How do you connect with people whose cultures and backgrounds are different from yours?  How do you find common ground?  Well, in this story about an unlikely friendship between a Turkish-American and an Armenian-American, it all starts with the simple act of recognizing one another as individuals. The two men in this story were raised to distrust each other's culture because of complicated history around the Armenian Genocide. But a 4,000 mile bike trip across the US went a long way to forging a connection and mutual understanding around a difficult subject.

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We're back with a new series about eight game-changing companies who saw something missing in the customer experience from a wide range of industries including fintech, healthcare, media, and retail. We’ll explore all of that and more on Repeat Customer.

Repeat Customer is an original podcast from Zendesk. Subscribe to the podcast at zendesk.com/repeatcustomer

Introducing, Repeat Customer

One of these days, I'm going to get help with my procrastination problem ;-).  If you're the type of person to always put things off until the last minute, you're not alone. And if the people in your life give you grief about your apparent laziness or inaction, you may feel guilt and shame. But what if procrastination isn't such a bad thing after all? In fact, there's evidence that it may be a common trait in highly successful people. Psychologist Mary Lamia is an expert in procrastination. She'll explain how our emotions motivate us when we're faced with tasks and deadlines, and how to manage relationships at work and at home for people with different motivational styles.

A Brief History of Wasting Time

Joseph Badame was prepared to protect his friends and family against anything: civil unrest; nuclear attack; hurricanes;  you name it. And while he tried his best to anticipate every scenario, he could never have imagined how his extreme preparedness would eventually end up helping people he had never met, on an island far away.

Survival of the Friendliest

Long before Google's AlphaGo best Lee SeDol at Go, and IBM's Deep Blue bested Gary Kasparov at chess, there was Chinook: a humble software program that set out to compete with the world's greatest checkers player. Professor Jonathan Schaeffer wrote Chinook in an attempt to use machine learning to outsmart the unbeatable checkers master, Marion Tinsley.  But Schaeffer couldn't have imagined how his relationship with Tinsley would affect his program, and how the drama of their matches would change the world of artificial intelligence.

The End Game

Dr. Tasha Eurich wants you to get serious about self-awareness. Not by journalling or meditating or taking a deep dive into your own psyche. Instead, she wants you to explore the recurring patterns in your life and the values that you hold dear. And by understanding those patterns and values, you can learn how you are seen by others, and how you affect those around you.  It's a behaviour-based approach to self-improvement, and it might just save your career (or help you find a new one). On this episode of Relate, Tasha Eurich explains why you're probably not as self-aware as you think you are, and provides tips on how to see yourself more clearly.

Culture Clash

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