Disrupt Yourself Podcast with Whitney Johnson

As I say at the beginning of every episode, I think, write, speak, and live all things disruption. I take this responsibility very seriously, so while each week I encourage you to disrupt yourself I am also looking for ways to disrupt myself. Since I spend each podcast interviewing guests, my personal journey is revealed to you in drips and drabs, and periodically I like to turn on the water hose and let you know how I’m really doing, what I’m learning, and where I am on my own learning curve. Today’s episode revolves around the question that you, as my audience, have asked me in person, tweeted online, or messaged me on LinkedIn. With me is Macy Robison, my fearless podcast manager and producer, who will be asking the questions and contributing some of her own insights along the way. For links from today's episode and the full show notes, visit http://whitneyjohnson.com/qa-85

Diane Dietz would have happily spent her career working in marketing at Proctor & Gamble, but as we all know, life can be unpredictable. When she found herself seated next to a tall, dark, and handsome stranger at a wedding, she could not have predicted that she would someday move from Cincinnati to San Francisco to start a family with him. That unpredictable relocation led to a significant career disruption, taking her from oral care and cosmetic marketing to a C-suite position at Safeway, where she led the marketing, merchandising, and supply chain of the second largest grocery retailer in the US. Even after being a chief marketing officer, executive vice president, and responsible for over 12,000 employees, Diane still felt some hesitation when she was approached by a recruiter about the CEO position at Rodan + Fields. Up to that point she had been looking at the number two position at really large companies, but as she met with the team at Rodan + Fields she fell in love—only this time with a company. Diane accepted the position and has grown Rodan + Fields from 600 million to 1.5 billion in sales (which I find super impressive). Furthermore, she has built an impressive team, wherever she has gone in her career and has developed a reputation as someone who makes those she works with better. Join us as we discuss how she spots talent for her “A Team,” what she loved most about her favorite bosses, and how Rodan + Fields manages their exponential growth without spending for digital advertising. Show notes and links: http://whitneyjohnson.com/diane-dietz

When Saul Kaplan produced his carefully compiled spreadsheet of how he planned to host a two day summit on innovation, the last thing he expected his friend to do was tear the spreadsheet to pieces—literally.  His friend was none other than Richard Saul Wurman, the founder of TED, so his feedback was not something Saul could take lightly. This summit was his dream. After years of being a consultant and looking at innovation from the top-down, he knew that he wanted to put on an event that focused on innovation from the bottom-up—what Saul referred to as a “human-centered design.” He had planned everything, from how they would scale from the nano to the cosmic, but the feedback from Richard was blunt and to the point: “You have an awful lot to learn, Kaplan, about what organic engagement and connection is…Design something that you’re interested in, that you can learn from, and then allow other people to participate in that by doing it openly and transparently.” In many ways, that has become the touchpoint of the annual Business Innovation Factory (BIF) summit. Organic engagement and connection permeate each session, and the best talks are those that solve problems in the real world and discuss the human experience. Join us as we discuss his advice for anyone planning a conference or summit, what it means to “Cause a RCUS,” and how he continually finds ways to reinvent himself. Show notes and links - https://whitneyjohnson.com/saul-kaplan

Being the host of a podcast, I’ve had my share of great conversations, but I’ve also had some that were…not. Whether the blame should be placed on myself, my guest, or both of us, can be left up to interpretation, but I find it interesting that something we do every day—converse with others—is also something that we receive very little, if any, formal training in how to do well. Lisa Kay Solomon wants to change all that. Lisa is the author of Moments of Impact: How to Design Strategic Conversations That Accelerate Change, and she is passionate about great conversation. In the business world, this passion translates into a careful examination of team meetings and huddles, and Lisa is not afraid to shy away from the awful truth: most meetings are terrible. Americans spend (or waste) 1.2 billion hours every year in meetings, an average of four hours per week per person, and yet most employees feel that the most important discussions occur after a meeting is over, when discovery oriented conversations take place. Show notes and links from the podcast available at http://whitneyjohnson.com/lisa-kay-solomon

As children, we are taught to say “please” and “thank you,” but oftentimes, as adults, these habits are not reinforced in the workplace. We are not asked to perform tasks, we are told, and we are paid for our efforts; in other words, we do something because it is our job. What more do we need?   According to Bob Nelson, we need a sincere “thank you.” Bob is the president of Nelson Motivation Inc, and is considered to be one of the world’s leading experts on employee motivation. He has written 30 books ranging from The Management Bible to 1,001 Ways to Engage Employees, and has dedicated his life to the idea that thanking employees makes for a better work environment.   Whether you’re praising performance on the latest project or celebrating an accomplished goal, saying a sincere, specific “thank you” can strengthen trust and relationships, and make your team more engaged in their work. Join us on the podcast today as we discuss what employee recognition is, how it can benefit your team, and what managers can do today to get started.  Show Notes: https://whitneyjohnson.com/dr-bob-nelson

