The Art of Quality

Hosted by AOQ

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Oct 2026

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About the show

Exploring the lived experience of practitioners in building, investing, systems, and the art of paying attention.

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37 recent

October 14, 2026Episode 401 hr 9 min

What Can the World's Oldest Companies Teach Us About Longevity? Notes from the Field with Eric Markowitz, Part 3

This episode is Part 3 of our “Notes from the Field” series with Eric Markowitz, and is complemented by prior episodes in the series. In this episode Eric shares what he's learned since finishing his first draft of Outlast. From a 1,300-year-old Japanese inn to a 400-year-old balsamic maker in Modena, Eric explains why the firms that last tend to be humble, small and honest about their past, and why they aim for quality rather than longevity. We talk about luck and survivorship bias, "the myth of the mountain," why heirs often don't want the family business, and what it means to build something worth keeping. OUTLAST will be published by Scribner (Simon & Schuster) in 2027.

October 4, 2026Episode 391 hr 51 min

Inverting Quality: Studying the Exceptions of the Most Obsessive Operators with Sean Iddings

In part two, Paul Higgins and author, investor, builder Sean Iddings turn to nature as a teacher of quality. Starting with Leonardo da Vinci's notebooks, they look at why the most valuable lessons are often the ones left in plain sight. They cover evolution as four billion years of R&D, and why Bach outlasted the more famous composers of his day. Sean explains why trust is something you can't build efficiently. He also shares what subtle negative filters in Costco's unique business model leading to durable success, a new generational model of tackling loneliness across rural America connecting inter-generational talent and networks via his work with Project Horseshoe Farm.

September 28, 2026Episode 381 hr 13 min

Quality in Building the Future of Power Distribution with Mehrdad Baghaie Yazdi

In this episode, Ferdinand Bennigsen sits down with Mehrdad Baghaie Yazdi, Vice President of Systems, Applications and Solutions at Infineon, the world's leading power semiconductor company. Mehrdad leads a team of about 50 people who imagine the future of electrical systems, from EV chargers to battery storage to AI data centers, then work backwards to build the power electronics that future will need. Doing that well takes two skills that rarely go together: deep first-principles scientific thinking and sharp commercial sense. Mehrdad traces his path from scientist to builder, shares the principles he picked up along the way, and gives a clear view of the industrial transformation now underway.

September 18, 2026Episode 371 hr 11 min

Pursuing Quality in the Cheapest Electron on the Grid with Landon Mossburg

Landon Mossburg joins John Candeto to talk about the pursuit of "the cheapest electron on the grid." They explore why the cheapest energy sources are often not the ones in widest use, why grid-scale batteries are both essential and underused, and the difficult physics behind building them. Landon also traces his path back to a childhood dream of becoming an astronaut, and how that early ambition shaped his work in energy today. Landon Mossburg is the Co-Founder and CEO of Peak Energy. He previously served as President of North America and Chief Automation Officer at next-generation battery manufacturing firms and held multiple leadership roles at Tesla.

August 28, 2026Episode 361 hr 3 min

Inner Quality & Unfolding with Alex Carabi

In this conversation, William Oliver and Alex Carabi explore family constellations and the hidden dynamics that shape our lives, relationships, and organizations. They discuss what it means to trust life as it unfolds - to meet difficulty as an opportunity to learn and grow, surrender the need for control, and, as Alex puts it, take ourselves less seriously while taking life more seriously. Alex Carabi is a coach and facilitator. He lives in the north of Sweden where he runs a retreat center and farm with his family. His work is devoted to bringing heart and soul to business, leadership, and community. Through family and systemic constellations his work attunes to systemic fields across generations in families and organizations. He is the author of On Relationality: Lessons from Martin Buber on Living in Relation with Self, Others, the World, and Life Itself .

August 22, 2026Episode 351 hr 46 min

Quality and the Music Beneath the Number with Sean Iddings

Paul Higgins sits down with investor, builder and author Sean Iddings to explore how music, nature and business can teach us to perceive quality differently. Drawing on decades of studying enduring businesses and exceptional operators, Sean examines the patterns that rarely show up in the numbers - from incentives and culture to discipline, relationships and the ability to see what others miss.

August 7, 2026Episode 341 hr 18 min

Inner Quality and IFS with Justin Wilford

Justin Wilford, PhD, is a Level 2 trained Internal Family Systems practitioner, writer, and community facilitator working with high-performing professionals and entrepreneurs ready to do deeper inner work. He holds two PhDs - from UCLA and UC Irvine - and spent the early part of his career translating cutting-edge mental health research into tools for patients facing serious medical crises. After he and his wife cofounded a childhood cancer nonprofit following their son's brain tumor diagnosis in 2011, Justin's path shifted toward helping people access their core, authentic selves. He now coaches clients using Internal Family Systems (IFS), writes the "Self Energy" newsletter (https://justinwilford.substack.com/) on Substack, and leads retreats and practice communities focused on presence, vulnerability, and showing up more fully in work and life. In this episode, Willy and Justin explore the practice of Internal Family Systems (IFS) and how healing our inner "parts" transforms the outer quality of our relationships and work, weaving in the hermetic maxim "as within, so without." They trace Justin's path into IFS, unpack concepts like self-leadership, unblending, and the healing power of witnessing, and reflect on integrating psychedelic experience, verticality versus horizontality, and how becoming a better friend to oneself makes one a better friend to others. Click here (https://www.justinwilford.com/) to learn more about Justin's work.

July 19, 2026Episode 331 hr 7 min

Finding Quality Building with AI with Andrew Farah

In this episode, John Candeto sits down with Andrew Farah, the Founder & CEO of Density. Andrew and his team are at the forefront of using AI to improve how we build and create. They explore how using AI is like encountering a new species, why this is the best time in history to be a creative person, why the future will be owned by people who build tools, and how AI can amplify human ambition.

July 7, 2026Episode 3255 min

[EPISODE IN GERMAN] Die Kunst eines selbstbestimmten Lebens mit Professor Michael Bordt SJ

In dieser Folge spreche ich mit Michael Bordt. Er ist Gründer des Instituts für Philosophie und Leadership in München und hilft Familienunternehmern, Gründern und Führungskräften dabei sich selbst besser zu verstehen und aus dieser Klarheit heraus ein gelungenes Leben zu führen. Dabei arbeitet er mit einer Methodik aus Selbstreflexion und Selbstwahrnehmung, die aus seinem eigenen Lebensweg als Philosoph, Jesuit und Professor hervorgegangen ist. Jedes Gespräch mit Michael ist eine große Bereicherung. Für mich liegt die Qualität seiner Arbeit in ihrer Einfachheit und zugleich in ihrer Tiefe. Es freut mich sehr, dass Michael diesem Gespräch für the Art of Quality zugestimmt hat.

May 29, 2026Episode 311 hr 2 min

Quality in the Age of AI with Eric Markowitz

In this conversation, John Candeto, Eric Markowitz, and William Oliver dig into the cultural panic surrounding AI and push back against both the techno-doomers and the hyper-optimists, arguing that the real story isn't about the tools themselves but about the worldview that treats humans as machines to be optimized away. Drawing on Eric's recent essay "It Was Never About AI," they explore why the companies, careers, and lives that endure are built on the things AI can't touch: relationships, trust, struggle, craftsmanship, and the slow accumulation of quality over time. What emerges is a hopeful case that we may be entering a bull market in the humanities, where the most radical act isn't rejecting these tools but refusing to let them flatten what makes us human.