Disrupt Yourself Podcast

When it's time to make a critical decision, the thing we reach for first is data. Numbers, facts, anything to help us make our case or prove our decision [...]

Today’s guest is Dr. David Bray, and hearing his life story is like hearing the movie “War Games” brought to life. At the age of 15 he began working [...]

When the Wright brothers completed the first sustained manned flight it was a pivotal moment in history. Travel, commerce, logistics, and world relations would forever be impacted by those [...]

When we talk about disrupting yourself, I typically advise that you look before you leap. Make a planned exit, cushion the landing, prepare for the change. But that is [...]

Anyone who has been around a three or four-year-old child knows that they love to ask questions.  These questions can be tedious to answer as an adult (What is [...]

To say that Karen Beattie is comfortable with change is a bit of an understatement. Her childhood was nomadic, with her father’s job taking her family to such diverse [...]

Stephen Nelson speaks the language of music. A primarily self-taught pianist, he has an amazing talent for composition, oftentimes performing on-the-spot “mash ups” of famous songs for live audiences. [...]

As the mother of two young children, all of Julie Berry’s focus was on keeping them safe, happy, and healthy, but despite loving them fiercely, Julie also felt intensely [...]

It’s time for something a little different.  Instead of interviewing a guest today, I’m going to do a dive deep into one of the accelerants outlined in my seven-point [...]

When Adam Grant joined his high school diving team, his coach told him he had good news and bad news: Adam lack flexibility and grace, two of the three [...]

Don’t hold back. That is my biggest take-away from our guest today, Carol Kauffman, the founder and Executive Director of the Institute of Coaching at the Harvard Medical School. [...]

I always love speaking with individuals at the low end of the learning curve. So many emotions are on the surface, but by the time someone hits the sweet [...]

My guest on the podcast today is Antonio Nieto-Rodriguez, a passionate expert on project management and the author of The Project Revolution: How to Succeed in a Project Driven [...]

I love hearing stories of people being bold. Amy Edmondson was rapidly approaching graduation from college when she realized that she didn’t know what she wanted to do with [...]

We’ve had two married couples on the podcast so far, and today I’m excited to introduce a third - Martin and Kym Frey.  On April 17, 2016, Martin Frey [...]

My guest today is Priya Parker, the founder of Thrive Labs and a strategic advisor who helps leaders and teams create transformative gatherings. She is the author of The [...]

My guest today is Marcus Buckingham, Best-selling author and the Head of ADP Research, People + Performance. Marcus spent almost twenty years at Gallup, and recently released Nine Lies [...]

I love Brené Brown’s story. A “late bloomer,” Brené graduated from her undergrad when she was 29 years old, then proceeded straight into her master’s and [...]

My guest on the podcast today is Safi Bahcall - physicist, biotech CEO, entrepreneur, tennis aficionado, and author of the outstanding book, Loonshots: How to Nurture the Crazy Ideas [...]

When Tamika Catchings was a freshman at the University of Tennessee, her coach, Pat Summit, told her that someday her story would “impact thousands, maybe millions of people.” It [...]

My guest today is Jason Jedlinski, a digital product executive, innovator and brand builder currently serving as the Senior Vice President of Product for Gannett Media. Jason’s career in [...]

My guest on the podcast today is Ty Shay, the Global Chief Marketing Officer of Norton/LifeLock. Well regarded for his expertise, marketing is not the career path Ty originally [...]

I have often heard it said that “failure is not an option.” However, I have found failure to be a common companion in life. If we never learn how [...]

Management isn’t rocket science. It’s harder than rocket science. At least, that’s what Paul Hill, former director of mission operations at NASA, believes. Paul has spent most [...]

When you open the Mighty Networks app you are immediately faced with a decision: “Create a Network,” or “Find a Network.” Either way, you’re ready to connect [...]

Boredom sometimes yields very interesting results. About six years ago, Tasha Eurich was in a work lull. Her coaching clients were on vacation for the winter holidays, [...]

It’s almost graduation season in America, with college and university students preparing to finally, finally, step out into the world to obtain that much anticipated (and slightly [...]

When Erik and Emily Orton sailed their boat up the Hudson River, there was no one to greet them. It was late, and no fanfare or celebration [...]

To celebrate the 100th episode of the Disrupt Yourself Podcast, we're disrupting our format a bit. In Episode 80 we gave you a preview of an online [...]

Ilana Golan is someone who goes first. She was the first female commander in the Israeli Air Force F-16 simulator, and that experience set her up for [...]

While growing up in a small farm town in Maine, Melissa Smith had the opportunity to try lots of different things. She drove the flatbed to collect [...]

Dan Shapero’s team was a rocket ship. When he stepped in as leader of LinkedIn’s recruiting business, annual revenue was around $40 million. By 2014, it was [...]

