The Sydcast

TSC 94: Jim Campbell, and the Truth about Bernie Madoff

Episode Summary

Jim Campbell, author of Madoff Talks: Uncovering the Untold Story Behind the Most Notorious Ponzi Scheme in History, returns to The Sydcast to reveal the truth about Bernie Madoff, how his mind worked, and how he came to run the most infamous Ponzi scheme in history. Jim’s direct access to Bernie and his family makes for new and never-before-heard details about this master criminal and his scheme. Get into Bernie Madoff’s mind and learn some lessons about owning up to and facing our failures and mistakes in this episode of The Sydcast. 

Syd Finkelstein 

Syd Finkelstein is the Steven Roth Professor of Management at the Tuck School of Business at Dartmouth College.  He holds a Master’s degree from the London School of Economics and a Ph.D. from Columbia University. Professor Finkelstein has published 25 books and 90 articles, including the bestsellers Why Smart Executives Fail and Superbosses: How Exceptional Leaders Master the Flow of Talent, which LinkedIn Chairman Reid Hoffman calls the “leadership guide for the Networked Age.”  He is also a Fellow of the Academy of Management, a consultant and speaker to leading companies around the world, and a top 25 on the Global Thinkers 50 list of top management gurus.  Professor Finkelstein’s research and consulting work often relies on in-depth and personal interviews with hundreds of people, an experience that led him to create and host his own podcast, The Sydcast, to uncover and share the stories of all sorts of fascinating people in business, sports, entertainment, politics, academia, and everyday life. 

Jim Campbell 

Jim Campbell has been the host, since 2008, of the nationally syndicated “Business Talk with Jim Campbell”; and, more recently, the syndicated crime show: “Forensic Talk with Jim Campbell.”  “Biz Talk” is known for its “deep dives” with leading figures from the world of business; and the business of politics and sports. “Forensic Talk” features Wall Street crimes to unsolved murders to international scandal and corruption. 

Mr. Campbell is also Assistant News Director at a Connecticut radio station – AM 1490 WGCH Greenwich. Previously, he was a National Director with a Big Four Consulting Firm – KPMG Consulting; an Officer with Dean Witter Financial Services (now Morgan Stanley); and an Analyst at IBM. He has a BA, Magna Cum Laude, from Tufts University, and an MBA from the Tuck School at Dartmouth.

His book Madoff Talks: Uncovering the Untold Story Behind the Most Notorious Ponzi Scheme in History is now available. 

Insights from this episode:

• How Jim Campbell got open access to Bernie Madoff and his family.
• Why Bernie decided to talk to Jim, and what it reveals about Bernie’s psychology.
• What you don’t know about the Bernie Madoff scandal, including when and how it really started and other behind-the-scenes players.
• Could Ponzi schemes like Bernie Madoff’s still be happening today and can you protect yourself from one? 
• Tips and advice for aspiring authors and interviewers and secrets of the publishing business.

Quotes from the show:

• “I said ‘Well, Bernie, this is your chance to talk to history, but I’m going to vet every single word you say for the truth…The rest was history, 400 pages of communication later. It didn’t come out quite the way Bernie had anticipated, but he was obsessed with telling me and rationalizing everything.” — Jim Campbell [10:57]
• “In his world, he was not a bad guy. He was obsessed with explaining, number one, that his investment strategy really did work. He would go through incredible details, very technical, and then say, Jim I realize I wasn’t doing any real trading. So that’s sort of delusional.” — Jim Campbell [11:17]
• “Bernie did not act alone, because not only were there these Big Four, but the feeder funds were willfully blind, the SSC was unwittingly blind, and the 17th floor, which was high school graduates, were completely witless.” — Jim Campbell [14:35]
• “The demons of his ego couldn’t figure out how to get out of it. He could not accept-- this is a fundamental thing-- he could not accept losses. How could you be in a trading business and not accept losses?” — Jim Campbell [19:34]
• “He was very good on innovation and cost control… [Bernie’s other] business itself, while it was legitimate, was worth 3 billion dollars, independent of the hedge fund, which was the Ponzi scheme, so yeah, it was successful. It broke down the monopoly of the New York Stock Exchange. It legitimized discount brokerage firms. In a way, he was a populous… He was a genius in exploiting opportunities.” — Jim Campbell [22:07]
• “Initial perception is this is greed. He’s stealing his customer’s money… He wasn’t making all the money. He wasn’t doing it for greed. He was doing it to maintain his reputation in any way he could.” — Jim Campbell [26:57]
• On Ruth Madoff: “I asked Ruth, what did you say when you heard this, and she said her first question was ‘What’s a Ponzi scheme?’ ...She was cult-like programmed by Bernie.” — Jim Campbell [30:01] 
• “[Bernie] would even use the words, remorse is a complex thing for me, and until you’ve managed high-net worth investors’ money, you can’t understand what you are saying. ‘I was basically’ --and this is an exact quote-- ‘I was a product of corrupt culture on Wall Street.’” — Jim Campbell [37:02]
• On JP Morgan: “When you get below the scenes, a lot of ugly stuff. They smelled bad stuff, Madoff blocked them from doing due diligence, they got their own money out of hedge funds and left their clients in.” — Jim Campbell [47:58]
• “No other book has looked at the SSC, SIPC, JP Morgan, feeder funds, and has the whole thing and the Big Four because it’s not a story of just Bernie behind a curtain.” — Jim Campbell [54:06]

Resources Mentioned

Madoff Talks: Uncovering the Untold Story Behind the Most Notorious Ponzi Scheme in History by Jim Campbell 

Stay Connected:

Syd Finkelstein

Website: http://thesydcast.com

LinkedIn: Sydney Finkelstein

Twitter: @sydfinkelstein

Facebook: The Sydcast

Instagram: The Sydcast

Jim Campbell

Website: http://www.campbellbiztalk.com/ 

Linkedin: Jim Campbell

Twitter: @JimOCampbell

Subscribe to our podcast + download each episode on Stitcher, iTunes, and Spotify.

This episode was produced and managed by  Podcast Laundry (www.podcastlaundry.com)

TSC 93: Reverend Leah Daughtry: A Surprising Life in Religion and Politics

Episode Summary

Syd and his guest Reverend Leah Daughtry break all the rules of polite conversation to discuss faith and politics, and why Rev. Daughtry has hope for America’s future. Rev. Daughtry answers questions such as should we raise a red flag when a politician visits a church, how can we believe in God in the face of evil, and how did the Black Lives Matter movement finally break through to the broader community? Get an inside scoop to the Democratic Convention and a friendship with Kamala Harris in this episode of The Sydcast. 

Syd Finkelstein 

Syd Finkelstein is the Steven Roth Professor of Management at the Tuck School of Business at Dartmouth College.  He holds a Master’s degree from the London School of Economics and a Ph.D. from Columbia University. Professor Finkelstein has published 25 books and 90 articles, including the bestsellers Why Smart Executives Fail and Superbosses: How Exceptional Leaders Master the Flow of Talent, which LinkedIn Chairman Reid Hoffman calls the “leadership guide for the Networked Age.”  He is also a Fellow of the Academy of Management, a consultant and speaker to leading companies around the world, and a top 25 on the Global Thinkers 50 list of top management gurus.  Professor Finkelstein’s research and consulting work often relies on in-depth and personal interviews with hundreds of people, an experience that led him to create and host his own podcast, The Sydcast, to uncover and share the stories of all sorts of fascinating people in business, sports, entertainment, politics, academia, and everyday life. 

