Recorded July 9, 2025

I chat with Jane Jiang (Ivey HBA) about her path after graduation. I haven't spoken to Jane since she was an undergraduate at Ivey, and learn about her journey to find career fulfillment.

---Amazon link to my book: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0C5N6F1FV

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03:02 -- Jane's big decision

05:49 -- Did Jane have any doubts as a student?

16:02 -- Did Jane need to be pushed?

18:06 -- Dealing with the discomfort and fear

19:32 -- What exploration looks like

22:32 -- Most guides aren't real guides

26:17 -- How Jane knew something was off

30:15 -- Immigrant kids feel bad for complaining

33:13 -- Asia is behind on this

38:22 -- Jane drank the Kool-Aid at Ivey

46:52 -- The discovery process

53:02 -- Lessons learned

58:32 -- A world of few pioneers

01:00:47 -- How people around us react

01:08:47 -- How Jane does introspection

Recorded July 5, 2025

I chat with Jeremy DeMello (Ivey HBA) about his thoughts on the the positive aspects of the Ivey experience, as well as whether he would attend Ivey again. We also discuss the implications of AI. This is the second of two separate episodes.

---Amazon link to my book: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0C5N6F1FV

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06:50 -- Where elite B-schools go wrong

11:42 -- Is our education system becoming obsolete?

21:22 -- How AI is making B-schools even less relevant

30:32 -- ChatGPT is an incompetent employee

34:42 -- AI will not decrease working hours

39:42 -- AI companionship

41:42 -- AI as a motivating coach

46:42 -- Relational AIs will replace advertising

50:17 -- What will organizations look like with AI?

53:32 -- Will AI reinforce good or evil?

Recorded July 5, 2025

--- I chat with Jeremy DeMello (Ivey HBA) about his experience dealing with a toxic colleague, as well as his thoughts on the the negative aspects of the Ivey experience. This is the first of two separate episodes.

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Amazon link to my book: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0C5N6F1FV

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10:15 -- Organizations are terrible at dealing with toxic colleagues

12:56 -- The real cost of toxic colleagues

17:56 -- Does a culture of radical transparency solve this?

22:46 -- Bridgewater might not really be a cult

25:32 -- Most firms don't compete on culture

31:22 -- Do we teach students how to deal with toxic workplaces?

34:56 -- The challenge of explaining why you left a toxic environment

36:56 -- The people who won't leave toxic places

41:26 -- HR management awards don't mean what you think

42:56 -- Organizations never ask about your values

47:56 -- Is Ivey a toxic place?

54:16 -- Jeremy's attempt to give feedback

01:03:56 -- Are NYU and Wharton different?

Recorded May 1, 2025

---I chat with Rob, a former MBA student of mine when I taught at NYU Stern. We talk about whether getting the MBA degree was worth it, the challenges of balancing fulfillment with the need for pragmatism, and where intellectuals can thrive in society. ---

Amazon link to my book: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0C5N6F1FV

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00:50 -- Was the MBA degree worth it?

03:59 -- Rob reflecting on the road not taken

08:14 -- What percentage of Rob's class would say the MBA was worth it

10:35 -- Why isn't there there more honest conversation from B-school graduates?

12:01 -- Rob: I came to the MBA to explore

12:51 -- B-school isn't Dead Poets Society

14:28 -- Global demand for MBAs is declining

15:40 -- Full-time MBAs: Not the most profitable part of a B-school

17:40 -- B-school don't publicize their satisfaction rate

19:53 -- Satisfaction rates are a better metric to measure B-schools

23:54 -- Rob's framework to finding happiness at work

29:10 -- A lot of organizations aren't intellectually satisfying

30:07 -- Where do intellectuals get to be free in society?

00:47 -- The newest wave of intellectual leadership doesn't come from academia

08:47 -- How far beyond survival can we go?

39:20 -- When we lose our job, how limited are our options?

41:40 -- Why the ability to take on risk matters

46:40 -- Rob's practices to figure out the right next step

50:47 -- Could the education system have helped more?

56:28 -- Things could be worse, but can they also be better?

