Lorna Davis: Success Without Logic, Strategy, or a ‘Why’

17 snips

Jul 22, 2025

Lorna Davis, a former global CEO of major food companies now dedicated to philanthropy and conscious capitalism, challenges the idea that everyone needs a 'why' to act. She shares insights on how relinquishing control and embracing spontaneity enhances presence and leadership. Lorna highlights that questions of purpose can often create unnecessary stress. Instead, she advocates for living in the moment, emphasizing that true impact often arises from small, unnoticed actions. Her key takeaway? Sometimes, it's enough to follow what simply feels right.

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INSIGHT

Thoughts Are Temporary And Often Not Yours

Thoughts come and go and most are neither interesting nor original.
Lorna Davis realized suffering fades when you stop taking thoughts so seriously.

ANECDOTE

Bathroom Revelation Changed Everything

Lorna was doing high-powered CEO work while feeling the outside game wouldn't bring happiness.
A Michael Neill podcast in a hotel bathroom triggered her revelation that bad feelings come from unhelpful trains of thought.

INSIGHT

Impact Often Comes From Small, Forgotten Acts

You rarely know the true impact of small acts at the time you do them.
Lorna advises focusing on living well rather than obsessing over measuring your impact.

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What’s your why? What’s your purpose?...

Are these relevant questions or just an opportunity for more fluff?

According to Lorna Davis, you don’t need a why for anything you do. Lorna is former Global CEO of Danone, Kraft, and Mondelez, and she has scaled billion-dollar companies despite having a why or a purpose, she just follows what “feels right”. In this soul-stirring without buying into the cliches of purpose, strategy and “why”.

She reveals how surrendering the need for logic, having the answer, or even a “why” has allowed her to live with more freedom, impact, and presence and made her a leader that people want to work for.

The truth is, most of our reasoning is made up — and trying to live a “planned” life is just another form of control.

💡 What You’ll Learn in This Episode:

Why your “why” might be causing more stress than clarity
How to let go of made-up reasoning and live from truth instead
Why trying to “make meaning” often blocks the moment
How giving up control helped Lorna lead with more presence and purpose
The real difference between striving for impact… and allowing it

“If I'm really honest with myself about why I do stuff, I don't have good reasons. They just seem like a good idea.” - Lorna Davis

TRY THIS:

– Notice when you’re creating a reason or story to justify an action. Could you let it be enough that it simply feels true right now?

– Choose one area of your life where you’re over-planning or over-rationalizing. What would it feel like to not know and take the next step anyway?

– Sit quietly and bring gentle curiosity to a decision you’ve been trying to “figure out.” What if it didn’t need to make sense?

This episode isn’t about abandoning ambition — it’s about freeing yourself from the mental scaffolding that blocks real meaning and connection. Lorna’s wisdom is a homecoming to the life beneath the performance.

Learn more about Lorna at: www.lornadavis.net

Produced in partnership with www.podlad.com