Leah D. Daughtry

Strategist. Organizer-Activist. Author. Public Theologian.

Bishop Leah Daughtry is a nationally recognized organizer-activist, political strategist, author, and Faith leader. She serves as Presiding Prelate of The House of the Lord Churches. Daughtry is Principal of On These Things, LLC, a strategic planning and project management firm that builds and supports partnerships that advance the common good. She is also Co-Convenor of Power Rising, which brings together Black women and girls to leverage their power for the benefit of their communities.

Standing at the intersection of Faith and politics, Daughtry has served as Chief of Staff of the US Department of Labor, and the national Democratic Party, as well as CEO of the 2008 and 2016 Democratic National Conventions, making her the only person in Democratic Party history to hold the position twice.

For her work with communities of Faith, Religion News Service named her one of the dozen most effective Democrats in the Nation on faith and values politics. She is co-author of the NAACP Image Award winning For Colored Girls Who Have Considered Politics (St. Martin's Press, 2018).

The daughter of a long line of community organizer-activists, Leah represents the fifth

consecutive generation of clergy persons in the Daughtry family. A native of Brooklyn, New York, she is a graduate of Dartmouth College and Wesley Theological Seminary.

Insights from this episode:

• Rev. Daughtry’s experience as a Black woman attending Dartmouth during the Reagan administration. 
• How Rev. Daughtry keeps her faith in the face of ongoing racial and gender discrimination. 
• The impact that COVID had in spurring on the current racial reckoning in America. 
• Details on the ways scapegoating is dividing America and how focusing on the “other” distracts from the root of our problems.
• How Rev. Daughtry got the gig of running the Democratic Convention twice.

Quotes from the show:

• “I sort of tie [community activism] to the church because as far as we were concerned, the community activism was an outgrowth of our faith and our theological understanding of what our role as Christians ought to be.”  — Leah Daughtry [08:34] 
• “The work that I did in politics, I considered that to be ministry”  — Leah Daughtry [09:26] 
• “Can you not make your point without attacking people by name, people by race? If your entire political and social construct and political leanings are dependent on you attacking other people as part of the basis for your reasoning and rationale, then that’s problematic.” — Leah Daughtry [15:43]
• “When the history is written, the thing that was the tipping point for all of it was COVID… The pandemic made us focus. We couldn’t escape from all of the things surfacing. We couldn’t escape from COVID. We couldn't escape from the inequities. We couldn't escape from George Floyd. We couldn't escape from Donald Trump. It was in our face in a way that made us say, ok I got to do something.” — Leah Daughtry [21:40]
• “I hope that we will remember. And maybe we won’t all be out with signs, but we’ll be more conscious of the things that we say and the tests and the trials that our neighbors may endure… I think we see them more, and I hope we remember.” — Leah Daughtry  [26:33]
• “So if God doesn’t force choice on you in what I believe is the greatest decision-- will you choose a life with God or not-- then God’s certainly not going to force choice on you in terms of the vaccine or the virus or anything else. We have choice and we have agency, and that is the greatest thing about us as God’s creation… We must live with the consequences of those decisions.” — Leah Daughtry  [40:48]
• “Our humanity--the way we are designed--is that we hope, we believe… We’re hardwired to hope… that’s the part of God that lives in you.” — Leah Daughtry [43:57]
• “I would tell my younger self to be braver, to be bolder, to be more confident because you know more than you think you know.” — Leah Daughtry [56:12]

Stay Connected:

Syd Finkelstein

Website: http://thesydcast.com

LinkedIn: Sydney Finkelstein

Twitter: @sydfinkelstein

Facebook: The Sydcast

Instagram: The Sydcast

Leah Daughtry

Website: https://leahdaughtry.com/ 

Linkedin: Leah D. Daughtry

Twitter: @LeahDaughtry

Facebook: Leah Daughtry

Instagram: @leahdaughtry 

Youtube: Leah Daughtry

Subscribe to our podcast + download each episode on Stitcher, iTunes, and Spotify.

This episode was produced and managed by  Podcast Laundry (www.podcastlaundry.com)

TSC 92: Henry Cisneros: A Life of Service, from the Barrio to the Mayor's Office to Clinton's Cabinet

Episode Summary

The Honorable Henry Cisneros, former mayor of San Antonio and HUD Secretary, joins The Sydcast to talk about his life’s work in politics from city council to the president’s cabinet. Mr. Cisneros speaks of the power of local government, place-based practices, and entrepreneurial thinking in politics. Hear Mr. Cisneros’s take on the atomization of our news sources, free enterprise and Latinos in Texas, how to make everyday count, and more in this episode of The Sydcast. 

Syd Finkelstein 

Syd Finkelstein is the Steven Roth Professor of Management at the Tuck School of Business at Dartmouth College.  He holds a Master’s degree from the London School of Economics and a Ph.D. from Columbia University. Professor Finkelstein has published 25 books and 90 articles, including the bestsellers Why Smart Executives Fail and Superbosses: How Exceptional Leaders Master the Flow of Talent, which LinkedIn Chairman Reid Hoffman calls the “leadership guide for the Networked Age.”  He is also a Fellow of the Academy of Management, a consultant and speaker to leading companies around the world, and a top 25 on the Global Thinkers 50 list of top management gurus.  Professor Finkelstein’s research and consulting work often relies on in-depth and personal interviews with hundreds of people, an experience that led him to create and host his own podcast, The Sydcast, to uncover and share the stories of all sorts of fascinating people in business, sports, entertainment, politics, academia, and everyday life. 

Henry Cisneros

Chairman of American Triple I Partners, LLC.

Vice Chairman of the Board of Directors & Equity Owner,

Siebert, Williams, Shank, LLC.

Founder & Chairman, City View

Henry Cisneros is Chairman of American Triple I, an infrastructure investment firm based in New York.  He is also a Vice Chairman of the Board of Directors & Equity Owner of Shank Williams Cisneros & Co., L.L.C, and Principal of Siebert Williams Shank & Co., LLC. a national municipal and corporate finance firm.  Mr. Cisneros is the Founder and Chairman of CityView, which is a partner in building more than 100 communities in 13 states, building more than 7,000 homes with a total value of over $5 billion.

Mr. Cisneros’ community-building career began at the local level. After serving three terms as a City Councilmember, in 1981, Mr. Cisneros became the first Hispanic-American mayor of a major U.S. city, San Antonio, Texas. During his four terms as Mayor, he helped rebuild the city’s economic base and spurred the creation of jobs through massive infrastructure and downtown improvements. 

In 1984, Mr. Cisneros was interviewed by the Democratic Presidential nominee as a possible candidate for Vice President of the United States and in 1986 was selected as the “Outstanding Mayor” in the nation by City and State Magazine.  After completing four terms as Mayor, Mr. Cisneros formed Cisneros Asset Management Company, a fixed income management firm operating nationally and ranked at the time as the second fastest growing money manager in the nation.

