Second City Works presents "Getting to Yes, And"

Latest Episodes:

Getting to Yes, And… | Nick Davis – “From Godspell to Second City to Stardom” Oct 01, 2026

Show notes

Kelly connects with filmmaker and writer Nick Davis. His films include “Once Upon a Time in Queens” about the 1986 New York Mets for ESPN’s 30 for 30 series; he recently won an Emmy Award as Executive Producer of “The Comeback: 2004 Boston Red Sox” for Netflix. His book about his grandfather and great-uncle, “Competing with Idiots: Herman and Joe Makiewicz, A Dual Portrait,” was shortlisted for the LA Times Book Prize as biography of the year in 2021. His newest documentary is called “You Had to Be There,” which looks at the legendary 1972 production of “Godspell” starring Martin Short, Gilda Radner, Eugene Levy, Andrea Martin, and Victor Garber, among others.

https://serve.castfire.com/audio/8710615/8710615_2026-10-01-031715.64kmono.mp3

“It was radical theater to enact Jesus and his disciples in this way.”

“These people all – for the most part – did remain really close friends.”

“I wrote Martin Short a letter, I sent it through to his agents, and he was willing to have lunch with me.”

Getting to Yes, And… | Jeff Cole – ‘Disrupters at the Gate’ Sep 29, 2026

Show notes

Kelly talks to Jeff Cole, founder of the World Internet Project – the longest-running global study of online behavior, spanning 27 years in 35 countries. He now directs the Center for the Digital Future at the USC Annenberg School. He has advised four U.S. presidential administrations, the FCC, Congress, and the Department of Defense, along with global government leaders. He has a new book co-authored with Harlan Lebo – it’s called “Disrupters at the Gate: When Visionaries, Trailblazers, and Two Guys in a Garage Turn the World Upside Down.”

https://serve.castfire.com/audio/8701633/8701633_2026-09-29-041433.64kmono.mp3

“Disruption is innovation, but innovation is not necessarily disruption.”

“Great success often brings complacency and arrogance.”

“The pandemic rewrote the rules about how disruption begins and spreads.”

Second City Works presents “Getting to Yes, And”

Nick Davis – “From Godspell to Second City to Stardom”

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Jeff Cole – ‘Disrupters at the Gate’

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Ron Johnson – The genius who created the Genius Bar

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Roy Schwartz – ‘Simplify’

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Caroline Webb – ‘Leadership Intelligence’

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Getting to Yes, And… | Ron Johnson – The genius who created the Genius Bar Sep 15, 2026

Show notes

Kelly connects with Ron Johnson, best known for creating the Apple Stores, working directly for Steve Jobs while serving as a member of Apple’s executive team. Prior to his time at Apple, Ron was highly regarded for the work he did with Michael Graves to bring good design to all as a merchant leader at Target. Their collaboration set the stage for the brand’s hundreds of later design partnerships and cemented Target as America’s premier upscale discount retailer. He has a new book, “Shop Different: How Retail Revealed Apple’s Genius.”

https://serve.castfire.com/audio/8654240/8654240_2026-09-14-025140.64kmono.mp3

“Make mistakes, then learn from them.”

“The internet has not killed physical retail.”

“Everyone deserved products that made them smile.”

Second City Works presents “Getting to Yes, And”

Nick Davis – “From Godspell to Second City to Stardom”

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Jeff Cole – ‘Disrupters at the Gate’

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Ron Johnson – The genius who created the Genius Bar

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Roy Schwartz – ‘Simplify’

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Caroline Webb – ‘Leadership Intelligence’

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Getting to Yes, And… | Roy Schwartz – ‘Simplify’ Sep 15, 2026

Show notes

Kelly talks to Roy Schwartz, co-founder and CEO at Axios HQ, the world’s first AI-powered internal communications management platform. He’s also the co-founder of Axios, the award-winning news organization. He is the co-author of “Smart Brevity: The Power of Saying More with Less” and he has a new co-authored book called “Simplify: Do 50 Percent More with 50 Percent Less.”

https://serve.castfire.com/audio/8654233/8654233_2026-09-14-024233.64kmono.mp3

“Simplify is a modern survival guide for our AI times.”

“We’re not just victims of complexity. We’re often its authors.”

Second City Works presents “Getting to Yes, And”

Nick Davis – “From Godspell to Second City to Stardom”

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Jeff Cole – ‘Disrupters at the Gate’

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Ron Johnson – The genius who created the Genius Bar

.cls-7{fill:#fff;fill-rule:evenodd}

Roy Schwartz – ‘Simplify’

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Caroline Webb – ‘Leadership Intelligence’

.cls-7{fill:#fff;fill-rule:evenodd} Click for more

Getting to Yes, And… | Caroline Webb – ‘Leadership Intelligence’ Sep 08, 2026

Show notes

Kelly welcomes the always amazing Caroline Webb back to the podcast. Caroline is a former Partner at McKinsey, where she continues to serve as a Senior Advisor, and is now CEO of her own firm, Sevenshift. We spoke to Caroline some years back about her book How to Have a Good Day: Harness the Power of Behavioral Science to Transform Your Working Life. She has another terrific book called Leadership Intelligence: Science-Backed Strategies for Mastering 21 Everyday Management Challenges.

https://serve.castfire.com/audio/8642891/8642891_2026-09-07-025831.64kmono.mp3

“Much of what you do each day runs on autopilot, without you realizing it.”

“Don’t forget to evaluate the option of doing nothing.”

“The brain’s reward system is the engine of human motivation.”

