
Unlearn
The way to think differently is to act differently and get comfortable with being uncomfortable. For business leaders, entrepreneurs, managers and anyone who wants to improve how they work and live: Welcome to the Unlearn Podcast. Host Barry O’Reilly, author of Unlearn and Lean Enterprise seeks to synthesize the superpowers of extraordinary individuals into actionable strategies you can use—to Think BIG, start small and learn fast, and find your edge with excellence.
Latest episodes

Jun 21, 2023 • 35min
Beyond the Words: Crafting Effective Conversations with Daniel Stillman
Daniel Stillman, an executive coach, and facilitator, is an authority in the field of conversational leadership. With a wealth of experience as a conversation designer and an author, Daniel has dedicated his career to enhancing the way we communicate. His book, Good Talk: How to Design Conversations That Matter, is recognized for its impactful insights into communication dynamics and strategies. In this episode of the Unlearn Podcast, Daniel joins Barry O’Reilly to explore the importance of collaboration and how to create an environment conducive to productive dialogue, particularly in the context of leadership.Conversational LeadershipConversational leadership, as defined by Daniel, refers to an approach to leadership that emphasizes the importance of effective communication and dialogue. It relies on the power of conversation to inspire, motivate, and engage individuals or teams in a meaningful and productive manner.“You cannot have a divergent, emergent and convergent conversation truly all in one go,” Daniel quotes from Chris Ertel’s book, Moments of Impact. “Everybody wants to be in the conversation, and it's not effective if everyone's in the conversation, because everyone can't talk all the time and there's only so much time we can have together.” He explores the mechanics of designing productive meetings, especially in a remote work landscape. He explains that strategic collaboration, hinged on appropriate tools and methods, is integral to making meaningful progress. Barry comments, “This idea of opening, exploring, and closing - it gives people a framework [to have conversations with].”The Nine P ModelDaniel introduces his holistic Nine P Model of Conversation Design. This includes:Purpose (the reason or aim of the conversation), Principles (the agreed norms and values to be adhered to), Process (the methods or steps to be followed), Place (the physical or virtual space where the conversation occurs), Pitfalls (potential risks or problems), Progress markers (indicators of progress), Product or outcome desired (the tangible or intangible results expected from the conversation), andPeople involved (the participants in the conversation), and Potential outcomes (the possible consequences of the conversation).Link to learn more about the Model is here.Looking AheadDaniel is looking forward to the way collaboration, conversation and AI will intersect to foster more effective communication and goal achievement. He emphasizes the significance of adapting our thought processes, referencing the "Ask/Tell" two by two matrix (more on that here) and 'triple loop learning' (more on that here) as valuable tools for changing how we approach problem-solving and action. Daniel views AI as an assistive component that can enhance our conversations and relationships.ResourcesDaniel Stillman on the Web | LinkedIn | TwitterRead full show notes at BarryO'Reilly.com

Jun 7, 2023 • 28min
How to be Memorable with Diana Kander
Diana Kander is a keynote speaker, bestselling author, and a vanguard when it comes to memorable pitches. She is the author of Go Big or Go Home, a book that teaches readers the art and science of making impactful pitches for film, sports, business, and philanthropy. Her pioneering research reveals the direct correlation between emotion and memory, offering insights into enhancing audience engagement and recall. In this episode of the Unlearn Podcast, Diana joins Barry O’Reilly in a thought-provoking conversation about making presentations more engaging and memorable. They unpack the concept of co-creation in presentations and provide real-world examples of successful pitches that involve audience participation. Go Big or Go HomeDiana shares the genesis of her book Go Big or Go Home, shedding light on her journey into the world of memorable pitches. "I was approached by the CEO of a company who was struggling to keep his audience engaged during presentations. This triggered my exploration," she recalls. The CEO's predicament posed a compelling challenge for Diana, propelling her investigative journey into what makes pitches memorable. This challenge was a catalyst for her bestselling book. She researched the real-life struggles of professionals to create an impact with their pitches. The result was a book that unveiled the secrets behind delivering pitches that are not just heard, but remembered.Creating Emotional Resonance"Connecting emotionally helps the audience remember your