podcast

Chapter 68: Roger Martin on mercenary monopolies, material mentors, and managing mayhem

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Roger Martin has been called the #1 management thinker in the world by Thinkers50.

I’m not surprised.

For the past twenty years I have often been in crowds gathered around Roger to hear him speak. Like Marshall McLuhan or Malcolm Gladwell, he has a singular visionary worldview that’s simultaneously astonishingly insightful and deeply humble.

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After graduating from Harvard Business School, Roger went on to be a top director at The Monitor Group, the boutique strategic consultancy firm cofounded by Michael Porter. He then became Dean of Rotman School of Management at University of Toronto, where he not only managed to 10x revenue during his tenure, but massively elevated Rotman’s status globally until it became one of the top business schools in the world. Most interestingly, he applied a series of counterintuitive management practices to placate disillusioned staff operating in a Lord of the Flies type setting.

Along the way, he’s managed to author a number of bestselling strategy books including Playing To Win and The Opposable Mind. This year, he released When More Is Not Better which I think is his best book to date. (I called it my #1 non-fiction read of 2020.) In the book, Roger calls out a very broken system of democratic capitalism, rusted from within, favouring the elite over a working class struggling to make ends meet. But, unlike most business books which sort of stop at illuminating the problem, Roger actually spends most of his time offering tangible and concrete solutions that have proven to work elsewhere.

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If you are the leader of a team, a community group, or within a family, you will gain a ton of actionable wisdom from Roger Martin. There is so much here, from countering monopolies to designing slack systems and building trust. 

Roger Martin is a self effacing, deeply humble genius with the power to distill complex ideas into digestible concepts.

Ready for this masterclass?

Let’s go!

What You'll Learn:

  • What is the real definition of capitalism?

  • How do we get capitalism working for the middle class?

  • What is “multi-homing” and how can we do it?

  • What are the issues with Amazon, Facebook, and other monopolies?

  • How should politicians really be passing laws?

  • How would you introduce gun control in the US?

  • What is slack and why do we need more in business?

  • Why is principled leadership so critical and what does it look like?

  • Why is face to face better for conflict resolution?

  • How can we change repetitive behaviours which do not serve us?

  • How do you move yourself along the path towards true mastery in any art or craft?

  • And, of course, what are Roger Martin’s three most formative books?

Notable quotes from Roger Martin:

“Capitalism, done well, is still the best system that I’ve seen.” - @RogerLMartin #3bookspodcast

“Citizens have to act as though their consumer patterns do really matter rather than just go along with these things.” - @RogerLMartin #3bookspodcast

“There is an optimum slack in every system and it isn’t zero.” - @RogerLMartin #3bookspodcast

“Leaders simply have to set an example and stick with their principles and people will follow. People will want to follow.” - @RogerLMartin #3bookspodcast

“Stop worrying too much about convincing others; convince yourself.” - @RogerLMartin #3bookspodcast

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Chapter 67: Roxane Gay on lessons in love and the lethal lure of likeability

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Provocative bestselling author. Prestigious editor. Prolific book reviewer. Passionate press founder. Prominent professor. Powerful speaker. Perceptive social commentator.

Phew!

Is it any wonder Roxane Gay has been dubbed by Playboy as the most important and most accessible feminist critic of our time?

Over 1,000,000 people follow Roxane across Twitter, Instagram, and GoodReads, where she is, no big deal, currently the #1 ranked best book reviewer on the entire platform. So she’s an Internet junkie then, right? One of those social media “influencer” people? That kind of thing?

Oh no, no, no, no, no! Roxane Gay is not that. She writes the Work Friend column at The New York Times as well as regular Op-Eds. She is the author of numerous bestselling books including Ayiti, Bad Feminist, An Untamed State, Difficult Women and Hunger. She was an editor for The Rumpus, co founded PANK literary magazine, and is currently editor at Gay Mag. She launched Tiny Hardcore Press (in her words, publishing “books tiny in stature but grand in reach and spirit,”) and has been a professor at Eastern Illinois, Purdue, and Yale.

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Roxane’s work is known for challenging mainstream narratives and deconstructing feminist and cultural issues through the lens of her personal experience as a Black queer writer. I spent weeks preparing for this conversation and felt like a ravenous wolf trying to read and listen to as much Roxane as I could find. I read and loved Bad Feminist, dug into her treasure trove of essays on Medium, and listened to her on many podcasts including two episodes on the wonderful Design Matters with her wife Debbie Millman. And still: I didn’t scratch the surface. She is such a prolific voice.

