Dan Hill's EQ Spotlight

Today I talked to Andrew Small about his bookNo Limits: The Inside Story of China's War with the West(Melville House, 2022). Winston Churchill famously described Russia in 1939 as “a riddle, wrapped in a mystery, inside an enigma.” But as Andrew Small correctly argues here, China’s path forward has often been laid out quite explicitly by its authoritarian leader Xi Jinping in speeches to the Community Party and elsewhere. The totality of those proclamations is that a real battle lies ahead, perhaps even in military terms. Will China continue to back Russia? Will China ultimately invade Taiwan? Why should Western companies be singularly allowed to decide whether to share their advanced technology with China? Where to draw the line between economic reward and risk in a global economy that is nevertheless splintering in significant ways. Those and more topics get covered here by a guest who is currently based in Berlin but has spent considerable amounts of time in Beijing. Andrew Small is a senior transatlantic fellow with the Asia program at the German Marshall Fund of the United States. His previous book,The China-Pakistan Axis, received broad praise from the likes of theNew York Review of Books,The Economist, andForeign Affairs. Dan Hill, PhD, is the author of ten books and leads Sensory Logic, Inc. (https://www.sensorylogic.com). His latest two books are Blah Blah Blah: A Snarky Guide to Office Lingo and Emotionomics 2.0: The Emotional Dynamics Underlying Key Business Goals. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/dan-hills-eq-spotlight

Today I talked to Matt Johnson about his book (co-authored with Tessa Misiaszek)Branding That Means Business: How to Build Enduring Bonds Between Brands, Consumers & Markets(PublicAffairs, 2022) Too often companies look down the road, trying to future-proof their business when it fact they should be clueing-in on the fundamentals of human nature to stay aligned with the eternal verities of their consumers. So argues Matt Johnson, pointing out for instance our desire to belong (leveraged by Airbnb) or longing for happiness (leveraged by Disney, among others). This episode covers a lot of ground. It races from companies trying to authentically co-create their brands with their community of consumers, to whether there is such a thing as a down-to-earth luxury brand (there is, e.g. Supreme), to how Hallmark got caught up in today’s polarized politics. Perhaps my favorite question to ask: is there a brand out there trying to associate itself with an emotion like anger, fear or disgust? (You’ll have to listen to this episode to learn Matt’s surprising answer!) Matt Johnson is a speaker, researcher and writer specializing in the application of psychology and neuroscience to marketing. He holds a PhD in Cognitive Psychology from Princeton University. Besides running the neuromarketing firm Pop Neuro, Matt contributes toPsychology Today,Forbes, and the BBC and teaches at both Hult International School of Business and Harvard University’s Division of Continuing Education. Dan Hill, PhD, is the author of ten books and leads Sensory Logic, Inc. (https://www.sensorylogic.com). His latest two books areBlah Blah Blah: A Snarky Guide to Office LingoandEmotionomics 2.0: The Emotional Dynamics Underlying Key Business Goals. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/dan-hills-eq-spotlight

Today I talked to Matt Johnson about his book (co-authored with Tessa Misiaszek)Branding That Means Business: How to Build Enduring Bonds Between Brands, Consumers & Markets(PublicAffairs, 2022) Too often companies look down the road, trying to future-proof their business when it fact they should be clueing-in on the fundamentals of human nature to stay aligned with the eternal verities of their consumers. So argues Matt Johnson, pointing out for instance our desire to belong (leveraged by Airbnb) or longing for happiness (leveraged by Disney, among others). This episode covers a lot of ground. It races from companies trying to authentically co-create their brands with their community of consumers, to whether there is such a thing as a down-to-earth luxury brand (there is, e.g. Supreme), to how Hallmark got caught up in today’s polarized politics. Perhaps my favorite question to ask: is there a brand out there trying to associate itself with an emotion like anger, fear or disgust? (You’ll have to listen to this episode to learn Matt’s surprising answer!) Matt Johnson is a speaker, researcher and writer specializing in the application of psychology and neuroscience to marketing. He holds a PhD in Cognitive Psychology from Princeton University. Besides running the neuromarketing firm Pop Neuro, Matt contributes toPsychology Today,Forbes, and the BBC and teaches at both Hult International School of Business and Harvard University’s Division of Continuing Education. Dan Hill, PhD, is the author of ten books and leads Sensory Logic, Inc. (https://www.sensorylogic.com). His latest two books areBlah Blah Blah: A Snarky Guide to Office LingoandEmotionomics 2.0: The Emotional Dynamics Underlying Key Business Goals. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/dan-hills-eq-spotlight

