Productive Flourishing Podcast

Topics We Explored:

* Mo Bunnell’s new book Give to Grow and why it makes sense to focus on relationships and a giving mindset as the foundation for long-term business success.

* How to define business development and distinguish it from pure sales, as well as the importance of strategic helpfulness in developing a business or career.

* The logic behind providing value upfront through small projects or advice to build trust and incre...

Note to the reader: Team Habits, my most recent book, was released one year ago this week. You might also be aware of Productive Flourishing’s sister publication, Better Team Habits, a spin-off of the book.

We’ve had incredible moments over on BTH in the past year. For those not subscribed to both publications I’d like to celebrate the book’s anniversary by sharing with you a singular podcast episode I sat down to do with my friend...

Earlier this month Leadership Beyond Borders re-released an episode I did with them a while back, alongside host Kimberli J. Lewis. The conversation centered on how team habits apply in international, remote, and diverse organizations, and to change management. We discussed the need for clear communication as a team habit, with specific channels and protocols, especially on remote and geographically dispersed teams — as well as how...

I had the pleasure of joining forces recently with Andy Kaufman, current host of The People and Projects Podcast, to discuss team habits — specifically, the high cost of ignoring them — and how and why team habits ultimately shape team culture and performance.

Our conversation touched on a variety of generative topics, including offering some practical approaches to: 

* enhancing team dynamics

* instilling a sense of belonging

* imp...

Gary Bertwistle (of Mojo Sessions fame) and I had this meeting of minds back in February — truly jamming together over substantial territory: from the need to acknowledge change and challenges in the modern workplace, to building trust and autonomy in teams, and techniques for aligning habits, communication, and belonging. I hope you’ll get as much out of it as I did. 

Topics We Explored: 

* The need for trust, personal responsibilit...

Many of us would likely agree on the fact that the dominant, central power structures that make up our system need some reform. That goes for institutions large and small, whether we’re talking about a particular startup company or the global economy.

But what is change supposed to look like, and how does it come about?

If I could offer one of the basic tenets from Team Habits, it’s that we start the change process by first shifting ...

Key Takeaways:

[3:24] Charlie’s background and why he decided to become an entrepreneur.

[9:16] It typically takes 18 months to 36 months just to figure out what you're doing as an entrepreneur.

[13:13] Mark talks about his career journey from going to film school to going to a corporate company at a franchise company making videos. There, he started to look at which projects he enjoyed the most and which ones had the highest profit m...

Key Takeaways:

[2:57] Ruby and Eric discuss some of the unique delights and challenges of being part of a writing trio.

[7:45] What is the bridge between this book and Morag’s book Cultivate: The Power of Winning Relationship?

[8:05] What are the intentional choices you can make to build ally relationships?

[12:44] Ruby and Eric break down the five components of an ally mindset:

• abundance and generosity
• connection and compassion
• coura...

Key Takeaways:

[6:20] We are in a media environment that is saturated with messages about how much more we could be doing.

[7:27] Charlie, Jenny, and Tara define capacity and what that means to them.

[10:51] What are some of the things that can make working in a team overwhelming?

[14:17] When our world gets too big, we tend to get disengagement and boredom.

[15:38] The difference between rigidity and rigor in goal setting.

[17:09] Why i...

Key Takeaways:

[3:13] Jennifer discusses finding her voice in the workplace equality movement as a professional, a member of the LGBTQ+ community, and someone who recognizes their privilege.

[5:25] Jennifer talks about carrying the LGBTQ identity as a source of challenge, and using it as a vehicle to transform her own leadership.

[12:22] When getting leaders and insiders to enact lasting change, we need to focus on DEI efforts on the ...

Can magic strike twice? As we learn in this episode, it most certainly can. Charlie welcomes Jadah Sellner, best-selling author, business coach, and the host of the Lead with Love podcast. Jadah shares wisdom from her own experience of going from the “green smoothie girl” to an anti-hustle and pro-sustainable leadership business coach. Jadah talks more about her #shebuilds movement, which helps founders build sustainable businesses...

Key Takeaways:

[4:36] Tara talks about what led her to create the What Works book, a blend of her own personal quest to re-establish her relationship with work and goals, mixed with conversations with people who had all sorts of different relationships to productivity and goals.

[6:08] In the process of Tara’s research for the book, it brought up a deeper conversation of how much culture, family, and upbringing have on our identity, ...

Key Takeaways:

[4:17] Mark talks about the experience of almost dying from a rare form of lymphoma when he was in his 30s, and how it was the introduction to facing the unavoidable work of the friction that comes with life.

[5:32] We must face what is done to us, but we are more than what has been done to us.

[5:41] Mark talks about how the pandemic showed our generation it’s time to learn to choose love over fear, and compassion over...

Key Takeaways:

[4:54] Lisa would consider herself mentally ambidextrous. She likes structure and hard problems but also enjoys free thinking. Both these qualities help her as a storyteller and entrepreneur.

[5:04] Lisa talks about deciding that she wanted more out of early retirement than sitting and eating pancakes all day!

[8:36] As a polymath, you can both be multidisciplinary and singularly focused.

[12:44] Sometimes people put the...

If you’ve ever wanted to do interesting projects with friends and family but traditional business ownership models didn’t feel quite right, this episode is for you. Kate Strathman is an artist, writer, and rebellious spirit. As a multidisciplinary business owner, Kate taps into each of these traits to help others build equitable team structures and dream up alternative business models that may have never previously existed. In this...

This week, New York Times bestselling author and essayist Esmé Wang joins the show. Esmé first talks about growing up with immigrant parents, and how that shaped her ideas of accomplishments and what it meant to succeed as a creative. She details how she went on to go to Yale, became a scientist, and then veered onto the path of writing and how her illness taught her to just “be” instead of always trying to be productive. She shine...

Tara Newman is the Founder and CEO of the Bold Profit Academy and host of the Bold Money Revolution. She joins the show today for a conversation about the importance of remembering why most of us start businesses and seek out entrepreneurship, how common growth strategies can lead to a lack of resiliency, and how service providers can avoid the mindset of selling themselves. This is a great episode for those wanting to make their b...

Steven Kotler is a New York Times bestselling author, an award-winning journalist, and founder and executive director of the Flow Research Collective. He joins the show to talk about how we can access flow and empathy during times of crisis, and how we can learn from the innovation over the pandemic and keep it as we move forward. Steven also talks about the inspiration behind his best-selling thriller, The Devil’s Dictionary.

Key T...

In this episode, Angela is back as we discuss why it’s important for founders, business owners, and entrepreneurs of all kinds to consider a sabbatical or a “slowbatical.” Just as it sounds, a slowbatical is a time to slow down, recover, and recharge from career stresses. As a society, we have reached a critical point where we are no longer just working hard but working towards imminent burnout; burnout that will cost you, your cli...