Mitch Joel's Blog: Six Pixels of Separation, page 116

Dan Heath On Solving Problems Before They Happen – This Week’s Six Pixels of Separation Podcast

Episode #739 of Six Pixels of Separation is now live and ready for you to listen to.

When asked who my favorite business book authors are, the Heath brothers (Dan and Chip), show up at the top of that list. It’s hard to not love brilliant books like, Made To Stick, Switch, Decisive, and The Power of Moments. Combined, they’ve sold over three million copies worldwide that have been translated into over thirty languages. Over the years, I’ve spoken at events where Dan was speaking as well. He is always kind, generous and giving of his time (and wisdom). While the brothers are still close, Dan decided to publish his own book recently. It’s called, Upstream – The quest to solve problems before they happen, and it’s a great read (as expected). Dan is a Senior Fellow at Duke University’s CASE center, which supports social entrepreneurs. Previously, Dan worked as a researcher and case writer for Harvard Business School. In the late 1990s, Dan co-founded an innovative publishing company called Thinkwell, which for almost 25 years has been producing a line of online college textbooks that feature video lectures from some of the country’s top professors. Dan has a MBA from Harvard Business School and a BA from the Plan II Honors Program from the University of Texas at Austin. One proud geeky moment for Dan was his victory in the 2005 New Yorker Cartoon Caption Contest, beating out 13,000 other entrants. In this episode, we look at our decision making process and how we can not just solve problems, but prevent them from ever taking place. Enjoy the conversation…

You can grab the latest episode of Six Pixels of Separation here (or feel free to subscribe via iTunes): Six Pixels of Separation #739.

Before you go… if you enjoyed this, please subscribe (all new content arrives in your inbox). It’s easy, it’s free and it’s right here.

SPOS #739 – Dan Heath On Solving Problems Before They Happen

Welcome to episode #739 of Six Pixels of Separation.

Here it is: Six Pixels of Separation – Episode #738 – Host: Mitch Joel. When asked who my favorite business book authors are, the Heath brothers (Dan and Chip), show up at the top of that list. It’s hard to not love brilliant books like, Made To Stick, Switch, Decisive, and The Power of Moments. Combined, they’ve sold over three million copies worldwide that have been translated into over thirty languages. Over the years, I’ve spoken at events where Dan was speaking as well. He is always kind, generous and giving of his time (and wisdom). While the brothers are still close, Dan decided to publish his own book recently. It’s called, Upstream – The quest to solve problems before they happen, and it’s a great read (as expected). Dan is a Senior Fellow at Duke University’s CASE center, which supports social entrepreneurs. Previously, Dan worked as a researcher and case writer for Harvard Business School. In the late 1990s, Dan co-founded an innovative publishing company called Thinkwell, which for almost 25 years has been producing a line of online college textbooks that feature video lectures from some of the country’s top professors. Dan has a MBA from Harvard Business School and a BA from the Plan II Honors Program from the University of Texas at Austin. One proud geeky moment for Dan was his victory in the 2005 New Yorker Cartoon Caption Contest, beating out 13,000 other entrants. In this episode, we look at our decision making process and how we can not just solve problems, but prevent them from ever taking place. Enjoy the conversation…

Running time: 1:00:43.
Hello from beautiful Montreal.
Subscribe over at iTunes.
Please visit and leave comments on the blog – Six Pixels of Separation.
Feel free to connect to me directly on Facebook here: Mitch Joel on Facebook.
or you can connect on LinkedIn.
…or on Twitter.
Here is my conversation with Dan Heath.
Upstream – The quest to solve problems before they happen.
Made To Stick.
Switch.
Decisive,
The Power of Moments.
This week’s music: David Usher ‘St. Lawrence River’.

Download the Podcast here: Six Pixels of Separation – Episode #739 – Host: Mitch Joel.

Before you go… if you enjoyed this, please subscribe (all new content arrives in your inbox). It’s easy, it’s free and it’s right here.

Six Links Worthy of Your Attention #532

Is there one link, story, picture or thought that you saw online this week that you think somebody you know must see?

My friends: Alistair Croll (Solve for Interesting, Tilt the Windmill, Interesting Bits, HBS, chair of Strata, Startupfest, FWD50, and Scaletechconf; author of Lean Analytics and some other books), Hugh McGuire (Rebus Foundation, PressBooks, LibriVox) and I decided that every week the three of us are going to share one link for one another (for a total of six links) that each individual feels the other person “must see.”

