How to Be Awesome at Your Job How to be Awesome at Your Job

Leslie Zane reveals why traditional persuasion tactics often fall short—and offers a new alternative that’s more effective. 




— YOU’LL LEARN — 

1) Why most attempts at persuasion fall short  

2) How to bypass resistance with triggers 

3) The unexpected people who will drive your success 




Subscribe or visit AwesomeAtYourJob.com/ep973 for clickable versions of the links below. 




— ABOUT LESLIE — 

Leslie Zane is an award-winning marketer, TEDx speaker and the foremost authority in harnessing the instinctive mind to accelerate brand and business growth. In 1995, she founded Triggers®, a CMO advisory and the first brand consulting firm rooted in behavioral science, where she continued to champion the primacy of the instinctive mind in brand decisions. With her groundbreaking discoveries in boosting salience, the Brand Connectome® and Growth Triggers®, Zane and her team have delivered over 2X incremental revenue growth for their Fortune 100 clients. Today, Triggers’ strategies are evident in diverse fields from consumer-packaged goods, health care and insurance.

An alumna of Yale, Harvard Business School and Bain & Company, Zane is a recipient of the Congressional Women of Distinction and the Ogilvy Award. In 2021, she coined the term “Covid-stasis” forecasting the pandemic’s lasting psychological and behavioral effects. Zane has been published in prestigious publications including Knowledge@Wharton, Harvard Business Review, World Economic Forum, Newsweek and Ad Age. Zane is a board member of El Centro Hispano, the leading non-profit empowering Hispanic immigrants with skills to thrive in the United States.

• Book: The Power of Instinct: The New Rules of Persuasion in Business and Life 

• Book site: ThePowerOfInstinctBook.com 

• LinkedIn: Leslie Zane 




— RESOURCES MENTIONED IN THE SHOW — 

• Book: The Measure: A Read with Jenna Pick by Nikki Erlick 

• Movie Scene: Planes,Trains and Automobiles (1987), curtain earrings




— THANK YOU, SPONSORS! — 

• Harvard Business Review. Get 10% off your subscription at HBR.org/subscriptions with the promo code AWESOME




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Amy Edmondson shares how to minimize unproductive failures and maximize intelligent ones. 




— YOU’LL LEARN — 

1) What separates good failure from bad failure 

2) The surprisingly simple tool that prevents many failures 

3) How to stay motivated in the face of failure 




Subscribe or visit AwesomeAtYourJob.com/ep972 for clickable versions of the links below. 




— ABOUT AMY — 

Amy C. Edmondson is the Novartis Professor of Leadership and Management at the Harvard Business School. Her work explores teaming – the dynamic forms of collaboration needed in environments characterized by uncertainty and ambiguity. She has also studied the role of psychological safety in teamwork and innovation. Before her academic career, she was Director of Research at Pecos River Learning Centers, where she worked with founder and CEO Larry Wilson to design change programs in large companies. In the early 1980s, she worked as Chief Engineer for architect/inventor Buckminster Fuller, and innovation in the built environment remains an area of enduring interest and passion.

• Book: Right Kind of Wrong: The Science of Failing Well 

• Website: AmyCEdmondson.com 

• Check out the interview in video format on YouTube!




— RESOURCES MENTIONED IN THE SHOW — 

• Study: “The Intuitive Psychologist and His Shortcomings: Distortions in the Attribution Process” by Lee Ross 

• Book: The Checklist Manifesto: How to Get Things Right by Atul Gawande 

• Book: The Road to Character by David Brooks 

• Past episode: 707: Amy Edmondson on How to Build Thriving Teams with Psychological Safety 




— THANK YOU SPONSORS! — 

• LinkedIn Jobs. Post your job for free at LinkedIn.com/BeAwesome 

• Harvard Business Review. Get 10% off your subscription at HBR.org/subscriptions with the promo code AWESOME

See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Jay Baer discusses how professionals can use the principles of excellent customer experience to stand out above the rest. 




