The Conversation Factory

Welcome to The Conversation Factory, the podcast where we explore the deep mental models that turn difficult conversations into opportunities for clarity and alignment.  Founding a company is often viewed as a binary choice: win big or fail completely. But what if success isn't about total victory (what would that even mean?) but about mastering the long game, the infinite game,  and the quality o...

Get free chapters of my book, Good Talk, and master the art of conversations big and small: https://www.danielstillman.com/good-talk Please support the podcast! 💌 subscribe on Spotify : https://spoti.fi/3QzcPAW 💌 iTunes : https://apple.co/4ifh6pb or with a monthly contribution here : https://bit.ly/support-tcf-monthly one-time donation here : https://bit.ly/support-tcf-once Check out https://the...

Marcy Syms is a pioneering businesswoman and advocate for respect in leadership. She's seen leadership fads come and go. She was a CEO when people still thought "women shouldn't do that sort of thing"  And she's done something many folks have never had to endure - shuttering her family's business while making her key creditors whole - an act deeply in line with her core value of respect. Marcy sha...

Download free chapters from Good Talk and master the art of conversations big and small : https://www.danielstillman.com/good-talk Listen now 👇 🎙️ Spotify: https://spoti.fi/3QzcPAW 🍎 Apple: https://apple.co/4ifh6pb   And please  subscribe on Spotify or iTunes!  Also! support the podcast with  a monthly contribution here: https://theconversationfactory.com/conversation-factory-insider or a one-ti...

Get free chapters of my book, Good Talk, and master the art of conversations big and small: https://www.danielstillman.com/good-talk Please support the podcast! 💌 subscribe on Spotify : https://spoti.fi/3QzcPAW 💌 iTunes : https://apple.co/4ifh6pb or with a monthly contribution here : https://bit.ly/support-tcf-monthly one-time donation here : https://bit.ly/support-tcf-once Check out the episode...

Get free chapters of my book, Good Talk, and master the art of conversations big and small: https://www.danielstillman.com/good-talk Please support the podcast! 💌 subscribe on Spotify : https://spoti.fi/3QzcPAW 💌  iTunes : https://apple.co/4ifh6pb or with a monthly contribution here : https://bit.ly/support-tcf-monthly one-time donation here : https://bit.ly/support-tcf-once Check out  https://t...

Get free chapters of my book, Good Talk, and master the art of conversations big and small: https://www.danielstillman.com/good-talk Please support the podcast! 💌 subscribe on Spotify : https://spoti.fi/3QzcPAW 💌 iTunes : https://apple.co/4ifh6pb or with a monthly contribution here : https://bit.ly/support-tcf-monthly one-time donation here : https://bit.ly/support-tcf-once Check out the episode...

Get free chapters of my book, Good Talk, and master the art of conversations big and small: https://www.danielstillman.com/good-talk Please support the podcast! 💌 subscribe on Spotify : https://spoti.fi/3QzcPAW 💌 iTunes : https://apple.co/4ifh6pb or with a monthly contribution here : https://bit.ly/support-tcf-monthly one-time donation here : https://bit.ly/support-tcf-once Check out the episode...

Master the art of conversations big and small - both inside yourself and in your teams and organization. Get free chapters of my book, Good Talk: https://www.danielstillman.com/good-talk Please support the podcast! 💌 Subscribe on Spotify: https://spoti.fi/3QzcPAW 💌 iTunes: https://apple.co/4ifh6pb or with a monthly contribution here: https://bit.ly/support-tcf-monthly or make a one-time donation...

Download free chapters from Good Talk and master the art of conversations big and small Please support the podcast by subscribing on Spotify  or  iTunes , making  a monthly contribution here , or making  a one-time donation here . Check out the episode post for the full transcript and video highlights. Dr. Anjan Chatterjee is a renowned professor and the founding Director of the Penn Center for Ne...

If you want to change the game, changing the rules and incentives of the game is a powerful approach. Few people who watch the news - or those folks who avoid watching the news! - would say the political system in the United States is going according to plan. The founding fathers, if they were alive today, would be aghast at the unbridgeable chasm that seems to have developed in our political cult...

Warning - this episode uses a specific curse word - a lot. And once we started using one, we started using more of them. So…if f-bombs, sprinkled like salt are not your cup of tea, this is a good episode to skip! My guest today is Rebecca R Block, PhD, who is an expert in helping organizations build programs, services and products that equip young people to develop the confidence and skills they n...

