Jason Anello on Three Ways to Have a More Memorable Meal With Friends

In Chapter 2 of 20 in his 2014 Capture Your Flag interview, creative director and marketing agency co-founder Jason Anello answers "What Are Your Favorite Ways to Share Food Adventures and Meals With Friends?" In his culinary adventures, Anello has found three ways to have a more memorable meal with friends. First is having courage to order crazy items on the menu for the table. Second is getting more people involved in the group so more food can be tried and more reactions can be observed. Third is to be spontaneous and less rigid about making dinner plans.

Jason Anello is a founding partner and creative director at Manifold Partners, an award-winning marketing agency. Previously, Anello worked in creative leadership roles at Yahoo!, Ogilvy & Mather, and Digitas. Passionate about food, friendship and travel, Anello also runs the Forking Tasty food blog. He earned a BFA from University at Albany. 

Cathy Erway on What a Cookbook Writer Does After Recipes are Written

In Chapter 4 of 20 in her 2014 Capture Your Flag interview, author and food writer Cathy Erway answers "How Has Writing a Cookbook Compared and Contrasted to What You Expected It Would Be Like?" Erway shares what it has been like writing a full-color, photo-heavy cookbook and how it contrasts to writing her first book, a memoir. Erway's cookbook demands she cast a creative vision and also play a project manager role to complement the team of assistants, designers, editors, food stylists, and food photographers.

Cathy Erway is an author, food writer, freelance copywriter, radio show host and teacher focused on healthy food advocacy. Her second book, "The Food of Taiwan: Recipes From the Beautiful Island" is a cookbook featuring Taiwanese recipes ranging from homestyle dishes to street food favorites. Her first book, "The Art of Eating In" developed from her blog "Not Eating Out in New York".  Erway earned a BA in creative writing from Emerson College. 

Phil McKenzie on Empowering Remote Workers by Letting Go

In Chapter 7 of 20 in his 2014 Capture Your Flag interview, entrepreneur Phil McKenzie answers "What Skills Are You Working on Right Now to Get Better at Your Job?" McKenzie shares how he is working on letting go of project management responsibilities and handing them over to remote project teams working all over the world. Between time differences and cultural connections, McKenzie finds it is time to give his overseas teams such as one in Mumbai, India, a chance to lead their own projects.

Philip L. McKenzie is the Founder of Influencer Conference, a global content platform that brings together tastemakers in the arts, entrepreneurship, philanthropy and technology to discuss influencer culture. Previously, he led an influencer marketing agency and was an equities trader at Goldman, Sachs & Co. He earned an MBA from Duke University and a BBA from Howard University.

Phil McKenzie on Why Accountability is a Two-Step Process

In Chapter 8 of 20 in his 2014 Capture Your Flag interview, entrepreneur Phil McKenzie answers "What Approaches Do You Use to Hold Others Accountable For Their Actions?" McKenzie shares how he has learned from experience that accountability is a two-step process. First, it is his responsibility to clearly define project objectives and communicate this to his team. The second step is to provide space and structure to measure performance against those goals within a given timeframe. This helps keep his team on track as they work on a project and helps McKenzie provide coaching and support to make changes if things do not go as planned.

Philip L. McKenzie is the Founder of Influencer Conference, a global content platform that brings together tastemakers in the arts, entrepreneurship, philanthropy and technology to discuss influencer culture. Previously, he led an influencer marketing agency and was an equities trader at Goldman, Sachs & Co. He earned an MBA from Duke University and a BBA from Howard University.

Mike Germano: What MBA Programs Don't Teach About Selling a Business

In Chapter 8 of 23 in his 2014 Capture Your Flag interview, VICE Media Chief Digital Officer Mike Germano answers "What Did You Find Most Educational About Going Through the Process of Selling Your Company?" Germano shares what he learned selling his business Carrot Creative to VICE Media. He notes how it is something you are not likely to learn in business school. He finds the process is about self-realization and embracing challenge of taking a mission to another level, in this case a global-level with a billion-dollar digital media company.

Mike Germano is Chief Digital Officer at VICE Media, a global youth media company based in Brooklyn, New York. Germano joined VICE Media via its 2013 acquisition of Carrot Creative, a social media agency he co-founded and led as CEO. 

Mike Germano: Changing Job Roles After Company Gets Acquired

In Chapter 12 of 23 in his 2014 Capture Your Flag interview, VICE Media Chief Digital Officer Mike Germano answers "How Has Your Role Changed Since Your Company Was Acquired?" Germano shares how he has went from being a "janitor in a tuxedo" working all kinds of job roles to becoming an executive leader at a much larger company. In both instances, Germano pushes a vision for the future of digital media, adapting to a much larger stage at his new employer VICE.

