Today, Jason and Nicole dig into two stories that seem very similar. Both stories center on couples who are fighting because one spouse makes more than the other— but the premise of the individual fights are very different. Jason and Nicole play Judge Judy and give their verdict on which spouse is right— and share their advice for couples navigating the emotional side of a pay disparity.

No. Why is that teeny word so hard to say? Today, Nicole helps Jason craft the perfect response to someone who won't take no for an answer and gives you the framework to say no in a way that is kind, but that also sticks.

Here’s a secret hack to improve performance: use less of your brain. It’s a counterintuitive idea Jason stumbled upon, then discovered has deep roots in psychology. Jason will explain how to do it — but first, he’ll show you how it helped him.

Today's caller has a problem: ever since she was promoted, her coworkers— who now report to her— have been giving her the cold shoulder and stalling on their deadlines. Today, Jason and Nicole help her plan a conversation that will repair the relationship, which hinges on an often overlooked superpower in leadership.

Jason has a formula to build trust in any conversation. It’s a formula that deepens personal conversations and advances professional ones. It is: Their thoughts + 1. Today, he'll explain what this means and why it works.

There are some bizarre headlines making the rounds in business news... but, beyond the headlines, there are some important lessons on knowing your customer, personal branding, and how to collaborate meaningfully. Today, Jason and Nicole mine those lessons from the weirdo headlines.

There are lots of resources for taking care of your career after you've been laid off, but there are far fewer resources for taking care of yourself after a layoff. Today, Jason and Nicole call up podcaster and emotional investigative journalist Yowei Shaw to talk about exactly this. Yowei talks about how surprised she was by how bad she felt when she was laid off and what she did to make herself start to feel better. Listen to Yowei's awesome podcast Proxy here:...

Your comfort zone can also be a trap. It’s too easy to stick with what you know. Why make yourself uncomfortable? Today, Jason will give you the trick that he has used to propel himself into the unknown.

There are some wild stories in business news right now: a guy is suing a company because he misses his wife, a beer company blamed its stock performance on the weather and an airline is throwing it back to third grade and making a doctor's note a prerequisite for sick days. But these stories are not just weird headlines— there are business lessons too, if you know where to look. Today, Jason and Nicole find the unexpected advice and give you the diamonds from the rough.

You can't say yes to every opportunity, which begs the question: When should you say no? Today, Jason will give you an answer. It’s a simple framework that he learned from Brian Lee, the cofounder of LegalZoom. And he learned it by accidentally almost killing the company. Now you can benefit from his mistake.

Today, Jason tells Nicole a story of a very recent— and very public— failure. He explains what happened, how he panicked, and ultimately, what advice he got from a friend that made him feel better.

You have the right stuff: You’re talented, smart, and good at what you do. But the right people aren’t noticing. So here’s a difficult truth you must take seriously: you are a high-quality person, but you can’t compete on quality alone. Today, Jason shows you how to get noticed another way. 

Jason and Nicole got a wonderfully crafted piece of constructive criticism from a listener: they swear too much on the show! Today, Nicole and Jason explain how they decided where to draw their line when it comes to swearing— and they teach you how to calibrate the trade-off between raw personality and professionalism.

Have you ever asked for something — but were misunderstood? This happened to Jason recently and it triggered an an ah-hah moment. His mistake was that he didn’t ask for what he wanted. Instead, he asked for bad examples of what he wanted. Today, he gives you a better way to ask questions, give answers, build relationships, solve problems, and become someone’s hero.

Today’s caller has been slowly increasing her rates over time with market trends—except for one of her earliest clients, who's still paying the same old low pricing. She knows it’s time to raise those rates, but the thought of having that conversation is totally stressing her out. Today, Jason and Nicole give her strategies to help her feel more comfortable with having the conversation successfully.

Today Jason shares two strategies he uses to stop obsessing over small mistakes. He calls them Thinking Downward, and the Grading Curve. They’ve helped him bounce back from his imperfect moments — and he thinks they can help you too.

Today Nicole and Jason break down all things introductions— how to ask for one, how NOT to ask for one, and what to say if someone asks for an intro you don't want to give. They give you the steps you should take every time you make an intro, and they start by talking about the weirdest intro Jason has ever been a part of.

You’re trying to solve a problem. But you’re stumped. So you keep asking the same question: How do I do this one thing? But what if you’re asking the wrong question? Today, Jason will show you how to back up and ask the “earlier question.” And he'll start by showing you how he just used this trick… and helped a big company solve a big problem.

Today, Jason and Nicole explore a taboo topic: the give-and-take struggle between a demanding career and parenthood. Jason and Nicole have noticed a reticence in others to talk about this experience for fear of judgment or misunderstanding. But in this conversation, Jason and Nicole speak honestly. Plus, what's the best way to tell your coworker you're expecting?

Trust is not binary, it's a gradient — and once you appreciate how it works, you can build (and maintain!) trust in smarter, more careful ways. It’s a concept called the trust battery. Today, Jason will show you how to use it — and how it can help you build better relationships, professionally and personally.

When the check comes at the end of a business dinner, who should pay? The bigger company? Does that even matter? These are the questions on our Executive Producer Morgan's mind after an awkward fumble at the end of a business dinner with a big tab. Jason gives a framework you can use to assess when you should throw your card down, and what to say if you can't.

Jason got a cold DM on LinkedIn that included a common ask that often creates friction. Today, Jason and Nicole call up the guy who made that ask to talk through his networking strategy and give him some tips on frictionless outreach.

You want to do something new... But you’re hesitating, because you’re not sure if it’s the right thing to do. Today, Jason will introduce you to a concept he calls the ticket. It’s a way to stop thinking about what you should do, so you can think about what you can do. And to see how it works, he’ll first tell you about a friend who’s in this situation right now — feeling stuck, at a crossroads, and searching for courage.

Today's caller is fighting with her fiancé; he didn't include her in a business deal, but she feels *strongly* that he should have. Today, the caller is joined by her fiancé to explain the situation so Nicole and Jason can determine which of them is right, and how couples should handle joint opportunities.