The launch point of a learning curve can feel like a slog. There is so much to learn, and just keeping your head above water requires tremendous [...]

I have shared on here before that I am a recovering perfectionist when it comes to my podcasts, and I have yet another confession: sometimes I make [...]

Subscribe on iTunes Subscribe on Stitcher Subscribe on Spotify Subscribe on Google Play When we’re feeling stagnant or trapped in our job, jumping [...]

“Disruption,” as a word, has always had an explosive sound to me. Disruption causes your world to shift and change—an earthquake in the making. However, every once [...]

Israel and Palestine. Northern Ireland. Colombia. Libya. These are more than just countries to Donna Hicks. Notorious for their political upheaval and turmoil, within their borders, Donna [...]

On the podcast today I am pleased to introduce Asheesh Advani, the CEO of Junior Achievement. Junior Achievement (or JA) is an organization that provides children and [...]

I have a confession:  I am a recovering perfectionist. Up until very recently I have been completely unable to listen to a single “Disrupt Yourself” podcast. I [...]

Keith Krach collects people. It’s not that he’s a comic book villain, mind you—Keith simply has a knack for finding people, discovering what they’re interested in, and [...]

Thinking about the competition often keeps business owners up at night. Will someone else find a way to copy your product? Will they lure customers away? Will [...]

When President Kennedy announced in 1961 that he wanted to put a man on the moon by the end of the decade, it was a longshot. Some believed [...]

When his eight-year-old son asked Dave Hollis what his biggest fear was, no doubt he anticipated an answer along the lines of “tarantula” or “scorpions.” Instead, he [...]

As I say at the beginning of every episode, I think, write, speak, and live all things disruption. I take this responsibility very seriously, so while each [...]

Diane Dietz would have happily spent her career working in marketing at Proctor & Gamble, but as we all know, life can be unpredictable. When she found [...]

When Saul Kaplan produced his carefully compiled spreadsheet of how he planned to host a two day summit on innovation, the last thing he expected his friend to [...]

Being the host of a podcast, I’ve had my share of great conversations, but I’ve also had some that were…not. Whether the blame should be placed on [...]

As children, we are taught to say “please” and “thank you,” but oftentimes, as adults, these habits are not reinforced in the workplace. We are not asked [...]

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My guest today is Shawn Askinosie, the founder and CEO of Askinosie Chocolate and author of the number one Amazon best selling book, Meaningful Work: The Quest [...]

This year on the Disrupt Yourself Podcast we have had musicians, writers, CEOs, entrepreneurs, and even a mountain climber as guests on the show, but I must [...]

My guest today is Beth Comstock, former vice-chair of GE, a member of the Board at Nike, and author of the new book Imagine It Forward, a [...]

When David Blake asks people about their education, 99 times out of 100 they tell him where they went to college. Culturally, this is what is expected—an [...]

My guest today is Karla Ballard, the CEO and co-founder of YING, a peer-to-peer skill sharing platform that allows you to trade time rather than money for [...]

For most graduates, a steady job is a dream come true (bonus points if it comes with good pay). When Shachar Orren completed her two-year mandatory service [...]

My guest today is Harold O’Neal, a Tanzanian-born American pianist, film score composer, and record producer who has worked with the likes of U2, Jay-Z and Disney. I [...]

My guest today is Tiffani Bova, speaker, author, thought-leader, and Growth and Innovation Evangelist at Salesforce. Her book, Growth IQ: Get Smarter About the Choices That Will [...]

In today's episode, we will be discussing just one of the seven points of personal disruption: embracing constraints. All too often we find ourselves saying, "If only [...]

Benjamin Spall keeps his phone in the kitchen at night. As co-author of the book My Morning Routine: How Successful People Start Every Day Inspired, and mymorningroutine.com, Benjamin [...]

Peter Bregman has never met a ski slope he didn’t like. While his weekdays may be filled with writing and speaking engagements, this CEO advisor openly admits [...]

If Caroline Webb looks a little tired or stressed, there is a good chance that someone will eventually turn to her and ask (with their tongue in [...]

My guest today is Carine Clark, CEO of Banyan, a company that helps medical practices engage with their patients. A three-time CEO, she's been awarded the Ernst [...]

My guest today is Philip Sheppard, composer, cellist, inventor, and a professor at the Royal Academy of Music in London. How do I unpack everything from this [...]

As I say at the beginning of every episode, I think, write, speak and live all things disruption. In that spirit, the next two months of the show [...]

Today’s guest is Zach Obront, co-founder of Scribe (formerly Book in a Box), a company that helps entrepreneurs and innovators turn their ideas into a book. When [...]

Today is a minor disruption of our “Disrupt Yourself” formula—instead of one fascinating guest, we have two! We are pleased to welcome Nate and Vanessa Quigley, the [...]