Mike Germano is Chief Digital Officer at VICE Media, a global youth media company based in Brooklyn, New York. Germano joined VICE Media via its 2013 acquisition of Carrot Creative, a social media agency he co-founded and led as CEO. 

Mike Germano on Being Comfortable in Uncomfortable Situations

In Chapter 17 of 23 in his 2014 Capture Your Flag interview, VICE Media Chief Digital Officer Mike Germano answers "How Have You Learned to Be More Comfortable in Uncomfortable Situations?" Germano shares how getting comfortable being uncomfortable is something he embraces. Knowing others may see this scenario as a negative thing, Germano sees it as an opportunity where he can be at his best. He cites Robert Duvall's character Lt. Bill Kilgore from Apocalypse Now, who embraced discomfort enough to surf amidst a firefight.

Mike Germano is Chief Digital Officer at VICE Media, a global youth media company based in Brooklyn, New York. Germano joined VICE Media via its 2013 acquisition of Carrot Creative, a social media agency he co-founded and led as CEO. 

Mike Germano on Getting Better at Teaching Others What You Know

In Chapter 19 of 23 in his 2014 Capture Your Flag interview, VICE Media Chief Digital Officer Mike Germano answers "How Are You Becoming a Better Teacher?" Germano shares how transparency helps him relate his experiences to mentees and staff in need of guidance. By making this connection, he can also find the right fit for students, putting them in a place where they will succeed, while sharing small lessons that over time add up to something larger and more profound.

Mike Germano is Chief Digital Officer at VICE Media, a global youth media company based in Brooklyn, New York. Germano joined VICE Media via its 2013 acquisition of Carrot Creative, a social media agency he co-founded and led as CEO. 

Hammans Stallings on Building Storytelling Skills in a Strategy Job

In Chapter 8 of 19 in his 2014 Capture Your Flag interview, strategist and management consultant Hammans Stallings answers "What Skills Are You Using More as Your Career Advances?" Stallings finds that he currently is focusing more on storytelling skills and less on analytics in his strategist work at frog design. The storytelling helps him improve group-based critical thinking needed to visualize a client problem to formulate a strategy.

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

Matt Curtis on Building Leadership Skills in a Director-Level Job Role

In Chapter 15 of 20 in his 2014 Capture Your Flag interview, Matt Curtis answers "What Leadership Skills are Becoming More Relevant to You As Your Career Progresses?" Curtis shares that in his director-level role, the two leadership skills that stand out are 1) embracing the experience learning from failures and mistakes and 2) the importance of being encouraging and positive independent of team size.

Matt Curtis is the director of government relations at HomeAway Inc. Previously he was deputy to Austin mayors Lee Leffingwell and Will Wynn. He has represented the City of Austin at the U.S. Conference of Mayors and the National League of Cities. In 2011, Curtis joined the Harvard Kennedy School Urban Policy Advisory Board to work on national best practices facing American cities. He earned his bachelor's degree in radio, television and film from the University of North Texas. 

Matt Curtis on Building Strategic Partnerships With Local Government

In Chapter 18 of 20 in his 2014 Capture Your Flag interview, Matt Curtis answers "How Are You Improving How Your Company Builds Strategic Partnerships?" Curtis shares how working with local government stakeholders on local government issues is about not forcing issues on another party. Instead, Curtis creates construtive dialogues to help him understand both sides and build consensus on the right path to take. He finds it helpful to engage in local government groups such as Congress for New Urbanism, The National League of Cities, the United States Conference of Mayors and the Urban Land Institute to work through best practices.

Matt Curtis is the director of government relations at HomeAway Inc. Previously he was deputy to Austin mayors Lee Leffingwell and Will Wynn. He has represented the City of Austin at the U.S. Conference of Mayors and the National League of Cities. In 2011, Curtis joined the Harvard Kennedy School Urban Policy Advisory Board to work on national best practices facing American cities. He earned his bachelor's degree in radio, television and film from the University of North Texas. 

Courtney Spence on Living Up to Expectations as a Company Leader

In Chapter 11 of 20 in her 2014 Capture Your Flag interview, nonprofit CEO Courtney Spence answers "What Role Does Living Up to the Expectations of Others Play into the Way You Live?" As a leader of a company, Spence, experiences and accepts the constant pressure that comes with meeting expectations from investors, employees, clients and partners. She finds it is about staying mindful of her journey and her organization's mission, purpose, and values while making a difference and having fun doing so.

Courtney Spence is founder and CEO of Students of the World, a nonprofit empowering a diverse network of student and emerging filmmakers to apply storytelling skills in purposeful work. She is also the Founder and CEO of CSpence group, a creative agency building millennial-focused content and programs for brands. Spence earned a BA from Duke University. 

