How Do You Know When Change is Calling? with Kelly Brown
At the Table with Tony Brown
In a funny way, knowing when it’s time to make a decision can be tricky. For Tony Brown, he starts to feel irritated and adds notes to a folder calls “things that bug me.” Those notes usually lead to decisions. Today, Tony talks with executive and career coach Kelly Brown. She knows a decision is looming when she feels angst and frustration. Then she’ll ask herself a question: “If I’m doing exactly the same thing in five years, how will I feel?” It’s a question that has “unlocked so much awareness for me in so many ways,” Kelly says. She also asks this: “What is at...
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Secrets of Being a Good Coach with Mia Wise
At the Table with Tony Brown
Tony Brown is a fantastic coach. (Maybe it’s why so many former students stay in touch!) In this episode, Tony’s former student Mia Wise interviews him about the secrets to effective coaching. Tony says don’t try to replicate his approach – rely on your own strengths - but make sure to start your session with clarity: What’s the problem you are trying to work on? What’s the specific mission – where can you move the needle? What strategies and actions will cause change? What are the stakeholder outcomes and benefits? Address these questions with either a top-down approach (big...
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The 5-Year Career Plan with Brandon Busteed
At the Table with Tony Brown
When you’re considering career options, “you can’t think about your whole life,” says Tony Brown. Instead, consider a five-year path and prioritize working for a good boss because research shows that whether a person is engaged at work is due in large part to their manager. When job hunting, use your network. “Go talk to 10 really interesting people,” Tony says. “You’ll have a sense if they’ll have you at the Xerox machine each day, or they’ll actually going to care about your development.” Guest Brandon Busteed agrees. He’s the CEO of BrandEd, a company that provides...
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Two Bits of News
At the Table with Tony Brown
Hello everyone, we are pleased to be back with another season of At the Table with Tony Brown. Also, we’ve got some news.
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Not the Normal Path with Colin Mutchler
At the Table with Tony Brown
Colin Mutchler’s career has been anything but a straight path. Out of Duke his parents hoped he’d be a consultant, but instead he pursued his passions. Hobbies (musician, improv performer and more) battle for time with entrepreneurial business ventures. Colin says even in college he had a hard time considering the traditional career path. He’d think to himself, “This is weird, people just want you to get a job, get married, have kids, retire and die. That doesn’t sound interesting as a life.” He talks with his former professor and friend Tony Brown about choosing the road less...
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Inclusive Leadership with Todd Sears
At the Table with Tony Brown
Todd Sears took Tony Brown’s class at Duke in 1998. After graduation, Todd turned his attention to building community and belonging wherever he was. At Merrill Lynch he was the first openly gay financial advisor, and he created a team focused on serving the LGBTQ+ community – a first in the nation. Today, Todd is the founder and CEO of Out Leadership. Todd has found success helping companies see the importance of fostering connections among employees. “It’s about getting the right people, the right mix, and making them feel like they’re part of a community,” he says,...
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Make Good Dots with Wendy Kuran
At the Table with Tony Brown
What does it take to land a dream job? In this episode, Wendy Kuran talks about pausing to take stock, discovering she wanted something new, and landing in a place that surprised even her - China. Wendy says she was ready to take a leadership role at Duke Kunshan, because she had made “good dots” in her career -- meaning she tried to make her actions purposeful and was serious about making the most of each opportunity. Tony Brown says the path to a dream job is a series of single steps that lead in the right direction. “Be confident that there’s another step forward,” he says....
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Fix a Crack in the Sidewalk with Hasnain Zaidi
At the Table with Tony Brown
When Hasnain Zaidi was in Tony Brown’s Social Entrepreneurship class at Duke, he dreamed up a plan for a campus food cart, Holy Crepe, that would fund impact ventures. Tony remembers it as “the best-planned failure” of the class. But the project taught Hasnain a lot, and his career has included successful entrepreneurial projects and other roles. Their conversation explores how to be a force for good and expanding the definition of impact. Tony says “work” is often misconstrued as your job. The real question we should be asking is ourselves is, “How do I make better decisions to...
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Finding Your North Star with Linda Zhang
At the Table with Tony Brown
“I heard about Tony's class when I was a freshman. It's this elusive class that people talk about as the single class you have to take before graduating that will change your life forever,” Linda remembers. “I never took notes in most of my classes diligently, but I remember thinking. ‘I have to write down every single word this man says.’” Since graduation, Linda has worked in consulting, traveled the world as a private teacher, consulted for the Ministry of Education in Sierra Leone, served as chief of staff to a Nigerian university president and more – all in just 5 years! She...
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Work/Life Balance with Anthony Vitarelli
At the Table with Tony Brown
Seeking success but being firmly grounded in your personal life is a big challenge for many of us. In this episode, Tony Brown sits down with Anthony Vitarelli. Anthony took lessons from Tony Brown’s Duke classes along with him in his professional journey, including stops at the US Department of the Treasury, the Supreme Court, the private financial sector and more. Anthony shares how he’s been able to address work-life balance even when in high-level roles. At the Table with Tony is a series of conversations with Tony Brown, professor emeritus at the Sanford School of Public...
info_outlineColin Mutchler’s career has been anything but a straight path. Out of Duke his parents hoped he’d be a consultant, but instead he pursued his passions. Hobbies (musician, improv performer and more) battle for time with entrepreneurial business ventures. Colin says even in college he had a hard time considering the traditional career path. He’d think to himself, “This is weird, people just want you to get a job, get married, have kids, retire and die. That doesn’t sound interesting as a life.” He talks with his former professor and friend Tony Brown about choosing the road less traveled, how he’s making it work, and why he has no regrets.
At the Table with Tony is a series of conversations with Tony Brown, professor emeritus at the Sanford School of Public Policy at Duke University. Tony is facing significant health challenges, and he is clear about his 2025 priorities. In addition to prioritizing his wife, Teddie, and his family, nurturing a generative, “grow together” friendship community that creates benefits for others is an important 2025 aspiration. At the Table with Tony helps him do that. As always, Tony is joined at the table by Duke senior, Penelope North. This is the final episode of Season 1. Season 2 will premiere in the fall of 2025.