message long after the presentation is over," Diana tells Barry. Her research unveiled five tools needed to create emotional resonance in presentations: The element of surprise keeps the audience engaged and alert. Analysis helps the audience to understand and connect with the data or information being presented. The pitch order, or how the information is arranged, can evoke different emotional responses. Using 3D objects during presentations provides a tangible element that can make the pitch more memorable. Co-creation involves the audience in the presentation or problem-solving process, creating a sense of ownership and engagement among them. By using these tools, Diana believes presenters can create a deep emotional resonance with their audience that outlasts the presentation itself.Co-creation: Including the AudienceCo-creation is a strategic tool in presentations where the presenter involves the audience in the process of problem-solving or idea generation. Rather than being passive recipients of information, the audience actively participates in the creation process. Diana views co-creation as a pivotal tool in the success of a presentation. She states, "Co-creation is not just about soliciting input from the audience; it's about immersing them in the process. This participatory approach creates a sense of ownership among the audience, enhancing their connection with the material and, ultimately, the presenter." Co-creation transforms the conventional presentation dynamic into a shared journey. "Involving the audience in problem-solving can create a mutual sense of accomplishment. This shared ownership is an essential part of engagement and retention," Barry remarks.Looking AheadDiana also announces a free digital copy of her book to anyone who reaches out via email.Read full show notes at BarryO'Reilly.comResourcesDiana Kander on the Web | LinkedIn | TwitterGo Big or Go Home

May 24, 2023 • 39min
Unleashing Human Connection in Tech with Etienne de Bruin
Etienne de Bruin is a visionary community builder, successful startup founder, and accomplished author. Overcoming personal struggles and adversity, he has channeled his experience into creating an emotionally intelligent community for CTOs called 7CTOs, now with 300 members globally. In addition to leading this thriving community, Etienne penned the impactful book, CTO Excellence in 100 Days, where he articulates the essence of heart-centered leadership and empathetic networking. With his sights set firmly on the future, Etienne - along with host Barry O’Reilly - is also co-founder of Nobody Studios, an innovative venture studio with the audacious ambition of launching 100 companies over the next five years. In this episode of the Unlearn Podcast, Etienne joins Barry to share his journey of self-discovery and discuss the importance of having a compelling 'why', the challenges and opportunities of building a successful startup, as well as insights from his book.
From Suffering to Service
Etienne opens up about his early struggles, touching on a particularly dark phase of depression. He was able to find the “seed of a greater purpose” in the “crucible of suffering.” He shares an anecdote, saying, “I was sitting in a hot tub, looking at the mountains, and I had a sudden realization of privilege… It motivated me to find ways to solve inequality issues creatively." This realization prompted him to establish an emotionally intelligent community for CTOs.
Behind the Scene of CTO Excellence in 100 Days
Etienne's journey didn't stop there. He recounts his experience writing the book CTO Excellence in 100 Days, a practical guide focusing on heart-centered leadership and empathetic networking. In it, he aims to support new and existing CTOs to better integrate within their organization and form stronger relationships. It is a blueprint for leaders who want to effect meaningful change in their organizations. Quoting from his book, Etienne emphasizes, "In the first 100 days, a leader must focus not on showcasing technical prowess, but understanding what the company needs.” This phase sets the tone and style of their leadership.
Becoming a Sponge Leads to Success
Discussing lessons in leadership and technological excellence, Etienne underlines the importance of pacing and being receptive to learning. Leaders should not rush to show all their cards at once but should instead display patience, taking the time to understand their team, the organization, and the challenges it faces. They should also ensure they gradually make their mark, avoiding an overwhelming influx of changes that could cause disarray and discomfort. As he puts it, "We must transition from being a showcase of knowledge to becoming a sponge, absorbing information from others around us." Barry echoes this sentiment, adding, "Knowledge isn't just about speaking; it's about listening and absorbing." This may involve setting aside their own ego or technical inclinations and adopting new approaches or solutions that align with the organization's requirements.
