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The Sydcast

The Sydcast

Written by: Sydney Finkelstein
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The Sydcast is all about intimate and informative conversations with fascinating people you may not know. Until now. Because everyone has a story.

Listen in as Syd talks to entrepreneurs, community leaders, professional athletes, politicians, academics, authors, musicians, and many more about who they are and how they got there.

Sydney Finkelstein is an award winning professor at the Tuck School of Business at Dartmouth College, and a best-selling author of Superbosses and 25 other books. He’s written for the Harvard Business Review, the BBC, Fortune, Forbes, the Wall Street Journal, and more academic journals than you’d care to know about. He spends his time asking questions, and sometimes, even answering them.

© Sydney Finkelstein Economics Social Sciences
Episodes
  • The Incredible Rob Kapilow: The Polyglot Pied Piper of Music

    The Incredible Rob Kapilow: The Polyglot Pied Piper of Music
    Jan 2 2023
    Episode SummaryIn this final episode of Season 4, I bring you Rob Kapilow. A musical savant, innovator, and global presence, listening to Rob is like taking a master class in music, and in life. From Duke Ellington to Joseph Campbell, from Beethoven to the Beatles, and from Yale to Paris to Native American reservations, Rob Kapilow will take you on the classic Sydcast journey of discovery, creativity, and learning. Sydney Finkelstein Sydney Finkelstein is the Steven Roth Professor of Management at the Tuck School of Business at Dartmouth College. Professor Finkelstein has published 25 books and 100 articles, including the bestsellers Why Smart Executives Fail and Superbosses: How Exceptional Leaders Master the Flow of Talent, which LinkedIn Chairman Reid Hoffman calls the “leadership guide for the Networked Age.” He is also a Fellow of the Academy of Management, as well as a consultant and speaker to leading companies around the world. His latest projects include the leading podcast, The Sydcast, that uncovers and shares the stories of fascinating people in business, sports, entertainment, politics, academia, and everyday life, as well as a new series of online courses based on his life’s work available at Coursera.Rob KapilowFor over 30 years, Rob Kapilow has brought the joy and wonder of classical music – and unraveled some of its mysteries – to audiences of all ages and backgrounds. Characterized by his unique ability to create an “aha” moment for his audiences and collaborators, whatever their musical sophistication or naiveté, Kapilow’s work brings music into people’s lives: opening new ears to musical experiences and helping people to listen actively rather than just hear.Kapilow’s range of activities is astonishingly broad, including his What Makes It Great?® presentations (now for over 20 seasons in New York and Boston), his family compositions and Family Musik® events, his Citypieces, corporate programs, and residencies with institutions as diverse as the National Gallery of Canada and Stanford University. The reach of his interactive events and activities is wide, from Native American tribal communities in Montana and inner-city high school students in Louisiana to audiences in Kyoto and Kuala Lumpur and tots barely out of diapers to musicologists in Ivy League programs.Insights from this episode: Where Rob’s love for music came fromLearning about different genres of musicGrowing his skills in musicGetting the right skills for musicWhat makes a great songWhat is creativity, and how to tap into itThe importance of listeningInsights into American musicHow music connects usQuotes from the show:“To me, really, I didn’t know there was any difference between The Beatles, jazz, and piano music. To me, there was just music. Only later did I learn that you are in separate niches, separate categories” —Rob Kapilow [7:22]“One of my favorite quotes is from Joseph Campbell, the brilliant writer on mythology, and he says ‘The privilege of a lifetime is being who you are’” —Rob Kapilow [8:42]“Aside from taking apart what actually makes a song like She Loves You by The Beatles great musically, which I can certainly do, there’s also the sense that it often is part of someone’s life experience” —Rob Kapilow [18:34]“At the heart of all great creators, is the kind of ability to pay attention, but not only to just pay attention to what’s happening but to listen for possibilities” —Rob Kapilow [23:17]“I realized that listening is such a larger thing than just hearing” —Rob Kapilow [28:46]“You cannot hate immigrants when you’ve heard their stories. Let's not politicize this, but humanize it” —Rob Kapilow [45:45]​​“The whole purpose of a piece of music is to show that we are all connected. That beneath our surface differences, we are all connected” —Rob Kapilow [58:00]Stay connected:Sydney FinkelsteinWebsite: http://thesydcast.comLinkedIn: Sydney FinkelsteinTwitter: @sydfinkelsteinFacebook: The SydcastInstagram: The SydcastRob KapilowWebsite: https://robkapilow.comTwitter: Rob KapilowFacebook: Rob Kapilow Subscribe to our podcast + download each episode on Stitcher, iTunes, and Spotify.This episode was produced and managed by Podcast Laundry.
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    1 hr and 7 mins
  • Ben Koldyke: From Football Coach to "How I Met Your Mother"

