goodson was the first employee at Yelp, founder of social media analytics company Quid, co-inventor of the like button, and co-author of the new book Like: The Button That Changed the World. On Oct 1, 2025, Bob spent a day with our MBA students at the University of Kansas, and he shared so much great content that I asked him if we could put together some of the highlights as a podcast, which I've now put together in three chapters: First is Careers, second is Building Companies, and third is AI and Social Media. As a reminder, any views and perspectives expressed on the podcast are solely those of the individual and not those of the organizations they represent. Hope you enjoy the episode. Let’s jump into Chapter 1 on Careers. For the first question, a student asked Bob who he has become and how his experiences have shaped him as a person and leader.   Bob:  Oh, thanks, Darrell. That's a thoughtful question. It's thoughtful because it's often not asked, and it's generally not discussed. But I will say, and hopefully you'll feel like this about your work if you don't already, that you will over time, which is I'm 45 now, so I have some sort of vantage point to look back over. Like, I mean, I started working when I was about 9 or 10 years old, so I have been working for money for about 35 years. So I'm like a bit further into my career than perhaps I look. I've been starting companies and things since I was about 10. So, in terms of like my professional career, which I guess started, you know, just over 20 years ago, 20 years into that kind of work, the thing I'm most grateful for is what it's allowed me to learn and how it's evolved me as a person. And I'm also most grateful on the business front for how the businesses that I've helped create and the projects and client deployments and whatever have helped evolve the people that have worked on them. Like I genuinely feel that is the most lasting thing that anything in business does is evolve people. It's so gratifying when you have a team member that joins and three years later you see them, just their confidence has developed or their personality has developed in some way. And it's the test of the work that has evolved them as people. I mean, I actually just on Monday night, I caught up for the first time in 10 years with an intern we had 10 years ago called Max Hofer. You can look him up. He was an intern at Quid. He was from Europe, was studying in London, came to do an internship with us in San Francisco for the summer. And, he was probably like 18, 19 years old. And a few weeks ago, he launched his AI company, Parsewise, with funding from Y Combinator. And, he cites his experience at Quid as being fundamental in choosing his career path, in choosing what field he worked in and so on. So that was, yeah, that was, when you see these things happening, right, 10 years on, we caught up at an event we did in London on Monday. And it's just it's really rewarding. So I suppose, yeah, like I suppose it's it's brought me a lot of perspective, brought me a lot of inner peace, actually, you know, the and and when you're when I was in the thick of it at times, I had no sense of that whatsoever. Right. Like in tough years. And there were some - there have been some very tough years in my working career that you don't feel like it's developing you in any way. It just feels brutal. I liken starting a company, sometimes it's like someone's put you in a room with a massive monster and the monster pins you down and just bats you across the face, right, for like a while. And you're like just trying to get away from the monster and you're like, finally you get the monster off your back and then like the monster's just on you again. And it just, it's just like you get a little bit of space and freedom and then the monster's back and it's just like pummeling you. And it's just honestly some years, like for those of you, some of you are running companies now, right? And starting your own companies as well. And I suppose it's not just starting companies. There are just phases in your career and work where it's like you look back and you're like, man, that year was just like, that was brutal. You just get up and fight every day, and you just get knocked down every day. So I think, I don't wish that on anybody, but it does build resilience that then transfers into other aspects of your life.    Nate:  Next, a student made a reference to the first podcast episode I recorded with Bob and asked him if he felt like he was still working on the most important problem in his field.    Bob:  Yeah, thank you. Thanks for listening to the podcast, as this gives us… thanks for the chance to plug the podcast. So the way I met Nate is that he interviewed me for his podcast. And for those of you who haven't listened to it, it's a 30 minute interview. And he asked this question about what advice would you share with others? And we honed in on this question of like, what is the most important problem in your field? And are you working on it? Which I love as a guide to like choosing what to work on. And so we had a great conversation. I enjoyed it so much and really enjoyed meeting Nate. So we sort of said, hey, let's do more fun stuff together in the future. So that's what brought us to this conversation. And thanks to Nate for, you know, bringing us all together today. I'm always working on what I think is the most important problem in front of me. And I always will be. I can't help it. I don't have to think about it. I just can't think about anything else. So yes, I do feel like right now I'm working on the most important problem in my field. And I feel like I've been doing that for about 20 years. And it's not for everybody, I suppose. But I just think, like, let's talk about that idea a little bit. And then I'll say what I think is the most important problem in my field that I'm working on. Like, just to translate it for each of you. Systems are always evolving. The systems we live in are evolving. We all know that. People talk about the pace of change and like life's changing, technology's changing and so on. Well, it is, right? Like humans developed agriculture 5,000 years ago. That wasn't very long ago. Agriculture, right? Just the idea that you could grow crops in one area and live in that area without walking around, without moving around settlements and different living in different places. And that concept is only 5,000 years old, right? I mean, people debate exactly how old, like 7, 8,000. But anyway, it's not that long ago, considering Homo sapiens have been walking around for in one form or another for several hundred thousand years and humans in general for a couple million years. So 5,000 years is not long. Look at what's happened in 5,000 years, right? Like houses, the first settlements where you would actually just live at sleep in the same place every night is only 5,000 years old. And now we've got on a - you can access all the world's knowledge - on your phone for free through ChatGPT and ask it sophisticated questions and all right answers. Or you can get on a plane and fly all over the world. You have, you know, sophisticated digital currency systems. We have sophisticated laws. And like, we've got to be aware, I think, that we are living in a time of great change. And that has been true for 5,000 years, right? That's not new. So I think about this concept of the forefront. I imagine, human development is, you can just simply imagine it like a sphere or balloon that someone's like blowing up, right? And so every time they breathe into it, like something shifts and it just gets bigger. And so there's stuff happening on the forefront where it's occupying more space, different space, right? There's stuff in the middle that's like a bit more stable and a bit more, less prone to rapid change, right? The education system, some parts of the healthcare system, like certain professions, certain things that are like a bit more stable, but there's stuff happening all the time on the periphery, right? Like on the boundary. And that stuff is affecting every field in one way or another. And I just think if you get a chance to work on that stuff, that's a really interesting place to live and a really interesting place to work. And I feel like you can make a contribution to that, right, if you put yourself on the edge. And it's true for every field. So whatever field you're in, we had people here today, you know, in everything from, yeah, like the military to fitness to, you know, your product, product design and management and, you know, lots of different, you know, people, different backgrounds. But if you ask yourself, what is the most important thing happening in my area of work today, and then try to find some way to work on it, then I think that sort of is a nice sort of North Star and keeps things interesting. Because the sort of breakthroughs and discoveries and important contributions are actually not complicated once you put yourself in that position. They're obvious once you put yourself in that position, right? It's just

