The Prof G Pod with Scott Galloway

Episode: Work Visa Challenges, When (and How) to Take Creative Risks, and Managing Workplace Diversity
Date: September 8, 2025
Host: Scott Galloway (Prof G)
Type: Office Hours – Listener Q&A

Episode Overview

In this insightful Office Hours episode, Scott Galloway addresses three nuanced listener questions spanning work visa hurdles for international students, practical approaches to creative risk-taking early in one’s career, and the evolving landscape of diversity and belonging in the workplace. Scott brings his characteristically candid, sometimes acerbic wisdom to each topic, blending business analysis with personal anecdotes and actionable advice.

Key Discussion Points and Insights

1. Navigating Work Visa Challenges as an International Student

(01:37–06:51)

• Listener Question:
  NoSound6866, an international student from Lebanon at Iowa State, asks for advice on securing a job that sponsors work visas while considering family pressures and instability back home.

• Scott’s Analysis:

  • The U.S. historically thrived by attracting global talent, especially in tech:

    "About 20% of the NASDAQ by market capitalization is not only run by immigrants, it's run by immigrants from one country, India." – Scott Galloway (04:45)

  • Visa sponsorship is now more difficult and expensive; fewer companies are willing to do it.
  • Constraining talented immigrant labor is "really stupid" in economic terms.
  • Scott shares a personal story of hiring an immigration attorney when a valuable team member faced visa trouble—emphasizing that sometimes, money fixes practical barriers.
  • He laments the changing "vibe," calling out U.S. immigration policy:

    “The current vibe in America is, okay, let's shoot ourselves in the foot and try and pretend that our problems are being started by immigrants and have what is a mendacious and stupid immigration policy.” (06:10)

  • The "rug has been pulled out" for many international students who were made promises that are no longer kept.
  • Encourages researching all visa pathways and seeking supportive sponsors, while admitting the road won’t be easy.

Notable Quotes

• “The most important input in terms of your ability to charge a greater price than the cost of those inputs, is a culture that attracts the best human capital.” (03:30)
• “I'm not here with a message of hope, and I apologize.” (05:54)
• “We’ve invited a lot of international students under the auspices if you have a chance to make a life in America and then have pulled out the rug from under them. It is wrong. There's no excuse for it, and I hope that it gets better.” (06:30)

2. When (and How) to Take Creative Risks Early in Your Career

(06:51–13:19)

• Listener Question:
  Glenn Sayers (South Africa) seeks advice on balancing a new corporate job with his ambition to publish a novel. Should he focus aggressively on writing now, or wait until he’s further established?

• Scott’s Insightful Advice:

  • Compliments Glenn’s early accomplishments—graduating, writing a novel, and landing a global job by age 23.
  • Warns against leaving steady employment to chase creative dreams prematurely:

    “It’s very easy for people to tell others to chase their dreams when they don’t have to pay your rent. And I have said often that people telling you to follow your passion are already rich.” (10:55)

  • Urges continued progress in both career and writing—“evenings and weekends”—instead of making an all-or-nothing choice.
  • Dispels myths about the ROI of writing, but emphasizes the enduring value of communication skills:

    “Your ability to tell the story and compel people to action ... storytelling all begins with writing.” (09:20)

  • Suggests “leveraging the shit out of” one’s manuscript—posting excerpts on platforms like Substack or LinkedIn, rather than letting it languish.
  • Recommends targeted agent outreach:

    “Get a list of the top 1,000 book agents in the world…and start sending that bitch out everywhere. When I say bitch, I mean your manuscript.” (12:45)

  • Assures Glenn that writing a novel at 23 is both rare and highly respected.

Memorable Moments

• “Nothing is as hard as trying to write a book.” (08:45)
• “I wrote my first book at 49, and I’m being generous. That’s when I started writing it. I don’t think it got published till 51.” (08:58)
• “But don’t let your manuscript just sit in a drawer somewhere. Get the digital copy of it and start slicing and dicing and putting it out there.” (12:15)

3. Balancing Workplace Diversity and Team Cohesion

(16:16–21:45)

• Listener Question:
  Prism (Reddit) asks how Scott balances the corporate focus on diversity with the need for employees to genuinely get along, acknowledging cultural differences and the tendency for “like hires like.”

