Disrupt Yourself Podcast With Whitney Johnson

Workplace culture, work/life balance, and burnout have been under the microscope in recent years. But long before the unique challenges of the pandemic, Fran Katsoudas has worked to build a "conscious culture" at Cisco. She's a 25 year veteran of the technology company, and currently the Chief People, Policy and Purpose Officer, who knows that our "work selves" can't be separated from our "regular selves" — especially when we work from home. Because of this, purpose is paramount — not just for the individual, but for the entire company. “Purpose has to be embedded in your day-to-day business,” Fran tells Whitney. And that's not just a feel-good mantra. She has the data to show that a "system of goodness" improves your products, and is always better for the bottom line. Fran shares how we can bust commonly held myths about employee satisfaction, use tech to facilitate leader attention, and why hybrid work can be a powerful force for inclusion. She also shares the time she stepped back from a big promotion in o

We've got another bonus episode for you this week, because who doesn't love Adam Grant? Whitney's conversation with the author and organizational psychologist from July 2019 is one of our favorites. It's all about how we perceive reciprocity: givers, takers, any why it's so important not to confuse "takers" with those willing to receive help. Adam breaks down why this informs so much of our personal and professional lives. If you haven't heard this one, you're in for a treat. And even if you have, it's absolutely worth another spin. --Original Show Notes: July 16, 2019-- When Adam Grant joined his high school diving team, his coach told him he had good news and bad news: Adam lack flexibility and grace, two of the three components needed to be a successful diver. The good news? His coach would be there to support him the entire way. This event had a profound impact on Adam. His coach not only believed in him but was willing to match the effort that he would put into his own success. His influence was also fel

This week, Whitney shares the entire first chapter of her new book Smart Growth: How to Grow Your People to Grow Your Company, which covers the launch point of any new S Curve of learning: Exploration. Exploring something new is exciting, and we can be better decision makers if we consider criteria like: Is this achievable? Is it worth the cost? Does it align with my values? We also take a lesson that TV host Mike Rowe (Dirty Jobs) shared on this very podcast. If you're learning a new musical instrument, a TikTok dance, or a major career shift, this chapter will be your road map. Smart Growth is now available as an audiobook, paperback, hardcover, and Kindle edition on Amazon, or wherever books are sold:  Smart Growth: How to Grow Your People to Grow Your Company  

We have an extra dose of inspiration for your week with this encore episode from January 2020. Author and speaker Simon Sinek sat down with Whitney to ask the simplest question: "Why?" "Why am I doing this work? Why am I on this career path?" These questions lead to a disruptive change in Simon's life. Despite uncertainty, Simon is so successful because he seeks out challenges, rather than looking for obstacles. --Original Show Notes from January 7, 2020-- To kick off 2020 I am talking to Simon Sinek, who is best known for popularizing the concept of “why” in his 2009 TED talk. To date, it is the third most-watched talk at TED.com with over 40 million views. Simon is the author of several best-selling books, including “Start With Why,” “Leaders Eat Last,” and “The Infinite Game,” which was released in October of 2019. For those who are long-time listeners to this podcast, my first question may surprise you. Instead of my usual beginning, I asked Simon one simple thing: What is your “why”? “My ‘why' is to insp

We can't talk about personal disruption without discussing disruptive technologies, so this week's episode is a bit different. It's a 101 course on blockchain, cryptocurrencies, NFTs, and the philosophy behind the decentralization movement. Most of us have heard these terms by now, but many (even those who dabble with them) don't understand how they actually work, or why they matter. Adam B. Levine joins Whitney to provide a primer. He's the managing editor of CoinDesk, host of the "Speaking of Bitcoin" podcast, and the CEO of Tokenly.com. Levine shares practical examples (and some great metaphors!) about how blockchain tech verifies "who owns what stuff" on the Internet, and what the future might hold for NFTs and Bitcoin once the current mania subsides. Editor's Note: This episode does not provide financial advice. Commodity and currency trading of any kind carries risk.

Eating smarter is always popular in January, so we're excited to share another bonus episode with you this week. This time, it's Whitney's conversation with wellness author and podcaster Shawn Stevenson from February 2021. Shawn was diagnosed with a debilitating disease in his early 20s. Doctors gave him pain meds and told him to lay in bed. His athletic career was over. That is, until he disrupted his diet. Today our guest is Shawn Stevenson, the host of the #1 Nutrition and Fitness podcast in the U.S., The Model Health Show. He’s the author of Sleep Smarter, and now most recently Eat Smarter, which at the time we spoke, was one of the top ten selling books on Amazon. Shawn’s passion for empowering individuals to take control of their health and wellness is apparent to all who connect with him. Diagnosed with a debilitating degenerative bone disease at just 20 years old, Shawn found himself overweight, in constant pain and severely depressed. Determined to change his circumstances, he began a transformationa

