Meikles & Dimes

By Nate MeikleEducation

Meikles & Dimes episodes

January 26241: Hubert Joly on Turning Around Best Buy
Hubert Joly is a Harvard Business School lecturer and globally recognized leadership thinker focused on re-founding business around purpose and people. A former Chairman and CEO of Best Buy, he led one of the most celebrated corporate turnarounds of the past decade by rejecting cost-cutting playbooks in favor of purpose-driven strategy. At Harvard Business School, he co-leads flagship CEO programs and advises organizations on developing next-generation leaders. Hubert serves on the boards of Johnson & Johnson and S&P Global, is a trustee of the New York Public Library, has been named among the world’s top CEOs and management thinkers by HBR, Barron’s, Glassdoor, and Thinkers50, and is the bestselling author of The Heart of Business.
In this episode we discuss the following:
When Hubert became CEO of Best Buy, he resisted the instinct to cut, cut, cut. Instead, as a first-time CEO, he chose to be a learn-it-all rather than a know-it-all—constantly asking, What’s working? What’s not? And what do you need? He then held himself to a strong “say-do” ratio, making sure his actions matched his words.
I was also struck by the hierarchy he emphasized at Best Buy: people, business, finance. Of course a company has to make money. But when meetings start with finance or strategy, the implicit message is that people come second. Best Buy ultimately clarified this by defining its purpose as enriching lives through technology by addressing human needs.
Another powerful idea was Hubert’s reminder that culture changes faster than we think—if behavior changes first. If you want to be customer-centric, don’t just talk about customers. Spend time with them. Behavior shapes culture surprisingly fast.
Give a name or brand to our behavior change goals.
20 min
January 19240: Happiness Researcher Tal Ben-Shahar | The First Step to Happiness
Tal Ben-Shahar is an academic, author, speaker, teacher and co-founder of the Happiness Studies Academy. His classes on Positive Psychology and Leadership were among the largest courses in Harvard’s history, and he teaches, speaks, and consults around the world, to the general public, governments, Fortune 500 companies, and educational institutions. Tal’s personal mission statement is “to make the world a better place through wholebeing education” and his internationally best-selling books have been translated into more than 25 languages. Tal has been featured on The Daily Show with Jon Stewart, NBC, FOX, CNN, and 60 Minutes among others. Tal earned both his BA and PHD from Harvard.
In this episode we discuss the following:
Tal flips a common assumption on it’s head: happiness doesn’t start with feeling good; it starts with giving ourselves permission to feel bad.
Painful emotions aren’t a bug in the system. They’re proof that we’re alive. The mistake we make is treating emotions as moral verdicts rather than facts of nature, and then trying to suppress what we feel. The key is to accept what we’re feeling and then chose to act in line with our values.
The real work isn’t learning these ideas. It’s applying them, and for that reason Tal wears a bracelet to help him bridge the knowing / doing gap.
In summary, to be happy, remember to let yourself feel bad. And then ACT.
19 min
January 12239: Losing and Finding Our Identity | Cognitive Scientist Maya Shankar
Maya Shankar is a cognitive scientist and the creator, executive producer, and host of the podcast, A Slight Change of Plans, which Apple awarded as the Best Show of the Year in 2021. Maya was a Senior Advisor in the Obama White House, where she founded and served as Chair of the White House Behavioral Science Team. She also served as the first Behavioral Science Advisor to the United Nations, and as a core member of Pete Buttigieg’s debate preparation team during his 2020 presidential run.
Maya has a postdoctoral fellowship in cognitive neuroscience from Stanford, a Ph.D. in cognitive psychology from Oxford on a Rhodes Scholarship, and a B.A. from Yale. She's been profiled by The New Yorker and been the featured guest on NPR's All Things Considered, Freakonomics, and Hidden Brain. She's also a graduate of the Juilliard School of Music's pre-college program. And most recently, Maya is the author of the book, The Other Side of Change.
In this episode we discuss the following:
I loved Maya’s insight about identity. When she injured her finger and could no longer play the violin, she was devastated because she identified as a violinist. But when she looked more broadly at the motivations that drove her, she realized that connection, growth, care, and contribution were underlying motivations. And violin wasn’t the only way to accomplish her ultimate goals.
By anchoring our identity to deeper motivations rather than specific roles or activities, we create a more resilient sense of self while also creating more opportunities for us to achieve our goals.
