By Ross Thornley + Special Guests
DEVELOPING A NEW PLATFORM FOR CHANGE IN AN EXPONENTIAL WORLD.
Conversations with special guests on their stories of adaptability. From resilience, grit and motivation, to stress, minds
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The podcast currently has 159 episodes available.
Today, I'm thrilled to welcome Ronen Olshansky, one of life's great humans. With a rich and diverse career that spans Wall Street, management consulting, executive coaching and entrepreneurship. As the founder of Cross Campus a Los Angeles based provider of on-demand workspace and business event space. And a partner at Ferrazzi Greenlight since 2020. Ronen has been helping growth companies and their leaders elevate their performance.
I got to know Ronen through another business he has co-founded, Beyond Connections program, and most recently I had the pleasure of joining him and Keith Ferrazzi at the graduation dinner for the first cohort in LA. Welcome to the show, Ronen!
Ross and Ronen talk about opening up teams, building trust, positives & negatives, family, start-ups, making commitments, sharing, broken relationships, personal journeys, courage, how we are being perceived, ego, taking risks and changing peoples lives. The pair also discuss taking challenges, going beyond connections, maintaining cohort collectives, building communities, inclusive ownership of a company, organisations, connections, interacting, mindsets, strategies, individuals less successful than teams, relationships with clients, hybrid working, compassion and the power of a naïve mind.
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Nichol Bradford stands at the forefront of human potential and AI, accelerating human transformation through technology investments, research, and global thought leadership.
As the Executive-in-Residence for AI + HI at The Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM), she shapes global thinking on Human-AI collaboration, driving human readiness for an AI-empowered world.
Nichol is also the Co-Founder and Partner of Niremia Collective, an early-stage venture fund focused on human potential technologies. Additionally, she co-founded TransformativeTech.org, the largest global ecosystem dedicated to building tech for human flourishing, supporting over 2,000 founders through their programs, and connecting a passionate community of innovators worldwide.
With a rich background in interactive entertainment, Nichol has held senior roles at major brands like Epic Games, Activision-Blizzard, Vivendi Games, and Disney. She has led many groundbreaking projects, including managing operations for World of Warcraft China and contributing to the landmark $18 billion Vivendi - Activision-Blizzard merger.
Her current focus is on advancing human potential through ethical AI, fostering a global ecosystem that champions human thriving.
Join us as we delve into Nichol's journey, exploring how technology can unlock human potential and create a future where AI and humanity thrive together.
Ross and Nichol talk about technology complimenting humans, talking things through with AI, AI solving emotional problems, start-ups, levels of consciousness, start-up failure, relationships, desire to serve, performance, understanding ourselves, gut to brain connection, being happy, teams being in sync and data privacy. The pair also discuss aura rings, neuro data, seeing what's coming, holobiome, microbiome, teams in flow, bio-synchrony, feedback, e.l.f. cosmetics, speed of change, mistakes being costly, AI implementation, UPS success, reinventing business, meaning to customers, transparency, enhancing our collective intelligence, needing things from other people, weight lifting and collective intelligence swarming.
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00:17 Intro to Nichol
01:11 Nichol's background
02:50 Chatting with Pi (emotionally intelligent AI)
07:47 Individual consciousness
12:49 Technology helping consciousness
18:05 Naveen Jain - Viome
18:46 Brains being incoherent
20:49 Filtering overwhelming data and noise
25:33 Blink by Malcolm Gladwell
27:40 Change and challenges breaking tradition
32:01 Buy in
33:55 Where things are going
39:00 Video - Louis Rosenberg - Unanimous AI
39:27 The last time Nichol did something for the first time
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With over 20 years in the US Marshal Service, and 6 years in the military police, Chris is a self described student of leadership. He has been known to lead DISC and Adaptive Leadership training and special shout out to the fact he has also gone through our level 1 AQai certification program.
Ross and Chris talk about growing up in the military, film, temperance, self awareness, taking care of employees, passion, Chris Voss, controlling emotions, role playing, practicing control in the workplace, having a plan B, bringing in other people, giving people value, understanding environments, pleasant conversations, empathy, peoples wellbeing, teamwork, influencing people and, asking good questions. The pair also discuss adaptive leadership, self awareness, valuing everyone, being vocal, community, being respectful, hard conversations, trusting relationships, intent, addressing problems, compassion, feeling uncomfortable, getting motivated, evolving, AI, technology, value, people buying in, unlearning, psychological wellbeing, treating people well, the death of employees, loss and law enforcement.
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Today, we have the pleasure of hosting Emily James, the Head of Talent Procurement at British Petroleum (BP.) Emily is an accomplished HR leader, with an impressive track record in leadership and category management across the spectrum of HR. With Over 10 years at BP, time at Citi and also JP Morgan.
