SPOS #980 – Tamara Myles On Making Work Actually Matter
Release Date: 04/20/2025
Making The Internet Suck Less With Cory Doctorow - TWMJ #1024
Thinking With Mitch Joel
Welcome to episode #1024 of Thinking With Mitch Joel (formerly Six Pixels of Separation). At a time when the digital infrastructure that underpins modern life feels increasingly hostile, few voices have been as prescient... or as relentless... as . A science fiction novelist, journalist and technology activist, Cory serves as Special Advisor to the and has long stood at the intersection of storytelling, policy and power. Over the course of a prolific career (one that includes bestselling fiction, influential tech policy books like and , and his widely read blog) Cory has chronicled how...
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Distrust, Polarization And Hypocrisy With Michael Hallsworth - TWMJ #1023
Thinking With Mitch Joel
Welcome to episode #1023 of Thinking With Mitch Joel (formerly Six Pixels of Separation). In an era where outrage travels faster than reflection, few accusations carry as much moral force as the charge of hypocrisy… and yet few concepts are as misunderstood. is Chief Behavioral Scientist at the and a leading voice in behavioral economics, with academic appointments at the and a career devoted to understanding how real people actually think and act in complex systems. His research spans public policy, organizational behavior and social judgment, examining how incentives, norms, and...
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Real Transformations With Phil Gilbert - TWMJ #1022
Thinking With Mitch Joel
Welcome to episode #1022 of Thinking With Mitch Joel (formerly Six Pixels of Separation). At a moment when organizational change is too often treated as a mandate rather than an experience people choose to embrace, has spent his career proving that transformation only sticks when it earns genuine buy-in. Phil is a design executive, transformation leader and former General Manager of Design at , where he architected one of the largest cultural and operational shifts in corporate history, helping nearly 400,000 employees across 180 countries become more entrepreneurial, agile and...
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Navigating Strategy In The Age Of AI With Roger Martin - TWMJ #1021
Thinking With Mitch Joel
Welcome to episode #1021 of Thinking With Mitch Joel (formerly Six Pixels of Separation). At a time when strategy is often confused with forecasting and certainty is mistaken for rigor, the work of insists on a more demanding discipline: making clear, integrated choices under uncertainty. Named the world’s #1 management thinker by in 2017, Roger is a , strategy advisor, and the former Dean at the at the , where he served for fifteen years and reshaped how management education engages with real-world complexity. Over decades, he has advised CEOs at companies including , , , , , and ,...
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Boundless Creativity And Design Mastery With David "Shingy" Shing - TWMJ #1020
Thinking With Mitch Joel
Welcome to episode #1020 of Thinking With Mitch Joel (formerly Six Pixels of Separation). At a time when technology listens more closely than people realize and advertising feels less predictive than presumptive, understanding how culture, data and human behavior collide has become essential. has spent his career at that intersection, shaping how global brands think about creativity, relevance and the emotional consequences of digital systems. Know as the Digital Prophet at (and then ) and a very influential voice in modern branding and innovation, Shingy has advised companies, leaders and...
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Leadership Unblocked With Muriel Wilkins - TWMJ #1019
Thinking With Mitch Joel
Welcome to episode #1019 of Thinking With Mitch Joel (formerly Six Pixels of Separation). At a time when leadership is being tested less by strategy and more by inner capacity, clarity of judgment and emotional steadiness, the work of stands out for its insistence that progress begins from the inside out. Muriel is an executive coach, CEO of , and a trusted advisor to senior leaders navigating complexity at the highest levels of organizations, drawing on more than two decades of experience working with C-suite executives and high-potential leaders. A graduate with a background in consulting...
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More Humane Work With Joe O'Connor - TWMJ #1018
Thinking With Mitch Joel
Welcome to episode #1018 of Thinking With Mitch Joel (formerly Six Pixels of Separation). At a moment when burnout is normalized and productivity is still measured by hours rather than impact, the five-day workweek is starting to look less like a foundation of modern life and more like an outdated design choice. is the CEO of and one of the world’s leading architects of the four-day workweek, having designed and led large-scale pilots across multiple countries, industries and organizational types. His work sits at the intersection of labor economics, organizational culture and performance...
