Disrupt Yourself Podcast with Whitney Johnson

Carter Cast is brilliant, blending intense insight with the heart of a teacher (although it took him years to uncover this truth). Having been a marketing manager early in his career at PepsiCo Food Service International, he appeared to be on the fast track for promotion—until he was transferred to the Frito Lay division, an abrupt change from his previous work.  In Carter’s words, he did not react well. “I did not respond well to the different…culture. I was always itchy and I was trying to move quickly and I didn’t understand how to grease the skids with the other departments and…align with other functions.” This self-reflection did not come voluntarily: Carter was called into the office of his boss, who told him he was insubordinate, difficult to work with, recalcitrant, and while he was not technically fired, his boss had no interest in having him on his team. It took a long time for Carter to “resuscitate” his career, and the experience made him realize that weaknesses, even more than strengths, can determine if someone succeeds.   Takeaways from this episode: Your strengths can take you far, but a weakness can sweep you in the knees. Think critically: what about you could hurt you? What about you could impede your own career progress? Where are your vulnerabilities? This may make you uncomfortable but can prevent you from derailing your own career. There are five archetypes for why individuals derail their careers: Captain Fantastic, Solo Flier, Version 1.0, One Trick Pony, and Whirling Dervish (listen for details!) Business is “we”, not “I”—it is complex and requires interdependence. A leader who uses “I” will have weak working relationships and is not actively engaged in listening. Listening is important. Consider Clayton Christensen’s 6 to 1 ratio: ask six questions to every one statement if you want to be an innovator and leader with discovery skills.  Individuals who are too skeptical of change can’t adapt to rapidly changing business environments. Senior managers should be roaming the halls to find out what they don’t know, not sitting around assuming they know it all. Keep an open mind, and follow up with your team to make sure they are staying abreast of change through thought leaders, podcasts, white papers, articles, competitive audits, etc.   Make sure your external network is strong. We may not be able to control the support of our internal network, but if we have a strong external network we can avoid becoming one-dimensional. Don’t overcommit yourself; learn to say no (and it is possible to say no in a positive way!) If you feel you are derailing but none of the archetypes seem to fit, consider that you may be in the wrong context—you’re on the wrong curve, in the wrong place, at the wrong time. Examine if what you are doing lines up with what you are truly interested in pursuing.  Show notes and transcript available at http://whitneyjohnson.com/carter-cast

Disrupting yourself is a way of life around here, so it’s only natural that it is my turn to be disrupted. Today is Launch Day for my new book, Build an A-Team: Play To Their Strengths and Lead Them Up the Learning Curve, and I couldn’t be more excited! To celebrate, we’re doing things a bit differently on the podcast. Macy Robison, my fabulous project manager, is interviewing me to help break down what my listeners can expect from my new book, and how the information I’ve gathered can help them in not only their career but in life. Since releasing Disrupt Yourself in 2015 I have had the opportunity to interact with many managers, leaders, executives, and employees who have embraced the idea of disruption, but who have asked me, “How can I get my people to disrupt themselves?” or “How can I get my boss to let me disrupt myself?” Employers and employees want to experience the growth that can come from disruption, but it’s not happening in many organizations out of fear of “losing” valued leaders or team members.  The irony is that many great employees are lost anyway. Some managers are great at maximizing efficiency but are so caught up in day-to-day minutia that the personal and professional growth of employees takes a back seat to survival. The result is stellar employees feeling bored or stuck in their jobs, with no clear career path before them. Employees who were once superstars either move on to greener pastures or become dead-weight and organizational innovation stalls.       Build an A-Team unpacks this problem and illustrates how understanding the S-curve can lead to innovation within organizations, and how investing in your employees (and sometimes letting them go) can return phenomenal dividends.  Join Macy and I as we discuss Build an A-Team, the framework of disruption, recognizing where employees are on their personal S-curve, real sponsorship, and how allowing employees to jump to new curves can lead to innovation.    We also take a minute to acknowledge the amazing A-Team behind the book—it truly would not have been possible without them!     Links and show notes at http://whitneyjohnson.com/build-an-a-team

Today’s guest is Tom Peters, best-selling author of the groundbreaking book In Search of Excellence, which changed the way the world viewed the connection between corporate culture and the success of a business. His newest book, The Excellence Dividend, is likewise original, commanding, and cutting-edge.  Forty years ago, Tom was tasked with creating a last-minute presentation for a client after a computer failure wreaked havoc on his company’s original plans. Not wanting to disappoint his wife, who had tickets to the San Francisco ballet that night, Tom delayed working on the presentation until after watching what he describes as a “mesmerizing” performance. After returning home, Tom couldn’t get what he considered the “excellence” of the performance out of his head and began wondering why that word—which is so often associated with artists, dancers, and even sports teams—was never associated with business.  “[I]t’s not that I was off to the races. Nobody took it seriously. The skies did not part. But…it just kind of got stuck in my head because we all love excellence. Despite naysayers (of which there were many), Tom’s idea resonated with his audience and continued to evolve, leading a few years later to the publication of In Search of Excellence, which has been regarded by some as one of the most influential business books of all time.   Join us as we discuss his professional journey, the importance of studying, and, naturally, what it means to be excellent. Links and show notes available at https://whitneyjohnson.com/tom-peters and if you enjoy the show, please consider leaving us a review.

