Curious Minds at Work

Why do certain products, services, or stories go viral? How can we make our own work contagious? These are questions Wharton Professor, Jonah Berger, answers in his bestselling book, Contagious: Why Things Catch On. In this fascinating interview, he explains his six-part framework and discusses the behaviors that drive us to make certain ideas, products, and services contagious. In this episode you will learn: how to apply these techniques to your own work what made the video for a seemingly humdrum product - a blender - go viral which emotions drive us to share and which ones do not what makes us spread the word for free why you might suffer from the curse of knowledge and how you can avoid it the critical difference between social media and word of mouth Jonah also gives us a peek into his upcoming book on all the ways social influence drives our behavior. Fascinating stuff! Episode Links Beta testing Social psychology STEPPS Framework Hooked: How to Build Habit-forming Products Geico ad for Hump Day Curse of knowledge Trojan Horse Social influence If you enjoyed the podcast, please rate and review it on iTunes. For automatic delivery of new episodes, be sure to subscribe. Thanks for listening!

If you are one of the millions of people who struggle to stick with an exercise program, Michelle Segar has a secret for you: It is not your fault; it is a faulty system. After years of studying the science of motivation, Michelle Segar, Ph.D., Director of SHARP -- the Sport, Health, and Activity research and policy center at the University of Michigan -- has created a framework for rethinking exercise, one that replaces a prescriptive mindset with one more aligned with human behavior and emotion. Filled with practical tips and strategies, Michelle’s bestselling book, No Sweat: How the Simple Science of Motivation Can Bring You a Lifetime of Fitness, is informed by years of putting these findings into practice with people just like you. In this episode you will learn: how to short-circuit the vicious cycle of failure why fitness apps are not enough why willpower is not the answer the science of decision making and reward the power of self-determination theory - initiating behavior because you should versus because you find it meaningful the more moderate recommendations for physical activity - which are known by less than 1 percent of physical activity professionals Episode Links Paulo Freire Dan Ariely Behavioral economics Reward Substitution Self-determination theory No Sweat Resolutions Quiz 2015 USA Best Book Awards If you enjoyed the podcast, please rate and review it on iTunes. For automatic delivery of new episodes, be sure to subscribe. Thanks for listening!

What if the secret to successful innovation lies in asking ambitious questions, the kinds most of us rarely ask? That is exactly what Warren Berger learned in speaking with some of the most recognized, global leaders in innovation. He discovered that they not only ask different kinds of questions, but they apply those questions to problems unsolved and unseen. Along the way, they change the world. He shares these insights, and more, in his bestselling book, A More Beautiful Question: The Power of Inquiry to Spark Breakthrough Ideas. Most importantly, he helps us learn how we, too, can ask these kinds of questions and get started on our own innovative paths. In this episode you will learn: why curiosity is a killer app for success in work, life, and leadership the difference between ordinary and game changing questions the power of problem finding tips for helping us question our assumptions a framework to support innovative inquiry the connection between making, design thinking and powerful inquiry how important it is to create a culture of questioning Warren will share insights from his work with leaders in all kinds of organizations, including schools, and he will talk about his goals for future projects. Episode Links Wired Magazine Why Curious People are Destined for the C-Suite The Right Question Institute If you enjoyed the podcast, please rate and review it on iTunes. For automatic delivery of new episodes, be sure to subscribe. Thanks for listening!