Today I talked to Tessa West about her bookJerks at Work: Toxic Coworkers and What to Do About Them(Portfolio, 2022). This conversation explores the seven types of jerks that West has diagnosed: the kiss-up / kiss downer, the credit stealer, the bulldozer, the free rider, the micromanager, the neglectful (boss) and the gaslighter. The last type is, in West’s words, almost “clinically” an evil spirit, even more cleaver and intent on doing harm than the kiss up / kick downer, both of whom are united in feeling contempt for their victims on the job. Sometimes each type has a subspecies categorization: for instance, some bulldozer are rough and obvious from their in-the-mouth machinations. Other bulldozers can be smoother and more subtle. Whatever the manifestation, however, each of these seven types are best handled by developing an array of allies at work who can help give advice and documents the bad behavior you’re experiencing. As to executives, they’re too busy and too eager to see themselves above the fray, West counsels; so you’ve got to make your own way forward. Tessa West is an associate professor of psychology at New York University. She has published over 60 articles in psychology’s most prestigious journals and has received multiple grants, including from the National Science Foundation and the National Institutes of Health, in addition to writing regularly about her research inThe Wall Street Journal. Dan Hill, PhD, is the author of ten books and leads Sensory Logic, Inc. (https://www.sensorylogic.com). His latest two books areBlah Blah Blah: A Snarky Guide to Office LingoandEmotionomics 2.0: The Emotional Dynamics Underlying Key Business Goals. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/dan-hills-eq-spotlight

Today I talked toSarah L Kaufman about her bookThe Art of Grace: On Moving Well Through Life(Norton, 2016). Grace as a word comes from Greek, conveying a sense of giving a favor as a gift or act or kindness. It’s related to Hebrew and Muslim words for compassion, and is something today’s society could use more of notes today’s guest. Instead, we have reality TV that thrives on dis-grace. This book began as the author confesses, with her writing an appreciation of how well Cary Grant moves on screen. In this interview, we also had time to hear from the author on the “devastatingly liquid” forehand of Roger Federer, and his overall grace on and off the court. Is grace charming? So much so that Cary Grant even once deliciously said, “Even I want to be Cary Grant.” Learn why Margaret Thatcher (“Atilla the Hen”) qualifies as graceful, and how we might move past today’s penchant for intolerance. Sarah L. Kaufman is an author, journalist and educator. For almost 30 years, she was a Pulitzer Prize-Winning dance critic forThe Washington Postand happy to be a colleague of Judith Martin (aka Ms. Manners). Nowadays, Sarah teaches courses in Harvard’s Extension School on a variety of topics. Dan Hill, PhD, is the author of ten books and leads Sensory Logic, Inc. (https://www.sensorylogic.com). His latest two books are Blah Blah Blah: A Snarky Guide to Office Lingo and Emotionomics 2.0: The Emotional Dynamics Underlying Key Business Goals. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/dan-hills-eq-spotlight

Today I talked to Ayelet Fishbach about her bookGet It Done: Surprising Lessons from the Science of Motivation(Little, Brown Spark, 2022) The key to motivating yourself is to change your circumstances. You can do so by the goals you set, how you accept feedback in pursuing them, the flexibility you show in making progress, and how well you leverage social support. Each of those four aspects has its own pitfalls, and today’s interview explores in depth a number of challenges. To harness the value of intrinsic motivation, can you stay attuned to the values and benefits that matter to you most? Likewise, can you demonstrate patience—not giving in to temptation or ceasing to engage because you don’t trust that the benefits you count on will actually be there at the end of the journey? Dr. Fishbach offers insights on all of these issues, and more, in a manner that recognizes the vulnerabilities people contend with daily. Dr. Ayelet Fishbach is an award-winning psychologist at the University of Chicago Booth School of Business and the past president of the Society for the Science of Motivation. Her scientific findings are regularly featured in the media, including theNew York Times, theWall Street Journal, CNN, and NPR. Dan Hill, PhD, is the author of ten books and leads Sensory Logic, Inc. (https://www.sensorylogic.com). His latest two books are Blah Blah Blah: A Snarky Guide to Office Lingo and Emotionomics 2.0: The Emotional Dynamics Underlying Key Business Goals. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/dan-hills-eq-spotlight

Today I talked to Jerry Pannone about his new bookSurvive: Why We Do What We Do(John Hunt, 2022) Abraham Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs model is famous, but more so the 5-layer model than the 8-layer model he eventually arrived at. Why the later addition of knowledge and understanding, aesthetics and transcendence as needs in Maslow’s model? The answer is that balanced out the 4 of the 5 original needs more focused on overcoming deficiencies, with four needs focused on personal growth. Indeed, a 2011, 163-country survey conducted in 2011, after Maslow’s death, concluded that respect was vital. As today’s guest suggests, the reason may be that respect encompasses both our need to have our career achievements be appreciated, and our selfhood to be valued as well. With gaining respect, the two strands of what we have done and who we are can triumphantly come together. Jerry Pannone has had a long career in music, as an artist, composer as well as in teaching music in the San Francisco Bay area. At the Ruth Asawa School of the Arts, Jerry taught courses in music, ethics and critical thinking. Dan Hill, PhD, is the author of ten books and leads Sensory Logic, Inc. (https://www.sensorylogic.com). His latest two books are Blah Blah Blah: A Snarky Guide to Office Lingo and Emotionomics 2.0: The Emotional Dynamics Underlying Key Business Goals. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/dan-hills-eq-spotlight