— YOU’LL LEARN — 

1) Why it pays to reply super fast 

2) The best way to recover from a mistake 

3) Why competency won’t get you noticed—and what does 




Subscribe or visit AwesomeAtYourJob.com/ep971 for clickable versions of the links below. 




— ABOUT JAY — 

Jay Baer is a 7th-generation entrepreneur, New York Times best-selling author of seven books, and founder of six multi-million dollar companies. In 2023, he was named a Top 30 Global Guru in both Customer Experience and in Marketing. Jay has advised more than 700 brands in his career, including Nike, Oracle, Hilton, The United Nations and 40 of the FORTUNE 500.

He is an inductee into the professional speaking and word of mouth marketing halls of fame. Jay has authored or co-authored among the best-selling business books of all-time in the categories of digital marketing, customer service, customer experience, and business growth. He has been named to more than 50 top global business influencer lists. Jay’s books are known for deep, first-party research combined with unique, compelling case studies, and a heavy sprinkling of humor. 

• Book: Hug Your Haters: How to Embrace Complaints and Keep Your Customers 

• Book: Talk Triggers: The Complete Guide to Creating Customers with Word of Mouth 

• Book: The Time to Win: How to Exceed Your Customers’ Need for Speed 

• Book: Youtility: Why Smart Marketing Is about Help Not Hype 

• Website: JayBaer.com 

• Website: TequilaJayBaer.com 




— RESOURCES MENTIONED IN THE SHOW — 

• Book: In a Sunburned Country by Bill Bryson 

• Past episode: 950: Cal Newport: Slowing Down to Boost Productivity and Ease Stress 




— THANK YOU, SPONSORS! —

• LinkedIn Jobs. Post your job for free at LinkedIn.com/BeAwesome

• Harvard Business Review. Get 10% off your subscription at HBR.org/subscriptions with the promo code AWESOME

See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Terri Sjodin discusses how to avoid the common pitfalls that diminish your persuasiveness. 




— YOU’LL LEARN — 

1) What your audience really wants to know 

2) Three reasons why your presentation is boring—and how to fix it 

3) The key mistake people won’t tell you you’re making 




Subscribe or visit AwesomeAtYourJob.com/ep970 for clickable versions of the links below. 




— ABOUT TERRI — 

Terri L. Sjodin is an international leading expert on persuasive presentations. With more than 25 years of experience, she has built an impressive client list that includes Fortune 500 companies, small businesses, national sales teams, industry associations, and even members of Congress. Terri has appeared as an expert on sales presentations on the Today Show, Bloomberg News, CNN, CNBC, and Fox Business, as well as many industry podcasts. 

• Book: Presentation Ready: Improve Your Sales Presentation Outcomes and Avoid the Twelve Most Common Mistakes 

• Study: State of Sales Presentations Research Study 

• Website: TerriSjodin.com 

• LinkedIn Course: Sales Skills: 12 Common Mistakes to Avoid in Your Next Persuasive Presentation 




— RESOURCES MENTIONED IN THE SHOW — 

• Book: Atlas Shrugged by Ayn Rand




— THANK YOU SPONSORS! — 

• Acorns. Start saving and investing for your future today with Acorns.com/awesome 

• Storyworth. Give the Fathers in your life a unique, heartfelt gift. Save $10 with at StoryWorth.com/Awesome with the promo code AWESOME.

• LinkedIn Jobs. Post your job for free at LinkedIn.com/BeAwesome

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Alex Edmans shows you how to think smarter, sharper, and more critically so you can make better decisions. 




— YOU’LL LEARN — 

1) How our biases are holding us back 

2) The ladder of misinference that mucks up our thinking 

3) Why we end up mistaking statements for facts 




Subscribe or visit AwesomeAtYourJob.com/ep969 for clickable versions of the links below. 




— ABOUT ALEX — 

Alex Edmans is Professor of Finance at London Business School. Alex has a PhD from MIT as a Fulbright Scholar, and was previously a tenured professor at Wharton and an investment banker at Morgan Stanley. Alex has spoken at the World Economic Forum in Davos, testified in the UK Parliament, and given TED/TEDx talks with a combined 2.8 million views. He was named Professor of the Year by Poets & Quants in 2021.

