Mark Graham on Learning Work Ethic from Two Working Parents

In Chapter 5 of 15 in his 2013 Capture Your Flag interview, media executive Mark Graham answers "Where Did You Learn Your Work Ethic?" Graham learns his work ethic from his mother and father.  To give his family a yard and good schools, Graham's father chooses a long, 55-mile commute over being close to work and still finds ways to make school events for the kids. Graham's mother teaches him the value that comes with working close to home and, over time, staying active as a community volunteer.

Mark Graham is currently a managing editor at MTV Networks. Previously Graham worked in editing and writing roles at New York Magazine and Gawker Media. He graduated from the University of Michigan with a B.A. in English. 

Conrad Doucette on Turning 40 and Becoming a Dad

In Chapter 1 of 17 in his 2013 Capture Your Flag interview, musician and digital strategist Conrad Doucette answers "What is on Your Mind as You Turn 40 This Year?" As a husband and a new father he notes the biggest change is that is his life priority has become his family. He shares the joy that comes with making that transition and how a milestone birthday such as 40 has made it all the more apparent. 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.

Conrad Doucette on How Starting a Family Affects Music Career

In Chapter 7 of 17 in his 2013 Capture Your Flag interview, musician and digital strategist Conrad Doucette answers "When Does Playing Music Fit Into Your Career Now That You're a Father?" Doucette shares how starting a family and becoming a father has shifted short-term career goals from playing music to finding work to support the family. Long-term, Doucette notes how he still aspires to work as a professional musician and keep it a key part of his life.

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 Creating Space in Your Life to Do Your Best Work

In Chapter 16 of 23 in his 2013 Capture Your Flag interview, author and public speaker Simon Sinek answers "What Do You Find Are the Keys to Managing a Busy Schedule and Getting Things Done?" At this point in his career, Sinek has developed his strengths and knows how to give responsibility for things that are not core strengths to others he trusts. He notes this is something you learn to do and why it is important that Gen Y and Millennials first invest time doing many things so they may then find their strengths and create value in their work. 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 Getting Married Changes Your Personal Priorities

In Chapter 1 of 13 in his 2013 Capture Your Flag interview, technology entrepreneur Idan Cohen answers "How Are Your Personal Priorities Changing As You Get Older?" Cohen shares how getting married has intensified things in his life for the better. His priorities change as he thinks less about personal accomplishments and more about what he can do for his family.

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: How are your personal priorities changing as you get older?

Idan Cohen: So I-- I mean, I got married this year.

Erik Michielsen: Congratulations.

Idan Cohen: Thank you. I always knew I would be with someone, that I had my own reasons why people should not be in a marriage, I guess, or, you know, should just be a partnership. But I think it's actually-- for us, it turned out to be a wonderful thing. It kind of intensified everything for the better. And I think that that's-- that's kind of how my priorities changed. It's just now thinking not only on personal accomplishments but more of accomplishing things as a family unit, later on, kind of can't wait to, you know, take part in educating kids and I spend a lot of time thinking about how do we want to shape that part of our life and how do we want to live our lives with kids and how should that look like and where will it be and what are going to be kind of the forming experiences for them? I think that's the main thing that's been changing. I kind of spend a lot of time on that.

Erik Michielsen: Did you make time to sit down and talk about that, or did that just come naturally in conversation?

Idan Cohen: It comes naturally over time. And it's interesting. I think in a way, I mean, we're a little older. Well, for New York, maybe not that old, but definitely when you look around at our sort of families and friends, you know, a lot of them already are in-- where we are. But it's actually a great thing and also, both of us are the youngest in-- I mean, in large families, relatively large. So just gives us a lot of examples to learn from, to analyze. So we do spend a lot of time on that.

Idan Cohen on What Gets Easier and What Gets Harder

In Chapter 2 of 13 in his 2013 Capture Your Flag interview, technology entrepreneur Idan Cohen answers "What is Getting Easier and What is Getting Harder in Your Life?" Cohen shares how it is easier to figure out his priorities, especially now that he is married and settling down. It finds having a life companion gives him a greater purpose to how he wants to live his life. He finds it harder to combine multiple parts of his life to achieve life goals and figure out what he plans to accomplish in the coming decades.

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: What is getting easier and what is getting harder in your life?