Check out these six links that we’re recommending to one another: 

Johnny English – TV Tropes . “I recently watched this ridiculously goofy Rowan Atkinson satire with my daughter. Going down the inevitable rabbithole of plot questions and gaffes, I stumbled across this list of common tropes used in the film. I had no idea there was a whole catalog of tropes, from ‘Accidental Truth,’ through ‘Nobody Poops,’ ‘Invisible President,’ and ‘Truth Serums’ to ‘Xanatos Speed Chess.’ I had no idea there was this detailed a taxonomy of film clichés, but I am also completely unsurprised it exists.” (Alistair for Hugh).
Frog And Toad Tentatively Go Outside After Months In Self-Quarantine – McSweeney’s . “Shared without comment for your reading pleasure.” (Alistair for Mitch).
First Time Hearing Phil Collins – In The Air Tonight Reaction – TwinsthenewTrend – YouTube . “I’ve been trying so hard not to spend time on the internet lately, so, maybe you’ve already seen this one hundred times, but if you haven’t, here is a ‘reaction video’ of some twins from Gary, Indiana listening to Phil Collins for the first time and loving it.” (Hugh for Alistair). 
Dave Grohl is in an adorable remote drum battle with a 10-year-old – Mashable . “Continuing the feel-good musical links, Nirvana/Foo Fighters Dave Grohl responds to a drum challenge from 9-year-old YouTube phenom, Nandi Bushell.” (Hugh for Mitch).
Life coaching is unregulated and growing rapidly. Should it be reined in? – Psyche . “I’ve always looked sideways at people who call themselves ‘Life Coaches.’ I hate to generalize, but the ones that I have met usually arrived at this designation through a series of personal and professional disasters. It often make me wonder why getting through their own life choices makes them qualified to share that trauma/journey with others? I’m being overly judgmental to exaggerate a point. What are the very distinct boundaries between a therapist and a life coach? It seems to me like it’s a lot. So, if we ensure that therapists have a certain level of education and regulation, why would we not demand the same of life coaches?” (Mitch for Alistair).
Remote Work Is Killing the Hidden Trillion-Dollar Office Economy – Steve LeVine – Marker – Medium . “I’ve been try to articulate my long-term concern about the economy and markets. Sometimes, it’s effective. Other times, people look at me and think that I’m worrying way too much. Life seems perfect, right? The public markets are rocking. People can work from home and never endure traffic, waiting in line for food, and more. Everyone has adjusted and realized that this model is just as productive. Well… I simply don’t buy it. If this is all true, why is it only working now? Because of the pandemic? This article illustrates many of my concerns. Am I crazy to think this way?” (Mitch for Hugh).

Feel free to share these links and add your picks on Twitter, Facebook, in the comments below or wherever you play.

Derrick Hodge On This Month’s Groove – The No Treble Podcast

Derrick Hodge is this month’s conversation on Groove – The No Treble Podcast.

You can listen the new episode right here: Groove – The No Treble Podcast – Episode #69 – Derrick Hodge.

Who is Derrick Hodge ?

Pay attention to Derrick Hodge. He is the present and future of the electric bass. With two Grammy Awards under his belt, the Blue Note recording artist grew up, and sharpened his chops in the Philadelphia area. Derrick studied music from six years old, and this genre-crushing musician did it via gospel, pop, jazz and orchestral music. He studied jazz composition and performance in college, and this made him the first jazz major who participated in the Temple University Symphony Orchestra. His incredible diversity for musical genres led him to play with a potpurri of Philly greats (think Bootsie Barnes, Jill Scott, Soulchild, and even DJ Jazzy Jeff). From Philly it was on to conquer the world. His work ranged from orchestrations with Common and Kanye West to winning R&B Grammys with Robert Glasper Experiment as a founding member of the group. As if that were not enough, he’s worked with artists like Maxwell (for nearly a decade), co-produced for Justin Kauflin with Quincy Jones, and several Blue Note projects along side Don Was, all while maintaining his solo projects and touring. Derrick’s worked with Herbie Hancock, Mos Def, Timbaland, Andre 3000, Sade, and many more. His latest is Color of Noize, a band, a concept, and an album that will offer more questions than answers. The music is a melting pot of styles, sounds and songwriting as diverse as Derrick’s history. Enjoy the conversation…

What is Groove – The No Treble Podcast?

