Simon Sinek on When to Risk Something You Cannot Afford to Lose

In Chapter 16 of 20 in his 2011 Capture Your Flag interview with host Erik Michielsen, author and leadership expert Simon Sinek shares why risk sharing is so important to a successful partnership. First, Simon differentiates between a vendor and a partner. He then notes a partnership - whether it be a personal relationship, a marriage, or a business relationship - requires risk. He offers that if you are starting something new, to do so in a way where all partners invest in something they cannot afford to lose, whether it be time, energy, financial, or beliefs. The more people willing to share in that risk allows for greater potential in the endeavor. Simon Sinek is a trained ethnographer who applies his curiosity around why people do what they do to teach leaders and companies how to inspire people. He is the author of "Start With Why: How Great Leaders Inspire Everyone to Take Action". Sinek holds a BA degree in cultural anthropology from Brandeis University.

Transcript

Erik Michielsen: Why is risk-sharing so important to a successful partnership?

Simon Sinek: People who don’t put skin in the game, aren’t taking risks. Um, you know, when somebody, refuses to put skin in the game but wants a reward, that’s not a partnership, that’s a vendor. You know, somebody who says, “We want to be your partner, now pay us,” that’s fine; that’s a vendor relationship, that’s not a partnership. Partnerships require shared risk; that is what a partnership means. And that could be a personal relationship, a marriage or, more importantly, a business relationship. Business relationships require risk. 

It’s one of the old, you know, small business maxims, which is “never go into business with a millionaire” because the reason is, cause they’re not hungry, you know? You want to go into business with somebody who if they don’t work hard, it’s all over. And that’s not to say you shouldn’t accept money from millionaires, that’s fine, but risk –it’s the investing proverb, which is never invest more money than you can afford to lose, but if you’re gonna start something entirely new, you want everybody to invest in something that they can’t afford to lose. 

You gotta make this work, whether it’s financial, or time, or energy, or belief, or the problem you’re trying to solve … “We have to solve this problem, otherwise bad things happen,” or, we can make the world a better place.” I think, you know, and the more people who are willing to share in that risk, the results can only be good. If only one person is only  is willing to take a risk, then the other people will leave him high and dry. There’s no reason to go the extra mile, right?

Simon Sinek on How Glassblowing Class Teaches Teamwork

In Chapter 15 of 20 in his 2011 Capture Your Flag interview with host Erik Michielsen, author and leadership expert Simon Sinek takes his team to a glassblowing class and learns about collaboration and project ownership. The exercise teaches the team the importance of shared ownership and responsibility. Simon Sinek is a trained ethnographer who applies his curiosity around why people do what they do to teach leaders and companies how to inspire people. He is the author of "Start With Why: How Great Leaders Inspire Everyone to Take Action". Sinek holds a BA degree in cultural anthropology from Brandeis University.

Transcript

Erik Michielsen: What’d you learn when you took your team to the glassblowing class?

Simon Sinek: Well for one thing we learned teamwork, big time, that you cannot produce a piece of glass in a glassblowing class without somebody else. You must work with somebody else. And so we were producing these pieces – these vases and these wonderful things – and the question is who do they belong to? Is it the person who was doing the physical blowing? Is it the person who was doing the turning? Is it the person who did the dipping? Who does the piece belong to? 

Now, you could arbitrarily say, the person who dips, it’s their piece. But in reality, everything you’re producing belongs to two people, or at least two people. And that’s a pretty amazing thing. So, you know, when you’re working at work, who does your work belong to? Does it belong to you, or does it belong to the collective? And so, we learned that from our glassblowing, it was really great. Because we were divvying up the stuff it was like, well, “Who? I kind of worked on this a little more than you…” It was very hard to divvy this stuff up, because we all owned it.

Simon Sinek on Why Small Business Owners Should Study the Arts

In Chapter 14 of 20 in his 2011 Capture Your Flag interview with host Erik Michielsen, author and leadership expert Simon Sinek shares why small business owners benefit by studying the arts. He finds learning different problem-solving approaches outside one's core discipline opens the mind, in particular the subconscious mind, to consider new ways of approaching a situation. Sinek offers artistic expression around line, color, form, posture, and other ways of expression beyond language that can benefit a small business owner. Simon Sinek is a trained ethnographer who applies his curiosity around why people do what they do to teach leaders and companies how to inspire people. He is the author of "Start With Why: How Great Leaders Inspire Everyone to Take Action". Sinek holds a BA degree in cultural anthropology from Brandeis University.