Before you can be an agent of disruption, you first become its subject by disrupting yourself. Keeping this in mind, today’s podcast is a bit different. If you’ve been a long-time listener, this will probably come as no surprise (disruption is what we do, after all)! In the past I have shared episodes where I take part in some one-on-one coaching, but today I am taking it a step further: I will be coaching you. All of you. I’m going to start at the top with giving you five reasons why you might want to disrupt yourself, and then we’ll talk about what disruption is—what the term truly means. Once we’ve established that common language, we’ll get to what you really want to hear: How do I get started? I know this may be a bit scary to some of you. You may not feel ready to “get started”, or take that next step, and you’re afraid that I’m going to dare you to take it anyway. But I suspect that one of the reasons you listen to this podcast is because you want to take things to the next level, and if so, then I am committed to helping you. We have a worksheet and the complete transcript of this episode to help you get started on this path. Click here - http://whitneyjohnson.com/disrupt-your-self-today

My guest today is Shawn Askinosie, the founder and CEO of Askinosie Chocolate and author of the number one Amazon best selling book, Meaningful Work: The Quest to Do Great Business, Find Your Calling, and Feed Your Soul. For Shawn Askinosie, picking a favorite kind of chocolate is like asking someone to pick a favorite child. His company, Askinosie Chocolate, sells 17 different chocolate bars, but when asked to pick just one he is at a complete loss. “[I]t seems like the last place that I have been is my favorite…the people mean so much to me it’s hard to separate the people from the chocolate. And the hard work that they provide to make these beans what they are. So it’s hard. It’s hard for me.” Shawn most recently returned from Tanzania, where he personally met with the chocolate farmers that produce the cocoa beans used in his factory. This is unusual in the chocolate world—larger companies (or “Big Cocoa” as Shawn refers to them) buy almost exclusively through a broker, resulting in local farmers receiving as little as $1 a day for their crops. Shawn knew that he needed a completely different business model: not to make a bigger profit, but a bigger impact. This is an honest and beautiful conversation. If you enjoy it, please share it with someone who could learn from listening to Shawn. Takeaways and links from the show at https://whitneyjohnson.com/shawn-askinosie

This year on the Disrupt Yourself Podcast we have had musicians, writers, CEOs, entrepreneurs, and even a mountain climber as guests on the show, but I must admit that today’s guest feels more disruptive than usual—Margaret Busse is a politician. Spoiler alert, we don’t talk national politics at all. Margaret is an MBA graduate from Harvard as well as a devoted mother of 5 young children, and back in 2012 I included an essay that Margaret wrote in my book Dare, Dream, Do. In the essay, Margaret talked about her early love of democracy and her desire to someday run for public office, as well as the fear that held her back from fulfilling that dream. “When the time is right,” she said, “I will dare to do it.” The time is right. And she really is daring to do it. Conquering her fear, Margaret is running for a seat in the Massachusetts state senate. Surprisingly, a lot of our discussion focuses on the “how-to’s” of setting up a political campaign, a process that at times surprises and challenges Margaret. Thankfully, she still finds the challenge worth the reward. Full show notes and takeaways at https://whitneyjohnson.com/margaret-busse

My guest today is Beth Comstock, former vice-chair of GE, a member of the Board at Nike, and author of the new book Imagine It Forward, a candid and encouraging narrative in which she shares both business and life lessons. Despite having been a biology major in college, Beth realized early on that her passion led her to storytelling. Instead of becoming a doctor, as she originally planned, she turned instead to the world of television journalism. The call of the unknown led her to make many surprising leaps in her career, often with co-workers questioning her sanity, but Beth’s willingness to take a risk and play where no one else was playing allowed her to have a fascinating and varied path. Join us as we discuss taking risks, the importance of communication, the difference between mentors and champions, and how Beth Comstock intends to start new again in 2018. Listen on iTunes or using the player below, and be sure to check out Imagine It Forward, available for purchase today on Amazon or at your local bookseller. For show notes and links from the podcast, visit https://whitneyjohnson.com/beth-comstock

David is the co-founder and Executive Chairman of Degreed, and coauthor of the new book The Expertise Economy: How the Smartest Companies use Learning to Engage, Compete, and Succeed. His company focuses on “Jailbreaking the Degree” by giving employees credit for their lifelong learning, including formal certification as well as a “transcript” for skills learned on the job. Additionally, Degreed gives them a platform to find the best resources for learning new concepts and skills across a variety of platforms. Becoming an entrepreneur was not an easy step for David, who admits that going from the perfect collegiate applicant to a member of a start-up is in many ways antithetical. The path was difficult, almost cinematic at parts, but David still feels the same passion for education—true, lifelong learning—that he did as a 17 year old boy.   Show notes and links from this episode: http://whitneyjohnson.com/