Conrad Doucette on Giving Better Advice When Asked for Help

In Chapter 17 of 17 in his 2013 Capture Your Flag interview, musician and digital strategist Conrad Doucette answers "How Have You Learned to Give Better Advice When People Ask You For Help?" Doucette puts himself in the shoes of the person asking for advice. In his younger years he would have dispensed advice based on his point of view rather than the perspective of the person asking for advice.

Conrad Doucette is a Brooklyn musician and the drummer for the band Takka Takka. He has performed with Bob Weir of the Grateful Dead, The National, Alina Simone, and many other leading acts. When not performing music, Doucette is the communications and brand director at music licensing and publishing startup Jingle Punks. Doucette earned a BA in History from the University of Michigan. 

Simon Sinek on How to Give Better Advice When Asked for Help

In Chapter 11 of 23 in his 2013 Capture Your Flag interview, author and public speaker Simon Sinek answers "How Have You Learned to Give Better Advice When People Ask You for Help?" Sinek shares how experience has taught him to shift his approach from giving advice based on what questions he hears to instead asking more questions to get at what is not being asked. This allows Sinek to get at the root of the question being asked and be more helpful. Simon Sinek teaches leaders and organizations how to inspire people. Sinek is the author of two books, "Leaders Eat Last: Why Some Teams Come Together and Others Don't" and "Start With Why: How Great Leaders Inspire Everyone to Take Action". He is a public speaker, an adjunct professor at Columbia University and a Brandeis University graduate.

Simon Sinek on How Accountability Partners Keep You Committed

In Chapter 17 of 23 in his 2013 Capture Your Flag interview, author and public speaker Simon Sinek answers "What Role Have Accountability Partners Played in Helping You to Meet Deadlines and Goals?" Sinek shares that as social animals we feel greater responsibility toward each other than to ourselves. As a result, Sinek notes when someone besides us is invested in the outcome, we do our best not to disappoint. He shares how this concept of accountability partners functions in the context of having a workout buddy as well as in the context of the writer-publisher relationship. Simon Sinek teaches leaders and organizations how to inspire people. Sinek is the author of two books, "Leaders Eat Last: Why Some Teams Come Together and Others Don't" and "Start With Why: How Great Leaders Inspire Everyone to Take Action". He is a public speaker, an adjunct professor at Columbia University and a Brandeis University graduate.

Simon Sinek on Working With a Book Editor to Refine Your Writing

In Chapter 20 of 23 in his 2013 Capture Your Flag interview, author and public speaker Simon Sinek answers "How are You Learning to Work More Closely With Editors to Refine Your Writing?" Sinek shares how he and his editor built a productive and trusting relationship over the course of writing his second book "Leaders Eat Last." Through trial and error Sinek and his editor learn to collaborate more effectively. He is able to establish his need for help around organizing the intent of the content he is writing rather than the content itself. Simon Sinek teaches leaders and organizations how to inspire people. Sinek is the author of two books, "Leaders Eat Last: Why Some Teams Come Together and Others Don't" and "Start With Why: How Great Leaders Inspire Everyone to Take Action". He is a public speaker, an adjunct professor at Columbia University and a Brandeis University graduate.

Idan Cohen on How a Founder Job Role Changes as a Startup Grows

In Chapter 6 of 13 in his 2013 Capture Your Flag interview, technology entrepreneur Idan Cohen answers "In What Ways Did Your Responsibilities Change in the Six Years of Growing Your Startup?" When he and his two co-founders started Boxee, they needed to team up and do everything. As the startup grows, the founders keep the vision and hire more professional and talented employees to execute on that vision.

Idan Cohen is a technology entrepreneur and product management leader at Samsung Electronics. He co-founded Boxee, which was acquired by Samsung in early 2013. 

Transcript: 

Erik Michielsen: In what ways did your responsibilities change in the six years growing your startup?

Idan Cohen: Well, starting a company and being three guys in a room, and the main difference, I think is just that you are doing everything. And as-- as things grow, and obviously, along six years, it changes a lot.

