Welcome to Strategy Skills episode 545, an interview with the author of Cyber Crisis: Protecting Your Business from Real Threats in the Virtual World, Dr. Eric Cole.

What do cybersecurity and entrepreneurship have in common? According to Dr. Eric Cole, a former CIA hacker turned tech entrepreneur and cybersecurity expert, they all require pattern recognition, disciplined thinking, and a commitment to doing what’s right. 

In this episode, Dr. Eric Cole shares his journey from an unprepared college student to a leading voice in digital security, and how those early days in the CIA shaped his approach to business and protecting intellectual property. He explains why companies need to secure their trade secrets, how leaders can make better decisions using data instead of emotion, and what it really takes to build a high-performance life—starting with health, clarity, and purpose.

Dr. Eric Cole, DPS is a cybersecurity expert, entrepreneur, public figure, and best-selling author who has built a solid reputation in the cybersecurity industry over the last three decades. His career has advanced from starting as a professional hacker for the CIA to become the 44th President’s commissioner on cybersecurity to currently advising companies and teaching professionals on how to implement security measures that serve as a business enabler.

Dr. Cole’s accomplishments have earned him an induction into the Information Security Hall of Fame and have awarded him as a Cyber Wingman from the US Air Force. His recognition has caught the interest of current clients, who include international banking institutions, Fortune 500 organizations, Bill Gates, and Saudi Aramco. His entrepreneurial accomplishments include three successful exits building eight-, nine-, and ten-figure organizations. Secure Anchor Consulting is his fourth cybersecurity business venture.

Aside from his seasoned technical expertise, Dr. Cole is a well-known public figure and author of various publications. His eighth book, Cyber Crisis: Protecting Your Business from Real Threats in the Virtual World, debuted at #1 on the Wall Street Journal’s bestseller list. Dr. Cole is currently focusing on fulfilling his purpose of being on this planet to end suffering in cyberspace and his mission to secure cyberspace by making cyberspace a safe place to live, work, and raise a family. 

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Cyber Crisis: Protecting Your Business from Real Threats in the Virtual World

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Welcome to Strategy Skills episode 544, an interview with the author of There's Nothing Like This: The Strategic Genius of Taylor Swift, Kevin Evers.

In this episode, Kevin shares insights from his new book on Taylor Swift, noting her strategic decision-making and marketing tactics that led her to where she is today. He stresses the value of trust and consistency in building a brand, citing Taylor Swift's $2 billion Eras Tour and her 2% market share in 2024. Kevin also underscores how Taylor treats her fans, leveraging fan engagement for marketing success, and how we can adopt it in the business world.

Kevin Evers is a Senior Editor at Harvard Business Review. Passionate about shaping groundbreaking research and amplifying pioneering ideas, he has edited bestselling and award-winning books on high performance, creativity, innovation, digital disruption, marketing, and strategy. He has also written popular articles on brain science, Hollywood blockbusters, the art of persuasion, and the unpredictability of success. He holds a bachelor's degree in English from Hobart and William Smith Colleges and an MFA in film studies from Boston University.

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There's Nothing Like This: The Strategic Genius of Taylor Swift

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Welcome to Strategy Skills episode 543, an interview with the author of The Power of Enough: Finding Joy in Your Relationship with Money, Elizabeth Husserl.

Many people chase wealth as a number, but the truth is that true wealth is more than just money in the bank.

In this episode, Elizabeth challenges common assumptions about financial success and explores how fulfillment, stability, and meaning factor into what it really means to be wealthy. Elizabeth explains how our “scarcity brain” influences money decisions, why understanding your financial DNA matters, and how daily practices like journaling and meditation can transform your relationship with money. She also offers practical tools for building financial freedom and rethinking the emotional triggers that shape our financial lives. 

Elizabeth Husserl is the first female principal and co-founder of a comprehensive boutique wealth planning firm, Peak 360 Wealth Management. She holds Series 6, 63, and 65 licenses, as well as a B.S. in Economics from Tulane University and an M.A. in East-West Psychology from the California Institute of Integral Studies. She is also a Certified Money Coach with the Money Coach Institute. 

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The Power of Enough: Finding Joy in Your Relationship with Money

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Welcome to Strategy Skills episode 542, an interview with the author The Psychology of Leadership: Timeless principles to improve your management of individuals, teams… and yourself!, Sébastien Page.

Ever wondered what truly drives successful leaders and how psychology plays a role? 

In this episode with Sébastien Page, we explore the habits, mindset, and science behind great leadership. He shares lessons drawn from 20 years of experience and in-depth research in positive and sports psychology. Sébastien introduces the PERMA model (Positive Emotion, Engagement, Relationships, Meaning, Accomplishment) and explains how it can be applied to leadership and organizational success. He also shares insights from studying billionaires and what drives their success beyond money.