Rebecca Hinds is a leading expert on organizational behavior and the future of work. She earned her BS, MS, and PhD from Stanford University, and founded the Work Innovation Lab at Asana as well as the Work AI Institute at Glean, first-of-their-kind corporate think tanks dedicated to cutting-edge research on the future of work. Her research is consistently featured in top-tier publications and has appeared in Harvard Business Review, The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, Forbes, Fast Company, Wired, TIME, CNBC, Bloomberg, and the Washington Post, among others. And most recently, Rebecca is the author of the book, Your Best Meeting Ever. In this episode we discuss the following: At a time when our calendars are packed with meetings, Rebecca reminds us that meetings shouldn’t just happen—they should be designed. Her "Meeting Doomsday" experiment was interesting: a simple 48-hour calendar purge saved employees an average of 11 hours per month by forcing them to rebuild their schedules with intentionality. A few simple strategies can go a long way: treat our meetings like a product. Fight our instinct to add, and instead use the "Rule of Halves" to cut the duration and/or attendees by 50%. Measure our "Return on Time Investment" (ROTI) with simple post-meeting pulse checks. If we want to overcome organizational inertia and Parkinson’s Law—where work expands to fill the time allotted—we have to stop using meetings as a knee-jerk default and start seeing them as our most expensive, yet least optimized, business asset. And then design them carefully.