In 1992, President Clinton appointed Mr. Cisneros to be Secretary of the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. As a member of President Clinton’s Cabinet, Secretary Cisneros has been credited with initiating the revitalization of many of the nation’s public housing developments and with formulating policies which contributed to achieving the nation’s highest ever homeownership rate. In his role as the President’s chief representative to the nation’s cities, Mr. Cisneros personally worked in more than 200 U.S. cities in every one of the 50 states.

After leaving HUD in 1997, Mr. Cisneros was president and chief operating officer of Univision Communications, the Spanish-language broadcaster which has become the fifth-most-watched television network in the nation. Mr. Cisneros served on Univision’s Board of Directors until 2020.  Mr. Cisneros has served as President of the National League of Cities, as Deputy Chair of the Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas, and as Vice-Chairman of Habitat for Humanity International. Mr. Cisneros remains active in San Antonio’s leadership where he is former Chairman of the San Antonio Chamber of Commerce, the San Antonio Economic Development Foundation, the San Antonio Hispanic Chamber of Commerce, and BioMed SA. He is a former member of the advisory board of the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation.  Mr. Cisneros has been inducted into the National Association of Homebuilders (NAHB) “Builders Hall of Fame”.

Mr. Cisneros has also been author or editor of several books including: Interwoven Destinies: Cities and the Nation. His book project with former HUD Secretary Jack Kemp, Opportunity and Progress: A Bipartisan Platform for National Housing Policy, was presented the Common Purpose Award for demonstrating the potential of bipartisan cooperation and Casa y Comunidad: Latino Home and Neighborhood Design was awarded the Benjamin Franklin Silver Medal in the category of best business book of 2006.  In 2017 he co-authored Building Equitable Cities. Mr. Cisneros co-authored The Texas Triangle: An Emerging Power in the Global Economy, release date May 11, 2021.

Mr. Cisneros holds a Bachelor of Arts and a master’s degree in Urban and Regional Planning from Texas A&M University, where he has been designated a Distinguished Alumnus. He earned a Master’s degree in Public Administration from Harvard University, was a graduate assistant in urban economics at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, holds a Doctorate in Public Administration from George Washington University, and has been awarded more than 20 honorary doctorates from leading universities.  Texas A&M University at San Antonio is the site of the Cisneros Center for Emerging Leaders. 

He served as an infantry officer in the United States Army. Mr. Cisneros is married to Mary Alice P. Cisneros, who from 2007–2011 served on San Antonio’s City Council.  They have three children – Teresa, Mercedes, and John Paul – and four grandchildren.

Insights from this episode:

• Reflections on the values of education and how cities can provide free college education. 
• How local government can function in entrepreneurial ways and possibilities of place-based, bottom up politics. 
• Mr. Cisneros journey to mayor and Clinton’s cabinet, along with an inside look into cabinet meetings and the interplay between policy and White House obligations.  
• Mr. Cisneros insights into politicians like the Clintons, FDR, and Obama. 
• Reasons why Texas won’t turn blue anytime soon.

Quotes from the show:

• “It took a lot of focus and belief in education [to get Henry and his siblings through college]. Our family has almost a secular faith in education.”  — Henry Cisneros [11:24]
• “[Cities] can be masters of their own destinies, can be self-reliant entities, and do things of that nature [such as providing free college education] that they know they need for their goals.”  — Henry Cisneros [14:32] 
• “I wanted to do something in my life and my career of service that didn’t include necessarily the formal establishment ways of service -- being in the military, being the foreign service-- but I fell in love with the notion of helping build the cities.” — Henry Cisneros [17:36] 
• “What I found in the practices of the city government were so antiquated, so unfair, so unjust that I just couldn’t abide it. And I ended up, quite against my own nature, being a firebrand, populace city council member.” — Henry Cisneros [21:24] 
• “An entrepreneur sees a problem, and rather than walking away, it makes them crazy. And they try to fix it. They don’t always succeed in fixing it, but that’s what they try to do.”  — Syd Finkelstein [23:22]  
• “When you approach people with practical solutions instead of labels, like what is properly conservative or what is liberal, radical. When you’re talking about solutions, you can get somewhere. We used to say, there’s no democratic or republican-- no liberal or conservative-- way to pick up the garbage or to re-develop a neighborhood.” — Henry Cisneros [26:47] 
• On place-based politics: “It’s not about the department in Washington. It’s not about the extended bureaucracy across the country. It’s about how it appears on the ground… We kind of flipped the organizational chart upside down.” — Henry Cisneros [36:03]
• On the population growth in Texas: “Think about it, who’s coming? It’s people who are dissatisfied and escaping conditions in other states, which they regard as too progressive.” — Henry Cisneros [51:02]
• “A mix of things results in the Latino community not being the ingredient that’s going to turn Texas blue. It’s beginning to split.”  — Henry Cisneros [52:23]
• “There’s no longer broadcasting; there’s narrowcasting.” — Henry Cisneros [53:43]
• “Learn all you can and keep an open mind. Think well of the world and other people, and let their ideas get into your world and ferment. You’ll be a better person for it. You’ll be a happier person. You’ll be a unifier.” — Henry Cisneros [56:11]

Resources Mentioned

Inside Bureaucracy by Anthony Downs

Stay Connected:

Syd Finkelstein

Website: http://thesydcast.com

LinkedIn: Sydney Finkelstein

Twitter: @sydfinkelstein

Facebook: The Sydcast

Instagram: The Sydcast

Henry Cisneros

Website: https://www.tripleipartners.com/henry-cisneros/ 

Linkedin: Henry Cisneros

Twitter: @henrycisneros

Subscribe to our podcast + download each episode on Stitcher, iTunes, and Spotify.

This episode was produced and managed by  Podcast Laundry (www.podcastlaundry.com)

TSC 91: Tom Mendoza: Technology and Culture from a Silicon Valley Pioneer

Episode Summary

Tom Mendoza – NY kid who boot-strapped a career of impact; philanthropist; evangelist for building strong corporate cultures and how to do it (“Catch Someone Doing Something Right”); former senior Silicon Valley executive at NetApp; story-teller; teacher; engaging conversationalist. In other words, the perfect Sydcast guest.

Syd Finkelstein 

Syd Finkelstein is the Steven Roth Professor of Management at the Tuck School of Business at Dartmouth College. He holds a Master’s degree from the London School of Economics and a Ph.D. from Columbia University. Professor Finkelstein has published 25 books and 90 articles, including the bestsellers Why Smart Executives Fail and Superbosses: How Exceptional Leaders Master the Flow of Talent, which LinkedIn Chairman Reid Hoffman calls the “leadership guide for the Networked Age.” He is also a Fellow of the Academy of Management, a consultant and speaker to leading companies around the world, and a top 25 on the Global Thinkers 50 list of top management gurus. Professor Finkelstein’s research and consulting work often relies on in-depth and personal interviews with hundreds of people, an experience that led him to create and host his own podcast, The Sydcast, to uncover and share the stories of all sorts of fascinating people in business, sports, entertainment, politics, academia, and everyday life. 

