Subject Matter

Do you need to be ruthless to attract success? The answer is a resounding no. In fact, for ambitious professionals to unlock their potential, personal integrity is a key component.

Chief Ethics Officer at Airbnb and former US Counsel Rob Chesnut believes great leaders embody authenticity, self-awareness and transparency and set the temperature for the culture of the companies they work for.

Rob talks with Ben about why young professionals must use their North Star to guide them towards companies whose values align with their own. You'll hear why customers are attracted to ethically-led businesses, why integrity can be a double-edged sword and why leaders should bring their personal ethics into their roles

Listen to more Subject Matter podcasts at: http://www.subjectmatterpodcast.com

00:00 - Intro

02:50 - Humans, intelligence and self-interest

04:24 - How to stay on the right lane of integrity

07:25 - The importance of purpose and integrity in business

12:10 - Airbnb’s case study of purpose and integrity

14:20 - Rob’s first encounter with integrity

16:08 - Integrity within leadership

20:00 - Differentiating right from wrong

22:38 - Characteristics that drive integrity

23:41 - The importance of curiosity in the workforce

25:18 - Airbnb’s CEO, Brian Chesky, approach to purpose and integrity

29:39 - Closing remarks

Seeing things from another's point of view is the starting point to all relationships, whether that's your CEO, colleagues or direct reports.

With empathy you'll build collaboration, experience less turnover and avoid friction at work, but how do you know you're using the right kind of empathy?

In this episode Ben talks through two different types and why there's such a thing as 'bad' empathy. You'll learn how to build it into your day-to-day practice without eating into your busy work schedule and hear why CEO and entrepreneur Rob Volpe believes building empathic relationships guarantees success.

Rob Volpe's early experiences of bullying taught him the power of empathy. He carries these lessons with him as an astute observer of life and a master storyteller, who brings empathy and compassion to the human experience. As CEO of Ignite 360, he leads a team of insights, strategy, and creative professionals serving the world’s leading brands across a range of industries.

In this episode Rob sheds light on the different types of empathy, how to develop empathic communication and why your team will grow stronger, become more collaborative and produce better results when you go out of your way to understand them.

Interview Breakdown:

2:00 - Intro to Rob Volpe

2:30 - How actors and writers apply empathy

3:55 - What most people misunderstand about empathy

4:50 - Empathy within the male and female stereotype

8:52 - How to remain empathetic in the workspace

13:00 - Habits to strengthen your empathetic muscle

18:11 - Unlock empathy through a beginner's mindset

21:20 - How Rob discovered the power of Empathy

25:40 - The empathy crisis explained through numbers

29:15 - Unleash empathy through talk and play

32:55 - Closing remarks

Listen to more Subject Matter podcasts at: https://bit.ly/3I6GbBf

In a digital world, we need personalization now more than ever. Ben unpacks the deep human need to connect and how leaders can work to create those connections, building trust within teams and creating lifelong customers.

We hear about David Wachs, serial entrepreneur and founder of Handwrytten, a platform that leverages AI technology to produce beautiful handwritten notes at scale.

David believes in the lost art of note writing and the power of connection that comes when you set time aside to write a personal note or card. When so many feel isolated post-COVID, human connection is just a handwritten note away.

David Wachs is a serial entrepreneur. His latest venture, Handwrytten, is bringing back the lost art of letter writing through scalable, robot-based solutions that write your notes in pen, sending 180,000 handwritten notes per month. Used by major meal boxes, eCommerce giants, nonprofits and professionals, Handwrytten is changing the way brands and people connect. Prior to starting Handwrytten, David founded Cellit, a leading mobile marketing agency. Cellit was sold to HelloWorld in 2012. In this episode, David shares why creating a platform NOT a product is important to him, how to score a 10 on team meetings every time, and why your time is the best gift you can give.

Listen to more Subject Matter podcasts at: https://bit.ly/3I6GbBf

In this episode, Ben pulls out some quick, practical takeaways to help busy leaders unlock relationships, hit pause and increase focus. And it all starts with a single question.

Using talking points from podcast guest Marc Champagne's book, Personal Socrates, Ben guides you into deeper thinking and shows you how to build mental muscle.

You'll discover the questions to ask yourself, when to ask them and what to expect on your journey to better mental fitness.

Even the most time-short executive can develop daily habits that press pause on productivity when they ask themselves the right questions at the right time.

Follow Ben on Twitter: https://bit.ly/3csz4o9

Connect with Ben on LinkedIn: https://bit.ly/3nuLN01

And at: https://bit.ly/3I6GbBf

Marc is a Mental Fitness Strategist, author, and co-founder of the journalling app KYO. His podcast, Behind the Human, is ranked in the top 50 and unpacks the mental fitness practices and reflective questions shaping the lives of some of the most successful and brilliant thinkers in the world.

His first book, Personal Socrates, explores the pointed questions that stimulate our mental fitness and teach us how to direct our internal narrative to work for us, instead of against us. In this episode Marc unpacks why asking questions helps leaders find clarity and hit pause on the treadmill of life. He also explains why focusing on the details helps your team feel valued, even when working remotely.

Listen to more Subject Matter podcasts at https://bit.ly/3I6GbBf

If you're a young professional wanting a successful career, it can be easy to feel frustrated at the slow progress you're making. You have big ambitions, yet you constantly feel stretched spinning a dozen different plates, and running out of time to accomplish what you want.

What if there was a way to get the professional growth we're after, while not compromising on our busy lifestyle?

On Subject Matter, we believe ambitious professionals shouldn't have to wait to learn from the best. The insights you deserve are one conversation away. On Subject Matter's fifth season, that's exactly what we're here to provide to you: Practical lessons from today's top performers that you can use to get ahead personally and professionally.

With your host Ben Bradbury, together we'll get inside the heads of leaders running organisations like Airbnb, Vaynermedia, eBay, and even The White House, shining a light on the mindset, tools and practices they use that can help you understand your value, and unlock your potential.

If you're looking for information and inspiration to create a career you're proud of, all bundled up as an easy listen, we've got you covered.

Subject Matter's 5th season starts on November 16th. Make sure to subscribe wherever you get your podcasts.

Rakesh Kamath is Co-Founder and CTO of JoeZoo Inc, an EdTech company focused on transforming written skills assessment through the use of AI and NLP. He has more than 20 years' experience focused mostly on SaaS Product Engineering, and was formerly Director of Digital Strategic Innovation at BMO Bank of Montreal. In this episode Rakesh shares why you need to get out of the way of your intelligent hires, why vagueness leads to company churn and how to create a safe space in your company to get the best from your team.

Listen to more Subject Matter podcasts at https://bit.ly/3I6GbBf

Matt Munson is a CEO and Executive coach with Sanity Labs, a boutique leadership coaching firm he founded in 2019 that provides coaching to venture backed and bootstrapped leaders. Matt draws on his own experience as a venture-backed CEO as well as a variety of coaching disciplines to help others navigate the perilous journey of leadership and organization building. Prior to his coaching work, Matt co-founded Twenty20, the world's largest crowd-sourced commercial image catalog, where he served for 7 years as CEO until the company's exit in early 2019. In this episode Matt shares his experience of becoming a highly effective leader, managing his own psychology and why love is the best motivator in the business.

Listen to more Subject Matter podcasts at https://bit.ly/3I6GbBf