Timeless Leadership

Communication is the bedrock of leadership, and it’s based on a leader’s ability to think and to write — which in turn is built on being a reader. The connection between leadership, storytelling, communication, and reading is immutable, and if you’re willing to embrace curiosity and lifelong learning , you’ll find the world of leadership awaits. And you won’t want to miss a story about a literary...

If you’ve ever thought about writing a book, this is for you. If you’ve ever read a business book and wondered what goes into it, this is for you. Josh Bernoff helps nonfiction authors succeed. He’s been doing it with a high degree of success himself and has documented how you can in his latest book: Build a Better Business Book: How to Plan, Write, and Promote a Book That Matters (Amplify 2023)....

We’re living in a post-truth society. Truth and facts matter — not only because they provide a foundation of reality, but because when we’re truthful, we tell the world who we are. As leaders, the truth matters more than we might like. Honesty, transparency, trust, and loyalty are on a continuum, and truth is the foundation of that. Please support my work. By voting with your inbox, you show your...

It isn’t often you'll see a marketer who champions journalism. Lou Paskalis is passionate concept of brand safety and suitability is now more necessary than ever, as brands need to protect themselves from adjacency to questionable content, platforms, and values — in all forms of media. One of the greatest concerns of every CEO is reputational risk and in order to guard against this, they need thei...

Integrity doesn’t get the headlines. And yet it’s one of the most important things that Warren Buffet considers when he hires people. Buffet’s longtime vice chairman Charlie Munger passed away last week, and I considered some of their wisdom as the backdrop for this episode as it relates to integrity. Tune in for that, as well as a story about how an executive turned down tens of millions of dolla...

If you were faced with the prospect of losing your business, losing friends, and being ostracized in your industry for simply doing what you thought was right, do you think you be able to do it? That's exactly the scenario that faced Rick Wilson , co-founder of The Lincoln Project and 30-year advertising veteran for Republican political candidates. When he chose to break from the party to stop Don...

The pace with which the management changes happened at OpenAI this weekend is analogous to the pace of change of the technology itself. While “move fast & break things” may have worked for Facebook (cough), there are other considerations when it comes to humanity-affecting AI. Give some deliberation to becoming a free or paid subscriber. Links * Episode 57: Burn Book with Kara Swisher * Episode 55...

It’s not often you get a chance to interview an industry legend. Kara Swisher is one of the top voices in the media today talking about technology and its impact on our lives. With two regular podcasts and now as a regular panelist on The Chris Wallace Show on CNN, Kara can always be counted on for her tough but fair questioning style, her no-nonsense approach, and her insistence that the human im...

“Affection is responsible for nine-tenths of whatever solid and durable happiness there is in our lives.”  — C.S. Lewis, 1960   We spend an awful lot of time trying to figure out how to best use ChatGPT and marveling at the things AI can do for us. But one thing we can do for each other is to show our affection. Call it kindness, decency, empathy, or any other name, the point remains: we have with...

When Johannes Gutenberg invented the printing press in 1450, it ushered in a modern era. Or so we thought. It was embraced and fought, but the very notion that print was supposed to simplify knowledge was turned on its head: instead, print multiplied knowledge, and often in unexpected ways. Jeff Jarvis, in his latest book The Gutenberg Parenthesis: The Age of Print and Its Lessons for the Age of t...

“It is very lonesome at the summit!” “Like a man’s life, when he has climbed to eminence.” — Nathaniel Hawthorne, 1860 Even when we reach the top, we’re not alone. We always have others to call upon, even if they’re not colleagues. Trusted advisors keep us focused, remind us of the importance of relationships, help us keep our egos in check, and help us become lifelong learners and servants. Some...

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit www.timelesstimely.com For members of the Ampersand Guild , our premium subscription tier, the conversation with Lindsay M. Chervinsky continues. Sign up to join the Ampersand Guild today, where you get exclusive content from us. Dr. Chervinsky is the author of The Cabinet: George Washington and the Creation of an American Institution a...

It’s tempting to think of the presidential cabinet as having always been in place. But, like the development of the U.S., government itself, it was gradual and it involved the initial leadership of George Washington. Dr. Lindsay M. Chervinsky , Senior Fellow at the Center for Presidential History at Southern Methodist University and author The Cabinet: George Washington and the Creation of an Amer...

