What Makes a Product Launch Successful - Jason Anello

In Chapter 12 of 20 in his 2012 interview, creative director Jason Anello answers "What Does It Mean to Successfully Launch a Product?"  Anello references author Seth Godin and his insistence on shipping a product so consumers may touch and experience the product.  Anello defines launch success by getting it out the door so consumers may react and so a feedback loop may get created.  Jason Anello is a founding partner and creative director at marketing services agency Manifold Partners.  He is also the co-founder of the Forking Tasty Brooklyn supper club.  Previously, Anello held creative leadership roles at Yahoo! and Ogilvy & Mather.  He graduated from the University at Albany. 

How to Be Confident When Presenting New Ideas - Jason Anello

In Chapter 14 of 20 in his 2012 interview, creative director Jason Anello answers "How Do You Create Hope and Dispel Fear When Introducing New Concepts and Ideas?"  Anello takes the approach that no matter what gets presented there will be sides taken.  He finds it is less about taking a particular side and more about having the patience and understanding to find consensus and buy-in.  Jason Anello is a founding partner and creative director at marketing services agency Manifold Partners.  He is also the co-founder of the Forking Tasty Brooklyn supper club.  Previously, Anello held creative leadership roles at Yahoo! and Ogilvy & Mather.  He graduated from the University at Albany. 

How to Break Out of a Comfort Zone - Jason Anello

In Chapter 20 of 20 in his 2012 interview, creative director Jason Anello answers "Where is Your Comfort Zone and What Do You Do to Break Free of Living in It?"  He finds security in doing things he has never done before.  He breaks out of his comfort zone by revisiting things he once thought he mastered and pushing himself to improve his skills or views.  Jason Anello is a founding partner and creative director at marketing services agency Manifold Partners.  He is also the co-founder of the Forking Tasty Brooklyn supper club.  Previously, Anello held creative leadership roles at Yahoo! and Ogilvy & Mather.  He graduated from the University at Albany. 

Learning Cooking Skills Staging in Restaurant Kitchens

In Chapter 5 of 16 in her 2012 interview, author and food writer Cathy Erway answers "How Did You Decide to Stage in California Restaurant Kitchens and What Did the Experience Teach You?"  Erway finds it highly educational immersing herself in kitchens, be they restaurants or supper clubs.  She takes a trip to California, where she stages, or interns, at several restaurant kitchens, including Tartine Bakery and Chez Panisse. 

“I like the idea of being silent and being told what to do and just doing something manually for a long time. I think that’s a good intern at a restaurant—just listen, just zone out and like listen to everything that’s going on. ”

— Cathy Erway

Cathy Erway is an author and food writer living in Brooklyn.  Her first book, "The Art of Eating In" developed from her blog "Not Eating Out in New York".  She earned a BA in creative writing from Emerson College.

Transcript: 

Erik Michielsen:  How do you decide to stage in California restaurant kitchens, and what did the experiences teach you?

Cathy Erway:  Oh, man, I love staging, so I just love butting into kitchens, no matter if it's a real restaurant or a supper club production of some sort, or my friend's dinner party. So I was in San Francisco for a month and I really wanted to stage at Tartine Bakery. And they were doing some renovations. They were like, "Yeah, come back tomorrow." "Okay, yeah, I'll come back to tomorrow." I was like, "Shoot."

So I went around town asking to stage other places, and in one case, it was actually like a no-brainer. I was sitting at a bar, having a beer, and then somebody walked in wearing a chef's coat and sat down and like drank a beer in like 5 seconds and then got up and was about to leave to go back to cook. And I was like, "Oh, what restaurant?" He's like, "Oh, this place in SoMa district and," you know, he described it, and I was like, "Can I come cook sometime?" He's like, "Yeah, sure." And it was great. And then I made some friends or I had some friends in the area, who very graciously -- I think that it's a small world or in the food scenes, I don't know, but he knew everybody. So he hooked me up with a stage opportunity at Chez Panisse, which was pretty amazing. Loved it.

Erik Michielsen:  What did you learn?

Cathy Erway:  Well, I feel like I have a good sense of the differences of California cuisine and New York cuisine. They use so many herbs, it's insane. Like going into their walk-in, there's like a whole walk-in just for herbs. And there's like drawers of like every single kind of herb. Chervil? Who uses chervil in New York City? I don't know of too many. But they all have this. And sometimes salads are just like simply a pile of beautifully fluffy fresh herbs. And I mean, they're lucky they can grow it anywhere. It's temperate. They have it all year round, you know, kind of spoiled, right? But, yeah, I mean, that's -- and that's naturally what they cook with, you know, all these--you know, sometimes wild fennel because it grows everywhere, we used that -- and oh, Chez Panisse, there was a great dish where they pounded the wild fennel in this mortar and pestle.

