Why Great Teams Beat Star Talent With Jon Levy - TWMJ #1011
Release Date: 11/23/2025
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...
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Creators And Entrepreneurs With Joe Pulizzi - TWMJ #1014
Thinking With Mitch Joel
Welcome to episode #1014 of Thinking With Mitch Joel (formerly Six Pixels of Separation). At a moment when careers feel increasingly precarious and algorithms quietly dictate how value is created and captured, it’s worth learning from someone who has spent more than two decades helping creators and entrepreneurs reclaim ownership of their work and their futures. is the founder of multiple influential startups, including , the and is widely recognized as the person who first coined the term “content marketing” in 2001, long before it became an industry unto itself. A bestselling...
info_outlineWelcome to episode #1011 of Thinking With Mitch Joel (formerly Six Pixels of Separation).
We tend to romanticize leadership as an act of personal brilliance, but the deeper story is often about the people who understand what truly moves human beings toward one another. Jon Levy has built a career around that question. A renowned human behavioral scientist, consultant and creator of the long-running Influencers Dinner - a global, invitation-only experiment where guests cook together anonymously to dissolve status cues and foster authentic connection - Jon has spent over fifteen years studying why people bond, collaborate and trust. His work has brought Olympians, Nobel laureates, astronauts, CEOs, creators, and even political leaders into the same kitchen, all guided by his curiosity about what helps human beings unlock their best collective instincts. Jon is also the author of The 2 AM Principle and You’re Invited, books that explore adventure, belonging, and the science of human connection. His newest book, Team Intelligence - How Brilliant Leaders Unlock Collective Genius, extends this exploration into the workplace, challenging long-held assumptions about leadership, performance, and why great teams succeed. In this conversation, Jon talks through the surprising behaviors that shape genuine relationships, the role anonymity plays in reducing status pressure, the misconceptions organizations hold about star performers, the importance of emotional intelligence, and why bonus structures often undermine collaboration. He touches on the future of hybrid work, the psychology of status, the gap between individual excellence and team effectiveness, and the small but essential habits that allow groups to think more clearly and solve problems more intelligently. Above all, the discussion offers a window into the mind of someone who has spent his career studying how people come together, and how leaders can create the conditions for teams to do their best thinking. Enjoy the conversation…
- Running time: 55:34.
- Hello from beautiful Montreal.
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- Please visit and leave comments on the blog - Thinking With Mitch Joel.
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- Here is my conversation with Jon Levy.
- Influencers Dinner.
- Team Intelligence - How Brilliant Leaders Unlock Collective Genius.
- You’re Invited.
- The 2 AM Principle.
- Follow Jon on LinkedIn.
- Follow Jon on Instagram.
Chapters:
(00:00) - Introduction to John Levy and His Unique Dinners.
(02:54) - The Art of Inviting Extraordinary Guests.
(06:07) - The Power of Anonymity in Social Interactions.
(09:04) - The Impact of Status on Connections.
(11:59) - Exploring Team Dynamics and Human Connection.
(14:28) - The Future of Work and Employee Expectations.
(17:39) - Rethinking Leadership and Team Intelligence.
(20:27) - The Role of Emotional Intelligence in Teams.
(23:10) - Challenging Conventional Wisdom on Talent.
(26:13) - The Importance of Emotional Intelligence in Team Success.
(29:48) - The Allure of Status and Leadership.
(31:43) - Lessons from the Military and Sports.
(33:37) - Understanding Team Dynamics and Player Contributions.
(36:19) - The Role of Glue Players in Team Success.
(40:32) - The Nature of Team Intelligence.
(44:35) - The Impact of Corporate Structures on Teamwork.
(52:08) - The Future of Team Intelligence in the Age of AI.