Nobel-prize-winning economist Alvin Roth explores the markets that shape our lives, particularly our work, our health care and our schools. He also explains how key technologies enable companies like Uber, Airbnb, and Google to thrive. His insights extend beyond products, services, and features to include how successful companies attract and hire the most talented employees. Alvin Roth is a Stanford University Professor, and bestselling author of Who Gets What - and Why: The New Economics of Matchmaking and Market Design. In this episode you will learn: how one phone call and a pivotal decision ultimately led to a Nobel Prize the important differences between markets the role of markets when it comes to marriage, loans, and more the role of social support in markets the ways the Internet and mobile technology shape market possibilities the three key factors that influence the success of companies like Airbnb and Uber the ways Smartphones are influencing markets how labor market findings influenced the market designs of today what game theory can teach us about getting into college and getting a job how market designers are applying their skills to the growing global refugee crisis Alvin also shares what got him interested in the economics of market design and the potential this new field holds for helping us rethink what markets are and can do. Episode Links Bob Beran National Resident Matching Program Operations research Roth-Peranson Algorithm Elliott Peranson United Network for Organ Sharing (UNOS) School Choice Programs Black Market Repugnant Markets Lloyd Shapley David Gale The Sveriges Riksbank Prize in Economic Sciences 1962 paper of Lloyd Shapley and David Gale Stable Matching (or Marriage) Problem (SMP) Game Theory Parag A. Pathak Atila Abdulkadiroglu If you enjoyed the podcast, please rate and review it on iTunes. For automatic delivery of new episodes, be sure to subscribe. Thanks for listening!

No one likes uncertainty, yet our success may depend on it. In the bestseller, Nonsense: The Power of Not Knowing, Jamie Holmes argues that uncertainty and ambiguity are invaluable mindsets in an increasingly complex world. In fact, he wants us to rethink our desire for order and closure, so that we can be better leaders, decision makers, and innovators. A recent Future Tense Fellow at New America, Jamie has written for the New York Times, the New Yorker, the Philadelphia Inquirer, CNN, the Huffington Post, POLITICO, the Christian Science Monitor, the New Republic, the Atlantic, Slate, Foreign Policy, and the Daily Beast. In this episode you will learn: the reasons why a high tolerance for uncertainty is so valuable right now the ways we can use uncertainty to avoid bad decisions how our need for closure and order drives so much of what we do the value of uncertainty for innovation and creativity strategies for guarding against negative behaviors associated with certainty when (and how) to hire employees who thrive on uncertainty the kinds of leaders we prefer versus need in times of uncertainty how successful, innovative companies incorporate uncertainty into their business models what this means for educators and learners the real-world disorder and chaos associated with innovation, discovery, and creativity concrete strategies to help students get more comfortable with uncertainty what a renowned golf instructor can teach us about feedback the power of travel and bilingualism for building this capacity the power of reading fiction for helping us strengthen our tolerance for uncertainty Jamie also shares how uncertainty, ambiguity and not knowing make us better leaders and expand our capacity for innovation and creativity. Episode Links Jerome Bruner Leo Postman Travis Proulx Jordan Peterson Arie Kruglanski Need for Closure scale Stalling for Time by Gary Noesner Ambiguity Intolerance Zara Inditex Amancio Ortega Jim Lang Assumption College Brilliant Blunders by Mario Livio Bob Christina Dean Simonton If you enjoyed the podcast, please rate and review it on iTunes. For automatic delivery of new episodes, be sure to subscribe. Thanks for listening!

At 16, Madison Maxey was the youngest to intern at Tommy Hilfiger. Shortly after that, she founded her company, The Crated, a product innovation studio focused on second-generation wearable technology. Then, she went to college, like she was supposed to do. But for Maddy, there was a disconnect between the feelings that she received from her work and sitting in college classes.So after one semester of college, she dropped out to accept a Thiel Fellowship. Since then her work has been featured in Wired, Fast Company, and New York Magazine, and she has provided wearable tech insights to the likes of the White House and Google. She has been named a founder to watch by Women 2.0 and is an Entrepreneur in Residence at General Assembly and an Artist in Residence at Autodesk. This week, in a special edition of Curious Minds, I share interviews with four young people, ages 18-22, each of whom decided either to drop out or never attend college, in order to pursue work that mattered to them. Each is either a current or past recipient of a Thiel Fellowship, a program founded in 2011 by Peter Thiel to encourage young people to sidestep college and a traditional life path, in order to chart their own course as entrepreneurs. In this episode you will hear Madison talk about: innovations in wearable technology what motivated her to learn programming why she dropped out of college after one semester her eagerness to be a Thiel Fellow her passion for costume design and design optimization what her parents thought about her decision to drop out of college her policy of You Do You the importance of finding your tribe how communication skills inform her work her work in relation to the Maker Movement how uncertainty is a natural part of innovation why young people should be working on projects right now how she had to learn the skills of time management her curiosity about teamwork, collaboration, and community in relation to a goal Episode Links Digital Fabrication Textile Circuits General Assembly Autodesk Computational Design 3D CNC Machine Workflows Arduino Enabling Technologies Nathan Wolfe TEDTalk If you enjoyed the podcast, please rate and review it on iTunes. For automatic delivery of new episodes, be sure to subscribe. Thanks for listening!

