Doug Lennick and Don meet again to discuss the trends shaping the labor market today and the importance of understanding and embracing your employees’ values.
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John Kriesel has been a passionate patriot since he first decided to join the military at the age of 17. John served in the Minnesota Army National Guard for ten years; completing a tour in Kosovo as part of a NATO peacekeeping force and later in Iraq. While serving in Iraq, John’s vehicle came into contact with an improvised explosive device. He lost both his legs and was on the verge of death. Doctors needed to revive him three times on operating tables. Miraculously, John recovered after an eight-day medically induced coma.
Thirteen years and 35 surgeries later, John now lives a fulfilling and beautiful life. He has served as an elected official in the Minnesota House of Representatives and works as Veteran Services Director for Anoka County in the Twin Cities metro area while continuing to speak, educate, and spread positivity. In this interview, John shares why he decided to join the military, his experience while in service including the events of December 2nd, 2006, and the transition back to civilian life after life-altering injuries.
John discusses:
Part One: Growing up in Minnesota, joining the Army at 17, attending basic training, his first tour in Kosovo as a peacekeeper, volunteering for a tour in Iraq, hitting an improvised explosive device on December 2nd 2006, the importance of a positive mindset in crisis situations, and fighting for his life.
Part Two: Adjusting to civilian life, finding a new “normal”, running for office in Minnesota, coping with massive change, growing as a person, the power of community, discovering the power of optimism, campaigning for office, the Post-It note routine, the power of choosing to have a good day, advice for going through a scary change, being a politician, voting against making same-sex marriage illegal, meeting President George W. Bush, working as an advocate for veterans, and appreciating the new life he created.
People, Organizations, and Resources Mentioned:
The Gulf War, the US Air Force, the US Army, Minnesota Army National Guard, NATO, Saint Paul Fire Department, Kosovo, Iraq, Camp Fallujah, Walter Reed Medical Center, Minnesota House of Representatives, Tom & Eleanor Porter, the Post-It Note routine, Senator Lindsey Graham, Senator Tom Coburn, Bill SF 1308 (to allow voters to decide on the legality of same-sex marriage), President George W. Bush, The White House.
“My mind was sharp and I was trying to stay positive about the whole situation. Because I knew that I really had very little control over it, but what control I did have was my mindset. And I needed to stay positive as much as possible.”
-John Kriesel on the importance of optimism even when you are in a situation you cannot control.
Find John on social media @JohnKriesel and at https://www.johnmkriesel.com/
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How did your first quarter of 2019 end? Did you accomplish all that you wanted to get done? Did you meet the people you’d hoped you would? Did you go where you wanted to go? It’s helpful to do an inventory of what we have been paying attention to, where we went, what we learned, who we met, and what’s up next. That’s exactly what two friends do in this special episode of 12 Geniuses. Joey Torkildson, the host of The Grind Podcast, spends some time talking with Don MacPherson about how Q1 of 2019 went for 12 Geniuses. They cover a wide range of topics from rapidly advancing technology to traveling in Europe, to what the lineup of genius podcast guests looks like for the rest of the year.
Topics Covered
Technology: Artificial Intelligence, robotics, wearables, virtual reality, the Internet of Things
Travel: Las Vegas, Lone Pine, CA, Death Valley, Washington DC, New Haven, CT, Yale University, New York City, Phoenix, Honfleur, France, D-Day Beaches
Speaking Engagement: Fuel Work HR Technology Expo on April 10th, 2019
12 Geniuses Guests: Rebecca Ryan, Lauren Azar, Chris Farrell, Patrick Riley, Daniel Pink, Andrew Winston, Giadha Aguirre de Carcer
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Every day, 40,000 people around the world work in extremely stressful situations to help provide assistance to people in need. People working for Doctors Without Borders (Médecins Sans Frontières) leave behind their comfortable lives for the opportunity to make the world a better place. On assignment they expand their self-knowledge and limitations, experience, and adapt to entirely new ways of living while helping those in need. When it’s time to return home, they experience the challenges of re-assimilating to their native culture. In this episode, humanitarian Catherine Carr shares her decade-long experience working for Doctors Without Borders and how the lessons of working as a humanitarian translate to other areas of work once you return home. Catherine discusses:
Part I: The Humanitarian Experience
Applying to Doctors Without Borders, culture shock and adaptation, finding meaning at work, learning from locals, the various roles within Doctors Without Borders, Tea in the Morning, relationship building during “morning tea,” overcoming the fear that prevents personal growth, finding happiness.
Part II: Lessons to Learn from a Humanitarian
Advice for overcoming fear and facing future changes, resistance to change, agility, discovering yourself, getting out of your comfort zone (without leaving the country), the power of teamwork, building trust with employees and community members, the unique skills of a humanitarian, coping in high-stress situations, burnout vs. stress, belief vs. truth, disruption avoidance.