14 min
January 05238: Farming, Writing, Filming, & Creating with Josh Foster | Showing Up Every Day
Josh Foster is an award-winning independent writer, thinker, and farmer in Rigby, Idaho. He is the author of The Last Good Snow Hunt (2024), The Clean Package: A Pioneer Assemblage (2023), and The Crown Package: A Personal Anthology (2022).
Josh earned a PHD in literature and creative writing from the University of Houston, a master’s of fine arts degree in fiction and nonfiction from the University of Arizona, and an undergraduate degree in English from BYU Idaho. In between his master’s degree and PhD, Josh was selected as a Stegner Fellow at Stanford University, one of the most prestigious creative writing fellowships in the world. Josh also earned a minor in Spanish and studied at the University of Guadalajara.
In his almost two-decade writing and publishing career, Josh has served in key editorial positions with notable magazines such as Terrain.org, DIAGRAM, and Gulf Coast. Josh now co-operates the creative cooperative and press FOSTER LITERARY with his wife, the poet Georgia Pearle Foster.
In this follow up interview with Josh (see Episode 99 for our first interview) we discuss the following:
We covered a lot of ground with Josh, which is always great because he’s so full of insight. First the farm, as a metaphor for life. Raising a successful crop each year requires daily blood, sweat, and tears. But even when the uncontrollable weather actually cooperates, markets can suddenly change. It’s a never ending struggle. But farmers just keep showing up every day.
Water is the lifeblood of the farm, and it was fun to hear how Josh is engaging with community members and policy makers to figure out how to allocate water effectively, and potentially grow the supply. And I look forward to reading his upcoming book on water.
I also look forward to reading Georgia and Josh’s book, Other People’s Parties. As Josh said, he often finds himself at the last moment of things and I’m inspired by how he wants to memorialize and preserve the stories that are fleeting.
I’m especially excited to both watch the film Bozwreck and read Josh’s novel on his cousin Nate Bozung. After the interview, Josh sent me a brief clip of the film, and I was blown away by the beauty and style of the film.
I always love talking to Josh because he teaches me about life and humanity. But he also inspires me. Whenever we create things, we never know the impact they may have. But like the farmer, we just keep showing up every day. And even though the world is confusing, violent, and unfair, let’s be good to each other, help each other, and be better.
1 hr 16 min
December 29, 2025237: People over Pep Talks, Relationships over Rules | High School Principal David Beck
David Beck is the principal of Granite Connection High School in South Salt Lake, Utah. He has served as a teacher at Pleasant Grove High School, and Assistant Principal at both Cyprus High School and Granger High School in Utah. David earned his undergraduate and graduate degrees from BYU.
In this episode we discuss the following:
When one of David’s students was falling asleep in class, a pep talk was the last thing she needed—she was working until 1:00 a.m. and catching a 6:30 a.m. bus just to get to school. What she needed was love, respect, and repeated check-ins over time.
Even when students have especially difficult lives, the answer isn’t to lower expectations, but to raise support through mentorship, consistency, interventions, and relationships.
Often, what people need most isn’t money, but guidance—someone to help them navigate systems and help them believe a different future is possible.
By applying the Heath Brothers’ Power of Moments framework and intentionally designing positive, celebratory experiences, the school massively increased graduation rates.
In the end, it all comes down to relationships.
1 hr 11 min
December 22, 2025236: Asking Instead of Telling | Peter Schein on Humble Inquiry
Peter Schein is co-author of the worldwide bestseller, Humble Inquiry: The Gentle Art of Asking Instead of Telling. Together with his father Edgar Schein, one of the founders of organizational psychology, Peter has co-written six books, including Humble Leadership and Career Anchors Reimagined.
Peter holds degrees from Stanford, Northwestern and USC.
In this episode we discuss the following:
Humble Inquiry is a philosophy about how to get along, gather information, and build relationships. The key is to ask people questions we don’t know the answer to.
If we tell people what to do, or guide them with questions we already know the answer to, we are telling them that we know best. But by asking people questions we don’t know the answer to, we communicate genuine curiosity while also gathering information that we don’t currently possess.
Remember to ask people questions that we don’t know the answer to.
24 min
December 15, 2025235: Dorie Clark | The Power of Scale and Social Proof
Dorie Clark is an executive education professor at Duke University’s Fuqua School of Business and Columbia Business School, and is the bestselling author of several books, including The Long Game and Stand Out. A frequent Harvard Business Review contributor, she has consulted for leading organizations including Google, Microsoft, and the World Bank. Dorie is former presidential campaign spokeswoman, an award-winning journalist, and a four-time Thinkers50 honoree who was named the world’s top communication coach by the Marshall Goldsmith Leading Global Coaches Awards.
