Geoff Hamm on Selling With Confidence Not Cockiness

In Chapter 6 of 20 in his 2014 Capture Your Flag interview, mobile business executive Geoff Hamm answers "What Role Does Confidence Play in the Work That You Do?" Hamm notes confidence is everything working in sales. Without confidence in what you sell it is very difficult to succeed in sales. Sales experience teaches Hamm the nuances between confidence and cockiness and why being confident does not mean you need to have a big ego.

Geoff Hamm is a business development executive and VP Strategic Alliances at mobile marketing platform start-up Applovin in San Francisco, CA. Previous to Applovin, Hamm held senior sales management positions at Tapjoy, Scribd, Electronic Arts, Yahoo!, Orbitz, IAC and Excite where he built deep relationships with advertisers and brands. Hamm graduated from the University of Illinois.

Geoff Hamm on Leaving Corporate Politics Behind to Join a Startup

In Chapter 11 of 20 in his 2014 Capture Your Flag interview, mobile business executive Geoff Hamm answers "What Did You Learn About Yourself by Leaving a Corporate Management Job to Join a Startup?" After over a decade working at large corporations, Hamm decides to leave corporate political situations behind for new challenges working at startups.

Geoff Hamm is a business development executive and VP Strategic Alliances at mobile marketing platform start-up Applovin in San Francisco, CA. Previous to Applovin, Hamm held senior sales management positions at Tapjoy, Scribd, Electronic Arts, Yahoo!, Orbitz, IAC and Excite where he built deep relationships with advertisers and brands. Hamm graduated from the University of Illinois.

Two Key Things to Look For Before Joining a Startup

In Chapter 12 of 20 in his 2014 Capture Your Flag interview, mobile business executive Geoff Hamm answers "How Did Working at Your First Startup Inform What You Looked For at Your Second Startup?" When looking for a new startup job, Hamm first looks at the founders' story and experience. He learns a hard lesson about inexperience working with first-time founders and chooses a founding team with previous startup experience when he joins his next startup. Additionally, he learns to understand what to look for in an advisory board and the importance of board involvement in the company.

Geoff Hamm is a business development executive and VP Strategic Alliances at mobile marketing platform start-up Applovin in San Francisco, CA. Previous to Applovin, Hamm held senior sales management positions at Tapjoy, Scribd, Electronic Arts, Yahoo!, Orbitz, IAC and Excite where he built deep relationships with advertisers and brands. Hamm graduated from the University of Illinois.

How to Adapt Parenting as Infants Grow Into Toddlers

In Chapter 19 of 20 in his 2014 Capture Your Flag interview, mobile business executive Geoff Hamm answers "How is Your Parenting Approach Evolving as Your Children Grow From Infants into Toddlers?" Hamm shares how as infants, the little babies are about the basics - feeding, changing, sleeping. As his two children grow into toddlers, Hamm finds nearly every moment becomes a teaching moment and learns to make time to have these conversations with his kids.

Geoff Hamm is a business development executive and VP Strategic Alliances at mobile marketing platform start-up Applovin in San Francisco, CA. Previous to Applovin, Hamm held senior sales management positions at Tapjoy, Scribd, Electronic Arts, Yahoo!, Orbitz, IAC and Excite where he built deep relationships with advertisers and brands. Hamm graduated from the University of Illinois.

Preston Smith on Teaching First Grade at Teach for America

In Chapter 4 of 22 in his 2014 Capture Your Flag interview, elementary charter school network CEO Preston Smith answers "How Did Teaching in the Teach for America Program Inform the Next Steps in Your Career?" Smith shares how he developed an affinity for community organizing and teaching as a first grade teacher in Teach for America. He learns to work with student families and parents to get support outside the classroom and improve student engagement in the classroom.

Preston Smith is co-founder and CEO of Rocketship Education, the highest performing low-income school system in California. After graduating the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Smith joined Teach for America. After three years teaching 1st Grade, he founded a district school in San Jose and became its principal. Smith was selected as a member of the 2010 class of Aspen Institute New Schools Fellows. 

Preston Smith on What It Means to Be a Leader

In Chapter 13 of 22 in his 2014 Capture Your Flag interview, elementary charter school network CEO Preston Smith answers "What Does It Mean to Be a Leader in What You Do?" As CEO, Smith finds leading means putting people in places where they an do their best work. Leading means staying above the politics and not being divisive in his thinking. Leading means framing things in a positive way and avoiding an us versus them mentality. Finally, leading means embracing the responsibility that as a leader he will often be the one needing to make the tough decisions that often will be unpopular.