My guest today is Dave Meltzer, entrepreneur, speaker, author, and CEO of Sports 1 Marketing. His personal objective in life is to “make a lot of money, help a lot of people, and have a lot of fun.” After spending only a few minutes in his company, it is apparent that having “lots of fun” is not difficult for Dave. Dynamic and engaging, Dave was told as a child that he could sell ice to an Eskimo, and his career path indicates that he might have succeeded had he ever been put in that situation. His first job out of law school was selling legal research online for West Publishing, a position intended for individuals with at least four years of litigation experience. Years later, he was made the CEO of Leigh Steinberg Sports & Entertainment, the world’s most notable sports agency, only 48 hours after meeting Leigh Steinberg himself.   But while success appears to come naturally to Dave, he admits that his priorities became skewed over time, resulting in financial ruin and an emotional plea from his wife for him to look at who he was and what he wanted to become before he lost his family as well. This moment created a paradigm shift for Dave, leading him to focus on others and how he could best serve their needs instead of his own.   Join Dave and I as we discuss happiness, mentors, and how to pursue your potential through an attitude of gratitude.  Show Notes & Links: https://whitneyjohnson.com/david-meltzer

My guest today is Marisa Thalberg, Chief Marketing Officer of Taco Bell, founder of ExecutiveMoms.com, and listed as one of the top 25 Most Influential CMOs in the World by Forbes. The idea of “playing where no one is playing” appears to be second nature to Marisa. While a student at Brown University, Marisa actively sought out development opportunities, even going so far as to call up New York City communication companies to tell them that she wanted an internship. By graduation, Marisa had cultivated a resume interesting enough that she was noticed by the marketing agency Saatchi & Saatchi.   Takeaways from this Episode: Do you lack a support group? Create it. See a void in TV programming? Produce it. Marisa Thalberg was unafraid to play where no one was playing and created many of her “next” opportunities. We often discuss executives that come in and “save” failing companies or brands, but sometimes your greatest challenge is figuring out how to keep an already successful endeavor successful. Think about the potential and the possibilities, and how you can do what has historically been done well while adding other things that “delight people.” Invisible stuff matters. While Marisa has been named as a top CMO, she acknowledges that her success is very dependent on the team she has curated around her. She maintains the vision and the narrative, but her team propels the work forward. Sometimes a leader’s biggest contribution is “knowing when to say ‘yes.’” Learn more in the show notes: https://whitneyjohnson.com/marisa-thalberg

Nick Gray thought museums were boring. As a business-minded individual, he couldn’t understand why anyone would be fascinated by the contents and just wanted the physically (and emotionally) cold places to “get to the point.” After a date turned into a private tour of the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City, Nick began to be curious. He spent weekends learning more about the museum and the art, trying to understand the new world that had opened before him. “I said look, I could go and drink and hang out with my friends at a dive bar in Brooklyn, which is what I was usually doing, or I could go drink and hang out at the Metropolitan Museum.” Wanting to share this new passion with friends, Nick began inviting them on private tours and gradually expanded his reach from “friends” to “friends-of-a-friend” and beyond. Now the Chairman and Founder of Museum Hack, Nick’s company leads renegade tours and team building activities at some of the best museums on Earth. “I was so adverse to making it a business. I never wanted to do that. For me, these museum tours were a labor of love, they were a passion project that I just wanted to be the best tour guide ever and share my love for museums with my friends who never went to the Met.” Through a combination of street smarts and passion, Nick has built a successful business model that plays into the future of entertainment and education. In this podcast, we discuss how he grew his business, what the most expensive piece of art is in the Met (it was surprising!), and how others can monetize their passions. Listen on iTunes or in the player below, and if you enjoy the show, please consider subscribing and leaving us a review. Show Notes - http://whitneyjohnson.com/nick-gray