We talk relationships, love, morality, sex, and, of course, her three most formative books. Are you ready to hang out with Roxane’s incredibly compelling mind?

Let’s go!

PS. This chapter is in partnership with Roxane and Performance Space NY, an alternative arts hub currently raising funds for housing insecure Black and trans artists. The arts world needs us all the time but even more so during this pandemic. Please consider donating. I will match all 3 Books listener donations up to $5000. Please email Manuela at manuela@globalhappiness.org with your donation receipt. Thank you!

What You'll Learn:

  • How do you navigate the TBR (to be read) pile?

  • What are the ingredients for finding love?

  • What does it mean to be loved well?

  • What is cultural relativism?

  • What is the true power of a book?

  • How do we teach kids about sex these days?

  • Why is it so destructive to associate sex with shame?

  • How do we stop caring about what other people think?

  • How do we become better writers?

Notable quotes from Roxane Gay:

“There isn’t any nobility in settling.” - @rgay #3bookspodcast

“A lot of self-help has you believe that you have to find that thing within yourself and that if you work hard enough at loving yourself you will be ready for someone to love you and that’s just nonsense. It might work for 4 people. But most of us are full of self loathing and people love us anyway.” - @rgay #3bookspodcast

“I didn’t really learn that I deserved to be loved well until I was loved well.” - @rgay #3bookspodcast

“When we talk about cultural relativism, especially in the United States, we tend to be overly prescriptive and to think that what is good for us is inherently good for everyone else, but that’s not the case.” - @rgay #3bookspodcast

“When we talk about wokeness really what we’re saying is that you make me uncomfortable because you are forcing me to question my place in the world and how the world functions and how I benefit from it.” - @rgay #3bookspodcast

“I think we have to decouple sex from shame and from morality, and do so in age-appropriate ways, and in ways that respect parents’ values.” - @rgay #3bookspodcast

“In a perfect world, children would not feel like sexuality is this shameful secretive thing.” - @rgay #3bookspodcast

“It’s not necessarily a question of how we learn to live with being unlikeable, it’s how we learn to stop placing value judgements on behaviours of others.” - @rgay #3bookspodcast

“Being unlikable is not unacceptable.” - @rgay #3bookspodcast

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Chapter 66: Vivek Murthy on loneliness, living longer, and leading with love

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So Joe Biden gets elected President on a Saturday.

Who does he call up on Sunday?

Vivek Murthy.

The former Surgeon General of the United States under Barack Obama and the new co-chair of Biden’s Coronavirus Task Force offers such a unique combination of indisputable professional acumen with calm and resonant introspection.

I was first drawn to Vivek Murthy back in September of 2017 when I came across a cover story he wrote in Harvard Business Review called Work and the Loneliness Epidemic. I couldn’t believe it! Doesn’t the Surgeon General usually warn about smoking, obesity, and AIDS? Yet here was a medical doctor, in the most public forum, warning us on the perils of … loneliness. 

I took the piece to heart and let it lead me down a rabbit hole of research on solitude. I even quoted Vivek in You Are Awesome. Vivek’s CV reads like an Indian parent’s dream with a high school valedictorian followed by a Harvard undergrad and then Yale to become (no biggie) a doctor with an MBA!

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What did he do on the side? He founded VISIONS Worldwide (a not for profit focused on HIV/AIDS education in the United States and rural India) in 1995 and Doctors For America ( which fights for access to high quality affordable health care for the most needy) in 2008. He would then alternate years in medical practice with time in the highest echelons of government.  

Vivek released his wonderful book Together which went straight to the New York Times bestseller list and was endorsed by Malcolm Gladwell, our guest in Chapter 37 of 3 Books, who said: “Vivek Murthy reminds us that our national conversation about medicine has been too narrowly focused on hospitals, doctors and drugs and not enough on the human connections that sustain us.” Amen!

Fascinated by his prodigious intellect and dedication to the service of others, I knew I would love to chat with him on 3 Books. Susan Cain generously introduced us and Vivek then gave us the incredible gift of his time … spread out over two interviews across two months and stitched together here.

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What are the social implications of COVID? How do we prioritize the people in our lives who matter most? What is the best way to pursue a spiritual path? What is higher energy and how can we channel it? How do we deepen our friendships? What is a moai and how can one be used to help our spiritual and emotional growth? What does it mean to be guided by love versus fear? And, of course, what are former Surgeon General Vivek Murthy’s 3 most formative books?

