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 How to Fight Loneliness When Working Alone

In Chapter 21 of 23 in his 2013 Capture Your Flag interview, author and public speaker Simon Sinek answers "How Do You Fight Loneliness When You Spend Large Spans of Time Working Alone?" Sinek recognizes working alone can be difficult and remedies this first by asking someone to be with him while he works. He finds this "babysitter" helps him focus and get things done. When he is alone, he tries to fight stress by staying connected with friends and making it a point to openly share his feelings. 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.

Nina Godiwalla on Using Practical Experimentation to Live a Fuller Life

In Chapter 18 of 18 in her 2013 Capture Your Flag interview, author and entrepreneur Nina Godiwalla answers "So One of the Messages That You Share With Audiences is Built on This Idea of Practical Experimentation. What is That?" Godiwalla shares how practical experimentation is about being reasonable and earning a living while pushing the boundaries by taking risks pursuing your passions. She uses this approach to find that delicate balance of feeling fulfilled developing passions even when that does not relate to your everyday 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.

Fabian Pfortmüller on Making a Plan to Manage Company Growth

In Chapter 18 of 18 in his 2013 Capture Your Flag interview, entrepreneur and community builder Fabian Pfortmüller answers "What Procedures and Processes are You Putting in Place to Manage Company Growth?" At Holstee, Pfortmüller and his leadership team adopt a transparent management style of sharing P&L information with the employee team. Additionally, Holstee holds monthly meetings to engage employees in quarterly strategy planning for the upcoming quarter. Structure is also found in a more rigorous budgeting process that helps the company understand its successes and shortcomings. 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.

Ken Biberaj on Learning the Campaign Finance Part of Politics

In Chapter 8 of 23 in his 2013 Capture Your Flag interview, New York City Council Candidate Ken Biberaj answers "What Did Raising Money for the Primary Election Teach You About Campaign Finance?" Biberaj learns how New York City creates a grassroots campaign finance system via its matching program. This creates spending limits and also helps make every contribution count. He compares this to what he saw working the Kerry-Edwards presidential campaign and how 527 independent expenditures, for example, change the dynamics of an election and its influencers.

Ken Biberaj is currently a 2013 Democratic Candidate for City Council in New York City. He is also a public relations executive for the Russian Tea Room restaurant at One Fifty Fifty Seven Corporation, a family business focused on real estate development, investment sales and retail leasing. Previously Biberaj was Florida Research Director for the Kerry-Edwards for President Campaign. Biberaj holds a JD from New York Law School, a Masters in Public Policy (MPP) from Harvard University Kennedy School of Government, and a BA in Political Science from American University.

Ken Biberaj on How to Motivate a Team of Campaign Volunteers

In Chapter 19 of 23 in his 2013 Capture Your Flag interview, New York City Council Candidate Ken Biberaj answers "How Are You Learning to Better Manage and Motivate Teams?" Biberaj finds managing campaign volunteers requires a different approach than managing employees. He learns to give interns and volunteers greater responsibility and holds them accountable for the results. Ken Biberaj is currently a 2013 Democratic Candidate for City Council in New York City. He is also a public relations executive for the Russian Tea Room restaurant at One Fifty Fifty Seven Corporation, a family business focused on real estate development, investment sales and retail leasing. Previously Biberaj was Florida Research Director for the Kerry-Edwards for President Campaign. Biberaj holds a JD from New York Law School, a Masters in Public Policy (MPP) from Harvard University Kennedy School of Government, and a BA in Political Science from American University.

Slava Rubin on How to Have a Better Career Advice Conversation

In Chapter 8 of 15 in his 2013 Capture Your Flag interview, Indiegogo CEO Slava Rubin answers "How Have You Learned to Give Better Advice When People Ask You For Help?" Rubin shares how as he has gotten older, he is less prescriptive in giving advice and more investigative. By helping those he coaches and mentors work through key issues and questions, Rubin creates ownership and accountability they can then use to follow through. Slava Rubin is CEO and co-founder of Indiegogo, the world's largest crowdfunding platform. Indiegogo empowers anyone, anywhere, anytime to raise funds for any idea—creative, cause-related or entrepreneurial. Prior to Indiegogo, Rubin worked as a management consultant. He earned his BSE degree from The Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania.

Transcript: 

Erik Michielsen: How have you learned to give better advice when people ask you for help?

Slava Rubin: I think when I was younger, my advice would usually be about giving a specific answer and telling them what they should do because they weren’t clear on what they should do and they just needed somebody to tell them.

Which I think that as I’ve gotten older, I’ve learned from some of my mentors that good advice is not telling somebody what to do but is asking all the right questions and providing the experiences, so you can help guide their expectations as to where the decision might take them. So these days I really wanna pull out the facts where they get to understand the situation, help them understand themselves, and help them, guide them to their own answer as opposed to telling them the right answer or the wrong answer.