Today I talked to Max Bazerman about his bookComplicit: How We Enable the Unethical and How to Stop(Princeton UP, 2022). Remember Saturday NightLive’ssatirical TV spot for Ivanka Trump’s perfume, Complicit? Talk about a timely topic. In what is Bazerman’s third book on ethics, the focus is on the people who surround an “evil” doer and enable or allow harmful behavior to occur. From the implosion of FTX under the funky leadership of Sam Bankman-Fried, to Elizabeth Holes at Theranos or Purdue Pharma and the Sacklers, there is always a large supporting cast of those who trade on privilege, defer to authority, or have their trust exploited. Indeed, in this interview Bazerman touches on seven different profiles in complicity that serve as a counterpoint to JFK’s book,Profiles in Courage. What solutions does Bazerman offer? Besides changing the culture of an institution or company, one particular way forward is to amass co-whistleblowers by creating “informal escrows” so that the victims of perpetrators like Harvey Weinstein don’t have to go it alone in raising what might politely be called “legitimate concerns.” Max Bazerman is the Jesse Isidor Straus Professor of Business Administration at Harvard Business School. Besides being the author of books like BlindSpotsand DecisionLeadershipand an expert on the art of negotiations, he describes himself as a “gritty city kid from Pittsburgh.” Dan Hill, PhD, is the author of ten books and leads Sensory Logic, Inc. (https://www.sensorylogic.com). His newest book isEmotionomics 2.0: The Emotional Dynamics Underlying Key Business Goals. To check out his related “Dan Hill’s EQ Spotlight” blog, visithttps://emotionswizard.com. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/dan-hills-eq-spotlight

Today I talked toBatja Mesquita about herbookBetween Us: How Cultures Create Emotions(Norton, 2022). To a degree sometimes not realized, we discuss emotions through the lens of what have been called WEIRD cultures, i.e. Western, Educated, Industrialized, Rich and Democratic. As a result, the perspective taken tends to be inside/out, privileging one’s private feelings: a Mine approach. Yet in much of the world, more of an Ours approach prevails, with an understanding of emotions as being important because they help us navigate the cultures we live in. So as Batja Mesquita notes, emotions are therefore recognized as happening between people because emotions are relational, cultural, situational, and heavily involve cultural norms. To unpack an emotional episode is to explore, by degrees, what is going on and why the episode is significant in relation to one’s goals and values, and one’s place within a given situation and wider, cultural context. Dr. Batja Mesquita is a social psychologist, an affective scientist, and a pioneer of cultural psychology. She’s a Distinguished Professor of Psychology at the University of Leuven, Belgium. She’s from a Dutch Jewish family with parents who survived the Holocaust in hiding. She’s also lived in Italy, Bosnia, and the U.S., where she did her post-doctoral work at the University of Michigan. Dan Hill, PhD, is the author of ten books and leads Sensory Logic, Inc. (https://www.sensorylogic.com). His newest book is Emotionomics 2.0: The Emotional Dynamics Underlying Key Business Goals. To check out his related “Dan Hill’s EQ Spotlight” blog, visithttps://emotionswizard.com. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/dan-hills-eq-spotlight

Today I talked toDr. Heidi K. Gardner about her new book (co-authored withIvan A. Matviak)Smarter Collaboration: A New Approach to Breaking Down Barriers and Transforming Work(HBR Press, 2022) Diversity doesn’t mean much if a range of people are in the room but not really a part of the conversation taking place there. To counter that all-together too frequent shortcoming, today’s guest has focused on a variety of ways to achieve better collaboration where multiple viewpoints enrich the outcome. One way is to understand seven key dimensions of collaboration that focus on the personalities and behavioral tendencies in that room. Are people given to being risk seekers or spotters, for instance? Do they tend to be complex or concrete thinkers? And so on. Another way forward is to understand how the team will be evaluated and rewarded. When pay and promotions are weighted such that 40% is dependent on the outcome for customers, you tend to get a broader, more altruistic vantage point. Underlying it all in this conversation is how to overcome homophily: the basic human tendency to form connections with people most like yourself, thereby (unconsciously) excluding those who may look, dress, talk, think and feel in ways outside of your natural comfort zone. Dr. Heidi K. Gardner is a Distinguished Fellow at Harvard Law School and was previously a professor at Harvard Business School and a consultant at McKinsey & Co. Named byThinkers50as a Next Generation Business Guru, she has lived and worked on four continents and holds a PhD from London Business School. Dan Hill, PhD, is the author of ten books and leads Sensory Logic, Inc. (https://www.sensorylogic.com). His newest book isEmotionomics 2.0: The Emotional Dynamics Underlying Key Business Goals. To check out his related “Dan Hill’s EQ Spotlight” blog, visithttps://emotionswizard.com. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/dan-hills-eq-spotlight