Alex Koren had never considered dropping out of college. A successful high school student, he headed to Johns Hopkins University and was class president in his first year. Furthermore, that summer, Alex headed to a high-powered summer internship at Intel, seemingly the perfect opportunity for an undergraduate engineering major. Then something happened. While working at Intel, Alex organized a hackathon that led to his first company, Hyv, which focused on solving big problems with data. The engagement and exhilaration that he felt led him to found the company Chrg, with the goal of using everyday outlets and chargers in service of electric vehicles. Not long after that, Alex dropped out of college to accept 2014 Thiel Fellow. This week, in a special edition of Curious Minds, I share interviews with four young people, ages 18-22, each of whom decided either to drop out or never attend college, in order to pursue work that mattered to them. Each is either a current or past recipient of a Thiel Fellowship, a program founded in 2011 by Peter Thiel to encourage young people to sidestep college and a traditional life path, in order to chart their own course as entrepreneurs. In this episode you will hear Alex talk about: what he learned about failure how pursuing work that mattered meant doing something that shocked even him how to create communities for your passions the difference between a life of extrinsic versus intrinsic motivation the importance of living with uncertainty as you pursue your goals the power of surrounding yourself with passionate people our responsibility to make things relevant for ourselves the reasons that we lose our creativity his attraction to what tomorrow holds Episode Links Interroga Omnia If you enjoyed the podcast, please rate and review it on iTunes. For automatic delivery of new episodes, be sure to subscribe. Thanks for listening!

Jihad Kawas started his company, Saily, when he was 16 years old growing up in Lebanon. Now, two years later, after a recent public launch, his app has over 140,000 U.S. users and is gaining over 1,000 new users daily. Jihad is a 2015 Thiel Fellow who never attended college. Along the way, he was awarded a Forbes 30 Under 30 Scholarship, took first place at an MIT Social Innovation Camp, and has been a TEDx Talk speaker. This week, in a special edition of Curious Minds, I share interviews with four young people, ages 18-22, each of whom decided either to drop out or never attend college, in order to pursue work that mattered. Each is either a current or past recipient of a Thiel Fellowship, a program founded in 2011 by Peter Thiel to encourage young people to sidestep college and a traditional life path, in order to chart their own course as entrepreneurs. In this episode you will learn: how building things as a young person led him to where he is today why parents need to let their children build real, meaningful things his beliefs regarding the impact of parents, families, and schools on young people ways even cutting-edge schools have rules and policies that constrain how he viewed school as something to get through in order to pursue his passion the power of having to develop a pitch to persuade and convince the funny way he found out about the Thiel Fellows program what it is like to be an 18-year-old Thiel Fellow and company founder how the success and accomplishments of his peers spur him on how he spends his time about the constant battle he faces with uncertainty and doubt about his advice for young people what he is curious about today Episode Links Project-based Learning Apple Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC) TEDx Talk by Jihad Kawas Silicon Valley TV show If you enjoyed the podcast, please rate and review it on iTunes. For automatic delivery of new episodes, be sure to subscribe. Thanks for listening!

