Disrupt Yourself Podcast With Whitney Johnson

My guest today is Chester Elton, the New York Times bestselling co-author of The Carrot Principle, which has sold over 1.5 million copies to date. He has been described by the Toronto Globe and Mail as “an apostle of appreciation,” a moniker which he has whole-heartedly embraced. Coming from an athletic and competitively-minded family, Chester has always seen value in recognizing individual accomplishments. While selling televisions in New York City Chester was given the opportunity to work as a recognition program salesman to pharmaceutical companies, a service he felt was not only necessary in the corporate world, but noble. Chester soon approached his boss about a potential way to increase sales: write a book. If their company could be seen as a “thought-leader,” clients would come to them, hopefully in droves. His boss was very excited about the idea, but there was a catch: he wanted Chester to write the book. “He goes, ‘I love that idea.’ He says, ‘Write the book.’ And I said, ‘Kent, you give me these c

My guest today is Laura Vanderkam, an expert on time management who's 2016 TED Talk "How to Gain Control of Your Free Time" has been viewed over 5 million times. She is the author of several books on time management, including Off the Clock: Feel Less Busy While Getting More Done, which was released in May of this year. Laura did not go to college to become a time management guru. She admits to a mild interest in productivity, having read The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People at a young age, but it wasn't until she had to balance having a child and building a journalism career that she began to look at how people spent their time. What Laura found was that much of the narrative surrounding how people spend their time isn't very accurate. While many people believe that they are busy and never have time for anything, the truth is that if something unexpected happened--such as a water heater breaking or a basement flooding--we are all able to "magically" create more time in our schedule to handle the emerg

Today’s guest is Pat Flynn, a highly successful blogger and podcaster who teaches people how to make a “Smart Passive Income.” Some people choose disruption, but many times disruption comes when we least expect it. In 2008, Pat Flynn was happy with his life. Working as the youngest Job Captain in the history of his architectural firm, he was on track for his dream occupation—world famous architect. When the national economic crisis hit Irvine, Pat found himself suddenly without a job and without any realistic prospects for employment. He wasn’t sure where to go or what to do when a timely podcast changed his life forever. “I discovered a show called “Internet Business Mastery,” and one of the first episodes I listened to was…a guy being interviewed on that show, who was making six figures a year helping people pass the PM Exam, or the Project Management Exam. And that was my first kind of “Aha!” moment in all this…I took a number of exams to get to where I’m at now, and one of them in particular, which was

Our guest today is June Cohen, a pioneer in the web industry for her work at HotWired (the web division of Wired magazine), author of “The Unusually Useful Web Book,” and the force behind bringing the informational and often inspirational “TED Talks” online and out to the world. She confounded WaitWhat?, a content incubator to develop original media properties over time, and the podcast “Masters of Scale,” which explores the theories behind how companies grow and scale their business. June Cohen has always been “hopelessly interested in everything.” Travel, graphic design, theater, writing, web technology, journalism—June wants it all. In college, she changed her major several times before landing on political science, meanwhile completing full minors in human biology, African American studies, and anthropology. She has a seemingly natural ability to succeed at everything, and while it makes me jealous, it also raises the question: without the constraint of only being good at a few things, how does she get an

In 1988, college student Jonathan Bush climbed on top of a pile of wooden slats in the middle of an unfinished housing development and looked out over a gathering of political volunteers, “Okay,” he announced. “Here’s how it’s gonna go. My name is Jonathan Bush, and we in the next four days are gonna win this election.” “This election” was for his uncle, George H.W. Bush, in his first campaign for president. Jonathan didn’t think much of the speech at the time; he’d given thousands of such stump speeches to volunteers before, and would go on to give many more before the campaign was over. However, months later, after the White House had been won and his uncle sworn in as President, Jonathan had more than one person tell him that his speech was a seminal event for the campaign. “I mean I did everything wrong. But I had been allowed a little bit like Gladwell to have my ten thousand hours of speech giving, and then it mattered all of a sudden and I was on top of this pile of sticks that I had created…I had gon

