Great Work Interviews

Michael Hyatt, Get Noticed in a Noisy World

Michael Bungay Stanier — Thu, 26 Jan 2012 03:00:14 PST

Michael Hyatt is a man of many talents. He writes a blog on leadership and he’s chairman of the Thomas Nelson Publishing Company, the largest Christian publishing company in the world. He’s a New York Times bestselling author, a runner and a family man. He has a new book coming out in May called Platform: Get Noticed in a Noisy World, which is the book he wished he could give to every author who had a great idea but didn’t have a platform.

There are 93 things I’d like to talk to Michael about, but we narrow it down and discuss:

The secret to getting attention (and book sales) in our noisy, over-communicated world
How to create a “home base” in cyberspace that you own and control
The ingredients needed to create your distinctive voice as a writer
Some super-practical tips for starting your own successful blog
How to write blog posts while you sleep

Check out Michael’s blog at www.michaelhyatt.com.

Listen to my interview with Michael Hyatt

Jason Womack, Your Best Just Got Better

Michael Bungay Stanier — Thu, 19 Jan 2012 02:00:21 PST

If being more productive, creating a bigger contribution and tapping into a sense of purpose is something that matters to you, then you’re really going to value this conversation with Jason Womack.

Jason is a champion of the psychology of productivity and workplace performance. In his new book Your Best Just Got Better: Work Smarter, Think Bigger, Make More he poses a crucial question – what do you want to be your best at?

Jason and I talk about:

How his first job as an always-busy History and Spanish teacher sparked his interest in productivity
Why it’s not possible to be great at 20 important things a day, and how to get focused
The “stop doing list” and why it’s critical to know what you’re saying no to
The trap of being non-productive in the search for the perfect productivity system

You can contact Jason at WomackCompany.com or on Twitter @JasonWomack.

Listen to my interview with Jason Womack

Cinnie Noble, Conflict Management Coaching

Michael Bungay Stanier — Thu, 05 Jan 2012 02:00:16 PST

I’m terribly excited about this conversation with Cinnie Noble, because she’s a fellow coach from Toronto and a world expert in conflict management coaching. Cinnie’s work as a coach has evolved from her career as a lawyer and a mediator. She combines Alternative Dispute Resolution with new developments in neuroscience, blending them together to do amazing work in conflict management. Her new book is called Conflict Management Coaching: The CINERGY Model.

Cinnie and I talk about:

Our love-hate relationship with getting feedback
How to get out of your fight-of-flight lizard brain when dealing with conflict
Using creative metaphors to help coaching clients work through their anger

Learn more about Cinnie and her book at www.CinergyCoaching.com.

Listen to my interview with Cinnie Noble

Les McKeown, The Synergist

Michael Bungay Stanier — Wed, 14 Dec 2011 02:00:49 PST

What’s your role in the workplace? Are you the visionary, the operator or the processor – and who are you driving crazy by taking on that role?

I’d be happy to talk to Les McKeown anytime, but I’m especially excited to speak with him about his new book, The Synergist: How to Lead Your Team to Predictable Success. Les has started 42 businesses, and now he advises business owners about how to create successful teams and businesses.

In the book, Les shares a behavioral model to understand the three main roles people play in teams (and their personal lives) and how you can create stability and success by understanding those patterns.

We chat about The Synergist and:

How Les’ book and workshop have saved my marriage to my wife/business partner
The three roles in business — the visionary, the operator, and the processor – and the frustrations they encounter working together
Why certain teams will encounter gridlock and the “secret sauce” to move beyond it

You can find info about more about Les and his books at www.predictablesuccess.com.

Listen to my interview with Les McKeown

Eric Klein, 50 Ways to Leave Your Karma

Michael Bungay Stanier — Wed, 07 Dec 2011 02:00:44 PST

Today we’re saying Namaste and welcome to my good friend and member of my mastermind group, Eric Klein. Eric has an eclectic background, bringing his meditation practice into his work with organizations, teaching how to enhance leadership through conscious development. Eric is a talented cartoonist, too, and he has a terrific ebook called 50 Ways to Leave Your Karma that’s full of his cartoons.

During our conversation we talk about:

The purpose of meditation and how it’s just like a video game I played as a kid
Erick’s hesitation about introducing meditation in the corporate setting and how he made the shift to certainty and confidence
How to safely test your crazy new ideas before making a big splash
Practices to get you unstuck in your relationships, thoughts and work

Learn more about Eric at WisdomHeart.org and DharmaConsulting.com.