Sébastien Page is the Chief Investment Officer of T. Rowe Price. He manages the division responsible for managing Multi-Asset portfolios there. he has won six annual research-paper awards: two from The Financial Analysts Journal and four from The Journal of Portfolio Management. He appears regularly on CNBC and Bloomberg TV. He has been quoted extensively in The New York Times and The Wall Street Journal.

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The Psychology of Leadership: Timeless principles to improve your management of individuals, teams… and yourself!

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Welcome to Strategy Skills episode 541, an interview with the author of Transcend: Unlocking Humanity in the Age of AI, Faisal Hoque.

In this episode, Faisal shares his journey from his early days developing software to becoming a business leader focused on strategy and impact. Faisal talks about how Eastern philosophy, particularly Buddhism, influences his approach to business and leadership, helping him stay grounded while pursuing innovation. He opens up about how his son's serious illness changed his outlook on life and business, driving him to use technology to improve medical treatments. We also discuss AI's effects on society, with Faisal offering practical advice for leaders on balancing technological advancement with human skills. Throughout our conversation, he shares simple practices that keep him sharp - from reading widely to constantly trying new things - and explains how focusing on the journey rather than just outcomes has shaped his success.

Faisal Hoque is recognized as one of the world’s leading management thinkers and technologists. He is an award-winning entrepreneur, innovator, and #1 Wall Street Journal best-selling author with close to thirty years of cross-industry success. Faisal is the founder of SHADOKA, NextChapter, and other companies. He also serves as a transformation and innovation partner for CACI, an $8 billion company focused on U.S. national security. 

As a founder and CEO of multiple companies, Faisal is a three-time winner of the Deloitte Technology Fast 50™ and Fast 500™ awards. He built his first commercial software product at the age of 20 while studying at the University of Minnesota. Since then, he has developed more than twenty commercial platforms and worked with leadership at the US DoD, US DHS, GE, MasterCard, American Express, Home Depot, PepsiCo, IBM, Chase, and others. For their innovative work, he and his team have been awarded several provisional patents in the areas of user authentication, business rule routing, and metadata sorting.

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Transcend: Unlocking Humanity in the Age of AI

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Welcome to Strategy Skills episode 540, an interview with the authors of Meaningful Work: How to Ignite Passion and Performance in Every Employee, Wes Adams and Tamara Myles.

What makes work truly meaningful, and how can leaders create it? 

In this episode, Tamara Miles and Wes Adams, researchers and positive psychologists, have studied how leaders can intentionally promote cultures where people find purpose, connection, and challenge in their work. Drawing from their own career and research, they outline the practices that lead to lasting meaning, starting from onboarding and extending to everyday leadership behaviors like showing appreciation and building community. They also explore how AI can be developed to support human fulfillment, and why understanding generational differences is key to creating meaningful work environments for all.

Wes Adams is the founder and CEO of SV Consulting Group, where he works with high-performing companies to develop leadership excellence, build organizational resilience, and deepen employee engagement through a meaningful work lens. He has more than two decades of experience as a successful entrepreneur and strategic partner for clients including Microsoft, KPMG, BlackRock, Google, and the United Nations, along with a range of high-growth organizations. Wes has been featured at South by Southwest Interactive and the Nobel Peace Prize Forum, and his work has been covered by the New York Times, BBC News, Forbes, and Business Insider. His teams have won multiple Webby Awards and been recognized as one of Fast Company’s Most Innovative Brands. His early career was spent launching and managing high-profile hospitality businesses for which he was nominated twice for a coveted James Beard Award. 

Wes is a graduate of Vanderbilt University and holds a master’s degree from the University of Pennsylvania in Applied Positive Psychology. 

Tamara Myles is an accomplished consultant, author, and international speaker with over two decades of experience helping leaders improve business performance. She is the author of The Secret to Peak Productivity, which introduced her proprietary Peak Productivity Pyramid framework. Tamara’s insights have been featured in leading publications such as Forbes, Fast Company, USA Today, and Business Insider. She has worked with clients such as Microsoft, KPMG, MassMutual, and Google. 

Tamara has a master’s degree in Applied Positive Psychology from the University of Pennsylvania, where she also serves as an instructor in the master’s program and a trainer for the world-renowned Penn Resilience Program. She is a professor in the Master of Science in Leadership program at Boston College, where she integrates cutting-edge research into practical applications for leadership and organizational success.

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Meaningful Work: How to Ignite Passion and Performance in Every Employee

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Welcome to Strategy Skills episode 539, an interview with the author of From Panic to Profit: Uncover Value, Boost Revenue, and Grow Your Business with the 80/20 Principle, Bill Canady.

