Meikles & Dimes

262: Data Scientist Sebastian Wernicke | Data Doesn’t Convince People—People Do

Sebastian Wernicke is a leading expert in data and AI strategy who has spent more than 20 years helping organizations—from startups to Fortune 500 companies—turn data into real-world transformation. Sebastian’s work stands out because of his core belief that the power of data isn’t unlocked through better technology—it’s unlocked through better thinking. Through his consulting, speaking, and three TED Talks with over 5 million views, he’s helped leaders rethink how they use data to drive meaningful change. His new book, Data Inspired, makes the case that the future belongs not to organizations that are merely data-driven, but to those that build a true culture of inquiry.

In this episode we discuss the following:

• Data doesn’t convince people. People convince people. Sebastian’s fuel savings example captures this perfectly. A 20% improvement felt like a win to Sebastian, but like an accusation to the employee. So Sebastian repositioned it—not as a “big fix,” but as a gradual, step-by-step pilot—making it feel natural and allowing everyone to save face. And an underappreciate tool Sebastian uses to systematically think through motivations and constraints is checklist.
• What especially helps companies make the best use of data is psychological safety. Without it, the highest-paid opinion wins, and the data gets ignored.
• Data is more like an MRI than a clear cut verdict, so it’s important to get people’s perspectives because we can all look at the same data and see a different truth.
• If we want to use data more, we have to understand people better.

261: Eric Ries, Author of The Lean Startup | The System Isn't Inevitable

Eric Ries is the author of the New York Times bestseller The Lean Startup, which is responsible for many of the terms commonly used in tech today, including minimum viable product and the build-measure-learn cycle. And his new book is titled, Incorruptible: Why Good Companies Go Bad... and How Great Companies Stay Great.

Over the last two decades, Eric’s ideas about continuous innovation, long-term thinking, governance, and market reform have reshaped company building and management practices. He is the creator of the Lean Startup method, is founder of The Long-Term Stock Exchange and Answer.Ai among other companies, and has served as an entrepreneur-in-residence at Harvard Business School and IDEO. 

In this episode we discuss the following:

• Things aren’t always the way they are because they have to be—they’re often that way because someone benefits from them staying that way. And over time, those systems start to feel inevitable, even when they’re not.
• Eric’s story about using long-term thinking to build the Long-Term Stock Exchange is an inspiring reminder that change often comes from outside the system, and requires persistence in the face of pressure.
• I love Eric’s perspective on mission primacy. The best organizations aren’t built just to maximize profits—they’re built around a purpose. They exist to solve a real problem, to create something meaningful. And when the mission comes first, profits aren’t the goal—they’re the result.
• And maybe the most practical takeaway is to not set our goals too low. Before all of the great people became the great people, they were just a student, just a worker, just someone trying to figure things out.
• As Eric said, “If you see the opportunity for real, lasting, profound change, don’t shy away. Give it a shot. You never know what you might birth in those moments that feel the darkest, that feel the most impossible.”

260: From Felon to Bestseller | Lara Love Hardin on Why What We Hide Connects Us

Lara Love Hardin is a New York Times bestselling author, literary agent, and founder of True Literary, known for her memoir The Many Lives of Mama Love. Her story details her journey from suburban soccer mom to opioid addicted felon, eventually becoming a successful, award-winning ghostwriter with four New York Times Bestsellers, including The Sun Does Shine.

In this episode we discuss the following:

• Lara spent years trying to outrun her past—building a résumé of goodness, hiding the worst parts of her story, convinced that if people really knew her, they’d walk away. And then she did the one thing she feared most: she told the truth. And everything flipped. Instead of rejection, she got connection. Instead of judgment, she got empathy. Instead of isolation, she found community.
• The very things we hide to protect ourselves are often the things that would most connect us to others.
• Lara’s story teaches us about struggle. At the time, her lowest moments felt like the end. In retrospect, they became the new foundation—making her a better mother, writer, and human being.
• When you’re managing shame or fear, your cognitive bandwidth is consumed—no room for imagination, long-term goals, or “delusional ambition.”
• Her inbox of “thousands of secrets” suggests a massive hidden distribution of private struggle across seemingly functional people.
• First-person, present-tense narrative collapses psychological distance—you simulate the decisions, not just observe outcomes.
• When we’re in a hard season, sometimes all we can do is look forward to looking back.

