A Productive Conversation

Latest Episodes:

Loretta Breuning talks about Status Games May 11, 2022

Show notes

My book, Productiveness, is now available. It's about the difference between doing more and doing what matters, and how we lost the ability to tell them apart. I'll send the release date the day it's set. Visit https://mikevardy.com/productiveness to learn more and get your copy today.

It’s been nearly 6 years since I first had the pleasure of speaking with Loretta Breuning. This episode has been months in the making and I’m happy to have her back to chat about her book Status Games: Why We Play and How to Stop.

Loretta is a Professor Emerita of Management at California State University and the author of many personal development books including Habits of a Happy Brain: Retrain Your Brain to Boost Your Serotonin, Dopamine, Oxytocin, and Endorphin Levels and the aforementioned Status Games: Why We Play and How to Stop. She's the founder of the Inner Mammal Institute and has helped thousands of people make peace with their inner mammal.

During our conversation, Loretta and I talked about the role happy brain chemicals play in your status and the biology behind it. We discussed the importance of stimulating your serotonin to achieve your highest productivity levels in life and in the workplace and about wiring in new choices towards your best step confidently and navigating a healthy serotonin mindset.

Loretta brings an interesting comparison of human and animal behaviour and how we can train our brains to boost these happy chemicals.

It is a pleasure having her on the show once again. I hope you enjoy our latest conversation. I know I did.

Links Worth Exploring

Connect with Loretta: Website | Twitter | Facebook | LinkedIn | Instagram
Loretta's Book: Status Games: Why We Play and How to Stop
Related Conversation: Episode 59: The Habits of a Happy Brain with Loretta Breuning
Related Blog Post: Generally Helpful Tips

Thanks to all of the sponsors of this episode. You can find all of the sponsors you heard me mention on this episode on our Podcast Sponsors page.

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Marshall Goldsmith talks about The Earned Life May 04, 2022

Show notes

This is a conversation I've been wanting to have for years.

Marshall Goldsmith is someone I've been following ever since I got into the productivity space. His book "Triggers: Creating Behavior That Lasts - Becoming the Person You Want to Be" was especially formative for me and my work. So when I was asked if I'd like to speak with Marshall about his book "The Earned Life: Lose Regret, Choose Fulfillment" I jumped at the opportunity.

He is the only two-time winner of the Thinkers 50 Award for #1 Leadership Thinker in the World. He has been ranked as the #1 Executive Coach in the World, a Top Ten Business Thinker for the past eight years, and the inaugural winner of the Lifetime Award for Leadership by the Harvard Institute of Coaching. Dr. Goldsmith is the author or editor of 43 books, including many New York Times bestsellers (one that hit at #1), that have sold over 2.5 million copies, translated into 32 languages, and been listed bestsellers in 12 countries.

(Oh... and his books, "What Got You Here Won’t Get You There" and the aforementioned "Triggers" have been recognized by Amazon as two of the Top 100 Leadership & Success Books Ever Written.)

Marshall and I talked about what it mens to have a life that is earned, what he means when discussing the "satisfied" mind, the role willpower plays in your life, and how you can live "the earned life" starting today.

I had an absolute blast speaking with Marshall and I trust you'll hear my enthusiasm throughout our conversation. I trust you'll get a lot out of the conversation, too.

Links Worth Exploring

Connect with Marshall: Website | Twitter | Facebook | Youtube
Marshall's Book: The Earned Life: Lose Regret, Choose Fulfillment
Recommended by Marshall: The Checklist Manifesto: How to Get Things Right
Watch this film: American Underdog
Related Conversation: Episode 203: The Evolution of Getting Things Done with David Allen
Related Blog Post: The Power of Bit by Bit Productivity

Thanks to all of the sponsors of this episode. You can find all of the sponsors you heard me mention on this episode on our Podcast Sponsors page.

Want to support the podcast? Beyond checking out our sponsors, you can subscribe to the show wherever you listen to podcasts. Click on any of the links below to make that happen.

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Daniel Coyle talks about The Culture Playbook Apr 27, 2022

Show notes

When I was given the opportunity to speak with Daniel Coyle for A Productive Conversation, I jumped at the opportunity. He is the New York Times bestselling author of The Culture Code, The Talent Code, The Little Book of Talent, The Secret Race, Lance Armstrong’s War, and Hardball: A Season in the Projects. Coyle, who works as an advisor to the Cleveland Guardians, lives in Cleveland, Ohio, during the school year and in Homer, Alaska, during the summer with his wife, Jen, and their four children.

During our conversation we talk about where culture comes from, the idea of "belonging cues", the best way for someone to go through The Culture Playbook, and the magic behind the sustainable success of my favourite NBA team.

