Safi Bahcall: Loonshots
Safi Bahcall is a second-generation physicist and a biotech entrepreneur. He co-founded a biotechnology company developing new drugs for cancer, leading its IPO and serving as its CEO for 13 years.

He worked with President Obama’s council of science advisors on the future of national research. Safi is the author of the book Loonshots: How to Nurture the Crazy Ideas That Win Wars, Cure Diseases, and Transform Industries*.

In this conversation, Safi and I discuss how leaders can work intentionally to nurture new ideas through three key practices. If you are an innovator (or leading an innovation team) and hearing the voices of the naysayers, this framework will help you begin nurturing new ideas more successfully.
Key Points

 	A loonshot is a neglected project, widely dismissed, its champion written off as unhinged.
 	The ice cube is an analogy for the soldiers and artists in the organization. This is called phase separation.
 	The most effective leaders view their work as gardeners, gently cultivating news ideas and investigating with genuine curiosity.
 	Leaders who have a heart for both their soldiers and their artists will support a dynamic equilibrium in their organizations.
 	Most innovation fails in the transfer between the artists and the soldiers.
 	Steve Jobs is an example of a leader who, for many years, refused to show heart — but discovered it later with fantastic success.

Resources Mentioned

 	Loonshots: How to Nurture the Crazy Ideas That Win Wars, Cure Diseases, and Transform Industries* by Safi Bahcall

Book Notes
Download my highlights from Loonshots in PDF format (free membership required).
Related Episodes

 	The Four Critical Stories Leaders Need For Influence, with David Hutchens (episode 148)
 	How to Build Psychological Safety, with Amy Edmondson (episode 404)
 	Get Better at Deep Listening, with Oscar Trimboli (episode 408)

Discover More
Activate your free membership for full access to the entire library of interviews since 2011, searchable by topic.

418: The Way to Nurture New Ideas, with Safi Bahcall

Leaders aren’t born, they’re made. This Monday show helps you discover leadership wisdom through insightful conversations. Independently produced weekly since 2011, Dr. Dave Stachowiak brings perspective from a thriving, global leadership academy, plus more than 15 years of leadership at Dale Carnegie. Bestselling authors, expert researchers, deep conversation, and regular dialogue with listeners have attracted 40 million downloads and the #1 search result for management on Apple Podcasts. Activate your FREE membership to search the entire episode library by topic at CoachingforLeaders.com

Education

Training

Language Courses

Higher Education

K-12

Educational Technology

Business

Investing

Careers

Management & Marketing

Business News

Shopping

Management

Self-Improvement

Michael McQueen: Mindstuck
Michael McQueen has spent the past two decades helping organizations and leaders win the battle for relevance. He specializes in helping clients navigate uncertainty and stay one step ahead of change.

Michael is a bestselling author of nine books and a familiar face on the international conference circuit, having shared the stage with the likes of Bill Gates, Dr. John C. Maxwell, and Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak. Having formerly been named Australia’s Keynote Speaker of the Year, he has been inducted into the Professional Speakers Hall of Fame. He is the author of Mindstuck: Mastering the Art of Changing Minds*.

There’s a lot of evidence that our minds would rather feel right than be right. How then, do you influence someone when they are really convinced of their position? In this conversation, Michael and I discuss the initial steps that help in changing people’s minds.
Key Points

 	Our tendency is to convince to the inquiring mind, but we’ll do better if we speak to the instinctive mind first.
 	Help others lessen loss and maintain dignity by preserving titles, language, and symbols in things that are new.
 	Instead of trying making an argument, ask a question that allows the other person to listen to themselves.
 	Ask questions that clarify points of resistance or misunderstanding.
 	Speak like you’re right, listen like you’re wrong.

Resources Mentioned

 	Mindstuck: Mastering the Art of Changing Minds* by Michael McQueen

Interview Notes
Download my interview notes in PDF format (free membership required).
Related Episodes

 	The Way to Influence Executives, with Nancy Duarte (episode 450)
 	Four Habits That Derail Listening, with Oscar Trimboli (episode 500)
 	Three Practices for Thriving in Negotiations, with William Ury (episode 669)

Discover More
Activate your free membership for full access to the entire library of interviews since 2011, searchable by topic. To accelerate your learning, uncover more inside Coaching for Leaders Plus.

676: How to Change People’s Minds, with Michael McQueen

Lauren Wesley Wilson: What Do You Need?
Lauren Wesley Wilson is a leading thought leader on media relations, diversity and inclusion, and crisis communications. At 25, she became the founder and CEO of ColorComm Corporation. Prior to that, Lauren worked as a communications strategist at a prestigious crisis communications firm in Washington, D.C.