Transcript

Erik Michielsen: Why should small business owners get involved in the arts?

Simon Sinek: I think that more businessmen should learn about the arts. I think a small business, especially, should study the arts. I remember a long time ago when I had a job, I had a small team, and I called a group meeting and they didn’t know what it was for. And they all showed up with their pencils and their notebooks and I said, “Okay, we’re going to a little offsite” and I took them to a gallery.

And the reason I think the arts are valuable, is, again it’s the way the brain works, you know? Have you ever noticed that you have all your good ideas, not when you’re sitting in a brainstorming session? Because your rational brain can only access about two feet of information around you. Where your subconscious brain can access the equivalent of ninety – something like, what is it? – 11 acres of information around you. In other words, every lesson or every experience you’ve had gets put in there. And it controls behavior and decision-making, just not language. And so that’s why we say, “this is a gut decision, it just feels right.”

Or it’s also the reason these decisions happen in bed, in the shower, when you go for a run, but not in the brainstorming session. The problems have been posed, the questions have been posed, but then your brain continues to think about them, it continues to try and solve them – accessing all this other information, just not rationally, and so [Snaps Fingers] these ideas seem to show up from nowhere. It’s like, do you ever leave the house, and you feel like you’ve forgotten something? And you’re like “what did I forget? What did I forget?” It’s not rational it’s that subconscious, and you leave the house and you’re like [snaps] my sunglasses. And it’s never wrong! When you get the feeling that you’ve forgotten something, it’s never – in other words, your subconscious knows.

And so the more you can do to fill that subconscious with information that has nothing to do with anything, apparently, the more I think it benefits you in the times when you need to actually apply that information. And I think the greatest opportunity for that is in the arts, because you’re not thinking about it, you’re not like “well I’ll read this book and it’s somewhat related to my work.”

No, go read things that have nothing to do with your work. Go watch performances, go see artists, go see the way other people solve problems in a way that have nothing to do with you. And you will not see the connection, and there is none. Or is there? There are things that you can learn outside of your own discipline that will significantly contribute to the problems you’re solving at work. You only know what you know, you don’t know what you don’t know, but more importantly, the arts seek to understand our world in a way that the rest of us don’t, you know, it accesses a language that the rest of us don’t use. You and I are communicating with English, right? This is the language we’re using. You talk to a painter or dancer, you know? They may lack the facility that you and I have right now. In other words, they’re uncomfortable speaking. But a great painter has the ability to express themselves in color, and in line or in form, that we can learn a lot about them through this new language. Or a dancer has the ability to you know, to present themselves and use their body as this, as language to share what they feel, right? And some of us have the ability to do it in language, but some of us don’t.

And I think to engage with the arts, to understand a new way of expression or understanding the world significantly enhances your ability to solve problems back at work. I’m a firm believer that all small business, you know, all the owners – if not everybody – should go take classes. Go take a glass blowing class, go take a ceramics class, go take a ballet class, go take a piano lesson, go take a painting class, it doesn’t matter. Drawing … whatever tickles your fancy. Because you will learn things in those classes that will significantly contribute to your understanding of how you present to the world. I took a ballet class with a couple of friends of mine, and I learned about presence and posture, and I can tell you, as a speaker, guess where I found that? Not from a speakers’ bureau, you know?

Simon Sinek on Why Greatness Starts and Ends With Passion

In Chapter 13 of 20 in his 2011 Capture Your Flag interview with host Erik Michielsen, author and leadership expert Simon Sinek shares what performing artists have taught him about preparation, process, and passion. Sinek finds passion matters on the bookends. It starts things. It is the process, or preparation, where people differentiate, develop, and ascend as individuals and as work - or art - creators. This process is where individuals accept and embrace technical capacity and open themselves to failure and the willingness to learn from and iterate upon it. Simon Sinek is a trained ethnographer who applies his curiosity around why people do what they do to teach leaders and companies how to inspire people. He is the author of "Start With Why: How Great Leaders Inspire Everyone to Take Action". Sinek holds a BA degree in cultural anthropology from Brandeis University.