There are certain fundamentals that go into building a strong and cohesive culture. You'll find those within Daniel's work, including The Culture Playbook. And you'll also find some discussed during this conversation I had with him.

Links Worth Exploring

Connect with Daniel: Website | Twitter | Facebook | LinkedIn
Daniel's Book: The Culture Playbook: 60 Highly Effective Actions to Help Your Group Succeed
The Power of Moments: Why Certain Experiences Have Extraordinary Impact: Get it on Amazon
Winning Time: The Rise of the Lakers Dynasty: Watch it on HBO
Related Conversation: Episode 360: A World Without Email with Cal Newport
Related Blog Post: You Can’t Get Around the Need for a Process

Thanks again for listening to A Productive Conversation. See you later.

Adrienne Smith talks about playing football, giving her all, and giving back to the game Apr 20, 2022

Show notes

I've always wanted to interview a football player for the podcast.

Thanks to Adrienne Smith, I got my chance.

As an athlete, Adrienne has won two gold medals and four national championships in the sport of women’s tackle football. Adrienne has also represented the U.S. in the sport of flag football, having won three silver medals in international competition. Whether on the field or off, Adrienne’s personal mission is to “empire” (empower+inspire) others – a concept she strives to incorporate into all of her endeavors.

As an entrepreneur, Adrienne, an MBA graduate of Columbia Business School, is the co-founder of Harlem Hip-Hop Tours (a company dedicated to edutainment field trips for schools and youth groups), the founder of Gridiron Queendom (an enterprise dedicated to women and girls around the world who play or are fans of American football), and the creator of Blitz Champz (a super fun, football card game that reinforces math skills for children in grades 3-8).

When it comes to media, Adrienne is a multi-hyphenate (writer, actress, and producer) with experience that runs the gamut from producing and hosting a television show in Japan to developing film and television properties for the U.S. market.

During our conversation, Adrienne talks about how she fell in love with football, what a typical day for the very productive Adrienne Smith looks like, how precise she gets with allocating time for her tasks and projects, and how Adrienne keeps her intentions illuminated – including inventing a game that helped her give back to the game of football, Blitz Champz.

There are some great takeaways from our conversation. I hope you enjoy it.

Links Worth Exploring

Connect with Adrienne: Website | Twitter | Instagram
Get Blitz Champz: Click here to get them from Amazon
Listen to Lebron: Right here on Calm
Related Conversation: Episode 241: What Sports Can Teach Us About Greatness with Don Yaeger
Related Blog Post: The Long Game

Thanks to all of the sponsors of this episode. You can find all of the sponsors you heard me mention on this episode on our Podcast Sponsors page.

Want to support the podcast? Beyond checking out our sponsors, you can subscribe to the show wherever you listen to podcasts. Click on any of the links below to make that happen.

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You can also click on this link to paste the podcast feed into your podcast app of choice.

Thanks again for listening to A Productive Conversation. See you later.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Joshua Becker talks about Things That Matter Apr 13, 2022

Show notes

Joshua Becker isn't just one of my favourite people to have a conversation with, he's one of my favourite writers. And his book, Things That Matter: Overcoming Distraction to Pursue a More Meaningful Life, is a book that I needed to read.

I believe it's a book that you need to read as well.

Joshua is The Wall Street Journal best-selling author of The More of Less and The Minimalist Home. He's also behind the site Becoming Minimalist and, as mentioned, is one of my favourite people to hang out with.

We talked about why writing this book was a big deal for Joshua, falling into the trap of chasing the wrong things, and – wait for it – atychiphobia.

Whenever I speak with Joshua, ideas really come to front of mind. You'll hear this coming from me throughout this conversation. Maybe it's that those things matter to me... or maybe I'm auditioning them for that role. Either way, I'm happy that we had a chance to make this conversation happen because it mattered a lot to me to make it happen.

I trust after listening to this episode that you'll understand why.

Show Notes

Connect with Joshua: Website | Twitter | Facebook | Instagram
Joshua's Book: Things That Matter: Overcoming Distraction to Pursue a More Meaningful Life
Check out The Hope Effect: Click here
Related Conversation: Episode 91: The More of Less with Joshua Becker
Related Blog Post: I Think Ivy Lee Was Right

Thanks to all of the sponsors of this episode. You can find all of the sponsors you heard me mention on this episode on our Podcast Sponsors page.

Want to support the podcast? Beyond checking out our sponsors, you can subscribe to the show wherever you listen to podcasts. Click on any of the links below to make that happen.

Spotify | Apple Podcasts | Google Podcasts | Stitcher

You can also click on this link to paste the podcast feed into your podcast app of choice.

