Episode 5: Condoleezza Rice

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An interview with the 66th United States Secretary of State, and first ever African-American female Secretary of State, Condoleezza Rice about her decision making process, lessons learned, use of technology, view of diversity and best career advice.

Welcome to the fifth episode of 5 Questions with Dan Schawbel (Subscribe on iTunes). As your host, my goal is to curate the best advice from the world’s smartest and most interesting people by asking them just 5 questions.

This episodes guest:

Condoleezza Rice was born in Birmingham, Alabama in the racially segregated south. She received her bachelor’s degree from the University of Denver, her master’s degree from the university of Notre Dame and a PhD from the University of Denver’s School of International Studies. After graduating, she worked at the State Department under the Carter administration, received a fellowship from Stanford University, where she then served as provost. From there, she served on the National Security Council under President George H.W. Bush, before eventually becoming the Secretary of State. Currently, she is the professor of Political Economy in the Stanford Graduate School of Business and a professor of Political Science at Stanford University. She’s the author of Political Risk, No Higher Honor and Democracy, and sits on the board of DropBox. More recently, she partnered with Pulitzer Prize-winning historian David M. Kennedy, on American Creed, a documentary film that examines what unites Americans, and the ideals they share, that lead them to hope for the future.

The 5 questions questions I ask in this episode:

1. What goes into your decision making process?
2. What were some of the lessons you learned as the former Secretary of State?
3. How can technology be used effectively when trying to get a message out to others?
4. What is your view of the power of diversity in business and politics?
5. What are your top three pieces of career advice?

Follow Condoleezza’s journey:

• Books
• Documentary
• Facebook
• LinkedIn
• Instagram
• Twitter