Looking Ahead
Etienne shares his aspiration to spark a revolution in the way we validate business ideas. Through Nobody Studios, he aims to foster a conducive ecosystem for startups, making it faster, more accessible, and less risky for entrepreneurs to transform their ideas into reality. Etienne's future plans include writing more books for CTOs and developing an organization called "Every Dev'' for developers at every stage of their career.
Go to BarryO'Reilly.com for full show notes.
Resources
Etienne de Bruin on the Web | LinkedIn | Twitter

May 10, 2023 • 36min
Making Tough Decisions and Bright Futures with Chris Butler
Chris Butler is a seasoned technology leader with a proven ability to lead teams, drive innovation, and deliver results in a fast-paced and dynamic industry. He is a highly accomplished executive with over 20 years of experience in the industry. Prior to his current role at Google, Chris held several leadership positions at companies like Microsoft, Facebook Reality Labs, Kayak, and Waze, where he gained extensive experience in the areas of product management, engineering, and business development. In this episode of Unlearn Podcast, Chris joins Barry O’Reilly to discuss his career journey. He emphasizes the importance of challenging mental models and learning from user research and data analysis to shift perspectives toward new technologies.
Where Novelty Leads
Chris talks about his passion for novelty and his interest in exploring new things since his youth. He mentions his early interest in technology, having created "red boxes" to make payphone calls. Chris credits his father, who was an art director, for introducing him to the transition from traditional typesetting to digital typesetting using programs like QuarkXPress, Adobe Illustrator, and hand-coded HTML.
User Research and Industry Shifts
You need to be adaptable and open to change in the technology industry, Chris and Barry agree. With new innovations emerging all the time, you need to be willing to question assumptions and try new approaches. By doing so, you can stay ahead of the curve and continue to make a positive impact in your organization. Chris and Barry discuss the challenges of transitioning from desktop web experiences to mobile ones. Chris recounts how difficult it was to convince executives to invest in mobile, even though it was clear that more people were using their mobile devices to browse for travel options. He had to help them understand that mobile was not just another channel, but rather a new type of omnichannel experience that required a different approach. Barry shares his own experiences with this kind of shift, recalling how customers' behaviors were starting to change, but the technology was not yet there to support it. He asks Chris how he was able to identify these changes in behavior and help executives understand the need to invest in new technologies. “I had a bit of natural distrust in my leaders,” he replies. Chris often questioned the dominant logic theory that most leaders operated on, which involved using past successes as a mental model for future circumstances. He emphasizes the importance of personal user research and asking the right questions of customers. Chris cites his experience with Complete Seating, a restaurant tech startup, where they were able to “steal” high-value accounts from Open Table by focusing on usage segmentation rather than channel segmentation.
Looking Ahead
Chris mentions how he uses speculative futures to situate the future in a way that is tangible and more interesting than traditional company missions and visions. “Everything we do when building software is a speculative future because it aims to impact the future and make the world a better place,” he explains. He emphasizes the importance of looking forward when making decisions in product management and aligning the spine of product between strategy, roadmap and tasks. Chris believes that this approach to product management can be powerful and inspiring.
For full show notes, please visit BarryO'Reilly.com
Resources
Chris Butler on the Web | LinkedIn | Twitter

Apr 26, 2023 • 45min
Designing a Career That Works for You with Sarah Doody
Have you ever wondered why so many people fail to land their dream job after attending a boot camp or taking an online course? In this episode of Unlearn Podcast, Barry O'Reilly chats with Sarah Doody, a UX researcher and designer, and the founder and CEO of the Career Strategy Lab, a program that helps UX and product professionals at all career stages navigate the job search and articulate their skills and experience to help them grow. Sarah talks about her journey of designing her career and helping others do the same. She and Barry discuss the need for ongoing career development, the importance of setting boundaries, and why systems and design thinking is important in building a successful business and career.