Chez Panisse is really into using archaic instruments too. At one point, we were pounding roasted red peppers with the mortar and pestle and I was like, "Why aren't we using a food processor?" But that's -- you know... It's all about doing things by hand.

Erik Michielsen:  And what questions did you ask?

Cathy Erway:  Aside from "Why don't we use a food processor?"  I don't -- I didn't really want to ask too many questions. I like the idea of being silent and being told what to do and just doing something manually for a long time. I think that's a good intern at a restaurant--just listen, just zone out and like listen to everything that's going on. 

Finding Food Writing Inspiration Reading Thoreau

In Chapter 12 of 16 in her 2012 interview, author and food writer Cathy Erway answers "How Have Thoreau's Words 'None can be an impartial or wise observer of human life from the vantage point of what we should call 'voluntary poverty' ' inspired your work?"  These words, from Thoreau's "Walden", inspire Erway to put herself in a place to see things from another person's shoes, which opens a creative channel that becomes her blog and, progressively, her healthy food advocacy platform. 

Cathy Erway is an author and food writer living in Brooklyn.  Her first book, "The Art of Eating In" developed from her blog "Not Eating Out in New York".  She earned a BA in creative writing from Emerson College.

Transcript: 

Erik Michielsen:  How have Thoreau's words "None can be an impartial or wise observer of human life but from the vantage point of what we should call voluntary poverty," inspired your work?

Cathy Erway:  That's a very interesting quote, isn't it? I thought it was so audacious for him to say that. It's so -- You've never heard something like that. I haven't before, so I thought it was, "Wow, what a bold statement," and that's what really caught me when I saw it, and obviously if we could say it a different way it would make a lot more sense. So you could say, "Altruism is..." you know, "…the best way to get to know about life and people." But he said this kind of shocking, you know, word poverty, voluntary poverty, that's crazy, right? So it did inspire me and it made me feel brave to start a blog called, "not eating out in New York" because that sounds pretty weird, that sounds shocking, a little crazy, and I just knew that it was going to be -- it was going to work because of that, because I liked it. It just caught me.

Erik Michielsen:  And was there sacrifice?

Cathy Erway:  Was there sacrifice? I mean the whole experiment was like a big sacrifice. But I thought, you know, I thought of a lot different names that would sound nicer to you, on the ear, it would just kind of be evocative of, like fruits or something like, you know, something nice, something pleasant, something people like to hear. "Oh, you know, 'juicy tomato,' that sounds great." But that wouldn't really say anything about the blog so I was like just go ahead, just do it, just say, "not eating out in New York." "What?" You know…

Erik Michielsen:  With regard to voluntary poverty, does that come back to being surrounded by so many professionals and a lot of wealth, and choosing to kind of go against that, and then tying that into your choices from a writing and food perspective?

Cathy Erway:  Yeah, I think that that pretty much sums it up. I mean, voluntary poverty means you've taken it upon yourself to see things from another person's shoes. So, you know, going back to -- that's another way of putting that statement, right? So, yeah, I mean we live in the most cosmopolitan, arguably, city in the world. Of course there's a huge disparity of, you know, different incomes in the city, so you can see that all around you, but for the most part, I mean, yes, I mean we have everything at our fingertips, the greatest arts, the greatest food, which is what I was going to focus on, and, you know, Thoreau, his whole thing was he stepped away from society. That quote is from Walden, so he lived in the middle of the wilderness in Walden Pond actually, and survived, and learned how to survive basically on his own devices, so that's what I was comparing myself to doing by feeding myself all the time when there's so much non-need to do that.

Facing the Challenge of Starting a Company - Phil McKenzie

In Chapter 1 of 21 in his 2011 interview, Phil McKenzie answers "What Has Been the Most Uncomfortable Part of Starting a Company?"  He notes the greatest initial challenge is the uncertainty that comes with creating something that may or may not take off.  After moving the vision forward, McKenzie notes the need to relinquish control over time and hand off responsibility.  McKenzie is the founder of Influencer Conference, an international event series bringing together tastemakers across the arts, entrepreneurship, philanthropy and technology.  He is also managing partner of influencer marketing agency FREE DMC.  Previously he worked in Domestic Equity Trading at Goldman, Sachs, & Co.  He earned his BA from Howard University and MBA from Duke University. 

