Mick Unplugged

Aneesh Raman is LinkedIn’s Chief Economic Opportunity Officer, where he works with leaders across societies and sectors to shape the global response to the historic changes hitting work. A former CNN war correspondent and presidential speechwriter for Barack Obama, Aneesh has spent his career at the intersection of storytelling, economic policy, and human potential. He previously served as Senior Advisor on economic strategy to the State of California and led economic impact initiatives at Facebook. Alongside LinkedIn CEO Ryan Roslansky, Aneesh co-authored the groundbreaking book “Open to Work: How to Get Ahead in the Age of AI,” a practical guide that draws on LinkedIn’s global data to help individuals and companies thrive in the rapidly evolving world of work.

Takeaways:
AI Won’t Replace You — Unless You Let It: The fear is real, but the fatalism is a choice. 70% of job skills will change by 2030, and for the first time ever, workers — not executives — get to decide how. Your boss doesn’t know what you do all day better than you do. Stop waiting for a playbook and start writing your own.
The Three Buckets That Redefine Your Job: Aneesh breaks your weekly tasks into three buckets: what AI can do for you, what you’re building with AI, and what’s pure you — critical thinking, ethical judgment, human connection. As you shift work across those buckets, you stop being replaceable and start becoming indispensable. CEO or newest hire, start now.
Nobody Beats You at Being You: The industrial age told us to be machine-like. Now a machine can out-machine us — and people are terrified. But Aneesh flips it: for the first time in human history, work is about to index on human capabilities. Your curiosity, creativity, and ability to build real partnerships — that’s your competitive edge. Bet on yourself, because the systems of work are finally shifting to reward what makes you uniquely you.

Sound Bytes:
“AI is not going to replace you unless you let it. It all starts with the agency we have as individuals and the strengths we start with.”

“Nobody beats you at being you. Figuring out not just what makes you unique as a human, but what makes you unique as this human, is going to become your biggest competitive edge.”

“Bet on yourself for every person who couldn’t do that, even though they desperately wanted to. Bet on yourself.”

Connect & Discover Aneesh Raman:
LinkedIn: Aneesh Raman
Book — Open to Work: How to Get Ahead in the Age of AI
Amazon: Open to Work
Barnes & Noble: Open to Work

🔥 Ready to Lead Different & Win Bigger? 🔥
Leadership isn’t about a title — it’s about what you do when no one gave you a blueprint. In his book, How to Be a Good Leader When You’ve Never Had One, Mick Hunt delivers the raw, real leadership playbook for the rest of us. Whether you’re building a team, growing a business, or just trying to lead yourself better — this book is for you.
Straight talk. Real strategy. No fluff.
👉 Get your copy now on Amazon, Barnes & Noble, or Books A Million.

FOLLOW MICK ON:
Spotify: MickUnplugged
Instagram: @mickunplugged
Facebook: @mickunplugged
YouTube: @MickUnpluggedPodcast
LinkedIn: @mickhunt
Website: MickHuntOfficial.com
Website: howtobeagoodleader.com
Website: Leadloudseries.com
Apple: MickUnplugged

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Jason Wild is a globally recognized innovation strategist and co-author of the groundbreaking book “Genius at Scale: How Great Leaders Drive Innovation,” written alongside Dr. Linda A. Hill of Harvard Business School and Emily Tedards. A former child actor turned business leader, Jason has shaped innovation strategy for some of the world’s most iconic brands—including Microsoft, Salesforce, and IBM—while advising CEOs across six continents. As the former Global Vice President of CEO Co-Innovation and Customer Engagement at Microsoft, Jason brings a rare blend of practitioner experience and thought leadership to the art and science of scaling breakthrough ideas.

