Leaders Get Real

Isaac and Thorald Koren aren’t your typical leadership consultants. Better known as The Brothers Koren, these 2024 People’s Choice Award winners achieved the success they dreamed of, performing alongside global music icons like Coldplay, Pink, Bon Jovi and Rod Stewart. But at the height of their success, they pivoted in response to a greater calling. Now, they’ve shifted their focus to heartfelt work empowering individuals and teams to discover and express their authentic voices. Hear them discuss the “small voices” that inhibit us all and the powerful impact when a leader creates a safe environment for saying “Yes” to the mess of creating and innovating.

Shirzad Chamine is the author of the New York Times bestselling book, Positive Intelligence: Why Only 20% of Teams and Individuals Achieve Their True Potential and How You Can Achieve Yours.  Shirzad is the former CEO of the largest coach training organization in the world, CTI. He has trained faculty at Stanford University and Yale business schools. A preeminent C-suite advisor, Shirzad has coached hundreds of CEOs and their executive teams. His background includes a BA in psychology, an MS in electrical engineering, and an MBA from Stanford. He lives in the San Francisco Bay Area, and his son and daughter are among his greatest joys in life (in fact, he once stepped down as CEO to spend more time with them). He is currently CEO of Positive Intelligence, ranked #567 in the 2023 Inc. 5000 List…a passionate “Culture First” company that believes in creating a better world of work. We often know what we need to do to be effective, but we sabotage ourselves. We must build mental fitness—positive – Positive Intel

Kim Scott is a two-time New York Times bestselling author. In this chat, we talk about her first iconic book, Radical Candor: Be a Kick-Ass Boss Without Losing Your Humanity.  Kim is a former tech executive, leading critical teams with founders at Google, Apple, and YouTube – and, she’s been Coach to CEO’s at Dropbox, Qualtrics, Twitter and more. Sheryl Sandberg, former Facebook COO & author of LeanIn says: “Reading Radical Candor will help you build, lead & inspire teams to do the best work of their lives.” Gain insight on being a leader who cares personally but also challenges directly…and how to create a culture of candor.

Podcast Host Christy Tonge with Guest, Gary Ware. Gary picks his favorite scene that leads to a rousing conversation on this first in a series of leadership lessons from the hit Apple+ series Ted Lasso. Enjoy!

Leading in adversity is a topic Maurice Brewster, CEO of Mosaic Global Transportation, knows all about. As a premier provider to corporate clients in 400 cities, including Johnson & Johnson, Verizon, Google, Facebook and other Silicon Valley giants, Mosaic watched business go from 2000 trips a day to zero in an instant when Covid-19’s Shelter in Place ended all employee shuttles and event transportation overnight. Mosaic was recently featured in a Wall Street Journal article on how businesses are being impacted by the Corona virus. Listen in for an authentic conversation on the topic of leading through uncertainty.

Michael Bungay Stanier is the author of The Coaching Habit, the best-selling coaching book of this century. Written for time-crunched managers, parents or friends who want to be a little more coach-like, it’s about discovering a ”different way of being with people.” His new book is The Advice Trap: Be Humble, Stay Curious, and Change the Way You Lead Forever. In our interview we chat about how to tame your Advice Monster and what it takes to stay curious just a little bit longer in all of our interactions.

Marshall Goldsmith is a world-renowned business educator and coach and leading expert in his field. His distinct ability to get results for top leaders has enabled over 150 CEOs, including the CEO of Ford Motor Company and the President of the World Bank, to achieve impactful change with his coaching. Marshall has authored 39 books, including NYTimes #1 best-sellers, Triggers: Creating Behavior Change That Lasts—Becoming the Person You Want to Be and What Got You Here Won’t Get You There. He has been awarded America's #1 Executive Coach by INC and the World's Most Influential Leadership Thinker by Thinkers 50. In In this episode, Marshall shares how to achieve lasting habit change for becoming the person we aim to be. He’s honest, he’s upbeat, and he’s deeply insightful.

