Preston Smith on the Awesome Feeling of Working at a Job You Love

In Chapter 6 of 22 in his 2014 Capture Your Flag interview, elementary charter school network CEO Preston Smith answers "What Do You Enjoy Most About What You Do?" As CEO of a network of schools serving low-income districts in California, Smith finds inspiration working with talented and committed co-workers doing mission-based work to build higher quality schools to give students a better education.

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 Going From Employee to Entrepreneur

In Chapter 7 of 22 in his 2014 Capture Your Flag interview, elementary charter school network CEO Preston Smith answers "How Did You Make the Leap From Being an Employee to Become an Entrepreneur?" Smith talks about pushing through a transition out of teaching elementary school to becoming an entrepreneur and starting a school. Seeing an unaddressed need for higher quality education, Smith embraces youthful energy to work through family and financial challenges to start a small school called LUCHA.

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. 

Simon Sinek on How to Establish Trust When Building Relationships

In Chapter 4 of 23 in his 2013 Capture Your Flag interview, author and public speaker Simon Sinek answers "How Do You Establish Trust When Building Relationships?" To Sinek, trust is a result of something and cannot be given nor formed overnight. He notes the difference between lust and love and why the vulnerability associated with falling with love is synonymous with the vulnerability that comes with the emergence of relationship trust. 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.

Transcript

Erik Michielsen: How do you establish trust when building relationships?

Simon Sinek: Trust is the result of something. You can’t tell people “trust me”. Trust cannot be formed overnight, just as you can’t go to one date and decide if you wanna marry someone. You might have lust, but there’s no real trust. The best definition of love I ever heard is that you can give someone the power to destroy you and trust that they won’t use it, and that’s kind of what trust is, is this deep love.

And it comes over time, and it comes from taking lots of little risks, exposing yourself to more danger, making yourself feel more vulnerable, sharing something personal, putting yourself in a position where you have to turn your back and hope somebody won’t stab you or steal your stuff. I mean this is what trust is. It is the result of you making someone feel safe and then making you feel safe, and it’s that dance, and that’s what it is. It can’t be one-sided.

And, again, it’s like dating. It’s like getting to know someone. It’s like making friends that does not happen overnight. And it’s a dance of give and take, give and take, give and take, give and take, and when you feel that that person will make you feel safe, trust will emerge. It’s not an app. It’s not a switch. It’s not something you turn on. It’s something that evolves. You start to feel it, and then, one morning, you wake up, you’re like, “Oh my god, I totally trust that person.” You’re not sure exactly what happened to get you there, but you found yourself there.

Lauren Serota on What It Means to Be a Creative Leader

In Chapter 7 of 21 in her 2013 Capture Your Flag interview, creative director and educator Lauren Serota answers "What Does It Mean to Be a Leader in What You Do?" Serota leads by being able to ingest multiple perspectives, synthesize them and create a point of view that unites a team around a common vision. New in her role as assistant creative director, Serota finds teammates seeking her creative leadership at an individual task or tactical level.

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 Turning One Act of Courage Into a Life of Confidence

In Chapter 15 of 18 in her 2013 Capture Your Flag interview, author and entrepreneur Nina Godiwalla answers "What Role Does Confidence Play in the Work That You Do?" Godiwalla sees confidence as everything. She builds confidence by taking risks and having the courage to ask for something. This starts by her choosing to write her book "Suits: A Woman on Wall Street" and continues by following through on that first step both with the both and the public speaking that comes with it. 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 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.

Yoav Gonen on Life Lessons Waiting Tables in First Job After College

In Chapter 3 of 19 in his 2013 Capture Your Flag interview, New York City reporter Yoav Gonen answers "What Did You Learn in Your First Job After College That is Still Relevant Today?" In his first job after college, Gonen waits tables working at a Philadelphia restaurant called Alligators. Waiting tables pushes Gonen to trust himself learning new things such as carrying a tray full of drinks over your head, especially when you do not have a choice. 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 Finding Positive Moments During Life Setbacks

In Chapter 3 of 17 in his 2013 Capture Your Flag interview, educator and entrepreneur Michael Margolis answers "What Role Has Reflection Played in Shaping Your Personal Growth?" Margolis finds the greatest reflection in his life has occurred during times of setbacks, in particular a prolonged illness of chronic fatigue he has battled for multiple years. He turns a potential time of despair, guilt and shame into a time of rest and renewal, taking time to reflect on what is and is not working in his life. 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. 

