Podcast 375: Evolutionaries with Carter Phipps

 

Carter PhippsI recently interviewed Carter Phipps about his new book entitled ” Evolutionaries-Unlocking the Spiritual and Cultural Potential of Science’s Greatest Ideas“.   Carter does as wonderful job of bridging the gap between faith and science throughout his book.   He has incorporated stories and interviews with some of the greatest evolutionary thinkers from current time and the past.  This allows the reader to gain a perspective about how evolution and our ability to adapt and adopt provides a new worldview and hopefully a shift in our consciousness.

Carter states that evolution embraces everything from economics to psychology, from politics to religion, from ecology to technology.  I could not agree more, and as one takes a deep introspective look at their lives they can see that where  a blur between faith and science once may have existed , it is now becoming clear and they can see the interconnection of all living things.

Carter cites the work of  biologists Lynn Marguils who discovered the first nucleated cell called eukaryote as an example of how nature is working in cooperation vs. competition.  This is a wonderful example of how our society and culture needs to evolve and is evolving into a world  model of cooperation vs. competition.  This is a significant shift in our worldview and evolution for with the new model of cooperation we will speed up the evolution of our species, and we will most certainly see breakthrough in areas of science, technology, politics, spirituality, religion, psychology and the sciences that will make our lives significantly better.

Carter cites a story about Zoltan Torey who was on the verge of death after a terrible accident in a battery factory when acid was dumped over his whole body, leaving him blind.   Torey wrote an autobiography entitled Out of Darkness and a 1999 book entitled “The Crucible of Consciousness“.   What Torey conveyed in his book was a model how the brain creates the experiences of consciousness and how the miracle of self-reflection has evolved the human animal; what  Carter conveys through Torey’s story is how a new kind of ethical context has quietly descended on human awareness over the last years and decades, almost unrecognized, like an unseen snow falling softly during the night, only to reveal a changed world in the light of the morning sun.

Truly this is what is happen, we are evolving as a species and all the support systems around us are evolving as well.  Our evolution is bringing science and faith closer together, and as it does we will start to see clearly the interconnection of all living things.  I highly recommend that you read Carter Phipps new book entitled “Evolutionaries” is will provide content for deep contemplation and reflection about who and what we are becoming.

 

For more information about Carter Phipps please click here to be directed to his website, or click here to watch a great YouTube video about the book.

 

Podcast 323: The Whole-Brain Path to Peace with James Olson

James OlsonAuthor James Olson truly has thoughtfully written a book that  asks the reader to ponder and reflet deeply about the whole-brain path to peace.  His new book entitled “The Whole Brain Path to Peace-The Role of Left-and Right Brain Dominance in the Polarization and Reunification of America” is enlightening to say the least.

In my interview with James we discuss the the tow hemispheres of the brain, and the differences between the left brain and right brain dominance.  As James states the right brain is holistic, unifying and see wholeness.  It is interested in collectives, including collective security and is interested in the welfare of others.

In contrast, the left-brain is dualistic and it separates wholes through the process and analysis, focusing in on their parts.  The left brain is aggressive and needs to be in order to protect us, while the right brain is peaceful, engaging people through a process of attraction rather than action.

James associates the left brain with war, and the right brain with peace.  He states that the left-brain, being analytical, is deconstructive.  Analysis takes things apart.  It is also aggressive and forceful and needs boe be in order to overcome the unity of wholeness.  Wholes don’t fall apart; they have to be forced apart.   The path to peace requires that we fully integrate the tow different side of our brain and end the struggle between them, resulting in a whole brain, a peaceful brain, rather than a polarized brean of two parts.  From a whole-brain perspective—when all you have is wholeness—there are no reason to fight or have war: There is nothing to war against. War comes about only when we have separation.

Author James Olson’s new book ” The Whole-Brain Path to Peace” is a wonderful read filled with thought provoking ideas to thrust the reader into understanding how the two hemispheres of our brain are truly the reason for separation, and not seeing the differences.  Once we can unify our left and right sides of the brain and see the world from a whole-brain perspective we will have personal peace, and as our author would like—world peace.

I hope you enjoy this wonderful interview with a great author.  You can learn more about James Olson by clicking here to be directed to his website.  Or you can watch a Youtube video by clicking here.

Podcast 299: Enchantment: The Art of Changing Hearts, Minds, and Actions with Guy Kawasaki

Guy KawasakiI recently interviewed Guy Kawasaki about his new book entitled ” Enchantment-The Art of Changing Hearts, Minds, and Actions“.  I thoroughly enjoyed my interview with Guy, and I think you will enjoy listening to this interview as well.

