TLP497: Why Most Leaders Are Using AI Wrong—and How to Fix It
The Leadership Podcast
Geoff Woods is founder of AI Leadership and #1 international bestselling author of The AI Driven Leader: Harnessing AI to Make Faster, Smarter Decisions. In this episode, Geoff introduces the CRIT framework: "Context, Role, Interview, Task." He also reveals why most leaders are still acting like industrial workers—showing up on time, following orders, doing repetitive tasks—when machines now do that work better than humans. He shares his CRIT framework for turning AI into your most valuable thought partner and explains why AI isn't replacing your job. Geoff demonstrates how to...
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TLP496: Why Faster Change Doesn’t Mean Faster Action
The Leadership Podcast
Mark van Rijmenam is a futurist, award-winning keynote speaker globally ranked as number one in his field. Salesforce recognizes him as a leading voice in AI. His latest book, Now What: How to Ride the Tsunami of Change, is available now, and he's the founder of FutureWise. In this episode, Mark challenges the assumption that faster change requires faster action. He argues that organizations moving at breakneck speed with AI and emerging technologies often skip the critical step: pausing to think about consequences. Mark introduces his three E's framework—educate, experiment,...
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TLP495: The Accountability Paradox
The Leadership Podcast
Patrick Veroneau is CEO of Emery Leadership Group and author of The Leadership Bridge: How to engage your employees and drive organizational excellence and The Missing Piece: What Great Teams Do That Others Overlook. In this episode, Patrick explains why organizations' increasing focus on accountability systems over the past five years has coincided with employee engagement hitting a 10-year low. He reveals the accountability paradox: the harder you push for accountability, the further you get from ownership. Patrick discusses why leaders fall short in closing the gap between...
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TLP494: When Leadership Is About Who You Serve: Mark Steffe’s Story
The Leadership Podcast
Mark Steffe is President and CEO of First Command Financial Services, bringing over 30 years of financial services leadership. In this episode, Mark explains why he left his dream job working with ultra-high-net-worth families to serve military members who truly need financial guidance. He shares how military families face unique challenges including frequent relocations, spouse underemployment, and modest pay, requiring advisors who understand their sacrifices. Mark demonstrates how building trust and psychological safety enables difficult financial conversations, comparing financial advisors...
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TLP493: “Sand People” - The Hidden Drag on Your Team's Performance
The Leadership Podcast
Jim and Jan tackle the uncomfortable truth about "sand people," those team members who grind everything to a halt, and why even your best glue guy can't overcome the friction they create. Drawing from their coaching experience, Jim and Jan reveal how to identify and deal with sand people before they destroy your team. They explore the telltale signs—projecting, hoarding resources, passive-aggressive behavior—and explain why leaders consistently wait too long to act. They also share the harsh truth that someone who is not performing well is costing more than they produce, and costing...
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TLP492: Stop Fitting In with Jinky Panganiban
The Leadership Podcast
Jinky Panganiban serves as Professor of Practice at the University of Oregon's Sports Product Management Program, founder of 1969Blue Consulting, and founding member of Oregon Sports Angels. She is a former Vice President and General Manager at Nike with over 20 years of global executive experience. She led multibillion-dollar businesses across Asia Pacific, North America, Latin America, and Europe. In this episode, Jinky reveals why "fitting in" kills leadership potential and how your cultural background becomes your superpower in global business. Jinky explains how the sports product...
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TLP491: Letting Go of Old Frameworks with Jack Swift
The Leadership Podcast
Jack Swift is a West Point graduate, former CEO of TIFIN and Liminal Collective, and co-founder of Pacific Current Group and Sangha. He now advises frontier AI ventures, including Vantage Discovery (sold to Shopify), Brightwave, and Grid Aero, and co-founded Sangha, a community for conscious leadership. In this episode, Jack explains why the biggest threat to your organization isn’t outside pressure. It’s your need to be right. He shows why old leadership habits—command and control, chasing quarterly targets, and relying only on past wins—no longer work. He offers a different approach...
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TLP490: Reinventing Candy and Culture with Katie Lefkowitz
The Leadership Podcast
Katie Lefkowitz is a neuroscience-trained entrepreneur and the founder and CEO of Harken Foods who's reinventing candy with gut health at its core. In this episode, Katie reveals how her neuroscience background taught her to demand feedback systematically and observe behavior over words—skills that proved universal across consulting, scaling, and founding companies. She shares why she chose measured growth at Harken after experiencing Caulipower's explosive trajectory. Katie explains how the "seven questions framework" helps teams navigate the market’s rapid shifts by keeping core values...