58:19 -- The voice of the pragmatist vs. another voice

01:00:39 -- Advice Rob would give his younger self

Recorded June 22, 2025

----I chat with Dave Tang (former Ivey HBA) about how he managed two major life and career pivots in his 20s after graduation. The last time I spoke to Dave was over a decade ago, and at the time it was already clear the path he was on wasn't the right one. In this episode, he discusses what unfolded next.----Amazon link to my book: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0C5N6F1FV

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05:10 -- Overview of Dave's path

07:50 -- Dave's big decision

13:10 -- How Ivey defined success

22:15 -- ...and then the pandemic came

27:30 -- Dave learning about himself

32:10 -- Challenges relating

35:10 -- On finding a new community

45:00 -- What would the other path have looked like?

53:10 -- London to Barcelona

55:45 -- Finding a new home that feels more like home

1:01:20 -- Did Dave know things would turn out this way?

1:06:45 -- How Ivey's rat race distorts students' goals

1:10:13 -- Dave discovers Bryan's book

1:15:30 --The declining appeal of universities

Recorded June 13, 2025

I chat with Tony Wu (former Ivey HBA and finishing his MBA/MPA at Wharton) about how he navigated the pressures and intense competition as an undergraduate at Ivey, and what motivated his different career choices so far. Tony also shares how a personal loss during his time at Ivey shaped his values and perspective on life.

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Amazon link to my book: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0C5N6F1FV

---01:48 -- Overview of Tony's path

07:37 -- How Ivey locks students in

11:27 -- How Ivey helped, and how it didn't

15:03 -- B-school: A world of seemingly few choices

16:27 -- What Tony would change about it

19:42 -- Getting away from the "one track mind"

30:47 -- How he would change education

37:12 -- Why he's choosing climate over education

44:47 -- What would a world of purpose look like?

47:57 -- Asia has much less freedom

49:49 -- Is there a generational shift?

52:38 -- How do we deal with lack of purpose in the collective?

58:17 -- The "other" Tony's path

1:00:47 -- How Tony thinks about his path

1:09:22 -- Would any path have been fine?

1:12:13 -- How to decide your path?

1:14:44 -- How Tony makes his pivotal decisions

Recorded May 7, 2025

Will Christodoulou (former Ivey MSc and one of the founders of Cyder) and I connect again to finish our conversation. In this second part of our chat, Will talks about what he did and didn't like about his experience at Ivey, why more of his classmates didn't pursue entrepreneurship, and the diminishing returns of money.

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Learn more about Will's startup here: https://www.getcyder.com/

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Amazon link to my book: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0C5N6F1FV

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00:21 -- Why weren't Will's classmates more interested in entrepreneurship?

04:31 -- B-school recruiting is biased to big corporate paths

05:27 -- Not knowing what's out there breeds apprehension

06:48 -- School is nothing like the real world

07:40 -- We train students to be addicted to structure

08:49 -- Community helps us deal with self-doubt

12:53 -- Will's path may not be for everyone

13:41 -- What Will liked and didn't like about Ivey

17:36 -- What surprised Bryan about Wall Street

21:04 -- What if more people did what Will did?

24:18 -- The diminishing returns of money

25:51 -- Financial constraints can be in the mind of the beholder

26:40 -- Most people are too risk averse

28:51 -- Advice Will would give his younger self

33:27 -- Does success mean a life of extreme highs and lows?

33:02 -- Does spirituality help manage the lows?

35:46 -- What Will would be doing if not Cyder

37:39 -- What Bryan learned about the importance of culture

40:18 -- Good leadership is more than using a stick

Recorded on May 2, 2025

Can you really do what you love without sacrificing the money? I chat with Will Christodoulou, a former Ivey MSc student and one of the founders of Cyder, a loyalty platform for credit unions. Will tells the story of his path, which is a great story of how vision, staying true to your values when making a decision at each crossroads in life, and faith in passion can create the life you want--even if you don't know how you'll get there at the outset.

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Learn more about Will's startup here: https://www.getcyder.com/

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Amazon link to my book: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0C5N6F1FV

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00:30 -- Bryan discovers Will read his book

03:08 -- Why aren't profs talking to former students about their education?

04:51 -- Will tells his story

09:32 -- What Cyder does

11:56 -- What guided Will's career decisions

15:31 -- Do what you love, and the money will come

17:00 -- Weighing money vs passion

20:32 -- Favoring generalist vs specialist training

21:48 -- When Will knew Cyder was what he wanted

22:22 -- What Bryan loves about Will's story

23:44 -- Parallels to Rivian

25:37 -- Comparing to legal or medical career paths

27:02 -- Competing for a limited menu at Ivey