A Geek Leader Podcast - inspiring technical and creative leaders around the world

John Rouda: technical leader, author, speaker, educator
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The ultimate podcast for aspiring leaders in the creative or technology fields. John Rouda discusses leadership topics, interviews some of the greatest minds today and teaches you practical leadership tips, techniques, tricks and hacks to improve motivation, negotiation, and other much needed skills for leaders today.

  1. 4h ago

    AGL 494: Nadab “Niddy” Akhtar on Practical Quantum

    About Niddy Nadab “Niddy” Akhtar is the Managing Partner of Excite Capital, where he develops quantum-inspired decision systems designed to help leaders interpret volatility rather than simply react to it. His work reframes markets as dynamic, evolving systems—using AI, intelligent control, and mathematical ideas associated with quantum mechanics to estimate changing conditions, model possible trajectories, and adapt as new information emerges. With a background in Wall Street investment banking, mergers and acquisitions, and capital formation, Niddy brings both financial-market experience and systems-level thinking to complex, high-stakes decisions. Beyond markets, he applies the same architecture to energy infrastructure and autonomous-drone applications for commercial and defense use. Niddy has presented his ideas through TEDx and serves on the Milken Institute’s FinTech Advisory Council. In this conversation, he explores why conventional prediction models often fail in changing environments, what driving a Ferrari on a mountain road can teach us about risk, and why the most effective systems are built not to rely on yesterday’s patterns—but to sense and respond to what is unfolding now. Today We Talk About Startig a bar Investment firms Taking dirty data and making it intelligent Relationship Capital Feature Creep… follow the North Star Operate on feedback Quantum Practical Quantum Quantum Computing vs. Quantum algorithms Entanglement within markets Beyond the Rearview Mirror World AI   Connect with Niddy LinkedIn Inastagram Website Leave me a tip $ Click here to Donate to the show I hope you enjoyed this show, please head over to Apple Podcasts and subscribe and leave me a rating and review, even one sentence will help spread the word.  Thanks again!

  2. Oct 30

    AGL 493: Building or Diminishing with Doug Crandall

    About Doug Doug Crandall is a West Point graduate, author, and the Head of Teaching at The Referent Group. With nearly three decades of leadership experience—ranging from serving on the faculty at West Point to leading high-potential executive programs at Walmart—Doug has taught thousands of leaders how to build high-performing, resilient teams. He holds an MBA from Stanford and an M.Ed. from the University of Washington, and has written case studies for both Stanford and Harvard Business School. Doug is the co-author of Leadership Lessons from West Point, Permission to Speak Freely, and Hope Unseen, as well as his newest book, Building or Diminishing. Today We Talked About West point Building or Diminishing Leadership Getting Stuck in the mud Teaching Sharing Mistakes Failure is Fertilizer Willing to be disliked Atomic Habits Distraction Listening How we think… Connect with Doug LinkedIn Book Leave me a tip $ Click here to Donate to the show I hope you enjoyed this show, please head over to Apple Podcasts and subscribe(opens in a new tab) and leave me a rating and review, even one sentence will help spread the word.  Thanks again!

  3. Oct 23

    AGL 492: Dr. Gleb Tsipursky

    About Gleb Dr. Gleb Tsipursky, called the “Office Whisperer” by The New York Times, helps tech-forward leaders stop overpaying for AI while boosting engagement and innovation. He serves as the CEO of the future-of-work consultancy Disaster Avoidance Experts. Dr. Tsipursky authored seven books in total, and his forthcoming book with Georgetown University Press is The Psychology of AI Adoption at Work: From Resistance to Results (2026). His most recent best-seller is ChatGPT for Leaders and Content Creators: Unlocking the Potential of Generative AI (Intentional Insights, 2023), which helps guide leaders in adapting generative AI to achieve their business goals. His previous book was Returning to the Office and Leading Hybrid and Remote Teams: A Manual on Benchmarking to Best Practices for Competitive Advantage (Intentional Insights, 2021). Earlier, he wrote two global bestsellers. Never Go With Your Gut: How Pioneering Leaders Make the Best Decisions and Avoid Business Disasters (Career Press, 2019) is the first book to focus on cognitive biases in business leadership and reveal how leaders can overcome these dangerous judgment errors effectively. His other global bestseller, The Blindspots Between Us: How to Overcome Unconscious Cognitive Bias and Build Better Relationships (New Harbinger, 2020), is the first book to focus on cognitive biases in professional and personal relationships and illustrate how we can defeat these dangerous judgment errors. His writing was translated into Chinese, Spanish, Russian, Polish, Korean, French, Vietnamese, German, and other languages. Dr. Gleb’s cutting-edge thought leadership was featured in over 650 articles and 550 interviews in prominent venues. Today We Talked About Background AI is leading to anxiety Fear AI Alarmist fear and anxiety – policy changes and communication changes flip the narrative AI Reluctant Adoption Leadership Modeling Gradual expansion   Connect with Gleb Website LinkedIn AI Adoption Book Leave me a tip $ Click here to Donate to the show I hope you enjoyed this show, please head over to Apple Podcasts and subscribe and leave me a rating and review, even one sentence will help spread the word.  Thanks again!

