Today, we’re exploring how the future reveals itself through creative and innovative business leaders. This is a fantastically disruptive and transformative time. Global institutions and many large businesses have lost credibility and are no longer trusted. So, how can difficult social, environmental, and ecological challenges be solved? Join Aviv Shahar as he engages in a meaningful discussion with Court Lorenzini (Founder of Docusign), Grant Canary (CEO of DroneSeed) and Bryce Bennet (CEO & Co-Founder of Solo), three entrepreneurs who have worked on the cutting edge of solving difficult problems.

• 00:30 – Aviv introduces today’s guests, Court Lorenzini, Grant Canary, & Bryce Bennett, who join the show to expound on today’s topic: Solving Tough Problems
• 05:45 – The origin story of DroneSeed and Grant’s entrepreneurial journey
• 14:28 – Bryce shares the inspiration behind Solo and the work they are doing to help people in the Gig Economy
• 22:06 – A particularly gratifying moment for Bryce and the Solo team
• 25:01 – Entrepreneurialism, Authoritarianism, and Coalescence
• 35:19 – Grant reflects back on the moment he realized how important it was to combat climate change
• 37:18 – Bryce reflects on his passion for making an impact
• 39:53 – Court’s extraordinary upbringing and his introduction to entrepreneurship and leadership
• 45:41 – Bryce, Grant & Court share key learnings from their varied experiences
• 53:17 – Advice Bryce, Grant & Court would give to aspiring entrepreneurs looking to make their mark on this world and solve some of our most difficult problems

FULL SHOW NOTES: https://www.avivconsulting.com/cnf128

Peter Docker is a keynote speaker, facilitator, and author of the book Leading from the Jumpseat . Through his work, Peter enables leaders to unlock their natural talents. He’s focused on leadership that engenders commitment and human connection, an approach that liberates the collective wisdom of teams to generate extraordinary outcomes. Peter served for twenty-five years as a Royal Air Force senior officer and was a Force Commander during combat flying operations across the globe. Today, Aviv and Peter engage in a rich conversation on commitment, humble confidence and leading from a place of intentionality.

• 01:18 – Aviv introduces today’s guest, Peter Docker, who speaks to what he enjoys most about the work he does in leadership and expounds on the concept of ‘Jumpseat Leadership’
• 09:55 – Three practices of Jumpseat Leadership
• 13:23 – Commitment, fear, and love
• 18:58 – Humble confidence
• 23:38 – Belonging
• 26:45 – Why context setting is critical to leadership
• 31:25 – Top challenges facing leaders in this time of disruptive change
• 35:55 – What inspired Peter to join the Royal Air Force and lessons he’s brought from the military into the business world
• :55 – How Jumpseat Leadership can help our ability to handle crises
• 47:04 – Peter speaks to how he connected and collaborated with Simon Sinek
• 48:31 – Advice Peter would give his twenty-five year old self and two learnings he values above all else
• 51:11 – Final words of wisdom from Peter

FULL SHOW NOTES: https://www.avivconsulting.com/cnf127

Faiza Hughell is a go-to market leader, board member, and mentor. She was RingCentral’s Chief Customer Officer and just recently retired from RingCentral after eleven years of an extraordinary ride where her strategic oversight of sales and execution has been a critical driver for RingCentral’s growth from $23M to over $1.5B in annual recurring revenue. Today, Aviv and Faiza engage in a conversation on the power of reframing, operating in an environment of explosive growth, courageous leadership, and self-empowerment.

• 01:15 – Aviv introduces today’s guest, Faiza Hughell
• 04:44 – Faiza reflects on her career journey and expounds on her proudest accomplishment
• 07:30 – Faiza’s most difficult challenge to overcome and the most rewarding moment of her career
• 10:18 – The power of reframing
• 13:01 – Faiza’s evolution as a leader and what she has learned from other leaders
• 19:47 – Building world-class teams
• 23:02 – Operating in an environment of explosive growth
• 27:05 – What Faiza learned about courageous leadership
• 30:20 – Mentoring advice Faiza would give to young leaders
• 33:12 – What the future holds for Faiza
• 34:46 – Final words of wisdom from Faiza

FULL SHOW NOTES: https://www.avivconsulting.com/cnf126

Shaunak Roy is the Founder and CEO of Yellowdig, a community-driven active learning platform with a mission to transform every classroom into an active, social, and experiential learning community. Prior to founding Yellowdig, Shaunak spent a decade advising global companies on technology, strategy, and growth. Today, Aviv and Shaunak share a rich discussion on the state of institutional learning, how Yellowdig is rethinking education, and the critical role that agency, mastery and connectedness play in the learning process.