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Why We're All Digitally Exhausted With Paul Leonardi - TWMJ #1017
Thinking With Mitch Joel
Welcome to episode #1017 of Thinking With Mitch Joel (formerly Six Pixels of Separation). At a time when technology promises limitless capability yet leaves so many people mentally depleted, the question is no longer whether digital tools are powerful, but whether we know how to live with them. is a leading expert on digital transformation, the future of work, and organizational networks, with more than two decades of research and advisory work focused on how technology reshapes collaboration, innovation, and human behavior. A professor at the , where he holds the Duca Family Endowed Chair...
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AI And The Future Of Marketing With Mark Schaefer - TWMJ #1016
Thinking With Mitch Joel
Welcome to episode #1016 of Thinking With Mitch Joel (formerly Six Pixels of Separation). At a moment when artificial intelligence is reshaping not just how markets operate but how people think, feel, decide and connect, understanding the human consequences of that shift has become essential. is a keynote speaker, educator, strategist, and a voice in modern marketing, with more than three decades of experience spanning global sales, public relations and brand strategy. He is a faculty member at . Mark’s latest book, , extends his body of work by examining how AI is quietly rewiring consumer...
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Navigate Hidden Markets With Judd Kessler - TWMJ #1015
Thinking With Mitch Joel
Welcome to episode #1015 of Thinking With Mitch Joel (formerly Six Pixels of Separation). At a moment when scarcity shapes everything from opportunity to attention, understanding who gets what (and why) has become one of the most consequential questions in modern life. is the inaugural Howard Marks Endowed Professor at the , an award-winning economist, and one of the leading thinkers in market design, public policy and behavioral economics. His research examines how rules, incentives, and institutional structures shape outcomes in environments where price alone cannot (or should not) decide...
info_outlineWelcome to episode #980 of Six Pixels of Separation - The ThinkersOne Podcast.
Tamara Myles is one of the world’s leading experts on meaningful work, with a career that bridges research, leadership consulting, and positive psychology. She’s the author of The Secret To Peak Productivity, a sought-after speaker and advisor to companies like Microsoft and KPMG, and one of the first 600 people in the world to earn a master’s in Applied Positive Psychology from the University of Pennsylvania. In her new book, Meaningful Work - How To Ignite Passion And Performance In Every Employee (co-authored with Wes Adams), Tamara brings both scientific rigor and real-world empathy to one of the most pressing challenges of our time: how to make work feel like it matters. In this conversation, Tamara shares the results of her multi-year study - the first of its kind - on how leaders influence meaning in the workplace. She introduces the three core drivers of meaningful work: community, contribution, and challenge, and explains why they’re more relevant than ever in a world grappling with burnout, disconnection, and shifting values around work. We also talk about the lasting impact of the pandemic, the rise of employee apathy, and how social media has warped our collective expectations about fulfillment. Tamara, who teaches at both the University of Pennsylvania and Boston College, blends her academic insight with a deeply human perspective - reminding us that meaning is not just a nice-to-have, but a business imperative. Whether you're leading a team or trying to reconnect with your own sense of purpose, this episode offers a much-needed compass. Enjoy the conversation...
- Running time: 58:29.
- Hello from beautiful Montreal.
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- or you can connect on LinkedIn.
- ...or on X.
- Here is my conversation with Tamara Myles.
- Meaningful Work - How To Ignite Passion And Performance In Every Employee.
- The Secret To Peak Productivity.
- Applied Positive Psychology.
- Follow Tamara on LinkedIn.
- Follow Tamara on Instagram.
Chapters:
(00:00) - Introduction to Positive Psychology and Meaningful Work.
(02:58) - The Importance of Meaning in Work.
(05:57) - The Misconception of Meaningful Work.
(09:03) - The Role of Leaders in Creating Meaning.
(11:59) - The Impact of the Pandemic on Work Meaning.
(14:58) - Transactional Work vs. Meaningful Work.
(18:10) - The Dual Responsibility of Leaders and Employees.
(21:04) - Hiring for Meaning in Organizations.
(24:13) - Common Sense vs. Common Practice in Work Meaning.
(26:59) - Expectations and Realities of Work Today.
(31:46) - The Impact of Social Media on Expectations.
(34:33) - Generational Perspectives on Meaningful Work.
(37:47) - Work-Life Balance and Productivity.
(39:08) - The Loneliness Epidemic Post-Covid.
(43:39) - Creating Meaningful Work Environments.
(46:58) - AI's Role in the Future of Work.
(50:15) - Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion in the Workplace.
(52:28) - Overcoming Apathy in the Workplace.