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TLP489: Quitting – Knowing When to Walk Away
The Leadership Podcast
Annie Duke is a three-time bestselling author, decision strategist, and former professional poker champion. She holds a PhD in cognitive psychology and is co-founder of the Alliance for Decision Education. Annie's latest best-selling book is “Quit: The Power of Knowing When to Walk Away.” In this episode, Annie reveals why knowing when to walk away is the most underrated leadership skill. Drawing on cognitive psychology and real-world coaching with executives and venture capitalists, she breaks down why we're wired to stick with bad decisions, and more importantly, how to override that...
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TLP488: From Fleeting Moments to Sustained Momentum
The Leadership Podcast
Bernie Banks is a professor and institute leader at Rice University and co-author of "The New Science of Momentum: How the Best Coaches and Leaders Build a Fire from a Single Spark." As a Brigadier General, he led West Point's Department of Behavioral Sciences and Leadership in his final military assignment. In this episode, Bernie decodes how fleeting moments morph into sustained momentum. Drawing on eight years of research, over 250 interviews and thousands of survey responses across sports, business, politics and the military, Bernie shares a tried-and-true model leaders can use to spark...
info_outlineTodd Sattersten brings over 20 years of experience in nonfiction book publishing, and is the author of "The 100 Best Books for Work and Life." He's also the publisher at Bard Press and has dedicated his career to helping leaders navigate the overwhelming world of business literature.
In this episode, Todd reveals how he curated 100 essential books into 25 problem-focused chapters, moving beyond traditional business categories to address both professional and personal challenges leaders face. He explains why growth comes from believing change is possible and how daily effort accumulates into meaningful progress.
Todd discusses the shift from data-heavy business books toward more introspective, permission-giving literature that acknowledges the chaotic nature of modern leadership. Todd discusses the difficulty of finding quality fiction with positive leadership examples and his preference for books that help readers ask different questions rather than provide step-by-step formulas.
Todd concludes by stressing the importance of reading with intention, distinguishing between reading for entertainment versus insight, and building sustainable reading habits that focus on addressing real challenges rather than collecting impressive quotes.
Listen to discover how to navigate information overload, identify truly transformative books, and develop the reading habits that separate effective leaders from those who simply accumulate knowledge.
You can find episode 482 on YouTube, or wherever you get your podcasts!
Watch this Episode on YouTube | Todd Sattersten on The 100 Best Books for Work and Life
Key Takeaways
[03:42] Todd explains his selection process started with 60-70 known books, then Todd describes how the 25 topics emerged naturally from the books themselves - goal setting, habits, leadership, relationships, motivation.
[06:48] Todd identifies two key patterns to accumulate people's consistent actions: "growth comes from the belief that change is possible" and "daily effort matters."
[13:28] Todd explains that great books redefine problems to create different solutions, citing examples like focusing on better customers rather than better products.
[16:02] Todd reveals he's nervous about trendy books, especially about companies or leaders that don't hold up over time.
[20:51] Todd believes people recognize tremendous value in listening to work others have already done, whether from Stoics, Buddhists, or other traditions.
[23:50] Todd emphasizes reading requires choosing between entertainment versus insight, asking "how will I act differently after reading this."
[27:03] Todd explains the data-heavy book trend came from 30 years of neuroscience research but now sees a shift toward permission-giving books.
[31:50] Todd identifies "Your Brain at Work" by David Rock as his top pick for explaining brain function limitations.
[35:40] Todd describes "Reboot" by Jerry Colonna as transformative for connecting personal stories to leadership effectiveness.
[39:17] Todd concludes by encouraging leaders to "build a habit of reading" since most successful leaders are readers.
[40:09] And remember…”The things I want to know are in books. My best friend is the man who will get me a book I ain't read.” - Abraham Lincoln.
Quotable Quotes
“Growth comes from the belief that change is possible.”
“Daily effort matters.”
“A different way to define the problem creates a different way to solve the problem.”
“If you don’t understand the stories that you have about yourself, then you can’t possibly be the best possible leader.”
“Fiction can provide a really great perspective.”
“The work is internal most of the time. It’s not, hey, I need to go fix some business thing.”
“Leadership is a journey of growth.”
“A book still does something that almost every other art form doesn’t do.”
“The people who understand the value of books understand there’s a tremendous value in listening to the work others have already done.”
“Identifying a set of effective solutions… that’s what leaders need.”
“Please build a habit of reading. I can’t think of a better habit for a leader.”
These are the books mentioned in this episode
Resources Mentioned
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The Leadership Podcast | theleadershippodcast.com
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Sponsored by | www.darley.com
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Rafti Advisors. LLC | www.raftiadvisors.com
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Self-Reliant Leadership. LLC | selfreliantleadership.com
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Todd Sattersten Website | http://toddsattersten.com
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Todd Sattersten LinkedIn | www.linkedin.com/in/toddsattersten
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Todd Sattersten Instagram | @toddsattersten