The Playbook, an MIT LGO podcast

Latest Episodes:

Gene Kim - On the Importance of DevOps, Psychological Safety, and Courage May 06, 2021

Show notes

Gene Kim is a multiple award winning CTO, DevOps researcher, and co-author of The Phoenix Project and The Unicorn Project. In this episode, we chat about Gene’s experiences at Tripwire and what high-performance looks like, as defined by the State of DevOps report. We also touch on the importance of culture, the criticality of psychological safety, and the imperative for developers and leaders to have the courage to say what they’re really thinking.

Ladies of LGO – On Student Life, Imposter Syndrome and Relationships Jan 21, 2021

Show notes

Current students Juliette Chevallier (LGO ’21), Liza Xu (LGO ’21) and Lauren Sakerka (LGO ’22) share their candid experiences with the program. We chat about transitioning into virtual learning, experiencing imposter syndrome, maintaining relationships with significant others and planning future careers.

Josh Jensen - On Entrepreneurial Journey and Work Life Balance Dec 06, 2020

Show notes

Josh Jensen is an LGO Class of 2016 graduate with a wide range of work experiences from Fortune 500 companies to start-ups. He is the cofounder and CEO of Inspectify, a Y-Combinator backed company that uses technology to solve the headaches of home inspections. He lives in West Seattle with his wife Mary (LGO ‘12), their two daughters, and a husky puppy.

Arnold Barnett - On COVID-19, the Airline Industry, and Luck from a Probabilistic Perspective Oct 10, 2020

Show notes

Arnold Barnett shares his perspective as a professor, airline industry expert, and all-around probabilist as the world navigates the COVID-19 pandemic. He currently teaches courses on probability and the airline industry at MIT's Sloan School of Management.

Hugh Churchill - On manufacturing and lessons learned from GM's ventilator production Jun 26, 2020

Show notes

Hugh shares with us his career working with General Motors after MIT, and we dive into his experience helping GM produce ventilators as a part of the Defense Production Act. We also talk about the future of electric vehicles and his current role working with EV experience and industrialization. Hugh lives in the greater Detroit area.

Alex Whigham - On the Work from Home Life and Dealing with Uncertainty May 28, 2020

Show notes

Alex shares his experience going remote during the COVID-19 outbreak and how he and his team have been working stay on top of the rush in people ordering much more online. He works for Wayfair in Boston, Massachusetts and his team handles delivery logistics.

JS Bolton - On Manufacturing, Listening, and Doing the Right Thing Jan 17, 2020

Show notes

JS Bolton shares her experiences in the manufacturing world, moments that have made a difference for her, and how she has grown as a leader. She currently works for Nissan in Smyrna, Tennessee where her team manufactures and assembles multiple vehicle models.

Sean Willems - On Teaching, Simplifying, and Optimizing Dec 06, 2019

Show notes

Sean Willems shares his story on what led him to teaching, some memorable experiences he's had with operations consulting, and why optimizing his wardrobe has made all the difference. Sean is currently a visiting professor at MIT where he teaches operations management.

Leadership in the Face of Hurricane Maria Aug 11, 2019

Show notes

Two very special guests describe their extraordinary efforts in Puerto Rico in the face of the deadly Hurricane Maria disasters. Noel Zamot speaks about his efforts to bring private capital to Puerto Rico to revitalize critical infrastructure, and Diana Flores describes Amgen's unwavering commitment to its employees and community on the island, and its patients throughout and after the disaster.

Leigh Hunnicutt - Amgen Jul 03, 2019

Show notes

Leigh Hunnicutt shares stories about finding her identity as a leader and her passion for biotech. Leigh is currently an Executive Director, Global Operations at Amgen.