  4. Oct 16

    AGL 491: Chris Dyer on Moments that Matter

    About Chris Chris Dyer is a recognized company culture and remote work expert. As a former CEO managing thousands of people, his companies consistently were named a best place to work. They have also been named a fastest growing company by Inc Magazine 5 times. Chris routinely consults and speaks, and Inc Magazine ranked him as the #1 Leadership Speaker on Culture. He has three bestselling books The Power of Company Culture and Remote Work, and has been named #5 on the Leadershum Power List, a Top 50 Voice in Leadership, a Top 40 Change Management Guru, a Top 50 Global Thought Leader, and a Top 50 leadership podcast, Top 50 HR Leaders Shaping the Future of Work, and a Top 101 Global Employee Engagement & Experience Influencers by Inspiring Workplaces and Work Buzz, just this year. As a keynote speaker his goal is to inspire audiences with a straightforward delivery, insightful candor, and engaging humor. His talks leave audiences permanently transformed, offering innovative perspectives on leadership to improve company culture, and empower organizations to discover new successes. Countless companies have unlocked productivity, performance, and profits by implementing his 7 Pillar Strategy. Today We Talked About Background 7 things that work across all cultures Transparency – The Great Game of Business Mistakes Get the book to learn more :) Gather Data Soft ask Hard lines – “If you’re wired on vacation… you’re fired” Conflict in teams Truth Moments.. Showing up for your teams See when a moment is happening How do you shape that moment What do they need from me Scale… Make the most of it One question per week Connect with Chris LinkedIn Website TEXT 33777 Leave me a tip $ Click here to Donate to the show I hope you enjoyed this show, please head over to Apple Podcasts and subscribe and leave me a rating and review, even one sentence will help spread the word.  Thanks again!

  5. Oct 9

    AGL 490: Dr. Mik Kersten on Output to Outcome

    About Mik Dr. Mik Kersten is an independent technology strategist and researcher best known as the creator of the Flow Framework and author of the bestselling book Project to Product. Mik founded Tasktop and led the company as CEO until its acquisition by Planview in 2022. He continues to support Planview as an Executive in Residence. Mik started his career as a Research Scientist at Xerox PARC as part of the team that created the first aspect-oriented programming language. He then completed his PhD in Computer Science at the University of British Columbia, where he pioneered the integration of software development and collaboration tools. That work became the foundation for Tasktop and helped shape the emerging field of Value Stream Management. Before shifting his focus to flow, outcomes, and organizational modularity, Mik wrote more than one million lines of open-source code that are still in use today. His work now focuses on helping leaders transition from output-driven management to outcome-driven operating models, enabling organizations to harness the power of AI in a human-centric way. Mik lives in Vancouver, Canada, and enjoys skiing, biking, and surfing with family and friends. Today We Talked About Background Flow AI changing programming careers Managers to Makers Tree model Object Oriented concepts What’s next Connect with Mik LinkedIn Book Leave me a tip $ Click here to Donate to the show I hope you enjoyed this show, please head over to Apple Podcasts and subscribe and leave me a rating and review, even one sentence will help spread the word.  Thanks again!

