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© 2026 Joe Hirsch
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Joe Hirsch hosts I Wish They Knew, a podcast where some of the world’s brightest thinkers share big ideas that deserve more attention… in about the time it takes to enjoy a cup of coffee.
In these short-form conversations, we explore everything from learning to loss, giving to goal-setting, work to wellbeing, and career to compassion. Our guests include bestselling authors, top-rated business professors, CEOs of Fortune 100 companies, media personalities, and the occasional car enthusiast, NFL player, and CIA officer.
New episodes air each Tuesday
271 Episodes
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In this bonus episode, we explore three practices to take the fear and friction out of feedback - especially when it can't be delivered in person.
Not all problems are created equal, says Sunil Mundra, Principal Consultant at ThoughtWorks and author of Enterprise Agility. In this episode, Sunil explores the fundamental difference between "complex" and "complicated" problems (think hand surgery vs. changing a tire) and offers tips on how to shorten feedback cycles and expand risk tolerance given today's uncertainties.
Whether we treat failure as a setback or a starting point determines our short-term steps and long-term satisfaction, says Jessica Lahey. In this episode, we explore the winding road to success, the upside of falling down, and how to turn failure into fuel for growth and learning.
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Jessica is the New York Times bestselling author of "The Gift of Failure" and the forthcoming "The Addiction Inoculation." A veteran educator, she's a contributing writer for the New York Times, The Atlantic and the Washington Post.
About Jessica:
Website
The Gift of Failure
The Addiction Inoculation
Why do nearly half of all business close within five years? If founders and leaders stayed closer to their two most important constituents -- their employees and their clients -- they might actually learn how to adapt and thrive, says Bill Flynn.
In this episode, Bill explores the reasons too many leaders act like "a genius with 1,000 helpers" and offers practical tips on how to better connect with, listen to and recognize your organization's most important people.
More about Bill:
Website
Book: Further, Faster
Twitter
LinkedIn
Stress and anxiety are on the rise at work, but there are steps that we can take to restore control and wholeness, says Deborah Riegel. In this episode, she explores how small shifts in our mindset, behaviors and outreach can make a big difference in how we work and feel.
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Deborah is a keynote speaker and consultant who teaches leadership communication for Wharton Business School and Columbia Business School. She is a regular contributor for Harvard Business Review, Inc., Psychology Today, Forbes, and Fast Company. The author of “Overcoming Overthinking: 36 Ways to Tame Anxiety for Work, School, and Life,” she consults and speaks for clients including Amazon, BlackRock, KraftHeinz, and The United States Army. Her work has been featured in worldwide media, including Bloomberg Businessweek, Oprah Magazine, and The New York Times.
More about Deborah | Get the book: Overcoming overthinking
The office isn't dead...but it will look a lot different in the future, says Lisa McGregor. Lisa is the Global Lead for Space Strategies & People and Places Solutions at Jacobs, one of the world's largest construction management, consulting and advisory firms. In this episode, Lisa explores the purpose of place -- how offices of the future will serve as cultural hubs for knowledge sharing, co-creation, ideation and innovation, with the goal of delivering more organizational value, not just savings.
About Lisa | About Jacobs | Read: The Purpose of Place: Redefining the Future of Work
Feedback shouldn’t be soul crushing, but it doesn’t have to be sugar coated, either. The strongest feedback cultures operate with a mix of candor and caring, says Jim Haskel, senior portfolio strategist at Bridgewater Associates, the world’s premier asset management fund. In this episode, Jim shares what it’s like to live inside Bridgewater’s culture of radical transparency and idea meritocracy – including the time he called out Ray Dalio, the firm’s cofounder and CIO.
We often think about developing good habits or routines, but according to Erica Keswin - bestselling author of "Bring Your Human to Work" and the new book, "Rituals Roadmap" - we need to pay even more attention to rituals. In this episode, Erica shares the difference between a ritual and a habit, the benefits of incorporating rituals in our work and personal lives, and ways leaders can use rituals to drive employee experience and company values.
More about Erica | Rituals Roadmap
Character growth requires uncharacteristic humility, says Scott Miller, former CMO at Franklin Covey, bestselling author and host of the #1 leadership podcast, "On Leadership." To be successful with others, we need to study ourselves. In this episode, you'll learn how to declare your intentions, evaluate the feedback you receive and devise a plan for follow-up.
About Scott | Podcast: "On Leadership"
Whether you're running a scrappy start-up or managing within a mature organization, there are beliefs and behaviors that guide our success, says Alisa Cohn -- executive coach, speaker and author of "From Start Up to Grown Up." In this episode, Alisa explores ways we can improve our own leadership and secure better results for our team -- starting with a realization that "the work is in you."
About Alisa | "The work is in you" (video)
For organizations to level up, they need a system to pass knowledge down. That's when knowledge increases its life-span, says Dorothy Leonard, professor emerita at Harvard Business School and chief advisor at the Leonard Barton Group. In this episode, she shares practical advice on how to create a structure and system that allows every organization's "deep smarts" to transfer and thrive.
Leonard Barton Group | More about Dorothy
Could the key to achieving greater sanity and success be...more slacking? We get ahead when we give ourselves permission to pull back, argues Laurie Ruettimann, speaker, podcaster and author of the new book, "Betting on You."
Learn more about Laurie | Get the book
In the modern workplace, fear fails. Renowned Harvard psychologist Amy Edmondson explains why today's interdependent teams need psychological safety to thrive.
In a year when the pandemic dealt a blow to many small businesses, many entrepreneurs found a way to bounce back -- changed, but resilient. In this year-end episode, Kelsey Carroll, co-founder of Stand Up Stations, shares her journey from running live events to making customizable hand sanitizing stations -- and how our past can shape our potential.
Stand Up Stations
The best way to motivate others -- or even yourself -- is through the power of progress. In this episode, bestselling author and speaker David Burkus explores ways to systematically track and look back on individual and team achievements to help us see how far we've come.
More about David | More ways to lead and communicate with impact
A truly inclusive workplace doesn’t just stress belonging – it celebrates uniqueness. Stefanie Johnson, management professor and author of “Inclusify,” makes a business case for creating diverse organizations where opposing views and backgrounds thrive.
More about Stefanie | Get "Inclusify"
In this episode, Cy Wakeman, founder of Reality-Based Leadership, explains why pain -- not suffering -- is a choice, and how we can gain control over our emotions, perceptions and choices by learning to "edit our stories" and co-create a different life narrative.
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More about Cy and Reality-Based Leadership | Watch the full conversation | Lead with impact
In this personal episode, I share a wish of my own: That more people think of feedback as a cause for joy, not fear.
During the worst moments of this pandemic, we’ve witnessed people at their best. In this special episode, Debra Hotaling of Ford Motors shares the auto maker's pandemic pivot from making cars to producing life-saving devices and equipment -- and the lessons we can all learn about collaborating in times of crisis.
More about Debra | Ford's pandemic pivot
Whether it's how kids fare at school or the way adults perform at work, we've developed a disabling attitude towards achievement.
Today's wish comes from Ned Johnson, the founder of PrepMatters, an international test prep company. Ned hosts the PrepTalks podcast and is the co-author of “Conquering the SAT: How Parents Can Help Teens Overcome the Pressure and Succeed” & “The Self-Driven Child." On Episode 14, Ned shares why we should change our outlook on struggle and success.
Watch full conversation // More about Ned: PrepMatters | The Self-Driven Child
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