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In this episode, Dr. Bertalan Meskó joins the show. He is the Director of The Medical Futurist Institute where he and his colleagues analyze how science fiction technologies can become a reality in medicine and healthcare. Dr. Meskó is a physician with a PhD in genomics. He is also an Amazon Top 100 author and a Professor at Semmelweis Medical School in Budapest. He is one of the top voices globally on healthcare technology. In this interview, Dr. Meskó shares how he identifies trends, vets sources, and what trends he is following with a focus on the metaverse and new medical technologies. He also shares what’s filling him with a sense of optimism.

Over the course of the summer of 2022, we are releasing 12 interviews with futurists and forward thinkers in order to help our global audience of leaders become better visionaries for their organizations and be more prepared for our uncertain future. In this episode, Rebecca Ryan joins the show. Rebecca is a noted top 50 professional futurist, economist, best-selling author and entrepreneur. She is the founder of NEXT Generation Consulting through which she partners with government leaders across the country. Looking a generation ahead, she outlines strategies in urban planning, economic development and workforce development to ensure communities are well equipped for future trends and challenges. Rebecca is a graduate of Drake University with a certificate in Strategic Foresight from University of Houston; she is the Resident Futurist at the Alliance for Innovation and on the Executive Committee of the global Association of Professional Futurists. Rebecca shares how she identifies trends, vets sources, what trends she is following with a focus on mental health and Artificial Intelligence, and what’s filling her with a sense of optimism.

Over the course of the summer of 2022, we are releasing 12 interviews with futurists and forward thinkers in order to help our global audience of leaders become better visionaries for their organizations and be more prepared for our uncertain future. In this episode, Cecily Sommers joins the show. Cecily is the author of "Think Like A Futurist" and has been named as one of the “Top 50 Female Futurists" by Forbes. She speaks, writes, and consults on the forces of change and the technologies shaping business and society, and how to turn them into catalysts for strategy. Cecily shares how she identifies trends, vets sources, what trends she is following, and what’s filling her with a sense of optimism.

In this episode, Ken Blanchard and Randy Conley explain what servant leadership is, the benefits of servant leadership, how effective leaders help employees set and achieve goals, and the foundational importance of creating trust within an organization. They also discuss the importance of recognition, how vulnerable leaders are able to more quickly and effectively build trust, and how exceptional organizations have clear missions, visions, and values that are known by all employees.

In this episode, 12 Geniuses host Don MacPherson and guest Evamarie Schoenborn talk about the attributes of great leadership, they discuss how Evamarie honed her listening skills by emulating financial advisors with whom she worked, and she shares how she and her team led Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management through the pandemic. Evamarie describes her approach to talent management, assessment, and succession planning as CEO and she is candid about the challenges of being CEO, including the difficulty of transitioning into that role from another company. Evamarie also talks about creating a sense of belonging across the entire organization, why she spent so much time on developing others, and she leaves us with her thoughts on what she would like her legacy as a leader to be.

12 Geniuses host Don MacPherson and guest Dave Ulrich as they talk about leading through disruption and crisis. They start off by discussing the attributes of good and great leadership. They talk about how leaders need to be aware of mental health challenges employees face and how those challenges influence the employee experience. They conclude the interview with a discussion about leading in crisis situations and Dave shares a model leaders can use to navigate any disruptive event.

In this episode, host Don MacPherson and author and radio host Thom Hartmann discuss how the removal of privacy has been a tool of autocratic governments to control citizens throughout history. In countries around the world, privacy continues to be taken away from people through new technologies. That threatens innovation, liberty, and democracy. An absence of privacy and the failure to protect sensitive data heightens the vulnerability to cyber attacks at the national level and cyber theft at the corporate level. Thom and Don end their discussion with why leaders in corporate and government positions need to be aware of the challenges that an absence of privacy creates and advice for how to respond in order to restore privacy to everyday employees and citizens.

In this episode, Maj Lauren Serrano shares the tragic story of a Marine who took his own life while under her command. She candidly discusses mental health, how she led the more than 200 other Marines under her command through the loss, and how she managed herself through that difficult period of her life. Most importantly, Maj Serrano provides advice for other leaders who may have a team member or colleague struggling with mental health challenges. Over the last two years, so many people in leadership positions have had to deal with unexpected loss and mental health concerns among members of their teams. Mental health issues are not to be ignored whether they are our own issues or issues with members of our team. Please seek professional help if you or someone on your team is having suicidal thoughts. In the United States, the National Suicide Prevention Hotline is 800-273-8255. In the UK, the Samaritans hotline can be reached at: 116 123.

