Meikles & Dimes

By Nate MeikleEducation

Meikles & Dimes episodes

October 12281: The Hidden Cost of Remote Work | Professor Emma Harrington, University of Virginia
Emma Harrington is a professor of economics at the University of Virginia and coauthor of the book In Person: How Working Together Fuels Creativity, Productivity, and Growth.
Emma earned her PhD in economics from Harvard and completed a postdoc at Princeton. Her research has been published in some of the world’s leading academic journals, including Science, and the Quarterly Journal of Economics. Her work has also been featured by the BBC, The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, The Economist, The Atlantic’s Good on Paper podcast, and NPR’s Planet Money.
In this episode we discuss the following:
Productivity is about more than getting things done. Working from home eliminates the commute, can reduce interruptions, and can help us knock things off our to-do list. But Emma’s research made me think about what we miss when we don’t go into the office: the friendships we don’t build, the conversations we don’t have, and the ideas that never get shared.
Shark Week was such a great example of an idea born from people talking together. A group of executives sitting around a bar asking, “What would be cool?” Somebody says, “Sharks.” And decades later, Shark Week is still around.
Some things simply take time. Emma cited research showing that it can take roughly 160 hours together to build a friendship.
The question isn’t whether remote work or in-person work is better. The better question is: What’s the appropriate dose of each based on what I’m trying to accomplish?
19 min
October 05280: If You’re Doing My Job, Who’s Doing Yours? | Carlos Gutierrez, U.S. Secretary of Commerce and CEO of Kellogg
Carlos Gutierrez is a Cuban immigrant who rose from selling cereal out of a Kellogg’s van to become the youngest CEO in the company’s history. He later served as U.S. Secretary of Commerce under President George W. Bush and as Vice Chairman of Citigroup.
Over the course of his career, Carlos has served on the boards of organizations including Occidental Petroleum, Corning, and the Woodrow Wilson International Center. He also founded and chaired Global Political Strategies, co-founded EmPath, and is a regular commentator on CNBC.
His career has spanned business, government, international affairs, and entrepreneurship, giving him a distinctive perspective on leadership, communication, and the lessons people learn over the course of a career.
In this episode we discuss the following:
We probably have more skills than we realize. Carlos discovered his ability to speak in a community-college class, and that skill eventually helped him sell, lead, connect with employees, become a CEO, serve in government, and deliver more than 900 speeches.
Carlos never forgot the employee who asked him, “If you’re doing my job, who’s doing yours?” Micromanagement both frustrates employees and prevents leaders from doing the work that only they can do.
I appreciated Carlos’ advice to not sit around and think about our failure and to learn from our sucesses
15 min
September 28279: Michelle Gielan, Positive Psychology Researcher, Bestselling Author, & Former CBS News Anchor | Optimism Isn’t a Feeling, It’s a Behavior
Michelle Gielan is a positive psychology researcher, bestselling author, and former national CBS News anchor who examines how optimism shapes performance and well-being. She is the author of Broadcasting Happiness and Resilient Optimism: The Science of Sustaining a Positive Mindset in Tough Times. She was an executive producer of The Happiness Advantage on PBS and a featured professor in Oprah’s Happiness course. Michelle holds a Master of Applied Positive Psychology from the University of Pennsylvania and a bachelor’s degree in computer engineering from Tufts University. Her research and ideas have been featured by The New York Times, The Washington Post, Forbes, Harvard Business Review, and the Today show.
In this episode we discuss the following:
Optimism doesn’t mean ignoring the bad news, minimizing a problem, or convincing ourselves that cars won’t hit us because we’re optimists.
When Michelle was in the hospital with her newborn in the NICU, she focused on the next meaningful, constructive action she could take.
Optimism is connected to countless positive outcomes, when our optimism leads us to take action. It’s not just wishful thinking. Our behaviors matter. And an optimistic mindset can change our behaviors, which can change what happens to us next.
20 min
September 21278: Ron Johnson, Apple Store Creator | Choose Kindness
Ron Johnson is one of the most influential retail executives of the past several decades. After graduating from Harvard Business School, he began his career at Mervyn’s before joining Target, where he helped turn Target into “Tar zhay.” That work caught the attention of Steve Jobs, who recruited Ron to create Apple’s retail business from the ground up. Over the next decade, Ron helped develop the vision for the Apple Store, build its world-class retail team, and launch innovations such as the Genius Bar—ultimately creating some of the most successful and productive retail stores in the world. He later served as CEO of J.C. Penney, an experience he says taught him more in 24 months of failure than in 24 years of success. Ron is the author of the book Shop Different: How Retail Revealed Apple’s Genius, which explores lessons on innovation, leadership, design, culture, and why human connection may matter more than ever in the age of AI and online shopping.
In this episode we discuss the following:
One of my favorite ideas from Ron is the distinction between the things we’re given and the things we choose. We might be born smart, athletic, talented, or attractive. Those are gifts. But kindness is a choice. And as Ron said, imagine if the smartest, most talented person, or the best leader also chose to be the kindest.
