How to Apply Academic Theory in Business Work - Hammans Stallings

In Chapter 12 of 22 in his 2012 Capture Your Flag interview, innovation strategist Hammans Stallings answers "How Do You Translate Academic Theory into the Language of Business?"  Stallings finds support in the communication skills of his frog design colleagues.  Specifically he uses visual and communication design tools to prototype ideas and theories to business and create a reaction and subsequent feedback loop.  He This is Hammans Stallings' Year 2 CYF interview.  Stallings is currently a Senior Strategist at frog design.  Previously he worked in business 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 McCombs School of Business and a BA in Economics and Psychology from the University of Virginia.

The Importance of Nonverbal Communication - Hammans Stallings

In Chapter 13 of 22 in his 2012 Capture Your Flag interview, innovation strategist Hammans Stallings answers "How Are You Learning to Communicate More Effectively?"  Stallings discusses what he has learned about nonverbal communication working at frog design.  Stallings talks about the value of diverse communication styles in the ideation and problem solving processes.  This is Hammans Stallings' Year 2 CYF interview.  Stallings is currently a Senior Strategist at frog design.  Previously he worked in business 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 McCombs School of Business and a BA in Economics and Psychology from the University of Virginia. 

How to Use Story to Frame and Solve Problems - Hammans Stallings

In Chapter 14 of 22 in his 2012 Capture Your Flag interview, innovation strategist Hammans Stallings answers "Why Do You Believe the Best Stories Solve Multiple Problems?"  Stallings shares how story form and story end, typically resolution of a conflict, are natural ways to communicate complex problems.  He adds how story allows you to simplify complex problems and break down the story meaning in ways that can connect differently with different audiences.  This is Hammans Stallings' Year 2 CYF interview.  Stallings is currently a Senior Strategist at frog design.  Previously he worked in business 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 McCombs School of Business and a BA in Economics and Psychology from the University of Virginia.

How to Improve a Business Strategy Presentation - Hammans Stallings

In Chapter 15 of 22 in his 2012 Capture Your Flag interview, innovation strategist Hammans Stallings answers "How Do You Introduce Radically Different and New Business Strategies to Clients?"  Stallings notes the importance of showing clients a visible example.  Comparable businesses, or business analogs, are great examples Stallings uses to educate clients in the strategic presentation process.  This is Hammans Stallings' Year 2 CYF interview.  Stallings is currently a Senior Strategist at frog design.  Previously he worked in business 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 McCombs School of Business and a BA in Economics and Psychology from the University of Virginia. 

Why to Seek Career Advice Outside Your Industry - Hammans Stallings

In Chapter 16 of 22 in his 2012 Capture Your Flag interview, innovation strategist Hammans Stallings answers "At This Moment in Your Life, Where Are You Seeking Advice and Coaching?"  Stallings notes that after immersing himself in a field after several years, he looks across fields to identify others who are thriving and developing mastery in their environment and applying it back in his own life.  This is Hammans Stallings' Year 2 CYF interview.  Stallings is currently a Senior Strategist at frog design.  Previously he worked in business 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 McCombs School of Business and a BA in Economics and Psychology from the University of Virginia. 

What Makes a Strong Project Manager - Hammans Stallings

In Chapter 17 of 22 in his 2012 Capture Your Flag interview, innovation strategist Hammans Stallings answers "What Makes a Good Project Manager?"  Stallings looks for the ability to create space between the client or organizational setting and the project team.  This separation helps the team work through the problems.  Secondly, Stallings notes the importance of applying tension using time and deadlines to make sure the team stays on track and engaged throughout the project.  This is Hammans Stallings' Year 2 CYF interview.  Stallings is currently a Senior Strategist at frog design.  Previously he worked in business 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 McCombs School of Business and a BA in Economics and Psychology from the University of Virginia. 

What It Means to Lead in Innovation Consulting Job - Hammans Stallings

In Chapter 18 of 22 in his 2012 Capture Your Flag interview, innovation strategist Hammans Stallings answers "What Does It Mean to Be a Leader in What You Do?"  Stallings references his innovation and consulting and design work at frog design.  He notes leading comes not from the top but from influencing project direction without control and without saying "no".  When done right, the approach allows Stallings and team to get the most out of the team and optimize the collective problem solving.  This is Hammans Stallings' Year 2 CYF interview.  Stallings is currently a Senior Strategist at frog design.  Previously he worked in business 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 McCombs School of Business and a BA in Economics and Psychology from the University of Virginia. 