I think the main thing that changes is just that you can focus more on high-level strategy aspects of what you are doing and can have actually better professionals than you doing the things that you did before. And eventually I think that as an entrepreneur, that's what you bring to the table as the company grows, is you are the one who has the vision, and you set that vision, and you need to work with people in order to execute on it, but you can bring excellent people to help you execute it and people who are, frankly, more professional than you are. And that's great, like, this-- the feeling when you recruit someone who is better than you are, it's sometimes hard, like, at the beginning, before bringing him on, but then as he comes in and he does a better job, that's great. That's the best thing you can do.

And I think that's the second part of it is actually focusing on recruiting and bringing people in, just being able to identify those key members that you want in your team and bringing them over.

Idan Cohen on Searching for a Role Model Mentor

In Chapter 13 of 13 in his 2013 Capture Your Flag interview, technology entrepreneur Idan Cohen answers "At This Moment in Your Life, Where Are You Seeking Advice and Coaching?" Cohen shares how he feels the need to find a coach or mentor to provide support that complements what he receives from his wife, friends and peers. He recognizes he has a need and desire to do this and then shares his approach to thinking about what type of role model mentor would be best for him.

Idan Cohen is a technology entrepreneur and product management leader at Samsung Electronics. He co-founded Boxee, which was acquired by Samsung in early 2013. 

Transcript: 

Erik Michielsen: At this moment in your life, where are you seeking advice and coaching?

Idan Cohen: That's a good question because I could use someone a little older, a little wiser. I mean, obviously I have a support group and just friends and peers and Christina, but I do feel like I would benefit from having someone that I see as some kind of a role model that I can talk to and formulate a little bit more what I want my path to be. I've been thinking about it. I'm not sure how to do it. I'm not sure who is the right person. I've never approached anyone. I assume that anyone I would approach would be happy to help. I think that it's more that I want to figure out, like, what domain that person is coming from. And also is somewhat aligned with where-- what domain I want to see myself in the next 5 or 10 years. If and when I embark on something, on a new adventure that-- where is that going to be? Same path that I've been taking now-- I've taken now, or something different? So I think that that's one of the main kind of thoughts when I think about it-- I mean, threads

Lauren Serota on Building Creative Direction Communication Skills

In Chapter 9 of 21 in her 2013 Capture Your Flag interview, creative director and educator Lauren Serota answers "How Are You Learning to Communicate More Effectively?" Serota finds more exposure to the world and to people helps her understand how to communicate differently to different people. In her job role, she is responsible for giving creative direction to designers. She notes how designer personalities differ and how she finds it helpful tailoring feedback - conceptual to tactical - when working with them. She notes how she carries this awareness into her work presenting in meetings and facilitating in classrooms.

Lauren Serota works as an associate creative director at frog design. She is also a teacher at the Austin Center for Design (AC4D). Serota earned a bachelor's degree in industrial design from the Savannah College of Art and Design (SCAD). 

Lauren Serota on Learning to Be a More Productive Communicator

In Chapter 11 of 21 in her 2013 Capture Your Flag interview, creative director and educator Lauren Serota answers "At This Point in Your Life, Where Are You Seeking Advice and Coaching?" As she goes through a job transition from individual contributor to manager, Serota seeks feedback to be a better communicator and collaborator working with other leaders on the job. She finds this skill transferable to her personal relationships in addition to those at work.

Lauren Serota works as an associate creative director at frog design. She is also a teacher at the Austin Center for Design (AC4D). Serota earned a bachelor's degree in industrial design from the Savannah College of Art and Design (SCAD). 

Lauren Serota on Teaching Students Design Thinking

In Chapter 16 of 21 in her 2013 Capture Your Flag interview, creative director and educator Lauren Serota answers "What Does It Mean to Teach Someone to Think Like a Designer?" Serota notes there is a nature versus nurture element of teaching students design thinking techniques. As a teacher, Serota tries to find student learning styles and adapt her teaching to those who grasp creative and design thinking and those who struggle to grasp them.

Lauren Serota works as an associate creative director at frog design. She is also a teacher at the Austin Center for Design (AC4D). Serota earned a bachelor's degree in industrial design from the Savannah College of Art and Design (SCAD).

