The Courageous Podcast with Ryan Berman

Today, there’s a video camera in everyone's pocket. But long before we coined the term influencers there were just people with influence. Back in 2010, HBO decided to take a chance on two of them: The Neistat Brothers. Van and Casey Neistat once described their series that was picked up by HBO as "a handmade home movie TV show”. While the democratization of content is here and now, eclectic Van Ne...

Nice gets a bad wrap. But Adam Morgan is one of the true nice guys who has successfully navigated the creative business space. On this episode of The Courageous Podcast, we are joined by the affable Adam Morgan who is Adobe's Executive Creative Director. We discuss a panoply of topics including how C-Suites can better understand the impact creativity has on its bottom line as well as Adam’s challe...

She’s not only back from Beijing, but she has returned to the States with the ultimate mantlepiece. Aerial Mogulist and freshly minted Olympic Silver Medal winner Jaelin Kauf shares her whirlwind two weeks from navigating a Covid Olympics from the other side of the world to her mother surprising her “live” on The Today Show during her media tour in New York City. Jaelin relives her run, discusses...

Walter Geer isn’t simply a talented black creative — he’s a talented creative (period, full stop). Walt takes great pride sitting at the intersection of design, data, innovation and storytelling. On this episode of The Courageous Podcast, we zip around discussing his work as a leader in the digital advertising space as well as his monumental work as a DEI advocate. We dive deep to address race, fa...

Whatever it takes. Say “yes and”. Keep it real. These are just a few of the concepts the affable Erin Levzow knows all too well. She shares her “just keep figuring out” journey with us on this new episode of The Courageous Podcast. If you ever wanted to learn how someone can go from studying theatre in school to making it in Las Vegas to masterfully building an art Mecca in a hotel to finally, “se...

Chris Kneeland is the tell-it-like-it-is co-founder of The Gathering which is, as the name suggests, a gathering that takes place in Banff’s Canadian Rockies by a consortium of world-class brand makers who wish to study, honor and celebrate the world’s best brands. On this episode of The Courageous Podcast, Chris and I discuss what goes into making this event as well as how his “day job” as the CE...

If you are like the majority, then you have an hourly rate. This severely bothered this weeks guest who couldn’t logically accept “hourly rate" payment terms for his talent. In fact, if Jonathan Stark was capable of cracking your problem in a shorter period of time, shouldn’t he be paid more? On this episode of The Courageous Podcast we are joined by a former software developer who is now on a mis...

Phil Horvath has been on quite the journey. Nothing like starting a prominent, new job during the thick of the pandemic. Now, almost a year in, Phil shares what it has been like to navigate his organization as the new President of Floyd’s 99 Barbershop. On this episode of The Courageous Podcast, we discuss how Phil has gone about getting to know his team who reside across 114 locations in 13 state...

In the world of food, Kraft Heinz is on the hunt for what's next now. In this episode of The Courageous Podcast we are talking transformation and the future of food with VP of Capabilities, Kevin Zidron. Kevin shares how his entrepreneurial spirit took him on a journey which started with stocking shelves. We discuss the importance of understanding the inner workings of an organization at all level...

We are joined by Google’s Head of Industry Dustin Bomar who learned an entirely new category shifting from the travel business to the telecom arena. If not more courageous is Dustin’s backstory. As a father of two adopted African American kids, now 7, we took some time to discuss the impact of these last two chaotic years; including its toll on his family. Dustin shares his concern for the type of...

It can share a news report with us in the morning. It can tell our kids a whimsical bed time story just before sleep. Amazon Alexa has become a useful member of many families found in kitchens and bedrooms all across the home. But what goes in to what Alexa says? And are there ways for us to teach Alexa what we best like to hear? Learn from Andrew Turner who is a Senior Manager on the Alexa Artifi...

Male ego. Testosterone. One Ups. Away from the media, every locker room is a mental war zone that can often mirror the battles taking place on professional fields, diamonds and pitches itself. So imagine Robbie Rogers dilemma when he made the choice to become one of the first openly gay man in pro sports to brave the no holds barred chatter of the locker room. US Men’s National Team player Robbie...

The Courageous Podcast w/ Shelby Stanger What happens when the tables are turned on an award-winning podcast host? You get badass podcaster, producer and storyteller Shelby Stanger as your guest on The Courageous Podcast. Shelby is a colossal believer that stories can impact substantial change. She has not only covered those stories as a journalist but has lived them herself. On this episode of Th...

