Partnering Leadership

Retired US Navy Admiral Kyle Cozak shares his inspiring journey of resilience and leadership in this episode of the Partnering Leadership podcast. From his upbringing in Las Vegas to his life-altering accident, Admiral Cozak's story is a testament to the power of trust, positive thinking, and determination. He emphasizes the importance of clear communication, trust, and relatability in leadership and how these qualities can empower individuals to make the right decisions. Admiral Cozak's relentless positivity and unwavering belief in finding new opportunities, even in adversity, is truly inspiring. The conversation also delves into the evolution of leadership in the military, with Admiral Cozak highlighting the shift from commanding and telling people what to do to building trust and empowering individuals. Admiral Cozad shares his experiences as the 22nd senior director in the White House Situation Room, where he witnessed the importance of trust and effective decision-making. Admiral Cozak's insights on teaching leadership and cultural change in the military shed light on the challenges of instilling values and perspectives in a diverse group of recruits. Furthermore, Admiral Cozak's journey of overcoming a life-changing injury and determination to find a new purpose is remarkable. His positive mindset, support network, and belief in overcoming obstacles are lessons that can inspire anyone facing challenges in their own lives. 

Some Highlights:

• Discover the power of the commander's intent and how it can transform decision-making.
• Uncover the evolution of leadership in the military and the lessons learned from that transformation.
• Hear the inspiring story of Admiral Kyle Cozad's life-altering accident and his remarkable mindset shift.
• Learn about the importance of trust and open communication in leadership.
• Gain insights into teaching leadership and cultural change in the US military.
• Find out how struggles and determination at the Naval Academy shaped a leader's path.
• Delve into the experience of serving as the 22nd senior director in the White House Situation Room.
• Understand the significance of active listening and conversations in developing young leaders.
• Discover the role of caregivers and a positive outlook in overcoming challenges.
• Explore the power of relentless positivity and its impact on leadership.

Connect with Admiral Kyle Cozad

Relentless Positivity: A Common Veteran Battling Uncommon Odds at The Naval Aviation Store 

Admiral Kyle Cozad on LinkedIn 

Relentless Positivity: A Common Veteran Battling Uncommon Odds on Amazon 

Partnering Leadership conversations mentioned

David Marquet, Author of Turn the Ship Around!: A True Story of Turning Followers into Leaders & Leadership Is Language: The Hidden Power of What You Say--and What You Don't

Rich Diviney, Author of The Attributes: 25 Hidden Drivers of Optimal Performance

Connect with Mahan Tavakoli:

Mahan Tavakoli Website 

Mahan Tavakoli on LinkedIn 

Partnering Leadership Website

In this episode of Partnering Leadership, Mahan Tavakoli engages in a thought-provoking discussion with John Smart, a globally renowned futurist, foresight consultant, and successful entrepreneur. As the author of Introduction to Foresight, Executive Edition: Personal, Team, and Organizational Adaptiveness, John Smart shares valuable insights on the criticality of foresight and adaptiveness in the face of exponential change. Delving deeper, he explores the importance of building practical skills and employing techniques to enhance foresight in daily planning and review. The conversation also highlights the transformative power of networks in adapting to complex systems, emphasizing the necessity of diversity in decision-making. Finally, John Smart expertly delves into the essential skills and capabilities leaders require to navigate the challenges of complex organizations through greater uncertainty.

Some highlights:

- The Surprising Power of Positive Thinking and Organizing Past Experiences.

- Discovering the Hidden Art of Foresight: Predicting, Steering, and Shaping the Future.

- Foresight: The Journey of Learning, Seeing, Doing, and Reviewing.

- Unleashing Passion: How Your 20s and 30s Can Shape a Lifelong Calling.

- How to Apply the Four Steps of Foresight.

- Unveiling the Rewarding Secrets to Mastering Change and Adaptation.

- Supercharge Your Skills: Unleashing the Potential of Digital Tools and Human-Machine Teaming.

- The Game-Changer: Diversity in Decision-Making for Unleashing Team Power.