Nina Godiwalla on Training Leaders to Step Up and Speak Up

In Chapter 7 of 18 in her 2013 Capture Your Flag interview, author and entrepreneur Nina Godiwalla answers "When Someone Asks You, 'What is Your Mission', How Do You Respond?" In her diversity and leader training work, Godiwalla strives to teach those in power to "Step Up and Speak Up" to support those with less or no power. She examples of this as it relates to diversity issues in the office as well as in more general meeting environments where credit for ideas and work is often taken by senior staff who just restate another's idea or work. Nina Godiwalla is an expert on diversity, leadership and women in the business world. She is CEO of Mindworks, which provides leadership, stress management, and diversity training to companies all over the world. She is also a bestselling author and public speaker. Godiwalla earned an MBA from Wharton, a MA from Dartmouth and a BBA from the University of Texas.

Transcript:

Erik Michielsen: When someone asks you, “What is your mission?”, how do you respond?

Nina Godiwalla: I think one of the major messages I have is really focused on step up, speak up, and it's about being able to, when you’re in a place of power, really being able to take your power and help other people that might not be in power, and those apply to both my focuses, leadership and diversity, and that applies from a diversity standpoint, so such a small example is if you’re in a room and you hear an inappropriate joke about a certain minority group, if you’re not part of that minority group, it’s the most important thing, and it makes you feel a little bit uncomfortable, a lot of times we’d just gonna look the other way. The most important thing for you to do at that moment is be able to say something and be able to stand up for that group because that group has been criticized and it’s an opportunity for you as not being a part of that.

And I think from a leadership standpoint which I’m focused on is being in a place of power, whether you—wherever you are. You don’t even have to be high in the hierarchy or whatever it is, but a great example was we were just talking in a meeting, we were at the State Department, we were having this talk about how people repeat, someone gives their credit to the wrong person, so a very senior person says, basically, he repeated what someone else said, and everyone kind of starts giving credit to the senior person who said it, 15 minutes before, two other people had already mentioned it, and we’re giving examples of what’s a way to actually remind people that that’s not the right person, that’s not the person that really said it, and it’s something along the lines of, “Oh, well, Joe, that’s a great point—that’s a great way that you’ve summarized Sandy’s comments earlier, that’s—that was really impressive the way you did it concisely,” or something like that, and, basically, giving back credit to the person that did it. And if you are the most senior person in that room, it’s even more important for you to do that because you’re acknowledging to the rest of the staff, I’m aware of where that came from, and even if you’re not the most senior person, you’re in that room, and so you have an opportunity to bring attention to that, so it’s those sort of things, always making an impact, whether you formally have a hierarchical place or not.

Nina Godiwalla on Finding New Ways to Learn From Your Clients

In Chapter 12 of 18 in her 2013 Capture Your Flag interview, author and entrepreneur Nina Godiwalla answers "At This Moment in Your Life, Where Are You Seeking Advice and Coaching?" Godiwalla shares how learning from clients has been instrumental in her professional development. She finds great value in the knowledge sharing reciprocity that comes in the client relationship and shares an example on biases in the workplace from her work with the State Department. Nina Godiwalla is an expert on diversity, leadership and women in the business world. She is CEO of Mindworks, which provides leadership, stress management, and diversity training to companies all over the world. She is also a bestselling author and public speaker. Godiwalla earned an MBA from Wharton, a MA from Dartmouth and a BBA from the University of Texas.

Nina Godiwalla on When to Find a Sponsor Instead of a Mentor

In Chapter 13 of 18 in her 2013 Capture Your Flag interview, author and entrepreneur Nina Godiwalla answers "How Have Mentors Helped Motivate You to Do Your Best Work?" Godiwalla shares how she is shifting her focus from finding mentors to finding sponsors. She notes sponsors are different than mentors in that sponsors take specific action to advocate for you while mentors are more of an advice resource. Godiwalla shares how sponsorship can be used when applying to join a board of directors. Nina Godiwalla is an expert on diversity, leadership and women in the business world. She is CEO of Mindworks, which provides leadership, stress management, and diversity training to companies all over the world. She is also a bestselling author and public speaker. Godiwalla earned an MBA from Wharton, a MA from Dartmouth and a BBA from the University of Texas.