Idan Cohen: What's getting a little easier for me is figuring out my priorities. So I think that, like, suddenly being married and thinking of a family and in some way like, settling down a little bit, then it gives me a better understanding of kind of my priorities in terms of-- it's not only personal goals. Like, it's not only self-fulfillment. Suddenly there is a bigger picture in this. I think Christina is a huge difference. That kind of dedicates a new priority and time that I want to spend with her and the time that I want to think of what we'll-- like, our lives are going to look like together, not necessarily each one in his own path. But it's also getting harder to figure out how do you combine all of these things and then still kind of achieving, you know, those life goals that you want and figuring out what you're going to do in the next 20, 30, 40 years. 

Idan Cohen on Building a Company Where Employees Love to Work

In Chapter 5 of 13 in his 2013 Capture Your Flag interview, technology entrepreneur Idan Cohen answers "How Has Your Entrepreneurial Experience Helped You Grow as a Person?" Cohen finds starting and growing his company Boxee has that him about people and what sacrifices he is willing to make for others. In the six years growing the company before it sold to Samsung in 2013, Cohen finds reward knowing he helped create a place to work and a company culture that made a lasting positive impact on his employees.

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: How has your entrepreneurial experience helped you grow as a person?

Idan Cohen: I think you learn more about people. You learn more about your priorities. You learn more about how much you are willing to sacrifice for what you set out to do. You learn about strengths and abilities that you didn't think you had. I think that especially looking back now after the acquisition and looking back at six years of building Boxee, the most significant thing that we did was create an amazing family with an amazing culture. It’s just--People got connected in many different ways, and, you know, the culture is a little quirky and a little weird, obviously, like maybe in any place, but the connection between the people was fantastic.

And I've seen companies that spend more time after work going out drinking together, and they spend more time doing activities or-- so it seems like they are connected, but I think that we managed to foster some kind of weird, very straightforward Israeli culture mixed in with young, local, American, New York experience and people. And it worked really well. I was extremely touched when everything went down, and one of the guys from Israel that decided-- so the team is moving here, and he decided not to move. And he wrote an e-mail back, and he said, you know, "I really hope that one day, I'll be able to say, no, Boxee was not the best place I ever worked in."

And I heard that from several other people in many different ways, and it was very hard for people to do this because they understood that something might change in the process. And they got emotional, and they felt really-- that it's-- you know, this time was significant in their life, and I think for me, suddenly that struck me, how-- like, being able to affect people's life in that way. You know, way more than eventually what we built, that-- you know, products come and go, services come and go. But I hope that the experiences people had together are the one thing that actually stays, not what they built. And I think that that, for me, was extremely touching.

Idan Cohen on How to Improve a Startup Product Development Process

In Chapter 11 of 13 in his 2013 Capture Your Flag interview, technology entrepreneur Idan Cohen answers "What Were the Main Learning Points From Starting and Selling the Company?" Cohen shares ways he would improve the product development process based on what he learned. He finds focus and prioritizing quality are especially important when working in a resource and time constrained startup environment. He learns ways to test himself and others on separating essential and non-essential tasks, including building product features and managing product team and user expectations when features get cut.

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: What were the main learning points from starting and selling a company?

Idan Cohen:  I think that the main things for me were kind of the things that we could do better on. So for instance, just focusing the product and always being able to-- especially for our company, that we always did too much with too few people in a too short of a time. So obviously as a startup, time is always an issue. And also people and resources are always an issue. So you just need to reduce what you are doing, and that comes down to quality, which is important, and that comes down to market focus and being able to deliver the right product.

And I think that for a long time, we were trying to be a lot of things. And as much as I may have understood it then at some point, but I understand that much better now, is just always take things away. Like just every week, sit down and think, you know, what happens if we don't do this? Does it actually make the experience worse? Or maybe it actually makes the experience better? Or it doesn't change anything, and that's fine. It's just one less thing to worry about.

And it's not just developing the thing because then it's maintaining it, and then it's supporting it, and then it's answering questions about it, and then it sometimes, if you later decide to take it out, it's managing the community that's mad about something now being taken out of something that they love.

And I think that's one of the biggest lessons you can learn, because at the end of the day, whatever you're building, that's at the core of it. So that shapes how you build your team and who you are recruiting, and that shapes how you put your priorities, and that shapes how you raise your money, you know, how you raise your funding and what kind of funding you need, and I think that's the most important thing.

Lauren Serota on Getting Organized at Work

In Chapter 14 of 21 in her 2013 Capture Your Flag interview, creative director and educator Lauren Serota answers "What Do You Find are the Keys to Managing a Busy Schedule and Getting Things Done?" Serota shares how she uses an array of tools and approaches to organize her life and stay as productive as possible. She replaces voice memos with Evernote to record her thoughts and makes post-it do to lists and checklists to stay on top of tasks. She organizes email by separating read and unread and works through the unread emails first.