In this episode, leadership expert Ray Kelly and 12 Geniuses host Don MacPherson discuss the five-levels of leadership. A level-five leader mobilizes a group of people around a common cause to drive a result consistently and develops other leaders who can do the same. This is the key to creating a leadership driven culture. Ray provides advice for how leaders can ascend from levels one, two, and three to levels four and five. They also talk about the importance of leaders continually developing themselves and others, why creating a sense of belonging is critical to effective team performance, how values enable employee engagement, and why high-potential employees need to constantly be challenged or they will leave for other opportunities.

Futurist Trond Undheim and 12 Geniuses host Don MacPherson discuss five technologies - Artificial Intelligence, synthetic biology, robotics, blockchain, and 3D printing - and how the combination of these technologies will change every aspect of our lives. Their conversation provides advice for how CEOs, mid-level leaders, and public servants can take advantage of the disruptive nature of these technologies and how leaders can help their people stay relevant by providing continuous education, training, and learning opportunities. The conversation concludes with Trond’s thoughts on brain-machine interfaces, the metaverse, and humanity’s next evolution.

In this episode, Paul Haenle and 12 Geniuses host Don MacPherson talk about the rise of China as a global economic and military superpower. They discuss President Xi Jinping’s consolidation of power and future as China’s leader. They also talk about the past, present and future of US/China relations, China’s challenges, and their “no limits” agreement with Russia that was signed days before Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

In this episode, Dr. Druskat and 12 Geniuses host Don MacPherson discuss building great work cultures and how leaders can influence the creation of high-performance teams. They talk about the importance of collaborating on the creation of team norms, how those norms should be governed, the importance of building a sense of belonging, and why hiring the best, most experienced people is not the solution to creating a superior-performing team.

In this episode, Dr. Mitchell Kusy and 12 Geniuses host Don MacPherson talk about what toxic leadership is, how your organization can avoid hiring a toxic leader, the importance of creating a healthy culture, and what leaders can do to combat the Great Resignation. Join us as we discuss the topic of toxic leadership and how to navigate it.

In this episode, best-selling author Richard Leider and 12 Geniuses host Don MacPherson discuss the health and performance benefits of finding your purpose, how leaders can help their people identify their purpose, and how rallying people around a common purpose is a key to a high-performing organization.

Best-selling author Daniel Pink and host Don MacPherson discuss how people can overcome their own regrets and how it can be used to improve performance. They also talk about how leaders can use regret as a teaching tool and motivator, along with the merits of asking about regret in a job interview.

In this episode, David Houle joins Don once again to discuss the aspects and implications of climate change in detail, specifically around the idea of strategic retreat. In David’s words, strategic retreat is “the planned and managed relocation of millions of people triggered by extreme weather, droughts, floods and sea level rise.” David shares just how urgent it is for us to accept this fact and how we can begin planning now.

In Season One of 12 Geniuses, climate change guru Andrew Winston joined Don MacPherson to talk about how businesses are creating opportunities through the green economy. Since that conversation, a lot has transpired. In this episode, Andrew and Don meet again to discuss the many facets of these changes, including the latest report from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, new innovations in the fight against climate change and how having a sustainability plan for companies is a key to attracting talent.

On Sept. 11, 2001, I met with one of my best friends in a restaurant to try to comprehend the incomprehensible events that had unfolded that day. As we watched the news, it became clear that humans did this to other humans. In this bonus episode of 12 Geniuses, 20 years later, I reflect on the day that I lost my faith in humanity. However, I also want to share the best day of my life — and the personal journey to get to the point where I became liberated from hate ... and the faith returned.

John Kriesel, veteran services director for Anoka County in the Minneapolis/St. Paul area, reflects back 20 years to the September 11th attacks and the events that brought him to fight for his country. In the latest episode of the 12 Geniuses podcast, he explains how time and becoming a father changed his perspective on the war and why it’s vital future generations remember what happened.

Leadership expert Doug Lennick joined 12 Geniuses back in Season One to discuss the importance of emotional competence at work. In this episode, Don and Doug meet again to discuss the trends shaping the labor market today. They also talk about the importance of understanding and embracing your employees’ values and how to establish strong relationships with employees who are working remotely.