Pivot with Jenny Blake 307: Pivoting from Google to Launching People Playbook with Tony McGaharan
Leaving the cool shade of a corporate tree with a great salary and benefits to start a business is never easy. But making the call mere months before a global pandemic hits seems on the surface to be ill-timed—to say the least. Or perhaps cosmic.
Don’t feel bad for Tony McGaharan, who is a pro at finding the silver lining in any situation. Suddenly the market for his budding business went from Belfast to global through virtual events, and his business is thriving because of it.
In this conversation, we cover how he knew it was time to give his two-weeks notice (and not just pivot internally), how he addressed financial fears of leaving a six-figure salary, navigating the first few months of the pandemic as a new business owner, and how he builds relationships to generate new business—including Google still a key part of his client roster. As his coach says to him, “Be careful what you do because what you do, you do more of.”
More About Tony: Tony is a Leadership Development expert who previously worked for Google's People Operations in Dublin, Singapore, and London. He is an experienced leader, effective facilitator, and qualified coach on and off the basketball court. He founded People Playbook in 2020, host of the Three Points podcast, and has partnered with a diverse range of organizations across the globe to design and deliver purpose-built leadership development programs.
🌟 3 Key Takeaways:
- You’ll have more options and less pressure when pivoting if you live lean by lowering expenses and your expectations.
- Silver linings are everywhere; lean into conditions that seem subpar
- Set expectations with yourself after pivoting as you design your day-to-day: What are your goals? What do you expect to do with your time and your days? What do you want to do outside of work?
✅ Next Action: Outsource your confidence if you need a boost. We can get stuck in our own heads and not see ourselves clearly, so ask friends and family what they see your strengths as and what they think you can bring to the world.
📘Books: Free Time: Lose The Busywork, Love Your Business, Pivot: The Only Move That Matters Is Your Next One, Life After College
🔗Resources:
- Tony on the web, IG: @peopleplaybook and @SilverLiningsQuiz, Twitter, LinkedIn, Facebook
- Tony’s Podcast: Three Points
- People: Peter Barron, Producer Matt Thompson, Pamela Slim, Charlie Gilkey, Josh Muxen
- Podcasts: Best of Belfast, Jenny on Three Points — Freeing Your Time with Jenny Blake
🎧Related Podcast Episodes:
Pivot
Free Time
- 153: Behind the Podcast — Increasing Serendipity Surface Area — Mic Flip with Matthew Thompson
- 117: Tiny Marketing Actions with Pamela Slim
- 091: Quarterly Planning with Charlie Gilkey
- Exploring Time, Money, and Energy Capacity with Tara McMullin and Charlie Gilkey (Replay)
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💻 Check out Jenny’s Pivot courses on LinkedIn Learning: Figuring Out Your Next Move, Holding 1:1 Career Conversations With Your Team, Managing Introverts, Coaching New Hires, and Coaching New Managers
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📝 Check out full show notes from this episode with links to resources mentioned at http://pivotmethod.com/307
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