 

259: Good Things Don’t Happen by Accident | NBA Champion Wayne Simien

Wayne Simien is an NBA champion for the Miami Heat and two-time All-American and Big 12 Player of the Year for the Kansas Jayhawks. He currently serves as Associate Athletics Director of Strategic Engagement for KU. Wayne also works as a broadcaster for KU Men’s and Women’s basketball on ESPN+. Before joining Kansas athletics, Wayne spent 12 years in campus ministry. He and his wife Katie are the parents of five children.

In this episode we discuss the following:

• Good things don’t happen by accident. Whether good health, meaningful relationships, or a flourishing career, all of them require work. And often a coach who is guiding us and pushing us and a team that holds us accountable.
• Competitiveness is more about having the drive to prepare than having the desire to win. 
• From Bill Self Wayne learned the importance of toughness as a leadership trait. By making practice harder than the games, players develop resiliency and grit on a day-to-day basis.
• From Roy Williams Wayne learned that long term success comes from commitment to a system. Ten years after leaving KU, Roy was winning national championships at North Carolina built around his same system.
• And what an amazing lesson Wayne learned from Pat Riley. After winning the NBA championship with Hall of Famers, Shaq, Gary Payton, Alonzo Mourning, and Dwyane Wade, the first drill they did the next year was the basic three man weave.

258: The Anti–Midlife Crisis Mindset | Michael Clinton, Former President of Hearst Magazines

Michael Clinton is the former president and publishing director of Hearst Magazines and is currently special media advisor to the Hearst Corporation’s CEO. If you don’t know which magazines Hearst owns, here are a few: Cosmopolitan, Elle, Harper's Bazaar, Esquire, Good Housekeeping, Country Living, Women's Health, Men's Health, Popular Mechanics, Car and Driver, and O, The Oprah Magazine. Michael is also a regular columnist for Men’s Health, and his work has been featured in Forbes, Oprah Daily, Esquire, Elle, and on CBS Mornings. Michael has traveled through over a hundred countries, has run marathons on seven continents, is a private pilot, part owner of a vineyard in Argentina, has started a nonprofit foundation, holds two master’s degrees, and still has a long list of life experiences that he plans to tackle. He is also the author of the book, Longevity Nation. Michael currently resides in New York and Santa Fe, New Mexico.

In this episode we discuss the following:

• Movement is medicine. Not the pharmacy kind, but the kind we build into our life, day after day, year after year.
• Longevity isn’t something reserved for the genetically lucky, but rather a choice we can make. And given that people are living longer than ever, it has never been more important to take care of ourselves.
• It’s never too late to start getting healthy. Michael takes inspiration from 100 year old marathon runner who started running in his 80s.
• We can avoid the midlife crisis by recognizing it as an opportunity. If we’re going to live longer, then we’re not winding down… we’re just getting to halftime. And that means there’s still time to rebuild, improve, and re-invest in a better version of ourselves.

257: The 5-Minute Habit That Boosts Energy, Focus, and Health | Manoush Zomorodi, Host of NPR's TED Radio Hour

Manoush Zomorodi is an award-winning journalist, bestselling author, and host of NPR's TED Radio Hour. Her Body Electric project, a groundbreaking collaboration between NPR and Columbia University Medical Center involving over 20,000 participants, represents one of the largest public health studies of its kind. She’s also the author of the book, Bored and Brilliant, and her TED talk about the attention economy has more than 6 million views. 

In this episode we discuss the following:

• Sitting for extended periods is like kinking a garden hose, which reduces blood flow, oxygen, and glucose regulation. But taking regular five minute breaks helps us think more clearly and feel more energized.
• We can make small structural changes to encourage movement breaks by scheduling a meeting for 55 minutes rather than an hour.
• The best part about regular movement breaks is that it isn’t a tradeoff—it’s a win-win where small changes improve our health, mood, and productivity. 

256: From #50 to #1 in the World | Will Guidara, Author of Unreasonable Hospitality

Will Guidara is the author of the New York Times Bestseller, “Unreasonable Hospitality.” He is the former co-owner of Eleven Madison Park, which under his leadership was named the Best Restaurant in the World. He is the host of The Welcome Conference, a Co-Producer on the Emmy Award-winning series “The Bear,” and is a recipient of the Wall Street Journal Innovator Award. He is also the author of the book, “Unreasonable Hospitality: The Field Guide.”