• Scott’s Candid Perspective:

  • Describes accidentally building diverse teams in San Francisco, often driven by practical business needs—e.g., offering flexibility for skilled working mothers.
  • Argues the more dangerous lack of diversity often lies in socioeconomic background, not ethnicity:

    “We ended up with...a fairly non-diverse workforce and that is almost everyone who works for me is young and went to an elite college. So I would argue that...represents a lack of diversity that’s more dangerous than a lack of diversity across ethnic groups.” (17:35)

  • Believes improvements have been made in gender diversity (noting record women’s employment in the U.S.), but highlights persistent class barriers.
  • Hiring Practices:
    • Encourages broad team involvement in interviews to screen for interpersonal fit.
    • Moves on from high performers who do not mesh with the team.

    “We’ve been pretty good at screening out, which is Latin for firing, people who other people are starting to resent.” (18:45)

  • Retention and Belonging:
    • Invests in creating genuine camaraderie via social outings, company trips (e.g., Cabo), and shared experiences.
    • Asserts that giving employees shared trips is more psychologically rewarding than cash.

    “It also is a smart thing to do from a retention standpoint ... the number one source of retention in a company isn’t compensation... It’s whether or not the person has a good friend at that job.” (20:13)

  • In the remote work era, pays for coworking space—notes young staffers crave in-person connection even more than senior leadership.
  • Final point:

    “Anyone who has hiring responsibility has an obligation to try and reach into communities that aren’t as economically blessed, which is now the primary arbiter of opportunity or lack thereof in the United States.” (21:40)

Notable Quotes

• “If you really want to advance society, you would hire kids who come from low income backgrounds. You would much rather in today’s America be born non-white or gay than poor.” (17:55)
• “Create an environment that makes it easy for people to establish friendships.” (20:40)

Memorable Quotes & Timestamps

| Quote | Speaker | Timestamp | |---|---|---| | "About 20% of the NASDAQ by market capitalization is not only run by immigrants, it's run by immigrants from one country, India." | Scott Galloway | 04:45 | | "We’ve invited … international students … and then have pulled out the rug from under them. It is wrong. There's no excuse for it, and I hope that it gets better." | Scott Galloway | 06:30 | | "Nothing is as hard as trying to write a book." | Scott Galloway | 08:45 | | "It’s very easy for people to tell others to chase their dreams when they don’t have to pay your rent. ... People telling you to follow your passion are already rich." | Scott Galloway | 10:55 | | “We ended up with...a fairly non-diverse workforce...almost everyone who works for me is young and went to an elite college. ... That represents a lack of diversity that’s more dangerous than a lack of diversity across ethnic groups.” | Scott Galloway | 17:35 | | “The number one source of retention in a company isn’t compensation... It’s whether or not the person has a good friend at that job.” | Scott Galloway | 20:13 | | "Anyone who has hiring responsibility has an obligation to try and reach into communities that aren’t as economically blessed..." | Scott Galloway | 21:40 |

Structure and Flow

1. Listener #1 – Work Visa Anxiety:
   Immigration systems: The U.S. is undermining its advantage by restricting foreign human capital. Scott is empathetic but pragmatic about the difficulty.

2. Listener #2 – Creative Risk & Career:
   Early career advice: Don’t take binary risks—leverage evenings/weekends for creativity, and don’t buy into “follow your passion” unless you can afford to.

3. Listener #3 – Diversity vs. Harmony:
   Diversity is broader than ethnicity—class diversity is crucial. Camaraderie and genuine friendships keep teams cohesive, and creative company perks matter.

Overall Tone and Takeaways

Scott is candid, empathetic, and occasionally irreverent, providing granular advice and seasoned perspective. He skillfully weaves in business realities with personal stories, emphasizing resilience, practical thinking, and the importance of community—both in companies and broader society.

Recommended for:

• Recent grads or international students facing U.S. work hurdles
• Aspiring writers navigating early career pressures
• Managers or leaders seeking pragmatic views on hiring and workplace culture