There is one commodity that is the great equalizer for everyone in the world: time. There are 24 hours in a day for each of us. The question is how we use it. Decision-making is expected at lightning speed, even with the complexity and rigors swirling around us. And while speed is important, so is accuracy. Your decisiveness ought to be guided by wisdom and acuity as well as by velocity. Links * E...

Customer experience is the key business differentiator of the 2020s. But what about the customer experience matters? Simply put, speed . When 66% of customers say speed is as important as price , the conclusion is simple: give your customers time and they’ll give you money. Leaders like Jay Baer understand what makes customers tick — too slow or too fast, and you’ll find yourself in a jam. In this...

Thinking about the conversation with Laura Gassner Otting in Episode 49, I was struck by our human desire to put a definition on success, and oftentimes, never being satisfied. Kind of like how we constantly chase happiness, promising ourselves that “if only” we achieve a certain milestone, we’ll be happy. It turns out, there’s a different formula. Join me for this reflection. And let me know if y...

When you’re greeted with success — sweet, well-earned, heady success— it isn’t always what expect. In fact, sometimes, you don’t know what to expect at all. That’s where Laura Gassner Otting ’s latest book comes in. Punch your ticket for Wonderhell: Why Success Doesn’t Feel Like It and What to Do About It and take your own tour of the amusement park that is success. Success is wonderful. But it’s...

The hiatus is over! Timeless Leadership is back for a fourth season. This time around, we’ll be alternating interviews and a shorter commentary episode every other week, to give you a chance to keep up. We’re changing podcast hosting services, so make sure you’re subscribed here on Substack so you don’t miss a single episode. And we’ll be looking for your input and questions to include in the comm...

Tom Peters should be a familiar face around these parts. He was first with us on Episode 9 of Timeless Leadership , when we talked about the concept of extreme humanism . The topic hasn’t changed much, but the format certainly has. Tom’s latest book, Tom Peters’ Compact Guide to Excellence , is a collaboration with award-winning designer Nancye Green, bringing Tom’s most poignant work to life in a...

What do you get when you combine the fiery personality of a food influencer with a vision to empower women’s social impact projects around the globe, backed by the power of the U.S. Department of State? You get IMPERIA , Jennifer Iannolo’s global incubator that is connecting creative and motivated minds from 195 countries. What made Jennifer go from a food podcast network to a global impact entrep...

How can you feel fulfilled and live your best life at any stage of your development? Whether you’re enduring a midlife crisis, grappling with the effects of ageism in the workplace, or feeling as if you’ll never achieve the level of success you once did (or even a level you had once hoped for) — this discussion is for you. The late Stephen R. Covey spent his career inspiring millions to make their...

To disabuse you of what might be your first reaction: this is interview is not about gratitude — although that’s part of one of the lessons. Jim Edwards sent out an email years ago with 19 bits of advice for a colleague who was taking a leadership position. Little did he realize that the email would not only be a set of timeless principles for any manager, but that he would add more to it — includ...

The world is a by-product of innovation. We know the names of famous innovators — people like Albert Einstein, Sir Isaac Newton, and Socrates — for every one of them, there have been thousands of anonymous innovators. But there are common themes we can find in the stories of innovators and Dr. Jim Webb takes us through some of those stories in his new book Innovators Who Changed the World: Timeles...

The world has changed. Unfortunately, leadership styles haven’t changed with it. The old “Command & Control” leadership approach is no longer tenable in an era with a hybrid workforce. Stephen M.R. Covey, a noted authority on trust and inspiration, helps 21st century leaders grasp this new reality in his book Trust & Inspire: How Truly Great Leaders Unleash Greatness in Others . In our interview f...

We hear a lot about soft skills for leaders these days. But Mark Crowley has been beating this drum for over a decade. His 2011 book Lead From the Heart: Transformational Leadership for the 21st Century has been updated for 2022, and the timing is perfect. With so many challenges the modern leader has to face, from the pandemic to remote work and more, Mark’s book offers the perfect solution. The...