Erik Michielsen: Can you tell me a bit more about how one of the mentorship experiences taught you that? An example?

Slava Rubin: Yeah, I mean even with Indiegogo in the early days, sometimes I would ask for one of my mentors, sometimes even looking for the answer for him to tell me but he was like, you know, “This is not my company to run. It’s your company to run. So I’m just gonna help guide you with some of my experiences and thoughts, and then you gotta make the decision and feel accountable to it.”

Erik Michielsen: How are your mentoring relationships changing as you gain experience and have new responsibilities?

Slava Rubin: I mean it’s great. As CEO of Indiegogo, I’m definitely getting more people I get to mentor people that wanna be entrepreneurs, I try to mentor them, whether it’s officially or just a one-off conversation or email, but the mentors that I have are super valuable because I’m constantly getting myself into a situation that I’ve never been in before and I wanna have some people’s feedback as to what they think about it. It’s never about “Are you older than me, or younger than me, or smarter than me?” Rather, “Do you have experience that I can learn from?” So that’s really what I look for.

Clara Soh on Why Confidence Matters in Health Care Research

In Chapter 12 of 20 in her 2013 Capture Your Flag interview, health economist Clara Soh answers "What Role Does Confidence Play in the Work That You Do?" Soh shares how she uses economic analysis and statistical modeling to understand future budget planning issues around health care policy such as Social Security and Medicare. She notes the challenge of using different statistical models and methodology to analyze economic impact of health care research and budget estimates. Clara Soh is a health economist and Senior Director of Policy and Research at a pharmaceutical trade organization in Washington, DC. Previously, Soh held senior roles at Kaiser Permanente Center for Health Research (KPCHR) and Health Policy Research Northwest (HPRN). Soh earned her Masters of Public Administration (MPA) in Policy Analysis and Healthcare Public Finance from the NYU Wagner School and a BS in Molecular Biophysics and Biochemistry from Yale University.

James McCormick on How Summer Camp Can Teach Responsibility

In Chapter 2 of 21 in his 2013 Capture Your Flag interview, legal search and consulting firm executive James McCormick answers "What Childhood Experiences Have Been Most Fundamental in Shaping Who You Are Today?" For McCormick, it was about growing up in a very steady and stable family environment. He shares how going away to Sanborne western boys and girls summer camp in Colorado taught him responsibility while opening his eyes to the world of the mountains and great outdoors. James McCormick is a Partner at Empire Search Partners in New York City. Previously, he practiced law as an employee benefits and executive compensation attorney for Proskauer Rose and Jones Day. He earned a JD at Tulane Law School and a BA in History at the University of Michigan.

James McCormick on Implementing an Employee Development Plan

In Chapter 17 of 21 in his 2013 Capture Your Flag interview, legal search and consulting firm executive James McCormick answers "What Procedures and Processes Are You Putting in Place to Manage Company Growth?" The first non-founding partner, McCormick and the founding partners establish processes and procedures to roles and employee development practices to help the company grow. In this regard, structure serves a key strategic role for the future of the business. James McCormick is a Partner at Empire Search Partners in New York City. Previously, he practiced law as an employee benefits and executive compensation attorney for Proskauer Rose and Jones Day. He earned a JD at Tulane Law School and a BA in History at the University of Michigan. 

Leslie Kerner on Why to Pursue a Business Career in Public Education

In Chapter 13 of 21 in her 2013 Capture Your Flag interview, education software company executive Leslie Kerner answers "What Led You to Pursue a Business Career Working to Improve Public Education?" Kerner shares how she combined her passion for education with the accountability and motivational elements that come with working in business.

Leslie Kerner is Senior Vice President and General Manager for the Professional Services group at Amplify, a software and services company innovating K-12 education. She is responsible for building and managing training, professional development and consulting services for schools. Previously, Kerner worked as a management consultant at Deloitte & Touche. Kerner earned an MBA from the Duke University and a BA from Northwestern University.

Leslie Kerner on Giving Younger Employees Opportunities to Lead

In Chapter 20 of 21 in her 2013 Capture Your Flag interview, education software company executive Leslie Kerner answers "How Do You Define and Measure Success in What You Do?" As a general manager, Kerner owns bottom line responsibilities to make sure her business unit is growing and profitable. Beyond P&L measures and metrics, she measures success based on her ability to create ways for younger employees to take on more responsibility and become the next generation of company leaders.

