Disrupt Yourself Podcast with Whitney Johnson

Our guest on the podcast today is BJ Fogg, world-renowned behavioral scientist and the founder of Stanford's behavior design lab. BJ's new book, Tiny Habits: The Small Changes That Change Everything , he examines the fundamentals of what it takes to modify our habits and lays out a framework for individuals to make small adjustments that lead to lasting change. Many authors once dreamed of writing...

My guest today is Claire Diaz-Ortiz, digital strategist and author of the new book Social Media Success for Every Brand. Claire's journey in social media expertise began as an early user of Twitter, and to put that in perspective, her Twitter handle is @claire. That's it. No other words, numbers, or symbols. Just @claire.  After effectively using the platform to raise funds and promote awareness f...

To kick off 2020 I am talking to Simon Sinek, who is best known for popularizing the concept of "why" in his 2009 TED talk. To date, it is the third most-watched talk at TED.com with over 40 million views. Simon is the author of several best-selling books, including "Start With Why," "Leaders Eat Last," and "The Infinite Game," which was released in October of 2019.   Join us as we discuss how to...

The end of the year is a time for reflection and looking back at the progress made. We love taking a look at where we are as a team in our S-Curve of Learning as podcasters. looking back at some of our most popular episodes, which interestingly, include the solo episodes; we also love sharing our favorite conversations and the impact they've had on each of us. Full show notes and links available a...

On today's episode of the Disrupt Yourself podcast, we're talking with Jim Ferrell. Jim is a bestselling author, sought-after speaker, and renowned thought leader on mindset and organizational change. And we're talking all about self-deception. Understanding this concept of self-deception is key to one of the most important accelerants in disrupting ourselves - battling our sense of entitlement. T...

Constraints. For most of us, just hearing this word evokes a negative response. Limitations. Restrictions. A cage that prevents us from spreading our wings. However, if you're familiar with the accelerants of disruption, you'll know that Accelerant #3—Embrace Constraints—will be one of your finest friends if you are really serious about growth. To build momentum toward the life you dream of, you n...

When a photo of a new "boy band" crossed PR Agent Heather Hawkins' desk in 2001, she was surprised at how glamorously they were presented. The era of Backstreet Boys was over; kids were listening to "real music" (like highly produced punk), and what was more, the look of the band didn't match the sound. As Heather and her coworkers listened to the music and got to know the band members, they quick...

Disruption can be a powerful personal tool, but as we discussed during the re-launch of Disrupt Yourself earlier in the month, disruption is not limited to individuals looking to jump into the entrepreneurial life. Significant disruptions can come from within large organizations, leading, as Kaihan Krippendorff pointed out, to important innovation. But how do you disrupt from within a large organi...

Disruption can be a powerful personal tool, but as we discussed during the re-launch of Disrupt Yourself earlier in the month, disruption is not limited to individuals looking to jump into the entrepreneurial life. Significant disruptions can come from within large organizations, leading, as Kaihan Krippendorff pointed out, to important innovation. But how do you disrupt from within a large organi...

As a child, Allison Holzer was fascinated with the invisible. When asked what she wanted to be when she grew up, she would enthusiastically tell the listener that her dream job was to be a nuclear physicist (even though she wasn't completely clear on what that meant). All she knew was that she wanted to study the teeny tiny particles that, when tapped into, could create huge amounts of energy. Yea...

Today is the day! Disrupt Yourself: Master Relentless Change and Speed Up Your Learning Curve has officially been re-launched into the world. As with all my book "children," I am very proud of this creation. You, my audience, have been so receptive, and I am gratified and humbled by your many emails and comments characterizing what this book has meant in your life. Your stories are inspiring, and...

It's okay to end up in a place you didn't expect. Just ask Eric Schurenberg. As with most of our guests, Eric's path was not a linear one. His post-collegiate occupation was acting, but after finding some success he realized that the lifestyle no longer matched his ideals. Pivoting, he went back to school and launched himself into the world of journalism. His career continued to be punctuated by s...