I hope you see why Vivek’s voice resonates so powerfully in medical, business and political circles. His contemplative bias, humility, and calm in the face of this pandemic are a gift. If I was elected President, I would call him the next day, too!

Sit back and let his words and advice be the balm of wisdom that we can all benefit from right now.

Let’s go!

What You'll Learn:

  • How will the pandemic allow us to rebalance our priorities?

  • What is true service to others according to Hindu spiritual teachings?

  • How do religions share spirituality? 

  • How do we stay deeply connected to who we really are?

  • How can we be truly vulnerable with our friends?

  • What is the real power of an open ended question?

  • What does it mean to be fully present?

  • Why does multitasking not work?

  • What is sacred space and why is it so critical to our wellbeing?

  • How can friends keep us honest?

  • How can we offer kindness to others?

  • How should we define success?

  • How do we experience God?

  • How can we create a better world for our children?

  • How can we trust today?

  • What is the importance of pausing?

  • What can help us live longer?

  • How do we listen to ourselves and learn to be alone to foster deeper connections?

Notable quotes from Vivek Murthy:

“Most of us have a gap between our stated priorities and our lived priorities.” - @vivek_murthy #3bookspodcast

“Living a spiritual life is about living a life that is informed by, guided by and powered by love.” - @vivek_murthy #3bookspodcast

“It is in our vulnerable moments when we are honest with each other that we forge strong bonds and where we also grow as people.” - @vivek_murthy #3bookspodcast

“Being real is not about divulging everything, it is about being authentic in what it is you choose to share.” - @vivek_murthy #3bookspodcast

“One of the extraordinary benefits of being fully present is that it can stretch time and make 5 minutes feel like 30.” - @vivek_murthy #3bookspodcast

“We have great power within us, the power to make someone else feel seen as a witness to their journey and to make them feel like they matter. We can do all of that simply by being present with the power of our attention.” - @vivek_murthy #3bookspodcast

“We have to dedicate ourselves to helping people meet their basic needs for sleep, food, housing. Unless we do that, then we’re not practicing the spirituality that we may understand at a theoretical level.” - @vivek_murthy

“We now know from science, we don’t really multitask, we task switch.” - @vivek_murthy #3bookspodcast

“It is much harder to multitask when you have to look at somebody.” - @vivek_murthy #3bookspodcast

“We all need some sacred space that is free from distraction, where we can focus on grounding ourselves. Whether we use that time to meditate, read, walk in nature, or to just observe our breath, that time is absolutely essential.” - @vivek_murthy #3bookspodcast

“In this tension we have between being and doing I think we overvalue doing and we undervalue being.” - @vivek_murthy #3bookspodcast

“We need friends to be our mirrors and show us who we really are.” - @vivek_murthy #3bookspodcast

“Staying committed to living and building a people centered life is so essential to creating a fulfilling life for us and delivering the kind of society that we want our children to inherit.” - @vivek_murthy #3bookspodcast

“Love manifests as compassion, kindness and generosity. Fear surfaces as insecurity, jealousy, rage and anxiety. Acting out of fear leaves us feeling energetically drained, but when we act out of love it sustains us and makes us feel more whole.” - @vivek_murthy #3bookspodcast

“If we can just reach for kindness in a single moment it can open our hearts up and it can also open our eyes to what are often deeper wells of compassion and kindness.” - @vivek_murthy #3bookspodcast

“It is when we are able to reach for love whether it is in giving it or receiving it, that’s when we not only feel good but that’s when I believe we experience God.” - @vivek_murthy #3bookspodcast

“Moments of pause are what sustains our heart.” - @vivek_murthy #3bookspodcast

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Chapter 65: Nikki Giovanni on potent poetry, powerful prose, and palling with the purveyor of peace 

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Happy Blue Moon and Happy Halloween everyone!

A singular lunar event is fitting for the release of my next chapter with the venerable Nikki Giovanni. Do you know Nikki? I’m a bit ashamed to admit I didn’t until I came across her wonderful children’s book, Rosa (on American civil rights activist Rosa Parks), which I read to my kids and loved. After Apurna called 1-833-READ-A-LOT in the End of the Podcast Club in Chapter 59 and suggested Nikki as a guest, I watched her TED Talk, read some of her poems and watched this captivating interview she did with James Baldwin back in 1971.  And then I reached out to her and she graciously accepted to be interviewed for 3 Books. 