Ken Biberaj on What It Means to Be a Confident Candidate for Office

In Chapter 10 of 23 in his 2013 Capture Your Flag interview, New York City Council Candidate Ken Biberaj answers "What Role Does Confidence Play in the Work That You Do?" As an underdog candidate campaigning for office for the first time, Biberaj shares his need to balance initiative and persistence with respect, humility and modesty.

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 Translate Confidence into Effective Leadership

In Chapter 3 of 15 in his 2013 Capture Your Flag interview, Indiegogo CEO Slava Rubin answers "What Role Does Confidence Play in the Work That You Do?" To Rubin, a confident approach is fundamental to his leadership style. He learns early in life things are unpredictable and finds being decisive yet flexible a combination that helps translate his confidence into team confidence. 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: What role does confidence play in the work that you do?

Slava Rubin: I think confidence is really important. It’s very easy to not be confident ‘cause there’s a lot of things that go wrong. And when you have employees, and when you have a team, they really rely on leadership, and a lot of leadership has to do with confidence. Often, one of the most important things you can do when deciding between two things is not pick one or the other, but rather make the decision, ‘cause the lack of decision is a decision in itself, usually associated with lack of confidence and can just create a stumble for the whole entire team. So it’s important to take action and deal with the consequences.

Erik Michielsen: Is that something that you’ve learned over time? Are you getting better at or is that something as a core skill you’ve kind of always had?

Slava Rubin: I think the idea of taking action without regret and dealing with the next step associated with it and constant iterating based on feedback is something quite core to, you know, the way I grew up.

Erik Michielsen: Yeah? Tell me more about that.

Slava Rubin: I would say that it has to do with you can’t always project what the future will look like. You know, my dad died when I was a kid, so you can’t just say, “Oh, this is what’s gonna happen in the future and that’s what I rely on.” You gotta be able to be a bit more nimble. And I think that feedback loops are tightening so much that you can get so much more information so much quicker that you don’t have to rely on having long projected answers or predictions, that you can just, you know, have a step forward, get some feedback, and then pivot or move around. Yeah, the idea of standing in place is a decision in itself, so just by moving in one direction or the other, you constantly get more feedback.

Slava Rubin on How to Build Startup Teams That Perform Under Pressure

In Chapter 14 of 15 in his 2013 Capture Your Flag interview, Indiegogo CEO Slava Rubin answers "What Does It Mean to Perform Under Pressure in the Work That You Do?" As a CEO of a venture capital-backed startup that has raised over $17 million dollars in financing, Rubin notes that the work environment is intense and the investor expectations are high. As a result, Rubin looks to hire employees who thrive under pressure and meet the company's "FACE" values formula, fearlessness, authenticity, collaboration, and empowerment. 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: What does it mean to perform under pressure in the work that you do?

Slava Rubin: Pressure definitely is part of the job. We’re a VC-funded company, with some people like to say that’s like getting on the treadmill and never being allowed to get off. We don’t have the luxury of saying tomorrow, I think maybe I wanna take a break and slow down and maybe not try to build a bigger company ‘cause we already have some significant investors. We took 17 million dollars of VC money. So I think people thrive in the pressure, that’s who we’re looking to hire. We have our values as part of our recruiting process, and one of those values is fearless “face”- fearlessness, authenticity, collaboration, and empowerment. First one, fearless. So we need you to be fearless and do things that you never thought you’d be able to do and know that we need to accomplish things that are just challenges and no one else has done, so pressure is just part of the process.

Clara Soh on Ways Korean Parents Help You Live the American Dream

In Chapter 1 of 20 in her 2013 Capture Your Flag interview, health economist Clara Soh answers "What Childhood Experiences Have Been Most Fundamental in Shaping Who You Are Today?" Soh shares how her Korean parents immigrated to the US to attend graduate school, met while studying and then married and started a family. Born in the US, Soh learns how the American education system offers more freedom of choice than what her parents had in Korea and takes full advantage of the opportunity in studies and career. 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.