- Empathy and Ethics: The Backbone of Thriving in Networked Environments.

- Leadership Secrets: When Great Leaders Transform Complexity Into Character.

Connect with John Smart

John Smart on LinkedIn 

The Foresight Guide 

Introduction to Foresight, Executive Edition: Personal, Team, and Organizational Adaptiveness 

Connect with Mahan Tavakoli:

Mahan Tavakoli Website 

Mahan Tavakoli on LinkedIn 

Partnering Leadership Website

In this engaging episode of the Partnering Leadership podcast, host Mahan Tavakoli engages in an insightful conversation with Paul Daugherty, the group chief executive of technology and chief technology officer at Accenture. During the episode, Paul Daugherty emphasizes the criticality of adopting a technology-focused mindset and embracing constant reinvention and agility in the face of evolving technologies. He highlights the importance of organizations becoming learning organizations equipped with empathetic listening capabilities to navigate the era of generative AI effectively. The conversation delves into the significance of responsible AI and data ethics within organizations utilizing AI. Paul Daugherty underscores the need for CEOs to prioritize the implementation of responsible AI, emphasizing its role in shaping the future of business and society. Additionally, the episode touches on the transformative impact of the metaverse on business operations, the integral role of data in AI, and the necessity of rescaling individuals displaced by automation. Finally, Paul Daugherty shares his predictions on the future impact of AI on organizations.

• Discover the untapped potential of AI. Find out why reskilling is crucial for individuals affected by automation.
• Uncover the origins of the digital revolution and the birth of artificial intelligence.
• Gain insights into the transformation of every business into a technology company, and learn why technological prowess is indispensable for successful digital transformation and total enterprise reinvention.
• Explore how AI can support learning within organizations.
• Understand the importance of placing technology at your company's core and adopting a mindset of total enterprise reinvention.
• Dive into the symbiotic relationship between humans and machines and unlock the potential and value that AI offers when they work together.
• Delve into responsible AI, establishing structured policies and tools to ensure ethical and unbiased outcomes while appropriately handling data.
• Discover the transformative impact of generative AI, affecting 40% of working hours across companies.
• Explore the metamorphosis of the metaverse and its profound influence on business operations.
• Embrace the concept of a Technology Quotient (TQ) as an essential addition to IQ and EQ in every company, and recognize the importance of training all employees in various technologies.

Accenture Thought Leadership

Accenture Foresight App 

Accenture Technology Vision 2023 When Atoms Meet Bits 

Connect with Paul Daugherty

Paul Daugherty at Accenture 

Paul Daugherty on LinkedIn

Also Referenced:

Partnering Leadership Conversation with Ajay Agrawal on Prediction Machines & Power and Prediction

Connect with Mahan Tavakoli:

Mahan Tavakoli Website 

Mahan Tavakoli on LinkedIn 

Partnering Leadership Website

In this episode of Partnering Leadership, Mahan Tavakoli speaks with Renee Cummings, Data Science Professor of Practice at the University of Virginia. In the conversation, Professor Renee Cummings, a criminologist and AI ethicist discusses the importance of bringing responsible, ethical thinking to deploying AI technology. She stresses the need for due process, recognizing the various forms of bias, ethical use and transparency in deployment, and good governance and oversight. Renee Cummings also addresses the need for considering diversity, equity, and inclusion in AI development and deployment and how we can ensure that AI benefits society instead of harming it.

Some highlights:

- Why diversity of experience and perspective is crucial in AI

- The role that data plays in AI and data as a store of both positive and negative aspects of humanity.

differently, and the difference that makes in AI development and deployment

- Renee Cummings on the role AI has played in law enforcement for the past 20-plus years 

- Why it's important to keep humans involved in the decision-making loop rather than allowing extreme decision-making autonomy for AI systems

- How to design technology ethically to avoid extreme prejudice and further persecution of certain groups

- Professor Renee Cummings on the many opportunities created by AI 

Connect with Renee Cummings

Renee Cummings on LinkedIn 

Renee Cummings at UVA 

Connect with Mahan Tavakoli:

Mahan Tavakoli Website 

Mahan Tavakoli on LinkedIn 

Partnering Leadership Website

In this episode of Partnering Leadership, Mahan Tavakoli speaks with Rich Diviney, author of The Attributes: 25 Hidden Drivers of Optimal Performance. Rich Diviney is a retired Navy SEAL commander with 20+ years of experience as a Navy SEAL Officer, having completed more than thirteen overseas deployments, including serving as the officer in charge of training for a specialized command. During his service, Rich Diviney was intimately involved in the highly specialized SEAL selection process and spearheaded the creation of a directorate that fused physical, mental, and emotional disciplines. Since his retirement, Rich Diviney has worked as a speaker, facilitator, and consultant with the Chapman & Co. Leadership Institute and Simon Sinek Inc., teaching leadership and optimal performance for teams and organizations. 

Some highlights:

- Rich Diviney explained the role of mindset matters and how it helped him during his Navy SEAL Trainings

- How to effectively deal with uncertainty, change, challenge and stress

- The difference between attributes and skills 

- Why understanding attributes is essential in the hiring process and putting together a high performing team

- Rich Diviney on how to determine attributes in the hiring process

- The role humor plays in high performing teams

- Rich Diviney on how leaders and teams can nurture trust and teamwork

- The concept of dynamic subordination and its importance to leadership excellence 

- Rich Diviney talks about Resilience vs. Antifragility

Also mentioned in this episode:

- Simon Sinek, author

- Bob Johansen, renowned futurist and author (Listen to Bob’s episode on Partnering Leadership Podcast)

Book Recommendations:

The Attributes: 25 Hidden Drivers of Optimal Performance by Rich Diviney

Everybody Matters: The Extraordinary Power of Caring for Your People Like Family by  Bob Chapman and Raj Sisodia 

Antifragile: Things That Gain from Disorder by Nassim Nicholas Taleb

The Talent Code: Greatness Isn't Born. It's Grown. Here's How by Daniel Coyles 

Connect with Rich Diviney:

The Attributes Official Website

Rich Diviney on LinkedIn

Rich Diviney on Instagram

Rich Diviney on Twitter

Connect with Mahan Tavakoli:

Mahan Tavakoli Website 

Mahan Tavakoli on LinkedIn 

Partnering Leadership Website

Partnering Leadership conversation between Mahan Tavakoli and Tom Taulli focuses on applying artificial intelligence (AI) in leading teams and organizations. Tom Taulli is a technology investor, advisor, and author of Artificial Intelligence Basics and a brand new book, Generative AI: How ChatGPT and Other AI Tools Will Revolutionize Business. Mahan begins the conversation by talking about the five critical areas for organizational leaders to consider concerning AI: strategic applications, operational efficiencies, changes in leadership approaches, tactical applications, and societal impacts. This conversation with Tom Taulli starts with a couple of critical updates and then focuses on the tactical applications of AI by executives, teams, and organizations.  

Some Highlights:

- Why AI will impact all organizations from across industries

- How AI will impact leadership in organizations

- Concerns raised by Jeff Hinton, Sam Altman, and other AI experts

- The impact of regulation of Black Box Models on innovation

- The latest in AI tools from Google and Microsoft 

- How to encourage experimentation with AI in teams

- Why companies are investing billions of dollars in the AI space

- Where executives and teams can start experimenting with AI

- The impact of AI on streamlining business processes

- Where to go to find the best credible resources on AI

- How to do better prompt engineering with ChatGPT

- Safety and security concerns to consider when using generative AI

- How AI will impact the workplace of the future

Mentioned:

Tom Taulli’s brand new book on generative AI:: 

Generative AI: How ChatGPT and Other AI Tools Will Revolutionize Business

andreeson horrowitz AI Canon 

OpenAI Best Practices for Prompt Engineering 

Connect with Tom Taulli:

Tom Taulli Website 

Tom Taulli LinkedIn 

Connect with Mahan Tavakoli:

Mahan Tavakoli Website 

Mahan Tavakoli on LinkedIn 

Partnering Leadership Website

In this episode of Partnering Leadership, Mahan Tavakoli speaks with Lee Benson, Founder of Execute to Win (ETW) and author of Your Most Important Number: Increase Collaboration, Achieve Your Strategy, and Execute to Win. In the conversation, Lee Benson shares his origin story, from his early days as a musician to his rise as a successful CEO, and the inspiration that led him to start ETW. Lee then breaks down the concept of value creation, showing its three forms and how focusing on it can significantly improve an organization's culture and results. Next, using clear examples, Lee Benson explains how companies can set up operating systems that bring teams together and keep everyone focused on creating value. Wrapping up the episode, Lee Benson shares practical advice on overcoming obstacles and setting up effective value-creation systems in all types of organizations. 

Some Highlights:

- From Rock and Roll to Aerospace: Lee Benson's Unconventional Journey

- Shaping Value Creation: How Lee Benson's Upbringing Impacted His Perspective

- Turning the Tide: Leading an Underperforming Organization to Success

- Aligned Decision-Making: Its Crucial Role in Organizations and How to Master It

- The Need for Transparency: Lee Benson's Insights on Openness in Business

- Unveiling the MIND Methodology: How to Leverage a Team's Most Important Number

- Driving Success: How Leaders Can Encourage the Right Behaviors in Their Teams

- Alignment and Value Creation: Understanding their Powerful Interplay

- Performance Improvement Strategies: Practical Tips to Enhance Organizational Performance

- The Twin Pillars of Leadership: The Vital Importance of Clarity and Accountability

Connect with Lee Benson: 

Mind Methodology Website 

Execute to Win Website 

Lee Benson on LinkedIn 

Your Most Important Number: Increase Collaboration, Achieve your Strategy, and Execute to Win on Amazon 

Connect with Mahan Tavakoli:

Mahan Tavakoli Website 

Mahan Tavakoli on LinkedIn 

Partnering Leadership Website

In this Partnering Leadership conversation, Mahan Tavakoli speaks with Professor Ajay Agrawal, the Geoffrey Taber Chair in Entrepreneurship and Innovation and Professor of Strategic Management at the University of Toronto's Rotman School of Management. Ajay Agrawal is also the founder of the Creative Destruction Lab (CDL), a not-for-profit program for early-stage, science-based companies, and coauthor of two outstanding books on Artificial Intelligence: Prediction Machines: The Simple Economics of Artificial Intelligence and Power and Prediction: The Disruptive Economics of Artificial Intelligence. In the conversation, Professor Agrawal shared the origin of his passion for studying the intersection of technology and economics and the increasing importance of artificial intelligence for organizations as a decision-making tool that brings down the cost of prediction. Ajay Agrawal then explained why this shift would significantly impact individuals, organizations, and industries as machines enable better predictions while humans focus on the judgment required for decision-making. Finally, Ajay Agrawal shared examples of the transformative impact of the reduction in the cost of prediction and how leaders can help guide their organizations through the significant changes ahead.

Some highlights:

- Three people that helped shape Ajay Agrawal's career path

- Why looking at AI from an economic perspective clarifies its potential to transform organizations and industries

- Ajay Agrawal on the role of predictions in artificial intelligence 

- The importance of human judgment in decision making

- How AI decision-making will redefine roles in the workplace

- The disruptive economics of artificial intelligence 

- How generative AI such as ChatGPT works and what causes mistakes and misstatements

- Ajay Agrawal on the importance of upskilling professionals 

- How organizations can redesign their structures and processes to take into account the new predictive world

- The impact of AI on systems-level change

- How organizations can leverage AI for business success

- Why we're on the brink of a set of transformations that none of us have seen in our lifetimes

- How AI can help create a better future

Connect with Professor Ajay Agrawal:

Ajay Agrawal website 

Ajay Agrawal at Rotman School of Management 

Ajay Agrawal on LinkedIn 

Prediction Machines: The Simple Economics of Artificial Intelligence on Amazon 

Power and Prediction: The Disruptive Economics of Artificial Intelligence on Amazon 