Transcript

Erik Michielsen: What has your passion for the performing arts taught you about the power of preparation?

Simon Sinek: There is something magical about somebody, an artist, who is willing to put himself out there, to share with am audience, to share with the world, something that they have created. And there is the very high possibility of failure, that it won’t be good. And if any component doesn’t work it can affect the thing as a whole. Um, preparation is interesting. I’m a great believer in process, to a degree. 

Which is – you have to be good at what you’re doing, and you have to understand your own discipline and have a technical grounding, but that’s not where it ends. I think where passion matters is on the bookends. You know, people start things because they’re passionate, you know? “I was passionate about this so I decided to start my own business,” or, “I was passionate about this so I started to take classes.” Passion’s what gets things started. 

And then it’s that process, it’s that preparation that you become understanding of, where it becomes intellectualized, that thing that you like, and that’s where I think most people fall down. “Oh my goodness there’s a lot of work here,” you know? So that usually ends that “passion” pretty quickly, or they get stuck in there, where it becomes only learning and only thinking. And really, there’s a point at which you have to say, “okay, you know what? I know how to do this; I’m good at this. I have to trust that I’m good at this, I have to trust the training and now I’m gonna go back to that passion again.” 

And those are the few who are able to truly catapult themselves, or their work, to this new level where we say it’s great, not just good. Because they’ve allowed themselves to now accept the technical capacity and leave themselves open to the potential for making mistakes again. Children have passion and they’re beautiful to watch, and they make a total mess. And these few here, they kind of have a childish way about them, they kind of act like children in some way, where it’s a little bit reckless abandon but for the fact that they have training and grounding and preparation. And I think those – that’s a beautiful thing to pursue. It’s a hard thing to do, because now that you’re technically based and you have an understanding, are you willing to fail? Yes here, because you don’t know anything [taps table] and yes here if you can be great.

Simon Sinek on What the Military Teaches About the Importance of Planning

In Chapter 12 of 20 in his 2011 Capture Your Flag interview with host Erik Michielsen, author and leadership expert Simon Sinek shares what working with the military, including the Air Force, has taught him about planning. Specifically, Sinek learns planning is much more valuable as a process than as an event. He paraphrases President Dwight Eisenhower's statement "In preparation for battle, I have always found that plans are useless, but planning is indispensable." Sinek learns plans too often go wrong but the process of planning creates more responsive reaction and problem solving in the face of adversity and uncertainty. Simon Sinek is a trained ethnographer who applies his curiosity around why people do what they do to teach leaders and companies how to inspire people. He is the author of "Start With Why: How Great Leaders Inspire Everyone to Take Action". Sinek holds a BA degree in cultural anthropology from Brandeis University.

Transcript

Erik Michielsen: What have you learned about planning from the military?

Simon Sinek: One of the things that I think is very interesting, the difference between at least the Air Force, and -- and the military at large – and the private sector, is “planning” quote, un-quote, is something that happens in businesses either once a year – it’s either you know, your annual strategic whatever -- or when something goes wrong. We have to have planning sessions. And that’s pretty much the only time there’s planning, right? In reaction to something, or this prescribed annual event.

In the military, and in the Air Force, they’re constantly, constantly, constantly planning. And they will produce thousands of plans a year of which only maybe a few hundred will get implemented. And, you know, Dwight Eisenhower said a long time ago – and I never understood what he meant until recently – when he said, “planning is everything; the plan is nothing.” And basically what that means is the plan is irrelevant the minute you try to implement it because your competition, the enemy, whoever it is, they’re not following your plan, you know? And your plan will go wrong almost as soon as it’s implemented.

And it’s this constant process of planning. That it’s not the plan, per se, but it’s the process of planning, that if something does go wrong, you can react to it. One of the interesting practical applications for this was the housing crisis, the economic crisis. Which was, the actuaries had figured out that there was a 99 percent chance of success for this mortgage-backed security thing. And they thought, “oh my god we’re all gonna get rich, let’s do this thing” and they did, and we all know exactly what happened. The problem is there was no plan for that one percent that happened, which is the housing market collapsed. There was no plan ever developed or thought about if the one percent were to happen.