Eric Toda has had enough. Do you blame him? He is a father who unremittingly thinks about raising his children in a world where hate, fear and profiling is haunting Asian Americans. But why isn’t it haunting all of us? It should. On this episode of The Courageous Podcast, Eric Toda keeps it real on how he feels. We do cover a lot of ground including Eric’s versatile career leading at AirBnB, Snap,...

3:41 - Lili shares the importance of trying new industries and taking on new challenges 4:21 - Lili believes start-ups aren't that different 5:03 - "every company is moving super fast these days." 6:35 - Nudging Wall Street think different about MGM. 9:08 - "Do you have 5 minutes" collision moments... 10:35 - Working for a boss "who wanted to change the world." 11:54 - Being at a start-up now read...

3:07 - What's special about Mastermind Toys 5:18 - Sarah shares background on her path to CEO 6:53 - First time CEO navigating the pandemic. 10:12 - Leading when you've only met your team in Zoom. 11:34 - Sarah felt she wasn't just the CEO but the Chief Communicator 13:59 - Sarah shares that she plays to her strengths 16:51 - Sarah shares if her ambition wavered when she became a parent. 18:22 - W...

4:00 - Background on Julian 5:02 - Moving back to the land down under 5:34 - The path to entrepreneurship 7:50 - What is account planning and why is it important? 9:36 - Looking through the consumers eyes 10:57 - An example of insight and strategy 13:08 - Relaunching PS4 and the opportunity 16:25 - Process from problem to insight to solution 21:57 - Subjectivity and getting past the right and wron...

3:24 - Celebrating Micol's tenure in the ad game 3:45 - Background in music and ready to sleep in the airport if need be 4:13 - Moving to Atlanta with only $300 5:38 - I'd rather die, than stay on this rock 7:03 - Not afraid to go down in flames of glory 7:52 - Micol's career and backstory 9:25 - iHeart discovered Micol from one of his rap's online 10:22 - Going from 20% Micol to 100% Micol 11:54...

4:09 - "This is how we never solve anything" 6:26 - "The worst thing that could happen to advertising was..." 9:13 - What scares Derek about today 12:11 - The power of values 15:21 - Being a believer in the Constitution 15:32 - Derek's concern with the Jeep Super Bowl commercial. 18:54 - Should we be united here in America? 21:04 - The need to address bad behavior of bad apples. 23:41 - Standing t...

4:50 - Minter's background from the non-traditional jobs to entrepreneurship and corporate life 7:17 - What was tugging at Minter to leave corporate and go back to entrepreneurship 8:42 - Leaning into tie dye...and wearing it to work 10:49 - The one moment that drove Minter to re-evaluate what he was doing with his career 15:07 - Do you know what you stand for? 19:12 - The challenge and the time n...

3:10 - Brent's background and starting his first company 3:57 - Learning about pivots in entrepreneurship 5:38 - Should every American serve in the military? 7:44 - What do you go through mentally in SEAL training 8:23 - The mental, physical and mindset transformation 8:51- Key attributes - grit, resilience, mental fortitude, passion, and a deep emotional connection to the idea of serving 12:47 -...

5:46 - We believe we have to be the ideal worker 6:25 - Heartwarming to hear the next generation of men stepping up and saying they want to be actively engaged fathers 6:32 - How to be great at your career and your family life 6:52 - The abundance mindset and trends we are seeing 7:10 - Value is not just about shareholders; it's about stakeholders 8:53 - Fears of taking a break from work 9:32 - Th...

3:59 - Does Marisa feel like she's a courageous leader? 6:03 - We force Marisa to choose 3 words to describe herself. 6:33 - Her thrill in the workplace: finding ways to win creatively 8:12 - "Psychology is the gameplay for what we do" 9:47 - Marisa shares the power of brands and their role in culture. 10:26 - The role of home today. 12:12 - Marisa explains what delights her about jumping into new...

4:29 - Life changes that caused me to think about what I wanted out of life 6:20 - I have loved this brand since the day I walked into it - empowering people to have the outdoor experiences they want to have - guiding people toward wellness 6:45 - Coming back into a leadership position enabled me to do some of the things I wanted to accomplish that I was unable to previously 7:06 - The biggest les...

3:22 - Sam shares his work path from gaming to big tech. 3:52 - Sharing Instagram's latest campaign, "We Make Today" 5:26 - Sam shares his time in Product Marketing at Facebook. 6:31 - Sam's intention through it all: stay in the Bay area. 08:04 - Sam talks about working for creative-led Lucas Films. 9:34 - Thompson shares some Warren Buffett advice 10:58 - The power of working for a great leader 1...