The Role of EQ in Leadership with Daniel Sieberg

**SPEAKER_1** (0:04)
The Bliss Business Podcast, the show about empathy, connection, and consciousness in business. Today's episode is brought to you by Zero Company, your paid search, social media, and programmatic ad experts.

**Stephen Sakach** (0:17)
Hello and welcome back to the show. We've got a good one today. We're going to talk about emotional intelligence and technology and consciousness.
I'm Stephen Sakach here once again with Tullio Siragusa. Tullio, introduce our guest today.

**Tullio Siragusa** (0:31)
Yes, we are excited to have Daniel Sieberg, who's a new Zemi nominated media and innovation expert, who has built a diverse career in journalism, marketing, communications, and entrepreneurship.
He's had senior roles at Google, Moody's Analytics, Huawei USA, and serving as a science and technology correspondent for CBS News, ABC News, and CNN. He has made a significant contribution to these fields. Today, he's the co-founder of Good Trust and the founder of Screen Genie US, a Gen AI powered viewing assistant. Daniel continues to push the boundaries of technology and his applications. He's also twice published author, the book's digital diet and digital legacy, sharing his insights on digital well-being and legacy management. His advisory roles further demonstrate his expertise and commitment to innovation.
Daniel's academic background includes a BFA from the University of Victoria and MJ from the University of British Columbia, and a certificate in business excellence from Columbia Business School. He's a dual citizen of Canada and US, and this reflects his international outlook and resides in New York City with his daughters. The reason we invited Daniel to be featured on the podcast is because he's passionate about inspiring others through his dedication to collaboration, curiosity, continually seeking new ways to make a positive impact in the world. Welcome to the show, Daniel.

**Daniel Sieberg** (2:09)
Tullio, thank you so much for that introduction. It's wonderful to be with you and Stephen.

**Stephen Sakach** (2:13)
So before we jump into the topic, Daniel, talk about your startup because I see a higher purpose here. Tell us a little about Scream Genius and-

**Daniel Sieberg** (2:23)
Well, yes, I mean, I would say it started with my own lack of connection, and that includes with the people in the room who I was trying to watch something with. So it started from a moment of frustration. If we can agree that maybe necessity is the mother of invention, perhaps frustration is the father of invention, and I was a frustrated dad in a moment where I was trying to figure out what to watch, and there was one child in the room, there was another adult, and we were having a difficult time making a decision. Now, I would suggest that what we all watch is just as important as what you read and what you listen to, but we were lost and frustrated and we almost ended up giving up at that point. So Screen Genius is a Gen-AI powered viewing assistant, and it is designed to be empathetic and sensitive, wants to understand what it is that you're in the mood for, and not just you, but the people who are in the room with you. So my daughters are 11 and 13
We want to be able to offer something to people that creates an algorithmic recommendation that understands what you might be interested in that moment of need. What is it you want to watch? How much time do you have? What are you in the mood for?
And really start to save people time and frustration in that moment of wanting to watch anything. So there's a connectivity in the room where we all share those stories and viewing experiences together, and since we're all now doing this kind of remotely, too, we want to understand if you're having a watch party with somebody who isn't with you, how can we help you to coordinate that together, maybe with a notification?
Somebody is watching the same show as you. You know, this is really a lot of what we bond over today as people who watch anything, are those shared stories and shared experiences. So Screen Genius is designed to work across news, entertainment and sports. Anything you want to watch?

**Stephen Sakach** (4:08)
Yeah, absolutely. I mean, I see this all the time in my own family. So, you know, we have family of four, my son lives halfway across the country. You know, my daughter, she's in the room, she's 20, and we're always trying to find something that we all three of us can watch.
And so, you know, rather than have us all on like separate screens, you know, watching something else and having a separate experience, we can actually have this bonding, you know, when we find those shows that we like, and then we'll just kind of plow through those together. And I just have this great bonding experience with my daughter there. And I like the aspect you mentioned about the remote part of this with, so like my son, halfway across the country, he can also be involved in some sort of, you know, collaborative process of us bonding over a show. How does that work?