Stumbling Blocks: How Great Leaders Are Made

Shalene Gupta, Editor, Fast Company: The Manager's AI Survival Guide

Shalene Gupta, staff editor for Fast Company's Work Life and Leadership section, interviewed 35 middle managers at some of the biggest companies in the world for her piece "The Middle Manager's AI Survival Guide." What she found is that the contradictory headlines about AI at work aren't actually contradictory. There are two different worlds, and which one you're working in makes a world of difference. One idea sits under all of it, and it matches what I find in my own work. People will walk through almost any change, AI included, when they trust that their leader has their back. In this episode: 0:00:00 The question every manager is asking 0:01:20 The one-line takeaway from the AI Survival Guide 0:02:30 Two universes: the AI race vs. where most of us work 0:04:53 Ethan at Meta: "If you think they'll replace you, they probably will" 0:06:07 The math: a person vs. $200 to $500 a month in tokens 0:07:36 ClickUp's "100x more productive" memo 0:08:40 Are we weighing the human cost? (Dimon at Davos) 0:09:49 What it feels like to be a middle manager today 0:11:48 What the excited managers had in common (and a Georgia-Pacific surprise) 0:14:10 Advice for leaders taking teams through AI 0:16:26 Advice for the rest of us 0:17:07 My takeaway, and a look at next week Links: "The Middle Manager's AI Survival Guide" (Fast Company): https://www.fastcompany.com/91531056/the-middle-managers-ai-survival-guide [https://www.fastcompany.com/91531056/the-middle-managers-ai-survival-guide] The Power of Trust, by Sandra Sucher and Shalene Gupta: https://amzn.to/4xdcxUK [https://amzn.to/4xdcxUK] The Cycle, by Shalene Gupta: https://www.amazon.com/Cycle-Confronting-Pain-Periods-PMDD/dp/1250882893 [https://www.amazon.com/Cycle-Confronting-Pain-Periods-PMDD/dp/1250882893] Shalene Gupta: https://shalenegupta.com [https://shalenegupta.com] Shalene Gupta is the staff editor for Fast Company's Work Life and Leadership section, co-author of The Power of Trust with Harvard's Sandra Sucher, and author of The Cycle. Stumbling Blocks: How Great Leaders Are Made is hosted by Jonathan Block, founder of Block Leadership Group, recorded in the Treehouse Studio in Georgia. If this was worth your time, follow the show and leave a review. It's the best way to help other leaders find it. Next week: Retired Vice Admiral Mark Harnitchek, who led the Defense Logistics Agency, on loss, grief, and leadership as a mirror. I'll see you then on The Stumble.

Dana Perino, White House Press Sec. & Bestselling Author: "Purple State" & Crossing Party Lines

Dana Perino's new book is called Purple State. It's a political romance novel set in a gerrymandered Wisconsin district, about three young women who discover that love and friendship don't stop at party lines. Coming from the 26th White House Press Secretary and co-host of The Five on Fox News (the most-watched show on cable news!), it's a book worth paying attention to. Especially as we find ourselves more divided than any time in recent history. Dana talks about the personal story behind the book: The time a dear friend said, "Do not pass up the chance to be loved." She almost didn't listen. Dana tells the story of sitting in the Oval Office with President Bush just before walking out to face a press corps hungry over a tell-all memoir from her predecessor. She was furious on his behalf. He told her something about forgiveness that changed her. Purple State is out now. Pick it up today here:* https://amzn.to/4tRzGcZ [https://amzn.to/4tRzGcZ] CHAPTER MARKERS 0:00:00 Welcome to the Treehouse Studio 0:01:13 The 2007 Phone Call 0:02:35 Life After the White House 0:04:58 Purple State: The Book 0:06:59 Why I Wrote a Novel 0:10:42 Wearing Your Politics Lightly 0:12:57 The Oval Office and the Forgiveness Lesson 0:15:52 68% of Young People Won't Date Across Party Lines 0:17:29 Do Not Pass Up the Chance to Be Loved 0:19:00 Peter, the Proposal, and the Open-Ended Ticket 0:20:05 Dinner With the Queen's Staff 0:21:46 There Is Freedom in Being Disciplined 0:23:41 Closing Thoughts on Purple State 0:24:49 Outro KEYWORDS / TAGS Dana Perino, Purple State, leadership, Fox News, The Five, White House Press Secretary, forgiveness, discipline, political fiction, women in leadership, Minute Mentoring, President Bush, Jonathan Block, Stumbling Blocks, career resilience, love, faith *Amazon affiliates receive a small commission from Amazon for purchases made through this link. Commissions do not impact editorial decisions.

