The Storied Future

In this special episode, learn about Sienna Jackson’s extraordinary journey from child prodigy to becoming Director of Film and Television Music at The Weinstein Company by the age of 20, to working to build safer and more just workplaces for people everywhere. Across every stage of her storied career, Sienna has demonstrated an audacious faith in the future and, in the words of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., she is on a journey to transform "dark yesterdays into bright tomorrows."While at the Weinstein Company, Sienna worked on multiple Academy Award and Golden Globe-nominated original soundtracks. She also had a front-row seat to one of the most notorious downfalls in Hollywood history when Harvey Weinstein's evil was exposed and his career and company came tumbling down.The lessons Sienna took from that experience propelled her toward a mission-driven career, using her power, skill, and passion to build a better future for people in workplaces everywhere.Today, Sienna is a Los Angeles-based founder, social impact consultant, and producer. She is the CEO and Co-Founder of Nortera, a tech startup that is working to uncover hidden risk and expose bias and discrimination in the workplace. Sienna is also the CEO of Zoran Creative Strategies, where she continues to drive meaningful change at the intersection of technology, culture, and social impact.

There are few narratives bigger than space exploration, and few journeys that require a more dogged commitment to an unseen future—one that can only be reached through sustained innovation, flawless operations, and a whole lot of belief in that future.Today's guest, Steve Rader, has worked at NASA’s Johnson Space Center for 34 years, in mission control, developing software for the Space Shuttle and the International Space Station, building command and control systems for the X-38, and working on the Constellation Program. He is currently working to crowdsource innovation at NASA and across the federal government by tapping into a crowd of hundreds of millions of people around the globe.In today’s episode, Steve and Chris discuss:How Steve's upbringing inspired a love of space and an appreciation of the importance of diversityWhy some organizations fail at unlocking internal innovation, and what they can do differentlyThe story of the very first video conference in spaceHow the right narrative can become a center of future gravity that overcomes the pull of the status quo and shifts the future to give everyone the opportunity to win, togetherAnd much more!

Jennifer Riel, IDEO Partner and Chief Strategy Officer, discusses the essential questions at the heart of any strategy. She explores embracing tension, the false promises of the consensus narrative, and effective communication of strategy. The chapter descriptions include reflections on childhood, the power of human-centered design and storytelling, building a business strategy, redefining company value, and the importance of productive disagreement.

Jonathan Adler, an internationally recognized scholar in the study of personal narrative, discusses the role of storytelling in transforming leaders and organizations. Topics include creating alignment through storytelling, control and narrative in healthcare, teaching storytelling at Olin College, and finding art in personal storytelling. They also explore themes of redemption and contamination in narratives and promoting well-being and culture change through storytelling.

Dr. Herminia Ibarra, authority on leadership and career development, discusses the narrative pathway for CEOs to empower their teams. She challenges traditional notions of authenticity and presents a new narrative for personal growth. They explore identity, the drawbacks of the heroic individual model, and the impact of leadership on teams and leaders.

Today's guest, Brian Janous, is the former VP of Energy at Microsoft. In fact, he was their first ever energy hire back in 2011. Until his departure earlier this year, Brian oversaw energy strategy and sourcing for all of Microsoft’s cloud and AI infrastructure, including procuring renewable energy for the company to meet its carbon objectives.Since the earliest days of his career, Brian has sought to answer the question, “How do we build markets around the complex machine of the electric grid to drive behaviors that shift the future?” As you’ll hear, Microsoft gave him the opportunity to do just that.When Brian joined the company in 2011, Microsoft’s market cap was north of $218 billion. Today its market cap has skyrocketed to over $2.7 trillion, thanks in no small part to the company's ability to acquire energy, refine it into data, and use that data to fuel the creation of value in the cloud.Brian is a natural-born storyteller, and you’re in for a treat.In this episode, Brian and Chris talk about:The power of storytelling in building the world’s largest machineWhy the future of energy innovation must be informed by the past and grounded in the presentThe breakthrough that converted Microsoft’s CEO at the time, Steve Ballmer, into a true believer in Brian’s and his team’s vision for the future of energyThe importance of having an enduring narrative that drives your strategy forwardAnd much more!

Today's guest is Jim Citrin, a legend in the world of CEO search and succession. Jim is the leader of Spencer Stuart's CEO practice. Over the course of his career, he's interviewed over 14,000 candidates and worked with clients on more than 800 searches and succession assignments. Jim's gift is seeing the future—a future that candidates and companies don't always see—and then bringing them together to write that future.Chris and Jim discuss:How Jim helped Hubert Joly and Mark Thompson land their respective CEO roles at Best Buy and the New York TimesWhy delivering great results alone is no longer enough for CEOsHow to rewrite the narrative about the perfect CEO who has all the answersWhat the succession process looks like, and what boards are looking for in candidatesHow you can use storytelling and your vision of the future to earn trust with the board in the interview processAnd much more!

If you enjoy flight metaphors, this is the episode for you! Chris talks to Art delaCruz of Team Rubicon, an extraordinary nonprofit that's shifting the future for veterans and communities affected by natural disasters. In 2021, Art filled the shoes of season 1 guest Jake Wood, the cofounder and former CEO of Team Rubicon.In this episode, Art and Chris discuss: How Art got his start as a fighter pilot in the United States NavyThe art of navigating the turbulent shift from chief operating officer to CEO at Team RubiconHow making high-stakes decisions at high velocity equipped Art for the world of disaster relief in the middle of COVIDWhether the real Top Gun experience lives up to the movieHow losing a $40 million plane transformed Art as a leaderAnd much more!

In 1996, a 27-year-old woman walked into Smith Barney for her very first day as a secretary. A recent college grad with a degree in piano and no business experience, Ivy League pedigree, or marketable skills other than typing fast, it wasn't long before she saw the future she wanted: a career as an investment banker. But that future seemed out of reach. Or was it?That woman was Whitney Johnson, and she's our guest on the very first episode of season 2 of the podcast. Whitney is the CEO of Disruption Advisors, a leadership development company that can help you grow your people to grow your business. She's also the host of the weekly podcast Disrupt Yourself, whose guests have included Alan Mulally, Brené Brown, Adam Grant, Susan Cain, and Stephen M.R. Covey.In today's episode, Chris and Whitney cover:How Whitney learned to embrace, not run from, her origin storyThe massive influence Clayton Christensen and his work on disruption and innovation had on WhitneyThe importance of "throwing down the pom poms and getting in the game"How the "S curve" provides a powerful framework for Whitney's work as a disruption advisorWhether it's easier to disrupt yourself earlier or later in your careerThe zen of tennis, piano, and fly fishing And much more!

The Storied Future Podcast gives high-performing CEOs a front-row seat to candid conversations with leaders who have put new narratives out into the world, and then used those narratives to shift the future.If you want to create a future where you’re not only proud of what you’ve accomplished, but of how you accomplished it, how it changed you, and who you took with you, host Chris Hare and his guests will provide the insights and inspiration you need to get there. Guests include Whitney Johnson, CEO of Disruption Advisors; Jim Citrin, Head of the CEO Practice at Spencer Stuart; Pete Sauerborn, Executive Chair of FTD; and Aaron Mitchell, architect of Netflix's 2% cash commitment to Black banks.