    Ben Koldyke: From Football Coach to "How I Met Your Mother"
    Dec 26 2022
    Episode SummaryHow does it happen that an English teacher and sports coach becomes a renowned actor? Ben Koldyke – who played Don Frank on How I Met Your Mother and many other roles – tells us, along with cameo insights about Aaron Sorkin, Second City, and Dartmouth College.Sydney Finkelstein Syd Finkelstein is the Steven Roth Professor of Management at the Tuck School of Business at Dartmouth College. He holds a Master’s degree from the London School of Economics and a Ph.D. from Columbia University. Professor Finkelstein has published 25 books and 90 articles, including the bestsellers Why Smart Executives Fail and Superbosses: How Exceptional Leaders Master the Flow of Talent, which LinkedIn Chairman Reid Hoffman calls the “leadership guide for the Networked Age.” He is also a Fellow of the Academy of Management, a consultant and speaker to leading companies around the world, and a top 25 on the Global Thinkers 50 list of top management gurus. Professor Finkelstein’s research and consulting work often relies on in-depth and personal interviews with hundreds of people, an experience that led him to create and host his own podcast, The Sydcast, to uncover and share the stories of all sorts of fascinating people in business, sports, entertainment, politics, academia, and everyday life.Ben KoldykeBen Koldyke has worked on some of the most renowned comedy series, including THE GOOD PLACE, SILICON VALLEY, and CURB YOUR ENTHUSIASM. He starred in the NBC comedy series MR. ROBINSON with Craig Robinson was featured in a series-long arc on MASTERS OF SEX with Michael Sheen. Before that, Koldyke was in Craig Gillespie’s THE FINEST HOURS for Disney opposite Chris Pine. He most recently appeared in Peacock’s RUTHERFORD FALLS opposite Ed Helms. He is based in LA.Insights from this episode: Ben Koldyke’s early daysChallenges Ben has faced transitioning from an athletic aspect to the artsThe ups and downs of an acting careerWhy he made the shift from sports to actingLearning how to actUsing his sports background as an advantage in actingWhat it takes to be a good actorQuotes from the show:“What’s interesting to me about sports and acting, when you are trained as an athlete, it’s challenging to take on an artistic sort of way of life” —Ben Koldyke [6:09]“This (acting) is an incredibly competitive environment, but if you are on the creative side there just has to be a temperance, there just has to be an understanding that this is not an all or nothing sort of thing; that opportunities will come and go and you just have keep a sort of middle ground, almost a meditative middle ground, that allows you to deal with the whims of what is a very up and down business” —Ben Koldyke [8:13]“At age 30, much my parents chagrin and utter confusion, I said I was going to go to California and teach at the Kipp School, in Inglewood and I was going to study how to be an actor and a writer; and that’s what I did!” —Ben Koldyke [13:08]“Instead of it being a hindrance (sports background), instead of it being something that I needed to overcome, he taught me to incorporate it, to use it, (…) I was taught to really celebrate it and utilize it which I thought was really insightful and helpful for me” —Ben Koldyke [17:08]“To get a pilot having never acted before is very very rare: it seemed normal to me for about a second, and then I came down to earth” —Ben Koldyke [33:46]Stay connected:Sydney FinkelsteinWebsite: http://thesydcast.comLinkedIn: Sydney FinkelsteinTwitter: @sydfinkelsteinFacebook: The SydcastInstagram: The SydcastBen KoldykeWebsite: Ben KoldykeSubscribe to our podcast + download each episode on Stitcher, iTunes, and Spotify.This episode was produced and managed by Podcast Laundry.
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    51 mins
  • Mike Morin: A Life in Radio