Nikki Giovanni was born in 1943 and is an American poet, writer, commentator, activist and educator. Wikipedia says she is one of the world’s best known African American poets. I think she’s one of the world’s best known poets, period! (Why do we always hedge it??)

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She is prolific and deeply introspective throughout her poetry, anthologies, recordings and nonfiction essays on topics ranging from race, to social issues, to children’s issues. She was nominated for a Grammy and was named one of Oprah Winfrey’s 25 Living Legends for her prominence in the 1960s Black Arts Movement and as a defender of both the Civil Rights and Black Power Movements. She’s been dubbed “The Poet of the Black Revolution” for her strong militant perspective.

Today, at 77, she is a distinguished professor at Virginia Tech where she still teaches and mentors students to help them find their voices. And it is from her very office that she dialled in to chat with me.

Listen in as we discuss the true meaning of activism, the true meaning of community, why it is important to hate (yes hate!), and to share what she believes is the best thing to do when you get up in the morning. And of course we get into her 3 most formative books. 

I am honored and humbled to bring you this lively conversation with the eminent Nikki Giovanni.

Let’s go!

What You'll Learn:

  • How can we be better at being alone?

  • What is a mirror check in?

  • How does poetry give us hope?

  • How can we learn to write poetry?

  • How was the first black show Soul started on TV?

  • Why was Nikki’s interview of James Baldwin a cultural turning point for the Black community?

  • Why is forgiveness overrated?

  • How can we hate productively?

  • Why is it a good idea to be old?

  • What was it like seeing a movie during segregation?

  • What still needs to be done to combat racism?

  • What is the link between abortion and capital punishment?

Notable quotes from Nikki Giovanni:

“The first person who reads your work is yourself.” – @NikkiGiovanni6 #3bookspodcast

“I think forgiveness is way overblown. I think we should learn to hate.” – @NikkiGiovanni6 #3bookspodcast

“I may not change the world, but I will not let the world change me.” – @NikkiGiovanni6 #3bookspodcast

“I am trying to make a world where people leave people alone.” – @NikkiGiovanni6 #3bookspodcast

“As long as there is a piece of me alive, I am going to carry it to the poll and let it vote.” – @NikkiGiovanni6 #3bookspodcast

“To be a white supremacist is to be a coward.” – @NikkiGiovanni6 #3bookspodcast

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Chapter 64: Rhiannon the Restaurateur on redefining reality

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So I’m walking down the street in downtown Toronto when I glance into a restaurant on my right and see a little chalkboard sign in the window which reads, “Your rights end where another person’s begin. Wear a mask.”

I found the sign to be a tiny display of civic activism. Asking people to wear masks! Demanding it, even. So tough in the service industry. I stop to snap a quick photo and the owner, Rhiannon, seeing me do this, steps outside.

We talk about how tough things are in the industry right now and discuss the challenges of enforcing masks and distance while trying to run a business.   

I decide to order a breakfast burrito, which gives me time to engage Rhiannon in a longer exchange. Turns out she was an English teacher and loves reading so I turn on my recorder and record a short guerrilla chapter of 3 Books right on her patio. (Our second after Chapter 44 with Kevin the Bookseller! And our second bar patio chapter after Chapter 27 with Robin the Bartender.)

Listen into this honest conversation about school politics, engaging reluctant readers, tackling stereotyping, hangover poutine, and of course, Rhiannon the Restaurateur’s 3 most formative books.

As this pandemic endures, we need to support our local corner shops, variety shops, and neighborhood restaurants. The future is going to need small businesses!

Let’s give some love to the beautiful Rhiannon of Grapefruit Moon.

Let’s go! 

What You'll Learn:

  • Why is revisiting books valuable?

  • How can a book inspire action?

  • How do you run a business with your mom?

  • What’s it like growing up on an island?

  • Why should we burn The Ugly Ducking?  

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Chapter 63: Brandon Stanton is harnessing histories of humble human heroes

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“If you are willing to get closer to people who are suffering, you will find the power to change the world.”

That quote by Bryan Stevenson perfectly describes the incredible work of Brandon Stanton of Humans of New York, my guest on Chapter 63 of 3 Books.

Happy Harvest Moon everyone! 

Are you surviving the onslaught of 2020?

If you’re anything like me you’re looking for grounding which is why I’m thrilled to be bringing you this uplifting exchange which completely filled my heart and soul.