Leslie Kerner is Senior Vice President and General Manager for the Professional Services group at Amplify, a software and services company innovating K-12 education. She is responsible for building and managing training, professional development and consulting services for schools. Previously, Kerner worked as a management consultant at Deloitte & Touche. Kerner earned an MBA from the Duke University and a BA from Northwestern University.

Randall Metting on Putting Pressure on Yourself to Get the Job Done

In Chapter 8 of 10 in his 2013 Capture Your Flag interview, brand marketer Randall Metting answers "What Does It Mean to Perform Under Pressure in the Work That You Do?" Metting hates to disappoint others and puts pressure on himself to be accountable to others on the commitments he makes. Starting a new job working at Dulce Vida Tequila in Austin, Metting finds himself needing to learn the ropes at his new job while working on a tight deadline to plan a marketing event with Collings Guitars. Randall Metting is a brand marketer working for Dulce Vida Spirits in Austin. Metting has built a career on helping companies and non-profits develop integrated marketing strategy and brand development programs. As "The Unofficial Mayor of Austin, Texas" Metting authors the randallmetting.com community blog. He is also an on-air radio personality for 93.3 KGSR radio in Austin. Metting earned a B.S. in Advertising from the University of Florida.

Chris Hinkle on How Digital Agency and Software Company Creative Roles Compare

In Chapter 2 of 10 in his 2013 Capture Your Flag interview, software engineer Chris Hinkle answers "How Does Working at a Software Company Compare and Contrast With Working at a Digital Agency?" Hinkle finds digital advertising creative work to be more experimental and short-term project focused. Switching into software at Evernote, Hinkle connects with the accountability that comes with building software that helps the company meet financial targets. Chris Hinkle is a senior software engineer working at Evernote in Silicon Valley. Previously, Hinkle worked at New York City digital agencies HUGE and R/GA in creative director and software engineering roles designing products and developing Internet mobile applications and websites.

Matt Curtis on Why to Have a Weight Loss Accountability Partner

In Chapter 9 of 18 in his 2013 Capture Your Flag interview, HomeAway government relations director Matt Curtis answers "What Different Ways Have People Supported You on Your Weight Loss Journey?" From finding the right pair of shoes to learning about healthy eating and exercise balance to getting workout coaching, Curtis finds support and encouragement in all places. He notes how he found a workout partner who has taught him the importance of accountability and the relationship is helping him lose weight and live healthier. Matt Curtis is the director of government relations at HomeAway Inc. Previously he was communications director for Austin mayors Lee Leffingwell and Will Wynn. He earned his bachelor's degree in radio, television and film from the University of North Texas.

Matt Curtis on What Losing 200 Pounds Teaches About Weight Loss

In Chapter 11 of 18 in his 2013 Capture Your Flag interview, HomeAway government relations director Matt Curtis answers "What Advice Would You Give to Others Who Are Also Trying to Lose Weight and Fight Obesity?" Curtis, who has lost more than 200 pounds believes more than anything the best way to fight weight loss is to prevent yourself from gaining weight. He finds eating cleaner, greener foods and tracking calories and nutrition information essential to controlling caloric intake, eating a balanced diet, and losing weight. While exercise is important, Curtis finds understanding nutrition and being honest about what you put into your body two ways to hold yourself accountable and lose weight. Curtis is the director of government relations at HomeAway Inc. Previously he was communications director for Austin mayors Lee Leffingwell and Will Wynn. He earned his bachelor's degree in radio, television and film from the University of North Texas.

4 Ways to Manage a Busy Schedule and Do Great Work

In Chapter 4 of 19 in his 2013 Capture Your Flag interview, innovation strategist Hammans Stallings answers "What Do You Find are the Keys to Managing a Busy Schedule and Getting Things Done?" For Stallings it comes down to setting expectations with others, finding accountability partners, understanding his capacity and setting the right pace, and maintaining empathy with others.

Hammans Stallings is a Senior Strategist at frog design. Previously he worked in strategy at Dell and investment banking at Stephens. He earned an MBA from the Northwestern University Kellogg School of Management and a BA in Economics and Psychology from the University of Virginia.

Performing Under Pressure in a Real Estate Developer Job

In Chapter 12 of 18 in his 2013 Capture Your Flag interview, real estate developer Brett Goldman answers "What Does It Mean to Perform Under Pressure in the Work That You Do?" Sourcing, negotiating and closing real estate deals teaches Goldman why preparation and flexibility are critical to his work. He interviews process not only to find the right bankruptcy lawyer for the job but also to learn the questions he should be asking and answering to move the bankruptcy deal forward.

Brett Goldman is a Real Estate Acquisitions Director at Triangle Equities in New York City.  He holds a BA in General Studies from the University of Michigan and a Masters in Real Estate Development from the Columbia University Graduate School of Architecture, Planning, and Preservation.