Second City Works presents “Getting to Yes, And”

Nick Davis – “From Godspell to Second City to Stardom”

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Jeff Cole – ‘Disrupters at the Gate’

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Ron Johnson – The genius who created the Genius Bar

.cls-7{fill:#fff;fill-rule:evenodd}

Roy Schwartz – ‘Simplify’

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Caroline Webb – ‘Leadership Intelligence’

.cls-7{fill:#fff;fill-rule:evenodd} Click for more

Getting to Yes, And… | Lindy Elkins-Tanton – ‘Mission Ready’ Sep 03, 2026

Show notes

Kelly has an amazing conversation with Lindy Elkins-Tanton: a professor at UC Berkeley, Director of the Berkeley Space Sciences Laboratory, and lead of the NASA Psyche mission. Her new book is titled “Mission Ready: How to Build Teams That Perform Under Pressure.”

https://serve.castfire.com/audio/8628389/8628389_2026-08-31-021029.64kmono.mp3

“Calmness is contagious.”

“Posing problems as questions keeps the solution space open.”

“Seeing challenges as a gift is another way to say never give up.”

Second City Works presents “Getting to Yes, And”

Nick Davis – “From Godspell to Second City to Stardom”

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Jeff Cole – ‘Disrupters at the Gate’

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Ron Johnson – The genius who created the Genius Bar

.cls-7{fill:#fff;fill-rule:evenodd}

Roy Schwartz – ‘Simplify’

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Caroline Webb – ‘Leadership Intelligence’

.cls-7{fill:#fff;fill-rule:evenodd} Click for more

Getting to Yes, and… | Elizabeth Dunn and Jiayang Zhao – ‘Happiness and Climate Change’ Sep 01, 2026

Show notes

Kelly connects with happiness scientist Elizabeth Dunn and climate scientist Jiayang Zhao to discuss their new book “Leave the Lights On: How Joyful Decisions Can Save Our Species.”

https://serve.castfire.com/audio/8628382/8628382_2026-08-31-021822.64kmono.mp3

“Cooler temperatures are good for our happiness.”

“When it comes to saving carbon, luggage matters.”

“Commuting is one of the unhappiest daily activities.”

Second City Works presents “Getting to Yes, And”

Nick Davis – “From Godspell to Second City to Stardom”

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Jeff Cole – ‘Disrupters at the Gate’

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Ron Johnson – The genius who created the Genius Bar

.cls-7{fill:#fff;fill-rule:evenodd}

Roy Schwartz – ‘Simplify’

.cls-7{fill:#fff;fill-rule:evenodd}

Caroline Webb – ‘Leadership Intelligence’

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Getting to Yes, And… | Scott Curran – ‘Better Good’ Aug 25, 2026

Show notes

Kelly welcomes Scott Curran back to the podcast. He is the founder and CEO of Beyond Advisers and a former general counsel of the Clinton Foundation. His new book is called “Better Good: A Simple System for Creating Lasting Impact.”

https://serve.castfire.com/audio/8612762/8612762_2026-08-25-144302.64kmono.mp3

“Betting against good is betting against the best parts of human nature.”

“To see philanthropy only as charity is to miss its full power.”

“Business as a force for good isn’t a new concept.”

Second City Works presents “Getting to Yes, And”

Nick Davis – “From Godspell to Second City to Stardom”

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Jeff Cole – ‘Disrupters at the Gate’

.cls-7{fill:#fff;fill-rule:evenodd}

Ron Johnson – The genius who created the Genius Bar

.cls-7{fill:#fff;fill-rule:evenodd}

Roy Schwartz – ‘Simplify’

.cls-7{fill:#fff;fill-rule:evenodd}

Caroline Webb – ‘Leadership Intelligence’

.cls-7{fill:#fff;fill-rule:evenodd} Click for more

Getting to Yes, And… | David Epstein – ‘How Constraints Help Creativity’ Aug 18, 2026

Show notes

Kelly has a fascinating conversation with New York Times bestselling author David Epstein about his new book “Inside the Box: How Constraints Make Us Better.”

https://serve.castfire.com/audio/8582480/8582480_2026-08-10-002720.64kmono.mp3

“Multitasking is the act of distracting yourself.”

“It is usually bad to be a maximizer.”

“Too often, we reach for a dream when what we need is a textbook.”

Second City Works presents “Getting to Yes, And”

Nick Davis – “From Godspell to Second City to Stardom”

.cls-7{fill:#fff;fill-rule:evenodd}

Jeff Cole – ‘Disrupters at the Gate’

.cls-7{fill:#fff;fill-rule:evenodd}

Ron Johnson – The genius who created the Genius Bar

.cls-7{fill:#fff;fill-rule:evenodd}

Roy Schwartz – ‘Simplify’

.cls-7{fill:#fff;fill-rule:evenodd}

Caroline Webb – ‘Leadership Intelligence’

.cls-7{fill:#fff;fill-rule:evenodd} Click for more

Getting to Yes, And… | Amos Winter – ‘Innovation Gone Global’ Aug 11, 2026

Show notes

Kelly sits down with Amos Winter, the Germeshausen Professor of Mechanical Engineering and Director of the K. Lisa Yang Global Engineering and Research (GEAR) Center at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. His new book is called “Global by Design: How to Create Innovations That Scale, Travel and Transform.”

https://serve.castfire.com/audio/8582479/8582479_2026-08-10-002419.64kmono.mp3

“Become a tempered dreamer.”

“Technology is not the right solution to every problem.”

“No single recipe for success works for every company.”