42: Soren Kaplan, PhD – Award-Winning Author, Keynote Speaker, and Founder of Praxie.com Discusses his New Book “Experiential Intelligence”

Masters in Psychology Podcast

Dr. Soren Kaplan grew up in the San Francisco Bay area, went to UCLA for his Bachelor of Arts in Sociology, and attended Alliant International University for his master’s and doctorate in Organizational Psychology. In this podcast, he shares his academic and professional journey (and some of his personal journey), offers practical advice for those interested in the field of psychology, and discusses his new book, “Experiential Intelligence: Harness the Power of Experience for Personal and Business Breakthroughs.” During our discussion, Dr. Kaplan recalls what sparked his interest in psychology, in general, and why he focused on organizational psychology for his graduate work. When asked why he selected Alliant International University, Dr. Kaplan responded “I wanted what was being called, at the time, a scholar practitioner model” so that he could “do things in the real world that bridge academia and practice.” He emphasized this by stating “I wanted the knowledge, but I also wanted to make change.” Dr. Kaplan has been creating change for himself and others ever since attending graduate school. As a graduate student, he worked as a consultant for one of the first innovation consulting firms, IdeaScope Associates. One of the many pieces of advice he has for anyone looking for a graduate degree in psychology, especially those in organizational psychology, is to get real-life experience. He states, “I realized very quickly, business wants experience, not just letters after your name.” Therefore, he worked very hard to beef up his resume with real experiences which included internships, working part-time or full-time at organizations or businesses in the industry, and even doing volunteer work. He states, “I loaded up my resume with real experiences that were very short and quick and kind of easy to get for somebody like me.” For example, he shares “I volunteered for a community mediation organization nonprofit where I got trained as a mediator.” Change happens through innovation and breakthroughs, so it is no surprise that Dr. Kaplan is the founder, or co-founder, of three Silicon Valley startups. He was the co-founder of iCohere with is father (Pascal) which was one of the first online learning and collaboration platforms. He is the founder of InnovationPoint, a strategic innovation consulting firm and, more recently, the founder of Praxie which is an online marketplace of business best practices from industry experts, book authors, and consultants. When discussing Praxie, he states “it’s all about trying to take what I’ve gained from my life experience and make it accessible for other people so they can then do what’s important to them. That’s been the most rewarding for me.” His life experiences have contributed to his success. Dr. Kaplan is a best-selling and award-winning author, an international keynote speaker, an affiliate at the Center for Effective Organizations (CEO) at USC’s Marshall School of Business, and a columnist for Inc. Magazine and Psychology Today. His first book, “Leapfrogging: Harness the Power of Surprise for Business Breakthroughs” was named the Best Leadership Book. His second book, “The Invisible Advantage: How to Create a Culture of Innovation” received the Best General Business Book distinction by the International Book Awards. We discuss his third book, “Experiential Intelligence: Harness the Power of Experience for Personal and Business Breakthroughs” which came out January 24, 2023. Although Dr. Kaplan didn’t coin the term “experiential intelligence,” he states “I have expanded upon it and kind of tried to give it life through this book in a way that the world hasn’t yet embraced.” Dr. Kaplan shares that Dr. Robert Sternberg, Past President of the American Psychological Association, coined the term “experiential intelligence” which may also be referred to as “creative intelligence.” To put things into perspective regarding intelligence, first,