Courage and Leadership Lessons from Mount Everest with Mountaineer Alison Levine

Courage and Leadership Lessons from Mount Everest with Mountaineer Alison Levine

In the Season 4 premiere of How We Future, Lisa Kay Solomon talks with Alison Levine, polar explorer, mountaineer, leadership educator, and author of On the Edge, to explore what courage really looks like when the stakes are extreme. From leading the first American women’s Everest expedition to skiing to both the North and South Poles as part of the Adventure Grand Slam, Alison operates at the edge of risk, resilience, and reinvention. This conversation is about how to lead, decide, and keep going in a world full of uncertainty. Together, Lisa and Alison unpack what it means to: * Reframe fear as a tool for awareness * Redefine success when plans fall apart in high-stakes environments * Recognize that progress doesn’t always look like forward motion * Go “big and go home” instead of sacrificing everything for achievement Alison shares powerful stories from Everest, including being just 300 feet from the summit when a sudden storm forced her team to turn back after two months on the mountain. What could have been framed as failure becomes, in her telling, one of the most formative leadership experiences of her life. The episode also highlights Alison’s work beyond climbing, including her role as executive producer of Pasang: In the Shadow of Everest, a documentary honoring the first Nepali woman to summit Everest, and her ongoing commitment to expanding who gets seen in adventure and leadership spaces. Thanks for joining us for the beginning of season 4. Please leave a rating and comment- we love to hear from you. Links from the episode: * Alison Levine- official website [https://alisonlevine.com/] * On the Edge [https://alisonlevine.com/the-book/] by Alison Levine * Lessons from the Ledge [https://youtu.be/6hUybmqUVmM?si=ZAVBRX7iJ4Pundwv]- Alison’s TedTalk * Pasang: In the Shadow of Everest [https://pasangmovie.com/] — documentary site (film Alison executive produced) * Mountain Queen: The Summits of Lhakpa Sherpa [https://www.netflix.com/title/81719138] * Coach Eric Reveno [https://www.linkedin.com/in/eric-reveno-3b5a985/] Follow How We Future: * Lisa Kay Solomon on LinkedIn [https://www.linkedin.com/in/lisakaysolomon/] * @lisakaysolomon on Instagram [https://www.instagram.com/lisakaysolomon/] * @howwefuture on TikTok [https://www.tiktok.com/@howwefuture] * howwefuture.substack.com [http://howwefuture.substack.com] Want to contact us? Email hello@howwefuture.com [hello@howwefuture.com]

Assembling Tomorrow: Designing a Thriving Future with Scott Doorley and Carissa Carter

What do you do when the world changes faster than you can make sense of it? The Season 3 finale of How We Future features Stanford educators Scott Doorley and Carissa Carter for a conversation about design, technology, and what it actually means to adapt in a moment of runaway change. Scott and Carissa are the creative and academic leaders behind Stanford’s Hasso Plattner Institute of Design and the co-authors of Assembling Tomorrow, a book that offers language and tools to design a better future. In this episode, you’ll hear: * Why if you feel NUTS! Or “Never Up To Speed,” you’re not alone. * What “bothness” looks like when technologies can simultaneously help and harm * Why speculative fiction and “histories of the future” help us think more clearly about the present * How playful practices like mapping your monsters lower fear and open better conversations This finale invites us to slow down just enough to notice the narratives we’ve inherited, question the ones that no longer serve us, and practice designing — not just reacting — inside uncertainty. Links from the episode; * Assembling Tomorrow [https://dschool.stanford.edu/shop/assembling-tomorrow] by Carissa Carter and Scott Doorley * d.school [http://d.school] mission [https://dschool.stanford.edu/about] * d.school [http://d.school] Design Abilities: “Let’s stop talking about The design process” [https://dschool.stanford.edu/stories/lets-stop-talking-about-the-design-process] * The Secret Language of Maps [https://www.bookpassage.com/book/9781984858009] by Carissa Carter * Make Space: How To Set the Stage for Creative Collaboration [https://dschool.stanford.edu/shop/make-space] by Scott Doorley and Scott Witthoft * Map the problem space [https://dschool.stanford.edu/tools/map-the-problem-space] activity * Scott’s website [https://www.scottdoorley.com/] Follow How We Future: * Lisa Kay Solomon on LinkedIn [https://www.linkedin.com/in/lisakaysolomon/] * @lisakaysolomon on Instagram [https://www.instagram.com/lisakaysolomon/] * @howwefuture on TikTok [https://www.tiktok.com/@howwefuture] * howwefuture.substack.com [http://howwefuture.substack.com] Want to contact us? Email hello@howwefuture.com [hello@howwefuture.com]

