Andrew Skotzko

Nilofer Merchant (@nilofer) is one of the world’s top business & management thinkers, and is also one of my new favorite humans. As an operator, she was involved with the launch of over 100 products that collectively generated more than $18 billion (yes, with a B) in revenue, and has gone on to write 3 books, and has taught at Stanford, Santa Clara University, and lectured at Yale as well as to board rooms and audiences globally.

The part of her work that we go deep on in this conversation is the concept of Onlyness, which is that spot in the world only you stand in, a function of your distinct history and experiences, visions and hopes. We explore how to connect with the thread of purpose that only you can see, create belonging with yourself and others, and by doing so make a dent on the world.

Nilofer and I share a belief in the power of including all people’s potential, that if the we could benefit from the ideas and potential in every person, there is no problem we couldn’t solve. This is a conversation about how to connect with your Onlyness and bring it into the world to make the contribution only you can make.

Happy learning!

SCROLL BELOW FOR LINKS AND SHOW NOTES

Dan is the CTO and cofounder of BiasSync, a company out to create more fair and respectful workplaces by fighting unconscious bias. He cofounded the company in 2018 with Michele Ruiz, a 5-time Emmy Award winning journalist, and Robin Richards, a prolific serial entrepreneur.

Dan’s had a prolific career in technology over the last 20 years, cofounding 3 companies that have been acquired as well as being an investor, advisor and mentor to dozens more successful startups. Before founding BiasSync, Dan was the VP of Technology at Tinder, where he led all the algorithmic, infrastructure, and data science work that helped the company grow to over $1 billion in revenue. Prior to that, Dan cofounded Chill, a video discovery tool acquired by Tinder, and Newroo which acquired by Fox News Corp.

This conversation is both tactical and strategic. We dive into the issues of unconscious bias and systemic inequality that have shaped our society, and we tactically discuss how one can attack systemic problems effectively as an entrepreneur.

Happy learning!

SCROLL BELOW FOR LINKS AND SHOW NOTES

continue reading

Josh Seiden helps clients launch new products and services, and create more agile, entrepreneurial organizations. He’s a designer, strategy consultant, coach, speaker, and author of 3 books who has worked to bring new ventures into the world with many clients including household names you would know like Johnson & Johnson, T. Rowe Price, JP Morgan Chase, SAP, American Express, 3M, Taproot Foundation, and many more. He’s also the cofounder of Sense & Respond Press.

In this conversation, Josh gives a masterclass on clear, strategic thinking and how to create order out of the chaos that surrounds any creative endeavor. This is especially useful for anyone trying to create clarity and think strategically to affect change.

His most recent book, Outcomes Over Output, has become one of my favorite resources for creating clarity and is a book I think ought to be read by every person bringing something new into the world.

Happy learning!

SCROLL BELOW FOR LINKS AND SHOW NOTES

continue reading

Dr. Matthew Cook, the founder of BioReset Medical, is one of the most cutting-edge doctors I’ve come across. He’s a board-certified anesthesiologist with 20+ years of experience in medical practice, who — as he shares in this conversation — pivoted his practice toward functional and integrative medicine and has emerged a leader in stem cells, regenerative medicine, and psychedelic trauma therapy.

In this conversation, we discuss everything from functional medicine, to the specialized use of ketamine to treat anxiety, depression, trauma and PTSD, what is the biology and psychology of the moments that trigger us (and how to re-wire those triggers), and how we can start scaling these interventions beyond the individual level to groups and companies, and how to think about creating your life.

Please enjoy!

SCROLL BELOW FOR LINKS AND SHOW NOTES

continue reading

Holly Hester-Reilly is the founder and CEO of H2R Product Science, where she combines more than a decade of experience in technology companies with years of experience in scientific research to bring her clients a rigorous, research driven approach to developing their growth strategy and coaching their product teams. 

In this conversation, Holly gives a masterclass addressing one of the biggest challenges we face: how to build a team and organization that is deeply connected to the people they seek to serve on an ongoing basis. In product management parlance, this is called continuous discovery or dual-track product discovery.

Even if you don’t work in a tech company or in product management, there is a lot of actionable and principled wisdom here that I believe is going to make an immediate and lasting impact on how you and your organization make the contribution you seek to make. 

Please enjoy!

SCROLL BELOW FOR LINKS AND SHOW NOTES

Sam Fankuchen is the Founder & CEO of Golden, a platform that makes it easy for anyone to volunteer and for organizers to manage their volunteers and staffing programs.

This episode was important to release now because of the amazing free tool Golden just launched, “Mutual Aid,” which helps anyone organizing responses to the COVID-19 pandemic so they don’t have to worry about the infrastructure and can focus on making a difference. 

Please enjoy!

SCROLL BELOW FOR LINKS AND SHOW NOTES

Derik Mills is the founder and CEO of Glo, a health and wellness company that challenges people to live a fulfilling life and live into their potential. Glo exists to connect people through self-care so that, together, we can heal our planet.

Glo is a bootstrapped, self-funded company whose online service empowers members around the world to experience world-class instruction in yoga, meditation, and philosophy and integrate self-care into their everyday lives from anywhere in the world.

Featured in The Wall Street Journal, The New York Times, Forbes, Goop, Oprah, and more, Glo has become a cultural phenomenon driven by Derik’s commitment to creating an environment that enables people to live into their potential and contribute to something larger than themselves.

One of the things that I most admire about Derik, and which I think really comes through in this episode, is his authenticity and vulnerability. He’s led the creation of a very successful company and is an example of how to transform one’s environment and company by transforming oneself. He’s doing it in a way that I find authentic, inspiring, and relatable — among many other things, we discuss how to be okay with things being a never-ending work in progress, and how to let go of shame, perfectionism, and engage well in the struggles of life and business.

We discuss many powerful experiences in Derik’s entrepreneurial journey, as well as the almost decade Derik spent traveling and experiencing the fullness of humanity around the world before getting into entrepreneurship.

Please enjoy!

The first thing you need to know about Muriel Clauson is that she’s SUPER passionate about people and sees her mission in life as unlocking human potential to help everyone live radically fulfilling lives.

Muriel is the founder of Anthill, researcher, speaker, and advisor to governments and companies globally on creating a better future of work. Her work has been featured in publications such as the Wall Street Journal, Fast Company, and Forbes. She speaks on the future of work globally with organizations including the World Bank, Singularity University, China’s SAI Task Force for Innovation, the Milken Institute, United States Embassies, the Young Presidents Organization, and many more. Muriel was named a 2017 “Game-Changer” by Women at the Frontier as an innovator in science and technology.

In this conversation, Muriel and I go deep on the future of work: identity, engagement, and being future-ready. We also discuss how to develop self-awareness and communicate your needs to coworkers, partners, and how to become future-ready. We even finish with a poetry reading which is surprisingly relevant to the topic at hand…

Please enjoy!

This is the second half of my conversation with Rian Doris & Conor Murphy of the Flow Research Collective. We discuss Flow, which is defined as an optimal state of consciousness and is considered to be the optimal experience of life.

This episode helps you to understand and increase your time in flow, so you can get the most out of every aspect of your life. Flow dramatically increases every measure of performance you can imagine, as well as your subjective quality of life experience.

You may want to listen to part 1 of the conversation first, but this second half also is quite actionable and can stand on its own.

Please enjoy!