Lauren has been featured in The Washington Post, Forbes, and People, as well as on MSNBC and CNBC, and more. She has been recognized by PR Week’s 50 Most Powerful in PR, Ad Age’s Women to Watch, and New York Women in Communications. She is the author of What Do You Need?: How Women of Color Can Take Ownership of Their Careers to Accelerate Their Path to Success*.

Many of us wish to be good allies in the workplace, especially to those who are underrepresented. Yet, what we assume that means isn’t always what’s most wanted or needed. In this conversation, Lauren and I discuss what leaders and peers can do to be better allies.
Key Points

 	Instead of asking “How can I help?” consider, “What do you need?” That’s more likely to generate specific actions.
 	Women of color feel like they are putting in tons of work into relationships with the majority culture, but it often feels unreciprocated.
 	White folks think of allyship as speaking out against discrimination. Women of color say it’s way more critical to advocate for new opportunities.
 	Tie allyship to economic goals: conference attendance, nominations for recognition, inclusion on high-profile committees, and position/promotion considerations.
 	Make invitations to people of color to be at the table. This contributes more substantially than proclamations of support.
 	When you make a mistake, apologize, own it, and move on. Don’t tell a story to explain yourself.

Resources Mentioned

 	What Do You Need?: How Women of Color Can Take Ownership of Their Careers to Accelerate Their Path to Success* by Lauren Wesley Wilson

Interview Notes
Download my interview notes in PDF format (free membership required).
Related Episodes

 	The Way Managers Can be Champions for Justice, with Minda Harts (episode 552)
 	End Imposter Syndrome in Your Organization, with Jodi-Ann Burey (episode 556)
 	How to Respond Better When Challenged, with Dolly Chugh (episode 615)

Discover More
Activate your free membership for full access to the entire library of interviews since 2011, searchable by topic. To accelerate your learning, uncover more inside Coaching for Leaders Plus.

675: How to Be a Better Ally, with Lauren Wesley Wilson

Ethan Mollick: Co-Intelligence
Ethan Mollick is a professor of management at Wharton, specializing in entrepreneurship and innovation. His research has been featured in various publications, including Forbes, The New York Times, and The Wall Street Journal.

Through his writing, speaking, and teaching, Ethan has become one of the most prominent and provocative explainers of AI, focusing on the practical aspects of how these new tools for thought can transform our world. He's the author of the popular One Useful Thing Substack and also the author of the book, Co-Intelligence: Living and Working with AI*.

Whether you’ve used it or not, you’ve heard that AI will transform how we work. Given how quickly the technology is changing, how do you start and, if you’ve started already, what’s the way to use it well? In this conversation, Ethan and I discuss the principles for using AI, even as the technology changes.
Key Points

 	GPT-4 is already passing the bar examination in the 90th percentile, acing AP exams, and even passing the Certified Sommelier Examination.
 	Always invite AI to the table. It’s may be helpful, frustrating, or useless — but understanding how it works will help you appreciate how it may help or threaten you.
 	Being the “human in the loop” will help you catch where AI isn’t accurate or helpful. Zeroing in on areas where you are already an expert will help you appreciate where AI is useful and where its limitation emerge.
 	Treat AI like a person, but tell it what kind of person it is. It’s helpful to think of AI like an alien person rather than a machine.
 	Assume this is the worst AI you will ever use. Embracing that reality will help you stay open to possibilities on how you use AI do your work better.

Resources Mentioned

 	Co-Intelligence: Living and Working with AI by Ethan Mollick

Interview Notes
Download my interview notes in PDF format (free membership required).
Related Episodes

 	How to Build an Invincible Company, with Alex Osterwalder (episode 470)
 	Doing Better Than Zero Sum-Thinking, with Renée Mauborgne (episode 641)
 	How to Begin Leading Through Continuous Change, with David Rogers (episode 649)

Discover More
Activate your free membership for full access to the entire library of interviews since 2011, searchable by topic. To accelerate your learning, uncover more inside Coaching for Leaders Plus.

674: Principles for Using AI at Work, with Ethan Mollick

Mike Caulfield: Verified
Mike Caulfield is a research scientist at the University of Washington’s Center for an Informed Public, where he studies the spread of online rumors and misinformation. He has taught thousands of teachers and students how to verify claims and sources through his workshops. His SIFT methodology is taught by hundreds of research libraries across North America, and a shorter version of SIFT instruction, developed with Google, has been taught in public libraries across the world.