The S Curve of Learning is about personal development — our skills, mastery, and career aspirations. But applying it to teams unlocks a whole new way to run a business. After all, the individual is the fundamental unit of any company. In her latest article for the Harvard Business Review titled "Manage Your Organization as a Portfolio of Learning Curves," Whitney expounds on why it's not enough to track your team's performance and goals. Knowing where each individual is on their personal S Curve has huge ramifications for talent development, team configuration, and the long-term health of your business (long after your current team has moved on). Some of this advice may seem counter-intuitive. Having a dream team at 100% mastery sounds like a win ... until they all get bored and leave. And hiring a person who is underqualified for a role sounds like a recipe for disaster ... unless you're thinking about the big picture. Disruption Advisors coach and veteran broadcaster Steve Ludwig joins this episode as a gue

Turns out, people like Star Wars more than they like spreadsheets. That's pretty obvious, yet we constantly find ourselves in front of boring presentations. Data and facts are important, but when woven into a "hero's journey," they become undeniable. Dan Roam is on a mission to put the tools of our greatest storytellers in your hands. Next time you need to convince your boss, your team, or a customer to get on board with an idea, consider his book, The Pop-Up Pitch. Whitney and Dan discuss why humans are wired to love visual storytelling, the key moment of drama you need in every presentation, and the fateful day the back of a napkin changed the trajectory of Dan's career forever

When we think of role models, we often picture mythical heroes, overnight success stories, and leaders who made key decisions in the nick of time. But Scott Miller is far more interested in the mistakes of successful leaders. He discusses them deeply in his bestselling books and immensely popular podcast On Leadership. For every world-famous actor, there are box office flops. For every bestselling author, there are manuscripts in the dustbin. Scott argues we can learn much more by "hyping our failures," and that true leadership isn't about being right, but being vulnerable. And in an age of connectivity and intimate media, even if you think you don't have a mentor, you probably do. Just look to your favorite podcaster, author, or influencer to see how they've grown. Scott isn't all talk. He had to step back from a comfortable CMO job at the leadership training company FranklinCovey when he realized he was an "accidental diminisher." This re-examination of his skills changed the course of his career, and he's

Hard work is a pillar of any success, but it doesn't always have to feel so hard. Howard Morgan started his first company at 13 years old. Today it generates $130 million a year, and he hasn't slowed down. But Howard's joyful optimism around hard work is what sets him apart. It was instilled in him at a young age by his grandfather and a rich family life. Howard shares inspiring stories from his career, building multiple businesses, and his fascinating time settling labor disputes. His work illustrates how fairness and respect are much more productive than "taking sides" — sage advice for crucial conversations in any context. His wisdom around letting the headlines be about others is essential listening for anyone who manages (or is part of) a team. Howard also warns against why investing in "overhead" is risky and often misguided.

This week we're bringing you an extra dose of inspiration. It's our conversation from October 2020 with Syd and Shea McGee, founders of Studio McGee, one of the most successful and fastest growing interior design companies in the country. But Syd and Shea didn't start out in the design world. They took a huge risk in jumping to a new S Curve, and it all began with a single Instagram post.

Sometimes the business landscape can be a battlefield, but this week's guest puts all that in perspective. General Stanley McChrystal is a highly decorated U.S. Army veteran who is no stranger to real battlefields. He’s a retired four-star general, and commanded an enormous contingent of U.S. forces in Iraq and Afghanistan. He’s also an avid student of history, who acutely observes how the great successes and failures of the past are so deeply intertwined with risk management. His latest book is called Risk: A User’s Guide, and it documents the unsuspecting factors that undo successful organizations, and provides a framework of preparedness so you can weather the storm.

We are excited to share a bonus episode with you this week. It's our conversation with Bob Proctor, originally published in March of 2021. Bob Proctor is a towering figure wherever the mention of self-improvement comes into discussion. For more than 40 years, Bob has focused his entire agenda around helping people create enriched lives, full of rewarding relationships and spiritual awareness. Listen in to hear about Bob’s journey from obscurity to successful entrepreneur, teacher, author, business consultant and counselor. His latest book, Change Your Paradigm Change Your Life was released in August 2021.

Mental health has never been more top-of-mind than in recent years, and Emma McAdam has built an extraordinary therapeutic resource in an unlikely place: YouTube. Emma is a licensed marriage and family therapist best known for her incredibly popular "Therapy in a Nutshell" videos that demystify things like anxiety, depression, and emotional regulation. This candid conversation will completely change your perspective on stress, happiness, and why our brains perceive stuff like email as a constant survival threat. Emma also has very practical tips on how to form new pathways in our brains and break the "anxiety loops" that can trap us.