When Sloane Davidson graduated from college, there was a plan. Having just completed a post-college trek around Europe, Sloane was excited to leave Pittsburgh and start her new [...]

My guest today is Chester Elton, the New York Times bestselling co-author of The Carrot Principle, which has sold over 1.5 million copies to date. He has been [...]

My guest today is Laura Vanderkam, an expert on time management who's 2016 TED Talk "How to Gain Control of Your Free Time" has been viewed over 5 [...]

Takeaways from this episode: -Always serve first. When you serve others and help them they’re going to look for ways to repay you (often in ways other than [...]

Our guest today is June Cohen, a pioneer in the web industry for her work at HotWired (the web division of Wired magazine), author of “The Unusually Useful [...]

In 1988, college student Jonathan Bush climbed on top of a pile of wooden slats in the middle of an unfinished housing development and looked out over a [...]

A silly little thing that takes over the world—to me, this is the simplest definition of a disruptor. My guest today is Becky Douglas, and her “silly little [...]

My guest today is Carter Cast, former CEO of Walmart.com, professor of management at Northwestern’s Kellogg School of Business, and the author of The Right—and Wrong—Stuff: How Brilliant Careers [...]

Disrupting yourself is a way of life around here, so it’s only natural that it is my turn to be disrupted. Today is Launch Day for my new [...]

Today’s guest is Tom Peters, best-selling author of the groundbreaking book In Search of Excellence, which changed the way the world viewed the connection between corporate culture and [...]

My guest today is David Meltzer, entrepreneur, speaker, author, and CEO of Sports 1 Marketing. His personal objective in life is to “make a lot of money, help [...]

My guest today is Marisa Thalberg, Chief Marketing Officer of Taco Bell, founder of ExecutiveMoms.com, and listed as one of the top 25 Most Influential CMOs in the [...]

Nick Gray thought museums were boring. As a business-minded individual, he couldn’t understand why anyone would be fascinated by the contents and just wanted the physically (and emotionally) [...]

Today’s guest is Alison Levine, a former investment advisor-turned-mountain climber who has climbed the highest mountains on every continent. She’s the author of the NY Times bestselling book [...]

Today’s guest is Eric Ries, author of The Lean Startup, a book that has sold over a million copies. He’s also the author of The Startup Way, a [...]

My guest today is Patty McCord, former Chief Human Resources Officer at Netflix, author of the unabashedly bold book, “Powerful,” and a rocket ship of a disrupter. [...]

Takeaways: Environment influences behavior, so if you have a behavior you want to change then you need to create an environment where the change can occur. For example, [...]

Some Takeaways from Today's Episode: Some of the greatest innovators in history had ideas that were considered “stupid” because they were outside of the generally perceived realm of [...]

Kare Anderson is a powerful public speaker—a surprising accomplishment for someone who grew up with a stutter. I can personally attest to this power, as a year and [...]

Focus. And be lazy. Seemingly incongruous, these two ideas permeate Michael Bungay Stanier’s disruption of the professional coaching model.  Michael is the founder of Box of Crayons, a [...]

Sometimes the story is so good that I can’t resist a second helping. This podcast is the second time that I’ve interviewed Karen S. Carter, a well-respected motivator [...]

Vala Afshar, my guest on the Disrupt Yourself podcast, is here to answer the burning question: What is a Chief Digital Evangelist? For starters, that’s the role Vala [...]

Experiment. Disruption. Grab bag. The current episode of the Disrupt Yourself podcast is all three. For the first time, I am hosting a podcast interview with myself—so to [...]

Big Takeaways from this Episode: Timing is an art and a science. The passage of time and timing of some events in our lives can feel chaotic [...]

Everybody knows I’m an advocate for the step back to grow. That’s the counterintuitive career move we make that opens up future opportunity rather than providing immediate gains [...]

Some people seem to have points A to Z figured out straight out of the gate—from college to grad school to how they want to start their career [...]

It's almost time to bid another year farewell. A time to look forward toward more opportunities to disrupt and a time to look back at the trajectory of [...]

Maureen Chiquet, Former CEO, Chanel and now a speaker and author of Beyond the Label: Women, Leadership and Success on Our Own Terms, is my guest on the [...]

Donald Miller, CEO of StoryBrand and author of the new book Building a StoryBrand: Clarify Your Message So Customers Will Listen is my guest on the latest episode [...]

Privilege. What is it really, who has it and who does not? This was a subject I explored with Disrupt Yourself Podcast guest Luvvie Ajayi. Ajayi is a [...]

Scott Pulsipher, my guest on the Disrupt Yourself Podcast, is the President of Western Governors University, a fully online institution of higher learning established 20 years ago [...]