Preston Smith is co-founder and CEO of Rocketship Education, the highest performing low-income school system in California. After graduating the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Smith joined Teach for America. After three years teaching 1st Grade, he founded a district school in San Jose and became its principal. Smith was selected as a member of the 2010 class of Aspen Institute New Schools Fellows. 

Preston Smith on When to Be a Hands-Off Team Leader

In Chapter 15 of 22 in his 2014 Capture Your Flag interview, elementary charter school network CEO Preston Smith answers "When Are You At Your Best?" As a CEO, Smith learns when not to be a hands-on leader and focus his energy on empowering employee teams in a hands-off way. He finds he can be at his best by putting people in a position to succeed and learning when to insert himself and provide support.

Preston Smith is co-founder and CEO of Rocketship Education, the highest performing low-income school system in California. After graduating the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Smith joined Teach for America. After three years teaching 1st Grade, he founded a district school in San Jose and became its principal. Smith was selected as a member of the 2010 class of Aspen Institute New Schools Fellows. 

Preston Smith on Leading and Motivating Executive Teams

In Chapter 17 of 22 in his 2014 Capture Your Flag interview, elementary charter school network CEO Preston Smith answers "How Are You Learning to Better Manage and Motivate Teams?" Smith shares how he now is learning to lead an executive team after leading more junior staff as a grade school principal. Smith finds leading executive team members means making sure to honor their respective strengths and experience, asking the right questions on the right topics, and knowing when to be  hands-off as a CEO.

Preston Smith is co-founder and CEO of Rocketship Education, the highest performing low-income school system in California. After graduating the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Smith joined Teach for America. After three years teaching 1st Grade, he founded a district school in San Jose and became its principal. Smith was selected as a member of the 2010 class of Aspen Institute New Schools Fellows. 

Preston Smith on Staying Humble When You Think You Are Successful

In Chapter 18 of 22 in his 2014 Capture Your Flag interview, elementary charter school network CEO Preston Smith answers "At This Moment in Your Life, Where Are You Seeking Advice and Coaching?" Smith shares a big life lesson he learned from crashing a car while in high school. The lesson reminds him to stay humble even when you think you have everything figured out. As a professional, this helps Smith embrace support from an executive coach, his Aspen Institute Pahara Fellowship cohort and a group of advisors he terms his "kitchen cabinet."

Preston Smith is co-founder and CEO of Rocketship Education, the highest performing low-income school system in California. After graduating the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Smith joined Teach for America. After three years teaching 1st Grade, he founded a district school in San Jose and became its principal. Smith was selected as a member of the 2010 class of Aspen Institute New Schools Fellows. 

Preston Smith on Retaining Teachers in Low Income School Districts

In Chapter 21 of 22 in his 2014 Capture Your Flag interview, elementary charter school network CEO Preston Smith answers "What Has Your Experience Taught You About Developing and Retaining Your Best Teachers?" Smith finds teacher retention a huge challenge in his work. He notes teachers want to be surrounded by great peers, engaged in relationships with students and their families, and be rewarded for achieving student success. Smith notes keeping these elements consistent in a low income school setting, especially with elementary schools, is difficult but is one he feels can be achieved.

Preston Smith is co-founder and CEO of Rocketship Education, the highest performing low-income school system in California. After graduating the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Smith joined Teach for America. After three years teaching 1st Grade, he founded a district school in San Jose and became its principal. Smith was selected as a member of the 2010 class of Aspen Institute New Schools Fellows. 

Preston Smith on Taking Better Care of Yourself After Starting a Family

In Chapter 22 of 22 in his 2014 Capture Your Flag interview, elementary charter school network CEO Preston Smith answers "How Are Your Personal Priorities Changing As You Get Older?" Smith shares how he is learning to take better care of himself to make sure he is capable of serving his family and business. Raising two kids and going through a burst appendix health scare, Smith makes a point to set personal wellbeing priorities and routines to keep balanced in how he lives his life.