This is an ambitious effort. This will be a fascinating conversation. Our goal at Groove is to build the largest oral history of bass players. Why Groove? Most of the content about the bass revolves around gear, playing techniques, and more technical chatter. For us, bassists are creative artists with stories to tell. They are a force to be reckon with. These are the stories and conversation that we will capture. To create this oral history of why these artists chose the bass, what their creative lives are like, and where inspiration can be found.

Listen in:  Groove – The No Treble Podcast – Episode #69 – Derrick Hodge.

Are you interested in what’s next? How to decode the future? I publish between 2-3 times per week and then the Six Pixels of Separation Podcast comes out every Sunday. Feel free to subscribe (and tell your friends ;). 

Work From Home, Selling TikTok, and More on CHOM 97.7 FM

Every Monday morning at 7:10 am, I am on air at CHOM 97.7 FM radio out of Montreal (home base). It’s not a long segment – about 10 minutes every week – to decode the future. We discuss everything that is happening in the world of technology, digital media and culture. The good folks at CHOM 97.7 FM are posting these segments weekly on i Heart Radio, if you’re interested in hearing more about what’s happening in the transformation of our digital world. I’m really excited about these weekly hits, because this is the radio station that I grew up listening to, and it really is a fun treat to be invited to the Mornings Rock with Terry DiMonte morning show. The segment is called, CTRL ALT Delete with Mitch Joel.

This week we discussed:

As we head into “back to school” season, how does work from home and virtual work hold up? It was fine as a stop gap while we dealt with the pandemic, but what are the true realities of how we work – not just with our customers but our co-workers? Do you believe that this is a sustainable model?
One of the biggest tech stories to hit the news since we last spoke in late July is TikTok. It has become super-political. President Trump wants the US-part of the business sold away from China. China wants a say in the sale. It’s getting messy. Early reports had Microsoft in for the bidding. Then Oracle. Then Microsoft along with Walmart. Walmart? The asking price is $20-30 billion. The drama surrounding TikTok is almost as captivating as their short-form videos… 
App of the Week: Fast – how fast/strong is your Internet connection?

You can also listen in via I Heart Radio.

Mitch Joel · CTRL ALT Delete – CHOM FM – August 31st, 2020

Matt Ridley On How Innovation Works – This Week’s Six Pixels of Separation Podcast

Episode #738 of Six Pixels of Separation is now live and ready for you to listen to.

I had heard about Matt Ridley‘s work (The Rational Optimist), but we had not met until last year. I was invited to speak at a CEO summit for Google and their clients in Amsterdam. We had a short interaction, but after watching him present, I knew he would make a great guest for the show. Matt’s accomplishments are long, deep and varied. His books have sold over a million copies and have been translated into over 30 languages. His TED talk, When Ideas Have Sex, has been viewed more than two million times. He writes a weekly column in The Times (London) and writes regularly for the Wall Street Journal. As Viscount Ridley, he was elected to the House of Lords in February 2013. He served on the science and technology select committee 2014-2017. Matt worked for The Economist for nine years as science editor, Washington correspondent and American editor, before becoming a self-employed writer and businessman. He is a fellow of the Royal Society of Literature and of the Academy of Medical Sciences, and a foreign honorary member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences. He is honorary president of the International Centre for Life in Newcastle. His latest book is called, How Innovation Works… And Why It Flourishes in Freedom. Enjoy the conversation…

You can grab the latest episode of Six Pixels of Separation here (or feel free to subscribe via iTunes): Six Pixels of Separation #738.

Before you go… if you enjoyed this, please subscribe (all new content arrives in your inbox). It’s easy, it’s free and it’s right here.

SPOS #738 – Matt Ridley On How Innovation Works

Welcome to episode #738 of Six Pixels of Separation.