Takeaways:
Stop Falling in Love with Ideas and Start Falling in Love with Problems: Most companies pour millions into brainstorming and ideation—and then wonder why nothing actually changes. Jason nails it: innovation isn’t about getting to the top of the mountain, it’s about making it back down alive. More initiatives die in execution than in conception. The Waldorf Astoria didn’t have a slow elevator problem—they had a boring wait problem. An intern with a mirror solved what a million-dollar algorithm couldn’t. Leaders, stop rewarding ideas and start rewarding impact. Pick the right problem and the solution will follow.
Innovation Is a Social Process—You Can’t Mandate It, Delegate It, or Dictate It: Jason has spent 25 years in tech and he’ll tell you straight: it’s more about people than technology. The most innovative companies don’t obsess over the “what” of innovation—they master the “how.” They build communities where the best ideas rise organically, not because someone with the biggest title pounds the table. Creative abrasion, psychological safety, and diverse perspectives aren’t corporate buzzwords—they’re the operating system of every company that’s actually scaling something that matters. AI isn’t going to replace you. But a clueless leader who thinks AI can do your job? That’s the real threat.
Wayfinding Is the New Leadership—Forget the Five-Year Plan: The old playbook of pathfinding—point A to point B, remove barriers, minimize turbulence—is dead. AI, quantum, blockchain—the ground is literally shifting under our feet every week. Jason and his co-authors call it wayfinding: figuring out the destination while you’re already on the way there. It’s uncomfortable. It demands humility. And it’s the only leadership approach that actually works when you’re leading in fog. Stop pouring new technology on old thinking and start building the framework to navigate what’s next.

Sound Bytes:
“The most innovative companies don’t focus on the what, they focus on how. And they focus on creating a community where organically innovation happens and the best ideas thrive.”

“I don’t think people should be necessarily worried about the conversation of AI taking your job. But I think you should be more worried about some leader who is clueless, thinking that AI can do your job.”

“Get in the right mindset and you surround yourself with the right people that are willing and able to innovate and seemingly impossible is not.”

Connect & Discover Jason Wild:
LinkedIn: Jason Wild
Book — Genius at Scale: How Great Leaders Drive Innovation
Amazon: Genius at Scale
Website: GeniusatScale.com

🔥 Ready to Lead Different & Win Bigger? 🔥
Leadership isn’t about a title — it’s about what you do when no one gave you a blueprint. In his book, How to Be a Good Leader When You’ve Never Had One, Mick Hunt delivers the raw, real leadership playbook for the rest of us. Whether you’re building a team, growing a business, or just trying to lead yourself better — this book is for you.
Straight talk. Real strategy. No fluff.
👉 Get your copy now on Amazon, Barnes & Noble, or Books A Million.

FOLLOW MICK ON:
Spotify: MickUnplugged
Instagram: @mickunplugged
Facebook: @mickunplugged
YouTube: @MickUnpluggedPodcast
LinkedIn: @mickhunt
Website: MickHuntOfficial.com
Website: howtobeagoodleader.com
Website: Leadloudseries.com
Apple: MickUnplugged

EXCLUSIVE NordVPN Deal ➼ https://nordvpn.com/mickunplugged Try it risk-free now with a 30-day money-back guarantee!
See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Alanna Taylor is a visionary leader and strategic architect who has spent three decades transforming bold ideas into fundable realities. With a staggering 60% plus grant win rate and over a million dollars raised annually for her clients, she is a nationally respected expert in program design, funding, and sustainable growth for mission-driven organizations. As the founder of Granted Success, Inc., Alanna specializes in grant writing, fractional executive director services, and her signature Grant-Ready Elevation Audit—a powerful diagnostic tool that evaluates a nonprofit’s win-ability across internal operations, messaging, digital footprint, and fundraising strategy. Her work is deeply rooted in empowering Black women executive directors and the Black-centered nonprofit organizations they lead.