When picturing disruptive innovators, many people picture the lone genius entrepreneur: Steve Jobs or Bill Gates in a garage, working outside of The System to get their product to market. But is this really how great innovations are created and incubated? In Driving Innovation From Within, Author Kaihan Krippendorff delves deep into the 30 most transformative innovations of the last 30 years. What...

For the past few weeks, we have been taking a deeper dive into the seven-point framework of personal disruption in anticipation of my book Disrupt Yourself being re-released by Harvard Business Press on November 12. If you stick around to the end of this episode, we'll talk about a special opportunity for those of you who pre-order the book. So, today's deep dive is on accelerant number five. Step...

In anticipation of the re-release of my book, Disrupt Yourself with Harvard Business Press - available for pre-order now - we are continuing our look at the seven-point framework of personal disruption. Today our interview focuses on accelerant number four - battle entitlement. What do I mean by battle entitlement? There are a number of definitions that I use, but one of them is the belief that th...

In anticipation of the re-release of my book, Disrupt Yourself with Harvard Business Press on November 12, 2019, we are continuing our look at the seven-point framework of personal disruption. Today, we will be examining accelerant number three - embrace constraints. This accelerant can be tricky for people at first. It's tricky because we think we need limitless resources to be successful. We thi...

Playing to your distinctive strengths is vital to personal disruption. We covered this accelerant in episode 120 , and I hope you've taken the time to consider your own "superpower." Today's episode is focused on distinctive strengths, but with a bit of a twist—instead of focusing on your own, we're going to discuss the inherent value of the distinctive strengths of others. My guest today is CV Ha...

With today's episode, we're starting something new. On November 12, 2019, Harvard Business Press will be releasing a new version of my book Disrupt Yourself . As a countdown of sorts, we're going to spend the next seven episodes focusing on the seven-point framework of personal disruption. These seven accelerants help you manage through – even embrace change - whether at work or at home. Today, we...

Nancy Duarte is a communication and persuasion expert whose firm, Duarte, Inc ., is behind some of the most influential visual messages in business and culture. She's worked with 25 of the world's top 35 brands, helping them incorporate story patterns into business communications. Nancy has been featured in Fortune, Fast Company, The Wall Street Journal and The New York Times. She's written five b...

Today's guest is David Bray, and hearing his life story is like hearing the movie "War Games" brought to life. At the age of 15 he began working on computer simulations for the US Military. By the year 2000 he was working as the IT Chief for the Bioterrorism Preparedness and Response program for the US Centers for Disease Control, and in 2001 he lead the response to the horrible anthrax attacks th...

My guest today is Rita McGrath, and she literally wrote the book on inflection points for businesses. These moments when the assumptions about your business change or become irrelevant are not always easy to spot, but, as Rita explains, they can make or break you. Rita gives some great insights into how organizations can plan for the future, as well as how they can avoid the pitfalls of short-sigh...

When we talk about disrupting yourself, I typically advise that you look before you leap. Make a planned exit, cushion the landing, prepare for the change. But that is not the route Ali Brown took. After two years at a small marketing firm, she knew she was undervalued. She had so much more to give! Opportunities to move up were limited, and to top it all off, there wasn't even a women's bathroom!...

My guest today is Hal Gregersen, the executive director of the MIT Leadership Center and a senior lecturer in leadership and innovation at MIT Sloan School of Management. A Thinkers50 globally ranked management thinker, he has authored or coauthored ten books. His most recent book, "Questions Are the Answer," examines the fact that while people are pre-programmed to look for answers, the real cata...

To say that Karen Beattie is comfortable with change is a bit of an understatement. Her childhood was nomadic, with her father's job taking her family to such diverse places as Trinidad, the Caribbean, Libya, Nigeria, United Arab Emirates, and the Philippines. It was not unusual for her father to come home and say, "We're moving to a different country." And Karen loved it. It hasn't been easy; Kar...

Stephen Nelson speaks the language of music. A primarily self-taught pianist, he has an amazing talent for composition, oftentimes performing on-the-spot "mash-ups" of famous songs for live audiences. His ability to effortlessly create melodies has led to multiple collaboration efforts, including producing the cinematic pop group GENTRI. Today's podcast is unique for several reasons: first, Stephe...