I loved Ron’s perspective on Steve Jobs. Steve didn’t necessarily show kindness in the way people often think about it. He believed that one of the highest forms of kindness was telling people the truth—even when that truth was hard to hear. And Steve also showed kindness by building great products for others. He obsessed over making products easier, more useful, and more empowering because he wanted to improve people’s lives. In Ron’s words, he was trying to “secure the good” of the customer. And that idea eventually became the philosophy behind the Apple Store: enrich lives. Don’t just sell people something. Make their lives better.
In a world increasingly shaped by AI, what matters most may be the things that only we can bring: our presence, our unique perspective, and the genuine human connection that comes through conversation.
22 min
September 14277: How to Build Confidence When You Doubt Yourself | Professor Cindra Kamphoff, Certified Mental Performance Consultant
Dr. Cindra Kamphoff is a professor at Minnesota State University, Mankato and a sport and performance psychologist who has spent her career helping elite performers strengthen their mindset and perform at their best. She has worked one-on-one with Minnesota Vikings players, USA Track & Field athletes at the Tokyo Olympics, and executives at companies including Target and Verizon.
Cindra earned her Ph.D. in sport and performance psychology and led a national research study examining confidence in America. She is also the author of The Confidence Habit: 7 Core Practices to Transform Self-Doubt to Self-Belief, which offers practical strategies for overcoming self-doubt, strengthening confidence, and performing at your best.
In this episode we discuss the following:
Cindra’s technique for dealing with doubt and poor performance: learn, burn, return. Learn from it, move past it, and get back to work.
Keep track of your wins so your brain has evidence of what you’re capable of.
Set a range of goals so your confidence isn’t tied to one outcome.
Remember that sometimes action has to come before the feeling. You don’t have to feel confident before you raise your hand, take the shot, or have the conversation.
When self-doubt creeps in, ask yourself three questions: Is this thought true? Is it serving me? And what would be a more empowering thought?
Confidence isn’t something we either have or don’t have. It’s a habit we can build.
20 min
September 07276: Why Shouting Makes People Perform Worse | Caroline Webb, Former McKinsey Partner & World-Renowned Executive Coach
Caroline Webb is an economist, executive coach, and bestselling author of How to Have a Good Day, which has been published in more than 60 countries. Her new book is Leadership Intelligence: Science-Based Strategies for Mastering Twenty-One Everyday Management Challenges. Caroline has been named one of the top 50 executive coaches in the world by Thinkers50 and one of the top 50 leadership and management thinkers by Inc. magazine. She is a Senior Advisor on leadership to McKinsey & Company, where she previously served as a Partner. For more than two decades, Caroline has worked with leaders across business, government, startups, and the social sector, drawing on behavioral science, economics, and neuroscience to help people perform at their best. Her work has been featured in Harvard Business Review, The Wall Street Journal, The New York Times, The Economist, Financial Times, Fortune, Fast Company, TIME, and WIRED.
In this episode we discuss the following:
One of my favorite ideas from Caroline is simple: if you want to get the best out of people, it helps to understand how their brains work. When Caroline was working with the military general, it was only when she explained what was happening in the brain that she finally got through to him.
Shouting might make someone more vigilant, but it’s not going to improve their problem-solving ability. When people feel threatened, their ability to reason, solve problems, and be creative can actually decline.
Leadership isn’t so much about our personality traits as it is about our behaviors. And when people know we have their best interests at heart, they’re more likely to reach their potential.
When someone responds to us in an unpleasant way, our instinct is to focus on what they need to change. But sometimes the best way to change how someone behaves toward us is to change how we behave toward them first.
20 min
August 31275: David Booth, Billionaire Investor and Philanthropist | A $1,000,000 Lesson in Compounding
David Booth is the founder and chairman of Dimensional Fund Advisors, one of the most influential investment firms in the world, managing more than $1 trillion in assets. Earlier in his career, David helped develop one of the world’s first index funds and spent decades applying academic financial research—including ideas developed by his mentor, Nobel laureate Eugene Fama—to real-world investing.
David is also a proud University of Kansas alum, earning degrees in economics and business from KU before earning his MBA from the University of Chicago. And his philanthropy has been extraordinary: the University of Chicago’s Booth School of Business bears his name, as does David Booth Kansas Memorial Stadium. In 2010, David and his wife Suzanne purchased James Naismith’s original rules of basketball for $4.3 million and brought them home to KU—the story featured in my favorite documentary of all time ESPN’s 30 for 30: There’s No Place Like Home.
In 2025, David made an additional $300 million gift to Kansas Athletics, continuing his remarkable support of KU. And most recently David wrote a book titled, Stay Calm: Learn to Embrace Uncertainty in Investing and Life.
In this episode we discuss the following:
When David found $15,000 in cash in his late parents’ safe-deposit box, he wondered what it might have become had they invested it in the public markets instead. He calculated that if his father had invested the money after returning from World War II and simply earned the market return, it would have grown to more than $1 million over the next 40 years.
That’s the magic of compounding, and I love David’s bigger point that our lives compound as well, from the things we learn, to the decisions we make, and the relationships we build.