A silly little thing that takes over the world—to me, this is the simplest definition of a disruptor. My guest today is Becky Douglas, and her “silly little thing,” which began at her kitchen table with a handful of friends, has gone on to change the lives of thousands of individuals in India and beyond.   After a family tragedy disrupted her life, Becky, a mother of nine children, found herself in India on the path to adopting a beloved tenth child. While there she was appalled to see the prevalence of beggars on the street, due in large part to those with leprosy being shunned and having no other avenue for survival. Becky had assumed, as many Americans do, that leprosy was no longer a problem in the world, but after only ten days in India, Becky knew that somebody needed to do something to help.  “When I got home I couldn’t sleep. Those images just haunted me at night. And I remember, I just kept thinking, gosh, why doesn’t somebody do something? Are there really millions of people that live this way? So f

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 dete

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 memb

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 jus

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

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 ab

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

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 ch

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 organi

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 was going nowhere. After barely graduating high school, he admits that he spent 12-15 hours a day playing World of Warcraft while living at his cousin’s house with no job. He wanted to be better, but didn’t know how to take that desire and transform it into action. It wasn’t until Benjamin’s environment changed that he realized he had the capacity to be different. Years later, Benjamin is a foster parent to three children, one of the top contributors on Medium, a PhD candidate in psychology, and author of the powerful and compelling book, Willpower Doesn’t Work. In our conversation, Benjamin shares that even though he is an avid consumer of self improvement books, the popular concept that all change comes from within is at odds with what psychology studies have long shown—environment influences behavior. If an individual truly wants to change, they need to address environmental factors that encourage their existing behavior patterns. Benjamin is generous in this interview, not only in his advic

Today I am excited to introduce you to Richie Norton, a new friend that I am excited to be collaborating with on the video course UNSTUCK45. Google “Stupid Richie” and you may just see his name at the top of the results—he is an innovative social entrepreneur and the author of “The Power of Starting Something Stupid,” which encourages everyone to Live to Start and Start to Live. This podcast is a deliberate disruption to my usual format. An accelerant of managing change is being discovery driven, and in that spirit Richie and I decided to get to know each other on the podcast—asking questions, exchanging ideas, and discovering what we have in common as well as what strengths we each bring to the table. No scripts, no teleprompters, just discovery. I was surprised and delighted by how much fun I had, but even more so by how much great CONTENT came out of the process.  If you’d like a sneak peek into what Richie and I have been creating together, click here. Show notes and links on my site at http://whitneyjohn

Kare Anderson is an Emmy award-winning former journalist for NBC and the Wall Street Journal, as well as the author of “Mutuality Matters,” which was inspired by her TED talk “The Web of Humanity: Become an Opportunity Maker.” She believes passionately that individuals need to connect and make “unexpected allies,” where it’s okay to strongly disagree about some issues but still come to trust one another through shared interests. This mutuality allows us to find and recognize our strengths while interacting with those that have complementary skills. The more we interact and work together, the stronger we all become.   Kare inspired me, and I hope she inspires you, too. Click here to download the complete transcript of our conversation.  

Focus. And be lazy. Seemingly incongruous, these two ideas permeate Michael Bungay Stanier’s disruption of the professional coaching model.  Michael is the founder of Box of Crayons, a training company dedicated to coaching managers and leaders “in ten minutes or less.” He is the author of five books, including “The Coaching Habit,” which has sold almost 300,000 copies and spawned an accompanying podcast. After years of listening to friends talk about their “angsty teenage life,” Michael realized that he had a gift for listening and decided it was something he wanted to pursue. Gaining education, experience, and some basic counseling training, he boldly opened his own coaching practice—and then dismantled it. Read more on the website: https://whitneyjohnson.com/michael-bungay-stanier/

People often ask––is it really possible to disrupt yourself inside of an organization?  If you, like Karen S. Carter, today's guest on the Disrupt Yourself Podcast, are determined, willing to risk, and hire the right boss, the answer is yes. What started as a summer internship to pay for college transformed into a two-decade long career path for Karen, who goes to work every day believing that her focus should be making a life rather than just making a living. The result? Eighteen months ago Karen was asked to become the first Chief Inclusion Officer for Dow Chemical, a powerhouse company with over 50,000 employees worldwide. See the Show Notes for this Episode at  https://whitneyjohnson.com/karen-s-carter/