What It Takes to Grow: Radical Candor Meets Hollywood with Adam Richman 7 | 38

Radical Candor: Communication at Work

Radical Candor

Careers, Relationships, Society & Culture, Business

4.7 • 740 Ratings

🗓️ 8 October 2025

⏱️ 56 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

Great films aren’t just about talent — they’re built on trust, clarity, and the kind of feedback that helps people grow. Kim and Amy talk with producer Adam Richman (Gran Torino, The Burial,) about Double Nickel's new film, Grow, and how Radical Candor can actually fuel creativity. Adam shares why flattening hierarchies strengthens collaboration, how constraints spark innovation, and why gratitude creates teams that thrive. He also reflects on the joy of making Grow, a family film full of heart, hope, and giant pumpkins — coming to theaters October 17th. If you want to create cultures where feedback is welcomed, relationships matter, and creativity flourishes, this conversation offers the inspiration to get started. Get all of the show notes at ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠RadicalCandor.com/podcast⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠. Episode Links:⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Transcript ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Grow the Film ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Grow the Film ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Grow Theme Song by KT Tunstall Adam Richman ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Double Nickel Entertainment⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Connect: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Website⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Instagram⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠TikTok⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠LinkedIn⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠YouTube⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Bluesky⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Chapters: (00:00:00) Introduction Kim and Amy introduce Adam Richman, producer of Gran Torino, The Burial, and Grow. (00:03:07) Radical Candor in Creative Work How caring personally and challenging directly helps creative teams thrive. (00:08:34) Why Constraints Fuel Innovation Adam shares how budget limits on Grow sparked better ideas. (00:14:09) Flattening Hierarchies in Hollywood Breaking down status walls on set to build stronger collaboration. (00:20:21) Mentorship & Leading with Kindness The role of mentorship and kindness in sustaining creative careers. (00:24:10) Cultivating a Culture with Intention Creating clarity and trust, and appreciation at every stage of production. (00:28:44) The Film-Making Process Adam explains the process of making Grow (00:34:15) Feedback & Collaboration How Radical Candor guides tough conversations and creative decisions. (00:39:13) The Importance of Setting the Table Lessons from Post-Production (00:44:51) The Joy of Grow Why this family film, out October 17th, is filled with hope and heart. (00:48:48) Music & Joyful Storytelling The story behind KT Tunstall’s theme song for Grow. (00:52:15) Conclusion Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Transcript

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0:00.0	Hello, everybody, and welcome to the Radical Canter Podcast.
0:08.9	I'm Kim Scott.
0:10.4	I'm Amy Sandler.
0:11.8	I am so excited to welcome today, Adam Richmond, to the podcast.
0:17.1	Adam is the co-founder and principal of double nickel entertainment, which is the production company behind films such as Grand Torino and the burial.
0:26.7	And what is sure to be a fall classic, Grow. Grow. Grow is coming out. We're already singing the theme song. We can't stop ourselves.
0:38.8	Adam has a career spanning film, television, games, and media, and has really built a reputation for bringing
0:45.3	bold, character-driven stories to life. Also, successfully building and scaling large dynamic
0:52.6	teams and product. He is an entrepreneur. He's a producer,
0:56.4	a creative leader who really thrives at the intersection of business and art. And along the way,
1:02.8	Adam has learned quite a bit about practicing radical candor in the unique high pressure
1:08.9	world of film production.
1:17.5	I have to say I am smiling quite a bit because Adam is also a very good friend to both me and Kim.
1:17.8	In fact, I think it is safe to say that this very podcast would not be happening without you,
1:23.2	Adam, because that is true.
1:24.8	Yes, you are the link between me and Kim because we each knew you
1:29.2	separately while we were at business school and then you introduced me to Kim so heartfelt welcome
1:36.0	Adam Richmond welcome Adam thank you thank you I have to say it's it's it's a you two are the
1:43.3	best shit off I I think, ever.
1:47.0	Can you translate that?
1:49.0	That is married. In Yiddish, that's, you know, the best union, the best marriage. You two are meant to be. And it's great. Thank you for having me, Kim and Amy. It's great to be here with you. As someone who's known you both for so long and so well,
2:02.1	I am really just so proud of all the amazing radical work you two have been doing on this podcast
	...

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