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 Thinking About Your Biological Clock At Age 30

In Chapter 20 of 21 in her 2013 Capture Your Flag interview, creative director and educator Lauren Serota answers "How Are Your Personal Priorities Changing As You Get Older?" Now 30 years old, Serota shares how she thinks differently about her relationship and starting a family than she did when she was in her late twenties. The biological clock considerations for having a family now are more real in her own life. As her friends' kids grow into 6 and 7 year-old children, she starts to think more seriously about having kids. She also comes to appreciate the lifestyle she has built for herself in Austin that has allowed her to balance working at frog with teaching design.

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 Learning Work Ethic From Asian Immigrant Parents

In Chapter 2 of 18 in her 2013 Capture Your Flag interview, author and entrepreneur Nina Godiwalla answers "Where Did You Learn Your Work Ethic?" Godiwalla notes how her parents had a tireless work ethic and always put the needs of children and family before their own. Their behavior sets a role model example that teaches young Godiwalla that with hard work she can achieve anything. This helps prepare her for the hundred-hour work weeks of in her first Wall Street job. 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.

Erik Michielsen: Where did you learn your work ethic?

Nina Godiwalla: Oh, I think from having immigrant parents, there is definitely a work ethic. There is a tireless work ethic from my parents, and it’s also selfless, life was never about my parents, it was all, always, about their children, and I don’t know if that’s being Asian, immigrant, or maybe a little bit of both, but everything—I can’t—you know when I was writing my book about Wall Street and my family, I had to go back and think about it. I could not remember a time where my parents would buy something for themselves. I still—I mean I still can’t think of a time where my mom had said, “Oh, you know what? I need to go buy this for myself,” or my father, ever. If they got a piece of clothing or something, it was for Father’s Day or for Mother’s Day, but, in general, everything was for their children. There was always an opportunity to do something else for their children, and I think that they had that mentality with work. They would work, work, work, either at their traditional jobs or doing something for us, and I think that was a huge part of it.

On top of it, I started off, when I went into Wall Street where the culture was you work day and night, you work day and night, and I think that kind of preparation, being with my family, was the perfect preparation for pulling off a hundred-hour workweeks on Wall Street. And there were a lot of things that I—pros and cons about my—starting your first job on Wall Street in this kind of environment where it’s work, work, work, and one of them, by far, was getting that very strong work ethic so early on because every job to me afterwards has been kind of I can do this. This is no brainer, I can do this pretty easily, so I think those two things were definitely huge.

Nina Godiwalla on Why to Raise Your Children Near Their Grandparents

In Chapter 3 of 18 in her 2013 Capture Your Flag interview, author and entrepreneur Nina Godiwalla answers "How Are Your Family Relationships Changing As You Get Older?" After having children, Godiwalla realizes the importance of raising her children around the support and influence of her parents. She learns from being around her parents, learns more about her family history and culture, and is able to give her children valuable time with their grandparents. 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: How are your family relationships changing as you get older?

Nina Godiwalla: My family relationships are changing significantly since I had children. I grew up in Texas, and then I left for a long time, and I kind of had the mindset where, “Why would I go back? I have all these incredible opportunities professionally, geographically,” and I didn’t necessarily really think about going back.

Now that I have children, I think everything changes because it goes back to that community of being raised by people that I value what they think. I see my parents with my children, with their other grand—my sister’s children, and I think there’s no way I can miss that. There is no way I could take my kids away from that, and I think part of it is just being older, our generation tends to have children older, so there’s not that much time my kids will have with my parents. It’s actually a limited time where my parents can go out and do things and be active. I don’t know what’s gonna happen in 15 years from now, so I—that has changed significantly because I wanna be as close as I can to them, because I want my kids close to them, and, from that, I’m learning so much from being back around my parents, because I’ve stepped away for a long time, so, suddenly, I’m learning so much just from being around them as well.

Erik Michielsen: Such as?

Nina Godiwalla: I don’t know much about of our religion. I’m not very informed. I grew up in this very tight-knit community but I don’t know basic things about our religion. I don’t know family stories because it was kind of we’re in this crazy, crazy, everyone’s busy. They’re taking us to dance class, they’re taking us to this class, but now I’m coming back when they’re not so crazy, crazy, they were tired, things aren’t so crazy, crazy, they were tired, and they have time to think about, “Oh, you know what? When I grew up and I didn’t hear all these stories when I grew up, we were too busy,” they were too busy doing too many things, so I’m starting to learn more about our family.