Here it is: Six Pixels of Separation – Episode #738 – Host: Mitch Joel. I had heard about Matt Ridley‘s work (The Rational Optimist), but we had not met until last year. I was invited to speak at a CEO summit for Google and their clients in Amsterdam. We had a short interaction, but after watching him present, I knew he would make a great guest for the show. Matt’s accomplishments are long, deep and varied. His books have sold over a million copies and have been translated into over 30 languages. His TED talk, When Ideas Have Sex, has been viewed more than two million times. He writes a weekly column in The Times (London) and writes regularly for the Wall Street Journal. As Viscount Ridley, he was elected to the House of Lords in February 2013. He served on the science and technology select committee 2014-2017. Matt worked for The Economist for nine years as science editor, Washington correspondent and American editor, before becoming a self-employed writer and businessman. He is a fellow of the Royal Society of Literature and of the Academy of Medical Sciences, and a foreign honorary member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences. He is honorary president of the International Centre for Life in Newcastle. His latest book is called, How Innovation Works… And Why It Flourishes in Freedom. Enjoy the conversation…

Running time: 49:01.
Hello from beautiful Montreal.
Subscribe over at iTunes.
Please visit and leave comments on the blog – Six Pixels of Separation.
Feel free to connect to me directly on Facebook here: Mitch Joel on Facebook.
or you can connect on LinkedIn.
…or on Twitter.
Here is my conversation with Matt Ridley.
How Innovation Works… And Why It Flourishes in Freedom.
The Rational Optimist.
When Ideas Have Sex.
Follow Matt on Twitter.
This week’s music: David Usher ‘St. Lawrence River’.

Download the Podcast here: Six Pixels of Separation – Episode #738 – Host: Mitch Joel.

Before you go… if you enjoyed this, please subscribe (all new content arrives in your inbox). It’s easy, it’s free and it’s right here.

Six Links Worthy of Your Attention #531

Is there one link, story, picture or thought that you saw online this week that you think somebody you know must see?

My friends: Alistair Croll (Solve for Interesting, Tilt the Windmill, Interesting Bits, HBS, chair of Strata, Startupfest, FWD50, and Scaletechconf; author of Lean Analytics and some other books), Hugh McGuire (Rebus Foundation, PressBooks, LibriVox) and I decided that every week the three of us are going to share one link for one another (for a total of six links) that each individual feels the other person “must see.”

Check out these six links that we’re recommending to one another: 

How To Destroy Surveillance Capitalism – Cory Doctorow – OneZero – Medium . “I’ll see your Lanier (posted below) and raise you a Doctorow. This post is actually a short book, and as usual, it’s creative, thoughtful, and hard to disagree with.” (Alistair for Hugh).
Tetrapharmakos – Wikipedia . “These four ‘remedies’ are the core of Epicureanism. Since the Greeks spent so much time trying to figure out how to lead the happiest possible life, this feels like good advice for 2020: Don’t fear god; don’t worry about death; what is good is easy to get; what is terrible is easy to endure.” (Alistair for Mitch).
The Conscience of Silicon Valley – GQ . “More from Jaron Lanier on how bad the web has become, how much worse it will get; but also what it has done well to help us get through this pandemic, and how we might make it better.” (Hugh for Alistair).
Surprising nobody, bats are the best goth dancers of all time – AV Club . “I wasn’t sure who to send this link to: my guess is that Alistair is more likely to have gone through a goth music phase than Mitch, but on the other hand Mitch was a music journalist early in his career. So, I’ve chosen Mitch as the recipient of ‘bats dancing at a goth club.'” (Hugh for Mitch).
The Event Industry Is Being Confronted By Its Napster Moment – Skift . “I’m a huge fan of Rafat Ali’s writing/work and I look forward to reading Skift. The headline made me raise an eyebrow, but I went along for the ride. Unfortunately, I don’t think that Rafat is making the correct analogy in this piece. He is talking about how the distribution of music changed. Consumer habits as well. But one thing we know for certain, is that the live music space flourished in the music business and continued to flourish until COVID-19 hit. Live music will come back. Much like live sports. And, any other live event (including conferences). Live events are not the same as listening to music (which is really just a content format). Live events are not the same as reading a blog post or seeing someone on Zoom. I also take exception to his comment that running a virtual event has little cost. If you are doing it at a professional level, there are massive costs involved in getting it right. This includes everything from the hardware and software of the technology, to the bandwidth and ability to ensure that you are not having drop-offs. This doesn’t even include things like lighting, cameras, sound, etc. And, let’s not forget about the people – technicians, producers, etc… It’s surprising to me, considering his background, that this article doesn’t show the massive growth that live concerts and festivals experienced from CD through Napster through Spotify. Will more events happen online? Yes. Is this going to destroy the entire live event business? I don’t believe that it will.” (Mitch for Alistair).
The Origins of Sprawl – The Paris Review . “I have been spending a lot of time reading and thinking about our cities. What happens if people only work 25% of the time at that downtown building? How will it impact the local businesses? Tourism? The pulse of a thriving city? Concerts? Culture?… and beyond. Will the effects of this pandemic push people further and further out of cities? Will this still be considered ‘urban sprawl’ if we’re not extending the core of our major cities, but simply abandoning them? I have more questions than answers.” (Mitch for Hugh).

