The Wild Courage to Get What You Want, With Jenny Wood 7 | 13
Mar 26, 2025
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Join former Google executive and author Jenny Wood as she shakes up the traditional career playbook with her bold insights. Jenny reveals how unconventional traits, like assertiveness and a dash of selfishness, can become your superpowers. She stresses the importance of risk-taking over waiting for permission, and how mastering the art of saying 'no' can reshape your life. With tales from her tech career and practical tips, this conversation is all about stepping out of your comfort zone to truly get what you want.
Embracing unconventional traits like boldness and selfishness can lead to significant personal and professional success.
Saying no is a vital skill that allows individuals to prioritize impactful work while respecting their own boundaries.
Proactively managing relationships and networking across departments enhances influence and ensures recognition of contributions in the workplace.
Deep dives
The Importance of Wild Courage
Wild courage is presented as the key to pursuing what you want in life, urging individuals to go after their desires defying societal expectations. It illustrates that instead of conforming to traditional norms, embracing unique traits can lead to professional and personal success. The discussion follows the author's experience of approaching an attractive stranger on the subway, highlighting how taking risks can result in unexpected opportunities. This moment of boldness reinforces the idea that courageous actions often create pathways to serendipity.
Challenging Conventional Traits for Success
The notion that essential traits for success are often unconventional is explored, emphasizing that characteristics like being weird, selfish, and even manipulative can actually serve positive functions in personal development. Rather than suppressing these traits, the podcast encourages individuals to reconsider their value and utilize them strategically. For instance, being labeled as manipulative can be reframed as a skill for building mutually beneficial relationships, showcasing how context and intention matter. Such insights challenge the audience to redefine personal qualities in a way that aligns with their own professional journeys.
Effective Feedback and Personal Growth
A significant part of fostering wild courage involves both giving and receiving feedback, as demonstrated through a candid conversation between the hosts and the guest. The dialogue underscores the necessity of constructive criticism to enhance one’s work and individual growth by sharing differing perspectives and interpretations. The discussion about how feedback is perceived differently among individuals emphasizes the importance of creating an environment where open communication is valued. This notion reiterates that constructive criticism is a tool for improvement and should be embraced, rather than feared.
The Power of No
Understanding the significance of saying no is framed as a powerful skill that allows individuals to conserve their time and energy. The podcast introduces various strategies for declining requests without feeling guilty, emphasizing the need to protect one's capacity for impactful work. Tactics such as suggesting alternative collaboration methods or postponing discussions are described as practical approaches to navigate social and professional demands. By advocating for a clear and direct 'no,' listeners are encouraged to foster respect for their own boundaries while simultaneously valuing others' time.
Managing Up and Building Influence
The concept of managing relationships in the workplace is explored as a means to increase influence and ensure that one's contributions are recognized. This involves networking not just within one’s immediate team but also with higher-ups and peers across departments. By advocating for proactive engagement, the discussion encourages individuals to identify what they can offer and the mutual benefits of collaboration. Active communication and strategic visibility in professional settings are emphasized as critical components for career advancement, ultimately fostering a culture of support and shared success.
Stop playing it safe—embrace the bold, unexpected traits that actually get you ahead.
Success doesn’t come to those who wait—it comes to those who take it. For years, you’ve been told to be humble, play nice, and wait your turn. Jenny Wood says that’s exactly why so many talented people stay stuck. As a former Google executive turned author of Wild Courage: Go After What You Want and Get It, she’s here to expose the real traits that drive success—ones that might make you uncomfortable. Forget the polite career playbook, being selfish, obsessed, even a little manipulative (the right way) can actually be your biggest advantage. Jenny gets radically candid with Kim and Amy on why risk-taking beats waiting for permission, why saying “no” is a career superpower, and how to self-promote without sounding like a jerk. If you’re sick of playing it safe and watching others pass you by, this episode is your permission slip to take bigger swings and get what you want.
Chapters: (00:00:00) Introduction Kim and Amy welcome Jenny Wood, author of Wild Courage: Go After What You Want and Get It. (00:1:02) The Nine Traits That Will Get You Ahead Nine controversial traits that are actually career superpowers. (00:4:26) The Subway Story That Changed Everything Jenny shares a story on ignoring self-doubt and taking action. (00:10:16) Calculated Risks vs. Playing It Safe Why taking smart risks is essential for personal and professional success. (00:13:04) The Google Factor: How It Shaped Wild Courage How Google built confidence, encouraged risks, and sparked creativity. (00:17:09) Owning Your Weird Advice for staying authentic in workplaces that don’t naturally foster it. (00:21:38) Identifying Your Power Assets Identifying your power assets to make self-promotion feel natural. (00:25:22) Managing Up, Higher, and Diagonally A tactical guide to workplace influence through strategic senior connections. (00:31:54) Overcoming Bias in the Workplace Strategies to counter workplace biases in recognition and self-promotion. (00:36:56) Why Saying No is a Superpower How learning to say no without guilt protects your time and energy. (00:42:40) Get in Front of the Right People The importance of standing out and getting noticed by leadership. (00:44:57) Pull It and Bullet It The “Pull It and Bullet It” method for impactful, time-saving emails. (00:48:05) Where to Find Jenny Wood Where to get Wild Courage and find Jenny for keynotes and workshops. (00:49:41) Conclusion