Today’s guest is Alison Levine, a former Goldman Sachs investor-turned-mountain climber who has climbed the highest mountains on every continent. She’s the author of the NY Times bestselling book On the Edge, and is the executive producer of The Glass Ceiling, a documentary about the first Nepali woman to climb Mt. Everest. Takeaways from this Episode:  You don’t always have to be “better” than others to achieve something; you can simply be different. Alison found a way to stand out from the crowd while seeking an internship with Goldman Sachs and doing what she loved (climbing mountains). Play where no one else is playing. Show up. We put a lot of emphasis on preparation, and while preparation is certainly important, if you never show up you’ll never accomplish your goal. Sometimes taking the leap and figuring out how to make things work in the moment is the only way you’ll get moving. The journey is often worth more than the destination. A mountain is just a pile of rocks, but the journey to the top can change your entire perspective on life. Don’t be afraid of failure. If you’re going to take risks, you need to allow yourself and your team room to fail. Failure is one thing you did at one point in time, so it doesn’t define you. Similarly, rejection is one person’s opinion at one point in time. There are some weaknesses we may never overcome, but if we are willing to be creative we can find ways to compensate (whether for ourselves or for others). Let your constraints become a tool of creation. Allison is a fabulous example of a textbook disruptor: born with a heart condition, instead of resigning herself to a sedentary life she dreamt of becoming an adventurer. Being absolutely relentless, she did it. The next time you find yourself allowing your constraints to hold you back, ask yourself how is this an invitation to become a great adventurer in your own life—then act on it. Born with a heart condition, Alison is not a person you would expect would be renowned for leading the first team of American women to climb Mt. Everest together. After her second heart surgery around age 30, Alison found a renewed zest for life and wanted to do something she couldn’t do before.  Remembering stories of adventurers that had captivated her in her youth, Alison used frequent flyer miles to hop on a plane to Tanzania and climbed Mt. Kilimanjaro, reaching the summit with a pair of heavy hiking boots and equipment borrowed from friends. The experience was difficult, yet exhilarating for Allison, and as she continued to climb mountains she realized it was about more than just reaching the summit. “[S]tanding on top of a mountain isn't going to change you and isn't going to change the world. It's really about the lessons you learn along the way.” Alison didn’t allow her constraints to stop her from achieving the life she wanted, and her story has inspired some unexpected insights within me. Perhaps she’ll inspire some within you, as well. Show Notes: http://whitneyjohnson.com/alison-levine

Today’s guest is Eric Ries, author of The Lean Startup, a book that has sold over a million copies. He’s also the author of The Startup Way, a nuts-and-bolts, dollars and cents, how-to-do-the-math guide that shows how to make entrepreneurship a core discipline of your business. Takeaways from this Episode: No one gets things done in your organization the way “the process” says they get things done. The only way to find out how the company actually works is to run experiments and identify the real levers being pulled to create success (or a lack thereof) in your projects. If someone has been with you for a few years, it’s likely that what they do is very different from what their job description says they do. As they’ve discovered problems that need solving, they’ve stepped in. Are these people being rewarded for just how much they’re contributing? Are you? Also, as you analyze the jobs they’re actually doing, you will discover that this breach that they’ve walked into can signal opportunities for your organization to play where others aren’t, to take on market risk, and to disrupt. As you build out a business or career and are at the low end of the learning curve (where it looks like nothing is happening), when metrics that you would use if you were established (like revenue) are effectively zero, use innovation accounting. Find out what your “leap of faith” assumptions are and find ways to test what will happen if they are true and if they are false. As Eric says, “It's better to have bad news that's true rather than good news that we just made up.” Learning is an essential unit of progress. It’s important to put a price not only on success, but on information as well. What have you learned from success? What have you learned from failure? This information will be invaluable to you as you continue along your S-curve. Be willing to re-examine yourself, especially as you interact with those that come from a different perspective from you. What can an engineer learn from a marketing specialist? Think of one person in your life who is an “Other,” and instead of trying to make how you feel around them go away, take a moment to examine the situation. What is there to learn? This intellectual collision can cause real disruption—if you will allow it. Eric is no stranger to failure. When the dot-com bubble burst, Eric’s dorm-room startup company came crashing down, along with his dreams of instant success and wealth. While interviewing for jobs after graduation, Eric was surprised when one company seemed particularly excited to hear about his startup experiences. They wanted to know what he had learned, especially regarding strategy, leading Eric to do some soul searching about what he had learned. “I realized…I think the most important lessons I learned from that were just what startup chaos and failure looks and feels like.” Years later, when a startup he was working for began to flounder, Eric recognized some of the same warning signs of failure from his own business. Instead of joining in the panic around him, he decided to focus on what he could learn from the similarities and differences of the two experiences. Over time, this analysis led to the creation of an entrepreneurial management framework, and The Lean Startup was born. From innovation accounting to how startups can utilize the scientific method, Eric is a fascinating resource for entrepreneurs, or for any company that is looking to energize their next project. Show Notes - http://whitneyjohnson.com/eric-ries

My guest today is Patty McCord, former Chief Human Resources Officer at Netflix, author of the unabashedly bold book, “Powerful,” and a rocket ship of a disrupter. Although Patty describes herself as a serial entrepreneur, she started her career at very large companies and worked her way backward, with each company getting progressively smaller. Now a prized speaker and consultant, Patty works with companies that want the innovative spirit and agility of a start up, and she’s not afraid to ask the tough questions to get them there. Show Notes: https://whitneyjohnson.com/patty-mccord  

Benjamin Hardy, a foster parent and successful writer, discusses how changing one's environment is key to personal growth. He challenges the idea that willpower alone is enough for self-improvement, sharing practical tips on breaking addictions and achieving goals through environmental cues. Hardy also talks about the importance of online presence for securing book deals and offers insights on course creation and investing in mentorship for personal transformation.