In the military, I can promise you, they would have thought about that opportunity, if that – “what would … how would we react if that happens?” Um, and panic is what ensued and nobody knew the answer, and things collapsed, and banks collapsed, and people lost money because there was no plan. And now the planning began and we’re still digging ourselves out of the hole, only because planning was an event and not a process.

Simon Sinek on How to Avoid Useless Innovation and Solve Human Problems

In Chapter 8 of 20 in his 2011 Capture Your Flag interview with host Erik Michielsen, author and leadership expert Simon Sinek shares his favorite definition of innovation - the application of technology to solve human problems. He highlights several product advancements that do not answer human problems, causing a breakdown in innovation thinking. He uses a toaster as an example of useful innovation that meets his criteria: the application of technology to solve human problems. Simon Sinek is a trained ethnographer who applies his curiosity around why people do what they do to teach leaders and companies how to inspire people. He is the author of "Start With Why: How Great Leaders Inspire Everyone to Take Action". Sinek holds a BA degree in cultural anthropology from Brandeis University.

Transcript

Erik Michielsen: How do you define innovation?

Simon Sinek: Well, I mean a definition I like is the application of technology to solve human problems. I know that not all innovation is about technology. I know that, but I like that, if we have a very broad definition of innovation.

Erik Michielsen: Why does that register so well with you?

Simon Sinek: Because the important part, to me, is the solving of human problems. Just because we can do something doesn’t mean we should do something. And I think, especially in the technology world, we become obsessed with the fact that we can, not that we should. And we call “innovation” where it’s really nonsense. I mean for example, do you remember when if you wanted to watch – if you needed a projector – you used to pull the string down to get the screen down.

Like, what problem were they solving getting rid of the string? You know now everything has a button. And by the way, those buttons and those motors break all the time. I don’t ever recall that string being a problem. And yet we feel the need because we can put motors on buttons on things, that we should put a motor and button on that. It’s like, you look at a Toyota Prius, and everything is touch screen. So if you’re following the GPS and your phone rings, you lose the GPS! Or, if you want to change the temperature, you know, or if you wanna – you have to take four screens – what happened with knobs and buttons? Like, what’s wrong with turning up your volume like this, for your radio? Like, what human problem are we solving? The answer is we’re not solving any human problems. That’s the problem with that kind of technology. It’s pointless.

One of the best pieces of innovation I’ve seen lately is my toaster, which is – and I bought my toaster specifically for this feature – which is, you push a toaster down to make it toast and then it pops up. In my toaster, you can lift the button up and it lifts the toast out so you don’t have to go picking it out with a fork or a knife. That’s innovation! That’s the application of some sort of technology, or engineering in this case, to solve a human problem. And, uh, I think just because we can do things, whether engineers or technologists, or on the Internet, doesn’t mean that we necessarily should. And if you have the capacity to do something big make sure you’re solving a real problem that exists, not something that doesn’t. [Erik laughs] I have more respect for my toaster than I do a Toyota Prius.

Simon Sinek on Why to Consider Outsider Opinions When Planning Strategy

In Chapter 7 of 20 in his 2011 Capture Your Flag interview with host Erik Michielsen, author and leadership expert Simon Sinek shares why he feels outsider opinions add value to strategic planning efforts. Sinek finds his own ideas by comparing and contrasting things that do not connect across government, politics, military, big business, small business, and non-profit. The experience takeaways Sinek gathers working across these industries allows him to learn and hone his own style of outsider expertise he then applies on client projects such as RAND Corporation. Simon Sinek is a trained ethnographer who applies his curiosity around why people do what they do to teach leaders and companies how to inspire people. He is the author of "Start With Why: How Great Leaders Inspire Everyone to Take Action". Sinek holds a BA degree in cultural anthropology from Brandeis University.

Transcript

Erik Michielsen: Why is it important to consider outsider opinions when planning strategy?

Simon Sinek: Oh, I mean working as an outsider or working with an outsider, they have perspective that you don’t have. I don’t think this is a revelation, you know I get to work with the Rand Corporation, which is the largest think tank in the world … one of the most prestigious think tanks in the world. And, you know I don’t have half, or even a quarter or even an eighth of the credentials of some of the people who work at Rand or who I work with. The thing they value from me – and they say this to me – is I have a perspective unlike theirs, and I raise questions and I see things that they can’t see. That they don’t see. And that is the value of an outsider. 