Brandon Stanton is an American author, photographer, blogger, activist, and philanthropist. He is the creator of the viral sensation Humans of New York, which boasts a community of over 30 million people around the world who get a regular glimpse into the private lives of strangers through Brandon’s arresting photos and accompanying stories that reflect back to us the deeper nature of humanity.

Brandon is also the author of the New York Times bestsellers Humans of New York, Humans of New York: Stories, Little Humans of New York, and the highly anticipated new book Humans which comes out next week. (Side note: I believe he also holds the Guinness World Record for “Most Books With The Word Humans In The Title”).

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Brandon was listed as one of TIME’s 30 People Under 30 Changing The World, and received the James Joyce award for the Literary and Historical Society for Professional Achievement. Not bad for a roaming flâneur who got fired from his bond trading job and just started walking around taking pictures all day.

In this chapter we discuss:

  • What did Brandon learn while photographing Barack Obama?

  • What’s the difference between schooling and education?

  • What system did Brandon adopt to improve his reading?

  • How do we balance artistic ambition with family contentment?

  • How can cannabis help with creativity?

  • Why is it important that kids fear drugs?

  • How can we rebuild trust?

  • And of course, what are Brandon Stanton’s 3 most formative books? 

In this tumultuous year of ups and downs, pandemic havoc, incessant media and political mayhem, let this conversation be an oasis of energy to fill you back up.

Let’s go! 

What You'll Learn:

  • Why is it so important to never judge a person from one moment?

  • Who was the original inventor of the self help movement?

  • How do we separate reading from compulsion and curiosity?

  • How can you design systems to realize more of your potential? ?

  • How do we tap into our deeper artistic selves to tell better stories?

  • What is freedom and how does success limit it?

  • What is the difference between being an influencer and being an artist?

  • Where does power in a modern democracy really reside?

  • What does it take to be a historical biographer?

  • Why is getting close to people who are suffering so critical to bettering the world?

  • What does it mean to be a moral person?

Notable quotes from BRANDON STANTON:

“You can never judge a person in a moment.” - Brandon Stanton @humansofny #3bookspodcast

“It doesn’t matter how smart you are, if you don’t have knowledge, if you don’t take the time to learn from other people and learn what’s been learned before you are just never going to do anything near what you were capable of doing.” - Brandon Stanton @humansofny #3bookspodcast

“Educating yourself based on your own curriculum is going to lead to a lot more retention and a lot more growth then educating yourself in a more systemic format.” - Brandon Stanton @humansofny #3bookspodcast

“I want to get as good as possible at telling the stories of strangers that I possibly can.” - Brandon Stanton @humansofny #3bookspodcast

“So much of my growth is due to discipline and not the passion.” - Brandon Stanton @humansofny #3bookspodcast

“What marijuana does is it kind of activates that part of your brain which is more imaginative and more playful and more adventurous and your mind wanders a lot more.” - Brandon Stanton @humansofny #3bookspodcast

“Being in the proximity of the deep personal lives of other people definitely gives you more weight within which to lean into being a good person.” - Brandon Stanton @humansofny #3bookspodcast

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Chapter 62: Myriam Gurba is a bold badass with a bronca against baseless bigotry and brutality

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“Xicana AF. Bitch is my pronoun.” So reads the Twitter bio of Myriam Gurba, my guest, our guest, in Chapter 62. 

A Mexican/American writer, storyteller, and visual artist from California, Myriam is the author of the true crime memoir Mean, which was hailed by O magazine as “one of the best LGBTQ+ books of all time.” She is also the author of Painting Their Portraits in Winter, Dahlia Season, as well as a number of chapbooks, all of which pack an audacious punch. And if her infectious written word is not enough, she’s toured with Sister Spit, a lesbian feminist spoken word and performance art collective. 

She traffics in Spanglish and bold truth, the kind of which is raw and fierce. 

“When I tell gringos that my Mexican grandfather worked as a publicist, the news silences them. Shocked facial expressions follow suit. Their heads look ready to explode and I can tell they’re thinking, ‘In Mexico, there are PUBLICISTS?!’ I wryly grin at these fulanos and let my smile speak on my behalf. It answers, ‘Yes, bitch, in México, there are things to publicize such as our own fucking opinions about YOU.’ - Myriam Gurba

Those words are from her viral article, Pendeja, You Ain’t Steinbeck: My Bronca with Fake-Ass Social Justice Literature, in which she takes down Jeanine Cummins’ novel American Dirt. She had been asked to review the book by Ms. Magazine, but they rejected said review on the basis that she, “lacked the fame to pen something so negative.” The controversy came to light, as well as her original critique, and the publishing world erupted. Cultural appropriation, the white gaze, racism, and the lack of diversity in the publishing industry were brought to the fore. 

