The Eddy Network Ventures Forth

The Eddy Network Podcast Episode 176

Three Insights

The Eddy Network Podcast emerged from the response to my writings at The Future of Leadership with Ed Brenegar at Substack. I began writing long-form posts or stacks in January 2022. The freedom to write what I wanted to write in the manner that I wanted to write resulted in over 200,000 words produced. I look back and wonder how did I do that? It led to my next venture.

Insight One

The thought of doing a podcast had been with me for about five years. The timing never seemed to be right until February 2023 seemed the right time. If you have followed this venture, you know that I say to potential guests,

“All I need is an hour. No prep. We talk about what we want to talk about when we begin recording.”

I simply did this to make it easy for people not to say No to me. Over the 176 episodes in two seasons, I’ve only had about 10 people say No.

At the time, I did not realize that the simple form of our conversations had a revolutionary character to it. I was told by one guest this is “an unscripted conversation” and another, it is “an empty room.” I responded “… for conversation.”

Insight Two

The other aspect that has made the podcast unique is how people become guests. Throughout my career, I have utilized a network technique of asking for introductions to meet people. With the podcast,

I ask my guests, "Who do you know that you think I should know because they would be a good person to interview. Would you introduce us?"

The result is that The Eddy Network is a genuine network of relationships.

Insight Three

Hidden in the positive, appreciative response of my guests to their experience on the podcast was the realization that many of these people display two characteristics that I have experienced most of my career.

One is a feeling of separateness and difference, typically described as “not feeling like I fit in.” I often say about myself that I am always included in a group, but still not fit in. It does not matter why so much as it does matter. In this sense, The Eddy Network is a place of inclusion and acceptance.

This experience of appreciation is a core value of The Eddy Network Podcast. The challenge (not really a challenge, but a privilege ) is to identify that which is worthy of appreciation in each guest. I believe this is something true in every human being.

We live in a very transactional world. Appreciation is not a currency of a transactional relationship but is given for the purpose of transformation. My work with leaders involves showing appreciation for their gifts, talents, expertise, and values.

I am interested in impact, not influence. Impact is a change that makes a difference that matters. Influence, in its best sense, can lead to impact, but it tends to be more of a mental/emotional state within a transactional context.

The second characteristic is that it doesn’t matter who you are, appreciation is valued. This is true of the wide spectrum of guests. I have business people, academics, students, artists, Polymaths, and neurodiverse people. I recognize that they all have a need to fit-in and be appreciated. The lack of this experience ends up inhibiting the capacity of each guest to be a person of impact within the world they inhabit.

The Eddy Network Ventures Beyond the Podcast

This episode of The Eddy Network Podcast presents my plans for extending the Network into new areas. The video and the description below describe The Eddy Network Learning Community.

I am excited for the next stage in the adventure of The Eddy Network.

The Eddy Network Learning Community

An Emergent Global Community for Learning and Leadership in Local Communities

Who Are We?

The 135 (to date) The Eddy Network Podcast Guests worldwide. Guests of the podcast represent a wide spectrum of people. There are Polymaths whose curiosity and intelligence lead to a new world emerging. Neurodivergents whose differences hold great insight and hope for the future of humanity. Artists whose creativity helps us to embody a wider range of knowledge and experience. All those people who have never felt that they fit in any social or organizational setting yet have the potential for impact.

To become a guest on The Eddy Network Podcast, have a former guest make an introduction.

What Do We Do?

We have Clean, Unscripted conversations. We engage in instructional courses that translate knowledge into action. We hold public events of friendship and support for being persons of impact.

Our Essential Purpose.

Our purpose is to expand our capacity to be persons of impact.

• We encourage and support one another in our advancement as persons of impact.

• We practice what we learn in the communities and workplaces where we live.

• We learn and lead as a collective community of people through our agency as people of difference and purpose.

• We create local communities of persons of impact who are making a difference that matters.

Our Areas of Learning are diverse and emergent.

We ask,

• What does it mean for Me and for Us to take personal initiative to create impact that makes a difference that matters?

• How do We establish Networks of Relationships for greater support and impact in our local communities?

We recognize and engage in understanding the cultural dynamics that have delayed our emergence as persons of impact.