Peter Shankman is a globally acclaimed entrepreneur, futurist, and bestselling author dedicated to helping leaders and organizations thrive through neurodiversity and authenticity. As the founder of Help a Reporter Out (HARO), he transformed how journalists and experts connect, and his insights have been featured in major outlets including Forbes, The New York Times, and The Wall Street Journal. Peter’s expertise spans customer experience, personal branding, and leadership for high-performance teams. Through his electrifying keynotes and consulting work, he teaches companies to leverage the power of “faster brains” to innovate, build loyalty, and stay ahead in a rapidly changing marketplace. Passionate about seeing differences as strengths, Peter equips audiences with practical tools to transform neurodiverse thinking into business advantage.

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What if being different is your greatest competitive advantage?

In this captivating episode of Talking with the Experts, host Rose Davidson – award-winning indie podcaster and podcast coach – talks with Peter Shankman, renowned entrepreneur and neurodiversity advocate, about how “faster brains” can revolutionize the way we lead and innovate.

Peter’s journey from creating Help a Reporter Out (HARO) to advising Fortune 100 companies offers a masterclass in turning neurodiversity into strength. He reveals why today’s best leaders value trust over perfection and how authenticity builds unshakable brand loyalty. With his trademark humor and directness, Peter shares practical strategies for leveraging ADHD and fast-processing minds to drive creativity, customer experience, and growth.

Listeners will discover:

• How to use speed and focus as assets.
• Why transparency wins hearts (and customers).
• How neurodiverse thinking sparks innovation.

This episode reminds us that success isn’t about fitting in – it’s about standing out by being fully ourselves. Whether you’re a leader, entrepreneur, or creative thinker, Peter’s insights will inspire you to embrace your unique wiring and unlock your true potential.

🎧 Tune in to Talking with the Experts—Empowering Voices. Amplifying Impact.

✨ Three Key Takeaways

1. Trust beats perfection—authentic leaders build stronger loyalty.
2. ADHD is a superpower—fast-thinking minds can outpace competitors.
3. The 3-minute rule—build powerful relationships quickly and meaningfully.

• Peter Shankman explains his journey from being seen as disruptive in 1970s-80s New York public schools to receiving an ADHD diagnosis in his mid-thirties, which helped him understand his ability to hyperfocus for 14 hours on projects while struggling with basic tasks like remembering to take out trash.
• ADHD individuals typically operate at two extreme speeds with no middle ground, which Shankman describes as either being completely calm or highly agitated, leading to rapid business decisions like launching companies within four days.
• Shankman structures his life around his ADHD by waking up at 3:00-3:30 AM as a single father to exercise and prepare mentally before his daughter wakes up, going to bed at 8:00 PM to avoid potentially problematic evening activities.
• COVID-19 became unexpectedly beneficial for neurodiverse employees by allowing them to work from home without constant distractions, enabling them to shut their doors and focus in ways they never could in traditional office environments.
• Companies are implementing traffic light systems on employees’ desks where red means don’t interrupt, yellow means interrupt only if important, and green means open for conversation, recognizing that interruptions can cost 15 minutes of deep work recovery time.
• Customer service expectations have become so low that basic functioning is considered exceptional, with airline experiences serving as prime examples where simply departing and arriving on time without major incidents is viewed as outstanding service.
• Transparency involves proactively communicating problems before they become major issues, such as airlines explaining specific delays like checking engine manifolds rather than leaving passengers to imagine worst-case scenarios.
• Research shows that 92% of people complaining on social media don’t need immediate problem resolution but simply want to feel heard and acknowledged by the company.
• Neurodiverse employees possess superpowers in asking “what if” questions that challenge traditional “we’ve always done it this way” thinking, making them valuable for identifying necessary business changes.
• Shankman illustrates resistance to change with the pot roast story, where a family discovered they were unnecessarily cutting edges off roasts for generations simply because great-grandmother’s oven was too small, demonstrating how outdated practices persist without questioning.
• Universities that allowed students to naturally create walking paths before installing permanent walkways discovered optimal traffic flow patterns, exemplifying how employee input can improve business processes more effectively than top-down mandates.
• Effective networking operates on a three-minute rule principle where staying quiet and letting others talk creates the impression of being an excellent conversationalist while building valuable professional relationships.
• Shankman built and sold a multimillion-dollar company connecting journalists with sources by becoming known as the person who listens to everyone and can make valuable introductions based on comprehensive knowledge of people’s expertise.
• The fundamental networking philosophy follows the Southern wisdom that “the good Lord gave us two ears and one mouth so we could listen twice as much as we talk,” emphasizing the power of active listening over speaking.

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