How to Network in a Room Full of Strangers - Phil McKenzie

In Chapter 10 of 21 in his 2011 interview, Phil McKenzie answers "How Have You Learned to Be More Comfortable in Uncomfortable Situations?"   McKenzie frames his response in the context of an entrepreneur, noting the importance of being assertive and fighting through initial uncomfortable feelings.  He shares how he as learned to ask for things and make shure he is always putting himself out there and keeping an open mind.  McKenzie is the founder of Influencer Conference, an international event series bringing together tastemakers across the arts, entrepreneurship, philanthropy and technology.  He is also managing partner of influencer marketing agency FREE DMC.  Previously he worked in Domestic Equity Trading at Goldman, Sachs, & Co.  He earned his BA from Howard University and MBA from Duke University. 

What It Means to Be a Leader - Phil McKenzie

In Chapter 17 of 21 in his 2011 interview, Phil McKenzie answers "What Does It Mean to Be a Leader in What You Do?"  McKenzie finds people follow him based on passion, honesty, and openness.  Additionally, he notes passion breeds conviction to a cause and allows you to find the right people to follow you.  McKenzie is the founder of Influencer Conference, an international event series bringing together tastemakers across the arts, entrepreneurship, philanthropy and technology.  He is also managing partner of influencer marketing agency FREE DMC.  Previously he worked in Domestic Equity Trading at Goldman, Sachs, & Co.  He earned his BA from Howard University and MBA from Duke University. 

How to Think Like an Entrepreneur - Julie Hession

In Chapter 12 of 21 in her 2011 Capture Your Flag interview, food entrepreneur Julie Hession answers "How Has the Trial and Error Process Shaped Entrepreneur Career Choices?"  Hession shares how she has embraced the uncertainty and risk that come with learning to operate as an entrepreneur.  She shares it is like "nothing ventured, nothing gained" and details specific experiences that have contributed to her growth, including being a winning contestant on the Food Network and winning Sterling Wines Ultimate Host Competition.  Julie Hession is the founder of Julie Anne's All Natural Granola Company.  Passionate about food since childhood, Hession has developed her career by food blogging, cooking contests, and starting fine food companies.  Hession earned an MBA in Marketing from Duke University and a BA from UNLV.

How Failure Builds Entrepreneur Backbone - Julie Hession

In Chapter 14 of 21 in her 2011 Capture Your Flag interview, food entrepreneur Julie Hession "What Role Has Failure Played in Shaping Your Career Trajectory?"  Hession notes that while starting a specialty food store modeled after Dean and Deluca ended in failure, it provided a positive learning experience and gave her backbone to start another venture.  The experience makes her more street smart, aggressive and confident.  Julie Hession is the founder of Julie Anne's All Natural Granola Company.  Passionate about food since childhood, Hession has developed her career by food blogging, cooking contests, and starting fine food companies.  Hession earned an MBA in Marketing from Duke University and a BA from UNLV. 

Networking Advice for Women Professionals - Kyung Yoon

In Chapter 8 of 19 in her 2011 Capture Your Flag interview, non-profit executive Kyung Yoon answers "How Do You Use Your Network to Get Help Making Career and Life Decisions?"  Yoon notes how she focuses more and more on connecting young female professionals.  Over her career, she learns to make networking a priority.  She shares her learning experience and offers advice to young women wanting to improve networking skills.  Kyung Yoon is the executive director of the Korean American Community Foundation (KACF) in New York City.  An award-winning journalist and documentary film producer, Yoon earned an MA in International Relations from Johns Hopkins University and a BA in History and Political Science at Wellesley College.

How Diversity Shapes Leadership Development - Kyung Yoon

In Chapter 11 of 19 in her 2011 Capture Your Flag interview, non-profit executive Kyung Yoon answers "What Role Has Diversity Played in Shaping Your Leadership Style?"  Yoon notes how growing up as an Asian American, she was very mindful that she may be perceived differently than how she saw herself.  She made it a priority not to be seen as submissive, quiet, and timid, traits typical of Asian women stereotypes. She pushes herself to be more outgoing and outspoken in her work as a Fox News television reporter, incrementally honing leadership skills useful in diverse communities.  Kyung Yoon is the executive director of the Korean American Community Foundation (KACF) in New York City.  An award-winning journalist and documentary film producer, Yoon earned an MA in International Relations from Johns Hopkins University and a BA in History and Political Science at Wellesley College.