Thanks again for listening to A Productive Conversation. See you later.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Cameron Herold talks about being The Second in Command Apr 06, 2022

Show notes

Meetings suck, don't they?

Fellow Canadian Cameron Herold wrote a book with that title. But he knows that they don't have to suck.

During our discussion, Cameron shares with me why meetings don't have to suck and how to keep them becoming something that sucks. We also talked about a variety of other things during our conversation because Cameron has covered a lot through his body of work.

He is the Founder of COO Alliance, a Coach to CEOs and COOs, Keynote Speaker, and author of 5 books. He has coached hundreds of companies in 28 countries, built two 100MM companies, and his Vivid Vision tool is being used globally by thousands of companies.

There's a lot to unpack from our conversation – including the concepts of priority management and situational leadership. I trust you'll enjoy this episode and learn a lot from Cameron. I know I did.

Show Notes

Connect with Cameron: Website | Instagram | Facebook | LinkedIn
Cameron's Books: Visit his Amazon Author Page
Cameron's podcast: The Second in Command Podcast
Cameron's course: Invest in Your Leaders
Visit The COO Alliance: Click here
Related Conversation: Episode 106: Brian Scudamore
Related Blog Post: A Look at Productivity and Workflow “Versioning”

Thanks to all of the sponsors of this episode. You can find all of the sponsors you heard me mention on this episode on our Podcast Sponsors page.

Want to support the podcast? Beyond checking out our sponsors, you can subscribe to the show wherever you listen to podcasts. Click on any of the links below to make that happen.

Spotify | Apple Podcasts | Google Podcasts | Stitcher

You can also click on this link to paste the podcast feed into your podcast app of choice.

Thanks again for listening to A Productive Conversation. See you later.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

A Very Special Episode: Liam Martin talks about Running Remote Apr 04, 2022

Show notes

The way the world works has been changed forever over the past few years. There's no going back to the way things were. It's all about adapting to the evolved world of work – one that involves remote work no matter which way you slice it.

That's why I'm glad to finally have Liam Martin join me on the podcast.

Liam is an avid proponent of remote work and has been published in Forbes, Inc, Mashable, TechCrunch, Fast Company, Wired, and The Wall Street Journal (among many other publications) specifically targeting the expansion of remote work. Liam's products and services are defined by the concept of giving workers the flexibility to work wherever they want, whenever they want.

That's why I believe he's one of the best people in the world to talk about the future of work and the role remote work will play in it.

We talk about many facets of remote work throughout our conversation, including his book on remote work. This is a conversation that is definitely another productive one. I hope you learn a lot from what we discuss... and I hope you're able to join me and Liam at Running Remote (either in person or remotely) in May 2022!

Show Notes

Connect with Liam: Website | Twitter | Facebook | LinkedIn
Liam's Book: Running Remote: Master the Lessons from the World’s Most Successful Remote-Work Pioneers
Join us at Running Remote: Click here (Use code productivityist for 20% off any ticket price)
Related Conversation: Episode 326: The Power of Process with Justin DiRose
Related Blog Post: How to Be Prudent and Productive

Thanks to all of the sponsors of this episode. You can find all of the sponsors you heard me mention on this episode on our Podcast Sponsors page.

Want to support the podcast? Beyond checking out our sponsors, you can subscribe to the show wherever you listen to podcasts. Click on any of the links below to make that happen.

Spotify | Apple Podcasts | Google Podcasts | Stitcher

You can also click on this link to paste the podcast feed into your podcast app of choice.

Thanks again for listening to A Productive Conversation. See you later.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

FROM THE VAULT: Chris Bailey talks about Hyperfocus Mar 30, 2022

Show notes

I've been friends with Chris Bailey for years, dating back to our lunch at a diner in Ottawa when I was in his neck of the woods for a speaking engagement. We've had plenty of chats over the years and they've only become more frequent as the years have progressed. (After all, there aren't many Canadians who have dedicated their life's work to the realm of productivity and time management.)

Chris is the international bestselling author of The Productivity Project and Hyperfocus: How to Be More Productive in a World of Distraction. Chris writes about productivity at alifeofproductivity.com, and speaks to organizations around the globe on how they can become more productive without hating the process.

During this conversation we talk about focus and its effects on productivity, the different types of focus that he has written about, how to get around distraction, and much more.

Over time, our stance on productivity and time management has evolved as well. And while I look forward to having Chris on the podcast again to discuss that in greater detail, this episode offers you a look back into the past to see what we were both thinking about back in August 2019.