Connect with Mahan Tavakoli:

Mahan Tavakoli Website 

Mahan Tavakoli on LinkedIn 

Partnering Leadership Website

In this episode of Partnering Leadership, Mahan Tavakoli speaks with Lily Zheng, Diversity, Equity & Inclusion Strategist and Consultant. Lily Zheng is also the author of DEI Deconstructed: Your No-Nonsense Guide to Doing the Work and Doing It Right. In the conversation, Lily Zheng talked about their upbringing, education, and how it influenced their perspective on race and inequality. Next, Lily Zheng shared why they advocate for a systemic approach to tackling DEI, including outcome-oriented measurements and accountability. Lily Zheng also talked about meritocracy and why complex problems require complex solutions. Finally, Lily Zheng shared examples of how leaders can think about and act on DEI with an outcome orientation benefiting the organization and its team members. 

Some Highlights:

- The origin of Lily Zheng's sense of responsibility and gratitude

- Why do so many diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives fail

- How to increase the likelihood of success of DEI initiatives 

- Lily Zheng on why trying to change hearts and minds is not effective

- The importance of creating inclusive environments and how to do it well

- Why making the business case for diversity can be counterproductive

- How to measure DEI efforts with accountability 

- What most leaders get wrong about meritocracy in the workplace 

Also Mentioned:

Partnering Leadership Conversation with Jack Philips on Show the Value of What You Do: Measuring and Achieving Success in Any Endeavor

Connect with Lily Zheng

Lily Zheng's Website 

Lily Zheng on LinkedIn 

DEI Deconstructed: Your No-Nonsense Guide to Doing the Work and Doing It Right on Amazon 

Connect with Mahan Tavakoli:

Mahan Tavakoli Website 

Mahan Tavakoli on LinkedIn 

Partnering Leadership Website

In this episode of Partnering Leadership, Mahan Tavakoli speaks with Paul Roetzer, Founder & CEO of the Marketing AI Institute and Co-Author of Marketing Artificial Intelligence: AI, Marketing, and the Future of Business. After sharing his origin story, Paul shares why he became fascinated with AI in 2011 as a marketing agency owner. Next, Paul Roetzer explains how his curiosity led him to look deeper into AI, investigate it further, and speak to marketers about its potential, eventually leading him to found the Marketing AI Institute. Then Paul Roetzer shares his perspectives on where AI can be most helpful in content creation and how he believes that will impact organizations. Additionally, he shares thoughts on the potential concerns and opportunities that business and political leaders need to address as AI use proliferates. Finally, Paul Roetzer shares ideas on how organizations can experiment with AI to stay ahead of the curve and fully take advantage of opportunities.

Some Highlights:

- AI's impact on content creation and marketing and AI's role as an indispensable writing assistant 

- The impact of AI-driven advancements on the workforce and various aspects of the job market

- Why professionals must come to terms with the reality of potential job losses in specific sectors

- Opportunity for new career paths that will eventually emerge as AI becomes more prevalent in various industries

- The significance of responsible AI and maintaining focus on its impact within organizations

- Implications of Bloomberg's groundbreaking generative AI tool and what it means for other organizations

- Why organizations need to focus on responsible application of AI across all business functions

- The importance of experimenting with AI tools and the concerns around copyright limitations

- How marketing firms can differentiate their services in a world of AI-generated content

- Why organizations need to pilot quick-win AI projects 

- Paul Roetzer on how to think about an AI roadmap for your organization

- How professionals and leaders can stay ahead of AI developments 

- The importance of political and business leaders addressing the impact

Connect with Paul Roetzer:

Marketing AI Institute Website 

The Marketing AI Show Podcast 

Paul Roetzer on LinkedIn 

Marketing Artificial Intelligence: AI, Marketing, and the Future of Business on Amazon 

Connect with Mahan Tavakoli:

Mahan Tavakoli Website 

Mahan Tavakoli on LinkedIn 

Partnering Leadership Website