In this episode of Bulletproof Radio, host Dave Asprey opens with a "cool fact of the day" about a new machine‑learning algorithm from a Harvard‑led team that can evaluate ten possibilities at once, dramatically speeding up complex problem solving such as optimal cab routing in New York. Asprey links this technological acceleration to a broader theme: exponential growth in knowledge about high‑performance humans and how we cooperate at a sub‑cellular level. He then introduces guest Ryan Estes, a former ad‑agency executive turned researcher and educator who has spent the past decade studying why the world’s best companies excel. Estes explains his early fascination with meaningful work, rooted in his agency experience and his parents’ teaching background. He recounts leaving a high‑paying executive role during the Great Recession to launch his own research organization, describing the recession as a “greatest gift” that forced introspection and risk‑taking. Estes advises listeners who feel a burning desire to start a business: test ideas with side‑hustles, iterate while maintaining some security, and accept that the path is personal—what worked for him may not be right for everyone. Throughout, the conversation emphasizes the importance of a clear mission, aligning personal purpose with organizational goals, and how that alignment fuels both personal fulfillment and high performance.
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Bulletproof Radio. A state of high performance.
You're listening to Bulletproof Radio with Dave Asprey. Today's cool fact of the day is that we've got a new way of solving problems. The International Conference of Machine Learning in Stockholm just had an announcement of a new kind of algorithm that winnows out possibilities. Instead of one at a time, basically ten at a time. This was something out of Harvard University. And they're doing problem solving 10 times faster than standard things for really complex problems. And one of the interesting problems they looked at was how do you devise an optimal route for cabs in New York City? And they found that they could do it six times faster than existing technology. And the reason this is a cool fact of the day is that this type of algorithm could speed up data processing for everything from drug discovery to social media analytics to analyzing your genetic data. And it's one little data point in something big and transformative that's happening, and it's that the amount of technology we have is creating exponential growth in our knowledge about what it means to be a human, what it means to be a high performance human, and even how organizations work and how they function and how we work as teams with other people. I believe after writing headstrong about Mitochondria, that we are fundamentally wired at a subcellular level to be kind to each other, to specialize, and to cooperate. And this is the same thing bacteria do when they make yogurt. It's not just one bacteria, it's a network of bacteria doing different things. The same thing happens in kombucha or in a biofilm or when you even get an infection. It's not like they're bacteria all doing the same thing. They actually line up and protect each other. We're wired to do the same thing to each other as a species. And computer algorithms like this let us see our behavior in new ways, which is incredibly cool and exciting to me. So look forward to another the next five years of being full of just breakthroughs in knowledge about what it means to be us. Today's guest on the show is someone who looks at organizations and leadership and doesn't necessarily use computer algorithms to do it, but has spent 15 years helping companies connect with their employees and with their consumers in the ad agency business. And you could say, why the heck am I putting someone like that on the bulletproof radio show? And the reason is that he started his own research and learning organization at the height of the last recession because he just felt something was missing and has spent almost 10 years looking at what the world's best companies do differently and has started sharing that knowledge. So whether you're an entrepreneur or you just work at a company, I think what you're going to find in this interview is that there's something really important about having a mission and knowing why you do what you do and why your company does what it does and how that can impact your performance as a human being. Today's guest is Ryan Estes. Ryan, welcome to the show.
Thanks, David. It's great to be here.
Now you've worked with some pretty impressive clients. The National Basketball Association, Mayo Clinic, ERNST and YOUNG, AT&T, all these different big companies. And you're actually a faculty member for the Institute of Management Studies and you've spent a lot of time looking at how companies do what they do. And I got to ask you, first and foremost, why do you care? Like why, why did you do that versus all the other things you could have done?
Yeah, I think I got interested in it during my time at the ad agency. We worked with such a broad and diverse client roster and we were working with them and I became fascinated by and about meaningful work. It's such a big part of our lives and I think it has such an impact on our identity and who we are as people that, you know, it became an interest of mine and a passion of mine and I got to do it with the ad agency and now I'm doing it and I'm, I think in a more meaningful and impactful way on a daily basis. So that's where it came from. And both my parents were teachers, so maybe I had a little bit of that sharing knowledge kind of implanted in me early in my life.
So you just got interested early on and, and you, you stuck with it. You also did something similar to what I did. You had a high paying executive job and you decided to, I don't want to say at the height of your career, but as you're doing really well in your career, say, ah, screw that noise, I'm going to go be an entrepreneur. Why did you decide to do that?
Yeah, I think something was missing in me and you know, my quest kind of for my own meaningful work and you know, it was an interesting time. It was probably the worst time to do it, but because I did it at the height of the Great Recession. But I always say the Great Recession turned out to be my greatest gift because there were some real challenges during, at the ad agency during that time, like there were for a lot of companies and it really paused, caused me to kind of hit the pause button and look inside. And I was in my late 30s, I was single, and I thought, wow, if I'm. If I'm ever going to take a shot, now's the time. And I didn't want to run a mediocre company sideways for the sweet spot of my career. I wanted to see if I could launch out of my own and do something significant, meaningful, or something that. That mattered to me. And it was. It wasn't easy getting that off the ground, but it turned out to be the best professional decision that I've ever made.
There are a lot of people listening to Bulletproof Radio now, and I know this from social media and just from talking to people when I'm traveling and speaking and whatnot, who are in that same mindset. A lot of the Bulletproof coaches at the Bulletproof Training Institute are saying, should I go start my own company now? Now that you've done it, would you recommend it to other people?
Everybody is different. And what I would suggest to other people, that's something that's burning inside you. I think it's better to try and know than to live with the regret of never having tried at all. And what I'd recommend to anybody is if you have an idea or a vision or something that really is calling to you, if there's a way to test that, to try it, to take a small step forward, to, you know, incubate a side hustle and iterate the idea forward in some small way, you know, while you still have some semblance of security, that's not a bad way to test the idea and get a little feedback before you. You go all in, like I did. My departure was very abrupt. I don't know that I'd recommend what I did to anybody else, but certainly my journey has been rewarding for, and not really for what I've been able to achieve. But I think part of it is who I've been able to become over the last decade. I think that's part of why it's been so meaningful.