Organizations, People, Resources, Places Mentioned:
Doctors Without Borders (Médecins Sans Frontières), PB&J Family Services, Kenya, Iraq, the Philippines, Haiti, Central African Republic, Jordan, South Sudan
“I was scared of making the change, but I think what scared me even more was not making the change.”
Catherine Carr describing her decision to disrupt her career as a Human Resources leader to join Doctors Without Borders
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Chris Farrell has worked as a journalist for national publishers and public radio for decades. Throughout his career, Chris has taken a hard look at how Baby Boomers have redefined work and how they are now redefining the concept of retirement. In this interview, Chris looks at what retirement has been historically, how it is evolving, and what organizations can do to continue to leverage the talent of their most experienced people. Chris also shares his thoughts on the FIRE (Financial Independence, Retire Early) movement that is becoming popular among younger, affluent workers. In this interview, Chris discusses:
Part I: Unretirement and the Future of Retirement
Traditional retirement and its evolution, the relationship between continued work and mental acuity, doing meaningful work, the importance of relationships at work, health benefits as the primary reason some employees stay with their organizations, the importance of building having a thriving network for older workers, advice for those considering a career change, the FIRE movement, retirement in Europe, workforce disruption, the 55-64 year-old entrepreneur, encore careers.
Part II: The Future of Work, Innovation, and Entrepreneurship
Disruption and the future of work, creation of new jobs, the increasing rate of technological developments, adapting skills for the future, training employees for a strong and valuable workforce, career changes later in life, how to remain relevant towards the end of your career, the 50+ entrepreneur, women and entrepreneurship, immigrant entrepreneurs.
Organizations, People and Resources mentioned: Unretirement (Book and Podcast), FIRE Movement, Purpose and a Paycheck, AARP, PBS Next Avenue, The Wall Street Journal, The New York Times, Financial Times, Encore.org, Desk Set with Katherine Hepburn, Michael Mandel with the Progressive Policy Institute, Herman Miller, Toyota, Bloomberg Businessweek
Chris’ publications are available on amazon at: https://www.amazon.com/Chris-Farrell/e/B001HMRRYW?ref=dbs_p_pbk_r00_abau_000000
Unretirement Podcast online: https://www.apmpodcasts.org/unretirement/
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Imagine life in the year 1900. Imagine how people heated their homes. Think about how people got from place to place. Yes, there was the steam engine, but personal travel was walking or with a horse and buggy. The world is better than ever and one of the foundational reasons for this is because of access to energy. On a daily basis, the average person is estimated to use about 41 pounds of coal in energy per day…that’s 15,000 pounds a year. But that is changing quickly. In this interview, energy expert Lauren Azar talks about her 25 year career in the energy field and what the future of energy in America will look like. Lauren discusses:
Part I: Working in the Field of Energy
Mentorship, young people entering the energy field, energy industry law, working in the Department of Energy, working for the federal government, working for Secretary Chu, navigating hard power and soft power in decision making, working in a male dominated industry
Part II: Planning for Changes in Energy Sources and Overall Consumption.
Energy policy planning, security vulnerabilities in the electrical grid system, the future of coal in America, the future of renewable energy, energy storage methods (battery, compressed air, etc), solar panels, internet of things and AI’s impact on energy, solar roads
Organizations, People, and Resources Mentioned: Former Secretary of the Department of Energy Steven Chu, Xcel Energy
“Once energy storage becomes cost effective, we no longer need to have just-in-time infrastructure. That is going to fundamentally change this industry. It’s going to fundamentally change this nation.”
Lauren Azar on the impact energy storage capabilities will have on our future energy supply.
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How can you plan for your organization's future? For over two decades Rebecca Ryan has been consulting with individuals, teams, and organizations to create future plans that accommodate for our ever changing society. In this interview Rebecca shares her insights on:
Part I – Social Change in America
Who is winning economically and who is losing, the cost of being middle class, the Great Recession, the three previous “Winters” in America (The American Revolution, The Civil War and Reconstruction, and the Great Depression), social changes in America, the aging of baby boomers, the expansion of human rights, prison reform, economic development, benefit corporations (B-Corps), influential demographic changes, community planning, affordable housing, transit changes, and planning for the unexpected.
Part II – How to Predict the Future
Foresight / futuring, STEEP methodology (Society, Technology, Environment, Economy Politics), Four Forces (Resources, Technology, Demographics, Politics), crowdsourcing, advice for staying relevant in the future, future trends, how to be future ready, city planning, youth as agents of change for our future, diversifying your information sources, and the importance of delivering on America’s promise.