In this episode we discuss the following:

• When Will’s restaurant ranked 50th out of the World’s 50 Best Restaurants, he leaned on something his dad taught him: adversity is a terrible thing to waste. That night, he wrote two words on a napkin—Unreasonable Hospitality. And just a few years later Will achieved his goal of  becoming number one in the world.
• What stands out most isn’t just the turnaround—it’s the insight behind it: excellence isn’t just about what we deliver; it’s about how we make people feel.
• Will realized that the real differentiator was the experience. It was “one size fits one.” It was DreamWeaving. It was an obsession with the human side of every interaction.
• DreamWeaving was buying sleds for a family whose kids were seeing snow for the first time so that their after meal activity could be sledding for the first time in Central Park or creating beach scenes in the private dining room for a couple who was only there because their beach vacation got canceled.
• So often the people who achieve at a high level do so by being a little unreasonable.
• Never let a gracious impulse pass. We all have small instincts to do something thoughtful and too often, we ignore them. But that’s where the magic is.
• Hospitality, at its best, is being creative and intentional in pursuit of relationships. And even something as simple as asking our guests to really listen isn’t an imposition. It’s a gift.
• No detail is too small to be poured into. Especially when it comes to valuing people.

255: Stop Turning Dials and Start Flipping Switches | Publisher Eric Nelson, Executive Editor at Harper

Eric Nelson is Executive Editor at Harper and Vice President and Publisher of Broadside, HarperCollins conservative imprint. Since joining Harper in 2017, he has published thirteen New York Times #1 bestsellers. In addition to his time at HarperCollins, Penguin, and Wiley, he has worked as an academic editor, literary agent, and author, including his successful parody Oh, The Meetings You’ll Go To, written under the pen name Dr. Suits. As a publisher, his client list includes Joe Scarborough, Jesse Watters, Pete Hegseth, Dan Carlin, and Chris Rufo, among others.

In this episode we discuss the following:

• Eric gave us a powerful lens for capturing attention: most advice lives on a dial (e.g., work harder, care more), but what actually sticks is a switch, something you either do or you don’t. We all know that eating less and exercising more is what matters when trying to lose weight. But it’s that third thing—the concrete, measurable action like drinking celery juice—that gets people to buy the dieting book.
• As Eric reminded us, it’s not about being provocative for its own sake—it’s about being provocative and defensible. The best ideas make people think, “I always believed this… now I can prove it.”
• I’m excited to use the lens Eric provided that helped him start making money in his career. He switched from being a dumb smart person, to a smart dumb person. Rather than advance the conversation for 1000 people, Eric entered the conversation of a million people.

254: Why the First 5 Minutes Matter More Than You Think | Notre Dame Professor James Lang

Jim Lang is a professor at Notre Dame and the author of several popular books on teaching, including Distracted: Why Students Can’t Focus and What You Can Do About It.  

Jim has delivered keynotes or workshops at more than 300 colleges and universities in the United States and abroad. He also consulted with the United Nations on a multiyear project to develop teaching materials in ethics and integrity for high school and college faculty.

Jim is a graduate of Notre Dame with a B.A. in English and philosophy. He holds an M.A. in English from St. Louis University and a Ph.D. in English from Northwestern University.

In this episode we discuss the following:

• One of Jim’s central ideas comes from Aristotle: the beginning is more than half of the whole. Jim experienced this firsthand when he started his class with a provocative question, but low energy, and the students mirrored his energy.
• The first five minutes of a class, meeting, or even our day carry disproportionate weight because they set the tone and create the lens through which everything else gets interpreted.
• Energy is contagious, and students tend to mirror whatever the teacher brings into the room. So if we want better discussions, deeper learning, or more engagement, don’t leave the opening moments to chance; design them carefully.

 

253: Why Being a Good Person Isn’t Always Enough | Lowell Crabb

Lowell Crabb is the Founder and Principal of Drive Wealth Advisors, an independent wealth advisory firm specializing in serving business owners, corporate executives, and high net worth individuals. Lowell is based out of Utah, and is a graduate of BYU. I hope you enjoy learning from Lowell Crabb today.

In this episode we discuss the following:

• While private wealth management operates in the financial world, it’s also deeply psychological, which worked out well for Lowell given his undergraduate degree.
• I especially appreciated Lowell’s insight about the two ingredients required for trust: ethics and competence. When he lost an early client, it wasn’t because the client questioned Lowell’s integrity or intentions. The hesitation came from uncertainty about Lowell’s experience and ability. Just being a good person wasn’t enough—we also have to demonstrate that we can deliver results.
• I also enjoyed Lowell’s emphasis on playing the long game, not only in business but in life.