Enchantment as Guy states is ” not about manipulating people.  It is about transforming situations and relationships into experiences where people want to come back again and again, while telling others about the amazing experience.  Guy argues that in business and personal interactions, your goal is not merely to get what you want but to bring about a voluntary, enduring and delightful change in other people.  By enlisting the own goals and desires, by being likable and trustworthy, and by framing a cause that other can embrace, you can change hearts, minds, and actions.

In the book all of the tactics you need to prepare and launch an enchantment campaign are available; to get the most from both push and pull technologies; and to enchant your customers, your employees and even your boss. It shows how enchantment can turn difficult decisions your way, at times when intangibles mean more than hard facts.  It will help you overcome other people’s entrenchment habits and defy the not-always-wise “wisdom of the crowd.”

There are two key elements to becoming enchanting, likability and trustworthiness.  Guy states that step one is achieving likability, because jerks seldom enchant people.  In the book several aspects to likability are covered, from smile to handshake to using the right words.  It is important to understand these elements for they are paramount to creating a personality that is likable.

Secondly, it trustworthiness.  People who don’t trust others have often had bad experiences that cause them to embrace a distrusting, kill-or-be-killed philosophy.   The first step is to trust others.  In the book Guy speaks about “Mensch” it is a German word for “human being”, but its Yiddish connotation far exceeds this definition.  If you are a mensch, you are honest, fair, kind, and transparent, no matter whom you’re dealing with and who will ever know what you did.

This book is for people who see life for what it can be rather than what it can’t.  They are bringing to market a cause–that is a product, service, organization, or idea–that can make the world a better place.  If you want to become “enchanting” and change the hearts, minds and actions of the people you interact with or who are your customers then I highly recommend that you read “Enchantment: The Art of Changing Hearts, Minds, and Actions“.  If you would like to learn more about Guy Kawasaki you can click here to be taking to his website.  There are great references and videos as well at the website for your viewing.
Enjoy this wonderful interview with a very “enchanting man” Guy Kawasaki.

Podcast 206: Managing The Millennials with Mick Ukleja

mick ukleja headshotI met author and thought leader Mick Ukleja at the Innovation and Humanities Summit that was held on the campus of Chapman University in Orange, CA.  I was certainly fascinated by his topic about “Managing the Millennials” also the title of his new book.

If you have not been following the generational differences, the millennials are the generation born between 1987 and 1996.  The curiosity for Mick’s work began a few  years ago when his consulting firm began to notice the frustration among manager and business leaders with integrating younger workers into their organizations. Activities that in the past had been relatively straightforward–like recruiting, retaining, and rewarding–now seemed more challenging than ever.  60 Minutes, the CBS television journal, even did a report about the millennial phenomena where stories portrayed reactions that ranged from amazement to incredulity to outrage.

Mick’s firm GeNext Consulting decided to so some research with both the managers who were having challenges, and those where were effective in their management of the millennials. They analyzed thousands of statements collected during interviews with both managers and Millennial employees and found a pattern of responses that they referred to as perceived orientations.  As many of us know perceptions are not necessarily reality, but perceptions acted on or unchecked often become reality and contributed to the tension between the managers and the millennials.

It is my perception after having personally worked with many people from this generation that they are one of the brightest generations to have graced our planet.  Their focus is work-life balance, reward, self-expression, attention, achievement, informality, simplicity, multitasking, and meaning.

The bottom line is that if managers want to learn how to ease the conflict and tension, which frequently are based on the biases and perceptions which as mentioned are often not reality, then they would best treat the millennials by including them, engaging their opinion and disarming them by treating them as equals.  Millennials will react much more favorably, and many of the differences will vanish.

As Mick points out there seem to be two camps with respect to perspectives about Millennials. One camp believes that Millennials are victims of ‘trend inflation”, meaning that the media has created how they are perceived and consultants are creating a niche industry as a result.  Millennials are bright, motivated and great to have around.  The other camp see millennials as free agents lacking loyalty or commitment to their organizations.  However you want to view millennials they are here to stay, and it would be best to learn how to work with them in harmony.

Mick’s new book certainly provides the reader with the knowledge and insight into how to best lead and work with the Millennials.  Please go to his website by clicking here to get more information on working with Millennials, and enjoy this great interview with Mick Ukleja.

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