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Unafraid and unapologetic, Myriam had no choice but to ride the wave of deliberation. Aspersion was only heightened, shortly thereafter, by her very publicized suspension from her teaching job in a local high school by an armed police escort. Her social media presence was deemed inappropriate. And yet, she was, in her words, simply defending students who were accusing teachers of abuse.

She is passionate and energetic, a big thinking firecracker who challenged my views and grew my thinking on so many levels for which I am so grateful. We had a jet-fueled conversation talking about racism, prejudice, growing up queer, police brutality, violence against women, the Mexican obsession with death, and, of course, Myriam Gurba’s 3 most formative books.

Are you ready for a gritty, vulnerable, and honest conversation with the one and only Myriam Gurba?

Let’s go!

(Trigger Warning: This conversation does veer into topics of sexual abuse and trauma.)

What You'll Learn:

  • Why is there so much white supremacy in publishing?

  • How can we use vulnerability to draw strength?

  • What is it like growing up queer?

  • How can we become better activists?

  • Why should the police and prison system be abolished?

  • What constitutes violence against women?

  • What systems fuel misogyny and patriarchy?

  • How can we have a better body image?

  • How do we deal with genital shame?

  • What are the roots of racism?

  • Why is it so important to engage in corporeal politics?

Notable quotes from myriam gurba:

“We are discussed as if we are the problem because we are framed as the problem, but we are never asked or invited to the table to help resolve the problem of white supremacy. “ - @lesbrains #3bookspodcast

“White folks aren’t accustomed to having to work to understand critique.” - @lesbrains #3bookspodcast

“There’s an expectation that women ought to suffer and ought to suffer, quote unquote gracefully, and then if you are a woman of color, the expectation is even greater.” - @lesbrains #3bookspodcast

“If activism matters and liberation matters to you, then you are willing to assume the risk.” - @lesbrains #3bookspodcast

“The police exist to perform spectacles of violence.” - @lesbrains #3bookspodcast

“We’re all pink on the inside is just as gross as telling a dark-skinned person we all bleed red. That might be true that we all bleed red, but some of us are forced to bleed more than others.” - @lesbrains #3bookspodcast

“For folks who are interested in the struggle for liberation, it’s important to start with your community and with the people who are already organizing in your community.” - @lesbrains 3bookspodcast

“We all have power. A lot of us forget that every single human being, if we are alive, we have some sort of power.” - @lesbrains #3bookspodcast

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Chapter 61: Temple Grandin on mixing minds making magic

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Welcome to Chapter 61!

I am delighted to bring you a conversation with the one and only Temple Grandin whose life has profoundly changed our notions about autism and neurodiversity and whose work has heightened awareness of the importance of animal welfare.

Born in 1947 in Boston, she was diagnosed with autism while still nonverbal at age 4. Told her daughter should be institutionalized, Temple’s mother dismissed doctors and worked tirelessly to help her daughter blossom.

A BA, MA, and PhD later, Temple is a lauded faculty member at the College of Agricultural Sciences at Colorado State University. She has authored over 60 scientific papers on animal behavior and is one of the first people with autism ever to raise awareness and document her own journey.

This has contributed to her notoriety on many fronts: she was brought to prominence in the world by Oliver Sacks M.D in his book, An Anthropologist on Mars, she has authored her own books on autism, Thinking in Pictures: My Life with Autism and The Autistic Brain: Helping Different Minds Succeed, her TED Talk “The World Needs All Kinds of Minds” has been viewed over 5 million times and the HBO movie,Temple Grandin, based on her life, and where she was played by Clare Danes, shed light on her incredible story as well as picked up over a dozen awards across the Emmy, SAG, and Golden Globes circuit.

As a respected spokesperson in the animal community, Temple is also celebrated for her redesign of slaughterhouses (yes, you read that right). She is outspoken in her belief that, “alleviating anxiety rather than extending life fully,” should be the priority for those raising animals. Her essay “Animals are Not Things” and her books Animals in Translation and Animals Make Us Human, have garnered her the highest regard, for her ability to empathize with animals is second to none.