Nina Godiwalla on Smarter Ways to Give Advice When Asked for Help

In Chapter 16 of 18 in her 2013 Capture Your Flag interview, author and entrepreneur Nina Godiwalla answers "How Have You Learned to Give Better Advice When People Ask You for Help?" Godiwalla shares how she is getting better about handling advice requests. She learns she can be more effective making introductions by playing a translator role to facilitate connections. This complements sitting down for an advice conversation and getting a longer view perspective of questions being asked. Nina Godiwalla is an expert on diversity, leadership and women in the business world. She is CEO of Mindworks, which provides leadership, stress management, and diversity training to companies all over the world. She is also a bestselling author and public speaker. Godiwalla earned an MBA from Wharton, a MA from Dartmouth and a BBA from the University of Texas.

Nina Godiwalla on How Storytelling Can Elevate Employee Training

In Chapter 17 of 18 in her 2013 Capture Your Flag interview, author and entrepreneur Nina Godiwalla answers "How Are You Becoming a Better Teacher?" As an instructor teaching executive training and employee training, Godiwalla learns to balance informational sharing with storytelling. Storytelling helps Godiwalla build emotional connections in her corporate training and, from teaching in the classroom to speaking at events, helps make her entertain and create impact. Nina Godiwalla is an expert on diversity, leadership and women in the business world. She is CEO of Mindworks, which provides leadership, stress management, and diversity training to companies all over the world. She is also a bestselling author and public speaker. Godiwalla earned an MBA from Wharton, a MA from Dartmouth and a BBA from the University of Texas.

Fabian Pfortmüller on Managing Millennial Employee Expectations

In Chapter 6 of 18 in his 2013 Capture Your Flag interview, entrepreneur and community builder Fabian Pfortmüller answers "How Are You Learning to Better Cultivate and Develop Millennial-Generation Talent?" As a millennial managing millennials, Pfortmüller learns ways to understand his employee feelings via feedback loops. This helps him stay connected to his team, maintain a balance of job independence and structure, and better manage millennial employee expectations and set clear job goals. Fabian Pfortmüller is co-founder of Holstee, a socially conscious online marketplace, and Sandbox Network, a global community for young entrepreneurial people. Pfortmüller graduated from Columbia University.

Fabian Pfortmüller on Advice for Hiring and Motivating Millennials

In Chapter 7 of 18 in his 2013 Capture Your Flag interview, entrepreneur and community builder Fabian Pfortmüller answers "What Do You Believe Are the Keys to Understanding and Engaging the Millennial Generation?" As a millennial, Pfortmüller finds company culture and values fundamental to attracting and retaining millennial talent. A mission of social impact matters. Additionally a job structure that details specific, accountable goals with an open plan to get there works well. Fabian Pfortmüller is co-founder of Holstee, a socially conscious online marketplace, and Sandbox Network, a global community for young entrepreneurial people. Pfortmüller graduated from Columbia University.

Yoav Gonen on Two Ways to Test and Validate Your Career Choices

In Chapter 5 of 19 in his 2013 Capture Your Flag interview, New York City reporter Yoav Gonen answers "At This Moment in Your Life, Where Are You Seeking Advice and Coaching?" Gonen gains career planning insights from co-workers leaving their newspaper reporting jobs to change careers. He also reaches out to writers he admires for career advice. In both instances, he finds validation in his work and learns to better appreciate what he does for a living. Shortly after this interview, Gonen was promoted from education reporter to New York City Hall Bureau Chief for the New York Post daily newspaper. Gonen earned a B.A. in English from the University of Michigan and a Masters in Journalism from New York University.

Richard Moross on How to Give Better Advice When Asked for Help

In Chapter 13 of 14 in his 2013 Capture Your Flag interview, Moo.com CEO Richard Moross answers "How Have You Learned to Give Better Advice When People Ask You For Help?" As a member of Young Presidents Organization, or YPO, Moross learns advice giving is less about answering and opining and more about providing support and even granting permission for the requesting party to make a more well-informed decision. Richard Moross is founder and CEO of award-winning online print business Moo.com. He is a member of Young Presidents Organization (YPO) and a board member at Ladbrokes PLC. Before Moo.com, Moross was a strategist at design firm Imagination. He graduated from the University of Sussex.