Tom Mendoza

Former Vice Chairman, NetApp Inc.

Tom Mendoza is the former Vice Chairman at NetApp. He joined in 1994 and was responsible for sales until becoming president in 2000. In 2009, he became vice chairman. In that same year NetApp was voted the #1 company in America to work for (and was in the top 10 places to work for more than a decade).

Tom has given talks on the power of corporate culture and leadership all over the world to people in such diverse organizations as the U.S. Marine Corps, West Point, CIO forums, Oracle's Leaders Circle, and Stanford University. In 2009 he was the co recipient with NetApp Chairman Dan Warmenhoven of the Morgan Stanley Leadership Award for Global Commerce.

Tom holds a BA degree from the University of Notre Dame and is an alumnus of Stanford University's Executive Business Program. In September 2000 Notre Dame renamed its business school the Mendoza College of Business after an endowment made by Tom.

Insights from this episode:

• Reflections on how to honor and remember the fathers in our lives.
• A look into the cutting edge of the technology industry in the early 90s, the impact of immigrants on the tech industry over the years, and why Tom loves Zoom. 
• What’s behind the American philanthropic spirit and Tom’s experience donating 30 million dollars to Notre Dame. 
• How to have high expectations, recognition of the individual, and humanity in business and in life and the power of catching someone doing something right.

Quotes from the show:

• “More than 50% of the top 200 startups in the last decade are founded by immigrants… technology or leadership can come from anywhere.” — Tom Mendoza [16:51] 
• On his dad: “He always felt the need to make sure that people felt appreciated, which had a big influence on me.” — Tom Mendoza [19:06] 
• On the conditions of his endowed scholarship: “Number one: I don’t care if it’s man, woman, Black, white, it’s got to be the kid’s dream to go to Notre Dame. So if you give the kid the Mendoza scholarship, and that kid says I’m going to consider it, you blew it… Whatever school you’re attached to and care about, there’s an amazing amount of people really wanting to go there.” — Tom Mendoza [21:44] 
• “If you’re going to give back, I felt education was the best thing you could give to the people. Anyone who criticizes what people give to probably don’t give to anything… I felt that that’s a gift that really does keep on giving. If you give people an education that might not have got it, you’re helping the planet, you’re helping the people.” — Tom Mendoza [30:40] 
• “You don’t get to choose how your money’s being spent when you pay taxes. You get to choose how your donations are being used.” — Syd Finkelstein [33:05]  
• “What’s networking about? When you help other people, that’s actually the best way to help yourself.” — Syd Finkelstein [34:50]
• On NetApp’s success: “We grew from 0 to 1 billion in revenue in six years.” — Tom Mendoza [39:48]
• “What is the behavior that we want to witness wherever we do business in the world? That’s the culture that we want to promote, which means if we sign up for it, that’s the action we will take, that’s how we will act, that’s what we’ll hire to, that’s what we will rate people against.” — Tom Mendoza [45:33]
• “It’s a great filter when you make decisions to ask yourself if you’re proud of that decision — Tom Mendoza [46:07]
• “No matter what you’re doing there’s always room to help out other people, to influence other people.” — Syd Finkelstein [48:51]
• “People emulate the behavior you recognize. That’s why it’s important you’re thoughtful about how you give recognition.” — Tom Mendoza [54:53]

Stay Connected:

Syd Finkelstein

Website: http://thesydcast.com

LinkedIn: Sydney Finkelstein

Twitter: @sydfinkelstein

Facebook: The Sydcast

Instagram: The Sydcast

Tom Mendoza

Linkedin: Tom Mendoza

Twitter: @TomMendozaTalks

Forbes: Tom Mendoza Contributor Profile

Subscribe to our podcast + download each episode on Stitcher, iTunes, and Spotify.

This episode was produced and managed by Podcast Laundry (www.podcastlaundry.com)

Episode Summary

Finding the right place to start when it comes to investing in companies can appear mind-boggling, especially when times are constantly changing. Eric Jackson, President of EMJ Capitol, explains the complexities of companies, how to find the best investments, and the process of how he got started. Syd joins Eric Jackson to understand how to invest in and research the up-and-coming companies, niches, and trends.

Syd Finkelstein

Syd Finkelstein is the Steven Roth Professor of Management at the Tuck School of Business at Dartmouth College. He holds a Master’s degree from the London School of Economics and a Ph.D. from Columbia University. Professor Finkelstein has published 25 books and 90 articles, including the bestsellers Why Smart Executives Fail and Superbosses: How Exceptional Leaders Master the Flow of Talent, which LinkedIn Chairman Reid Hoffman calls the “leadership guide for the Networked Age.” He is also a Fellow of the Academy of Management, a consultant and speaker to leading companies around the world, and a top 25 on the global Thinkers 50 list of top management gurus. Professor Finkelstein’s research and consulting work often relies on in-depth and personal interviews with hundreds of people, an experience that led him to create and host his own podcast, The Sydcast, to uncover and share the stories of all sorts of fascinating people in business, sports, entertainment, politics, academia, and everyday life. 

Eric Jackson

Eric Jackson, Ph.D., is the President and Portfolio Manager of EMJ Capital, Ltd., which he founded in 2017. Eric was previously involved as an investor in Yahoo and Viacom as a Manager Director at SpringOwl Event Driven Partners from 2014 - 2016. Eric co-founded and was the Portfolio Manager of Ironfire Capital LLC from 2008 - 2014. He was President of Jackson Leadership Systems from 2004 - 2007, and was Vice President of Business Development at VoiceGenie Technologies, Inc. from 2000 - 2004.

Eric has a Ph.D. in Management from the Columbia Business School (2002) and a BA in English Literature from McGill University (1994).

Insights from this episode:

• The essentials of researching companies and their niches in order to start investments.
• Advantages of working at a startup and networking with the people around you to get a foot in the door.
• Benefits of not being afraid to take risks and put your name in the open, where the outcome can vary.
• Aspects of the ever-changing market, the situation with GameStop, and Covid-19’s long-lasting adjustments to the market.
• Details on how some businesses will continue to stay the same, the unknown of what will come next, and succeeding in the podcast industry.