Dolly Chugh delivered one of the 25 Most Popular TED Talks of 2018 for good reason. Author of the acclaimed The Person You Mean to Be: How Good People Fight Bias, she’s also an award-winning, tenured professor at the New York University Stern School of Business where she studies the psychology of good people and teaches MBA courses in leadership, management, and negotiations. Dolly has been named one of the Top 100 Most Influential People in Business Ethics (along with Pope Francis, Angelina Jolie, and Bill Gates) by Ethisphere Magazine. Prior to joining the NYU faculty, Dolly worked at Morgan Stanley, Time Inc., Scholastic, and Merrill Lynch. Dolly has degrees from Cornell University (B.A.) and Harvard University (M.B.A., Ph.D.)

Long-time friend, a former colleague and best-selling author Steve Farber joins me as a Guest on LeadersGetReal.  His fourth book, Love is Just Damn Good Business, will be released on September 6th. Steve has been named one of Inc’s global Top 50 Leadership and Management Experts. He’s currently an Inc.com  columnist as well as a sought-after speaker who was named Huffington Post’s #1 business speaker to listen to for 2017.   Steve is also the author of Greater Than Yourself and The Radical Leap: A Personal Lesson in Extreme Leadership, which received Fast Company’s Readers’ Choice Award and was recently named one of the 100 Best Business Books of All Time.  Steve brings a rare blend of refreshing humor and compelling thought leadership. In our chat, Steve shares stories, examples, and insights about love as a hard-core business principle.

"There's no greater recommendation than when an author tells you to read someone else's book." When Guy Kawasaki, author of 15 books, said this in our Podcast chat, the idea bubbled up for an episode with great authors sharing what they have found to be great reads. From these compelling interviews with best-selling authors Liz Wiseman, Chip Conley, Doly Chugh and Guy himself, you'll fill your reading list with stellar books -- from must-read classics to fresh new releases. What leadership books do you think they suggested? And what are your leadership favorites?

New York Times bestselling author Chip Conley is a rare entrepreneur who has disrupted his favorite industry...twice. At age 26, as founder of Joie de Vivre Hospitality, he took an inner city motel and turned it into the 2nd largest boutique hotel brand in America. Inspired by the work of famed psychologists Maslow and Frankl, Chip’s books, PEAK and Emotional Equations, share his theories on transformation and meaning in business and life. His new book, Wisdom @ Work was inspired by his post-50-year-old experiences as both a mentor and unexpected intern at Airbnb.  In this interview you’ll hear the humbling experience of this business icon when joining Airbnb with an average employee age half his own in a sector where his industry knowledge was golden but his tech knowledge was almost nil. In the process he made some amazing discoveries about the advantages of a multi-generational workforce, the importance of cultivating a beginner’s mind, and the power of curiosity.

Ebony Beckwith shared her favorite quote by Salesforce CEO Marc Benioff in our interview: “The business of business is to improve the state of the world."No doubt Ebony shares that passionate belief as Chief Philanthropy Officer for Salesforce where she leads a 40 person team responsible for engaging more than 36,000 employees in community service, as well as administering millions of dollars in grants to improve communities around the world. Ebony has been recognized as one of San Francisco Business Times’ Most Influential Women in Bay Area Business. Ebony and her team have achieved meaningful results with their work locally and internationally in education and workforce development. In this episode, we discuss authentic leadership, ingredients of a high engagement culture, and the power of corporations investing in their communities.

Guy Kawasaki is a Silicon Valley icon who first became known as Apple’s Chief Evangelist, launching the MacIntosh with epic success in Apple’s early days. From there he published many game-changing books: Selling the Dream, The Art of the Start, Rules for Revolutionaries, and more. His rich and varied career includes start-ups, venture capital, Garage.com, Advisor to Google, and now, a return to his role of Chief Evangelist with Canva, an innovative company aiming to democratize design the same way the Macintosh democratized computers. In our chat, we discuss Guy’s 15th book coming out soon, Wise Guy: Lessons from a Life, a Chicken Soup for the Soul, (or as he says, “Miso Soup for the Soul”) kind of book, full of stories: the ups and downs of working with Steve Jobs, becoming Brand Ambassador for Mercedes-Benz, reflecting on his family’s immigrant experience, adopting 2 kids from Guatemala, learning to surf at 62, and more. You’ll enjoy this lively interview, filled with wisecracking humor and laughs, as we