Why Use Varied Perspectives to Solve Problems - Hammans Stallings

In Chapter 19 of 22 in his 2012 Capture Your Flag interview, innovation strategist Hammans Stallings answers "What is the Importance of Understanding a Problem from Different Perspectives?"  Stallings shares a quote how the same mind that led to the creation of a problem is rarely the one that leads to the resolution of the problem.  Stallings discusses the importance of bringing a different set of eyes, experiences, and tools to a problem.  He uses a Swiss Army Knife in a problem solving analogy and how different tools have varying impact on successfully resolving a problem.  This is Hammans Stallings' Year 2 CYF interview.  Stallings is currently a Senior Strategist at frog design.  Previously he worked in business 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 McCombs School of Business and a BA in Economics and Psychology from the University of Virginia. 

Research Skills for Problem Solving Careers - Hammans Stallings

In Chapter 20 of 22 in his 2012 Capture Your Flag interview, innovation strategist Hammans Stallings answers "What is the Role of Research in the Problem Solving Process?"  Stallings notes two ways research plays into the process.  The first is researching to understand the problem itself and the various perspectives on that problem.  This helps him gain ownership of or personalize the problem.  The second is researching to learn how other people have thought about the problem in the past.  This gives Stallings references points.  Over time, Stallings improves his research skills by keeping reference materials close at hand.  This is Hammans Stallings' Year 2 CYF interview.  Stallings is currently a Senior Strategist at frog design.  Previously he worked in business 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 McCombs School of Business and a BA in Economics and Psychology from the University of Virginia. 

3 Ways to Better Understand and Solve Problems - Hammans Stallings

In Chapter 21 of 22 in his 2012 Capture Your Flag interview, innovation strategist Hammans Stallings answers "How Do Listening and Research Help You Understand and Solve Problems?"  Stallings notes how listening is a form or research.  Stallings finds the most important listening skill to be what is not said.  Also, he looks for implicit assumptions that are present.  Lastly, he makes a point to get a high level, or meta, understanding of the situation.  This is Hammans Stallings' Year 2 CYF interview.  Stallings is currently a Senior Strategist at frog design.  Previously he worked in business 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 McCombs School of Business and a BA in Economics and Psychology from the University of Virginia. 

Idan Cohen on Why Your Career is Not Your Life

In Chapter 1 of 19 in his 2012 Capture Your Flag interview, Boxee co-founder and head of product Idan Cohen answers "Where Do You Seek Inspiration Outside Your Career?"  Cohen challenges Erik's question, as he does not feel what he is does is a part of a "career".  Instead, he finds his family, past, present and future, and his work define his life.  This is not something linear, however, as he keeps himself open to new possibilities that plot on a timeline but not necessarily a specific career ladder.  It is less about progressing on a career and more about a life journey. 

This is Idan Cohen's Year 1 Capture Your Flag interview.  Cohen is co-founder and head of product at Boxee Inc, an online video software company.  Previous to Boxee, Cohen held telecom software innovation and developer roles at Comverse.  He was a Captain in the Israeli Defense Force (IDF) and graduated from Tel Aviv University with a Bachelors of Science degree in Geophysics and Art.

Transcript: 

Erik Michielsen: Where do you seek inspiration outside of your career?

Idan Cohen: Okay, I think that the one important thing about this question is that I do not look at my—what I’m doing as a career. It’s just career is very, very boring. Anyone who’s—I’m sorry, I don’t wanna hurt anyone but anyone who’s, you know, focusing about his career then I don’t know—it’s okay, it’s great, but for me that’s the wrong choice because my work definitely defines my life.

I think there’s 2 things that kind of defines your life, and that’s family and the family that you’re gonna build, and work. ‘Cause at the end of the day, I can’t see myself not working, or not creating, doesn’t matter right now, so that’s why it’s not exactly working, I’m not going to work, I’m going to make things. And I choose what I’m going to make, and it’s not about career, it’s about building bigger things and better things and different things, and maybe going sideways and maybe going forward, and making steps into accomplishing more complicated tasks. But it’s definitely not about going to work, and it’s definitely not about career, the path and just, you know, thinking today I wanna be here and tomorrow— you know, today I wanna be this position and tomorrow I wanna be in that position, is that really interesting enough?