Hubert Joly is a Harvard Business School lecturer and globally recognized leadership thinker focused on re-founding business around purpose and people. A former Chairman and CEO of Best Buy, he led one of the most celebrated corporate turnarounds of the past decade by rejecting cost-cutting playbooks in favor of purpose-driven strategy. At Harvard Business School, he co-leads flagship CEO programs and advises organizations on developing next-generation leaders. Hubert serves on the boards of Johnson & Johnson and S&P Global, is a trustee of the New York Public Library, has been named among the world’s top CEOs and management thinkers by HBR, Barron’s, Glassdoor, and Thinkers50, and is the bestselling author of The Heart of Business. In this episode we discuss the following: When Hubert became CEO of Best Buy, he resisted the instinct to cut, cut, cut. Instead, as a first-time CEO, he chose to be a learn-it-all rather than a know-it-all—constantly asking, What’s working? What’s not? And what do you need? He then held himself to a strong “say-do” ratio, making sure his actions matched his words. I was also struck by the hierarchy he emphasized at Best Buy: people, business, finance. Of course a company has to make money. But when meetings start with finance or strategy, the implicit message is that people come second. Best Buy ultimately clarified this by defining its purpose as enriching lives through technology by addressing human needs. Another powerful idea was Hubert’s reminder that culture changes faster than we think—if behavior changes first. If you want to be customer-centric, don’t just talk about customers. Spend time with them. Behavior shapes culture surprisingly fast. Give a name or brand to our behavior change goals.

Maya Shankar is a cognitive scientist and the creator, executive producer, and host of the podcast, A Slight Change of Plans, which Apple awarded as the Best Show of the Year in 2021. Maya was a Senior Advisor in the Obama White House, where she founded and served as Chair of the White House Behavioral Science Team. She also served as the first Behavioral Science Advisor to the United Nations, and as a core member of Pete Buttigieg’s debate preparation team during his 2020 presidential run. Maya has a postdoctoral fellowship in cognitive neuroscience from Stanford, a Ph.D. in cognitive psychology from Oxford on a Rhodes Scholarship, and a B.A. from Yale. She's been profiled by The New Yorker and been the featured guest on NPR's All Things Considered, Freakonomics, and Hidden Brain. She's also a graduate of the Juilliard School of Music's pre-college program. And most recently, Maya is the author of the book, The Other Side of Change. In this episode we discuss the following: I loved Maya’s insight about identity. When she injured her finger and could no longer play the violin, she was devastated because she identified as a violinist. But when she looked more broadly at the motivations that drove her, she realized that connection, growth, care, and contribution were underlying motivations. And violin wasn’t the only way to accomplish her ultimate goals. By anchoring our identity to deeper motivations rather than specific roles or activities, we create a more resilient sense of self while also creating more opportunities for us to achieve our goals.

Josh Foster is an award-winning independent writer, thinker, and farmer in Rigby, Idaho. He is the author of The Last Good Snow Hunt (2024), The Clean Package: A Pioneer Assemblage (2023), and The Crown Package: A Personal Anthology (2022). Josh earned a PHD in literature and creative writing from the University of Houston, a master’s of fine arts degree in fiction and nonfiction from the University of Arizona, and an undergraduate degree in English from BYU Idaho. In between his master’s degree and PhD, Josh was selected as a Stegner Fellow at Stanford University, one of the most prestigious creative writing fellowships in the world. Josh also earned a minor in Spanish and studied at the University of Guadalajara. In his almost two-decade writing and publishing career, Josh has served in key editorial positions with notable magazines such as Terrain.org, DIAGRAM, and Gulf Coast. Josh now co-operates the creative cooperative and press FOSTER LITERARY with his wife, the poet Georgia Pearle Foster. In this follow up interview with Josh (see Episode 99 for our first interview) we discuss the following: We covered a lot of ground with Josh, which is always great because he’s so full of insight. First the farm, as a metaphor for life. Raising a successful crop each year requires daily blood, sweat, and tears. But even when the uncontrollable weather actually cooperates, markets can suddenly change. It’s a never ending struggle. But farmers just keep showing up every day. Water is the lifeblood of the farm, and it was fun to hear how Josh is engaging with community members and policy makers to figure out how to allocate water effectively, and potentially grow the supply. And I look forward to reading his upcoming book on water. I also look forward to reading Georgia and Josh’s book, Other People’s Parties. As Josh said, he often finds himself at the last moment of things and I’m inspired by how he wants to memorialize and preserve the stories that are fleeting. I’m especially excited to both watch the film Bozwreck and read Josh’s novel on his cousin Nate Bozung. After the interview, Josh sent me a brief clip of the film, and I was blown away by the beauty and style of the film. I always love talking to Josh because he teaches me about life and humanity. But he also inspires me. Whenever we create things, we never know the impact they may have. But like the farmer, we just keep showing up every day. And even though the world is confusing, violent, and unfair, let’s be good to each other, help each other, and be better.