Outtakes: Sue Gordon Meets My Parents

My parents were visiting me the day I interviewed Sue Gordon, former Deputy Director of National Intelligence. So they joined me in the Treehouse Studio to say a quick hello to her. Here's their conversation.

Sue Gordon, Deputy Director of US Intelligence: What America Needs From Its Leaders

Sue Gordon once oversaw 100,000 women and men of the U.S. intelligence community as Deputy Director of National Intelligence, the number two role in American spycraft. She briefed Presidents Reagan, HW Bush, Clinton, W Bush, Obama, and Trump. She managed a $100 billion budget. And in August 2019, she handed Vice President Pence her resignation letter with a handwritten note: "I offer this letter as an act of respect and patriotism, not preference. You should have your team. Godspeed, Sue." Since then, life has come at her hard. Both parents died. Her husband Jim, the love of her life for 43 years, died unexpectedly. She has faced two rounds with cancer, the second one far more deadly than the first. And she says she's the most blessed woman in the world. In this conversation, Sue goes deep on: * The U.S. strikes on Iran and what she sees that most Americans don't * What the Epstein files actually reveal about how power protects itself * Why she almost ran for President * Why she quit the CIA with two weeks' notice to be a better mom * How the Trump administration publicly excoriated a 40-year career civil servant, and what she chose to do instead of fighting back * Why she thinks America needs to fix a system the Founders never designed for this much speed * What she wants every woman in a man's world to know, and what she wants the good men to finally do about it * The doorways of grief, and how to move through them This is Sue Gordon in full: the spy, the mom, the widow, the patient, the patriot. Unfiltered. Funny. Occasionally heartbreaking. Always worth your time. Find her podcast, Understandable Insights here: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/understandable-insights-information-to-intelligence/id1827249845 [https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/understandable-insights-information-to-intelligence/id1827249845] Books and Works Mentioned: A Severe Mercy [https://www.amazon.com/Severe-Mercy-Sheldon-Vanauken-ebook/dp/B0053JJUL8/ref=sr_1_1?dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.OSkyUTLO441MIKg6ZGBRHL8pAwUv522meqyw2dlwSYCA6FaFrtHqzPImr1A_UUOEhSGIjKZ1SXxrwrPhdqY_L49WK6O8nF9EeXGrBFBtzHAIU-gOkCs31aJXJaxUkrb0AZwlA5dZGTOQvGatiGfR3mfbRkx42o6iZMAOEFT_1U6LYvOub4_8W7CHD6fmCm7lT4Uf-DzAVLQop6ZlPiTuYz0ImDK3sbOkPez1CbX8kWs.qmU11rTHpkmox2-Yq48gavRnHXsU1KMCW_077OlbMEQ&dib_tag=se&keywords=a+severe+mercy&qid=1776886488&s=books&sr=1-1] The Price We Pay [https://a.co/d/07Jqsil7] An Immense Journey [https://a.co/d/0aVezUaz] Sue's Resignation Letter [https://x.com/rebeccaballhaus/status/1159625289950990337] If this episode is worthy of your time, please share it and leave a review. It's how we grow.

Outtakes: The President's Advice I Didn't Want

A few times during my two-part interview with Judge and Rebecca Gonzales, they turned the tables on me. They listened. And they drew three stories out of me that I've rarely shared. The first is a story that never made it into the main episodes: the Oval Office advice I didn't want that... changed my life. The second is about what happens when your Quaker mother and your Jewish father sit down together at Hanukkah. The third is about what shaped my decision to work for Attorney General Gonzales as a political appointee. If you haven't heard Parts One and Two yet, start there. This bonus episode will mean more after you've heard their full story. Content warning: Like part 1, this episode touches on childhood trauma and may not be suitable for all listeners. If you'd like to support the show, please follow Stumbling Blocks on your favorite podcast app and leave a review. It's the best way to help other leaders like you.