I love David’s explanation for why he’s optimistic about markets: people want to make their lives better. When something goes wrong, people adapt. They solve problems. They invent things. Companies find new ways to serve customers. And over time, that human ingenuity gets reflected in the market.
As a stressed-out PhD student at the University of Chicago, David visited his grandparents, who lived in a tiny home that didn’t even have indoor plumbing. Yet he looked around at his family laughing and enjoying themselves and thought: Maybe they’ve figured out something about life that I haven’t. That realization helped him choose the career path that fit what he actually valued.
Invest early, stay invested, and make sure you’re invested in the right things.
20 min
August 24274: When Confidence Gets in the Way of Feedback | University of North Carolina Professor Elad Sherf
Elad Sherf is a Professor of Organizational Behavior at the University of North Carolina. His research examines workplace fairness and feedback seeking. He also studies why managers resist feedback, including why they avoid asking for input or ignore input when it is offered.
His research has been published in leading management and psychology journals, and he also serves as an associate editor of Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes.
Before earning his PhD, Elad served for four years in the Israeli Air Force and practiced law in Israel for three years. He received his PhD in organizational behavior from the University of Maryland, his MBA from the AGSM MBA Program at the University of South Wales in Australia, and his LLB, BA, and LLM from Reichman University in Israel.
In this episode we discuss the following:
Elad’s research highlights an interesting dilemma: When we feel uncertain, we often ask for feedback. But when we feel confident, we assume we do not need it, when the feedback could have helped us.
Confidence should not always be a signal to move forward without input. Sometimes confidence should be the trigger to pause and ask, “What am I missing? What can’t I see? How might someone else view this differently?”
We often underestimate the value of other people’s perspectives. And sometimes one small comment can help us adapt and treat someone more fairly, especially on the margin.
Managers often assume they understand what employees need or how employees are experiencing a situation. But feedback helps us move from default assumptions to better, more context-specific decisions.
The next time we feel certain is the exact moment we may want to ask one more question.
21 min
August 20273: How to Get Lucky by Saying Thank You | Tina Seelig, Stanford Educator and Author
Tina Seelig is the Executive Director of Knight-Hennessy Scholars at Stanford University, the world’s largest fully endowed graduate fellowship program. She is also Director Emerita of the Stanford Technology Ventures Program and has spent decades teaching creativity, innovation, entrepreneurship, and leadership at Stanford, including in the Department of Management Science and Engineering and the d.school.
Tina earned her Ph.D. in neuroscience from Stanford Medical School, where she studied neuroplasticity, and has worked as a management consultant, multimedia producer, and entrepreneur.
She is the author of numerous books on creativity, innovation, and entrepreneurship, including What I Wish I Knew When I Was 20, inGenius, Creativity Rules, and her newest book, What I Wish I Knew About Luck. Her work has earned numerous honors, including the National Academy of Engineering’s Gordon Prize for her contributions to engineering and entrepreneurship education.
In this episode we discuss the following:
For Tina, improving her luck by saying thank you means looking at her calendar at the end of each day and writing thank you notes to everyone who helped her that day.
What a powerful story about her college professor. She thanked him 20 years after the class, and 20 years after that, her thank you letter was read at his funeral. As Tina said, there is no statute of limitations on saying thanks.
Luck is also a long game. For years, Tina invited John Hennessy to speak to her class. And every year she wrote him a thank you note after he spoke. When she recently asked him if he would have kept speaking without the notes, he said, probably not. And she would have never known it was because she hadn’t expressed gratitude. Now Tina runs the Knight Hennessy Scholars program with John.
I also love how Tina applies this in the workplace and creates a culture of people saying thank you by simply modeling the behavior.
20 min
August 17272: Tell the Truth With Love | Daniel Zimet Certified Mental Performance Consultant
Daniel Zimet is a licensed psychologist and Certified Mental Performance Consultant who specializes in sport and performance psychology, working with athletes, executives, and other high performers on mental performance, relationships, and major life and career transitions. Daniel is a member of the U.S. Olympic & Paralympic Committee Sport Psychology Registry and has published research on athlete retirement transitions as well as marriage and divorce. Daniel is also an accomplished athlete himself, having won 43 National Masters titles in handball, appearing multiple times on ESPN+.
In this episode we discuss the following:
Bad communication isn’t the most damaging thing to relationships, but rather It’s no communication that is most damaging.
As Daniel learned from his breakup, when we don’t communicate, we deny people the opportunity to understand us, respond, or change.
Daniel’s advice for difficult conversations: start with warmth, assume good intentions, be curious, and keep it brief. One paragraph. One idea. Then give the other person a chance to respond.
Behavior that seems irrational often starts to make sense once we understand where it comes from. Understanding each other doesn’t always mean we agree with each other, but it can create compassion.
21 min

About Meikles & Dimes

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Meikles & Dimes is a podcast dedicated to the simple, practical, and underappreciated. Monologue episodes cover science-based topics in decision-making, health, communication, negotiation, and…