Preston Smith is co-founder and CEO of Rocketship Education, the highest performing low-income school system in California. After graduating the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Smith joined Teach for America. After three years teaching 1st Grade, he founded a district school in San Jose and became its principal. Smith was selected as a member of the 2010 class of Aspen Institute New Schools Fellows. 

Louise Langheier on How to Learn and Develop a Hard Work Ethic

In Chapter 2 of 21 in her 2014 Capture Your Flag interview, social entrepreneur Louise Langheier answers "Where Did You Learn Your Work Ethic?" Langheier shares how she learned her work ethic at an early age from people she admired, including her role model parents. Over time, she learns from people give their all to something and rise to the occasion in moments of crisis.

Louise Davis Langheier is founder and CEO of Peer Health Exchange, a non-profit that trains college students to teach health education in public high schools. Louise was selected as a member of the 2011 class of Aspen Entrepreneurial Education Fellows, and was named an Ashoka Fellow in 2012. She graduated from Yale University.

Louise Langheier on Two Ways to Give Better Career Advice

In Chapter 7 of 21 in her 2014 Capture Your Flag interview, social entrepreneur Louise Langheier answers "How Have You Learned to Give Better Advice When People Ask You For Help?" Langheier shares two ways she has learned to give better advice. The first is honing in on the specific question the person seeking advice is really trying to answer. The second is appreciating the learning experience that comes with being asked to give advice.

Louise Davis Langheier is founder and CEO of Peer Health Exchange, a non-profit that trains college students to teach health education in public high schools. Louise was selected as a member of the 2011 class of Aspen Entrepreneurial Education Fellows, and was named an Ashoka Fellow in 2012. She graduated from Yale University. 

Louise Langheier on Assessing Job Candidate Fit Hiring New Employees

In Chapter 18 of 21 in her 2014 Capture Your Flag interview, social entrepreneur Louise Langheier answers "How Have You Learned to Better Assess Fit When Hiring New Employees?" Langheier shares how her organization continues to recognize the importance of assessing job candidate fit across both job skills and motivation to do the job. She notes this "skills and will" duality helps her company screen for candidates who can contribute to the organization and who the organization can best support in their professional development.

Louise Davis Langheier is founder and CEO of Peer Health Exchange, a non-profit that trains college students to teach health education in public high schools. Louise was selected as a member of the 2011 class of Aspen Entrepreneurial Education Fellows, and was named an Ashoka Fellow in 2012. She graduated from Yale University. 

Mark Graham on Asking for Advice Before Your First Baby is Born

In Chapter 1 of 15 in his 2013 Capture Your Flag interview, media executive Mark Graham answers "How Did You Go About Seeking Advice as You Prepared for Parenthood?" Graham shares how he found a friend, Conrad Doucette, who had become a father only months before Graham and his wife were to have their baby. This gives Graham a chance to ask a lot of questions to a friend going through a similar experience at the same time. He gets advice to enjoy time alone with his newborn baby in the recovery room and build a bond with his child.

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.  

Mark Graham on Assessing Fit Interviewing Job Candidates

In Chapter 12 of 15 in his 2013 Capture Your Flag interview, media executive Mark Graham answers "How Do You Assess Fit When Interviewing People for a Job?" As a hiring manager who regularly interviews job candidates for writing and digital media jobs, Graham looks not only for talent but also for alignment of interests and skills to the brand's audience expectations. He makes sure to set clear expectations on what he is seeking from a job candidate and in the job description. Graham finds peer and ex-colleague feedback useful to assess fit and speaks to references as well.

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 Getting Advice on Becoming a First Time Parent

In Chapter 2 of 17 in his 2013 Capture Your Flag interview, musician and digital strategist Conrad Doucette answers "How Did You Go About Seeking Advice as You Prepared for Parenthood?" Doucette shares his approach getting parenting insight from friends before becoming a first-time dad. This includes both observing friends' behaviors as well as asking questions and learning there is no "dumb question."

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 3 Things to Know Before Becoming a Dad

In Chapter 5 of 17 in his 2013 Capture Your Flag interview, musician and digital strategist Conrad Doucette answers "What Are Three Things You Wish You Knew Before Becoming a Dad?" Doucette shares what he learned in the first weeks of fatherhood and gives advice to expecting dads. First, he learns not to be so worried in the first few days after the baby comes home. Second he learns that a baby and its belongings take up a lot more space than you would think. Third he learns how much he loves being a dad and how it has made him kinder and more present in 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.