How to Bring Your Human to Work with Workplace Strategist Erica Keswin

“The absence of intentionality is a recipe for resentment.” This episode of How We Future features Erica Keswin, a longtime advocate for human-centered leadership and the author of Bring Your Human to Work, Rituals Roadmap, and The Retention Revolution. Lisa and Erica explore how leaders can intentionally design work environments that honor connection, dignity, and trust in an era defined by AI, hybrid work, and constant change. Erica shares three strategies to improve human connection that, data shows, increases ROI, productivity, and morale. In this episode, you’ll hear: * How return to office policies may be working against an organization's best interest * How clear protocols can dramatically improve trust and engagement * Why connection, empathy, and dignity are measurable business advantages * How trust determines whether employees embrace or resist AI and change At a moment when many organizations are defaulting to control, compliance, or exhaustion, this conversation is a reminder that bringing your human to work may be the most future-ready move of all. Links from the episode: * Erica’s website [https://ericakeswin.com/] * Erica’s blog [https://ericakeswin.com/blog/] * Erica on LinkedIn [https://www.linkedin.com/in/ericakeswin/] * Bring Your Human to Work [https://www.bookpassage.com/book/9781260118094] * Rituals Roadmap [https://www.bookpassage.com/book/9781260461893] * The Retention Revolution [https://www.bookpassage.com/book/9781265158682] * EXTRA Commercial [https://youtu.be/jyl8eKa6faA?si=Xj4AqYT4ZfLfon-S] * Thank You For Being Late [https://www.bookpassage.com/book/9781250141224] by Thomas Friedman Follow How We Future: * Lisa Kay Solomon on LinkedIn [https://www.linkedin.com/in/lisakaysolomon/] * @lisakaysolomon on Instagram [https://www.instagram.com/lisakaysolomon/] * @howwefuture on TikTok [https://www.tiktok.com/@howwefuture] * howwefuture.substack.com [http://howwefuture.substack.com] Want to contact us? Email hello@howwefuture.com [hello@howwefuture.com]

How to Stay Human amid Advancing Technology with Psychologist Scott Barry Kaufman & Tech Journalist Chris Shipley