Quotes from the show:

• “My philosophy is that I'm really trying to look for, I call it the next generation of FANG Stocks. So I tend not to invest in the Netflix and Facebooks of the world.” – Eric Jackson [19:04]
• “So that’s where the pressure comes in. Just trying to balance your view of the world, your faith in your original research...and all the pressure that comes with having a good year.” – Eric Jackson [22:35]
• On the stock market: “You got to be right twice, when you get in and when you get out.” – Syd Finkelstein [23:45]
• On GameStop and the influx of small investing: “I think that people should try. I think they should experiment. I mean the only way that I learned is by making terrible mistakes. That’s the only path to wisdom.” – Eric Jackson [29:15]
• “Everything we do plants various seeds, some good seeds, some bad seeds out there.” – Syd Finkelstein [36:05]
• On big bosses: “Because they look for unusual talent. There’s standard talent and that’s fine...and the people who change the world the most are the unusual talent.” – Syd Finkelstein [39:56]
• Eric on Journalism: “Be clear about what your belief is, what your argument is, because that’s an investment. You got to write a story.” – Eric Jackson [41:21]
• Covid-19 and its effects: The longer people have to adjust to this new reality and change their own behaviors, they are going to create new behaviors...So, what are the companies that are going to benefit from the new patterns?” – Eric Jackson [46:40]
• On effects of Covid-19 and other historical events: “I don’t think the world isn’t going to completely change overnight…There are going to be some major shifts in views and attitudes and expectations throughout layers of organizations.” – Eric Jackson [51:50]
• On podcasts and streaming: “The long term secular transfer of media is not very bright, but there are going to be these rays of sunshine…stars that emerge in the niches.” – Eric Jackson [56:22]
• Eric’s advice to himself: “The persevering, even at the point where you think you don't know how you’re gonna do it, always has led to amazing things on the other side.” – Eric Jackson [59:29]

Stay Connected:

Syd Finkelstein

Website: http://thesydcast.com

LinkedIn: Sydney Finkelstein

Twitter: @sydfinkelstein

Facebook: The Sydcast

Instagram: The Sydcast

Eric Jackson

LinkedIn: Eric Jackson

Twitter: @ericjackson

Subscribe to our podcast + download each episode on Stitcher, iTunes, and Spotify.

This episode was produced and managed by Podcast Laundry (www.podcastlaundry.com)

Episode Summary

Take a trip through time with Sid Ganis as he shares how a couple of rejection letters shaped his amazing and long career as a motion picture executive and producer. Movie buffs will revel in his stories about working closely with George Lucas, Steven Spielberg, and Francis Ford Coppola, what happens off-camera during awards shows, and how Hollywood is evolving into a more socially conscious industry.  

Syd Finkelstein

Syd Finkelstein is the Steven Roth Professor of Management at the Tuck School of Business at Dartmouth College. He holds a Master’s degree from the London School of Economics and a Ph.D. from Columbia University. Professor Finkelstein has published 25 books and 90 articles, including the bestsellers Why Smart Executives Fail and Superbosses: How Exceptional Leaders Master the Flow of Talent, which LinkedIn Chairman Reid Hoffman calls the “leadership guide for the Networked Age.” He is also a Fellow of the Academy of Management, a consultant and speaker to leading companies around the world, and a top 25 on the global Thinkers 50 list of top management gurus. Professor Finkelstein’s research and consulting work often relies on in-depth and personal interviews with hundreds of people, an experience that led him to create and host his own podcast, The Sydcast, to uncover and share the stories of all sorts of fascinating people in business, sports, entertainment, politics, academia, and everyday life. 

Sid Ganis

Marketing, publicity, distribution, production – Sid Ganis has seemingly done it all. He got his start at 20th Century-Fox in New York City in the early 1960s, and after stints at Fox, Columbia, and Seven Arts he became Senior Vice President at Lucasfilm in 1979, and worked with George Lucas in marketing such blockbusters as “The Empire Strikes Back,” “Raiders of the Lost Ark” and “Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom.” In the 1980s he segued to prexy at Paramount where he oversaw such hits as “Top Gun” “Fatal Attraction” and “Ghost.” From 1992 to 1996, he returned to Columbia as Vice Chairman and President of worldwide marketing for Columbia/Tristar, and then in 1996 founded his own company, Out of the Blue Entertainment. With wife Nancy as a partner, and in association with Adam Sandler, he produced “Big Daddy,” “Deuce Bigalow: Male Gigolo,” “Mr. Deeds,” and “Akeelah and the Bee”.

Sid has had a distinguished career in Hollywood as an executive at major studios including Sony Pictures, Lucasfilm, Warner Bros., and Paramount. He served on the board of directors of Marvel Entertainment until its sale to Disney in 2009. During that time, Marvel developed Spider-Man, Iron Man, and The Avengers, among other films. He has served on the boards of FIND (Film Independent) and the University of California, Berkeley Art Museum/Pacific Film Archive. He currently serves as co-chairman of the New York Chinese Film Festival.

Sid is known throughout the industry as the former president of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, a prestigious position he held for four consecutive years. He has led the development of the Academy Museum of Motion Pictures, which is the world's premier museum devoted to exploring and curating the history and future of the moving image. He was honored with the Lifetime Achievement Award at the 2013 Gabby Awards.

Insights from this episode:

• How luck and learning allowed Sid to break into the entertainment industry and continued to help him create a long and distinguished career as a movie executive.
• Details on working with George Lucas, Steven Spielberg, Francis Ford Coppola, and others on blockbuster movies and what new directors Sid is impressed by.
• Benefits of advancing technology in the movie industry and how streaming platforms affect the ways movies are made.
• Secrets of what it is actually like to be friends with the Hollywood elite and how they really live.
• Details on how Hollywood, movies, and personal responsibility have evolved over the last several decades.

Quotes from the show:

• Syd’s take on Sid’s first job: “You were there and you had a good time, but you were learning. It was all about learning.” – Syd Finkelstein [12:06]
• Sid’s thoughts on Steven Spielberg: “He’s a consummate artist and he knows the art of film backward and forward, knows how to do it in such an interesting and unique way movie after movie.” – Sid Ganis [20:29]
• “The myth about Hollywood is that everybody lives in some ivory tower and [they] don’t know the basics in life and that is just not true.” – Sid Ganis [20:59]
• “Successful people in the [entertainment] business are successful and people and often have the very same values as most all of us have.” – Sid Ganis [21:08]
• “I love movies and the older I get and the longer I’ve been in this business the more I absolutely understand that I love movies and why I love movies - it’s an amazing art form.” – Sid Ganis [23:02]
• What distinguishes great directors: “They do their work in epic style even if it’s a tiny, little, small movie they do it in epic style.” – Sid Ganis [25:45]
• On watching movies in a theater versus a streaming service: “Entertainment as I know it and believe that people should consume it, there’s nothing like having that collective experience about being in a space [together] and watching a film.” – Sid Ganis [28:41]
• “These movies for Netflix and Amazon and now Apple, they’re being made by some of the same talent that have been making movies and that are starring … so many great stars have moved to (streaming services).” – Syd Finkelstein [29:25]
• On evolving standards: “There’s more empathy and understanding of how other people are perceiving what, maybe, the majority considers funny.” – Syd Finkelstein [45:49]
• Sid’s advice to young Sid: “Stay curious about everything that you don’t know about and find out what’s up in the world and be a good guy and be with your fellow human beings.” – Sid Ganis [49:46]
• Further advice from Sid: “Be a good person and go after what you’re interested in and don’t be ridiculously aggressive, be wise and be confident.” – Sid Ganis [50:21]

Stay Connected:

Syd Finkelstein

Website: http://thesydcast.com

LinkedIn: Sydney Finkelstein

Twitter: @sydfinkelstein

Facebook: The Sydcast

Instagram: The Sydcast

Sid Ganis

Facebook: Sid Ganis 

Twitter: @GanisSid

Subscribe to our podcast + download each episode on Stitcher, iTunes, and Spotify.

