How to be Extraordinary

Stew Friedman
Aug 27, 2017 · 2 min read

A conversation with Bill Taylor

“The actual is limited, the possible is immense.”

Quote above the Lincoln Electric factory gate

I host a weekly radio show on SiriusXM 111, Business Radio Powered by Wharton, called Work and Life. We publish edited versions of my conversations as free podcasts. I invite you to listen to the episode (embedded below) that is my conversation with Bill Taylor, co-founder and founding editor of Fast Company, which has won just about every award there is to win in the magazine world since its creation in 1995. Bill has also written three important books on leadership and change. His new book is Simply Brilliant: How Great Organizations Do Ordinary Things in Extraordinary Ways. His previous book, Mavericks at Work, was a New York Times bestseller and was named a “Business Book of the Year” by The Economist and the Financial Times.

We talk about Bill’s book Simply Brilliant, which analyzes innovative companies in traditionally slow-moving industries like government or manufacturing. Two such companies are Lincoln Electric and Pal’s Sudden Service. We talk about the smart management practices in both companies that foster such great innovation and performance. Trust in the employees is key. Special bonus: As a fellow Springsteen fanatic, Bill gives his take on how The Boss personifies the essential traits of successful managers.

Thrive Global

More than living. Thriving.

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Stew Friedman

Written by

Award-winning Wharton School professor, author of Total Leadership and Leading the Life You Want, former Ford exec, host of radio show Work and Life.

Thrive Global

More than living. Thriving.

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