Erik Michielsen: Did your perception of that kind of outsider influence change at all once you started working with Rand or has that been something that’s always been constant in all of your work? 

Simon Sinek: I’m a great believer of looking outside; I mean all of my ideas come from comparing and contrasting things that don’t connect. I mean, the fact that I get to work in government and politics and military and big business and small business and non-profit … I learn something over here that I realize could solve a problem over here. And it is that breadth, that broad view, that I specifically take that specifically contributes to what I’m able to bring to all the others. And it’s amazing because they think that I’m an expert in their industry, and the answer is I actually learned it from somebody else. And that happens all the time.

Simon Sinek on Why to Use Momentum to Define and Measure Career Success

In Chapter 5 of 20 in his 2011 Capture Your Flag interview with host Erik Michielsen, author and leadership expert Simon Sinek shares why momentum, not results, is how he measures success. He notes how success is something everyone pursues but few can measure and define. Sinek is less concerned with financial or lifestyle markers as success measurements and more about momentum, and seeing things start and begin to roll by themselves. He compares this to a rolling stone that gathers no moss and layers his purpose to keep that initiative moving. Simon Sinek is a trained ethnographer who applies his curiosity around why people do what they do to teach leaders and companies how to inspire people. He is the author of "Start With Why: How Great Leaders Inspire Everyone to Take Action". Sinek holds a BA degree in cultural anthropology from Brandeis University.

Transcript

Erik Michielsen:  Why is momentum fundamental in measuring and understanding success?

Simon Sinek: Success is an elusive thing, right? What is it? And I think it’s very interesting, that if most people can’t define success – “well it means you made x amount of dollars,” or - but if you make x amount of dollars but you spend more, are you successful? Or “well it means you come home happy everyday” Okay, how do you know you’re happy, you know? Uh, so, I think success is a funny thing, which is, we all seem to pursue it but we don’t know how to measure it or actually how to define it. 

So how do you pursue something that you can’t measure? Fascinating. So, when people say to me “how do you measure success?’ The a question we all have to ask ourselves, “Am I successful?” I don’t know, I mean, I had a good year last year, uh, and what does that mean? Does that mean I made a lot of money? Does that mean I was really happy? I’ll let you decide, right? Maybe neither, maybe both. I had a good year last year, but am I successful? And the answer is no, I don’t feel I am, because I am trying to build a world that doesn’t exist yet. I’m trying to build a world in which 90 percent of the people go home at the end of the day feeling fulfilled by the work that they do. So I definitely took a step – a big step towards that goal but I’m still so far away. So somebody said to me, “then how do you know if you’re successful?” And the answer is, if it can go by itself. 

And so what is more interesting to me as a measurement of success, it’s not the markers per se, it’s not the financial goal, or the size of the house that you want to buy, those are nice things. Go for it, but those, those are not measurements of success, those are just nice things to collect along the way. For me, it’s momentum, I want a measure of momentum, which is – you know – when something is moving and you start to see it lose momentum, you’re like, “uh oh, give it a push,” because if you don’t give it a push it’s gonna stop. And an object in stasis is much harder to get going. It requires a lot more energy to get something started than it does to keep it going, right? 

And so, if you don’t let it stop and you can keep it going – you know it still might slow down there but you can get it going again much easier. And for me the opportunity is to get the ball rolling faster and faster and faster and faster and bigger and bigger; it’s like a snowball. And my responsibility is – because it’s not going down hill yet, it’s not on automatic yet – I need to still keep it going, to find that critical mass where it can go ‘Psssshh.’ 

And at the point it can go by itself without me, I need to find something else to do. And that may not happen in my lifetime. I think we must all stop measuring promotions, salaries, and these things, but rather measure the momentum of my career. “Does my career have momentum? Can I see it moving in the right direction? Can I see it gathering moss?” You know? “Can I see that’s it’s easier, becoming easier for me to keep the momentum? It’s becoming easier for me to grow, the size of this thing, it’s requiring less effort.” That’s the thing that we need to measure. That’s the thing that we need to be cognizant of, which is the momentum of our careers, not just the markers that we think define our success.