• 01:17 – Aviv introduces today’s guest, Shaunak Roy who speaks to what brings him joy from the work he does, his passion for learning and the problem that Yellowdig solves
• 09:04 – Shaunak expounds on the broken educational system and possible solutions to fix it
• 18:42 – How Yellowdig differentiates itself
• 26:32 – Agency, Mastery and Connectedness
• 33:48 – What it looks like when a group of learners and educators truly embrace the full capability of Yellowdig’s platform
• 39:01 – Yellowdig’s business model, their expected growth, and Shaunak’s five-year vision
• 42:54 – Shaunak reflects on key insights and learnings from building an organization
• 45:39 – Advice Shaunak would give his twenty-five-year-old self and two learnings that Shaunak values above all else
• 47:06 – Final words of wisdom from Shaunak

FULL SHOW NOTES: https://www.avivconsulting.com/cnf125

Eddy Badrina is the CEO of Eden Green, a vertical farming company that helps people around the world sustainably grow large amounts of food using less land, water, and energy. Eddy is a purpose-driven leader, focusing on employees, inspirational organizational culture, and the communities he serves. Today, Aviv and Eddy share in an exploration of empathetic leadership, what it means to build a ‘redemptive organization,’ and key learnings and formative moments from Eddy’s journey. 

• 01:40 – Aviv introduces today’s guest, Eddy Badrina who shares what he loves about the work he’s currently doing and the problems Eden Green is solving
• 06:22 – Vertical farming, explained and what Eden Green does
• 12:07 – Food Insecurity around the globe
• 17:42 – Other key players in the vertical farming value chain
• 21:14 – The demand for ‘organic’
• 22:37 – Eddy’s vertical farming origin story
• 24:08 – Building a ‘Redemptive Organization’
• 27:09 – Eddy reflects on key learnings from working at The U.S. Department of State and The White House
• 31:17 – The formative moment that awakened this sense of empathetic leadership in Eddy
• 34:21 – Advice Eddy would give his twenty-five year old self and two learnings that Eddy values above all else
• 35:26 – Final words of wisdom from Eddy 

FULL SHOW NOTES: https://www.avivconsulting.com/cnf124

John Church is a visionary leader who has had an extraordinary career at General Mills, one of the most admired companies in the world. John is an incredibly insightful Executive because he brings this rare capacity to integrate the four zones of executive leadership: the strategy, the operation, the people, and the numbers. He’s able to go deep and integrate those dimensions to play the holistic game of leadership. Today, Aviv and John explore leading through crisis, vulnerability, accountability, and the shifting paradigm of the global workplace. 

• 01:05 – Aviv introduces today’s guest, John Church who speaks to the joys of retirement and his uncanny ability to remain calm in stressful situations 
• 04:57 – John shares how General Mills successfully navigated the world-changing event of the pandemic 
• 16:50 – Best practices and protocols that enabled John and his team to succeed 
• 19:40 – Managing the human side of leadership during a crisis
• 23:36 – A shifting paradigm 
• 30:47 – The concept of ‘Possibilities Thinking’ 
• 37:12 – John’s career origin story 
• 48:13 – Vulnerability in leadership 
• 54:33 – The key principles that guide John’s mentoring practices 
• 56:58 – Three final inquiries from Aviv
• 1:00:54 – Final words of wisdom from John

FULL SHOW NOTES: https://www.avivconsulting.com/cnf123

Mark Carpenter is a speaker, consultant, serial storyteller and the author of Master Storytelling: How to Turn Your Experiences into Stories that Teach, Lead, and Inspire. Mark’s passion is in helping others achieve more of their potential through perspective and guidance. Today, Aviv and Mark engage in a rich discussion on the power of storytelling and break down the three key elements of any great story. Mark provides advice and best practices for honing your storytelling skills and expounds on the stories we, as a society, must develop to highlight the human condition. 

