Kelly connects with Ravin Jesuthasan, a recognized futurist and authority on the future of work, human capital and automation. He is Senior Partner and Global Leader for Transformation Services at Mercer and a member of the World Economic Forum’s steering committee on work and employment. He is the author of many books and his latest is called “The Skills-Powered Organization.” 

“The future lies in a combination of technical skills and human skills.” 

“Traditional four-year degrees are no longer seen as the only path to a successful career.” 

“Technology is, to an extent, only an enabler.” 

Kelly sits down with Alok Sama, the former President and CFO of SoftBank Group International to discuss his new book ‘The Money Trap: Lost Illusions Inside the Tech Bubble.”

“Impressing powerful men is a core skill for investment bankers.”

“The world romanticizes the causal relationship between adversity and breakout success.” 

“Money doesn’t talk, it swears.” 

Kelly welcomes Boston University professor David Livermore back to the podcast to discuss the latest edition of his successful leadership book, “Leading with Cultural Intelligence: The Real Secret to Success.” 

“I sometimes ask executives, ‘Will anyone tell you your joke isn’t funny?’” 

“At its core, culture intelligence is about how we connect with another as humans.” 

“Words are never just words. Their meaning is always rooted in context.” 

Kelly sits down with old friend Mike Thomas to talk about “Carson the Magnificent,” a book about the iconic talk show host Johnny Carson. The legendary Bill Zehme began the book but never finished it. Years after Bill’s death, Mike was brought on board to complete the book.

“And so, like sun and moon and oxygen and ionosphere, Johnny Carson was always there, reliable and steadfast.” 

“He was also mothered by omission.” 

“Work was easy for him, family was not.”

Kelly talks with Lindsey Cormack, a tenured professor of Political Science at Stevens Institute of Technology about her latest book “How to Raise a Citizen (And Why It’s Up to You to Do It).” 

“Politics doesn’t have to feel as dire as it sometimes does.” 

“The system of voting is too complicated.” 

“It’s hard to trust something you don’t know a lot about.” 

Kelly connects with journalist Sarah Jaffe who wrote the best seller “Work Won’t Love You Back.” They talk about her new book “From The Ashes: Grief and Revolution in a World on Fire.”

“In accepting loss we make possible the future.” 

“We carry our ghosts with us everywhere.” 

“There is no love without pain or loss; this is what grief taught me.” 

Kelly talks to business leader, author and podcast host Mo Bunnell about his new book, “Give to Grow: Invest in Relationships to Build Your Business and Your Career.”

“It’s amazing how creative we can be to avoid acting.” 

“Showing someone attention is one of the most meaningful things you can do.” 

“Top performers fall in love with their client’s problems, not their own solutions.” 

Kelly connects with Michael Morris of Columbia University to talk about his timely book “Tribal: How the Cultural Instincts That Divide Us Can Help Bring Us Together.”

“Tribal living is what made us truly human.” 

“Our species became wiser thanks to our tribes.” 

“Killing the old culture happens top-down, then building the new culture happens bottom-up.” 

Kelly connects with Karen Brooks Hopkins, the former president of the Brooklyn Academy of Music (BAM), to discuss her book “BAM…And Then It Hit Me”

“In an odd way, there is a kind of nobility in fundraising.” 

“The first thing you need to know about fundraising is that it’s not brain surgery. It’s harder than brain surgery.” 

“Good service is everything. No one gives you money to sit in lousy seats.”

Kelly welcomes Dr. Kathleen Smith back to the podcast. Dr. Smith is a licensed therapist and associate faculty member of the Bowen Center for Study of the Family. She is the author of “Everything Isn’t Terrible.” Her new book is called “True to You: A Therapist’s Guide to Stop Pleasing Others and Start Being Yourself.” 

“We look to others to find ourselves.” 

“When our fate depends on other people changing, we get stuck.” 

“Sometimes humor is the best way to share your thinking, and sometimes it isn’t.”