As we approach the New Year, it's almost inevitable that we’ll find ourselves taking stock of all that came and went in the year prior.

For most of us, this happens because we are trying to pinpoint those things we hope to improve on over the next 12 months.

But as my guest and I discuss in today's episode, when it comes to leadership, these sorts of ‘self-audits’ tend to focus inward, when sometimes we need to take stock of the people and peers we choose to surround ourselves with.

Joining me this week is John R. Miles, CEO and founder of Passion Struck, an organization focused on impacting real change by educating people on how to live intentionally.

A former U.S. Navy officer, Fortune 50 executive, and global thought leader, John’s core philosophy is that when people matter, they thrive. When organizations make people matter, everything else follows.

John is now the executive producer and host of the Passion Struck podcast, ranked in the top 0.01% of all podcasts globally, and his latest book, "Passion Struck: Twelve Powerful Principles to Unlock Your Purpose and Ignite Your Most Intentional Life." was named a Next Big Idea Club Must-Read.

As a man of many talents, John shares the leadership lessons he’s seen that transcend any one institution, how situational leadership is about adjusting style, not principles, and the dangers of defining ourselves solely on the circumstances we find ourselves in.

Enjoy the show!

When someone asks what I ‘do’ for a living, there are times I want to respond with, “I tell stories.” After all, most attorneys spend their time trying to get the “full picture” of what’s happening in a given case, and the best narratives give us just that.

Now, unfortunately, somewhere along the way the expression, “telling stories”, became short-hand for “making stuff up”, and since there’s already plenty of jokes about lawyers’ relationship with the truth, my answer is typically a much-less mysterious, “defense attorney”.

But as someone who consumes a fair amount of legal media - be it in books or on screen - I can tell you that truth is almost always stranger than fiction. But as my guest this week is quick to point out, just because a story is ‘strange’ doesn’t mean it has to be ‘complicated’.

Joining me this week is Brent Turman, a trial attorney whose commercial litigation practice covers a variety of matters including business disputes, intellectual property, real estate, arbitration, and civil RICO actions.

But before his legal career, Brent was an Associate Operations Producer for ESPN & ABC College Football, also producing commercials, industrial videos, in-arena entertainment, and music videos for clients throughout North America.

Now he pulls from these experiences, frequently giving trial skills presentations across the country, teaching other attorneys about the strategies and tools he has used in the courtroom.

We discuss how Brent found his way into the legal profession, the narrative tools from his early career have transferred into deliverable results for his clients, and so much more.

Enjoy the show!

For as much as we all joke about the, "kids these days" mentality that every generation seems to have in one form or another, for most of human history this sentiment was often more anecdotalI than anything else.

Typically we see youth as a combination of 'risky behavior' mixed with 'poor decision-making' - a dangerous cocktail to be certain - but trying something new at ANY stage of life will often look foolish to those on the outside.

The question each of us faces, then, is how much are we willing to trust ourselves.

It's a question my guest this week wants her clients to answer with confidence, and maybe a little bit of laughter.

Nermin Jasani joins us this week for a conversation about how she went from managing to get into a Wall Street job at the height of the financial crisis to moving across the country to attempt a tech start up, ultimately coming back to the law as a consultant for other women in the profession.

We discuss the importance of hiring good people, why technology is fantastic but can't replace our responsibilities, and how the business of law is always rooted in the economics of Supply & Demand.

Enjoy the show!