His work on Web Literacy for Student Fact-Checkers, won the Merlot Award for best open learning resource in the ICT category. His work has been covered by The New York Times, the Chronicle of Higher Education, NPR, The Wall Street Journal, USA Today, and the MIT Technology Review. He is the author with Sam Wineburg of Verified: How to Think Straight, Get Duped Less, and Make Better Decisions about What to Believe Online*.

We’ve all seen something online that we thought was true, but turned out was a hoax. Annoying, but no big deal if it’s just an internet meme from a friend or family member. But what if what you find online isn’t at all what you thought and you make decisions or take action on it that affects your professional credibility? In this conversation, Mike and I discuss how to guard yourself from being duped.
Key Points

 	Rather than asking, “Is this true?” the more useful question is, “Do I know what I'm looking at here?”
 	The cheap signals many of us were trained to watch for (working links, attractive design, about pages, proper domains) are easy to replicate and no longer correlate to credibility.
 	Phrase questions to search engines in neutral ways for less biased results. Instead of “Are soda taxes a good idea?” ask “Do soda taxes work?”
 	While Wikipedia still has bias, it’s a far more credible source that many of us were taught — and a valuable source for a broad perspective of a topic or organization.
 	Intelligent people often read vertically, to their detriment. The best fact-checkers read laterally by using the rest of the web to read the web.
 	Watch for phrases like “sponsored content,” “brand partner,” “presented with,” “in partnership with,” “brought to you by,” “in association with,” or “hosted by.” These phrases signal advertisements.

Resources Mentioned

 	Verified: How to Think Straight, Get Duped Less, and Make Better Decisions about What to Believe Online* by Mike Caulfield and Sam Wineburg

Interview Notes
Download my interview notes in PDF format (free membership required).
Related Episodes

 	The Way to Make Better Decisions, with Annie Duke (episode 499)
 	Get People Reading What You’re Sending, with Todd Rogers (episode 666)
 	How to Enhance Your Credibility (audio course)

Discover More
Activate your free membership for full access to the entire library of interviews since 2011, searchable by topic. To accelerate your learning, uncover more inside Coaching for Leaders Plus.

673: The Way to Prevent Being Duped, with Mike Caulfield

Mike Massimino: Moonshot
Mike Massimino is a former NASA astronaut and a professor of mechanical engineering at Columbia University. He's also the senior advisor for space programs at the Intrepid Sea, Air & Space Museum. He was selected as an astronaut by NASA in 1996, and is the veteran of two space flights, the fourth and fifth Hubble Space Telescope servicing missions in 2002 and 2009.

Mike has made numerous television appearances, including a six-time recurring role as himself on the CBS hit comedy The Big Bang Theory. He has hosted Science Channel’s The Planets and its special Great American Eclipse. Mike is the author of the New York Times bestselling book Spaceman and now his newest book Moonshot: A NASA Astronaut’s Guide to Achieving the Impossible.

Almost every leader and organization invites people to speak up and make their voice head. As we all know, that doesn’t means it happens in practice. In this conversation, Mike and I discuss how leaders can set the tone for what’s said, and what’s not.
Key Points

 	You’ll know when it’s time to speak up. Your cue is that hair-raising, sinking feeling in the moment of a high-stakes situation or the feeling of confusion in a less intense situation.
 	Outsiders and rookies are often the most observant people in the team since they are hyper-aware of doing something new and noticing details a veteran may miss.
 	It’s important to speak up when you see something wrong, but equally important is to speak up when you do something wrong. The only unforgivable sin at NASA is trying to cover something up.
 	Your title or position may influence how others in the organization speak up (or don’t). When someone speaks up, saying “thank you” in the moment sets the tone for future dialogue.
 	Reward speaking up with incentives. The Hubble Space Telescope servicing manager created challenges for people to speak up to reduce spacewalk time.

Resources Mentioned

 	Moonshot: A NASA Astronaut’s Guide to Achieving the Impossible by Mike Massimino

Interview Notes
Download my interview notes in PDF format (free membership required).
Related Episodes

 	How to Start Managing Up, with Tom Henschel (episode 433)
 	How to Speak Up, with Connson Locke (episode 546)
 	How to Help People Speak Truth to Power, with Megan Reitz (episode 597)

Discover More
Activate your free membership for full access to the entire library of interviews since 2011, searchable by topic. To accelerate your learning, uncover more inside Coaching for Leaders Plus.

418: The Way to Nurture New Ideas, with Safi Bahcall

Download our free app to listen on your phone