I met Emily at the World Commerce and Contracting Conference in Malaga earlier this year, where I led a keynote on adaptability intelligence and several VIP workshops on building workforce adaptability. And Emily was part of a breakfast panel with inspiring women to discuss inclusivity and diversity that sparked a deep conversation between us, and to today's interview!
Emily has a wealth of experience influencing at all levels within multinational organizations, effectively managing complex situations with diverse stakeholders. Her leadership skills, developed early in her career, have been honed through extensive experience in coaching and mentoring.
Ross and Emily talk about technology revolutions, AI transition, society, bots, jobs, doom, worrying, parenting, deliverable based work, new generation of work, new markets, scaling solutions, BP, energy, mindset shift, reskill, upskill, adaptability, getting teams to engage, success, what success looks like, speed of learning and work fulfilment. The pair also discuss being inclusive, women in work, giving voices to people, social demographics, diversity, learning to say no, people pleasers, taking control, producing energy, being uncomfortable, uncertainly, facing challenges, psychological safety, long term value, results, strong feedback, support, agile working, job security, peer role modelling, building trust recognition, reward, giving people identity, comfort, validation, life skills and resilience.
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'Succeeding by never giving up.'
Charles was a Manhattan Banker, not happy with his life, after nearly 10 years he made the choice to get out. Setting up several nightclubs and lounges, his own vodka brand, and now turned destination distillery experience owner.
Creator of Star Vodka, a long journey of research which took him to Moscow to learn how they do it - and a desire to 'do it better'.
The Hudson House New York is the first of its kind in the region. Hosting a craft distillery, event venue and boutique hotel and restaurant. From zoning challenges this is a story of grit, perseverance and relentless passion to not 'do things just to do them', but to do them in the best possible way. A story of right place, right time, the tenacity in building a community and finding the right people to believe in your vision.
Ross and Charles talk about grit, perseverance, passion, belief, pressure on children, sport, finance, making money, Wall Street, money not making you happy, taking big risks, curiosity, giving up on wealth, stress, selfish people, learning from failure, being scared, quitting without a plan, being stuck in a job, regaining confidence, being in the moment, working with celebrities, wanting to be different and standing out. The pair also discuss blind faith, the vodka industry, finding the truth, Russian vodka distilleries, craft distilling, marketing spirits, creating, crazy ideas, opening your mind, great stories, giving up, society pressures, reinventing business, growing young people, cherishing good people, feeling of belonging, proof of concept, investing in people and keeping work interesting.
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Lee is Founder and Chief Change Agent at Unleashing Leaders.
I've been looking forward to hosting Lee on the show, ever since we met 6 months ago at XPrize visioneering. We connected instantly and I'm excited to learn more about his journey, the genesis of Unleashing Leaders and share his wisdom with you all.
Lee Scott is a prolific practitioner and educator of leadership. And has significantly impacted both the public and private sectors. As the Founder and Chief Change Agent of Unleashing Leaders, Lee has dedicated over 27 years to inspiring leaders to more powerfully connect and contribute to their organizations and communities, coaching and training more than 26,000 professionals to date.
Lee's unique approach integrates practical essentials from multiple disciplines and industries, helping cross-functional teams tackle daunting challenges, streamline processes, and achieve remarkable results. His extensive experience ranges from leading startups to managing large international corporations, providing him with a wealth of knowledge on overcoming organizational dysfunction and maximizing limited resources.
I love his core values, with an acronym FIERCE: freedom, integrity, excellence, resilience, curiosity, and engagement.
Get ready to be inspired by Lee's practical insights and transformative strategies for unleashing leadership potential and fostering a culture of excellence and adaptability.
Ross and Lee talk about life being precious, biology in leadership, evolutionary biology, luck, natural selection, trial & error, environment, selective convergence, geographical advantages, divergence, diverse thinking, shortcuts becoming traps, supporting people, blending support, channelling the wrong energy, multi generational collaboration and harnessing energy. The pair also discuss leaders serving, duality, data driven tools, solving problems for leaders, being vulnerable, discipline, trying new things, accelerating change, imagining different futures, predicting the future, looking fear in the eye, having the right skills, feedback, protecting your confidence, shifting perspective, asking great questions, curiosity, embracing being uncomfortable, hobby farming and loving mistakes.
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We recorded this special episode live whilst in Heidelberg with our remarkable guest, Georg Schütz, one of our AQai Certified Partners.
Georg is a visionary in the field of leadership coaching and systemic team development. With a rich academic background from LMU Munich in human medicine to specialized training in systemic business coaching and hypnosystemic concepts, Georg brings a unique interdisciplinary approach to every engagement.
