The Humans Strike Back

In this episode, David & Louis talk about what the next steps for THSB are, and why we’ve decided to switch from a weekly podcast to seasonal, plus a few outtakes :) Listen to the episode to learn when to expect new episodes and how you can voice your thoughts and opinions about the show. And be sure to give us your input so you can shape the direction of Season 2 by going to hotjar.com/thsbsurvey.

Today we’re talking with Yam Regev, the founder of Zest.is, a content distillery focused on providing actionable content to its users. Yam shares how combining a human touch with automation became essential to Zest’s rapid growth. Zest has gone from 0 to almost 18,000 weekly active users in just a year, and a lot of that growth is thanks to the fact that Yam personally responded to every single content submission when Zest first started. That human touch created a powerful WOW moment for...

Today we’re talking with Josh Braaten, a marketing consultant and founder of Brandish Insights, about the lessons he learned when he formed his own Super PAC to take on the US government and fight for net neutrality. He shares the backstory of what led him to create a Super PAC in the first place, and then deep-dives into the practical insights he gained while crafting a message to resonate with his target audience, such as: Josh was a pleasure to speak with and someone I look forward to...

Today we’re talking with Jane Garza & Kim Perkins from NOBL.io, an organization founded to help teams change the way they work for the better. Jane & Kim share how they’ve helped teams successfully reach higher levels of motivation & collaboration. And it’s a far cry from the rewards and punishment systems that researchers have learned from rats in mazes 60+ years ago. Instead, they highlight the importance of: They also share just how NOBL has helped companies such as Calvin Klein and...

In today’s episode, we talk to Focusmate founder Taylor Jacobson about human-to-human accountability and how it can help us beat procrastination and achieve our professional and personal goals. If you’ve ever sat down to work on a task and then suddenly minutes—our hours—have passed without you accomplishing much, you’re not alone. Taylor experienced that situation enough times to know something had to change: so he created Focusmate, an app that pairs people with an accountability partner...

Today we’re talking with Erica Peterson, the founder of Moms Can: Code. When she became pregnant during her studies at West Virginia University, Erica was told that this ‘life choice’ did not fit with her career progression as a graduate student. Instead of accepting that pregnancy and parenthood can hold someone back from professional achievement, Erica eventually created Moms Can: Code, a global community of moms who are learning to code and a training program to teach moms to code both...

Today we’re speaking with George Mumford, the mindfulness coach to some of the world’s top performing athletes. Over his 20+ year career, George has helped teams such as the LA Lakers, The Chicago Bulls, and the New York Knicks reach new levels of focus, flow and presence. Both Michael Jordan & Kobe Bryant directly credit George with helping them level up their game, and Phil Jackson, the coach of the Laker’s and Bull’s during their winning streaks, calls George his secret weapon that...

Today we’re talking with Peter Docker, co-author of the book, ‘Find Your Why.’ Peter is an Igniter and Implementation Specialist on Simon Sinek’s Start With Why team, where he’s helped companies in 88 countries around the world achieve the extraordinary by uncovering their higher purpose. Peter shares several incredible stories about the power of finding your why, including: Peter is an incredibly engaging speaker, and this conversation left me feeling charged and inspired, and I hope you...

Today you’ll be hearing from Alice Karolina Smith, the founder of TheEthicalMove.org. Alice shares a very unique story of how she went from dropping out of design school in Switzerland to being exposed to massive levels of income inequality in Bolivia – and how that led her to create an organization dedicated to breaking the cycle of consumerism. It’s a story of how she reached a breaking point with traditional marketing methods that lead us to compromise our integrity, honesty, and...

Today we’re talking with André Morys, the CEO and founder of konversionsKRAFT, one of Europe’s most successful (and award-winning) Conversion Rate Optimization agencies. André is a great embodiment of what a people-first leader looks like, not only when it comes to his clients but also his team. As we’ll hear from André, putting his team first has led to greater productivity, better customer service, and more revenue in the long run. And he really walks the talk. In fact, in this...

