Tag: data

The Digital Version of Trust, But Verify

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“Trust is built on telling the truth, not telling people what they want to hear.” – Simon Sinek

There is something that is bothering me about the Nancy Guthrie investigation. For anyone that hasn’t followed this, Nancy Guthrie is the 84-year-old mother of Today show host, Savannah Guthrie. Nancy was abducted from her home in Tucson, Arizona in the middle of the night on February 1st.

When she was first abducted, the news reported that no images were captured by her Nest doorbell camera because she opted out of the recording service.

Then sometime about 10 days later, some footage from the camera was “recovered.” I hope that provides some great investigative leads and helps to bring Nancy Guthrie home safely. But three things strike me as troublesome.

  1. That data was not supposed to exist. Users should be able to opt out of that service and be assured that recording is not happening.
  2. Nest is owned by Google. Their competitor, Ring, is owned by Amazon. Two companies that have spent billions on AI. [To be fair, Ring says that it doesn’t record if people opt out.]
  3. When the AI bubble bursts, will either Google or Amazon need a bail out from the government? And if so, what will they be willing to trade for that help?

I generally tend to believe that companies do the right thing for their customers. This is definitely the case with Microsoft. Not only because I have so many good friends who work there, but also because I’ve been helping companies implement MS software for more than 30 years.

I tell my clients not to transcribe or record sensitive meetings they hold online. Microsoft says they understand that clients should be able to choose what is and is not recorded.

Back in the day when software ran on machines that companies owned, we could check. Now that so much operates from “the cloud,” there isn’t any way to effectively do that.

Ronald Reagan used to quote the Russian proverb, “Trust, but verify.” We might need to start a movement to do just that.

(featured photo from Pexels)

You can find me on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/wynneleon/ and Instagram @wynneleon

Please check out the How to Share podcast, a podcast celebrates the art of teaching, learning, giving, and growing!

How to Share Insight

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“We teach each other things. People take this for granted, but it’s actually unbelievable.” – Nicholas Christakis

Last weekend, my five-year-old son got two moon balls. They are cratered like the moon and bounce like they are going to leave this atmosphere. That bounce combined with my son’s determination to hit as if he’s aiming for the Green Monster at Fenway Park meant we lost both balls in pretty short order.

He was bummed when we lost the first… and really sad when we lost the second. I sat next to him on the steps and asked, “Do you want to know what I know about being sad.”

“No,” he replied.

It’s all about timing, isn’t it? 🙂 It is one of the keys about sharing insight that I talk with customer experience strategist Karl Baisch about on the How to Share Podcast.

Nicholas Christakis, sociologist from Yale, has this really hopeful view of humans based on our ability to interact and cooperate with others. He says, “We teach each other things. People take this for granted, but it’s actually unbelievable.”

In this episode of ‘How to Share’, Karl and I explore the nuances of how we teach each other things and share insights effectively. We discuss the importance of asking the right questions, the challenges of navigating data, and the significance of context in delivering actionable insights. Our conversation also touches on parenting and how to instill curiosity and critical thinking in children, drawing parallels between data synthesis and everyday experiences.

Here are some takeaways from our conversation:

  • We teach each other things.
  • Real change happens when there’s enough curiosity.
  • Groups have to want an answer to hear it.
  • You gotta share your work product somewhere.
  • You want to avoid analysis paralysis.
  • How do you synthesize it into a story?
  • Insights should breathe new energy and life into anything.
  • You have to contextualize it.
  • You have to ask the right questions.

This is a great episode about the practice of creating insight. Join us as we dig into the who, what, when, where, how and of creating and sharing a-ha moments!

Here’s a short clip from our episode to give you a taste of the great conversation with the bright and engaging Karl Baisch:

Here are some ways you can listen and watch to the full episode:

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46: The Quiet Transformation That Changes Everything – The Life of Try: Personal growth, one try at a time.

What if “trying” doesn’t have to mean pushing harder?In this episode, host Wynne Leon talks with author and New York Insight Meditation Center co-founder Joseph Schmidt about The Torchbearer—a collection of short stories born from an unexpectedly effortless creative process. Together they explore the mindset shift from effort to openness:how letting go of the agenda can create space for insight, transformation, and a deeper, more alive way of meeting each moment.Try smarter, not harder: why forcing outcomes can block creativity—and what changes when you partner with the process instead.Mindset shift to “empty hands”: Joseph’s Zen chaplaincy training and the practice of entering a room (or a moment) without an agenda.Personal growth through discovery: how his characters—and we as readers—find the next move by noticing what’s already here.Feeling alive at the edge of the unknown: mindfulness as the place where consciousness meets what happens next.Belonging as a practice: building a bond of belonging by showing up with curiosity, care, and presence.If you’ve been working hard but feeling flat, this conversation is an invitation to loosen your grip, step back into the present, and discover a more natural flow—one where growth comes from attention, not strain. Listen in for a gentler (and often more powerful) way to create, connect, and keep beginning again.Perfect for you if:you’re craving a mindset reset, rebuilding your creative confidence, deepening a mindfulness practice, or simply want to feel more awake and engaged in your everyday life.The Life of Try is a personal growth and self‑help podcast about getting unstuck, navigating uncertainty, and choosing to try—even when it’s uncomfortable, inconvenient, or not your idea.Hosted by Wynne Leon, the show explores how realgrowth, reinvention, and discovery often begin not with confidence or clarity—but with a single attempt. Through thoughtful interviews, reflective conversations, and real‑world case studies, each episode examines what it lookslike to keep going when doubt shows up, plans fall apart, or life forces a change you didn’t ask for.This podcast is for anyone who:Feels stuck or uncertain about what's nextIs navigating change, burnout, or reinventionWants to live more intentionally without pretending that growth is easyBelieves (or wants to believe) progress starts by trying – again and againThe Life of Try isn’t about hustle or perfection.It’s about learning as you go, surfacing what matters, and sharing what you discover along the way.If you’re ready to surf the uncertainty, outlast the doubts, and step into your own try‑cycle, you’re in the right place.Links for this episode:Creating Without Elbow Grease transcriptThe Torchbearer: and other Stories of Borderline Redemption by Joseph Schmidt on AmazonJoseph Schmidt bio – New York Insight Meditation Center
  1. 46: The Quiet Transformation That Changes Everything
  2. 45: The Life of Try: Alex Honnold Case Study
  3. How to Share a Reimagined Sci-Fi Trilogy with Dr. Wayne Runde
  4. How to Share Advocacy with Sam Daley-Harris Part 2
  5. What Do You Know To Be True?

Links for this episode:

Karl Baisch on LinkedIn