For over a decade, Georg has been at the forefront of transforming how leadership and communication are perceived and implemented across various industries. As a seasoned trainer and coach, he has influenced numerous organizations, including Allianz Deutschland and Bosch GmbH, by fostering environments that champion emotional management, resilience, and innovative leadership practices.
His work extends beyond traditional boundaries, integrating creativity and strategic thinking to develop leaders who thrive in today's dynamic environments.
Join us as Georg outlines his vision for bringing innovative adaptability training to the German market, aiming to transform the traditional view of change and encourage a more dynamic, enjoyable approach to personal and professional growth.
Ross and Georg talk about Learning, leadership development, meaningful change, transformations, adaptability, guidance, training, adapting from lockdowns, Ross's book, change, adapting being fun, training thousands, Adaptico, new approaches to existing models and finding new solutions. The pair also discuss HR professionals, expanding globally, building relationships, human connections, building good long term relationships, asking good questions, taking an interest, deep understanding, communicating well, curiosity and being playful in work.
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Paul is a true innovator in learning and leadership development, changing how these disciplines are perceived and enacted globally.
Paul has dedicated his career to dismantling the status quo, constantly pushing the boundaries of what's possible in leadership training and development.
Before his current role at REACH Ecosystem, As CEO of Professional Development Training (PDT) for over a decade, he led its expansion across Australia and internationally, focusing on delivering impactful on-site training and psychometric tools. He also served as Project Manager at the University of Queensland, where he implemented a sophisticated travel management system. Additionally, Paul contributed as a Board Member of the Entrepreneurs' Organization, enhancing learning experiences for members, and chaired the OrgDev Institute, promoting research and development in organizational growth.
His mission is bold and impactful: to revolutionize the leader experience for over a million leaders and positively affect the lives of ten million team members they lead.
This goal reflects not only ambition but a deep commitment to enhancing organizational cultures and personal effectiveness across the globe.
Ross and Paul talk about AI, software, leadership, employee engagement, attracting talent, correct tools for the job, collaborating, heroes to zeros, technology demising, getting attention, entrepreneurship, the importance of feedback, improving performance, AI helping us remember, being more productive, enjoying work, leaders being fatigued and active disengagement. The pair also discuss Marcus Buckingham, working to strengths, Samsung six day weeks, solving problems, reaching new levels of organisations, self discovery, learning, personal curation, democratising access, demonetisation, adaptability, curiosity, training AI and knowing what to ask AI.
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Evan is at the forefront of AI innovation. As the Founder and CEO of Teammate AI and Co-Founder of Lede AI, Evan is transforming how businesses and news platforms leverage AI to enhance productivity and content generation. His belief that every individual can engage in more fascinating and motivating work with the aid of AI is not just a vision but a reality he's creating for hundreds of businesses.
From optimizing operations without ballooning payrolls to generating unique news briefs in seconds, Evan’s work embodies the massive power of AI. Join us as we dive into how you can leverage technology to enhance human potential, making every day work not just efficient but truly engaging.
Ross and Evan talk about AI innovation, leveraging AI, understanding software, freeing up human's time, saving space, optimizing, new AI demos, success with AI, experimenting, avoiding boring tasks, being creative, customising code, team mates, visions, future goals, best tools for the job, understanding your tasks and data entry doing well. The pair also discuss key performance indicators, saving time, perplexity.ai, keeping up to date, trust by verifying, Microsoft co-pilot, conflict with AI, chat GPT, great people, making the workforce more creative, people losing jobs, embracing technology, being a digital nomad and learning a language.
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Khoa is a distinguished behavioral scientist with an amazing background. Including seven years of leading and collaborating on transformative projects across academia and industry,
Khoa brings to the table an impressive blend of psychological theory and empirical research to drive sustainable solutions. From his work at BetterUp focusing on organizational performance and human flourishing to his rich educational journey that spans across continents, Khoa embodies the essence of adaptability and innovation. His unique approach to understanding user behavior and leveraging research methodologies sets a precedent for how we can harness psychological insights to enhance our interaction with technology.
(Today we have an extra long episode with bonus material.)
Ross and Khoa talk about human transformation, events, data connecting with daily life, transforming the US Airforce, being change ready, good wellbeing, book - Predictably Irrational by Dan Areola, human psychology positive emotions, spiritual experiences, mystical experiences, awe, connecting with community and peak experiences. The pair also discuss reaching full potential, positive psychology, meaningful life, social norms, social contagion, people we spend time with, positive forces, helping people thrive, AI, mindset, driving team performance, the monkey king, being optimistic, hope, learning a language and being a clown.
(Bonus)
We finish off with our thoughts on social experiments, prison, human connections, hume.ai, Vapi AI, AI therapy, AI coaching, AI doctors and our AQai summit.
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The podcast currently has 159 episodes available.