David Beck is the principal of Granite Connection High School in South Salt Lake, Utah. He has served as a teacher at Pleasant Grove High School, and Assistant Principal at both Cyprus High School and Granger High School in Utah. David earned his undergraduate and graduate degrees from BYU. In this episode we discuss the following: When one of David’s students was falling asleep in class, a pep talk was the last thing she needed—she was working until 1:00 a.m. and catching a 6:30 a.m. bus just to get to school. What she needed was love, respect, and repeated check-ins over time. Even when students have especially difficult lives, the answer isn’t to lower expectations, but to raise support through mentorship, consistency, interventions, and relationships. Often, what people need most isn’t money, but guidance—someone to help them navigate systems and help them believe a different future is possible. By applying the Heath Brothers’ Power of Moments framework and intentionally designing positive, celebratory experiences, the school massively increased graduation rates. In the end, it all comes down to relationships.

Peter Schein is co-author of the worldwide bestseller, Humble Inquiry: The Gentle Art of Asking Instead of Telling. Together with his father Edgar Schein, one of the founders of organizational psychology, Peter has co-written six books, including Humble Leadership and Career Anchors Reimagined. Peter holds degrees from Stanford, Northwestern and USC.  In this episode we discuss the following: Humble Inquiry is a philosophy about how to get along, gather information, and build relationships. The key is to ask people questions we don’t know the answer to. If we tell people what to do, or guide them with questions we already know the answer to, we are telling them that we know best. But by asking people questions we don’t know the answer to, we communicate genuine curiosity while also gathering information that we don’t currently possess. Remember to ask people questions that we don’t know the answer to. 

Dorie Clark is an executive education professor at Duke University’s Fuqua School of Business and Columbia Business School, and is the bestselling author of several books, including The Long Game and Stand Out. A frequent Harvard Business Review contributor, she has consulted for leading organizations including Google, Microsoft, and the World Bank. Dorie is former presidential campaign spokeswoman, an award-winning journalist, and a four-time Thinkers50 honoree who was named the world’s top communication coach by the Marshall Goldsmith Leading Global Coaches Awards. Dorie holds degrees from Smith College and Harvard Divinity School. In this episode we discuss the following: While Dorie was working grueling hours on the campaign trail for low pay, her boss was earning 10 times her monthly salary in one hour speeches—and that sparked Dorie’s curiosity. She realized that the massive pay difference came down to scale. Even if Broadway actors are just as talented as Hollywood actors, the Hollywood actors reach millions more people, thus commanding a premium. Dorie also saw that her boss had earned trust of other high status people who vouched for him. By building up social proof through brand affiliations, media appearances, and content creation, we make it easier for people to trust us. And we can also increase our scale. 

Mike Baer is an award-winning business professor at Arizona State University, where he researches trust, justice, and impression management. Mike has published his research in top academic journals, including the Academy of Management Journal, Journal of Applied Psychology, and Personnel Psychology, and Mike is currently the Editor-in-Chief at one of the field's top journals—Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes.  Mike’s research has been covered by media outlets such as Harvard Business Review, Financial Times, PBS, NPR, Business Insider, Men's Health, and New York Magazine among others. Prior to joining academia, Mike worked in the construction industry, at Hewlett Packard's Executive Leadership Development group, and in publishing and online education. He earned his undergraduate and graduate degrees from BYU, and his PHD from the University of Georgia. In this episode we discuss the following: Trust is both a gift and a burden. When we trust others, we can increase their pride and opportunities but can also overload them with responsibilities and pressure. Leaders routinely overload their most trusted people without taking anything off their plates, while under-investing in newer employees who could grow with smaller tasks. Trust shapes how we interpret behavior: trusted employees get the benefit of the doubt; less-trusted ones receive harsh judgments for the same mistakes, which can make early impressions disproportionately powerful. When people are forming those early impressions and deciding whether to trust us, they are thinking about three things: Are we competent? Do we care about them? Do we have good values? So if we do our job well and help other people without being asked, we will tend to make a good impression. About 25% of employees don’t actually want more trust—they want stability, not responsibility.