Guy Kawasaki is a Silicon Valley icon who first became known as Apple’s Chief Evangelist, launching the MacIntosh with epic success in Apple’s early days. From there he published many game-changing books: Selling the Dream, The Art of the Start, Rules for Revolutionaries, and more. His rich and varied career includes start-ups, venture capital, Garage.com, Advisor to Google, and now, a return to his role of Chief Evangelist with Canva, an innovative company aiming to democratize design the same way the Macintosh democratized computers. In our chat, we discuss Guy’s 15th book coming out soon, Wise Guy: Lessons from a Life, a Chicken Soup for the Soul, (or as he says, “Miso Soup for the Soul”) kind of book, full of stories: the ups and downs of working with Steve Jobs, becoming Brand Ambassador for Mercedes-Benz, reflecting on his family’s immigrant experience, adopting 2 kids from Guatemala, learning to surf at 62, and more. You’ll enjoy this lively interview, filled with wisecracking humor and laughs, as we

Guy Kawasaki is a Silicon Valley icon who first became known as Apple’s Chief Evangelist, launching the MacIntosh with epic success in Apple’s early days. From there he published many game-changing books: Selling the Dream, The Art of the Start, Rules for Revolutionaries, and more. His rich and varied career includes start-ups, venture capital, Garage.com, Advisor to Google, and now, a return to his role of Chief Evangelist with Canva, an innovative company aiming to democratize design the same way the Macintosh democratized computers. In our chat, we discuss Guy’s 15th book coming out soon, Wise Guy: Lessons from a Life, a Chicken Soup for the Soul, (or as he says, “Miso Soup for the Soul”) kind of book, full of stories: the ups and downs of working with Steve Jobs, becoming Brand Ambassador for Mercedes-Benz, reflecting on his family’s immigrant experience, adopting 2 kids from Guatemala, learning to surf at 62, and more. You’ll enjoy this lively interview, filled with wisecracking humor and laughs, as we

Guy Kawasaki is a Silicon Valley icon who first became known as Apple’s Chief Evangelist, launching the MacIntosh with epic success in Apple’s early days. From there he published many game-changing books: Selling the Dream, The Art of the Start, Rules for Revolutionaries, and more.  His rich and varied career includes start-ups, venture capital, Garage.com, Advisor to Google, and now, a return to his role of Chief Evangelist with Canva, an innovative company aiming to democratize design the same way the Macintosh democratized computers. In our chat, we discuss Guy’s 15th book coming out soon, Wise Guy: Lessons from a Life, a Chicken Soup for the Soul, (or as he says, “Miso Soup for the Soul”) kind of book, full of stories: the ups and downs of working with Steve Jobs, becoming Brand Ambassador for Mercedes-Benz, reflecting on his family’s immigrant experience, adopting 2 kids from Guatemala,  learning to surf at 62, and more. You’ll enjoy this lively interview, filled with wisecracking humor and laughs, as

Do you have a personal improvement goal or a change you want to make at work that has proven resistant to your sincerest intentions, smartest plans, and best efforts? Discover a path to personal breakthrough from this Interview with Harvard faculty and 3-time author, Lisa Lahey, revealing deceptively simple insights from Immunity to Change: How to Overcome it and Unlock the Potential in Yourself and Your Organization.  When Oprah Winfrey listed the Top Ten Things You Should Do to Start the New Year Right, number ONE on the list was, “Try the Immunity-to-Change approach." This ground-breaking, award-winning approach has helped tens of thousands of people make lasting changes at work and in their private lives.

Justin Bariso is the author of the best selling book, EQ Applied, and one of Inc.com's most popular columnists. His thoughts on leadership, management, and emotional intelligence have been featured by TIME, CNBC, and Forbes. He has been recognized repeatedly by LinkedIn as a “Top Voice” in Management and Workplace Culture. In this age of instant communication, constant distractions, and major conflict, a high emotional intelligence quotient, or EQ, is more important than ever. But what exactly is emotional intelligence? And what does it look like in real life and leadership? In this interview, Justin shows us with current examples of leaders you know, personal experiences and practical ideas to grow your own EQ.