Smart People Podcast

Chris Bailey - A Life of Productivity. In this episode we speak with productivity expert Chris Bailey and learn the best ways to transform our life by getting done the things that are most important. The Productivity Project—and the lessons Chris learned—are the result of that year-long journey, and we are going to share them with you today.

Dr. David exposes how our emotions hold us back or carry us forward in our goals depending on how well we confront—not control—them. Science shows us that it’s not possible to smother your emotions with affirmations espoused by the latest positivity movement. It’s equally unrealistic to set your mind to a rigid “grit” goal that might not be working for you. Like it or not, your emotions are there, and the more honest and agile you are with them, the more you can overcome the demands of work and life to thrive. The antidote to emotional rigidity is emotional agility—being flexible with your thoughts and feelings so that you can respond optimally to the increasingly unpredictable challenges of business.

This week we speak with author and innovation expert Alan Iny about his book, 'Thinking In New Boxes: A New Paradigm for Business Creativity'. Thinking in new boxes is a way to provide that structure and analysis that the brain craves, while also fostering massive amounts of creativity and new thinking. It is a process that comes directly from the experts at the most respected consulting group in the world (where Alan is the global innovation expert).

There is a new paradigm in the field of health and wellness. It's one that involves looking at the human holistically and trying to get to the core of health, rather than simply masking symptoms with drugs, pills, and potions. And luckily, today we have more testing and laboratory capabilities at our fingers than ever before - and it's improving every day. This week we speak with Dr. Matthew Accurso on how to use modern science to achieve optimal performance through cutting edge labs and lifestyle programs.

In this episode we interview Michael Bungay Stanier, author of The Coaching Habit: Say Less, Ask More & Change the Way You Lead Forever. In this episode, Michael tells us how coaching becomes a regular, informal part of your day so you can work less hard and have more impact. Drawing on years of experience training more than 10,000 busy managers from around the globe in practical, everyday coaching skills, Bungay Stanier reveals how to unlock your peoples' potential. He unpacks seven essential coaching questions to demonstrate how---by saying less and asking more--you can develop coaching methods that produce great results.

In this episode we interview digital marketing expert and customer strategist, Tema Frank. Tema has worked in marketing and customer experience for over three decades. In 2001 she founded Web Mystery Shoppers, the worlds first company to test omnichannel customer service: web, phone, chat, email and in-store. Using social media techniques before social media existed, she built a database of 75,000 mystery shoppers worldwide.

We are bring back one of our all time most downloaded guests this week, Roman Krznaric. In this episode we discuss Roman's most recent book, How Should We Live?: Great Ideas from the Past for Everyday Life. There are many ways to try to improve our lives—we can turn to the wisdom of philosophers, the teachings of spiritual guides, or the latest experiments of psychologists. But we rarely look to history for inspiration—and when we do, it can be surprisingly powerful. In this episode, the cultural historian Roman Krznaric explores twelve universal topics—including love, family, and empathy; work, time, and money—by illuminating the past and revealing the wisdom we have been missing.

Everyone wants to know the secret to raising amazing kids. Whether you want them to become the next great president, save the world, get straight A's, or simply contribute to society, how to raise our children properly is a topic of much contention. So we decided to bring on NYT Bestselling author Paul Tough, to tell us exactly how we can help children succeed. In fact, his newest book is titled, 'Helping Children Succeed: What Works and Why'.

Dr. Daniel Amen - The most popular psychiatrist in America. Dr. Amen believes that brain health is central to all health and success. “When your brain works right,” he says, “you work right; and when your brain is troubled, you are much more likely to have trouble in your life.” His work is dedicated to helping people have better brains and better lives. In this episode we learn how Dr. Amen uses nuclear brain imaging to diagnose and treat behavioral problems.

Drawing on extensive research and numerous real-world examples — including Airbnb, Lyft, Uber, Etsy, TaskRabbit, France’s BlaBlaCar, China’s Didi Kuaidi, and India’s Ola, Arun explains the basics of what he’s coined “crowd-based capitalism” — a new way of organizing economic activity that will replace the traditional corporate-centered model.

With one question constantly guiding the way, Anne has gone from chef, to hotel owner, to world renowned leadership expert. That question is, “What would that look like?”. So ask yourself, what would that perfect life look like? What would that great job look like? What would happiness look like?

On June 23, 2008, President George W. Bush nominated Ann Dunwoody as a four-star general in the US Army—the first time a woman had ever achieved that rank. Now retired after nearly four decades in the Army, General Dunwoody shares what she learned along the way, from her first command leading 100 soldiers to her...

Frankly, the answer is probably. Nearly half of all working Americans could risk losing their jobs because of technology. It’s not only blue-collar jobs at stake. Millions of educated knowledge workers—writers, paralegals, assistants, medical technicians—are threatened by accelerating advances in artificial intelligence. mart computers are demonstrating they are capable of making better decisions than humans. Brilliant technologies...

How observant are you? What things are you missing out on that could have a huge impact on your life. In this episode we speak with Amy Herman about her new book, Visual Intelligence: Sharpen Your Perception, Change Your Life. In this episode you will learn how to create your own luck by becoming a...

Are you trying to choose between the stability of a traditional career and the upside of entrepreneurship? Why not have both? Becoming a full-time entrepreneur can look glamorous from the outside. Who doesn’t want to chase their dreams, be their own boss, and do what they love? But the truth is that entrepreneurship is often...