This episode was produced and managed by Podcast Laundry (www.podcastlaundry.com)

Episode Summary

Are you an extrovert or an introvert? Karl Moore has interviewed hundreds of CEOs and concluded that many were neither. Or, more precisely, many were both. These “ambiverts,” who were outgoing when the situation called for it, introspective at other times, adjusted to the situation they were in. Which holds a pretty powerful lesson for each of us, whether it is how to communicate more effectively or how to show up at work and at home. Syd and Karl dig into this, and more, in this episode of The Sydcast. 

Syd Finkelstein 

Syd Finkelstein is the Steven Roth Professor of Management at the Tuck School of Business at Dartmouth College. He holds a Master’s degree from the London School of Economics and a Ph.D. from Columbia University. Professor Finkelstein has published 25 books and 90 articles, including the bestsellers Why Smart Executives Fail and Superbosses: How Exceptional Leaders Master the Flow of Talent, which LinkedIn Chairman Reid Hoffman calls the “leadership guide for the Networked Age.” He is also a Fellow of the Academy of Management, a consultant and speaker to leading companies around the world, and a top 25 on the Global Thinkers 50 list of top management gurus. Professor Finkelstein’s research and consulting work often relies on in-depth and personal interviews with hundreds of people, an experience that led him to create and host his own podcast, The Sydcast, to uncover and share the stories of all sorts of fascinating people in business, sports, entertainment, politics, academia, and everyday life. 

Karl Moore 

Associate Professor, Desautels Faculty of Management, McGill University

Associate Fellow, Green Templeton College, Oxford University

Prior to his academic career, Dr. Moore worked for eleven years in Canada sales and marketing management positions with IBM, and Hitachi. Before McGill he taught at Oxford University for five years.  

He has taught extensively in executive education and MBA programs including at Oxford, Cambridge, Stanford, Harvard, IMD, LBS, INSEAD, Duke, McGill, Bangalore, Renmin (Beijing), and Darden. His publications include +150 articles, and 10 books, with +3,700 Google Scholar citations. His next book, Introverted/Ambiverted/Extroverted Leaders is for Stanford University Press. His research on Quiet Leaders was recently highlighted in the Schumpeter Column of The Economist. He has recently presented his research on Introverts at Harvard Business School, Oxford, and the Stanford Business School.

For nine years, Karl did a weekly video interview for the Globe and Mail called “Talking Management,” where he interviewed CEOs one week and the world’s leading management scholars the other. For 10 years Karl has blogged for Forbes on business and leadership. He hosts a weekly program, “The CEO Series” on CJAD, where he interviews global thought and business leaders one-on-one for an hour. Previous guests include Justin Trudeau, Nobel Prize Winner Muhammed Yunus, and Eileen Murry, co-CEO of Bridgewater Associates. The show appeared as a weekly column for the National Post for two years and is now published in French for Les Affaires. In November of 2020, Karl and Indigenous Graduate Students started a biweekly column for the Globe and Mail, Indigenous Leaders where Wahi and Karl interview an Indigenous Leader in Canada and elsewhere. Karl has interviewed +1,000 CEOs, Prime Ministers, Generals and other senior leaders, among the most in the world, one of the few advantages of age is that you have done it longer than most everyone else. 

Karl was nominated for a Thinkers50 Distinguished Achievement Awards in the Leadership Category for his work on introverts/extroverts in the C-Suite & Millennials/Generation Z. 

Insights from this episode:

• Differences between Canada and America, their CEOs, and the balancing between self-confidence and humility by leaders.
• Defining an ambivert, explaining extrovert and introvert breaks, and the importance of authenticity.
• Leaders’ and ambiverts’ understanding of how to customize and adjust to the situation around them.
• The issues with implicit bias and the importance of listening to other communities, especially indigenous leaders.
• The character traits and actions needed in becoming a great leader/CEO, interviewing processes, and advice from Karl to the youth.

Quotes from the show:

• “But I think these days in COVID-19, more CEOs in the US around the world are going a little bit more humble mode, but there is still that need for the inspiring leadership of the CEO to say, ‘Ladies and gentlemen, we’re gonna make it through. We have the abilities, the strength, and the wonderful capabilities.’” — Karl Moore [13:52] 
• “And so an ambivert is someone who can act like an introvert at times and an extrovert at other times.” — Karl Moore [15:48]
• “So the tendency of an extrovert is to do that, but you might have to fake it till you make it. In the sense that we understand that the right thing is to be more like an introvert and listen…. but we have to bite our tongues.” — Karl Moore [19:08]
• “So you might be a square peg in a round hole…. I kinda found where my personality and who I am fit with the nature of my job, so I think that’s what you want in the medium term to find out where it’s a great fit, but still be flexible on occasion.” — Karl Moore [25:35]
• “The ability to listen and come up with some pretty good questions makes a difference.” — Karl Moore [28:48]
• “How do you know you’re done is when you hear nothing new.” — Karl Moore [36:01]
• On the topic of introversion and extroversion: “And so the key thing is, you have to be just willing. You have to recognize that you can learn this.” — Syd Finkelstein [46:22]
• “Because so many people frame others and categorize others and of course we see that with male/female. We see that with black/white and other kinds of simplifications and as you know it's a very very powerful thing, implicit bias.” — Syd Finkelstein [51:04]
• “But two things strike me is that you gotta deliver, you gotta perform in your earlier job….but you also know how to build networks and work with people effectively.” — Karl Moore  [57:42] 
• “And part of it is saying, go broad, that specific sets of knowledge are gonna become dated, but the ability to learn and think is good for your life.” — Karl Moore [1:00:03]

Stay Connected:

Syd Finkelstein

Website: http://thesydcast.com

LinkedIn: Sydney Finkelstein

Twitter: @sydfinkelstein

Facebook: The Sydcast

Instagram: The Sydcast

Karl Moore

Website: https://www.mcgill.ca/desautels/karl-moore

Linkedin: Karl Moore

Twitter: @profkjmoore

Forbes: Karl Moore's Blog

SoundCloud: CEO Series

Subscribe to our podcast + download each episode on Stitcher, iTunes, and Spotify.

This episode was produced and managed by Podcast Laundry (www.podcastlaundry.com)

Episode Summary

Art has long been considered a commodity but, thanks in large part to a technologically connected world, accessibility and availability have helped turn creative genius into “cultural capital.” Chad Elias combines an art history lecture with a business seminar to provide a comprehensive lesson on the ways art adds value beyond its beauty. Syd reconnects with his former teacher to discuss Andy Warhol, Banksy, and the business of art, in this episode of The Sydcast. 

Syd Finkelstein 

Syd Finkelstein is the Steven Roth Professor of Management at the Tuck School of Business at Dartmouth College. He holds a Master’s degree from the London School of Economics and a Ph.D. from Columbia University. Professor Finkelstein has published 25 books and 90 articles, including the bestsellers Why Smart Executives Fail and Superbosses: How Exceptional Leaders Master the Flow of Talent, which LinkedIn Chairman Reid Hoffman calls the “leadership guide for the Networked Age.” He is also a Fellow of the Academy of Management, a consultant and speaker to leading companies around the world, and a top 25 on the Global Thinkers 50 list of top management gurus. Professor Finkelstein’s research and consulting work often relies on in-depth and personal interviews with hundreds of people, an experience that led him to create and host his own podcast, The Sydcast, to uncover and share the stories of all sorts of fascinating people in business, sports, entertainment, politics, academia, and everyday life. 