Sébastien Page is the Chief Investment Officer at T. Rowe Price, one of the world’s largest investment management firms. Sebastien oversees a team of investment professionals who manage more than $500 billion in assets, and he rose from a non-English-speaking intern to the C-suite. Sébastien is also the author of the book, The Psychology of Leadership.   In this episode we discuss the following: For the sports psychologist and 40-time national handball champ Daniel Zimet, his best match ever was a loss. Roger Federer, one of the greatest tennis players of all time, lost nearly half the points in his career. Outcomes are noisy, and are only loose signals of decision quality. True peak performance, whether in sports, investing, or life, isn’t always about winning. It’s about a relentless focus on the process. At the highest levels, listening beats speaking, strategic patience often beats knee-jerk decisiveness, and the courage to quit can matter more than blind persistence. None of this matters if we’re running on empty. The foundation of sustained excellence is sleep, diet, and exercise.

Ian Williamson is dean of The UC Irvine Paul Merage School of Business. Prior to joining the Merage School, he served as pro vice-chancellor and dean of commerce at the Wellington School of Business and Government at Victoria University of Wellington, New Zealand. Ian has also served as a faculty member in business schools in Australia, Switzerland, and Indonesia. Ian is a globally recognized expert in the area of human resource management and his research has been published in leading academic journals and covered by leading media outlets across the world. Ian received his PhD from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and a bachelor’s degree in business from Miami University. In this episode we discuss the following: Ian sees himself as a steward, making decisions for the person who comes after him, recognizing that he’s caring for something that existed long before him and will continue long after him. What a powerful example of long-term thinking Ian encountered with the Māori leaders, who asked, "How will this decision affect our great-grandchildren?’” Not all leadership looks the same, and it’s perfectly fine for some leaders to focus on the short term. But the key is being intentional about what our role demands and what kind of leader we want to be.

Elyce Arons is a cofounder of Kate Spade and the cofounder and CEO of Frances Valentine. Elyce grew up on a cattle farm in Kansas before attending the University of Kansas where she met her lifelong best friend, Katy Brosnahan. Together they helped launch the multibillion-dollar bag company Kate Spade, with Katy’s eventual husband Andy Spade and Pamela Bell. Elyce is also the author of the book, We Might Just Make it After All.  In this episode we discuss the following:  The great advice Elyce gave about the value of writing thank you notes. Not only has Elyce written countless thank you notes, but also she has helped countless others write thank you notes through her stationery line at Kate Spade. After this interview with Elyce, I ordered a box of thank you notes and a pack of stamps. I first wrote a note to thank my wife Keshia for being so wonderful. And then I wrote a note to Elyce, thanking her for coming on the podcast. And just like that, I’m on track for 25 notes in six months when I check back in with Elyce. I encourage all of you to follow Elyce’s advice to write thank you notes to people you meet with. By doing so, you will make others’ lives better.

Steph Wagner is the National Director of Women & Wealth at Northern Trust, where she leads the firm’s Elevating Women platform focused on building financial literacy. She is the author of the book, Fly!: A Woman's Guide to Financial Freedom and Building a Life You Love, and her insights have been featured in The Wall Street Journal, The New York Times, and Yahoo Finance, among others.   In this episode we discuss the following: When Steph went through her horrific divorce, she realized that she had abdicated her personal financial independence, even though she was a sophisticated corporate finance professional. Even if we’re in a partnership, we can be proactive in taking responsibility for our finances. That includes addressing the emotional and psychological aspects of money matters. Communicating openly about personal finance. Using frameworks that help us achieve our goals. And starting now, because time is our greatest ally.

Claude Silver is the Chief Heart Officer at VaynerX and partners with CEO Gary Vaynerchuk to drive their success. Claude has earned Campaign US's Female Frontier Award and AdWeek's Changing the Game Award and is a sought after speaker at companies including Meta, Google, US Government agencies, and the US Armed Forces. She has been featured in The New York Times, Forbes, and The Wall Street Journal, and she is the author of the book, “Be Yourself at Work.” I hope you enjoy learning from Claude Silver today. In this episode we discuss the following: Claude repeatedly found herself in unhealthy, codependent relationships, and it wasn’t until  her brother told her that she was living in a pretty prison, followed by a therapist insisting she attend Codependents Anonymous, that Claude began to understand the pattern: she was losing herself by centering her identity around others. Through six years in Codependence Anonymous, Claude learned some powerful lessons: Empathy needs boundaries. You can’t change others—only yourself. We each have the agency to steer our own life. It’s okay to take up space and be big in the room. We don’t have to shrink so someone else can feel better.