Organizations, people, and resources mentioned: “Re-Generation: A Manifesto for America’s Next Leaders,” “The Next Big Things” by Rebecca Ryan, Patagonia, Tom’s Shoes, Danone, WARBY PARKER, Futurist Camp, STEEP Methodology, Four Forces (Cecily Sommers), “Think Like a A Futurist: Know What Changes, What Doesn’t, and What’s Next,” www.rebeccaryan.com
“Change happens from the margins…it works its way into the mainstream. So if you want to be future ready, you need to pay attention to things that people are just now starting to talk about.”
Rebecca Ryan on the importance of empathy building and diversifying your information sources for futuring.
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In this special edition podcast, Devon McGrath interviews 12 Geniuses CEO Don MacPherson. Don shares what he learned in 2018 and where the focus of the podcast and company will be in the new year.
While reviewing 2018, Don and Devon talk about learning Arabic, the art and science of podcasting, fatherhood, entrepreneurship, futurist camp, technologies that are changing the way we live and work, the threat of technology addiction, and why change is so difficult. Then, they shift their focus to what is on the horizon for 12 Geniuses in 2019. They discuss changing demographics and an aging population, cryptocurrency, the ethics of gene editing, global governmental cooperation, the economic opportunity of cannabis, prison reform, and immigration reform.
Other topics include Artificial Intelligence, virtual reality, 3D printing, wearable technologies, the Internet of Things, autonomous vehicles.
“There are currently about a billion people over the age of 60 in the world now. By mid-century it will be two billion. What does that mean for the workforce? What does that mean to society and how we design our communities and companies?”
Don MacPherson, CEO of 12 Geniuses, discussing aging and how that trend will shape our future.
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Doug Lennick is a legendary leader in the financial services industry who has mentored hundreds of people over his career and coached thousands of people to be more effective leaders and make better financial decisions. In this interview, Doug shares his insights on:
Personal Financial Decision Making: Good debt vs. bad debt, the concentration of private debt, Millennial debt, benchmarks for responsible borrowing, financial education, delaying gratification, financial “slavery,” debt stress and how it impacts performance at work, financial intelligence, preparing for financial uncertainty, behavioral change, Stanford Marshmallow Experiment, impulse control
Effective Leadership: senior leadership trust, compassion, integrity, self-awareness, personal and organizational values, transparency, Baby Boomer retirement, advice for first-time managers, leaders vs. managers, the importance of self-management, alignment of thoughts, actions, emotions to values and goals, moral intelligence vs. moral competence, employee engagement and high performance, advice for first-time CEOs, leadership in a world of artificial intelligence and other major technology transformation, the diminishing importance of cognitive ability in leadership, neuroscience, the adult brain, changing adult behaviors, The Four Rs (Recognize, Reflect, Reframe, Respond), happiness
Organizations, people, and resources mentioned: Arun Abey, How Much Is Enough? Making Financial Decisions That Create Wealth and Well-Being, Ray Dalio, Ken Chenault, American Express, Walter Mischel, 2018 Edelman Trust Barometer, Stephen Covey, Stephen M. R. Covey, The SPEED of Trust, Moral Intelligence, Think2Perform, Spock, The Simple Genius (You)
“Our culture is this…I want anybody to be able to talk to anybody, about any thing, at any time.”
Doug Lennick, CEO of Think2Perform, commenting on one of the ways he built trust, transparency, and empowerment while leading a 17,000 person organization at American Express
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Writer, speaker, and business owner Ryan Estis candidly discusses his entrepreneurial journey and shares his insights on:
Becoming an entrepreneur: The importance of experimentation before becoming a business owner, the discipline necessary to succeed owning a business, finding life and work on your terms, the downside of having a Plan B when starting a business, overcoming a lack of self-confidence
The State of Business Today: failure tolerance, overcoming resistance to change in organizations, learning and development as a strategic imperative, the importance of investing in people, digitization strategies and evolving business models, the competencies necessary for new leaders to succeed, the future of sales
Organizations mentioned: AT&T, Accor Hotels, Cadillac, National Automobile Dealers Association, Seth Mattison
“Lunch was two cans of StarKist tuna for a year. That was my lunch…start time was 4AM at the kitchen table and I wasn’t in my sweats. I was in a suit and tie.”
Ryan Estis commenting on his mindset when he launched his business in 2009
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Leadership guru Dr. Robert Eichinger shares his wisdom on the topics of:
Neural leadership, change management, the brain at work, neural plasticity, mindfulness, women in leadership, emotional competence, confirmation bias, innovation, leadership and Artificial Intelligence, anger management, narcissism, and derailment research
“You cannot manage change cognitively. It has to be managed from an EQ standpoint. People get promoted based on smarts and fail based on people skills.”
Dr. Robert Eichinger
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