    Mike Morin: A Life in Radio
    Dec 19 2022
    Episode SummaryWhat is it like being on the radio? In New Hampshire, that means interviewing would-be Presidents, but for Mike Morin it also means being curious, open-minded, and occasionally even pulling crazy stunts that upset half of his listeners. A life in radio in the “Live Free or Die” state.Sydney Finkelstein Syd Finkelstein is the Steven Roth Professor of Management at the Tuck School of Business at Dartmouth College. He holds a Master’s degree from the London School of Economics and a Ph.D. from Columbia University. Professor Finkelstein has published 25 books and 90 articles, including the bestsellers Why Smart Executives Fail and Superbosses: How Exceptional Leaders Master the Flow of Talent, which LinkedIn Chairman Reid Hoffman calls the “leadership guide for the Networked Age.” He is also a Fellow of the Academy of Management, a consultant and speaker to leading companies around the world, and a top 25 on the Global Thinkers 50 list of top management gurus. Professor Finkelstein’s research and consulting work often relies on in-depth and personal interviews with hundreds of people, an experience that led him to create and host his own podcast, The Sydcast, to uncover and share the stories of all sorts of fascinating people in business, sports, entertainment, politics, academia, and everyday life.Mike MorinAll-around media man Mike Morin began his writing career in 2004 with his first humor column in the Nashua Telegraph. Since then, his list of publications includes this magazine, The Boston Globe, the New Hampshire Business Review, Clean Eating, and more. He’s also the author of several books, including “50 Shades of Radio” and his most recent, “Lunch With Tommy and Stasia,” about the glory days of candlepin bowling (for which he was a TV announcer once upon a time). He spent more than four decades in radio, with a memorable stint on WZID’s morning show. He took some time off from broadcasting but has since returned to the early morning radio waves – you can find him on 106.3 FM, Monday to Friday, from 6-9 a.m. Insights from this episode: When Mike discovered he wanted to be on radioMike’s life growing upHow Mike got on radioWhat makes a good talk show hostMaintaining a bond with your listenersInteresting guests Mike has interviewedBeing on air after 9/11Life after vocal cord surgeryQuotes from the show:“Within a year, I actually had my first professional radio job while I was still in college. So I was driven, and I was determined i’m not gonna wait till my degree to get my first job” —Mike Morin [11:20]“Everybody has a story, you just have to know how to get it out of them. So to get people to talk to me, you have to know the kind of buttons to push” —Mike Morin [14:08]“At some point you have to come terms with the fact that there’s someone that is just larger than ordinary, and ideally embrace it and love it, respect it and admire it, but not let it get you kind of in a funk, or down ” —Syd Finkelstein [32:49]“This is one of the tricks I have learned over the years, is when you interview people, you give them one or two kind of soft ball questions and let them get comfortable with you” —Mike Morin [38:34]“Thinking out of the box is what you gotta do sometime, doesn’t always work. When you take a chance and bet on yourself, good things do happen” —Mike Morin [42:25]“First of all, no matter who you have on, you’re gonna upset your half your audience (…) People don’t accept you for your views these days, they just accept you if they like you, or not” —Mike Morin [46:59]Stay connected:Sydney FinkelsteinWebsite: http://thesydcast.comLinkedIn: Sydney FinkelsteinTwitter: @sydfinkelsteinFacebook: The SydcastInstagram: The SydcastMike MorinWebsite: Mike MorinFacebook: Mike Morin Subscribe to our podcast + download each episode on Stitcher, iTunes, and Spotify.This episode was produced and managed by Podcast Laundry.
    Show More Show Less
    59 mins
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