Something I occasionally do on the Disrupt Yourself Podcast is challenge my guest to do something they’ve been thinking about, dreaming about, but haven’t yet made time [...]

Susan McPherson, like all the guests on my Disrupt Yourself Podcast, has a story to share of personal disruption. But in addition to her professional and career journey, [...]

Walter O’Brien, famous for being a genius and for Scorpion Computer Services and for Scorpion, the television series, has a new business: ConciergeUp.com. It’s not as famous as [...]

“I’ve climbed Mt. Whitney multiple times and sometimes you go for 10, 15 hours without seeing another person, so it’s nice to come across someone in the journey.” [...]

Karen Walrond is an accomplished photographer, blogger, author, speaker and, in a previous life, successful corporate attorney working in the world of oil and gas. Really. Today, she [...]

Our limits are rarely what we think they are. And seldom what others tell us they are. Alden Mills is my guest on the Disrupt Yourself Podcast, a [...]

Some of my followers on different media platforms asked that I consider recording a live coaching session, and air it on the Disrupt Yourself Podcast. I was intrigued [...]

One of the most delightful statements that has emerged in my Disrupt Yourself Podcast interviews thus far came from Lee Caraher, guest on episode 24: “I started my [...]

My guest on the Disrupt Yourself Podcast is Lolly Daskal, a top-notch executive coach to Fortune 500 CEOs and the like, business strategist and author of the newly [...]

One of the seven accelerants of personal disruption that I have elaborated in my work is the ‘step back to grow.’ Avoiding stagnation, battling entitlement or simply positioning [...]

Patrick McGinnis—venture capitalist and author of The 10% Entrepreneur—is my guest on the Disrupt Yourself Podcast, Episode 21 . He’s on a mission to ensure that anyone who [...]

In an age of constant invention, it amazes me that people still say, “If it could’ve been done, it would’ve been done.” But that’s what Kara Goldin heard [...]

I’ve recently been emphasizing the importance of mentors—and the reciprocal imperative to recognize and appreciate these people and the tremendous asset they are to us. Adda Birnir is [...]

When I was in college, a speaker at the university’s weekly forum addressed the subject of leadership versus management. He referred to the shift from the former to [...]

Give yourself (or your favorite mom) a Mother’s Day gift — episode 17 of the Disrupt Yourself Podcast! My guest is Chrysula Winegar, Senior Director for Communications and Special [...]

Paula Froelich is the go-to guru of world travel, especially for women who may want/need to travel solo. The former editor-in-chief of Yahoo Travel and headliner of the [...]

Asi Burak is CEO, Power Play; and Chairman, Games for Change. He has also been named one of the “Digital 25: Leaders in Emerging Entertainment” by the Producers [...]

How do you sell two million copies of your book? You write a disruptive book, one with a revolutionary thesis that talks about a topic no one else is talking [...]

My guest on episode 13 of the Disrupt Yourself Podcast, Garry Ridge, CEO of WD-40 Company, is a leaders’ leader; not only the kind of boss we all wish we [...]

My guest on Episode 12 of the Disrupt Yourself Podcast is Marco Rosamilia. Together with his brother, Anthony, Marco is the founder, owner and operator of I Fly Trapeze, a [...]

Once upon a time, a newspaper was a newspaper was a newspaper. News was gathered, organized, edited and printed. The finished product was then sold—daily, weekly, occasionally monthly—at bookstores and [...]

The former CFO of Google, Patrick Pichette, is my guest on the 10th episode of the Disrupt Yourself Podcast. I think you’ll find, as I did, that Patrick has valuable [...]

Stacy London, television fashion guru and bestselling author, is my guest on Episode 9 of the Disrupt Yourself Podcast. Early in her career she spent four years at Mademoiselle magazine. [...]

Bernie Swain, Chairman and Founder of Washington Speakers Bureau, is my guest on episode 8 of the Disrupt Yourself Podcast. He is a little older than my previous [...]

Find ONE thing you love to do–and do it! That's the secret to a successful career. But what if you can't decide? […]

What do you do when you fail and fail again? […]

Coss Marte is the founder of ConBody, a gym headquartered in NYC. […]

Isha Johansen, hero of the Disrupt Yourself podcast’s fourth episode, knows well the power of constraints. She's a native of Sierra Leone. After a civil war that shattered her country, [...]

Brian Moran is a business consultant who has the gift of learning from failure. Here's one of the most interesting insights from our conversation–Brian has learned the ‘right’ way [...]

Raju Narisetti immigrated from India as a young man. He had little more than the clothes on his back. He subsequently rose to become the Managing Editor of The Washington Post, [...]

I’m thrilled to announce the debut of the Disrupt Yourself Podcast, a project I’ve been disrupting myself with these past few months. Our first episode features a conversation with the [...]