Takeaways:
Founders, Stop Making Yourself the Executive Director: Alanna reveals a critical pattern in the nonprofit space—Black women founders who position themselves as the executive director are inadvertently creating their own boss through the board. Her advice: position yourself as the board chair, build a strong and diverse board, and consider launching a consulting business alongside your mission. If you can create a nonprofit, you can create a business.
Win Rate Is About Discipline, Not Just Writing: A 60% plus win rate does not come from fancy proposals—it comes from the discipline to say no. Alanna carefully evaluates every RFP, reviews the terms and conditions at the end that most people skip, and declines clients whose programs do not align with a funder’s priority areas. Funders now want quantitative outcomes, not wordy narratives, and Alanna delivers exactly that.
Sustainability Means Multiple Revenue Streams: Grants alone will not sustain a nonprofit. Alanna pushes her clients to create fee-for-service offerings, technical assistance programs, merchandise, published books, and private donor bases. Unlike restricted grant funding, these revenue streams give organizations the unrestricted capital they need to truly grow and thrive on their own terms.

Sound Bytes:
“My because is really meeting the needs of Black women who are in the nonprofit space.”
“You’re allowed to make money as a nonprofit. You are allowed to generate revenue. You are allowed to create a service and charge for it.”
“Look, I’m a great writer, but I am not Jesus. I cannot make this work.”

Connect & Discover Alanna:
LinkedIn: @alannataylor
Website: grantedsuccess.org
Website: grantreadynow.com
Email: [email protected]

🔥 Ready to Lead Different & Win Bigger? 🔥
How to Be a Good Leader When You’ve Never Had One by Mick Hunt isn’t just a book - it’s your blueprint to set up, stand out, and lead with confidence (even if no one ever showed you how).
Straight talk. Real Strategy. No fluff. Just the tools you need to elevate your leadership and life.
👉 Get your copy now and start leading on your terms → Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Books A Million


FOLLOW MICK ON:
Spotify: MickUnplugged
Instagram: @mickunplugged
Facebook: @mickunplugged
YouTube: @MickUnpluggedPodcast
LinkedIn: @mickhunt
Website: MickHuntOfficial.com
Website: howtobeagoodleader.com
Website: Leadloudseries.com
Apple: MickUnplugged

EXCLUSIVE NordVPN Deal ➼ https://nordvpn.com/mickunplugged Try it risk-free now with a 30-day money-back guarantee!
See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Boomer Anderson is not your typical health guru—he’s a former investment banker turned health optimization pioneer who got the wake-up call of a lifetime when he was diagnosed with cardiovascular disease at just 30 years old. Instead of accepting the standard “take a pill and come back in ten years” approach, Boomer went all-in on understanding what true health actually means. Today he’s the CEO of Troscriptions, building science-backed solutions for stress, sleep, focus, and immune function, and the driving force behind Health Optimization Medicine and Practice (HOMe HOPe), a nonprofit that trains doctors worldwide to optimize for health rather than just manage disease. With a background that spans global finance, over 65 countries, and a relentless passion for challenging the process, Boomer brings the kind of real-world, research-backed insights that every entrepreneur and leader needs to hear.

Takeaways:
Your Stress Bucket Is Probably Already Broken: Boomer introduces the concept of the stress bucket—a container for all the stress in your life from work, relationships, environment, and yes, even exercise. When that bucket overflows, what you think is helping you (like intense workouts) can actually accelerate damage. Leaders need to audit their total stress load before adding more to the pile.
Sleep Is the ROI Play You’re Ignoring: Getting just six hours of sleep has the same cognitive impact as drinking two to three beers. Pull an all-nighter and you’re operating like you’ve had ten to twelve. For entrepreneurs whose greatest asset is their brain, sacrificing sleep is literally leaving performance and money on the table.
Health Starts at the Cellular Level: Boomer breaks down his framework that true health is more than the absence of disease—it’s about getting your body’s basic cell optimized and balanced. When you bring biomarkers like hormones and nutrients back to their evolutionary optimal levels (ages 21 to 30), the symptoms that plague most executives—brain fog, low energy, poor sleep—begin to fall away.

Sound Bytes:
“The through line for everything that I do is challenging the process.”

“Getting six hours of sleep a night versus eight is the cognitive impact of drinking two to three beers. An all-nighter is the equivalent of drinking ten to twelve.”

“Your day doesn’t start with when you wake up in your morning routine. It actually starts with your evening routine.”

