Kelly converses with Kalifa Oliver, an international experience coach, executive advisor, keynote speaker, author and expert in building brilliant experiences using people-centered design and analytics. Her new book is called, “I Think I Love My Job: Secrets to Designing a People-Centered Employer Value Proposition (That You Can Actually Boast About.”

“You simply cannot predict the human experience.”

“Your employees are another set of customers.”

“Culture cannot just be shaped from the top. It starts at the bottom.”

Kelly connects with Harvard professor Alison Wood Brooks, who studies the science of conversation. Her new book is called “TALK: The Science of Conversation and the Art of Being Ourselves.” 

“Conversation is an ongoing act of co-creation.” 

“We’re all making it up as we go along.” 

“People who ask more questions are better liked.”

Kelly sits down with Kurt Gray, a professor in psychology and neuroscience at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, where he directs the Deepest Beliefs Lab and the Center for the Science of Moral Understanding. He has a new book, “Outraged: Why We Fight About Morality and Politics and How to Find Common Ground.” 

“It feels like we are at war.” 

“It is true: we are safer today than we were at the dawn of humanity. But we don’t feel safer.” 

“If other people’s pain is like a whisper on the wind, our own pain is a scream in our ear.” 

Kelly connects with Dr. Sunita Sah, an award-winning professor at Corenell University and an expert in organizational psychology. She is also a trained physician, who practiced medicine in the UK. She has a new book, it’s called “Defy: The Power of No in a World That Demands Yes.” 

“A True no is a process, not a snap judgment.” 

“Defiance first requires that we know our values.” 

“Curiosity can be an effective way to approach others, opening pathways to change.” 

Kelly starts the new year talking about effective communication skills with Michael Chad Hoeppner, CEO and founder of GK Training. He teaches his unique approach to communications at Columbia University Business School in the PhD and MBA programs and coaches the faculty. He has a new book, “Don’t Say Um: How to Communicate Effectively to Live a Better Life.” 

“Speaking is not a sidecar to being human.” 

“Great communication is you, when you are at your most other-focused.” 

“Speaking is actually closer to an athletic event than a decision-tree flowchart of ideas.” 

Kelly sits down with Richard Cytowic, MD, Professor of Neurology at George Washington University and the author of “Your Stone Age Brain in the Screen Age.”

“Screens act like secondhand smoke.” 

“Waldorf Schools may be the best kept secret in education.” 

“You cannot rush learning any more than you can accelerate thinking.” 

Kelly talks to Aylon Samouha, Co-Founder and Co-CEO of Transcend Education. Previously he served as Chief Schools Officer at Rocketship Education. He is the co-author of “Extraordinary Learning for All: How Communities Design Schools Where Everyone Thrives.” 

“Students today report higher levels of stress and anxiety than ever before.” 

“Employability is based on more than technical skills alone.” 

“Let us be clear: leadership is not the same as occupying a position of authority.” 

To celebrate The Second City’s 65th anniversary, Kelly sits down with the members of the legendary theatre’s creative leadership team to talk about how each of them found their way to The Second City.

“Ensemble lay at the heart of the work at Second City.”

“The Second City’s creative process is sacred to the work done on its stages and in its classrooms.”

“As Alison Riley used to say, at The Second City – two wrongs make a tradition.”

Kelly connects with Bob Moesta, founder, maker, innovator, speaker, and professor. He is the president and founder of The Re-Wired Group, as well as an adjunct lecturer at the Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern and a research fellow at the Clayton Christensen Institute. He is the author of Choosing College (with Michael Horn), Demand-Side Sales 101, and Learning to Build. His latest book is co-written with Ethan Bernstein and Michael Horn, it’s called “Job Moves: 9 Steps for Making Progress in Your Career.” 

“Switching jobs isn’t random or independent from the experiences you’ve had in the past.” 

“A fear of the unknown future creates friction that can thwart movement toward a new role.” 

“Without any context wrapped around it, money is just a feature. It’s not the underlying reason to change jobs.” 

Kelly sits down with Stephan Meier, the James P. Gorman Professor of Business Strategy and the chair of the management division at Columbia Business School. Previously, Meier worked at the Center for Behavioral Economics and Decision-Making at the Federal Reserve Bank. HIs new book is called “The Employee Advantage: How Putting Workers First Helps Business Thrive.” 

“Just talking to the same people is not a recipe for generating ideas.” 

“Happier employees are more productive employees.” 

“It’s hard to incentivize innovation.”