What kind of leadership do we need right now? In this episode of How We Future, Lisa sits down with cognitive scientist and host of The Psychology Podcast Scott Barry Kaufman and longtime technology strategist Chris Shipley to explore what it means to lead with humanity in a world shaped by AI, uncertainty, and nonstop change. The conversation centers on their upcoming book, Leading for Tomorrow, and the question of how we use our most powerful technologies to become more human, not less. Drawing from psychology, history, and decades at the frontier of technological change, Scott and Chris reflect on agency, bravery, and why leadership today is less about control and more about creating the conditions for people to thrive. In this episode, you’ll learn: * Why continuous disruption demands a fundamentally different model of leadership * How AI can amplify creativity and self-understanding when used with intention * What it looks like to shift from efficiency and performance toward learning and becoming * Why optimism, humility, and agency are leadership skills we can all practice Let’s try to rethink leadership as a shared, human endeavor where technology supports our best qualities instead of crowding them out, and where the future is something we actively shape together. Links from the episode: * Pre-order Leading for Tomorrow: Unlocking Human Potential in the Era of Continuous Change and Endless Possibility [https://www.wiley.com/en-us/Leading+for+Tomorrow%3A+Unlocking+Human+Potential+in+the+Era+of+Continuous+Change+and+Endless+Possibility-p-9781394366279] * If you Pre-order the book, fill out this form to receive special offers! [https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSdOpHlHUFJndMeIyRyhv3nx5iBHudTRHh6ouQLu7AOz5GXLKQ/viewform] * Scott Barry Kaufman’s website [https://scottbarrykaufman.com/] * Chris Shipley’s website [https://www.cshipley.com/] * The Psychology Podcast [https://scottbarrykaufman.com/podcast/] * Scott’s theory on Maslow’s sailboat [https://scottbarrykaufman.com/sailboat-metaphor/] * Scott’s course with Oprah on gratitude [https://www.oprahdaily.com/life/a41441542/watch-oprahs-the-life-you-want-class-on-gratitude-dr-scott-barry-kaufman/] Follow How We Future: * Lisa Kay Solomon on LinkedIn [https://www.linkedin.com/in/lisakaysolomon/] * @lisakaysolomon on Instagram [https://www.instagram.com/lisakaysolomon/] * @howwefuture on TikTok [https://www.tiktok.com/@howwefuture] * howwefuture.substack.com [http://howwefuture.substack.com] Want to contact us? Email hello@howwefuture.com [hello@howwefuture.com]

Discover New Ways to Learn (and Teach) with Thought-Leader Sanyin Siang

“Curation is putting two pieces in dialogue with each other. And there’s a dynamism to that.” — Sanyin Siang In this episode of How We Future, Lisa is joined by Sanyin Siang, one of today’s most influential voices on human-centered leadership. Drawing on her work as Executive Director of the Coach K Center on Leadership & Ethics at Duke University, Sanyin shares how we can build trust, foster meaningful mentorship, and develop the relational skills we’re rarely taught. Sanyin works at the intersection of theory and practice. She designs leadership labs for undergraduate and graduate students at Duke and helps organizations build high-performing cultures in moments of uncertainty. Her insights are shaped by patterns she sees across business, engineering, sports, public service, and space exploration—and by her deep belief that leadership starts with how we treat people. This conversation explores what it really means to learn from others, why curation and connection are core leadership skills, and how mentorship works best when it’s grounded in curiosity rather than checklists. In this episode, you’ll learn: * How to build mentorship relationships without forcing them * Why curation, deciding who and what belongs together, is a critical leadership skill in an algorithm-driven world * How to be a powerful apprentice, even when no formal mentor is present * How to effectively read a bio so you know what questions to ask Whether you’re a student, a manager, or a senior leader, this episode offers practical ways to build stronger relationships, take agency over your learning, and lead with greater intention. Links from the episode: * Sanyin’s LinkedIn [https://www.linkedin.com/in/sanyin/] * Sanyin’s Substack: Superpowers with Sanyin [https://leadershipplaybook.substack.com/] * Sanyin’s LinkedIn Learning Courses [http://structors/sanyin-siang] * Duke’s Coach K Center on Leadership and Ethics [https://centers.fuqua.duke.edu/cole/index.html] * Pre-order Leading for Tomorrow by Scott Barry Kaufman and Chris Shipley [https://www.wiley.com/en-us/Leading+for+Tomorrow%253A+Unlocking+Human+Potential+in+the+Era+of+Continuous+Change+and+Endless+Possibility-p-9781394366279] * The Geography of Genius by Eric Weiner [https://www.bookpassage.com/book/9781451691672] Follow How We Future: * Lisa Kay Solomon on LinkedIn [https://www.linkedin.com/in/lisakaysolomon/] * @lisakaysolomon on Instagram [https://www.instagram.com/lisakaysolomon/] * @howwefuture on TikTok [https://www.tiktok.com/@howwefuture] * howwefuture.substack.com [http://howwefuture.substack.com] Want to contact us? Email hello@howwefuture.com [hello@howwefuture.com]