[Replay] Reinventing After Quitting A Top Job At Amazon - Christine Bader
Nov 27, 2023
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Christine Bader, former head of CSR for Amazon, talks about leaving the corporate world and building a life. She discusses working at Amazon and her sabbatical in Bali. The podcast explores the concept of quitting, challenges in CSR, and the future of work. They also mention alternative approaches to creative projects like writing books.
Learning to quit and prioritize a balanced life by acknowledging personal limits and giving oneself permission to quit.
Recognizing the right timing and aligning work with personal values and aspirations for a fulfilling life.
Deep dives
Learning to quit and embracing a more balanced life
Christine Bader, author and former head of CSR for Amazon, shares her journey of learning to quit and the importance of prioritizing a balanced life. She discusses the significance of giving oneself permission to quit, acknowledging the need for quality time with family and the value of recognizing personal limits. Bader emphasizes the parallel between quitting her job and quitting her marathon training, highlighting the importance of listening to one's own needs rather than pushing through unnecessary pain. She explores the shift in her mindset about work and the realization that it should align with the kind of life one wants to lead. Bader also discusses the need for a broader conversation about work, policy changes, and redefining success to create a better future for everyone.
Challenging the traditional career playbook and embracing individual choices
Bader advises individuals to disregard others' advice and focus on their own unique paths. She encourages individuals to ask people to share their stories rather than offering prescriptive advice. Bader highlights the importance of understanding that everyone's experiences and needs differ, leading to different definitions of success. She stresses the need for schools and educational institutions to shift the career conversation from focusing solely on fields and industries to considering the kind of life one wants to lead. Bader also emphasizes the need for policy changes and organizational shifts to support individuals' desire for a balanced and fulfilling life.
Exploring the concept of Kairos and reimagining work-life balance
Bader discusses the Greek concept of Kairos, which represents recognizing the right timing or ripe moments. She shares her experience of understanding when it is time to move on and the value of going dormant and waiting for the right opportunities. Bader challenges the traditional view of work-life balance and encourages individuals to think beyond a linear career ladder. She emphasizes the need to answer the question of 'what is it all for?' and focus on constructing a fulfilling life that aligns with personal values and aspirations.
Finding purposeful work and addressing the brokenness of the current work culture
Bader shares her journey in discovering purposeful work and highlights the importance of aligning personal skills and experiences with serving others and making an impact. She emphasizes the need for work to be meaningful and fulfilling. Bader also addresses the broken aspects of the current work culture and the challenges faced by people from various backgrounds. She advocates for policy changes, organizational transformations, and individual empowerment to fix work for everyone, focusing on building a better future.
Christine Bader is currently living in Bali, Indonesia, where she is spending time focused on her family and self. She is the author of The Evolution of a Corporate Idealist: When Girl Meets Oil and the former head of CSR for Amazon before leaving in 2017, a journey she details in an amazing essay titled “The year I learned to quit.”
She talks about leaving the corporate world and shifting her focus from building a career to building a life.
