Episodes

Ron and Ed welcome back for the third time Dr. Jules Goddard from London Business School. His new book (with David Giles Lewis and Tamryn Batcheller-Adams) entitled Mavericks guide you through the five characteristics that you can develop to become a maverick leader. From passionate belief, an undeterred attitude, being resourceful, being directional and finally experimenting, these characteristics are the blueprint for you to grow into an iconic and positive change maker. The focus is not on wh...

Back in January with spoke with Chris Edwards about how wealth fuels economic growth. We welcome Chris back to talk about his other area of expertise - US tax policy. Join us on Tax Day (well sort of, it was extended to April 18 this year), for what will be a lively and wide ranging conversation about this topic that effects everyone.

Two fan favorites from 2021 return to join Ron and Ed in what no doubt will be a spirited conversation about Social Entrepreneurship, Kimberlee Josephson (Episode 360) and Sam Staley (Episode 367). Kimberlee is an Associate Professor of Business, Associate Dean for the Breen Center for Graduate Success at Lebanon Valley College; Sam is the director of the DeVoe Moore Center at Florida State University. Ron and Ed will (mostly) be along for the ride on this one as two of the foremost thinkers in ...

Ron and Ed have had so many Guests in the past few months that certain housekeeping items have gone neglected. In this episode they will rectify that and answer listener email and, of course, talk about subscription stuff. If you have question or comment for them, send that email to asktsoe@verasage.com and they will work it in.

Ron and Ed welcome Michael Tanner of the CATO Institute to engage in a conversation about The Project on Poverty and Inequality in California which builds on Michael's most recent book, The Inclusive Economy: How to Bring Wealth to America’s Poor, a comprehensive look at the ways government contributes to poverty in the United States.

In his The Tuesday column this week, Kevin Williamson writes, I do wonder what it would take to turn Russia around. I suppose it would start with a Russia that wanted to be turned around, or at least a critical mass of Russians who want that. Ron and Ed will talk with him about Russia and Ukraine as well as his participation in the upcoming NR Institute's Seminar entitled Creating Opportunity: Making the Moral and Practical Case for Free Enterprise.

The influence of David Maister's work on professional firms continues to this day despite the fact that he retired in 2009. While Ron and Ed have some problems with his reliance on efficiency and metrics, his book True Professionalism: The Courage to Care about Your People, Your Clients, and Your Career stands out for its insight into what it really means to be a professional. In this episode, we will explore this book and share our thoughts about what Maister did and did not get right.

Ron and Ed welcome their first five-time Guest to the show, VeraSage Fellow and Professor at Xavier University in Cincinnati, Dr. Reginald Lee. The conversation will surround his new book, Project Profitability: Ensuring Improvement Projects Achieve Maximum Cash ROI. (Full disclosure: Ed wrote the Foreword.) In Project Profitability, Reginald explains why opportunities are not realized and offers a framework that will guarantee your teams identify projects that align with your strategy, calculat...

Join Ed and Ron for a tribute to one of the greatest satirist and humor writer, P.J. O'Rourke. We will explore P.J.'s books, and other stories from all the tributes that have been written about him recently. P.J. was one of a kind. Would it be possible to have another P.J. in today's woke society?

From time to time, Ron and Ed like to review the state of the subscription economy especially as it pertains to professional firms, but they will weave in some other stories as well. Have you heard that Ed subscribed to a vacuum cleaner and salami? We will also talk price increases and what they got right and WRONG about their own subscription.

Ron and Ed welcome author Meriel Schindler whose book The Lost Cafe Schindler they both highly recommends. When her father, Kurt, died in 2017, he left behind piles of Nazi era documents related to their family's fate in Innsbruck, Austria, and a treasure trove of family photo albums reaching back to before World War I. Meriel was forced to confront not only their fractured relationship, but also the truth behind their family history.

Making his fourth appearance on The Soul of Enterprise is Dr. Paul Thomas of Plum Health DPC. Ron and Ed ask him how he scaled his practice from one to know three offices and what the implications are for his subscription model. In addition, we ask what regulatory barriers to providing care this way should be removed.