And my grandfather was brilliant, and, actually, he was very sentimental, and my mother had written all these letters, she was an immigrant to the U.S., and she moved here when she was 17, and she would write my grandparents, her parents, all these letters about what they would do day-to-day, and so, it’s basically when we were born, from so long ago, and my grandfather saved every letter, and he had it all documented with the date and the time, I mean it was just amazing, and that’s history. I mean it’s for years. We’re talking letters for about 30, maybe 40 years of letters, and so there’s a whole story that I’m so excited. My mom and I, we’ve talked about sitting down and she’s just gonna read them to me, and that I told her that Indians are very big on giving jewelry, and I said I don’t want your jewelry, I don’t care about your jewelry, I said I want the letters, give me the letters, ‘cause that’s history, those were the important things.

Fabian Pfortmüller on the Restorative Value of a Long Vacation

In Chapter 2 of 18 in his 2013 Capture Your Flag interview, entrepreneur and community builder Fabian Pfortmüller answers "How Are Your Personal Experiences Shaping Your Professional Aspirations?" Pfortmüller shares how taking a sabbatical or extended vacation for two months gave him the necessary rest to come back to the Holstee office fresh, reinvigorated and ready to make a change. He notes the company policy of taking off as much time from work as necessary to happy and to perform at the highest levels. 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 Rethinking Career Ambition As You Grow Older

In Chapter 5 of 18 in his 2013 Capture Your Flag interview, entrepreneur and community builder Fabian Pfortmüller answers "How Are Your Aspirations Changing As Your Experience Grows?" Pfortmüller finds life in his 30s teaches him life is more a marathon than a sprint. As a self-described ambitious person, he finds ambition can be dangerous if you do not maintain some work-life balance. He creates more with doing less and, surrounded by ambitious peers, finds what is right for others is not always right for him. Rethinking career ambition helps Pfortmüller better balance professional and personal goals, including family and relationships. 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 Using Rituals to Strengthen Company Culture

In Chapter 13 of 18 in his 2013 Capture Your Flag interview, entrepreneur and community builder Fabian Pfortmüller answers "What Steps Are You Taking to Maintain a Strong Company Culture in a Growing Business?" Pfortmüller shares how culture has become a top priority as Holstee has hired more employees. By using rituals, from weekly lunches to birthday days off to shoes off comfort rooms to a new office expressly designed for culture, Pfortmüller and his Holstee team look for small ways to make employee workdays better. He adds how this prioritization of company culture has translated into more focused hiring practices around cultural fit. 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 How Personal Priorities Change With Age

In Chapter 19 of 19 in his 2013 Capture Your Flag interview, New York City reporter Yoav Gonen answers "How Are Your Personal Priorities Changing as You Get Older?" As he gets older, Gonen finds he puts a greater priority spending doing the things he loves with those he loves the most, namely family and friends. With age, Gonen finds he has a better grasp of what he wants out of life and what relationships, including being an uncle, bring him joy. Yoav Gonen is a reporter and City Hall Bureau Chief for the New York Post daily newspaper. Previously he spent nearly six years covering the education beat for the New York Post. Gonen earned a B.A. in English from the University of Michigan and a Masters in Journalism from New York University.

Michael Margolis on Life Lessons From Going to Kathmandu

In Chapter 2 of 17 in his 2013 Capture Your Flag interview, educator and entrepreneur Michael Margolis answers "What Have You Found Most Rewarding About Traveling to New Places?" Margolis shares how traveling to Kathmandu, Nepal informed his life perspective. While in Kathmandu, he learns more about how language can either attract or repel people. He puts this in content of his communications career working in storytelling and how to prioritize the safety of your audience. Michael Margolis is founder and president of Get Storied, an education and publishing platform dedicated to teaching the world how to think in narrative. He earned a B.A. in Cultural Anthropology from Tufts University. 

Michael Margolis on How Personal Priorities Change With Age

In Chapter 5 of 17 in his 2013 Capture Your Flag interview, educator and entrepreneur Michael Margolis answers "How Are Your Personal Priorities Changing as You Get Older?" As he gets older, Margolis learns to be more mindful of his health and manage his time so he can sustain a consistent energy level. Individually and professionally, he feels he has less to prove to others and inside the office he embraces the role of CEO in setting intentional organizational culture and mentoring employees to help them grow professionally. Michael Margolis is founder and president of Get Storied, an education and publishing platform dedicated to teaching the world how to think in narrative. He earned a B.A. in Cultural Anthropology from Tufts University.