In this Chapter, we discuss:

  • What is the state of autism in the world today?

  • How do we nurture diverse minds?

  • What is missing from our education system today?

  • What are the ethics of eating meat?

  • How can we value our elders more?

  • And of course, what are Temple Grandin’s 3 most formative books?

Ready to jump into my conversation with this beautiful and resilient soul?

Let’s go!

What You'll Learn:

  • What is autism and what does ‘the autism spectrum’ really mean?

  • What is missing from the education system today?

  • Why should kids do more hands-on learning?

  • What does it mean to be a visual thinker?

  • What could have avoided the Fukushima nuclear disaster?

  • What is animal welfare and why is it important?

  • What is the future of our species? (big one!)

  • How can we embrace getting older?

  • How do we find our purpose?

Notable quotes from Temple Grandin:

“If you want to know how my mind works, give me a key word and pretend I am Google for images.” - @DrTempleGrandin #3bookspodcast

"One of the worst things the schools have done is taken out hands-on classes." - @DrTempleGrandin #3bookspodcast

“Nature is cruel but we don’t have to be.” - @DrTempleGrandin #3bookspodcast

CONNECT WITH Temple Grandin:

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Resources Mentioned:

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Chapter 60: Shane Parrish masters Munger to map mental models and mold maverick minds 

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Neil & Shane Parrish.jpg

In Shane Parrish’s first group project during his MBA he watched as his professor got into some verbal fisticuffs with his partner on a project. They were debating the logic behind his group’s presentation. They disagreed about it! And, eventually, his partner got up and shouted, “I am wasting my time here!” before storming out of the room, out of the class, and out of the program in one fell Costanza-like swoop.

Shane fortunately caught up with the unnamed hero in this little caper while he was waiting for a taxi and said, “What happened back there? I thought we did the project right. Why did we get such a different answer than the professor?” His partner’s two-word answer ended up changing Shane’s life.

He said simply: “Charlie Munger”.

Shane Parrish’s Office Library

Shane Parrish’s Office Library

Who is Shane Parrish?

He’s a former spy who, to quote the NY Times, ‘helps Wall Street mavens think smarter.’ He’s become an unlikely guru to the world’s intellectual elite with strategies appealing to an overachieving audience across high finance, Silicon Valley and professional sports. He runs Farnam Street, colloquially known as FS.blog, which aims to ‘help you master the best of what other people have already figured out.’. FS.blog helps readers optimize decision-making through a giant worldwide community of thousands of people, a virtual think tank of professionals who can help “shorten the path to wisdom’ and self-education. FS is also: an award-winning newsletter (Brain Food), a podcast called The Knowledge Project (which I guested on not so long ago) and a series of incredible books called The Great Mental Models that Shane Parrish and his team personally publish. 

So how do you meet a spy? You fly to him. And so I did. Up to Ottawa, Canada and into the new Farnam Street Offices on Bank Street — all pre-pandemic. To say I’m intrigued by Shane is an understatement. He is a voracious reader with  insights and worldly wisdom on big questions like:

  • What does it mean to think better?

  • How should we think about our thinking?

  • What is intelligence and how should we measure it?

  • How do we build trust in relationships?

  • What does it mean to be a gentleman these days?

  • How do you raise boys into great men?

  • And, of course, what are Shane Parrish’s 3 most formative books?

Are you ready?

Let’s go.

What You'll Learn:

  • What does it mean to live a more meaningful life?

  • How should we create trust in the world today?

  • How do we create art with integrity?

  • How do we think about sponsorship?

  • How do you make adult friendships?

  • How do you live life without lawyers?

  • How do we develop trust without contracts?

Notable quotes from Shane Parrish:

“I think of intelligence as adaptability and ability to improve.” - @ShaneAParrish #3bookspodcast

“Whose bread I eat, his song I sing.”- @ShaneAParrish #3bookspodcast

Quoting Warren Buffet: “Do you live your life by an inner scorecard or an outer scorecard?” - @ShaneAParrish #3bookspodcast

Quoting Warren Buffet: “Would you rather be the world’s greatest lover, but have everyone think you’re the world’s worst? Or would you rather be the world’s worst but have everyone think you’re the greatest? - @ShaneAParrish #3bookspodcast

“If you are not paying for information, you are the product, you are what is being sold.” - @ShaneAParrish #3bookspodcast

“Be careful when you outsource your thinking and don’t convince yourself it is your thinking if you are paying for it.” - @ShaneAParrish #3bookspodcast

CONNECT WITH Shane Parrish:

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Resources Mentioned:

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Chapter 59: Jeff Speck is pushing the pleasures of pedestrian propinquity

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Where in the world are you right now?

