Episode 9: Doing the Backstroke With AI

R.J. Talyor is a tech leader. He has founded and exited a number of companies. R.J. got his bachelors and masters degrees in English and Creative Writing from DePauw and Purdue Universities. At one point in time he dreamed of being an English professor and owner of a sandwich shop. Yet, like many of us, he is doing something different.

Today, R.J is is CEO and Co-Founder of Backstroke a generative email platform for marketers. He founded the company with his wife and a few others. At Backstroke, they are focused on using artificial intelligence to make 1-1 connections with email at scale.

Prior to founding Backstroke, R.J. worked for and founded a number of technology companies including ExactTarget (sold to Salesforce), Pattern 89 (sold to Shutterstock), and High Alpha, a Venture Studio in Indianapolis, IN. Each of these experiences, being a dad, and coaching sports has helped mold R.J. as a leader and career explorer.

6 Core Themes

Here are six themes you should take note of in your own career adventures.

Prepare for Next While Delivering Now

Always be a step ahead. Yes, we all must be present in what’s happening today. Nonetheless, we benefit by planning for the future. This doesn’t have to be all encompassing and a distraction.

Slow Burn Then Leap

We’ve all seen the movie before. The hero is at work, frustrated. Their boss sucks. Then, they finally snap and quit. They jump into the new career pool, struggle a ton, and emerge successfully on the other side. Remember, this is the movie, not real life.

Last Day on Earth

Would you be pissed off at yourself if you knew you spent your last day in that way? This question can help you create a catalyst to do something different. Oftentimes it takes a birthday, death, or some disorienting moment to catalyze change. What if you asked yourself this question from time to time?

Tradeoffs Help Prioritize

Life is filled with tradeoffs. We all must choose what is most important. When I was at P&G, an executive named Jim Lafferty did a presentation about only being able to prioritize five roles in life. You only have enough to fit on your hand. Being a father, spouse, and prioritizing family / friends takes up three spots. Work likely takes up one more. You likely only have time for one thing if you are a spouse or parent.

Build Tough Skin

Giving up is easy. Iterating and trying again and again is the hard road. Sure, we should rethink objectives if we are spending time on something we don’t enjoy or isn’t a core responsibility. However, shouldn’t we keep going if we are traveling a career path we enjoy and simply are faced with an obstacle?

No Job Description

We should ASPIRE to not have a job description. HR and Legal experts might say, “Absolutely not! We need order! How will we set expectations and track performance?!” That’s why I said ASPIRE. Of course we need a general framework for our career roles.

Listen to the Full Story

R.J. is focused on combing his love of language with technology and business at Backstroke. This has come from exploring new paths and being open to undefined roles and ideas. He knows there are tradeoffs and is focused on what matters most both personally and professionally.

Enjoy the episode! Thanks for you support!

Paul G. Fisher

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