For Michael McNally, working at LEGO was destiny. As a kid, he was a die-hard LEGO fanatic. So when he stumbled on a LEGO job listing as an adult, he knew he had to take a chance and apply. Seventeen years later, he couldn't be happier with his choice. In this episode of The Growth Show, Michael shares stories about what it's been like to work for such an iconic company - and his experiences shaping the future of the LEGO brand.

The best managers aren't always quick to provide a solution. Instead, they ask more questions to help guide their employees to a solution on their own. Sounds simple, right? The thing is, this can be very tough to put into action. And in this episode of The Growth Show, that's exactly what our guest helps us do. We're joined by Michael Bungay Stanier, author of "The Coaching Habit," to learn what separates good managers from great ones - and the tactics you can employ to become a great manager yourself.

The first rule of branding is to nail down a solid story. But what if your story is extremely complicated and technical? That's the situation Mike Troiano walked into when he become the CMO of Actifio. His solution? Forget the technicalities - instead, pretend you're talking to a 12-year-old about what your company does. Mike also talks with us about some of the challenges he's run into and the specific growth tactics he's seen work along the way.

Most people think happiness is a destination. You work hard. You become successful. Then, you're happy. Rinse and repeat for a happy life...right? Not exactly. According to Neil Pasricha, we've got this all backward. In his recently released book, "The Happiness Equation," Neil dives into research about what makes people happy at work and in life. In this episode, Neil joins us to share his findings, including how to avoid burnout, why you should never retire, and how to identify your true passions in life.

Charles Duhigg, a Pulitzer-winning journalist for The New York Times and author of "The Power of Habit," has spent years trying to figure out what makes some people and teams more productive than others. Last week, Charles released his findings in a book titled "Smarter Faster Better." In this episode, Charles shares some of his findings on how to build a happier and more productive team, career, and life.

James DiSabatino didn't set out to build one of Boston's biggest food trucks. In fact, he didn't have much of a plan at all. He just knew he wanted to sell grilled cheese, and a food truck was a relatively cheap way to do so. Since then, his food truck, Roxy's Grilled Cheese, has expanded into multiple brick-and-mortar locations. He's building an arcade in partnership with another local joint. He's even expanding out of his grilled cheese niche with an all-new restaurant theme. How'd he do it?

At Patagonia, transparency isn't convenient. "Transparency is telling the good and the bad," says Rick Ridgeway, Patagonia's VP of Environmental Affairs. "It is having the moxie to openly tell our customers and other external stakeholders about the harm that we are doing." But how does transparency work in reality? In this episode of The Growth Show, Rick gives us a true behind-the-scenes view of what it's like working at one of the most transparent companies in the world.

Learning to write is a painful process. Here's how it typically goes: You spend hours crafting something you think will be a good piece. You submit it to someone else who's in charge of giving you feedback. They tear your piece apart. You make changes to your piece based on their suggestions. Rinse and repeat with new pieces until you're a proficient writer. Becoming a better writer isn't easy. Nor is it fast. But what if technology could make this whole process a little easier?

Some things in life are easy to turn down. Offered a boiling cup of coffee in the middle of the summer? That's an easy thing to pass on. But some decisions in life aren't so clear-cut. In this episode of The Growth Show, we hear about the most difficult situations three of our past guests (Radical Candor's Author Kim Scott, Wistia's Co-Founder Chris Savage, and Everlane's Founder Michael Preysman) have been presented within their careers - and why they walked away from them.

When Mike Wilner first set out to build his tech startup, there was a huge elephant in the room: He had no idea how to code. To make matters worse, the company didn’t have a technical founder, either. Not one to let his background hold him back, Mike set out to build his dream company using the skills and resources he already had. The result? Six figures in sales, and enough product-market fit to attract a technical co-founder to the team.