Muriel Wilkins is founder and CEO of Paravis Partners and advisor and coach to C-suite executives. She is also the author of Leadership Unblocked and host of the Harvard Business Review podcast Coaching Real Leaders.  In this episode we discuss the following: What often holds us back as leaders isn’t the ability to grasp some new tactic. Rather it’s the beliefs we hold about ourselves. Many of the mindsets that helped us succeed early on—like needing to be involved in every detail, always being right, or not being willing to make a mistake—can hold us back later. Overcoming our limiting beliefs starts with curiosity: noticing when we’re frustrated or blocked, asking what belief might be driving that feeling, and challenging whether it’s still true.

Bryan Porter is launching an AI company after serving as a Portfolio Manager at the hedge fund MIG Capital. Earlier in his career, he worked at The Carlyle Group and Goldman Sachs, and earned his MBA from Stanford. But before all of that, Bryan was working at McDonald’s and sleeping on couches, in closets, and in cars. In Episode 138 of this podcast, Bryan shares the incredible, inspirational story of how he pulled himself out of his tailspin. And in that episode, we touched briefly on how Bryan became obsessed with health and fitness. In today’s episode, we take a deep dive into health and fitness. One reason for Bryan’s outlier success is his outlier ability to learn and apply. Over the past three decades, he’s studied and implemented the best science on health and fitness in his own life, and today he shares those insights. While this podcast shouldn’t be relied on for medical advice, I find Bryan’s approach both fascinating and inspiring. I’ll be listening to this episode over and again—and it will also be required listening for my kids. And if you’re like me, and want to keep learning from Bryan Porter, check out his website: bryan-porter.com. In this episode we discuss the basics of health including: Sleep: Good sleep is the fastest way to feel better and have more mental clarity.  Min get 7 hours, ideally 8. If you’re getting less than 6 you’re reducing the quality and quantity of your life. Exercise 6 days a week: min 45 min brisk walk daily, break up sitting with 10 body squats every 45 mins – nobody is too busy for that, strength 2x per week, get to max heart rate 1x per week. Really helpful to have an event on the calendar that you’re working toward. Eat well: min 1 gram of protein per pound of weight. Lots of fiber. Healthy fat: olive and fish oil. Reverse osmosis filtered water + electrolytes.  But this summary is just the tip of the iceberg. In this episode, Bryan shares 100s of great insights and practical tips for how to be more healthy...How To Make Ourselves Hard to Kill. 

Judd Kessler is a Professor of Business Economics and Public Policy at the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania. A leading scholar of market design, he was named one of Forbes’ 30 Under 30 for his groundbreaking work on organ allocation and received the Vernon L. Smith Ascending Scholar Prize for his pioneering research. His insights have been featured in The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, Harvard Business Review, and on Hidden Brain and Freakonomics. With degrees from Harvard and Cambridge, Judd studies the hidden markets that shape our lives and how we can navigate them more effectively. He is also the author of the book, Lucky be Design. In this episode we discuss the following: The most common way to allocate scarce resources is through pricing. But other mechanisms exist: hidden markets. And by staying alert for these hidden markets, we can increase our luck. One of the most common hidden markets is the race: first come, first serve. In Judd’s case, when he realized that demand was going to outstrip supply for his child’s after school program, he recognized he was in a race, so he made sure to sign up right when registration opened. And he increased his luck. The lottery is another hidden market. If four friends wanted to attend Taylor Swift’s Eras Tour, they increase their luck by each entering the lottery for four tickets each. Hunters increase their luck by entering the lottery in years when they’re not able to hunt. And people needing organ transplants increase their luck when they sign up through multiple transplant centers.  To get lucky in the dating app world, people can signal that they are worth investing in.  And then I loved Judd’s insight on settling for silver. Whether we’re trying to get lucky in college admissions, with restaurant reservations, or even in the dating market, we can increase our luck by pursuing a more attainable, less competitive option. And in many cases the silver turns out to be more desirable than the gold.