Secrets Of The Most Productive People

Fast Company Staff Writer, Pavithra Mohan, dives into the limitations of diversity reports like the ones we've seen from companies like Google, Facebook and Amazon since 2014.

Kate Davis talks with Racial Equity Strategist and Leadership Coach, Dorianne St. Fleur, about where companies can start in building a more equitable workplace. Then, Kate talks with Porter Braswell, co-founder and CEO of Jopwell, about the myth of the pipeline problem. This episode of The New Way We Work is sponsored by Cove, the stress cancelling wearable. Cove is now available at FeelCove.com

Secrets of the Most Productive People returns January 25 with new episodes and new name.

In this bonus episode, you'll hear highlights from interviews with Brandy Zadrozny, Bubba Wallace, N.K. Jemisin, Gina McCarthy and Jacqui Guichelaar.

On December 16, Fast Company Podcast Network went live on Facebook and Youtube. Creative Conversation host, KC Ifeanyi, was joined by Kate Davis--host of Secrets of the Most Productive People--and Talib Visram--host of Fast Break--to talk about 2020.

Kate Davis is joined by Fast Company Staff Writer, Pavithra Mohan, and Alana Kaufman LCSW, a psychotherapist and the founder and director of the Talk Suite, to discuss how to cope with isolation this holiday season.

Kathaleen Pittman, who runs Hope Medical Group for Women--one of three clinics that provide abortions in Louisiana--shares her story about the continued threats to reproductive rights in Louisiana and running a clinic during the pandemic.

Kate Davis talks to Gemma Hartley--writer, reporter, and author of Fed Up: Emotional Labor, Women, and the Way Forward--about the disproportionate burden of emotional and unpaid labor women bear both at home and in the workplace.

This past June, after the world saw the horrific video of George Floyd being killed, millions took to the streets to protest the continued systemic oppression of Black Americans. This tragedy--and the activism that followed--made individuals examine their own complicity, families have tough conversations and workplaces reckon with their own culture, policies and approach to Diversity, Equity and Inclusion. For a lot of companies this, sadly, may be the first time they are thinking about how equitable their office is...or, at the very least, that they haven’t done nearly enough. For many people of color, navigating work life is a minefield of microaggressions and ignorance. This is certainly the case for Shantelle. Shantelle is a Black woman who started her career in finance, but changed career paths about 10 years ago and began working in Marketing. This is her story.

Fast Company has been writing about how to beat distractions and find more focus at work for years, but right now all of the normal advice feels less practical. Between the stress and worry that has accompanied the pandemic and economic crisis--coupled with the tumultuous presidential election--staying focused can feel impossible. On today's episode, Kate Davis talks to Dr. Art Markman about how to manage stress and focus when it's all just too much.

On this week's Productivity Dispatch, we hear from Pedro who spent Election Day working at a polling place in his neighborhood.

Dorianne St. Fleur joins Kate Davis to discuss microaggressions in the work place, how to be an ally and DARVO. Dorianne is a Racial Equity Strategist and Leadership Coach who specializes in helping organizations build anti-racist workplaces.

Liz Neitge is an actor and bartender from New York City. When the pandemic hit in March, both her industries shut down over night. As restaurants began to re-open this summer, Liz attempted to re-enter the work force, but the risks gave her pause. This is her story.

Fast Company staff writer, Pavithra Mohan, joins host Kate Davis to discuss her reporting on individuals experiencing long term, lingering effects of COVID-19 and how they are fighting for understanding from employers.

The coronavirus pandemic has forever changed the world and the way we work. Right now, millions of American workers across every industry are on the front lines of figuring out this new normal. To highlight the stories of everyday people, Secrets of the Most Productive People is launching its new series, Productivity Dispatch: Stories From the New Way We Work. Our first story is from Jeanne, an emergency manager from New York.

Find our 2020 listener survey at fastcompany.com/mostproductivesurvey and submit your responses by October 9th for a chance to win a $50 gift card.

In this last episode in Secrets of the Most Productive Peoples “Reinventing Education” mini series, where we take a look at how school nurses are preparing for school reopening as well as what epidemiologists are thinking about how to emerge from this crisis.

In today’s episode we are take a look at the possible solutions to the child care crisis. Host Kate Davis is joined by Staff Writer Pavithra Mohan to discuss what businesses are doing to support working parents. Then, Kate talks to Lauren Hogan, Managing Director at the National Association for the Education of Young Children, to explore ideas of what bigger institutional changes can be made on a public policy level. 

There’s no question: School looks different this year. Some students will attend in-person classes. Others will participate in a hybrid model, mixing online and in-person classes. Still others will stay entirely virtual, logging into classes from their bedrooms or kitchen tables. In this episode of Secrets of the Most Productive People's Reinventing Education series, contributing editor, Lydia Dishman, joins Kate Davis to discuss how teacher's across the country are preparing for the coming school year.

Amidst a growing global pandemic with persistent outbreaks and a patchwork of reopening plans, one of the biggest issues facing our nation is what to do about education and childcare for the countries over 73 million children. The far reaching impact of ongoing school closures in America has the ripple effect on all aspects of life and the economy.  Over the next month we will talk to teachers about how they are dealing with remote learning or the idea of returning to the classroom. We’ll hear from epidemiologists about how we should be planning for inevitable outbreaks, and explore both the private and public sector solutions to both taking care of kids' education and well being and retaining and supporting working parents. On today's episode, Fast Company Associate Editor, Yazmin Gagne, joins host, Kate Davis, to tell the story of three families and the struggles they are facing while working, caring for and educating their kids.