Links Worth Exploring

Connect with Chris: Website | Twitter | Instagram
Chris's Book #1: The Productivity Project
Chris's Book #2: Hyperfocus
Chris's Audible Thing: How to Train Your Mind: Exploring the Productivity Benefits of Meditation
Chris's Podcast: Time and Attention
Related Conversation: Related Conversation: Episode 266: Becoming Indistractable with Nir Eyal
Related Blog Post: Focus On The App Within

Thanks to all of the sponsors of this episode. You can find all of the sponsors you heard me mention on this episode on our Podcast Sponsors page.

Want to support the podcast? Beyond checking out our sponsors, you can subscribe to the show wherever you listen to podcasts. Click on any of the links below to make that happen.

Spotify | Apple Podcasts | Google Podcasts | Stitcher

You can also click on this link to paste the podcast feed into your podcast app of choice.

Thanks again for listening to A Productive Conversation. See you later.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Ian Morgan Cron talks about The Story of You Mar 23, 2022

Show notes

I've been interested in the Enneagram for a few years now, mainly because of my fascination with frameworks. And while I've had conversations with a lot of people who know about the Enneagram I had long wanted to talk to someone who knew a lot about it.

That's why I'm delighted to have had this conversation with Ian Morgan Cron.

Ian is a bestselling author, psychotherapist, Enneagram teacher, Episcopal priest, and the host of the wildly popular podcast, "Typology," which has over 17 million downloads. His books include the Enneagram primer The Road Back to You and The Story of You: An Enneagram Journey to Becoming Your True Self.

We talked about how the Enneagram views the concept of passion, how to break free of your "broken" story, and much more in such a short timeframe. Ian also helps me figure out my own Enneagram number – a number that I figured I was but through our conversation was confirmed.

Now that I know how to fix my own broken story, I can avoid getting in my own way when it comes to giving attention to my intentions... and bringing them to life. I believe that after listening to this conversation you will find there's value in using the Enneagram to help you do the same.

Links Worth Exploring

Connect with Ian: Website | Twitter | Facebook | Instagram
Ian's Book: The Story of You
Ian's Podcast: Typology
Ian's Other Book: The Road Back to You
The iEQ9 Assessment: Take It Here
Related Conversation: Episode 190: Reading People with Anne Bogel
Related Blog Post: The Hard Stuff

Thanks to all of the sponsors of this episode. You can find all of the sponsors you heard me mention on this episode on our Podcast Sponsors page.

Want to support the podcast? Beyond checking out our sponsors, you can subscribe to the show wherever you listen to podcasts. Click on any of the links below to make that happen.

Spotify | Apple Podcasts | Google Podcasts | Stitcher

You can also click on this link to paste the podcast feed into your podcast app of choice.

Thanks again for listening to A Productive Conversation. See you later.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

A Very Special Episode: Austin Kleon Returns! Mar 18, 2022

Show notes

"I should have picked up Steal Like an Artist a long time ago."

That was the thought that ran through my mind as I read the 10th anniversary edition of this work by Austin Kleon from cover to cover to prepare for this very special bonus episode of A Productive Conversation.

Austin Kleon is the New York Times bestselling author of Steal Like an Artist, Show Your Work!, The Steal Like an Artist Journal: A Notebook for Creative Kleptomaniacs, and Keep Going. His work has been translated into over twenty languages and featured on NPR’s Morning Edition, PBS NewsHour, and in the New York Times and the Wall Street Journal. New York magazine called his work “brilliant,” the Atlantic called him “positively one of the most interesting people on the Internet,” and the New Yorker said his poems “resurrect the newspaper when everybody else is declaring it dead.” He speaks about creativity in the digital age for organizations such as Pixar, Google, SXSW, TEDx, and the Economist.

I only had a short time to speak with Austin this time around, but we made the most of it. I think you'll agree.

Links Worth Exploring

Connect with Austin: Website | Twitter | Facebook | Instagram
Get the book: Steal Like an Artist (10th Anniversary Edition)
THAT scene in "Get Back": Watch it here
My Last Chat with Austin: Episode 238: How to Keep Going with Austin Kleon
Related Conversation: Episode 407: Rob Walker talks about The Art of Noticing
Related Blog Post: The Smart Ones

Thanks to all of the sponsors of this episode. You can find all of the sponsors you heard me mention on this episode on our Podcast Sponsors page.

Want to support the podcast? Beyond checking out our sponsors, you can subscribe to the show wherever you listen to podcasts. Click on any of the links below to make that happen.

Spotify | Apple Podcasts | Google Podcasts | Stitcher

You can also click on this link to paste the podcast feed into your podcast app of choice.

Thanks again for listening to A Productive Conversation. See you later.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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