Designing Your Career
“When I think back, I realized that I've always been designing my career,” Sarah remarks. She describes herself as a systems thinker who can spot problems and opportunities in sales, marketing, product, and engineering. However, her multi-talented nature often meant people didn't know what to do with her, and she had to design her own roles at different startups. Barry recalls how when he joined ThoughtWorks in 2010, only engineers were considered essential, and designers were struggling to find a place. He comments that the talent to design from experience to prototype is a core skill, and one of the main reasons his former colleague went on to become CEO of Thoughtworks. “When I think of design, it's not like just designing products, it's designing processes,” Barry comments. “It's designing onboarding experiences for people, …to know what the needs are, and then to create a solution that creates this great experience.”
The Career Strategy Lab
Sarah shares her journey from UX consulting to building her education business, Career Strategy Lab, which helps job seekers and professionals find purpose, reward, and recognition in their careers. She describes the evolution of the lab, from creating online classes and in-person workshops to running a six-month career incubator. “We go through creating all kinds of the assets you need for your job search,” she tells Barry. “It's a joy to watch,” Barry remarks, “but also to see the results, creating social mobility for all these people, helping them figure out what they actually want to do and enjoy, and then actually creating better opportunities for them. It's tangible. Not many people get to build products where they really can see how they're helping their users.”
Looking Ahead
Sarah’s new podcast, Career Strategy Podcast, is a strategic marketing move for her business. She plans to repurpose the podcast content to create social media content and she has designed a system to make this happen. She also talks about her upcoming book with Rosenfeld, The Product of You, and how she plans to use the podcast interviews as content for the book.
A special message to listeners
Nobody Studios is a new venture studio, co-founded by Barry, with the purpose of derisking pre-seed stage business ideas. Our goal is to create 100 compelling companies in the next five years. We believe we can achieve this by minimizing the time, speed, and capital required to validate truly repeatable and scalable business models before any significant venture investment. We're excited about radically changing how companies are built and funded, and even democratizing wealth creation. If you share our passion and want to contribute your talent, capital, or influence, we would love to hear from you! Contact us at: Nobody Studios | LinkedIn | Twitter | Facebook | YouTube | Instagram | Pinterest
Find full show notes at BarryO'Reilly.com
Resources
Sarah Doody on LinkedIn
Career Strategy Lab | Career Strategy Podcast
The Product of You

Apr 12, 2023 • 30min
Building Reliable and Resilient Systems with Anurag Gupta
On this episode of Unlearn Podcast, Barry O'Reilly hosts Anurag Gupta, founder and CEO of Shoreline, a product that helps reliability engineers reduce the “heavy lifting of dealing with incidents” so they can focus on improving their systems. Anurag is a notable leader in the reliability space: his experience includes joining Oracle in its infancy, and over seven years at AWS, where he ran their analytics and relational database services. In this episode, he explores the importance of embracing failure, creating a blameless culture, and sharing knowledge to build more reliable and resilient systems.
The power of a clear vision
There is power in having a clear vision of what you want to become in life, Anurag believes. He shares how he sat down and imagined what people would say about him after he died, which helped him define his personal story arc. He knew he wanted to start his own company but recognized he needed to learn how to do it first. He joined a startup, traded his skills at Oracle, and eventually landed at AWS, where he helped build successful products like Aurora and Redshift. Barry remarks, "If you want something to come to life and create it, you have to envisage it." Anurag adds, “I believe that if you really know what you want, the universe kind of bends its way to help you get it. …If I want something real, I think the world will bend in my favor.”
A community for engineers
Innovators who are exploring novel ideas often create communities of like-minded persons. Barry asks Anurag about Reliability.org, the community Anurag created. Reliability.org is a nonprofit community for engineers who want to learn how to build and operate highly reliable systems, Anurag responds. Unlearning is about getting past your own experience and biases to learn from others who have walked different paths from yourself but have shared goals, he says. Thus, Reliability.org is a community created for engineers who want to learn from and debate with one another. Anurag believes that building highly reliable systems is still a black art, and engineers should embrace learning from those who have first hand experience.