Chad Elias

Chad Elias is an Assistant Professor of Art History at Dartmouth College and Tate Modern Research Fellow. His first book, Posthumous Images: Contemporary Art and Memory Politics in Post-Civil War Lebanon, was published by Duke University Press in 2018. Reviews of Posthumous Images have appeared in Arab Studies Quarterly, Art Journal, Art Papers, the Journal of Arabic Literature, Object, and Third Text.  

In collaboration with the Hood Museum, Chad organized a multidisciplinary symposium, “Futures Uncertain: A Symposium on Contemporary Art in the Anthropocene,” which explored questions relating to resource extraction, carbon imaginaries, species extinction and evocations of the deep past and worlds-to-come in contemporary art.  

Another research project analyzed how contemporary artists critically engage with artificial intelligence (AI), machine vision, virtual reality, and 3D printing as rapidly evolving forms that are marked by indeterminacies. The project argues that these technologies serve to unsettle identity formations that span ontological boundaries (i.e. between human and non-human actants) and established hierarchies that are encoded across racial and gender lines. 

Insights from this episode:

• Details on what contemporary art is, how it got started, and the impact that term has had on art history. 
• Benefits to an artist of outsourcing their work and why art has become a business-class asset.
• Difficulties associated with pricing art, how new technology is impacting value, and where there is room for improvement.
• How the process of buying art is changing and is making art more accessible to greater audiences.
• Parallels between the art and business world and the success that happens when they intersect. 
• How artists like Andy Warhol and Banksy capitalize on their art and how that has impacted the image of the value of art. 

Quotes from the show:

• “During the postmodern period, and in the aftermath, art became increasingly detached from the notion of manual or technical skill.” — Chad Elias [23:35]
• “It’s no accident that contemporary artists also start to think of their work as something that is no longer just tied to materialized forms of production but actually to the production of ideas.” — Chad Elias [25:31]
• On finding the parallels between art and business: “It involves dispensing with the mythology of the romantic artist who is somehow detached from commercial and economic interest and just makes work for the love of art.” — Chad Elias [26:31]
• “It’s difficult to determine the pricing systems that operate in contemporary art, partly because of the opacity of the system.” — Chad Elias [29:23]
• “You can draw a connection between the critical or symbolic value that is attached to a particular artist’s practice over time and the economic value that is assigned to their work.” — Chad Elias [31:05]
• “The art world, and the art market in particular, is a quite curious economy.” — Chad Elias [34:06]
• “[Andy Warhol] was considered, I don’t know if it’s right to say he was a great artist, but he certainly was a very successful, but also highly influential artist.” — Syd Finkelstein [40:19]
• On Banksy: “The anonymity of the artist is part of the mystique and draw.” — Chad Elias [43:45]
• On making money: “When someone does or has an image of doing really good things for society, but makes  a lot of money doing it, there’s a negative reaction to that person.” — Syd Finkelstein [48:10]
• “Even the idea of authenticity, of sincerity, in contemporary art is held with a large degree of suspicion.” — Chad Elias [59:27]

Stay Connected: 

Syd Finkelstein

Website: http://thesydcast.com

LinkedIn: Sydney Finkelstein

Twitter: @sydfinkelstein

Facebook: The Sydcast

Instagram: The Sydcast

Chad Elias

Email: [email protected]

Subscribe to our podcast + download each episode on Stitcher, iTunes, and Spotify. 

This episode was produced and managed by Podcast Laundry (www.podcastlaundry.com)

Episode Summary

Generational differences may seem to divide us but there is one thing that unites us all, change. Change is the catalyst that propels each new generation to make an impact and leave their mark on civilization and Moj Mahdara has secured her legacy with the launch of Beautycon, a diverse and inclusive beauty brand that aims to change the popular perception of beauty and our access to it. Moj and Syd discuss all things change; how to see it, how to make it happen, and most of all, how to accept it, in this episode of The Sydcast. 

Syd Finkelstein 

Syd Finkelstein is the Steven Roth Professor of Management at the Tuck School of Business at Dartmouth College. He holds a Master’s degree from the London School of Economics and a Ph.D. from Columbia University. Professor Finkelstein has published 25 books and 90 articles, including the bestsellers Why Smart Executives Fail and Superbosses: How Exceptional Leaders Master the Flow of Talent, which LinkedIn Chairman Reid Hoffman calls the “leadership guide for the Networked Age.” He is also a Fellow of the Academy of Management, a consultant and speaker to leading companies around the world, and a top 25 on the Global Thinkers 50 list of top management gurus. Professor Finkelstein’s research and consulting work often relies on in-depth and personal interviews with hundreds of people, an experience that led him to create and host his own podcast, The Sydcast, to uncover and share the stories of all sorts of fascinating people in business, sports, entertainment, politics, academia, and everyday life. 

Moj Mahdara

Moj Mahdara is an entrepreneur and CEO. She is an expert in the beauty, wellness and CPG market and currently the CEO of Beautycon, a globally-recognized community for content creators, celebrities, fans, and brands. As CEO, she is responsible for driving brand vision for Beautycon and its growth initiatives, launching the brand globally, which include strategic media partnerships, content development, market intelligence, and e-commerce over the past 5 years. 

Mahdara is an accomplished speaker, business figure and an active investor with international recognition for her expertise in Gen Z and Millennial consumer profiles and behaviors. She has been named to multiple lists over the years, including ones in Cosmopolitan and Marie Claire magazine; Fast Company’s “Most Creative People” list, The Hollywood Reporter’s “Top 25 Most Powerful Digital Players,” Women’s Wear Daily’s “Digital Power Posse” list and Variety’s “Digital Entertainment Execs to Watch,” and has traveled nationally and internationally to present Beautycon’s first market intelligence white paper, FOMO Vol. 1.

Additionally, Moj is an active investor, and working on her first book and focused on bringing the industry together via Beauty United.org

Moj resides in Los Angeles with her wife, Professor Dr. Roya Rastegar, their son, Neev, and their dog, Sufi. 

Insights from this episode:

• Differences between the generations, what sets Gen Z apart from the others, and why that matters in business and brand building.
• Reasons why businesses need to anticipate and adapt to changing platforms to remain relevant and successful.
• Details behind the creation of Beautycon, how COVID has impacted growth, and what Moj sees in the future for the brand.
• Benefits of leaning into change and providing the opportunity for others to change.
• Difficulties that Moj sees in the world and what can be done to bring about positive change.