Listen to my interview with Eric Klein

Dan Roam, Blah Blah Blah

Michael Bungay Stanier — Wed, 30 Nov 2011 02:00:50 PST

Today we’re talking with a true champion of simplicity in our complex organizational lives. Dan Roam was the kid that got in trouble with his teachers because he spent all of his time drawing pictures in class. And 30 years later, he’s the author of the bestseller, The Back of a Napkin about solving problems and selling ideas with pictures.
Dan has recently published a fantastic new book, Blah, Blah, Blah: What to Do When Words Don’t Work. It’s chock full of new insights, tools and models to get to simplicity and transcend the curse of talking too much.

Dan and I discuss:

The hummingbird and the fox: how these feisty animals represent our visual and verbal minds
The 32,000 year history of how we moved from being visual and verbal to almost exclusively verbal
Why it’s impossible to describe a complex situation like the Greek debt crisis in words
And why your organization needs a Chief Simplicity Officer

Visit www.danroam.com to find out more and watch videos for his latest book.

Listen to my interview with Dan Roam

Peter Bregman, 18 Minutes

Michael Bungay Stanier — Wed, 23 Nov 2011 02:00:27 PST

I always say that there are 3 components to doing great work: focus to know what to do, courage to start, and resilience to keep going. So I’m excited to talk to Peter Bregman who offers new tools to help in these areas and create more impact in your life. Peter is the author of 18 Minutes: Find Your Focus, Master Distraction, and Get the Right Things Done.

Peter admits that he’s not a guru from on high. He struggles with managing his time and focus, and the book was born from his personal experiments so that he can look back at the end of the day – and end of his life – and feel that he spent his energy on things that mattered.

We talk about:

Learning how to say no without feeling guilty or breaking anyone’s heart
Choosing 5 areas to focus on each year and using the 6-box to-do list each day
The right amount of time to spend on any 1 project before you’ll lose focus and eat too many chocolate chips

Go to www.peterbregman.com to learn more and download an 18-minute template, the 6-box to-do list, and other resources.

Listen to my interview with Peter Bregman

Al Pittampalli, Read This Before Our Next Meeting

Michael Bungay Stanier — Wed, 16 Nov 2011 02:00:12 PST

Many of us have suffered the tragedy of going to hundreds of meetings that are meandering and pointless, where you can feel your precious life slipping away.
If you’re ready to revitalize meetings, then you need to check out Read This Before our Next Meeting by Al Pittampalli. Al calls himself a “meeting culture warrior” and he believes that the quality of your meetings reflects the quality of the entire organization.

Today Al is here to rescue us from the drudgery of modern meetings and teach us how to run a better meeting. In this interview we discuss:

How bad meetings indicate a fear of making decisions in the organization
Why a meeting is a weapon of mass interruption, and how to gather intelligence without them
Making your meetings move fast to optimize decision making
Pushing back when you get a meeting invite and ruthlessly questioning if you need to be there

Learn more about Al at www.modernmeetingstandard.com.

Listen to my interview with Al Pittampallli.

Todd Henry, Accidental Creative

Michael Bungay Stanier — Wed, 09 Nov 2011 11:37:30 PST

Todd Henry is the creator of the popular business podcast Accidental Creative and the author of the new book The Accidental Creative: How to be Brilliant at a Moment’s Notice. As many of you know, my background is in innovation and creativity, so I’m excited to talk to Todd and find out how to be creative at a moment’s notice.

Todd and I have a conversation about:

Pressure in the workplace to be brilliant and create on demand
Why it’s hard to do work that’s brilliant, quality and sustainable over time
The “FRESH” approach to creative problem solving: focus, relationships, energy, stimuli and hours
The difference between efficiency and effectiveness, and how to stop hovering around your email inbox and have a breakthrough idea
How to break out of “cover band mode” and start creating your own music

Learn more about Todd at www.accidentalcreative.com and www.toddhenry.com.

Listen to my interview with Todd Henry

Aaron Ross, Predictable Revenue

Michael Bungay Stanier — Wed, 02 Nov 2011 08:27:06 PDT

Today, I have the pleasure of talking to a man that has the number 100 million on his mind. His personal mission is to help 100 million people make money through enjoyment by aligning their purpose, values and passions with their work. He’s also the author of the new book, Predictable Revenue: Turn Your Business into a Sales Machine with the $100 Million Best Practices of Salesforce.com.

Aaron is the man behind building the foundation for the success of Salesforce.com. But what’s really interesting is his mix of sales savvy and passion for living a life of meaning and purpose. Aaron and I talk about:

Why he left an ideal job at a venture capital firm and became a corporate refugee
How he created “cold-calling 2.0” to replace the soul-sucking act of cold-calling and doubled the growth at Salesforce
The 3 types of leads: seeds, nets and spears
The trick for getting references directly from CEOs
Finding the sweet spot between authenticity and sales success

Learn more about Aaron at www.predictablerevenue.com and www.uniquegenius.com.