It should be about what you’re actually doing, it might be, you know, today I can accomplish this and tomorrow if I wanna build something bigger, I need to accomplish all of that. So it’s not about the title, it’s about what you make. And that’s how I look at it. I really don’t like to look at myself as going to work. I might say that day-to-day, you know, I’m at work but I’m just—I’m at life. I’m currently doing what I love doing.

Idan Cohen on Why to Measure Success by the Change You Create

In Chapter 3 of 19 in his 2012 Capture Your Flag interview, Boxee co-founder and head of product Idan Cohen answers "How Do You Define and Measure Success in What You Do?"  Cohen notes success should be measured by the delta, or incremental change, from where you start and where you want to go.  He notes this creates a great challenge for those born into privilege, who start at a much more advanced place and who have a lower penalty for failure.  To Cohen, life is far less about planning and more about measuring personal progress based on where you, as an individual, come from.   This is Idan Cohen's Year 1 CYF interview.  Cohen is co-founder and head of product at Boxee Inc, an online video software company.  Previous to Boxee, Cohen held telecom software innovation and developer roles at Comverse.  He was a Captain in the Israeli Defense Force (IDF) and graduated from Tel Aviv University with a Bachelors of Science degree in Geophysics and Art.

Transcript:  

Erik Michielsen: How do you define and measure success in what you do?

Idan Cohen: I think that success should always be measured by the delta, between where you started and where you are or where you started and where you wanna get to. It might sound a little bit weird but, you know, in some ways, I do not envy people who were born, for instance, into money, for them, it will be extremely hard to measure their success, it will not—‘cause the usual—one of the most common ways that we measure success is by wealth. And for them it will be extremely hard to kind of create even more of that, or even because—just because they had the tools then it will be very hard for them to justify what they managed to accomplish, because they started off from a very good starting point. And especially they started off from a starting point where it’s very hard to fail, or failure is not too painful. 

So I think that for most people, success is much more about the delta, so it doesn’t matter where you are, it matters where you are—where you got from to where you are. So for me, every time I try to measure myself, like 3 years ago, or 5 years ago, where was I and where am I now? I can kind of—then looking at that, where can I be in 3 years? I really try not to plan, where do I wanna be in 3 years, I have a lot of dreams, but it’s never—it’s never actually the path that I’m going to take. Because I just think that planning is useless. I think that today’s life, people try to plan a lot, and I think that something even about this, you know, this conversation, it’s about planning, and learning from people and how they got there. And I think it’s just useless. 

Develop these dreams because I think that the dreams are a very good preparation to actually being able to make these steps. I think that I dreamt for a long time to move to New York, by the time I was ready to make it, then, you know, in my guts that decision was already well – you know, kind of cooked already and ready and ripe to get done. For instance, me and Christina are dreaming of moving to the countryside at some point, you know, yes, it might happen in a few years, maybe it wouldn’t happen, but just by talking about it, and we constantly talk about it, I think we’re kind of preparing something in our guts. 

But at the end of the day, all this planning is completely useless, because there’s so many other factors that are gonna happen and change that – those decisions, so it doesn’t matter. Just try and always fantasize about a lot of things that you wanna do. And then, that will kind of guide you to where you’ll end up. That’s how I see it.

Startup Advice on Using Venture Capital

In Chapter 14 of 19 in his 2012 Capture Your Flag interview, Boxee co-founder and head of product Idan Cohen answers "What is the Role of Venture Capital in Building a Company?"  Cohen shares its relevance as a tool to build things that might not have financial viability from day one.  He notes when it is useful in building products that later can be sold and when it is not a good idea.  Cohen shares concern around success being measured by raising venture capital, rather than creating a successful, profitable company.  He goes on to discuss different markets and technologies outside the Internet domain that would benefit from disruptive innovation and what variation of fundraising or venture tools could be applied there. 

This is Idan Cohen's Year 1 Capture Your Flag interview.  Cohen is co-founder and head of product at Boxee Inc, an online video software company.  Previous to Boxee, Cohen held telecom software innovation and developer roles at Comverse.  He was a Captain in the Israeli Defense Force (IDF) and graduated from Tel Aviv University with a Bachelors of Science degree in Geophysics and Art.