One of Ron's number one books of 2021 was Vivek Ramaswamy's Woke, Inc.: Inside Corporate America's Social Justice Scam. An incredible read, with some very innovative ideas for how to push back on the wokeism that is infiltrating corporations. Join Ed and Ron for wide-ranging discussion of one of the most important books written in a long time (in Ron's opinion, we'll have to see what Ed thinks!).

Ron and Ed welcome Chris Edwards to the show to talk about two recent reports he has authored for The CATO Institute. In How Wealth Fuels Grown, the role of wealth in the economy is the focus. In this recent study Chris examines wealthy individuals as “angel” investors, who fund startup businesses. Angel investors provide a unique source of support for America’s entrepreneurs, particularly in leading-?edge industries. In Entrepreneurs and Regulations: Removing State and Local Barriers to New Bus...

“You don’t have to get people to burn books to destroy a culture. Just get people to stop reading them.” (Ray Bradbury, Sci-fi Writer). Join Ed and Ron as they discuss the best books they read in 2021.

Our annual tradition continues! Ron and Ed will look back and talk about their top stories, including their favorite and most popular episodes of 2021. They'll pay homage (or not) for some who have passed on. Maybe even set their sights on what they think 2022 will bring.

It is December 24th, the busiest day for the North Pole and wouldn't you know it but a worldwide taxing authority has decided that today is the day to conduct Santa's Audit. For Peter Jackson's Get Back! We snuck our TSOE microphones in on the conversation between the auditor and Santa's head accounting elf. What you are about to hear is the edited audio. The full audio can be heard by subscribers on our Patreon channel at http://patreon.com/tsoe Merry Christmas!

We are honored to welcome back, for the third time, economist Michael Munger. He's the author of many great books, including Tomorrow 3.0; Is Capitalism Sustainable?; and The Sharing Economy. Join Ed and Ron for what will surely be an enlightening and fun conversation with one of our favorite guests.

Ron and Ed first encountered Colin Rule's work when reading Richard and Daniel Susskind's book, The Future of the Professions (Episode 74) in which the online dispute resolution system used by eBay was touted as handling more cases per year than the entire US court system. In what promises to be a wide-ranging interview, Ron and Ed will explore this topic and more.

In the past year, two short stories have come to Ron and Ed's attention that provide some economic insights: Somerset Maugham's The Verger and Kurt Vonnegut's Harrison Bergeron. In The Verger, a church employee is fired even though he does his work quite satisfactorily. Bergeron is a cautionary tale of the notion of equity - equality of outcome. Links can be found here if you want to read them beforehand: * The Verger - https://www.teachingenglish.org.uk/sites/teacheng/files/Maugham_The_Verger_0...

The Beatles are considered the most influential popular music act of the twentieth century, widely recognized for their influence on popular culture. The inability of other bands and artists to imitate their fame has prompted questions such as: How did the Beatles become so successful? What factors contributed to their success? Why did they break up? Ron and Ed will explore these questions and more in their interview with Professor Samuel R. Staley, author of The Beatles and Economics

Drones are among the most exciting and promising new technologies to emerge in the last few decades. Photographers, firefighters, filmmakers, engineers, and retailers have all used drones to improve public safety, innovate, and enhance creativity. Yet drones pose unique regulatory and privacy issues, and lawmakers at the federal and state levels are adopting policies that both ensure the safety of our national airspace and restrict the use of warrantless aerial surveillance. At a time when low-f...

Ron and Ed welcome back Professor Baruch Lev from NYU Stern Business School. He was last on back in July 2016 and we discussed his book, The End of Accounting and the Path Forward for Investors and Managers. We talk more about that book and his more recent article in Accounting Today, The sad state of accounting standards.

Would you rather pay for healthcare or for better health? For school or education? For groceries or nutrition? A car or transportation? A theater performance or entertainment? In The Ends Game, Marco Bertini describes how some firms are rewriting the rules of commerce: instead of selling the means (their products and services), they adopt innovative revenue models to pursue ends (actual outcomes). Ron and Ed are thrilled to have Marco on the show for what promises to be a stimulating conversatio...