Harry Cohen on Positive Leadership & Energy Management

Beyond the To-Do List - Productivity for Work and Life

Erik Fisher

Business, Entrepreneurship, Self-improvement, Careers, Education

4.5 • 875 Ratings

🗓️ 4 September 2025

⏱️ 42 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

In this episode, I’m joined by Dr. Harry Cohen, a leadership consultant and author of Be the Sun, Not the Salt. In this uplifting conversation, Harry unpacks how small moments of positive energy can have massive ripple effects—and how each of us can show up as a force for good in our relationships, teams, and communities.

In this episode, we explore:

The Heliotropic Effect in Human Behavior: Just like plants gravitate toward sunlight, people naturally respond to warmth, encouragement, and positivity.
How to Be the Sun: Harry shares practical ways to radiate positivity—through micro-moments of kindness, presence, and energy that elevate others.
Avoiding the Salt: We discuss how sarcasm, negativity, and small acts of dismissiveness (a.k.a. “salt”) can quickly erode connection and morale.
Leadership and Character: Whether in the workplace or at home, being the sun is about leading with integrity, empathy, and consistent warmth—not force or charisma.
Training Your Impact: Harry explains how being the sun is a skill that can be developed with intention, awareness, and repetition.

This conversation is a heartfelt and practical reminder that you don’t have to change the world to make a difference—you just have to change how you show up in it.

Learn more about Harry’s work at drharrycohen.com, and get the book Be the Sun, Not the Salt wherever books are sold.

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Transcript

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0:00.0	Your first great love story is free when you sign up for a free 30-day trial at audible.co.
0:05.5	That's audible.co.uk slash wondery.
0:11.6	The weather. Tomorrow, expect a? Biting cold front. Hmm, how naughty. I wonder what I'll be wearing or taking off.
0:20.6	The night will be wild than untamed.
0:22.7	Expect heavy, lashing rain that'll soak you to the skin.
0:26.5	By Monday, temperatures will rise slowly but surely reaching their peak in the afternoon.
0:32.7	Not in the mood for miserable weather?
0:34.8	Fly cheaply to Turkey with Sun Express.
0:40.3	Sun Express, nonstop sunshine. Hello. Hello and welcome back to Beyond the To-Doo List, a podcast about productivity.
1:02.5	I'm your host, Eric Fisher.
1:03.8	And in this episode, I'm excited to share with you a conversation I had with Dr. Harry Cohen,
1:09.1	author of Be the Sun, not the Salt. And in this conversation,
1:13.0	we're talking about the heliotropic effect in human behavior, that just like plants
1:19.7	gravitate towards sunlight, people naturally respond to warmth and encouragement and positivity.
1:27.6	And Harry is sharing practical ways to elevate others through kindness and presence and avoiding the salt,
1:36.7	how sarcasm and negativity and dismissiveness can erode connection and morale.
1:43.5	And that these are skills that you can train
1:46.1	in others as well as yourself to reduce friction and increase your productivity in your
1:51.7	relationships. So if you're looking to cultivate greater and more thriving relationships
1:57.6	and make a difference in the world around you, this conversation with Dr.
2:03.2	Harry Cohen is for you.
2:07.9	Well, it is my privilege to welcome to the show. Dr. Harry Cohen, Harry, welcome to Beyond the
	...

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