How Inspirational Leaders Teach Big Thinking - Andrew Hutson

In Chapter 9 of 17 in his 2011 Capture Your Flag interview, Andrew Hutson answers "What Has Reading Gandhi Taught You About How You Set Goals?"  Ghandi teaches Hutson why and how to think big, especially when and where it is needed.  This big thinking helps Hutson set seemingly impossible to accomplish goals in his own work in the environment.  Hutson is a senior project manager at the Environmental Defense Fund (EDF), where he advises corporate partners such as Wal-Mart on sustainable supply chain initiatives.  Hutson holds a PhD from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and an MEM from the Duke University Nicholas School of the Environment.  He earned his BA from Michigan State University. 

Why China Attracts Entrepreneurs - Anatole Faykin

In Chapter 12 of 18 in his 2011 Capture Your Flag interview, Internet entrepreneur Anatole Faykin answers "What Do You Enjoy Most About Working in Internationally Developing Economies Such as China?"  Faykin notes how the endless possibility and growth-minded culture attracts peers willing to start business ventures.  When considering several international locales to start his business, this culture informs Faykin's decision to choose Shanghai.  Faykin is the founder of Tuanpin, a Shanghai-based daily deals site he grew to 25 employees and sold in the fall of 2011.  Previously, he worked for British Telecom in London, Intel in Shanghai, American Express in New York, and Oracle in San Francisco as well as several startup ventures.  He holds an MBA from the NYU Stern School of Business and a BS in computer science and biology from the California Institute of Technology.

How New Entrepreneur Learns Rules of the Game - Anatole Faykin

In Chapter 16 of 18 in his 2011 Capture Your Flag interview, Internet entrepreneur Anatole Faykin answers "Why is Learning by Doing So Important When Starting a Company?"  Faykin notes it is about the uncertainty and the necessary hands on experiences that teach an entrepreneur the rules of the game.  Its an adventure, learning new things daily and iterating based on market and customer feedback and signaling nearly as often.  Faykin is the founder of Tuanpin, a Shanghai-based daily deals site he grew to 25 employees and sold in the fall of 2011.  Previously, he worked for British Telecom in London, Intel in Shanghai, American Express in New York, and Oracle in San Francisco as well as several startup ventures.  He holds an MBA from the NYU Stern School of Business and a BS in computer science and biology from the California Institute of Technology.

How Writer Nina Godiwalla Define and Measures Success

In Chapter 4 of 22 in her 2011 Capture Your Flag interview, author Nina Godiwalla answers "How Do You Define and Measure Success in Your Work as a Writer?"  Godiwalla realizes the importance of sharing personal experiences to create conversations, especially knowing so many that have struggled with workplace discrimination who elect not to share their stories.  She builds upon this sharing and then be able to change others lives by speaking to them.  Godiwalla is the author of "Suits: A Woman on Wall Street". She is also a public speaker on workplace diversity and founder and CEO of Mindworks, where she teaches mind-based stress reduction techniques to help organizations improve employee wellbeing.  Godiwalla holds an MBA from the Wharton School of Business, an MA in Creative Writing from Dartmouth University and her BBA from the University of Texas at Austin. 

Transcript:

Erik Michielsen:  How do you define and measure success in what you do as a writer?

Nina Godiwalla:  When I wrote the book I didn’t have a goal.  I never had that this is what I’m trying to tell people and this is the message I want, it was I really just wrote an experience and I was so focused on -- I saw so many people that had a difficult time and they weren’t willing to talk about the experience and I wanted to get that message out there.  I saw people that really struggled with it, very successful people later in life but they didn’t -- they were too scared to say, “Hey, this experience happened to me and it was difficult at the time,” because it somehow made them feel weak.  So for me I just wanted to get – I wanted to get – I wanted to get it out there but I didn’t know the bigger thing that I was working towards and so in the end, I realized like I said you know it was as much – after – after going and speaking at all these events and my even realizing I have a bigger message about diversity.  So, I feel like I’m just learning – I'm learning about what I’m interested through this process of writing the book and going out there and success for me is impacting other people.  It’s not just about putting something out there, it’s how do – how do I get to change, I feel like I have this, I’ve been handed this power of, how can I go and affect other people’s lives and make their lives better? And success to me is being able to articulate things to people and change their lives in a positive way.