Quotes from the show:

• “[Gen Z] do believe in the concept of emoting power, intention, and I find them to be very, very inspiring.” — Moj Mahdara [12:32]
• “I think Walt Disney and Disney are some of the greatest North Stars of marketing we’ve ever seen and to think about [Beautycon] through that lens has always been inspiring to me.” — Moj Mahdara [19:32]
• On the creation of Beautycon: “The idea was how do we build this at-scale for everybody who wants to enjoy the beauty and wellness industry.” — Moj Mahdara [20:40]
• On COVID’s impact on Beautycon: “We weren’t set up to be able weather a two-year experiential storm and pivot into digital.” — Moj Mahdara [22:05]
• On the rise of virtual conferences: “Some of these conferences now have attendance that is far beyond anything before because there’s no friction, there’s no cost.” — Syd Finkelstein [22:41]
• “What’s missing from these [virtual] conferences and events is the human connection and the opportunity for serendipity.” — Syd Finkelstein [23:03]
• “In life, what I have learned is that you always need to give people the opportunity to change. I think the kindest thing you can do for someone that you love is give them the opportunity to change.” — Moj Mahdara [29:05]
• “I think fear and anxiety drives most of people’s misunderstandings around each other.” — Moj Mahdara [31:12]
• “It will be interesting to see what happens as Gen X comes into more executive leadership roles. I am very curious to see what happens.” — Moj Mahdara [34:33]
• “We are really at a time and a place where there are just too many people that aren’t being taken care of.” — Moj Mahdara [37:47]

Stay Connected:

Syd Finkelstein

Website: http://thesydcast.com

LinkedIn: Sydney Finkelstein

Twitter: @sydfinkelstein

Facebook: The Sydcast

Instagram: The Sydcast

Moj Mahdara

Twitter: @mojism

Twitter: @beautycon

Instagram: @mojism

Instagram: @beautycon

Subscribe to our podcast + download each episode on Stitcher, iTunes, and Spotify.

This episode was produced and managed by Podcast Laundry (www.podcastlaundry.com)

Episode Summary

Sara Mathew would describe herself as an accidental CEO, someone more lucky than good, but luck isn’t what propelled Sara from clerk to vice president at Procter and Gamble, it was because Sara gets things done. But to become CEO and Chair of Dun & Bradstreet, Sara had to overcome a singular challenge, herself. In this episode of The Sydcast, Syd and Sara talk about the benefits of feedback and failure, discomfort and self-awareness, and how everyone has the potential to make their own luck.

Syd Finkelstein 

Syd Finkelstein is the Steven Roth Professor of Management at the Tuck School of Business at Dartmouth College. He holds a Master’s degree from the London School of Economics and a Ph.D. from Columbia University. Professor Finkelstein has published 25 books and 90 articles, including the bestsellers Why Smart Executives Fail and Superbosses: How Exceptional Leaders Master the Flow of Talent, which LinkedIn Chairman Reid Hoffman calls the “leadership guide for the Networked Age.” He is also a Fellow of the Academy of Management, a consultant and speaker to leading companies around the world, and a top 25 on the Global Thinkers 50 list of top management gurus. Professor Finkelstein’s research and consulting work often relies on in-depth and personal interviews with hundreds of people, an experience that led him to create and host his own podcast, The Sydcast, to uncover and share the stories of all sorts of fascinating people in business, sports, entertainment, politics, academia, and everyday life. 

Sara Mathew

Ms. Mathew is the Former Chairman and CEO of D&B. She joined D&B in August 2001 as its Chief Financial Officer (CFO), after 18 years at Procter and Gamble. At D&B she was appointed CFO and SVP of International in 2005, CFO and President of the U.S. business in 2006, and President and Chief Operating Officer in 2007. She was named Chief Executive Officer in January 2010 and assumed the role of Chairman of the Board

in July of that year, a position she held until her retirement in 2013. Ms. Mathew was a member of D&B’s Board of Directors from 2008 to 2013.

During her tenure at D&B, Ms. Mathew was instrumental in transforming D&B from a data company to a more innovative, digital enterprise, leveraging technological advances to expand its reach to new customers and structural changes to transform the underperforming international business. She led the re-build of D&B’s core technology platform and data assets, introducing Data-as-a-Service (DaaS) to access new customers and accelerating Big Data Analytics to create new insights for its existing customer base.

Ms. Mathew has received numerous accolades during her tenure at D&B. In 2012, she was named to FT’s 50 Women at the top; in 2013, Top Value Creator in the S&P 500 by Chief Executive magazine; in 2015 NACD’s Directorship 100 list; in 2017, FWA’s Woman of the Year; in 2018 Ascend/Deloitte’s Pan Asian Director of the year. In 2019, Sara was awarded NACD Director of the Year for the New Jersey Chapter in 2019 and is the recipient of P&G’s John G Smale Award for outstanding alumni in 2020. Prior to D&B, Ms. Mathew spent 18 years at Procter of & Gamble.

Ms. Mathew currently Chairs the Board of Freddie Mac and serves on the Boards of State Street (Chair of the Comp), Reckitt Benckiser, and NextGen SPAC. She has previously served on the Boards of Campbell Soup, Avon, and Shire and has about 35 years of cumulative Board service. Sara holds a bachelor's degree in physics, chemistry and mathematics from the Women's Christian College in Madras, India, and a master’s degree in business administration from Xavier University in Cincinnati, Ohio.

Insights from this episode:

• Details on why Sara needed to change her leadership style and how she solved the problem by adjusting her negative behaviors.
• How to incorporate and deliver negative feedback to make the experience beneficial to all parties.
• Reasons why Sara’s competitive nature powered her success when she had plans to be a trophy wife.
• Benefits that can be gained when you lean into discomfort by taking risks, failing at something, apologizing, and growing through those uncomfortable experiences.
• Difficulties associated with being a woman and a CEO, why there are so few women in higher positions in businesses, and what can be done to improve those conditions.
• How to make your own luck by loving what you do.  

Quotes from the show:

• “That’s my drive for getting things done. That is who I am. That’s actually so innate in my wiring that if I make a commitment, I’m going to make it happen.” — Sara Mathew
• “To me, today, leadership is about behavior. It’s that simple. It is how other people perceive what you do.” — Sara Mathew
• “The role of a leader is to extract the best out of people.” — Sara Mathew
• “Self-awareness is almost like the secret elixir for great leaders.” — Syd Finkelstein
• On becoming a good leader: “Don’t say, ‘How did I do,’ say, ‘What could I have done better?” — Syd Finkelstein
• On her ambition: “Whatever I do I want to do exceptionally well and the bar is me. It’s not somebody else, it’s usually me.” — Sara Mathew
• “I think failure is the most important part of life … and when you fail you have to learn to pick yourself up and move forward. Focus on the solution, don’t obsess about the problem.” — Sara Mathew
• “It’s those times that I’ve been hit the hardest that I learned the most. That’s what I mean by leaning in.” — Sara Mathew
• On advancing your career: “People really have to, not just aspire, but you have to produce, you’ve got to be a performer.” — Syd Finkelstein 
• “If you don’t love what you do, go find something else that you really love because if you love what you do, you’re really good at it, that’s where the magic begins then other people see that and want to help you just that little bit farther.”” — Sara Mathew

Resources:

Outliers: The Story of Success by Malcolm Gladwell

Stay Connected:

Syd Finkelstein

Website: http://thesydcast.com

LinkedIn: Sydney Finkelstein

Twitter: @sydfinkelstein

Facebook: The Sydcast

Instagram: The Sydcast

Sara Mathew

LinkedIn: Sara Mathew

Subscribe to our podcast + download each episode on Stitcher, iTunes, and Spotify. 

This episode was produced and managed by Podcast Laundry (www.podcastlaundry.com)