Disrupt Yourself Podcast with Whitney Johnson

The launch point of a learning curve can feel like a slog. There is so much to learn, and just keeping your head above water requires tremendous effort. When progress seems nonexistent it is human nature to feel impatient and want to change direction, but it is important to remember that you are making progress—and, if you stay focused and committed, someday you will hit the steep part of the curv...

I have shared on here before that I am a recovering perfectionist when it comes to my podcasts, and I have yet another confession: sometimes I make mistakes. Or, rather, errors. I recently received feedback from a newsletter subscriber that helped me see that some of my newsletter content was not what she was expecting, or hoping to receive. I've told you many times that I value feedback, and I'm...

When we're feeling stagnate or trapped in our job, jumping ship altogether often seems like the best option for disruption. However—and this is a big one—what if you didn't have to? What if you could identify what motivates you, and why your current job isn't a good fit? What if you communicated your desires for growth to your boss, and were able to do so in a constructive way? What if you could f...

My guest today is James Clear, and he's the go-to expert for those small changes, or Atomic Habits (as his New York Times best-selling book refers to them).  James advocates that the way to build habits is to try and get just one percent better each day—something that sounds almost too easy to do, and yet builds a firm foundation for continual improvement. James is great at giving practical tips f...

Israel and Palestine. Northern Ireland. Colombia. Libya. These are more than just countries to Donna Hicks. Notorious for their political upheaval and turmoil, within their borders, Donna has sat between sworn enemies and dared to help them find common ground. Wherever there is an "intractable conflict" in the world, Donna and her team work diligently to facilitate dialogue between the disparate p...

On the podcast today I am pleased to introduce Asheesh Advani, the CEO of Junior Achievement. Junior Achievement (or JA) is an organization that provides children and teenagers around the world opportunities to learn about work, entrepreneurship and financial literacy through experiential learning. Asheesh believes passionately in the mission of JA, not only because it is his job, but because at t...

I have a confession:  I am a recovering perfectionist. Up until very recently I have been completely unable to listen to a single "Disrupt Yourself" podcast. I convinced myself that I would be a terrible interviewer, and my imagination was doing just fine on its own without my hearing every flaw, every weakness, and every "should-have-done" possibility in each episode. But something brilliant has...

Keith Krach collects people. It's not that he's a comic book villain, mind you—Keith simply has a knack for finding people, discovering what they're interested in, and building a team from that connection. Over the past ten years at DocuSign he has asked over 300 people to be on the Advisory Board (an unsually large number), but his reasoning is sound: why not?  Creating genius is certainly famili...

Thinking about the competition often keeps business owners up at night. Will someone else find a way to copy your product? Will they lure customers away? Will they make your clientele happier? It's the stuff of nightmares. Mike McDerment, the co-founder and CEO of FreshBooks, decided that he didn't want to waste time being afraid of his competition. Why wait for someone to figure out how to do you...

When President Kennedy announced in 1961 that he wanted to put a man on the moon by the end of the decade, it was a longshot. Some believed it to be impossible. However, on July 20, 1969, Neil Armstrong stepped out onto the surface of the moon and that "longshot" became a reality. In January of 2011 President Obama put out his own "moon shot call"—in his State of the Union address, he announced th...

When his eight-year-old son asked Dave Hollis what his biggest fear was, no doubt he anticipated an answer along the lines of "tarantula" or "scorpions." Instead, he received a brutally honest assessment: "Not living up to my potential." At the time, Dave Hollis was the President of Worldwide Theatrical Distribution at The Walt Disney Company—you know, that little start-up out of California that h...

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 my self. 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...

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...

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 consultan...

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 w...

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,...

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...

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...

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...

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 tu...

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...

My guest is Karla Ballard, the CEO and co-founder of YING, a peer-to-peer skill sharing platform that allows you to trade time rather than money for services (also known as a time bank). Karla's first experience in "banking" was of a much more traditional variety—after graduating from the University of Virginia she was hired by MBNA America and soon after was selected to participate in their manag...

For most graduates, a steady job is a dream come true (bonus points if it comes with good pay). When Shachar Orren completed her two-year mandatory service in the Israeli army, her parents thought she had achieved that dream: she was offered a full-time job working in military intelligence, with steady work, excellent compensation, and a healthy dose of prestige.                                   ...

My guest today is Harold O'Neal, a Tanzanian-born American pianist, film score composer, and record producer who has worked with the likes of U2, Jay-Z and Disney. I met Harold at a Silicon Guild/Black Sheep event a couple of months ago, and I was shocked by the amount of talent that effortlessly emanated from him. Whether performing an improvised jazz piece or Hungarian Rhapsody No. 2, Harold mer...

My guest today is Tiffani Bova, speaker, author, thought-leader, and Growth and Innovation Evangelist at Salesforce. Her book, "Growth IQ: Get Smarter About the Choices That Will Make or Break Your Business" comes out this week, and after reading an advance copy I was thrilled to have the opportunity to sit down and go over some of the highlights with her. Tiffani likes to say that she is a recove...