  6. Oct 2

    AGL 489: Maximos Lih

    About Maximos Executive Coach and founder of Emboldened LLC, Maximos Lih’s leadership story traces back to his grandfather, an orphan who taught himself to read and eventually rose to become a four-star general in the Chinese military. Years after his grandfather’s retirement, strangers would approach the family with stories and gratitude for how “the General” had impacted their lives. From him, Maximos learned that true greatness is measured in how you make people feel. After immigrating to America, Maximos carried that lesson forward. As he navigated a new world with English as his second language, he quickly recognized the power individuals have to shape the energy of a room. We can choose to foster kindness, excellence, and belonging, or exclusion and mockery. He committed himself to the former, a choice that has guided his journey ever since. After graduating from UC Berkeley, Maximos was hired at Google as a data specialist in technical recruiting. His mandate: bring in the best engineers without scaling to mediocrity. That work propelled him into the startup world and later to Google Ventures, where he helped hundreds of founders scale their companies and leadership. He witnessed Uber grow from 80 to 500 employees in six months, supported Flatiron Health through a billion-dollar exit, and learned that high-performing teams must be built like Olympic teams—driven by mission, rare talent, and deep trust. After nearly a decade at Google Ventures, Maximos now shares those lessons with the next generation of leaders, helping small teams scale without losing their edge and ensuring more people have the opportunity to thrive. Today We Talked About Leadership Background Venture at good Scaling yourself Hero to Host Coffee is slow Context over control Highly aligned, loosly coupled What are the things that “only” I can do? Humane Layoffs AI Having craftsmanship… taste and structure, rather than just throwing things at the wall. Connect with Maximos Linkedin Leave me a tip $ Click here to Donate to the show I hope you enjoyed this show, please head over to Apple Podcasts and subscribe and leave me a rating and review, even one sentence will help spread the word.  Thanks again!

  7. Sep 25

    AGL 488: Bruno Lecoq

    About Bruno Bruno Lecoq is the CEO of BEMO and a trusted voice in cybersecurity compliance for US-based small and mid-sized defense contractors. He works hands-on with business owners, IT leaders, and executives to turn complex regulatory frameworks into practical, achievable compliance outcomes. With deep expertise across CMMC, SOC 2, ISO 27001, HIPAA, and NIST 800, Bruno is known for his calm, implementation-first approach. Rather than promoting fear or over-engineered solutions, he helps organizations align compliance requirements with the tools, processes, and systems they already use, particularly within Microsoft environments. Bruno is frequently sought out by organizations that feel overwhelmed by compliance mandates and unsure where to start. His work reframes compliance as an operational maturity journey rather than a checkbox exercise, helping companies reduce risk, control costs, and build long-term security confidence. Today We Talked About Background Microsoft Evolution from on prem, to cloud, to AI MFA Intune AI Cyber Security Training   Connect with Bruno LinkedIn Wesbite Leave me a tip $ Click here to Donate to the show I hope you enjoyed this show, please head over to Apple Podcasts and subscribe and leave me a rating and review, even one sentence will help spread the word.  Thanks again!

  8. Sep 18

    AGL 487: Sean Campbell

    About Sean Over 20 years of experience in technology strategy, research, and training, have seen Sean work with Fortune 500 companies, mid-market organizations, and business leaders navigating complex tech decisions. Through Cascade Insights, he trains teams, advises leadership, and provides research-driven insights to go beyond experimental into practical, effective AI adoption for the human side In addition to his work in consulting, Sean is an assistant professor of business at George Fox University, where he teaches applied AI courses. His students work with real organizations to design AI strategies, build workflows, and deliver consulting engagements, giving him a unique perspective on how AI is shaping the next generation of business leaders. Today We Talked About Background Teaching AI redesigning work AI will change work forever Change the way we teach 3 human framework George Fox The Art of Asking Connect with Sean LinkedIn Website Leave me a tip $ Click here to Donate to the show I hope you enjoyed this show, please head over to Apple Podcasts and subscribe and leave me a rating and review, even one sentence will help spread the word.  Thanks again!

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4.9
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The ultimate podcast for aspiring leaders in the creative or technology fields. John Rouda discusses leadership topics, interviews some of the greatest minds today and teaches you practical leadership tips, techniques, tricks and hacks to improve motivation, negotiation, and other much needed skills for leaders today.

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