Simon Sinek on How Setting Unrealistic Goals Can Serve the Greater Good

In Chapter 4 of 20 in his 2011 Capture Your Flag interview with host Erik Michielsen, author and leadership expert Simon Sinek learns to set big, often unrealistic goals to advance his ambition to change the world. Similar to Big Hairy Audacious Goals - BHAG - Sinek finds underachieving on large goals to be more rewarding and inspiring than overachieving on small goals. Simon Sinek is a trained ethnographer who applies his curiosity around why people do what they do to teach leaders and companies how to inspire people. He is the author of "Start With Why: How Great Leaders Inspire Everyone to Take Action". Sinek holds a BA degree in cultural anthropology from Brandeis University.

Transcript

Erik Michielsen: Why do you prioritize serving the greater good in doing what you’re doing?

Simon Sinek:  It’s easy to pull things back; it’s very hard to ramp things up. And I’d rather start with something that’s too big and pull it back into reality, than start with something that’s so easy that you can’t really get it up. For example, you know, don’t set your goals realistically, set them entirely unrealistically. I mean, shoot for 80 and be disappointed when you hit 70. As opposed to shooting for 20 and being ecstatic when you hit 21. “We beat our goal!” Yeah, but it was a low goal. You know? I think, I think to be frustrated and achieving something, rather than ecstatic and achieving less, is a better way to live. Not to mention you achieve more. And so, I’m a great believer in the greater good –like those things, like so big, they’re ridiculous. Like, you know my goal, it’s a hundred year goal, it’s called world peace. Pshhh! You know? So daunting, you know? But that’s the idea. If I fail – and I certainly won’t achieve it in my lifetime – I like to think that what I’ll contribute towards that ridiculous idealistic nonsense goal will be more than if I say, “if I can just be happy by myself in my little house,” you know? Eh, I mean that’s nice and all, but I like the idea of contributing to your neighbor as well.

What Gatorade Teaches About Social Media Branding Innovation - Caroline Giegerich

In Chapter 10 of 10 of her 2010 Capture Your Flag interview with host Erik Michielsen, marketing innovator and digital strategist Caroline Giegerich shares how big brands are innovating customer relationship marketing by using large scale social media monitoring. She cites Gatorade, and its social media "war room" as an example of how a company is putting a higher priority on monitoring and engaging social media customer feedback, ideas, and exchanges. Giegerich is currently Director of Innovations at Initiative, where she brainstorms and executes cross-platform marketing strategies. She has worked in online marketing roles at both HBO and the Los Angeles Times. She holds a BA in Pre-Med Sciences and Philosophy from Brown University.

Why Marketers Should Empower Audiences to Speak for Brands - Caroline Giegerich

In Chapter 7 of 10 of her 2010 Capture Your Flag interview with host Erik Michielsen, marketing innovator and digital strategist Caroline Giegerich shares why audience participation plays such an important role creating a brand experience. Giegerich highlights the increasing acceptance of marketers empowering their audiences to speak for the brands. When audiences create the messaging, they feel more invested in the brand and is more likely to buy the brand. Giegerich is currently Director of Innovations at Initiative, where she brainstorms and executes cross-platform marketing strategies. She has worked in online marketing roles at both HBO and the Los Angeles Times. She holds a BA in Pre-Med Sciences and Philosophy from Brown University.

How Conference and Event Speaking Enhance Career - Caroline Giegerich

In Chapter 4 of 10 of her 2010 Capture Your Flag interview with host Erik Michielsen, marketing innovator and digital strategist Caroline Giegerich furthers her career by participating in conference and event speaking opportunities. The experiences introduce Giegerich to industry peers and the conversation provides an educational and motivational experience Giegerich Giegerich is currently Director of Innovations at Initiative, where she brainstorms and executes cross-platform marketing strategies. She has worked in online marketing roles at both HBO and the Los Angeles Times. She holds a BA in Pre-Med Sciences and Philosophy from Brown University.