Looking ahead
Anurag is excited about building something ubiquitous with Shoreline, where if “anyone anywhere has fixed a problem, everyone everywhere gets the benefit”. He is willing it into existence with Reliability.org.
A special message to listeners
Nobody Studios is a new venture studio, co-founded by Barry, with the purpose of derisking pre-seed stage business ideas. Our goal is to create 100 compelling companies in the next five years. We believe we can achieve this by minimizing the time, speed, and capital required to validate truly repeatable and scalable business models before any significant venture investment. We're excited about radically changing how companies are built and funded, and even democratizing wealth creation. If you share our passion and want to contribute your talent, capital, or influence, we would love to hear from you! Contact us at: Nobody Studios | LinkedIn | Twitter | Facebook | YouTube | Instagram | Pinterest
For full show notes, please visit BarryO'Reilly.com
Resources
Anurag Gupta on LinkedIn
Shoreline
Reliability.org

Mar 29, 2023 • 31min
Reimagining Accountability: A New Model for High-Performing Teams with Kate Tarling
Accountability is a buzzword in business, but is the traditional notion of assigning ownership to a single individual the most effective approach? In this episode of the Unlearn Podcast, Barry O'Reilly is joined by Kate Tarling, author of The Service Organization: How To Deliver and Lead Successful Services, Sustainably. Kate is the founder of a services company and a service leader and designer who has made a significant impact in public and private organizations, especially in the UK Government. Kate shares her experiences in creating high-performing services and teams and establishing accountability in large organizations. Kate and Barry discuss the challenges of getting different teams to work together effectively and the importance of intentional effort and investment to create end-to-end services and improve the customer experience.
Great customer experiences
Creating great services is a better way to market products than relying on promotions and discounts. Kate says of the pivotal moment she realized this: “... if we just design this to work really well, if people love using it, then I feel like that is a way into marketing rather than having to offer promotions.” Her varied career experiences - in roles from operations to marketing to product - led her to realize the connecting thread in her work was a focus on service ownership and design. She tells Barry that she was working in service ownership before she even knew it was a thing.
Lessons learned from Lean Startup Weekend
Kate shares her experiences from a Lean Startup Weekend over a decade ago, where she worked on designing a solution for care homes. This was an example of a high-performing team coming together to iterate toward success using a user-centered design process. While this process is useful for designing products and services from scratch, Kate found that scaling this process to larger organizations presented a different set of challenges. She began to capture the questions and challenges faced when applying these principles to organizations, such as the way governance and decision-making structures work, the flow of money through the organization, and team structures.
Principles and techniques of creating successful teams
In large organizations with multiple teams, it is essential to have a sense of what brings them together and a clear understanding of what they are moving towards. Kate and Barry discuss how to create successful teams in large organizations, particularly those aiming to demonstrate new, modern, agile ways of working. Kate emphasizes the importance of having a clear sense of what is being aimed for, not in terms of target states, but a clear strategy and performance indicators. She says, "Having a sense of what you're aiming for, not so much a target state, but a set of ideas or some performance indicators or something can help, but it really takes everybody to know what that is." She stresses that everyone must work together for the good of what they are driving at, rather than just focusing on their individual roles, profession or teams.
Democratizing wealth creation through Nobody Studios
Barry O'Reilly shares his excitement about co-founding Nobody Studios, a venture studio that aims to rapidly create new companies and derisk pre-seed stage business ideas. The studio's goal is to start 100 companies over the next five years and democratize wealth creation and distribution. Barry invites those interested in changing the way work is done and products are created to get involved in Nobody Studios.
Read full show notes at BarryO'Reilly.com
Resources
Kate Tarling on LinkedIn
The Service Organization: How To Deliver and Lead Successful Services, Sustainably

Mar 15, 2023 • 27min
Lessons Learned from Building our Venture Studio, Nobody Studios with Mark McNally
“Joining a startup is irrational for most people. Launching a venture studio to build a hundred startups is totally irrational to pretty much everybody,” Barry O’Reilly remarks. “You've got two sticks, you rubbed them together, and you're telling people that this is going to turn into a 500-story skyscraper."