Dorie holds degrees from Smith College and Harvard Divinity School.
In this episode we discuss the following:
While Dorie was working grueling hours on the campaign trail for low pay, her boss was earning 10 times her monthly salary in one hour speeches—and that sparked Dorie’s curiosity. She realized that the massive pay difference came down to scale.
Even if Broadway actors are just as talented as Hollywood actors, the Hollywood actors reach millions more people, thus commanding a premium.
Dorie also saw that her boss had earned trust of other high status people who vouched for him. By building up social proof through brand affiliations, media appearances, and content creation, we make it easier for people to trust us. And we can also increase our scale.
19 min
December 08, 2025234: ASU Professor Mike Baer | How to Gain Trust, and Its Blessing and Burden
Mike Baer is an award-winning business professor at Arizona State University, where he researches trust, justice, and impression management. Mike has published his research in top academic journals, including the Academy of Management Journal, Journal of Applied Psychology, and Personnel Psychology, and Mike is currently the Editor-in-Chief at one of the field's top journals—Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes.
Mike’s research has been covered by media outlets such as Harvard Business Review, Financial Times, PBS, NPR, Business Insider, Men's Health, and New York Magazine among others.
Prior to joining academia, Mike worked in the construction industry, at Hewlett Packard's Executive Leadership Development group, and in publishing and online education. He earned his undergraduate and graduate degrees from BYU, and his PHD from the University of Georgia.

In this episode we discuss the following:
Trust is both a gift and a burden. When we trust others, we can increase their pride and opportunities but can also overload them with responsibilities and pressure.
Leaders routinely overload their most trusted people without taking anything off their plates, while under-investing in newer employees who could grow with smaller tasks.
Trust shapes how we interpret behavior: trusted employees get the benefit of the doubt; less-trusted ones receive harsh judgments for the same mistakes, which can make early impressions disproportionately powerful.
When people are forming those early impressions and deciding whether to trust us, they are thinking about three things: Are we competent? Do we care about them? Do we have good values? So if we do our job well and help other people without being asked, we will tend to make a good impression.
About 25% of employees don’t actually want more trust—they want stability, not responsibility.
25 min
December 01, 2025233: Sébastien Page, Chief Investment Officer at T. Rowe Price on the Psychology of Leadership
Sébastien Page is the Chief Investment Officer at T. Rowe Price, one of the world’s largest investment management firms. Sebastien oversees a team of investment professionals who manage more than $500 billion in assets, and he rose from a non-English-speaking intern to the C-suite. Sébastien is also the author of the book, The Psychology of Leadership.
In this episode we discuss the following:
For the sports psychologist and 40-time national handball champ Daniel Zimet, his best match ever was a loss.
Roger Federer, one of the greatest tennis players of all time, lost nearly half the points in his career.
Outcomes are noisy, and are only loose signals of decision quality. True peak performance, whether in sports, investing, or life, isn’t always about winning. It’s about a relentless focus on the process.
At the highest levels, listening beats speaking, strategic patience often beats knee-jerk decisiveness, and the courage to quit can matter more than blind persistence.
None of this matters if we’re running on empty. The foundation of sustained excellence is sleep, diet, and exercise.
18 min
November 24, 2025232: Ian Williamson, Dean of The UC Irvine Paul Merage School of Business | The Case for Long-Term Leadership
Ian Williamson is dean of The UC Irvine Paul Merage School of Business. Prior to joining the Merage School, he served as pro vice-chancellor and dean of commerce at the Wellington School of Business and Government at Victoria University of Wellington, New Zealand.
Ian has also served as a faculty member in business schools in Australia, Switzerland, and Indonesia.
Ian is a globally recognized expert in the area of human resource management and his research has been published in leading academic journals and covered by leading media outlets across the world.
Ian received his PhD from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and a bachelor’s degree in business from Miami University.
In this episode we discuss the following:
Ian sees himself as a steward, making decisions for the person who comes after him, recognizing that he’s caring for something that existed long before him and will continue long after him.
What a powerful example of long-term thinking Ian encountered with the Māori leaders, who asked, "How will this decision affect our great-grandchildren?’”
Not all leadership looks the same, and it’s perfectly fine for some leaders to focus on the short term. But the key is being intentional about what our role demands and what kind of leader we want to be.
17 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…