Transcript: 

Erik Michielsen: What’s the role of venture capital in building a company?

Idan Cohen: It’s a tool that was put in place to allow us to actually build things that might not have, you know, financial and business viability from day one. And, so that’s great. It’s an awesome thing, the fact that there’s a mechanism out there where you can, you know, someone can put faith in you because he thinks you have a good vision and an idea and a theme. And he can let you—he can give you that lay to go and build it, for a while, before you need to commit to any real business, because, you know, he understands that it will take time to build the product that you later can sell or you later can monetize but at this point, you can just start out of the blue and make it happen, or maybe there’s a learning process in that product that you need to achieve and you’re not gonna be able to pinpoint the right answer exactly from day one, and it will take a process and he’s willing to be patient with that. So that’s great.

I think that if you look at it, for instance, definitely today, then on one hand, a lot of people measure success by being able to raise venture capital and that’s extremely wrong, in my opinion, it’s just it’s becoming this competition or—people are getting so much credit for being able to raise money, being able to raise money shouldn’t be a lot of—shouldn’t get you a lot of credit. It means that someone out there believed in your vision, it’s great. There’s so many other ideas out there and maybe someone believed in your team and that’s even more important sometimes, or most of the time, but at the end of the day, your ability to deliver on the product and the business is much more important than actually being able to raise money.

I really wish that there were these tools also for other types of businesses, if someone wants to put together a restaurant, there’s no need for him to struggle and definitely in today’s economy, not being able to bring together a quarter of a million dollars to open that restaurant, yes, the numbers are not the same as the internet industry, it’s not gonna explode, it’s not gonna grow as a hockey stick and you’re not gonna be able to monetize it in the millions. But there should be better tools for other types of businesses to get built and established. So I wish that more people would take these tools that maybe—or some variation of them that were invented for venture capital, as we know it today for technology world. And apply it for other types of businesses.

Today we look at venture capital as tightly coupled with technology. Venture capital should be much more tightly coupled with entrepreneurship. So just someone having a good idea and having a good vision and being able to build a good team and go out and build a business, so I love the fact that there’s now, you know, for instance, Elon Musk doing space acts, this is awesome, yes, you know, yeah, it might be a business—a huge business in the billions of dollars just because of the cost of sending rockets into space, but still just someone being able to go out and do that, and I don’t know if he would’ve able if he wasn’t Elon Musk and didn’t have billions himself. But still, just the fact that I think these businesses are starting to see, you know, it’s not pure technology, it’s not internet, it’s not gonna acquire million of users, no, it needs probably like 10 actually that are gonna pay for these missiles. But it’s still gonna work. Same for cars, you know, if it’s from like Tesla or something like that. Just—I would love to see many more people supporting these kind of businesses. Just—or cameras, you know, why is the camera market not ready for disruption? Like why can’t someone build a better camera than what Canon and Nikon has been doing for—Nikon has been doing for 50 years I’m sure someone can. So for instance, now with those Lytro that came from a little bit of a different angle – I would like to see many more businesses like that. 

Idan Cohen on Finding Personal Best by Working in Small Teams

In Chapter 15 of 19 in his 2012 Capture Your Flag interview, Boxee co-founder and head of product Idan Cohen answers "When Are You At Your Best?"  Cohen finds his personal best around people, enjoying brainstorming sessions and conversations with small teams.  He notes the challenges he has working alone and how 2-4 person conversations increase his productivity and the results he can bring to a group. 

This is Idan Cohen's Year 1 Capture Your Flag interview.  Cohen is co-founder and head of product at Boxee Inc, an online video software company.  Previous to Boxee, Cohen held telecom software innovation and developer roles at Comverse.  He was a Captain in the Israeli Defense Force (IDF) and graduated from Tel Aviv University with a Bachelors of Science degree in Geophysics and Art.

Transcript: 

Erik Michielsen: When are you at your best?

Idan Cohen: With people. I’m very social. And I enjoy just very good conversations and very good brainstorming sessions. So I think that, for me, it’s very important to have – not a too big of a team, but a small team that can just iterate very fast on ideas, and that’s when I see the best results from myself. By myself, it’s very hard for me to concentrate. 