On this show, Barry celebrates this 100th episode of the Unlearn Podcast with Mark McNally, co-founder of Nobody Studios. Mark, who has started 14 companies in his career, shares that what sets Nobody Studios apart is its purpose-driven Why, which is to give people agency and create something bigger than themselves that will outlast them.
Together, they reflect on the last two years of building their venture studio, Nobody Studios, the importance of diversity, and how this journey has been a transformational personal development experience. This shows dives into their vision for creating a vehicle that brings together ideas, resources, and dreams to impact the world beyond their own lifetimes.
Absorb Everything
It’s important to be open to learning and stretching yourself. With Nobody Studios' board set of ventures, Barry and Mark have been exposed to different perspectives, which has helped them learn and grow. “I can say without a doubt I've learned more in the last three years than I have in my entire career and my entire life. It's just the diversity and the creativity and people who join a call… I come out of that 1-hour call, and it's like I got a piece of their brilliance, a piece of their perspective, and it's stretching me,” Mark comments. Barry says that he has been transformed by listening to the stories and experiences of different entrepreneurs. They encourage listeners to be like a sponge and absorb everything that is exposed to them. "While you have a strategy and you have plans, at the same time, we're a learning, breathing thing. You just want to be a sponge, and you want to just inherit and absorb the things that you’re exposed to," Mark says.
Success and Scars are Equally Valuable
“When you're doing things for the right reason,” Mark tells Barry, “and there's some informed lessons and scars along the way, things tend to play out the way you hope, your truth. I think our truth is resonating.” Building a globally distributed venture studio during the pandemic was a risky move. Mark and Barry credit the role of serendipity in their journey.
Exciting Times Ahead
The future is bright for Nobody Studios, and they are excited for what is to come. The business is still in its infancy, so they have a long way to go. Even when they have unlimited financial resources available to them, they plan to continue to make constraints one of the things that force them to get things right. In order to grow, they have to transition from doing everything to finding the right talent and systems. Making key hires to mature the organization and build the foundation is crucial. The flywheel is picking up momentum, which is a fascinating transition for any business.
The Sky's the Limit
Nobody Studios has twelve companies moving, with a few already in the market and eight more to come this year. They are well on their way, and the potential ahead is unlimited. The journey of Nobody Studios has been one of the most rewarding of Barry's life. He and Mark are excited about the road ahead, and this 100th episode is another great moment to reflect on the twists and turns of the journey. They are having fun, and they look forward to continuing building together.
Go to Barry O'Reilly for full show notes.
Resources
Mark McNally on LinkedIn
Nobody Studios
Nobody Studios Equity Crowdfunding on Republic

Mar 1, 2023 • 31min
Organized Chaos with Pascal Finette
Pascal Finette is a well-respected entrepreneur and innovation expert with a wealth of knowledge and insights to share about achieving success in the business world. Having led entrepreneurship and open innovation tracks at Singularity University, Pascal is an experienced mentor and coach with a focus on amplifying positive change in the world. He is an advocate for finding companies with a greater purpose and mission, and emphasizes the importance of taking risks and being open to new opportunities. Pascal has also recently released a book, Disruption: How to Decode the Future, Disrupt Your Industry, and Transform Your Business, which shares his insights on innovation and navigating disruption in the business world.
Pascal provides insights into the mindset and experiences of a successful entrepreneur and innovator. In this episode of the Unlearn Podcast, host Barry O’Reilly converses with Pascal Finette about the importance of purpose, community, and an innovative, risk-taking spirit. He shares his story as he encourages listeners to follow their intuition and take action.
Following Your Intellectual Curiosity
Rather than being guided by a clear plan or strategy, Pascal relied on his gut feeling to guide him towards interesting opportunities. While his resume looks impressive in hindsight, he acknowledges that in the moment, his decisions never seemed to make any sense. By being willing to say yes to opportunities that presented themselves, he was able to forge a unique path that ultimately led to success. This eagerness to take risks and try new things is an important trait for anyone looking to innovate and create change in their personal or professional life. As Pascal puts it, "if it doesn't work out, it's fine.”