Are you in cramped apartment in a busy downtown core? Are you in a countryside farm beside a tiny general store? Or are you in a basement hotel gym in Ulaanbaatar? 

And, more importantly, why in the world are you where you are? Are you chasing a career? Are you in school? Did you move for love? Does inertia have you wedged deeply into your neighborhood?

Well, where ever you are, I can promise you this: by the end of Chapter 59 you won’t look at where you live the same way ever again.

Why?

Because my next guest is a visionary city planner and urban designer and who will guide us through the power of place and principled planning.

Sidenote: Chapter 59 is our first rabbit hole chapter of 3 Books. You may recall Anne Bogel introduced us to Jeff Speck by picking his book Walkable City as one of her three most formative back in Chapter 57. She was in love with the book, I fell in love with the book, and we ended up inviting Jeff onto the show.

So who is Jeff Speck?

Well, he’s an internationally renowned city planner and urban designer, recognized for his research surrounding, and advocacy for, more walkable cities. He was Director of Design at the National Endowment for the Arts from 2003-2007, he was also Director of Town Planning at DPZ & Co (the founders of the  New Urbanist movement) for over 10 years and now heads up his own consulting practice, advising cities and mayors across the globe. He is a fellow at both the Congress for the New Urbanism and the American Institute of Certified Planners and has made conversations surrounding walkability mainstream via his two TED Talks viewed over 4 million times: The Walkable City and 4 Ways to Make a City More Walkable.  

And as if the above planning pedigree were not enough, he is the author of several books including the aforementioned Walkable City, the top selling city planning book for the past decade, (and #832 in our Top 1000!) as well as Suburban Nation, declared by the Wall Street Journal as ‘the urbanists bible’

In this chapter we deep dive into:

  • What is walkability and what is its true value?

  • What is the relationship between design and well-being?

  • What are the true costs of car ownership?

  • How can city planning combat loneliness?

  • How does poor planning perpetuate racism?

  • What makes a good mayor?

Jeff is a wonder brain. Humble, articulate, passionate, he’s a man on a mission. His mind has these cranks and gears that allow him to see the world with giant perspective and distill things down to simple ideas for us to absorb and reflect upon. 

Are you ready?

Let’s go!

What You'll Learn:

  • What is urban planning?

  • Where and how did urban planning go wrong in the twentieth century?

  • What is necessary to create human-scale livable spaces?

  • Why are many cities failing its citizens?

  • How much is car dependency hurting us?

  • Why is strangeness important?

  • What is the importance of the concept of live, work, play in planning?

  • Why is it illegal to build mixed use walkable communities to this day in the US?

  • How has the pandemic affected how we build and think about our cities?

  • And, of course, what are Jeff Speck’s three most formative books?

Notable quotes from Jeff Speck:

“Great writing is really great thinking.” - Jeff Speck #3bookspodcast

Quoting Jane Jacobs: “Almost nobody travels willingly from sameness to sameness and repetition to repetition even if the physical effort required is trivial.” - Jeff Speck #3bookspodcast

“The bigger the city the more strangeness you can have.” - Jeff Speck #3bookspodcast

“It’s remarkable how cities give you crowds and interaction but they’re also the place to go for anonymity.” - Jeff Speck #3bookspodcast

“We have designed out of our communities the useful walk.” - Jeff Speck #3bookspodcast

“For every dollar that you spend on gasoline, society is paying another nine dollars to get you around.” - Jeff Speck #3bookspodcast

“If you switch from driving to taking transit you will lose 6 pounds” - Jeff Speck #3bookspodcast

“The denser your city is the more patents per capita it is going to generate.” - Jeff Speck #3bookspodcast

Quoting Jane Jacobs: “Lowly, unpurposeful and random as they may appear, sidewalk contacts are the small change from which a city’s wealth of public life may grow.” - Jeff Speck #3bookspodcast

“It is a very different thing to bump into someone while walking then it is to bump into someone while driving.” - Jeff Speck #3bookspodcast

“We do everything better when we don’t limit ourselves to our specialty.” - Jeff Speck #3bookspodcast

CONNECT WITH Jeff Speck:

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