I think like a lot of people I have, you know, an undiagnosed ADHD or something. So I’m just jumping all over, even with people, I’m jumping all over, but it’s just something about like a 3 or 4—like a conversation between 2 or 4 people, just makes it much more productive for me. 

How to Apply Corporate Work Experience in an Entrepreneur Job Role

In Chapter 16 of 19 in his 2012 Capture Your Flag interview, Boxee co-founder and head of product Idan Cohen answers "What Skills Did You Learn Working in a Corporation That You Have Applied Building Your Own Company?"  Cohen finds the corporate experience especially useful after his startup grows to nearly 50 employees.  He learns about what motivates different employees who come in at different stages of the company's growth. 

This is Idan Cohen's Year 1 Capture Your Flag interview.  Cohen is co-founder and head of product at Boxee Inc, an online video software company.  Previous to Boxee, Cohen held telecom software innovation and developer roles at Comverse.  He was a Captain in the Israeli Defense Force (IDF) and graduated from Tel Aviv University with a Bachelors of Science degree in Geophysics and Art.

Transcript: 

Erik Michielsen: What skills did you learn working in a corporation that you’ve applied building your own company?

Idan Cohen: Mainly when you’re coming out of a corporation, you’re aware of the things that you don’t wanna apply to your own company. So at the beginning it’s all, you know, it’s all roses and it’s a very small team, you’re all working together but as it grows a little bit bigger, you know, not everyone is as committed as you are to the company, not everyone is working 14 hours a day or 12 hours a day, and it’s under—you know, it’s totally understood and that’s kind of the things that you see in corporate. So I think that coming out, you’re very burned by people not really moving and no one really wanting or having any real interest in changing things, and so you’re very excited about how a small company at start up—can move very fast and be so much more interesting and dynamic.

But then I think at least you understand how—what to expect of people, and what not to be disappointed about, and how you can motivate them the right way, because it’s still a smaller company, I don’t know how to build a thousand—you know, actually I haven’t built 100-person company, and I definitely don’t know how to build 1000 one—1000-person company. I’m sure that there’s other challenges and I’m sure there’s a lot of things you need to kind of digest and understand about the dynamics of that ‘cause then it actually becomes a corporate, I don’t know, look at Google, look at Microsoft, or look at Apple and look at Zynga, I’m sure that at the end of the day, there’s a thousand people there, it is somewhat of a corporate, there’s a lot people who are not doing that much, there’s people who can live in these islands where, you know, they—no one knows exactly what’s happening there, it’s just that’s the dynamic of a workplace.

And for me, that’s the things that I’m afraid of, and still so, you know, we’re now about 50 and you can still have kind of a grasp about what everyone is doing, and have your attention, you know, to what people are feeling and how you can help them maneuver out of it. And I’m very afraid of building a bigger company where I start losing that touch with the day-to-day of people. So that’s something that I’m kind of worried about, ‘cause I think that that’s what corporate really fail with, is just once you go over a number of—a certain number of people, you start losing touch.

Idan Cohen on How Leadership and Management Job Skills Compare

In Chapter 17 of 19 in his 2012 Capture Your Flag interview, Boxee co-founder and head of product Idan Cohen answers "How Do Leadership and Management Differ With What You Do?"  Cohen shares his struggle to become a better leader and a better manager.  He notes the importance of motivation and vision in leadership and details and composure in management. 

This is Idan Cohen's Year 1 Capture Your Flag interview.  Cohen is co-founder and head of product at Boxee Inc, an online video software company.  Previous to Boxee, Cohen held telecom software innovation and developer roles at Comverse.  He was a Captain in the Israeli Defense Force (IDF) and graduated from Tel Aviv University with a Bachelors of Science degree in Geophysics and Art.

Transcript: 

Erik Michielsen: How do leadership and management differ in what you do?

Idan Cohen: Management is definitely something that I struggle with daily and leadership is something that I struggle with daily. Leadership is about being just a little bit mad, you know if you think about it, like going and wanting to be the president of the US, you have to be not a little bit, you have to be really, really, crazy in order to take on such a role, and go through the process of doing something like that, the thing that sometimes it’s also the same for a small company, it’s just coming up with a vision, being able to motivate people, so that’s not easy but it comes a lot of times for just being able to put away—put aside your fears or overcome them, put aside logic or overcome logic, and go and make that happen. 