How Manager and Director Leadership Roles Differ - Caroline Giegerich

In Chapter 3 of 10 of her 2010 Capture Your Flag interview with host Erik Michielsen, marketing innovator and digital strategist Caroline Giegerich shares what has changed moving from a manager role to a director role. As a manager at HBO, Giegerich was not responsible for a team. Instead, she focuses on managing up, which she relates to growing up and building relationships with parents. In her new role, she learns to lead and empower a team by both managing up and down. Giegerich is currently Director of Innovations at Initiative, where she brainstorms and executes cross-platform marketing strategies. She has worked in online marketing roles at both HBO and the Los Angeles Times. She holds a BA in Pre-Med Sciences and Philosophy from Brown University.

How Marketer Learns to Sell Brands Content Innovation - Caroline Giegerich

In Chapter 2 of 10 of her 2010 Capture Your Flag interview with host Erik Michielsen, marketing innovator and digital strategist Caroline Giegerich learns to sell brands content ideas and innovation through her transition from HBO to advertising agency Initiative Worldwide. Coming from a content company, HBO, she learns to apply skills here to different content-based brands. She learns the importance of learning new markets, including consumer goods and automotive, to understand how brands operate and work. Giegerich is currently Director of Innovations at Initiative, where she brainstorms and executes cross-platform marketing strategies. She has worked in online marketing roles at both HBO and the Los Angeles Times. She holds a BA in Pre-Med Sciences and Philosophy from Brown University.

Why to Work in an Advertising Agency - Caroline Giegerich

In Chapter 1 of 10 of her 2010 Capture Your Flag interview with host Erik Michielsen, marketing innovator and digital strategist Caroline Giegerich shares why she enjoys working in an advertising agency environment. Over the past year, Giegerich left a digital marketing position at HBO for an agency. She enjoys getting to work across multiple major brands - including Lucas Arts, Kia, Dr. Pepper / Snapple, and Liongate - and their different challenges. The transition into a client services environmment required Giegerich to learn the various groups within the agency and how teams collaborate. Giegerich is currently Director of Innovations at Initiative, where she brainstorms and executes cross-platform marketing strategies. She has worked in online marketing roles at both HBO and the Los Angeles Times. She holds a BA in Pre-Med Sciences and Philosophy from Brown University.

Why Define Success by the Relationships You Create - Alan McNab

In Chapter 17 of 17 in his 2010 Capture Your Flag interview with host Erik Michielsen, customer advocacy marketing executive Alan McNab defines and measures success based on the relationships he has created. McNab reflects on the experiences and overall history that constitute his story. Through ups and downs over more than a decade McNab learns to value relationships as commitments and experience strengthen the bonds over time. McNab holds a BSEE in Electrical Engineering from Santa Clara University and an MBA from Trinity College in Dublin, Ireland. He has worked in various technology marketing roles at Hewlett-Packard, Cisco, Motorola, and is now Vice President, Customer Advocacy at NCR based in Dublin.

What Sailing Teaches About What Company to Keep in Life and Career - Alan McNab

In Chapter 16 of 17 in his 2010 Capture Your Flag interview with host Erik Michielsen, customer advocacy marketing executive Alan McNab shares how his passion for sailing allows him to reflect on life and careers. McNab learns the importance of working and competing with friends he can trust. Over time in both competitive sailing and in career, McNab surrounds himself with friends who collectively build a history of accomplishments and experiences. McNab holds a BSEE in Electrical Engineering from Santa Clara University and an MBA from Trinity College in Dublin, Ireland. He has worked in various technology marketing roles at Hewlett-Packard, Cisco, Motorola, and is now Vice President, Customer Advocacy at NCR based in Dublin.

What Competitive Sailing Teaches About Team Dynamics - Alan McNab

In Chapter 15 of 17 in his 2010 Capture Your Flag interview with host Erik Michielsen, customer advocacy marketing executive Alan McNab talks about his passion for competitive sailing and how it has informed how he sets goals and measures achievements. McNab applies commitment-based management to understand competitive racing and how teams come together to compete. McNab finds competitive sailing is not only about team dynamics but is also about preparation and continuous improvement. He applies what he has learned working in marketing strategy to understand how to improve his sailing experience. McNab holds a BSEE in Electrical Engineering from Santa Clara University and an MBA from Trinity College in Dublin, Ireland. He has worked in various technology marketing roles at Hewlett-Packard, Cisco, Motorola, and is now Vice President, Customer Advocacy at NCR based in Dublin.