At the age of 16, Charlie Stigler built SelfControl, an app designed to block out online distractions. It has been downloaded by millions. Encouraged by that success, two years later, Charlie founded a successful ed tech company, Zaption, which rethinks the use of video for learning. He did both before the ink was dry on his high school diploma. After graduation, Charlie did what everyone expected him to do. He headed off to college at Columbia University. Two years later, even he was surprised when he decided to drop out and become a Thiel Fellow in 2012. This week, in a special edition of Curious Minds, I share interviews with four young people, ages 18-22, each of whom decided either to drop out or never attend college, in order to pursue work that mattered. Each is either a current or past recipient of a Thiel Fellowship, a program founded in 2011 by Peter Thiel to encourage young people to sidestep college and a traditional life path, in order to chart their own course as entrepreneurs. In this episode you will hear: how the projects that got Charlie into college were the very things he had to give up once he got there ways friends and family responded to his decision to choose a different path what exposure to can-do, will-do entrepreneurs helped him see what we lose when everything is done for us how he learned to decide what structure looked like for him how his real learning was taking place outside of high school and college how high school did not support independent entrepreneurial thinking advice for young people how we delay and support young people in not knowing what they want to do rather than encouraging them to find out and supporting that how technology and artificial intelligence and the rapid pace of change is helping us rethink our shoulds Episode Links Steve Lambert James Stigler If you enjoyed the podcast, please rate and review it on iTunes. For automatic delivery of new episodes, be sure to subscribe. Thanks for listening!

Design thinking and creativity are like muscles: we all have them, but they are more useful when they are strengthened! In this bestselling book Reframe: Shift the Way You Work, Innovate, and Think, Mona Patel gives you the perfect exercises for your design workout, giving you the tools you need to unleash your inner designer. Mona is a regular contributor to Fast Company, Time Magazine, and Forbes, and she is the founder and CEO of Motivate Design. Mona is also an adjunct professor at Parsons School of Design. In this episode, she explains the ways design thinking informs her life and her work, and she shares some of the strategies she uses with friends, family, colleagues, and clients. In addition, you will learn: how to unleash your creativity through design thinking why everyone can be creative creative openers you can use with your teams questions that actually limit our creativity how to push people to create something better without making them feel bad the most important question for designing solutions which assumptions hold us back what it is like to be a woman of color leading a design company the power of a design-centered culture in the workplace If you enjoyed the podcast, please rate and review it on iTunes. For automatic delivery of new episodes, be sure to subscribe. Thanks for listening! Episode Links Four-C Model of Creativity by James Kaufman and Ronald Beghetto TEDx Talk by Mona Patel Ethnography Kodak Excuse Personas White Space Project Greenlight Human-centered Design Woman and Minority Owned Business Maslow Hierarchy of Needs

What happens when you dedicate a year of your life to practicing gratitude? Maybe everything. In this groundbreaking new book, The Gratitude Diaries: How a Year Looking on the Bright Side Can Transform Your Life, Janice Kaplan explains the science behind the power of gratitude. The author of twelve books, including The New York Times bestselling memoir, I will See you Again, Janice was an award-winning producer at ABC-TV Good Morning America, Executive Producer of the TV Guide Television Group, and Editor-in-Chief of Parade Magazine. In this episode, Janice explains the surprising, counterintuitive connection between gratitude and happiness. She also shares simple steps we can take today to increase the amount of gratitude we express and how doing it can change your life. In this episode, you will learn: how a mindset of gratitude gives us control over our own happiness simple steps you can take to express gratitude right now with family and friends the mental and physical health benefits of practicing gratitude the connection between gratitude and experiences over stuff the importance of gratitude at work, and how it can drive purpose and ambition how gratitude gets us beyond the comparison game the differences between intentional and reactive gratitude how gratitude plays an important role in rebounding from life tragedies the power of a gratitude diet how we have so much more control over our happiness than we think If you enjoyed the podcast, please rate and review it on iTunes. For automatic delivery of new episodes, be sure to subscribe. Thanks for listening! Episode Links John Templeton Foundation National Gratitude Survey TSA Habituation Massachusetts General Hospital Tom Gilovich Paul Piff Monopoly game Daniel Gilbert David Steindl Rast