Connect & Discover Boomer:
Instagram: @boomersnh
Website: troscriptions.com
X: @boomersnh
LinkedIn: @boomeranderson
Nonprofit: homehope.org
YouTube: Troscriptions

🔥 Ready to Lead Different & Win Bigger? 🔥
How to Be a Good Leader When You’ve Never Had One by Mick Hunt isn’t just a book - it’s your blueprint to set up, stand out, and lead with confidence (even if no one ever showed you how).
Straight talk. Real Strategy. No fluff. Just the tools you need to elevate your leadership and life.
👉 Get your copy now and start leading on your terms → Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Books A Million

FOLLOW MICK ON:
Spotify: MickUnplugged
Instagram: @mickunplugged
Facebook: @mickunpluggedYouTube: @MickUnpluggedPodcast
LinkedIn: @mickhunt
Website: MickHuntOfficial.com
Website: howtobeagoodleader.com
Website: Leadloudseries.com
Apple: MickUnplugged

EXCLUSIVE NordVPN Deal ➼ https://nordvpn.com/mickunplugged Try it risk-free now with a 30-day money-back guarantee!
See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Bruce Bruce is an entertainment legend, a master of comedic timing whose sharp wit and improvisational brilliance have captivated audiences for decades across stand-up, television, and film. With a new Netflix special "I Ain't Playing" that has audiences roaring from start to finish, he redefines longevity and authenticity in the comedy game, building a career on delivering big laughs infused with relatable human insights. A true "goat" of comedy, Bruce Bruce consistently draws sold-out crowds with fresh material and an unwavering dedication to his craft, proving that genuine connection and humor are timeless.

Takeaways:
Authenticity in Performance: Bruce Bruce emphasizes the importance of being genuinely yourself, stating "He's the same person. It's not a difference. I'm not putting out a front."

Treating Your Craft as a Business: He advises aspiring comedians and creators to view their passion as a business, highlighting the need for consistency, professionalism, and continuous improvement.

Longevity Through Adaptability: Bruce Bruce’s sustained success is attributed to staying relevant, embracing new platforms like social media, and evolving his material to connect with contemporary audiences while still delivering classic humor.

The Power of Mentorship and Communication: He emphasizes the value of honest feedback and open communication within relationships, whether with family, managers, or colleagues, to foster growth and avoid pitfalls.

Joy in the Journey: Despite the demands of a long career, Bruce Bruce reiterated that his driving force is his genuine love for what he does, underscoring that passion sustains effort over time.

Sound Bytes:
"I wanna be like, look, I'm about to throw up. This dude is about to make me throw up. So that's what I wanted. And I think that's what I got."
"If you like stripping strip, if you like stealing cars, still them, but you got to love what you do."
"When people come to see you, have something for them to go home and talk about."
"I don't care about nothing else but nobody should be 80 years old with a shag and a bang."
"In every aspect of life, man, like my manager and I, we go back and forth on stuff. Sometimes I get hot here at Bruce."

Connect & Discover Bruce Bruce:
Website: bruce-bruce.com
Facebook: @mybrucebruce
Instagram: @mybrucebruce
X: @mybrucebruce
TikTok: @mybrucebruce
Netflix: I Ain't Playin'

🔥 Ready to Lead Different & Win Bigger? 🔥
How to Be a Good Leader When You’ve Never Had One by Mick Hunt isn’t just a book - it’s your blueprint to set up, stand out, and lead with confidence (even if no one ever showed you how).
Straight talk. Real Strategy. No fluff. Just the tools you need to elevate your leadership and life.
👉 Get your copy now and start leading on your terms → Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Books A Million


FOLLOW MICK ON:
Spotify: MickUnplugged
Instagram: @mickunplugged
Facebook: @mickunplugged
YouTube: @MickUnpluggedPodcast
LinkedIn: @mickhunt
Website: MickHuntOfficial.com
Website: howtobeagoodleader.com
Website: Leadloudseries.com
Apple: MickUnplugged

EXCLUSIVE NordVPN Deal ➼ https://nordvpn.com/mickunplugged Try it risk-free now with a 30-day money-back guarantee!
See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.