• 00:57 – Aviv introduces today’s guest, Mark Carpenter who shares what he enjoys most about storytelling and the power of connecting through stories 
• 06:05 – Where Mark’s passion for storytelling arose 
• 07:23 – What we don’t understand about stories and the three biggest mistakes people make when telling stories 
• 12:23 – Aviv and Mark engage in an exercise to provide the three major components of a story 
• 17:35 – What an effective story and storyteller looks like 
• 24:39 – Why adults and children listen to stories similarly 
• 27:28 – Why Conflict is key 
• 30:08 – Three steps of crafting and delivering a great story 
• 35:48 – Aviv and Mark speak to the critical stories about the human condition that we must be developing 
• 39:16 – Final words of wisdom from Mark

FULL SHOW NOTES: https://www.avivconsulting.com/cnf122

Russell Hudson is a strategist, economist and consultant who is passionate about learning and teaching others with the goal of simplifying the complex. Today, Aviv and Russell reflect on a series of provocative articles Russell recently published on LinkedIn. The articles touch on a variety of topics ranging from work-life balance and identity to The Great Resignation. Russell explores the journey from chasing to embracing by rethinking success and significance and the importance of reclaiming your power.  

• 00:52 – Aviv introduces today’s guest, Russell Hudson who shares what brings him energy and joy these days and reflects on what he calls ‘the noise in the silence and the silence in the noise’ 
• 07:18 – Key insights from Russell’s research into work-life identity and the current state of The Great Resignation 
• 15:04 – The Great Exhaustion, explained 
• 20:01 – Reclaiming your power to choose and ‘Elizabeth’s story’ 
• 27:20 – Russell reflects on his own journey through The Great Exhaustion 
• 35:09 – Russell expounds on the phrase, ‘Here I stand, I can do no other’ 
• 38:12 – Transitioning from chasing to embracing 
• 44:21 – Rethinking success and significance 
• 54:48 – Final words of wisdom from Russell and what he hopes to be writing about in the future

FULL SHOW NOTES: https://www.avivconsulting.com/cnf121

Ralf Specht is a visionary business leader and creator of the Soul System, a framework that aligns value-creating employee action with broader corporate strategy through shared understanding and shared purpose. He is the author of Building Corporate Soul: Powering Culture & Success with the Soul System and Beyond the Startup: Sparking Operational Innovations for Global Growth. Today, Aviv and Ralf expound on the key question that has been at the forefront of Ralf’s mind for years: How do we build and sustain a human-centric performance culture? Ralf speaks to his driving vision to make soulless companies a thing of the past. Aviv and Ralf explore the value in organizations cultivating a shared purpose and fostering a great corporate culture. If you can walk the talk and make that tangible, incredible results can be unlocked. 

• 00:51 – Aviv introduces today’s guest, Ralf Specht who shares his vision  
• 07:37 – Core agreements that shaped the trajectory of Ralf’s company
• 09:59 – Formative lessons Ralf learned as CEO 
• 12:13 – Building and cultivating a shared purpose 
• 18:43 – The Soul System, explained 
• 25:14 – Fostering a sense of belonging through open conversations and connecting purpose, mission, and vision to the work you do every day 
• 31:54 – How Ralf transitioned from a corporate to a consulting frame of mind 
• 33:48 – Daring to be human again 
• 38:12 – Advice Ralf would give to his younger self and two learnings Ralf values above all others 
• 39:10 – Final words of wisdom from Ralf

• 01:02 – Aviv introduces today’s guest, Tim Coats who shares his background and what brings him energy and joy these days
• 03:02 – A closet philosopher and mystic flying under the cover of a corporate executive
• 06:08 – Bringing philosophical tendencies to corporate America
• 09:14 – The power of ‘We’
• 11:08 – The inquiry that Tim initially set out to answer when he launched his blog
• 13:54 – Defining ‘A Life Well Lived’ and the two broad categories of people
• 16:27 – The journey of finding meaning
• 20:23 – Three of Tim’s contemplative practices
• 24:42 – The Four Principles: Balance, Awareness, Practice and Wisdom
• 30:26 – Tim speaks to the idea of belonging and the Five Energies of Life
• 37:04 – Being accepted for your own authentic self
• 41:09 – Be the best, look both ways, help others succeed
• 52:05 – The peace that proceeds challenge
• 56:16 – The critical phase in every development journey
• 1:07:03 – The God Test

Yair Assulin is an award-winning author and thinker who writes a weekly analytical column for one of Israel's leading newspapers, Haaretz, and hosts a radio show at the Israeli Broadcasting Corporation covering the fields of culture, business, politics, and society. In recent years, much of his public writing has focused on the development of a new political and business philosophy based on his ideas about "The Century of How," and "The End of the Age of Politics," in order to create a vivid ethos to societies and companies in this broken time of the technological revolution.

