In this episode of the Truth Works Podcast, host Jessica Neal welcomes Richard Ezekiel — a seasoned executive, strategist, and thought leader in the world of partnerships.

Richard’s career spans venture-backed startups, Fortune 500 companies, and the broader innovation ecosystem. He has built and led transformative partnerships that drive growth, create customer value, and bring together organizations that otherwise might have remained siloed. Over the years, Richard has worked alongside iconic leaders such as John Chambers, Reed Hastings, and Marc Andreessen, shaping high-impact alliances that have left a lasting mark on Silicon Valley and beyond.

He is the author of COELEVATE:

How to Unlock Business Growth and Consumer Value with Strategic Partnerships, a book that distills decades of real-world experience and mentorship into a practical framework for creating partnerships that endure. COELEVATE explores why 70% of partnerships fail, how to de-risk alliances, and how to treat partnerships as a disciplined business function capable of unlocking exponential growth.

Whether you’re a founder, executive, or someone navigating the complexities of organizational collaboration, Richard’s insights offer a roadmap to building relationships that matter.

Richard has a special PROMO code for Truth works listeners. Email us at yash@astrasmedia.com to avail them or dm Richard.

“If the book inspires you, the author would be grateful if you left a review—it really helps spread the word.”
👉 coelevatebook.com/ar

On this solo episode of Truth Works, host Jessica Neal sits down with Eduardo Briceño, author of The Performance Paradox: Turning the Power of Mindset into Action and one of the world’s leading voices on growth mindset.

From Caracas to Silicon Valley, VC to education, Eduardo unpacks how living in constant performance mode stalls progress—and how deliberately switching into the learning zone unlocks long-term excellence.

We get tactical: redesigning meeting agendas so learning isn’t an afterthought, building daily habits for reflection, modeling feedback, and balancing short-term execution with bold, long-term goals. Jessica shares inside stories from Netflix—farming for dissent, the informed captain model, leading with context, and why over-communication beats under-communication every time—while Eduardo shows how to turn those ideas into repeatable systems that compound.

You’ll learn:

• The difference between learning vs. performance zones—and when to be in each
• Simple agenda tweaks that make every meeting smarter
• How to normalize feedback and dissent without slowing execution
• A daily question leaders can use to keep teams unblocked and aligned

Find Eduardo’s TED Talks, newsletter, and more—and don’t forget to check out The Performance Paradox.

In this episode, Kweilin Ellingrud—Director at the McKinsey Global Institute and Senior Partner at McKinsey,

breaks down the gender pay gap as a solvable, data-driven problem. We trace where inequity actually begins (the “broken rung” at first promotion), how it compounds through performance reviews and caregiving penalties, and why “it’s just choices” doesn’t hold up once you control for role and tenure.

Kweilin shares the fixes leaders can implement this quarter: transparent pay bands, balanced promotion slates, skills-based hiring, disciplined pay equity audits, and manager training that sticks. We also explore how AI and productivity gains could widen or close the gap—depending on governance. You’ll leave with a six-step playbook, concrete KPIs to track progress, and quick experiments any org can run to make fair pay the default.

In this episode of Truth Works, we sit down with Beth Steinberg, an organizational development and leadership expert with over 25 years of experience guiding companies through hypergrowth, IPOs, and acquisitions. As founder of Mensch Ventures and former People leader at Facebook, Sunrun, and BrightRoll, Beth has helped scale both startups and global enterprises by blending leadership coaching with people strategy and culture design.

She shares lessons from steering talent systems under pressure, her philosophy on coaching leaders rather than just managing tasks, and her commitment to advancing women in STEM through the U.S. State Department’s TechWomen initiative. This conversation is a masterclass in building resilient organizations where culture and growth go hand in hand.

In this episode of Truth Works, we welcome James Turk, author of The Giving Game. James is dedicated to helping organizations cultivate leaders who understand that generosity is not just a personal virtue, but a strategic advantage.

He explains how effective leadership is built on trust, collaboration, and the ability to give more than you take. Drawing on his research and experiences, James shows how “the giving mindset” transforms cultures—turning teams into communities that thrive on shared purpose and mutual support.

We discuss practical ways leaders can integrate these ideas into their organizations, from shaping daily interactions to guiding long-term strategy. James challenges traditional notions of leadership rooted in authority, offering instead a vision of leaders who elevate others, empower innovation, and build resilience through generosity.

In this re-run episode of Truth Works, Nirav Tolia - co-founder and CEO of Nextdoor - shares an unfiltered look at the rollercoaster of startup leadership. From his early internet days at Yahoo to co-founding Nextdoor, Nirav reflects on the thrill of building something people love, the sting of being asked to step down, and the personal growth that came from failure. Now back at the helm, he discusses how he’s leading differently, the importance of culture, and why resilience matters more than ever.

In this episode, we cover:

• Nirav’s journey from Odessa, Texas, to Stanford, Yahoo, and the creation of Nextdoor
• Lessons from his first startup success — and a massive failure
• The emotional impact of being removed as CEO and how he rebuilt his perspective
• The role stress plays in leadership and how to manage it
• Why intent matters less than impact when leading a team
• Balancing vulnerability with authority as a leader
• Returning to Nextdoor during a turnaround and redefining its culture
• The “two products” every CEO is building: the product itself and the company’s culture

In this episode of Truth Works, hosts Jessica Neal and Bob Sutton sit down with Laszlo Bock, a trailblazer in the world of people analytics, and the former head of HR at Google.

Laszlo shares his remarkable journey, including his time at Google and his transition into entrepreneurship. The conversation dives deep into the evolution of corporate culture, how data is transforming the way we hire, and the importance of challenging the status quo to create meaningful organizational change.

Laszlo also touches on some fascinating stories, including a pivotal experiment at Google to test hiring practices, and why sometimes, “constructive defiance” is a key weapon in driving positive change.

With insights on the intersection of leadership, innovation, and people strategy, Laszlo offers valuable takeaways for those looking to reshape their approach to business and leadership.

Tune in to hear about the power of data-driven decision-making, how to build a better workplace, and the wisdom that comes from thinking outside the box.

In this thought-provoking episode of Truth Works, organizational visionary Michele Zanini joins Jessica Neal and Bob Sutton to unpack the tyranny of bureaucracy and the bold promise of humanocracy. Co-author of the updated book Humanocracy, Michele explains why traditional management systems fail to inspire innovation, agility, or meaning—and how companies like Netflix, Roche, and even the U.S. Army are rewriting the rules.

Together, they explore:

• Why companies become bureaucratic over time
• The flipside: unleashing resourceful people instead of controlling them
• Radical models of leadership, autonomy, and peer accountability
• How culture is built through operating systems—not slogans

If you’re a founder, HR leader, or executive trying to unshackle your team from inertia and unleash real human potential, this one is for you.