Courtney Spence on What It Means to Contribute at Work Each Day

In Chapter 12 of 20 in her 2014 Capture Your Flag interview, nonprofit CEO Courtney Spence answers "On a Daily Basis, What Does It Mean to Contribute in the Work That You Do?" For Spence, she finds making a daily contribution comes down to staying composed and being present as a leader. By maintaining positivity and sheltering adversity she may be facing outside of work, she is able to rise to the challenge of being a team leader at work.

Courtney Spence is founder and CEO of Students of the World, a nonprofit empowering a diverse network of student and emerging filmmakers to apply storytelling skills in purposeful work. She is also the Founder and CEO of CSpence group, a creative agency building millennial-focused content and programs for brands. Spence earned a BA from Duke University. 

Hattie Elliot on What It Means to Be a Leader Running a Small Business

In Chapter 14 of 15 in her 2014 Capture Your Flag interview, entrepreneur Hattie Elliot answers "What Does It Mean to Be a Leader in What You Do?" Elliot shares how being an entrepreneurial leader running a small business starts with waking up each day and making the most of it. It means fighting through adversity and challenge, staying honest with others, being optimistic about reality, and never playing the role of a victim.

Hattie Grace Elliot is the founder and CEO of The Grace List, a social networking company that creates destination events and experiences to forge lasting personal and professional connections across its young professional members. Elliot graduated from the University of Cape Town in South Africa, where she studied economics, philosophy, and politics.

Matt Ruby on Two Ways to Improve Comedy Screenwriting Skills

In Chapter 9 of 19 in his 2014 Capture Your Flag interview, standup comedian and Vooza founder Matt Ruby answers "What Skills Are You Working on Right Now to Become Better at Your Job?" Ruby shares two ways he is improving as a comedy screenwriter. First, he finds it helpful to invite feedback and give ownership to his creative team of writers and actors. The added ownership gives his team an opportunity to personalize the characters and scripts to their strengths. Second, Ruby works on building better narrative arcs to improve story flow and structure. Working on short-form web videos averaging three minutes, he finds that structure makes the storyline more interesting and the characters more compelling.

Matt Ruby is a standup comedian based in New York City. He also founded Vooza, on online comic strip web series that makes fun of tech startup culture. As an actor, director, writer and producer, Ruby leads the creative direction for the team. Before his comedy career, Matt was employee #1 at 37Signals. He graduated from Northwestern University. 

Matt Ruby on Running a Profitable Online Entertainment Startup

In Chapter 14 of 19 in his 2014 Capture Your Flag interview, standup comedian and Vooza founder Matt Ruby answers "What Does It Mean to Be a Leader in What You Do?" Ruby compares what he is building at Vooza with an entrepreneur story about starting a lawn care business. The lawn care business grows slowly and makes money but does not receive attention because it is not glamorous. In the same way, rather than raising venture capital and measuring success by whether or not a major network picks up his show, Ruby takes a nontraditional route, building a profitable online business selling branded content episodes for a web series.

Matt Ruby is a standup comedian based in New York City. He also founded Vooza, on online comic strip web series that makes fun of tech startup culture. As an actor, director, writer and producer, Ruby leads the creative direction for the team. Before his comedy career, Matt was employee #1 at 37Signals. He graduated from Northwestern University. 

Michael Olsen on Going From Small Business Owner to MBA Consultant

In Chapter 12 of 20 in his 2014 Capture Your Flag interview, management consultant Michael Olsen answers "Where Has Running Your Own Small Business Been Most Useful Working a Corporate Job?" After running a small business and earning an MBA, Olsen joins Accenture as a management consultant. Working with senior leaders on consulting projects, Olsen draws from his own business leadership experience running a business to respect that management decisions he influences or makes will impact the future of not only the company but also the employees who work there.

Michael Olsen is a management consultant at Accenture. Previous to Accenture, Olsen earned dual MBA and MPH degrees at Emory University in Atlanta. Olsen earned a BA in symbolic systems from Stanford University and spent the next five years founding an IT consulting company, Redwood Strategies. 

Bryan Law on Going From Introvert to Extrovert in a Business Career

In Chapter 2 of 23 in his 2014 Capture Your Flag interview, business strategist Bryan Law answers "When Are You At Your Best?" Law finds his best working on collaborative teams and helping lead them to achieve goals. An introvert in his early 20s, Law attends business school and learns to be more extroverted in his behavior, seeking out opportunities in student government. This helps him build acumen working with large teams.

Bryan Law is a Principal in the Global Business Strategy Group at Google and a board member at Angola University. Previously, he was a manager at Monitor, a management consulting firm. He has worked in consulting roles at Watson Wyatt and Mercer. He earned an MBA from the Northwestern University Kellogg School of Business and a BA from Georgetown University.