Today, Aviv and Yair engage in a meaningful dialogue centered on a major shift that is underway in humanity and consciousness, which Yair describes as living in the subjective story we tell ourselves about our reality and the world around us. Yair suggests that the story we’re telling ourselves is no longer the right story and doesn’t reflect reality. Aviv and Yair touch on this idea and how seminal events such as the Industrial Revolution, the discovery of America and the latest technological advances in our society have impacted our world and, most importantly, our story. 

• 01:05 – Aviv introduces today’s guest, Yair Assulin who shares the fundamental shift in mind and heart that he believes needs to occur in our world 
• 08:38 – The impact the Industrial Revolution had on the rise of the ‘Nation State’ 
• 12:28 – The Century of the ‘How’ and the Century of the ‘What’
• 17:41 – The need to create new language and a new story in order to evolve and move forward 
• 23:15 – Characteristics of people who are able to lead by changing consciousness 
• 26:28 – The discovery of America metaphor 
• 31:13 – Yair speculates on the future of the ‘State’ and trends he’s observed over the past few years 
• 36:49 – The fundamental changes to consciousness, space, and time 
• 41:08 – Yair reflects on his own personal journey and shares what he’s learned 
• 47:58 – The fight for freedom and individualism 
• 50:37 – Yair provides his thoughts on totalitarian China 
• 56:40 – The distinction between technological and conceptual enterprise 
• 57:14 – What the spiritual realm means to Yair 
• 1:03:07 – What Yair hopes to be writing about five to ten years into the future 
• 1:06:57 – Are we currently in a Revolutionary Age or a Transformation Age 

FULL SHOW NOTES: https://www.avivconsulting.com/cnf118

During a recent workshop with an executive team, Aviv brought to focus the premise that the currency of leadership is conversation. This is an unlocking idea that Aviv addresses regularly with his clients. What made this occasion different, however, was the new context that emerged. That idea was that a transformational leader must be a conversation artist. Why is framing the conversation the highest leverage for a leader? Aviv analyzes this inquiry and provides four reasons as well as seven characteristics that make up a true conversation artist. 

• 00:54 – Aviv shares learnings and insights he gleaned about the currency of leadership
• 02:18 – Aviv analyzes four reasons that the highest leverage for a leader is to frame the conversation   
• 05:29 – The heavy price leaders pay when failing to embrace the mindset of conversation as the currency of leadership 
• 07:09 – Key elements and capabilities that characterize a conversation artist   
• 07:54 – Now it’s your turn, embark on a lifelong journey of becoming a conversation artist 

FULL SHOW NOTES: https://www.avivconsulting.com/cnf117

Mark Horoszowski is the co-founder and CEO of MovingWorlds, an award-winning social enterprise that helps businesses scale their social impact programs by engaging employees in all sorts of profound opportunities. Mark is an RSA Fellow and is a lecturer on corporate social responsibility at The University of Washington Center for Leadership and Social Responsibility. Today, Aviv and Mark engage in a meaningful conversation on social responsibility, helping others and building a sustainable and equitable future. Mark shares some of the insights he has gleaned about human nature throughout the course of his journey at MovingWorlds. Finally, Mark provides three pieces of sage advice for young people looking to make a difference in the world today.

• 00:57 – Aviv introduces today’s guest, Mark Horoszowski who shares his background in corporate social responsibility and what he enjoys most about his work 
• 04:10 – Mark reflects on the type of learner he is 
• 06:12 – What catalyzed Mark’s journey to MovingWorlds 
• 14:18 – The most important lessons Mark learned during his year of travel 
• 16:55 – The mission of MovingWorlds 
• 22:19 – Building a sustainable and equitable economy and the role of social businesses 
• 36:05 – Mark provides some examples of the work he and his team do at MovingWorlds 
• 40:06 – Challenges that Mark had to overcome and what he learned from them 
• 47:22 – The importance of the belief systems of people who get involved in systems change  
• 53:44 – Deep insights Mark has gleaned about human nature 
• 57:59 – What it means to Mark to be an RSA Fellow 
• 1:01:31 – Advice Mark would give to younger people looking to make a difference in this ever-changing world

FULL SHOW NOTES: https://www.avivconsulting.com/cnf116