Open Innovation
Open innovation is about creating a community of people, including customers and collaborators, for the purpose of building something together. This is based on the principles of how communities work together, such as how the Amish build a church or a building. The idea is to apply these principles to the world of business to create something greater than what one organization or team could create on their own. Companies like Mozilla have made their code open source, inviting people to contribute to make it better for the benefit of everyone. In its heyday, something like 40% of Firefox’s code was written by volunteers, Pascal points out.
be radical
be radical is a company that helps individuals and organizations discover what matters for their future and how they can go and transform. Pascal was inspired to start this company while working at Singularity University where he helped people see the future differently, particularly when it comes to technology. Pascal found that there was an interesting gap between people seeing what could be and not knowing what to do about it. He wanted to help people build a future they could see.
Looking Ahead
Pascal is looking forward to the changes that AI will bring to the way we think about information retrieval, especially in terms of crafting better questions rather than just seeking answers. He believes that we are at a pivotal moment where the systems that define the web will change dramatically, and the way we think about browsers, searching, and information retrieval will change. Pascal is excited to see how people will make use of these changes and what they will create from them.
Find full show notes at BarryO'Reilly.com
Resources
Pascal Finette on Website | LinkedIn | Twitter | Disruption: How to Decode the Future, Disrupt Your Industry, and Transform Your Business
be radical

Feb 15, 2023 • 53min
Personal Board of Directors with Melissa Perri and Gibson Biddle
In this episode of Unlearn Podcast, host Barry O'Reilly and two experienced tech executives, Melissa Perri and Gibson Biddle, meet for a Personal Board of Directors meeting. Melissa Perri is the founder and CEO of Produx Labs, a product management consultancy, and author of Escaping the Build Trap. She is also a Senior Lecturer at Harvard Business School. Gibson Biddle is a former Chief Product Officer at Netflix and renowned product leader and speaker. Using the CAMPS Model (community, autonomy, mastery, purpose, scale), they share personal insights on the importance of building relationships, continuous learning, work-life balance, and feedback. Throughout the episode, they provide practical tips and advice for personal and professional growth, including valuable lessons and takeaways for listeners seeking to succeed in their own careers and personal lives.
Building a Community
People who surround themselves with a strong network of friends, colleagues, and mentors tend to be more successful in their personal and professional lives. Your community can also provide emotional support and accountability, which are important for achieving goals and personal growth. Gibson shares that he has been engaged with the community of product leaders all over the world but feels like he hasn't done enough to mechanize it. He admits that his community score is his lowest. He acknowledges that Lenny Bruchitski is a great role model for building a community. Gibson likes to teach through talks and workshops; he is still very much a one-person company, which limits his leverage in creating a community. [Listen from 6:20]
Retiring Gracefully
Barry asks Gibson what flexibility would look like for him now that he is retiring. Gibson responds that he has optimized for flexibility by deciding what he chooses to do or not do every week. For him, autonomy and flexibility are almost the same. Talking to people who are presently or soon-to-be retired has also been helpful in providing insights, he tells Barry. His passion for speaking at events and workshops is what keeps him energized, and he plans to continue doing this even in retirement. “I get energy from my talks and workshops. It helps me age gracefully, stay current,” he remarks. “...You have to have a purpose,” Gibson stresses. “Even in retirement, you have to have goals. You have to be learning new stuff.” He explains how he learned to let go of his ego and focus on creating value instead of money. He rates himself on mastery, purpose and scale and shares his rationale for the scores. [Listen from 9:00]
Find the complete show notes at BarryO'Reilly.com
Resources:
Melissa Perri on LinkedIn | Website | Product Institute | Produx Labs
Gibson Biddle on LinkedIn | Twitter | Website
Escaping the Build Trap: How Effective Product Management Creates Real Value