Clara Soh on Cultivating a Rock Climbing Passion

In Chapter 10 of 20 in her 2013 Capture Your Flag interview, health economist Clara Soh answers "What Steps Have You Taken to Cultivate Your Passion for Rock Climbing?" Soh shares how rock climbing has challenged her across physical fitness, emotional focus, relationship building and adventure traveling. She finds value exploring new locations and new routes, seeking out trusted climbing partners, and advancing her climbing skills through training and practice and learning from failure. 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.

Randall Metting on How Personal Branding Helps Land a Dream Job

In Chapter 6 of 10 in his 2013 Capture Your Flag interview, brand marketer Randall Metting answers "How Has Building Your Personal Brand Opened New Opportunities in Your Career?" Metting shares how taking initiative to start a blog and build his personal brand online and offline opened doors to finding a dream job working with a friend. Working with local businesses to create events helped Metting promote his blog and fostered a connection to the Dulce Vida Tequila team about ways they could work together. 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.

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.

Matt Curtis on Improving Public Speaking Skills by Singing Karaoke

In Chapter 15 of 18 in his 2013 Capture Your Flag interview, HomeAway government relations director Matt Curtis answers "What Does It Mean to Perform Under Pressure in the Work That You Do?" For Curtis, performing under pressure in his work means presenting to or speaking to elected public officials. He shares how performing karaoke and singing karaoke has helped him get more comfortable standing up in a crowded room and presenting with confidence. 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.

Courtney Spence on How Making Hard Decisions Can Strengthen Your Resolve

In Chapter 5 of 20 in her 2013 Capture Your Flag interview, social entrepreneur Courtney Spence answers "How Are Your Aspirations Changing As Your Experience Grows?" In the year since her last Capture Your Flag interview, Spence shares the challenge of making her work and her organization more lasting and sustainable and the resolve it has taken from her as a leader. Social entrepreneur and storyteller Courtney Spence founded 501c3 nonprofit Students of the World (SOW) to shine a light on progress and celebrate the world's problem solvers. She is building a movement of next-generation storytellers and creative activists through the SOW program The Creative Activist Network. Spence is a graduate of Duke University.

Transcript:

Erik Michielsen: How are your aspirations changing as your experience grows?

Courtney Spence:  So, this year, and lot has happened this last year. I feel like I keep referencing it as this year, but these are annual interviews, so that would make sense. But this year has been about, I think, wanting to create sustainability within my organization, and I think—and that is not for legacy reasons but for the reason that I really believe in what I’ve been building for the last 13 years. We’re starting to see true traction and enthusiasm and the possibility of making Students of the World, and our new endeavors have a much more of a lasting kind of global impact than we’ve ever been able to see or imagine before.

And having seen that and understanding where we’re going, it makes me very focused and concerned about the longevity of the organization, the health of the organization, the sustainability, you know, being able to provide benefits to employees, and being able to, you know, really, really put people in the right places and assemble a team that can weather the difficult times and the good times.

Like, for example, we had to go through a series of a few layoffs in August, and that was the hardest time I’ve ever experienced from a professional standpoint. And it was not something that was pretty, it was certainly the most stressful, sad time that I’ve experienced with Students of the World, but it was necessary to continue the work that we were doing. It was for the health of the organization and the mission. And, you know, having to kind of grow up and make some of those harder decisions in a role of leadership is difficult but it also strengthens, I think. It strengthened my resolve in what I’m doing and my role as a leader and, you know, as the executive in the company.

Audrey French on How Parents Divorce Brings Family Closer Together

In Chapter 2 of 18 in her 2013 Capture Your Flag interview, entrepreneur Audrey Parker French answers "Where Has Your Family Been Most Supportive in Your Career Development?" While in high school, Parker and her brother see their traditional family structure collapse as her parents go through a divorce. She shares how she manages the stress of having to build separate relationships with her mother and father and, ultimately, the positivity, support, encouragement and direction that come with the new family dynamic.

Audrey Parker French is an entrepreneur who co-founded CLEAResult, an energy management consulting firm she helped grow to #144 on the 2010 Inc. 500 list of fastest-growing private companies and then sell to General Catalyst Partners. She currently volunteers as a Court Appointed Special Advocate (CASA) and teaches children's choir. She graduated from Wake Forest University and lives with her husband in Austin, Texas.