Management is a much more I think kind of a methodical or a skill, sometimes you might have, sometimes people definitely have it inherit in them and sometimes they acquire it with time, but I think it has a lot to do with—and it sometimes is very different than leadership because it’s much more about listening, leadership is a little bit of also just like blindly looking forward and being able to charge and motivate people just to come after you, but then at the end of the day, management is not about just this motivation, it’s about taking care of the details, it’s about knowing how to politically split responsibilities, it’s about stepping down when needed, and actually helping doing something, just because you’re a little bit of kind of like, you have all of these skills together and you can help with whatever needed, definitely at early stages of a company. 

So I think that there’s a lot of great leaders, there’s—and visionaries, there’s not enough good managers, and it’s definitely something that I would aspire to be. I think I’m very far from it right now. 

Idan Cohen on Managing International Project Teams

In Chapter 18 of 19 in his 2012 Capture Your Flag interview, Boxee co-founder and head of product Idan Cohen answers "What Have Been Your Greatest Challenges Managing International Project Teams?"  Cohen notes two perspectives.  The first is not being able to iterate quickly side by side.  The second he ties to consumer product development and the importance of having the entire team on board with the market, user and consumer. 

This is Idan Cohen's Year 1 Capture Your Flag interview.  Cohen is co-founder and head of product at Boxee Inc, an online video software company.  Previous to Boxee, Cohen held telecom software innovation and developer roles at Comverse.  He was a Captain in the Israeli Defense Force (IDF) and graduated from Tel Aviv University with a Bachelors of Science degree in Geophysics and Art.

Transcript: 

Erik Michielsen: What have been your greatest challenges in managing international project teams?

Idan Cohen: It’s about just not being able to sit in the same room, you know, just being able to iterate quickly with a few people sitting on a couch for a couple of hours, that’s very important. Doing it on the phone as much as we think, that, you know, with Skype and other tools, the world is flat, it just doesn’t work in a lot of cases.

And then probably the other really important thing is just when you’re creating consumer products, it’s so important for everyone to understand the market and the user and the consumer, and if you’re a small company, then you know it comes down to the last person, it’s the last developer or the officer manager, it doesn’t matter, or the HR woman, let’s say that does recruiting part-time for you, everyone needs to understand what you’re all working on in order to be able to really build the right product and that’s a huge challenge, when you’re working separately with teams in different places, it’s just not everyone seeing the same picture, that was a huge challenge for us.

Idan Cohen on Learning to Manage and Delegate Responsibility

In Chapter 19 of 19 in his 2012 Capture Your Flag interview, Boxee co-founder and head of product Idan Cohen answers "How Are You Learning to More Effectively Hand Off Responsibility?"  Cohen notes the challenges of handing off his product vision to others as well as not diving into details enough.  He believes a balance must be found between the two and this is the underlying challenge he faces. 

This is Idan Cohen's Year 1 Capture Your Flag interview.  Cohen is co-founder and head of product at Boxee Inc, an online video software company.  Previous to Boxee, Cohen held telecom software innovation and developer roles at Comverse.  He was a Captain in the Israeli Defense Force (IDF) and graduated from Tel Aviv University with a Bachelors of Science degree in Geophysics and Art.

Transcript: 

Erik Michielsen: How are you learning to more effectively hand off responsibility?

Idan Cohen: So I think that I have this problem where I’m just—some—on specific things I would go into the smaller details, smallest details. And it would be extremely hard for me to hand off responsibility because I have the image of—the exact image of what something should look like as the end product, and it’s extremely hard for me to accept a different direction or different angle on it. On the other hand, I definitely do not dive into details, small details enough sometimes, so at some point I will hand it off and will just let someone else take care of it.

And that’s exactly kind of right now it’s a little bit of like the wrong way to do it, because it needs to be somewhere in the middle, ‘cause you need to be able to trust the other person—that the other person can achieve your final vision, be able to visit him along the way and guide but not impose your opinion, or the way you see it, not just having him, you know, do the work, but actually letting him think his way through it. So I think it’s important to find that balance between those—trying to do that.