In this episode, Bill shares insights from his military background and how it shaped his leadership approach. Bill explains his Profitable Growth Operating System (PG OS) framework, including the five key components that drive business success. He also offers practical advice on pricing strategy, the need for a focused team, and the importance of data-driven decision-making. Bill also shared insights on balancing personal and professional life and the critical role of mentorship in leadership success.

Bill Canady is the CEO of both OTC Industrial Technologies and Arrowhead Engineered Products (AEP). With over 30 years of experience, he specializes in driving organizational growth, cutting costs, and boosting profitability. At OTC, he led a 43% increase in revenue and an 80% rise in earnings, with annual sales now exceeding $1 billion. At AEP, he oversees more than 3,600 employees and $1.5 billion in sales. A U.S. Navy veteran, Bill holds an MBA from the University of Chicago Booth School of Business and a BS in Business Administration from Elmhurst University. His Profitable Growth Operating System (PGOS) has helped countless organizations overcome challenges and seize new growth opportunities.

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From Panic to Profit: Uncover Value, Boost Revenue, and Grow Your Business with the 80/20 Principle

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Welcome to Strategy Skills episode 538, an interview with the coauthor of Leading for Wellness: How to Create a Team Culture Where Everyone Thrives, Patricia Grabarek.

In this episode, Patricia talks about why workplace wellness matters and why it’s important to have a holistic approach that includes physical, mental, and emotional health. She explains the gap in research on leadership practices that help create a healthy work environment and how leaders can balance getting results with supporting their employees. Patricia shares simple ways to make wellness a priority, like setting aside time for self-care and building a supportive team culture. She also talks about the challenges of bringing wellness initiatives into remote and hybrid work settings.

Patricia Grabarek is a co-founder of Workr Beeing and an Industrial/Organizational Psychologist with a passion and expertise in workplace wellness, workplace culture, employee engagement, and leadership development. Patricia has spent her career as a practitioner, mostly working in consulting but, recently taking on more internal roles, leading people analytics and talent vitality teams. Throughout her career, Patricia has worked with over sixty different client organizations from various industries, implementing solutions to improve wellness, diversity, retention, performance, and engagement within their organizations. In addition, she taught organizational psychology in the Masters of Applied Psychology Program at the University of Southern California.

Patricia was featured on Culture Amp’s list of Top 25 Emerging Culture Creators for 2024 and has been featured in media outlets, including The L.A. Times, CBS News, and CBC Radio. Patricia received her PhD and MS in Industrial/Organizational Psychology from The Pennsylvania State University and her BA in Psychology from the University of California, Los Angeles.

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Leading for Wellness: How to Create a Team Culture Where Everyone Thrives

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Welcome to Strategy Skills episode 537, an interview with the author of Wild Courage: Go After What You Want and Get It, Jenny Wood.

In this episode, Jenny discusses her career journey and the key skills that helped her rise from an entry-level role to an executive over 18 years. She also discusses overcoming imposter syndrome, being strategic with time, and saying no to non-promotable work. Jenny shares the importance of obsessing over key projects, leading with enthusiasm, and breaking unwritten rules to stand out. Her book, Wild Courage, outlines nine traits for success, including being weird, shameless, and reckless.

Today’s guest is Jenny Wood. In her 18 years at Google, she grew from entry-level to executive, and she most recently led a large operations team that helped drive billions of dollars of revenue per year. Jenny’s writing has been featured in Harvard Business Review, Entrepreneur, Inc. She is a licensed private pilot, a daily hiker, an improv student, a tap dancer, and a zucchini bread connoisseur. She lives in Boulder, Colorado with her two young children and her husband, Jon.

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Wild Courage: Go After What You Want and Get It

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Welcome to Strategy Skills episode 536, an interview with the coauthor of Conflict Resilience: Negotiating Disagreement Without Giving Up or Giving In, Joel Salinas, MD.

In this episode, Joel Salinas talks about conflict resilience and how our brain reacts to disagreements. He explains how loneliness affects health, how conflicts activate pain-related brain areas, and shares techniques to manage stress. Joel also discusses brain plasticity, how age affects conflict resolution, and the power of focusing on positive outcomes to break negative thought patterns.

Joel Salinas, MD is a behavioral neurologist and clinician scientist at the NYU Grossman School of Medicine, founder and Chief Medical Officer at Isaac Health, and former Harvard Medical School faculty. He is the author of Mirror Touch: A Memoir of Synesthesia and the Secret Life of the Brain.

Get Joel’s book here: https://rb.gy/d1tqrx

Conflict Resilience: Negotiating Disagreement Without Giving Up or Giving In

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