• Book: Grow the Pie: How Great Companies Deliver Both Purpose and Profit 

• Book: May Contain Lies: How Stories, Statistics, and Studies Exploit Our Biases―And What We Can Do about It 

• Book site: MayContainLies.com 

• Linked: Alex Edmans 

• TEDx Talk: The Pie-Growing Mindset | Alex Edmans | TEDxManchester 

• Twitter/X: @aedmans 

• Website: AlexEdmans.com 




— RESOURCES MENTIONED IN THE SHOW — 

• Article: “Addiction Rare in Patients Treated with Narcotics” by Jane Porter and Hershel Jick 

• Book: Atomic Habits: An Easy & Proven Way to Build Good Habits & Break Bad Ones by James Clear 

• Book: Deep Work: Rules for Focused Success in a Distracted World by Cal Newport 

• Book: Grit: The Power of Passion and Perseverance by Angela Duckworth 

• Book: Outlive: The Science and Art of Longevity by Peter Attia and Bill Gifford 

• Book: Start with Why: How Great Leaders Inspire Everyone to Take Action by Simon Sinek 

• Book: The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People: Powerful Lessons in Personal Change by Stephen Covey 

• TED Talk: How diversity makes teams more innovative | Rocío Lorenzo | TED 




— THANK YOU SPONSORS! — 

• Acorns. Start saving and investing for your future today with Acorns.com/awesome

• Storyworth. Give the Fathers in your life a unique, heartfelt gift. Save $10 with at StoryWorth.com/Awesome with the promo code AWESOME.

See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

John R. Miles shares powerful insight into what it takes to live an intentional and purposeful life. 




— YOU’LL LEARN — 

1) How to feel impervious in the face of adversity and failure 

2) How anxiety makes you 400% more effective 

3) How to visualize effectively 




Subscribe or visit AwesomeAtYourJob.com/ep968 for clickable versions of the links below. 




— ABOUT JOHN — 

John R. Miles is a worldwide expert on intentional behavior change, leadership, and personal mastery. He is a keynote speaker, top-rated show host, and is the founder and CEO of Passion Struck®. Miles is devoted to promoting personal mastery, fostering an intentional mindset, enhancing health and wellness, and building meaningful relationships. His globally renowned podcast, Passion Struck with John R. Miles, has garnered tens of millions of downloads and consistently tops the charts as the number one alternative health podcast on iTunes. Miles is committed to inspiring people worldwide to believe in their ability to push beyond limits and achieve their aspirations. He is a graduate of the Naval Academy, where he excelled as a varsity athlete. Learn more by visiting johnrmiles.com or passionstruck.com.

• Book: Passion Struck: Twelve Powerful Principles to Unlock Your Purpose and Ignite Your Most Intentional Life 

• Website: JohnRMiles.com 

• Website: PassionStruck.com 

• Quiz: Passion Struck Quiz 




— RESOURCES MENTIONED IN THE SHOW — 

• Book: Both/And Thinking: Embracing Creative Tensions to Solve Your Toughest Problems by Wendy Smith and Marianne Lewis 

• Book: Unbeatable Mind: Forge Resiliency and Mental Toughness to Succeed at an Elite Level by Mark Divine 

• Book: Quiet: The Power of Introverts in a World That Can't Stop Talking by Susan Cain 

• Past episode: 855: Turning Anxiety into Your Source of Strength with Morra Aarons-Mele 

• Past episode: 327: Unclog Your Brain through Unfocusing with Dr. Srini Pillay 




— THANK YOU SPONSORS! — 

• Acorns. Start saving and investing for your future today with Acorns.com/awesome

• Harvard Business Review. Get 10% off your subscription at HBR.org/subscriptions with the promo code AWESOME

• Storyworth. Give the Fathers in your life a unique, heartfelt gift. Save $10 with at StoryWorth.com/Awesome with the promo code AWESOME.

See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.