Today we’re talking with Laura Klein, the author of Build Better Products and UX for Lean Startups, as well as the founder of UsersKnow.com. She also hosts her own podcast, What is Wrong With UX, where she shares insights from her 20+ years in improving experiences for users. In this episode, Laura shares a story of what happened when a company she worked for chose to ignore the needs and challenges of their main users, just because those weren’t the users the product team wanted to...

Today I’m happy to introduce Lori Schwanbeck, a lovely human being who’s been working as a mindfulness consultant with dozens of companies and organizations like Google, the U.N., and even the ministry of Bhutan. In fact, she was still recovering from her jet lag from coming back from Bhutan when we had this conversation. Lori shares with us how practicing mindfulness at work can help us to enhance our decision-making, think more creatively, and build stronger teams. Lori also shares why...

“You are who you are and that’s why we love you. That’s why we hired you. So don’t try to be someone else because we wanted you.” – Omer Molad Today we’re talking with Omer Molad, the founder and CEO of the recruiting software startup, Vervoe, on how to bring a more human element into the hiring process. Omer shares an incredibly personal story about how he learned to earn the trust of his team members’ while he was a platoon commander in the Israeli army in his early 20s. That story...

I’m very excited to introduce today’s guests: Nilima Bhat & Raj Sisodia, co-authors of Shakti Leadership and pioneers of the Conscious Capitalism Movement. They join me to talk about how qualities traditionally considered to be more ‘feminine’ – such as empathy, compassion, vulnerability and even love – are helping businesses increase revenue and create higher levels of employee engagement and customer satisfaction. And this isn’t just their opinion. They came to this interview packed...

How do you cultivate a healthy, open culture that empowers employees to thrive? In today’s episode, we’re talking with Diana Chapman, the co-founder of The Conscious Leadership Group, about how to create a more authentic, people-focused culture at work. Diana and her team have helped dozens of organizations, including Ebay, Asana, Whole Foods and more, to increase employee engagement and performance by eliminating drama, building trust, and cultivating a culture where authenticity,...

“I realized that I’m doing the same stuff as I was doing at the first launch, this is like launch number four, and I’m not growing like I should be. What’s the missing piece here?” “What I discovered? There’s a big difference between your audience and your customers.” - Brian Dean, founder of Backlinko.com Today, we’re speaking with Brian Dean, the founder of Backlinko.com, about the importance of talking to people in order to make sure your messaging is on point. I’ve been a fan of...

What does meditation and mindfulness have to do with success? In today’s episode, you’ll hear from Sharon Salzberg, one of the first people to bring insight & mindfulness meditation to the US back in the 70s and 80s. She has taught meditation to thousands of people, including at retreats alongside the Dalai Lama. So why meditation? Because I’ve experienced & seen first-hand how meditation has helped me and others to develop the traits that are essential to succeeding by putting people...

What happens when you go from being customer-centric to customer-obsessed? In today’s episode, you’ll hear from David Cancel, the CEO of Drift, the company behind conversational marketing, which emphasizes 1-to-1 conversations with your potential customers over a more traditional sign up-to-drip email series. So why are we featuring a company that starts these conversations with a chatbot, instead of humans? Because David, a 5-time startup founder and former Chief Product Officer at...

Just how much of an impact can being transparent and vulnerable have on your business? In today’s episode, we’re talking with Alaura Weaver, a copywriter who specializes in helping people speak ‘human,’ about the effect that storytelling can have on your business and how being transparent and vulnerable in your communication can create meaningful relationships with your customers. She also shares a powerful story about the human cost of putting profit before people that’s definitely worth...

What do you do when you take a massive gamble on an initiative you think is a sure bet, and then it almost tanks your company? In today’s episode, Peep, the founder of CXL, one of the most popular conversion optimization blogs on the internet, shares: How the launch of the CXL Institute training program completely bombed, left the company with only 30 days worth of cash, and got Peep to the point where he was almost ready to pull the plug and let his whole team go. BUT, he also shares how...