Making Business Art

Have you ever felt the urge to take off and travel the world? My guest Lauren Rathvon did just that – and then went on to build a travel business that takes people on meticulously curated and crafted tours that aim to connect travelers with places and people in deeply personal ways. Lauren teaches us about the value of building trust with the people we serve, how to deliver excellent service and c...

Bringing scientists and artists together to collaborate on projects may seem counterintuitive, yet it can have transformative results. Although we might think of scientists and artists as being quite different, they both share and participate in the act of observation and asking questions that open the door to exploration and discovery. It is at this point of departure in the process of discovery...

Few things bring people together like shared genuine laughter or a compelling story. While we might typically associate these and other elements from the world of performing arts with entertainment, they can also be powerful tools that enable people to come together and collaborate effectively in solving complex problems in novel ways. My guest and customer experience consultant, Adam Lawrence, bo...

Have you ever been in a situation at work where people are not communicating clearly, feel stuck, and are disengaged? What if I told you that type of situation could be turned around with... LEGO bricks! While LEGO may have been a cherished part of your childhood , it turns out that we can still use LEGO as grown ups to improve how we work while adding more play to our work lives along the way. My...

Many of us may think of laughter as great medicine. But what about laughter as a source of deep insight about consumer behavior and human nature? My guest Rajiv Satyal takes the concept of "funny 'cause it's true" and turns it into a hilariously powerful approach to learn about what truly resonates with people. Rajiv learned to blend what he learned as a marketer at Proctor & Gamble with the skill...

Innovating is much more than the act of creating something new or different. At its heart, innovating is really about how we relate to each other, collaborate, and bring forth our creative uniqueness. This is the view of my guest, Leon Segal, who sees innovation as highly personal because when we learn and practice innovation as a craft, what we learn touches and influences all our relationships a...

If you have ever endeavored to reach out and connect with people, you have probably come across advice like "know your audience." Although there are many ways to approach that advice, one of the most powerful approaches to get an insider perspective on your audience is immersion. My guest Vyjayanthi Vadrevu has been practicing immersion and connecting with audiences most of her life as a dancer, a...

Emotions play a crucial role in our lives. Sometimes we speak of emotion as something that gets in our way, but emotions are actually key to our experience of being alive. Neuroscientists like Antonio Damasio are deepening our understanding of how emotions evolved to help us make sense of the world, adapt, and survive. Think about what your life would be without emotions like joy, admiration, awe,...

Did you start your career with the aspiration of one day doing work that is deeply meaningful to you? Many of us do, but as the years pass we might struggle with truly fulfilling that desire. Yet, as my guest Uday Dandavate shares with us, we can start transforming what work means for us by shifting our perspective and what we look for. In Uday's case, he shifted his approach to work from making o...

Have you ever been in a situation where you liked your job in principle, but the conditions within your organization made doing your job difficult, or maybe even soul-crushing? If you can relate to that, you know what a bad employee experience feels like.  Fortunately, there are people like my guest, Christophe Martel, who are working to make the world of work a much better experience for everyone...

Have you ever met someone who inspired you to rethink your approach to work and life? Maybe that person modeled ways of creating more freedom, fun, and meaning at work. If you met someone like that, did it change you in some way?     I met Scott Heaps in 2003. Looking back I can see how he was an early influence on me in thinking more seriously about becoming an entrepreneur and Making Business Ar...

How clear are you on what you really want to do or be? For most of us, that is a lifelong journey of exploration and discovery. In fact, this is a pursuit with deep historical roots – many ancient wisdom traditions urge us to "know thyself" as a core principle for living a good life. It often takes many experiences and trails for us to start discovering who we truly are and muster the courage to l...

Have you ever been so inspired by a character in a movie or TV show that it shaped your life in some way? And, have you ever thought about how much preparation and craft it took for the actor or actress that played that character to connect with and move you? There is a lot of inspiration and technique we can draw from the craft of acting to lead teams in any sector and make our work much more eng...

Making Business Art is a podcast for curious people where we draw lessons and inspiration from creative leaders, entrepreneurs, artists, designers, and scientists about making a beautiful business and life. We have conversations about how to create a powerful connection with the people we serve while making our craft an engine for personal growth.   This is a very short episode to introduce the sh...

Have you ever thought about how we might live our days expressing ourselves more authentically, feeling more connected to others, engrossed in a craft that is engaging and meaningful, and feeling more fulfilled?     Making Business Art is a podcast for curious people where we draw lessons and inspiration from creative leaders, entrepreneurs, artists, designers, and scientists about making a beauti...