Sometimes the bold goals we set out to achieve actually happen, and sometimes something even more amazing happens - something better than we can imagine. Usually that happens because of the people we meet along the way, the conversations we have, the unexpected connections we make that open up new doors - in a word, Serendipity. I had always wondered about what amazing, powerful and sustained conv...

Art has the power to change and even lead the conversation, to spark curiosity and fuel real engagement. But what comes first in a powerful creative project?  The idea and the message? The tools and the talent? Or The Funding, that can make or break it all? My guest today is Benjamin Von Wong , who creates art on a grand scale that goes beyond awe. He is an Artist focused on amplifying positive im...

Today my guests are Lisa Kay Solomon and Chris Ertel, the co-authors of the powerhouse 2014 book Moments of Impact: How to Design Strategic Conversations That Accelerate Change, which celebrates its 10th anniversary this year! I devoured this book 10 years ago and I think you might enjoy it, too! Lisa Kay Solomon is currently a Designer in Residence at the Stanford d. school, where she teaches cla...

My guest today is Ashley Goodall, a leadership expert who has spent his career exploring large organizations from the inside, most recently as an executive at Cisco. He is the co-author of Nine Lies About Work, which was selected as the best management book of 2019 by Strategy + Business and as one of Amazon's best business and leadership books of 2019. It is an awesome book - highly recommended....

Rabbi Tarfon said: The day is short, and the work is plentiful…It is not your duty to finish the work, but neither are you at liberty to neglect it. (Pirkei Avot 2:15-16) My conversation today with Jerry Colonna closes with him paraphrasing this powerful notion - and the work we are discussing is the work on yourself and the work to create a better world - one where everyone feels like they truly...

My guests today are Rei Wang and Anita Hossain, Co-founders of coaching platform The Grand, which was seed funded by Alexis Ohanian's firm Seven Seven Six in 2023. Rei is the Chief Product Officer and Anita is the CEO. I met Rei ages ago, in her early days in NYC at General Assembly, where she worked as a Product Manager and Global Community Lead, developing educational opportunities for students....

My guest today is James Rutter, Chief Creative Officer at COOK, the pioneering frozen food company, where he oversees internal and external branding and communications. COOK is a founding UK B Corp, committed to using its business as a force for good in society, and has been ranked in the top 100 Best Companies To Work For every year since 2013. COOK's award-winning frozen meals and puddings (whic...

Today I share my conversation with Suzanne Vickberg, aka Dr. Suz. She is a social-personality psychologist and a Research Lead at Deloitte Greenhouse. Along with her Deloitte Greenhouse colleague Kim Christfort, Suzanne co-authored the best-selling book Business Chemistry. But there's another type of Chemistry - or Alchemistry - that I sat down to talk to Dr. Suz about - shifting the default track...

My guest today is Jay Ruparel , co-founder and CEO of VOICEplug AI , a Voice-AI company empowering restaurants to leverage AI and automate food ordering using natural language voice ordering at drive-thrus, over the phone, websites, and mobile apps. VOICEplug's technology integrates with existing systems and apps, allowing customers to interact with the restaurant using natural voice commands, in...

I'm excited to share my conversation with Kevin Bethune, a multidisciplinary design executive, entrepreneur, best-selling author and keynote speaker based in Redondo Beach, California. He's been a VP of Strategic design at BCG Digital, A global process product manager at Nike and a Nuclear Engineer at Westinghouse. He currently leads his own firm, https://dreamsdesignandlife.com/ One of his key id...

My guest today, Emily Levada, is a seasoned Chief Product & Technology Officer. Currently, she is the Chief Product Officer and Interim co-CEO at Embark Veterinary, a company dedicated to leveraging genetics to enhance the health and longevity of dogs. During her tenure, the company has achieved notable recognition, ranking as the #3 fastest-growing private company in Massachusetts and earning a s...

My guest today is Jason Knight, the creator, host, producer, editor and promoter of the One Knight in Product podcast, a B2B SaaS product consultant , and fractional Chief Product Officer for companies that have gotten to product market fit and need help scaling their product team. Jason is also the founder of My Mentor Path, an inclusive, accessible and cloud-based mentorship service.  Sandra Mon...

It's not every day that a patient-doctor relationship turns into a Techstars-Funded medical innovation startup. In this episode I sit down with Dr. Onyinye Balogun and Eve McDavid, the co-founders of Mission-Driven Tech, a women's health venture in collaboration with Weill Cornell Medicine dedicated to the transformation of cervical cancer care with modern technology. Onyi, as her friends call her...