Mick Ebeling is the Founder of Not Impossible Labs, an online crowdsourcing platform that dramatically improves the lives of millions by creating low-cost, open-source, and do-it-yourself devices. For example, through a combination of marking and hacking, Not Impossible Labs developed 150-dollar devices that helped people with ALS communicate with loved ones for the first time in years, as well as prosthetic limbs for Sudanese children for as low as 50 dollars. The philosophy of Not Impossible Labs is to help one to help many, that is, to create a life-changing solution for one person, and then think about how to scale it. He describes these innovations in the bestselling book Not Impossible: The Art and Joy of Doing What Could Not Be Done. Mick was deemed one of the Top 50 Most Creative People in 2014 by Advertising Age. He was also the recipient of the 2014 Muhammad Ali Humanitarian of the Year Award. In this interview, he shares the circumstances that launched Not Impossible Labs and that led to his book. He talks about the people whose problems he committed to solve and the hacking, making and do-it-yourself approaches he and his fellow innovators used to do just that. In this episode, you will learn: how to commit first to achieve the impossible how a 150-dollar EyeWriter helped a renowned artist with ALS draw again how 3D printers revolutionized life for Sudanese youth the importance of making and hacking for solving real-world problems how to empower young people to embrace a Not Impossible mindset how seeking solutions helps us make creative connections Mick also shares several of the new projects his organization has underway, and he talks about ways Not Impossible Labs is bridging the gap between makers and problem solvers. If you enjoyed the podcast, please rate and review it on iTunes. For automatic delivery of new episodes, be sure to subscribe. Thanks for listening! Episode Links Mick Ebeling TED Talk Street Art Tony Tempt One Quan Tempt One Foundation Stephen Hawking Time Magazine Top 25 Inventions MoMA EyeWriter Optical character technology Open source The BrainWriter Cameron Rodriguez ALS or Lou Gehrig Disease Triangulation Consumer EEG Devices Project Daniel Dr. Tom Catena Precipart Richard Van As Gait Trainer

Nir Eyal is the bestselling author of Hooked and a contributing writer for Forbes, TechCrunch, and Psychology Today. An entrepreneur, educator, and speaker, Nir writes about innovations at the intersection of psychology, technology, and business. In this interview, Nir shares the psychology behind why we get hooked by our devices and apps. He talks about how product designers use this knowledge to deliberately build certain features into their products, and he encourages us to use this knowledge to rethink our tech habits. In this episode, you will learn: the psychology that informs our technology habits the four key elements that make a technology product habit-forming the connection between emotion and our habits with tech what makes certain tech products are more sticky than others tips for what to do when tech becomes too addictive how we can use this technology to form good habits Nir also shares how what hooks us with tech can be used to improve the quality of our lives, especially when it comes to physical and mental health and wellness, and how he makes that the focus of his work today. If you enjoyed the podcast, please rate and review it on iTunes. For automatic delivery of new episodes, be sure to subscribe. Thanks for listening! Episode Links 7 Cups of Tea B. F. Skinner Operant Conditioning The IKEA effect Dan Ariely Michael Norton Robert Cialdini Foot in the Door Technique Cognitive Dissonance Marc Andreeson Getting Unhooked by Nir Eyal The Acceleration of Addictiveness by Paul Graham

Wendy Suzuki is a Professor of Neural Science and Psychology at New York University. Wendy is an award-winning teacher and researcher, a TEDx speaker, and the author of the best-selling book Healthy Brain, Happy Life. While we have become more familiar with ways exercise can improve our body, Wendy helps us understand what it can do for our brain. She shares how exercise can improve our memories, our learning abilities, and our creativity. Things you will learn in this episode: how exercise can generate the kinds of brain cells we need the most the potential of exercise to disrupt how we age how to find a life-changing exercise regime what we are learning about mood, focus and attention in relation to exercise what movement can do for creativity and imagination why there is an urgency when it comes to exercise and our brains opportunities for thinking bigger when it comes to this kind of brain research Wendy also shares how her experience with exercise has influenced her teaching and her research focus. Episode Links Marian Diamond Intensati New York University Wendy Suzuki's Research Lab Transistor: A STEM Audio Project podcast If you enjoy the podcast, please rate and review it on iTunes - your ratings make all the difference. For automatic delivery of new episodes, be sure to subscribe. As always, thanks for listening!