Nina Godiwalla on What Makes a Professional Women's Network Valuable

In Chapter 13 of 22 in her 2011 Capture Your Flag interview, author Nina Godiwalla answers "What Makes a Professional Women's Network Valuable?"  She shares how a network of female professionals supports her career development as well as allows her to support helping other women succeed.  Godiwalla also shares how she has built network relationships with more senior women professionals.  Godiwalla is the author of "Suits: A Woman on Wall Street". She is also a public speaker on workplace diversity and founder and CEO of Mindworks, where she teaches mind-based stress reduction techniques to help organizations improve employee wellbeing.  Godiwalla holds an MBA from the Wharton School of Business, an MA in Creative Writing from Dartmouth University and her BBA from the University of Texas at Austin. 

Transcript:

Erik Michielsen:  What makes a professional women’s network valuable?

Nina Godiwalla:  I’ve really used my network, so part of my, I think, my success with my book has been leveraging the networks that I’m part of and 85Broads is one of those and I think they’re an incredible women’s network.  I’ve had so many people that helped me.  Part of it is we share a passion for helping other women succeed because we have seen that there’s challenges out there.  Everyone’s coming from a different field and you can see how sometimes it’s not as easy to make connections and some of the organizations were most of them are in male-dominated environment so you see that connection.  What I think becomes so successful is that passion that people have for each other and what’s interesting about that particular environment is people are from across the board so when I’m interested, here I am.  I was a corporate executive.  I’ve been in the advertising world, the finance world, marketing.  I’ve just switched through so many worlds and now I’m into publishing world and the writing world and the reality is, is I need – as I switch through different things, I don’t necessarily have a network all piled up.  What I’ve found is through the women’s network, I do have a network all piled up.  I have – I can reach out to all these people in different industries and say, “Hey I just got a book deal and I have no idea what to do.  Do I need an agent?  Do I not?”  And not everyone takes the risk of going out there and just reaching out to people they don’t know but I think that’s one of the best things that I do is I’m very comfortable with it and the reality is I help so many people that you have to – it’s an exchange.  I’m always looking out for who can I help and I always have people reaching out to me and I make it within any kind of busy day that I have to help, you know a certain number of people that week.  That’s just - you make the time for it because so many people have helped me along the way and the fact that, you know, when you have that accessible – it’s just a diverse group of people that we have and it’s so accessible that I think it just – it makes it completely you know people are able to do -- kind of get whatever they need out of that environment which I think is amazing.

Erik Michielsen:  Do you tend to find yourself working more with people at your level or work, reaching up and dealing with more senior individuals or is it, does it vary?

Nina Godiwalla:  I will grab any which way and I don’t have a problem reaching out to the senior people. I think you always have to be careful and it’s one of the advice I give to younger women when I’m talking is, one of the things I wasn’t scared of and I haven’t been is, I typically do reach out to very senior people but there usually needs to be a reason so I mean I’m not talking you don’t walk into a 50,000 person corporation and contact the CEO right away but I’ve seen a lot in my environment.  I worked at Johnson & Johnson and I was interning there once and there was a president of that whole organization that I was in-charge that -- she ran that whole organization and I mean my boss’s boss’s bosses probably didn’t talk to her very often but I just decided we had a connection that we talked about meditation.  I heard her mention it to someone else.  I didn’t speak directly to her and honestly, I just wanted to meet her.  I was interning there.  She seemed really interesting so I reached out to her and nobody else would reach out to her.  My boss wouldn’t reach out to her and I just let her know I wanted to get to know her a little better.  I was interested in what she’d said about meditation and there it was.  I mean I ended up meeting her and she is one of my biggest advocates for the rest of the time and the reality is, is I think a lot of people are too scared.  We see the hierarchy and – but when I think there’s a natural -- I wouldn’t be persistent about reaching out to someone incredibly senior but sometimes you take that risk and it really pays off and I’m one of those people that are very comfortable taking that risk.

How to Make Personal Connections in a Crowded Room - Matt Ruby

In Chapter 14 of 18 in his 2011 Capture Your Flag interview with host Erik Michielsen, standup comedian Matt Ruby answers "What Have You Learned About Making Better Individual Connections in Crowded Rooms?"  Ruby learns how and when to share something personal to create a more universal element to reach his audience.  Even if sharing something is not a direct match with the audience, by letting his guard down, he finds common ground with individuals in the audience. 

Matt Ruby is a standup comedian based in New York City.  He co-produces the weekly show "Hot Soup", co-hosts the monthly show "We're All Friends Here", and manages a comedy blog "Sandpaper Suit".  Ruby graduated from Northwestern University.