This week, the tables are turned when the host becomes the guest on her own show. Amy Humble, president of Disruption Advisors, interviews Whitney about the challenge and personal growth that comes out of writing a book. Smart Growth, which expounds on the S-Curve of learning for organizations, had a dramatic development curve of its own: unbridled excitement at the beginning, with a plummet to the bottom when the work began. It was "laborious and painful." But as Whitney explains, writing a book is not a solitary endeavor. "It's a team sport." Many hands have touched Smart Growth. A trusted friend even "eviscerated" an early manuscript — a terrifying ordeal that bore essential fruit. As Whitney explains in the book, growth is contagious, which is why personal growth among individuals is critical to organizational growth. The birth of this book is no exception. Smart Growth: How to Grow Your People to Grow Your Company is available for pre-order now wherever books are sold. We're conducting a quick, anonymous

If you're not great at long-term planning, you're not alone. In fact, the human brain is wired to seek short-term gains. Neuroscience even shows that we perceive our "future selves" as strangers — people we're aware of, but don't know personally. These ideas intrigue our guest Tanya Dalton, a productivity expert whose new book "On Purpose" unpacks success and motivation through a variety of lenses: perfectionism, fear, psychology, and being a woman in a world that suffers from bias. Tanya's practical toolkit for knocking down productivity barriers confirms what we know deep down: Most of our blockers are self-inflicted. Most of our fears are not of failure, but of public perception. And when purpose and productivity align, the sky's the limit. We're conducting a quick, anonymous survey to understand our audience better! It takes less than 1 minute, and is enormously helpful. Take it here:  Disrupt Yourself Podcast 2021

If your company has too many meetings, this week's episode is a must-listen. Email, Slack, and Zoom are technologies built to make us more productive. But when we use meetings and messages to solve all our problems, it leaves little time to actually get work done. This is "collaboration overload." Our guest Rob Cross, who studies this phenomenon, says that collaborative demands on workers have risen 50% in the last decade, yet the enormous cost (time, money, and employee well-being) is often invisible to organizations. "If anything else had increased 50%, a CEO would be all over it," he says. But tech tools are not the enemy, Rob explains. The culture and ground rules about their use (which come from the top!) are the culprit. His book, "Beyond Collaboration Overload," is filled with data and personal interviews to back it up. In this week's discussion, Rob lays out his extraordinary research showing how not all tasks are equivalent when collaboration is involved, and why our culture of always "jumping in" to

John Tesh wears many hats: News reporter, sports commentator, TV host, radio personality, composer, author, and touring musician to name a few. What you may not know is how a variety of mistakes and "crimes" (as he puts it!) lead him to become a household name. In this candid interview, John recounts how disappointing his dad, being homeless, and the kindness of one friend set him on a disruptive path toward radio and TV production. Thanks to his tinkering with reel-to-reel tapes and microphones in his childhood basement, he felt at home when sneaking into a college radio station to make the demo tape that would later get him on the air. Fast-forward to a wildly successful career in broadcasting, and then a terminal cancer diagnosis in 2015. When his doctors told him to "get his affairs in order," John became a "victim," as he puts it: of cancer, depression, and alcohol. But a profound shift in his attitude and faith changed everything. He recounts the story of how he and his family beat the odds in his lates

A healthy amount of stress is so important for personal growth, but chronic stress that demands our attention 24/7 can disconnect us from our work, colleagues, and purpose. This is burnout, and Jennifer Moss observes that we are facing an epidemic. She's an award-winning journalist, columnist, and author of The Burnout Epidemic: The Rise of Chronic Stress and How We Can Fix It. But contrary to popular wisdom, making time for that bubble bath or movie night isn't the solution. Burnout is a "we" problem, and the root causes are at the organizational level. Jennifer shares her surprising research on where burnout comes from, why it's worse than it's ever been, and why we need a system of preventative care. We're conducting a quick, anonymous survey to understand our audience better! It takes less than 1 minute, and is enormously helpful. Take it here: Disrupt Yourself Podcast 2021  

Even if you don't play golf, there's a surprising amount to learn from pro golfers who broke with tradition to "swing their own swing." That's what Steve Bullock learned when he analyzed tons of data for his book Out of the Box Golf. Think: Moneyball for the 9-iron crowd. For instance, even holding a club the "traditional" way puts players at a huge disadvantage. Yet even when golfers find clear advantages through technology or alternate practices, most players ignore them (often for decades!) and fall behind their peers. "Humans tend toward conformity," he explains. It's not hard to see how this applies to the business world as well. Whitney and Steve discuss the extraordinary ways that experimenting with risk can pay off, in your professional life, and on the fairway. And Steve stresses that if you don't have the pioneer's stomach for risk, make certain that you're a fast follower when innovation comes knocking. We're conducting a quick, anonymous survey to understand our audience better! It takes less than