Feel free to share these links and add your picks on Twitter, Facebook, in the comments below or wherever you play.

David Burkus On Building Great Teams With Purpose – This Week’s Six Pixels of Separation Podcast

Episode #737 of Six Pixels of Separation is now live and ready for you to listen to.

One of the world’s leading business thinkers (and my friend), David Burkus, is a forward-thinking idea machine focused on helping leaders and teams do their best work ever. He is the best-selling author of five books about business and leadership (including The Myths of Creativity, Under New Management, Friend of a Friend, and more). His books have won multiple awards and have been translated into dozens of languages. Since 2017, David has been ranked as one of the world’s top business thought leaders by Thinkers50. As a sought-after international speaker, his TED Talk has been viewed over 2 million times. A former business school professor, David holds a master’s degree in organizational psychology from the University of Oklahoma, and a doctorate in strategic leadership from Regent University. His latest project is Pick A Fight – How Great Teams Find A Purpose Worth Rallying Around, and it initially came out as an audiobook project. As we all head back to school and back to work (in a very different world), business leaders are going to need to understand what will make their teams feel motivated, innovative and more successful than ever before. Not easy. David wants every business to pick a fight worth fighting for. Enjoy the conversation…

You can grab the latest episode of Six Pixels of Separation here (or feel free to subscribe via iTunes): Six Pixels of Separation #737.

Before you go… if you enjoyed this, please subscribe (all new content arrives in your inbox). It’s easy, it’s free and it’s right here.

SPOS #737 – David Burkus On Building Great Teams With Purpose

Welcome to episode #737 of Six Pixels of Separation.

Here it is: Six Pixels of Separation – Episode #737 – Host: Mitch Joel. One of the world’s leading business thinkers (and my friend), David Burkus, is a forward-thinking idea machine focused on helping leaders and teams do their best work ever. He is the best-selling author of five books about business and leadership (including The Myths of Creativity, Under New Management, Friend of a Friend, and more). His books have won multiple awards and have been translated into dozens of languages. Since 2017, David has been ranked as one of the world’s top business thought leaders by Thinkers50. As a sought-after international speaker, his TED Talk has been viewed over 2 million times. A former business school professor, David holds a master’s degree in organizational psychology from the University of Oklahoma, and a doctorate in strategic leadership from Regent University. His latest project is Pick A Fight – How Great Teams Find A Purpose Worth Rallying Around, and it initially came out as an audiobook project. As we all head back to school and back to work (in a very different world), business leaders are going to need to understand what will make their teams feel motivated, innovative and more successful than ever before. Not easy. David wants every business to pick a fight worth fighting for. Enjoy the conversation…

Running time: 56:06.
Hello from beautiful Montreal.
Subscribe over at iTunes.
Please visit and leave comments on the blog – Six Pixels of Separation.
Feel free to connect to me directly on Facebook here: Mitch Joel on Facebook.
or you can connect on LinkedIn.
…or on Twitter.
Here is my conversation with David Burkus.
Pick A Fight – How Great Teams Find A Purpose Worth Rallying Around.
Friend of a Friend.
Under New Management.
The Myths of Creativity.
Follow David on Instagram.
Follow David on Twitter.
This week’s music: David Usher ‘St. Lawrence River’.

Download the Podcast here: Six Pixels of Separation – Episode #737 – Host: Mitch Joel.

Before you go… if you enjoyed this, please subscribe (all new content arrives in your inbox). It’s easy, it’s free and it’s right here.