Bernie Roth is a Professor of Engineering and the Academic Director and Co-founder of the Hasso Plattner Institute of Design (the d.school) at Stanford University. A leader of international workshops on creativity and design thinking, Bernie is the author of the book, The Achievement Habit: Stop Wishing, Start Doing, and Take Command of Your Life. Bernie talks about what it means to apply design principles to create a life well lived. His focus is on personal transformation and empowerment. Things you will learn in this episode include: the importance of how we see the world the danger of having a reason for doing something how a bias toward action can overcome fear the answer to what is holding us back from learning, changing, and growing how methods for reframing and asking good questions can help us figure out the actual problems we are trying to solve ways to get unstuck how the language we use can empower or disempower us how teams and collaboration help us relate differently to one another and our work the shift of design thinking from object-centered to human-centered the origins and focus of his popular Designer in Society course for the d.school how much physical space influences our mindsets, our relationships, and the ways we work and collaborate Bernie also talks about how his work has changed the way he teaches. He is always striving to find ways to empower his students. As always, thanks for listening! If you enjoyed this episode, please share it using the social media buttons you see at the bottom of the post. Also, please leave a review of the Curious Minds podcast on iTunes. Ratings and reviews are extremely helpful and greatly appreciated! I read every one of them. Please subscribe to the show on iTunes to get automatic updates. Thanks! Episode Links Improv Wisdom by Patricia Ryan Madson Make Space by Scott Doorley and Scott Witthoft Designer in Society course The Human Potential Movement The Iceman Cometh by Eugene O’Neill

David Heinemeier Hansson is the Founder and CTO of Basecamp, best-selling author of Rework and Remote, and creator of the popular web application framework Ruby on Rails. David is rethinking what it means to build a company in the digital age. He and his co-founder rejected the typical startup narrative in favor of a more traditional approach to building a global business. For this reason, Basecamp has the size of a typical startup, the reach of a global firm and the profitability of a mature company. Much of that success stems from a philosophy that puts customers and employees first, focuses on the long term, and prioritizes remote work. You will also learn: how he met his co-founder Jason Fried how a series of blog posts turned into a best-selling book how we may be underestimating the potential of remote workers why most business books probably do not apply to your organization how meetings deter employees from getting work done the lessons of the dot-com crash for building a sustainable company why he advises startup founders to avoid venture funding and working in Silicon Valley how important it is to work for all kinds of bosses, especially bad ones why the best work environment might be one where you are slightly out of your depth how the ancient philosophy of stoicism can inform decisions in the modern world David also talks about the importance of living a good life today rather than some time in the future. As always, thanks for listening! If you enjoyed this episode, please share it using the social media buttons you see at the bottom of the post. Also, please leave a review of the Curious Minds podcast on iTunes. Ratings and reviews are extremely helpful and greatly appreciated! I read every one of them. Please subscribe to the show on iTunes to get automatic updates. Thank you! Episode Links Maverick The 4-Hour Workweek Stoicism

Best-selling author Seth Godin discusses how to reimagine life and work in the post-industrial age. His books include Linchpin, Tribes, The Dip, and Purple Cow. In this interview, Seth talks about the liberating power of committing to a lifetime of projects. He also discusses the challenges involved and ways of overcoming them along the way. Additional topics include: how the resistance prevents us from living how we want to live how seeing helps us innovate and inspire what he and Guy Kawasaki missed when they failed to see how we develop smart intuition ways to choose worthwhile projects when to end a project or simply to walk away and leave a legacy how to make it through the dip when most people quit how the modern economy rewards big problem solvers how committing to a life of problem solving gives our lives meaning how the power of relationships allows us to do amazing things (like speak in London) Seth also talks about the role of curiosity in his life and the big revelation that led him to start rethinking life and work. As always, thanks for listening! If you enjoyed this episode, please share it using the social media buttons you see at the bottom of the post. Also, please leave a review of the Curious Minds podcast on iTunes. Ratings and reviews are extremely helpful and greatly appreciated! I read every one of them. Be sure to subscribe to the show on iTunes to get automatic updates. Episode Links What to Do When It Is Your Turn The War of Art Blog post on Projects Blog post on London Blog post on Learning to See Blog post on Permission Marketing Stop Stealing Dreams