371 Eduardo Briceno: When You’re Not Seeing Growth, Learn To Change How You’re Changing

Self-fulfilling prophecies – and falling into their trap – are part and parcel of being human. From ancient Greek tragedies to television like Breaking Bad, they’ve popped up time and time again. We just can’t escape our flaw of telling ourselves stories about the future, and then making them reality. But what if it… wasn’t a flaw? What if there was a real power, a real gift in being about to tell yourself a story and see it through? You might know Steph Curry from his legacy at the Golden State Warriors, but would you believe he wasn’t even scouted coming out of high school?  Our guest today is a big believer in turning the self-fulfilling prophecy stigma on its head. Nathan Tanner thought he finally had it all with a cushy investment gig at Lehman Brothers. The problem was, he joined up in 2008, right before Lehman went through the biggest bank collapse in history. To hear him say it, it would have been the easiest thing to write a personal story… of failure.  But since then, Nathan’s worked through top positions at LinkedIn and DoorDash before settling into his own coaching practice. Today, he’s out with a new book, suitably titled The Unconquerable Leader – Mastering the Internal and External Game. It’s all about learning to show up for yourself so that you can properly show up for others.  

Today, we wanted to bring back a conversation I had with Michael Bungay Stanier back in 2018, where we explored what it really means to be a coach. His self-published book The Coaching Habit had only been out for two years, and it had already sold 300 thousand copies. Bringing the philosophy of coaching into our lives can be one of the most personally disruptive and rewarding projects we take on. It changes and strengthens how we support others in our lives, and the support we receive in return. Michael breaks this down in such an accessible way that we felt a re-air was more than worth it.  

So much of what we talk about on here is change – navigating change, embracing change, creating change. I think it’s fair to say that if you’re listening, change of some form is on your mind. We’re no strangers when it comes to figuring out how to get from A to B. But what happens when we have to change… how we’re changing? What happens when we plateau with our progress, and the old models of learning just aren’t sticking anymore? What does jumping to that new S Curve look like? That’s where our guest today comes in. Eduardo Briceno is the co-founder of Mindset Works, a firm dedicated to bringing Carol Dweck’s growth mindset to workplaces world-wide. He’s out now with The Performance Paradox, a book dedicated to that question of changing how you’re changing. From Caracas, Venezuela to the Stanford Business School, Eduardo has navigated all kinds of change, even a fear of public speaking. So what do we have to learn from him?  

This week we’ve got a special episode, a longer one than we normally do. But when you have an opportunity, to talk to the person who built the Rotman School of Management into the powerhouse it is today, you have to use every minute you get.  Roger L. Martin was told that the Toronto’s Rotman School wasn’t worth his time, that it was a quote – cesspool of intrigue. Roger himself will say that he didn’t do much in his 15 years as dean, just tinkering and prodding. He’s a bit of an understated enigma, as you’ll soon find out. But when Rotman’s prestige today ranks up there with Stanford and Harvard, you can’t really argue with his results.   There’s so much to mine in this conversation, we thought it would be a shame to cut it down and fit it within our normal episode length. If you have the time, I’d love for you to give it more than just one listen.  

Ask a thousand people how to make a house a home, and you might get a thousand different answers. Some will say it’s family; others say it’s all in the interior decor – neighborhood pride, or a furry friend, maybe.  Regardless of how you answer the question, you can’t just sit back and wait for it to become a home – everyone agrees that something needs to be done.  Our guest today is an expert on making that transition from house to home. Moving every 18 months or so, Ruth McKeaney raised five kids alongside her husband. Move into a fixer-upper, fix it up with the family’s help, sell it, rinse and repeat. It was only a matter of time until Ruth’s ability to structure her family’s systems came to the attention of book publishers. Hungry for Home is Ruth’s manual on building a home, everything from home restoration to frozen cookie dough.  

How many of us have mastered the skill of looking busy, at some point in our professional lives? It’s an art, really – moving from one tab to another with lightspeed, peering at the screen and making that face that you think communicates determination, drive, intent.    Our guest today says that it’s nothing to feel bad about. When a portion of the population moved from factories to cubicles, they still brought that factory-floor mentality with them. Look good in front of the boss, keep working, don’t stop moving. Cal Newport calls this pseudo-productivity – the art of looking busy.   Cal says there’s a way out, though. He calls it Slow Productivity – also the title of his new book, out now. How can we accomplish our dreams without the emotional and physical burnout that so many industries seem to take for granted?  

Many of us feel comfortable navigating a city. Whether it’s New York or Kyoto, the rules remain mostly the same. Count the amount of blocks you’ve walked, remember that the E train runs express to Manhattan, if you see the Duane Reade, you’ve gone too far. We can get lost, for sure, but there’s a joy in knowing that you have the freedom to get lost. A wrong turn could mean your new favorite Chinese spot, or a new friend. Now think about how you navigate the internet. We don’t explore and get lost as much as we stay within one small neighborhood – Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, LinkedIn.  Our guest today is fighting back against this centralization of our virtual city. Chris Dixon has been a partner at Andreessen Horowitz since 2012, most recently in charge of its crypto investing wing. From that birds-eye view, Chris has taken the charge on reimagining how we interact with the internet.  And now he’s out with a new book, Read Write Own, all about the Web3 revolution on our doorstep. So – a lot of buzzwords, and a lot of metaphors. But what does it all mean for you?   

In this episode, we wanted to bring you a redux of a conversation I had back in 2022. As a new mom, Brooke Romney left behind her roots on Capitol Hill to move to a new community, new friend –– a new S Curve.    But instead of making new connections, a normally extroverted person, Brooke found herself withdrawing from the community. Why? Well, she was surrounded by successful people, and Brooke fell into one of the most human traps there is – comparing yourself to others, and feeling she was coming up short.   As the new spring rolls around, this is a perfect episode to remind us to stop comparing. That little voice in our head can convince us that we’re coming up short, and only that little voice – your voice– can convince you that you are worthy, unique –– one of a kind.   

What makes a good story? Characters, plot, setting, sure – you can boil it down to those elements – but what makes a good story? Is it the moment where you’re up all night burning the midnight oil, because you’re dying to find out how it ends? Is a good story one you believe in? Our guest today believes in the power of stories. Donald Miller is the CEO of StoryBrand, a creative firm that specializes in clarifying a company’s message. In other words, taking a good story and figuring out how to make it great – how to make it one customers can genuinely believe in. Now Donald’s out with a new book, Coach Builder, all about how newly-minted coaches can write their professional story and succeed in the industry. Link to Coach Builder promo: www.coachbuilder.com/disrupt  

“True transformation, begins with a broken heart.” It’s something you’ll hear our guest today say a couple of times, this idea that a real crucible moment begins when something inside you breaks. When a force fundamental to you and your soul says – no more. Jerry Colonna has taken that message and run with it throughout his entire career, from the hallways of venture capital to his current venture in coaching. Today, he’s out with a new book on healing that break, titled Reunion: Leadership, and the Longing to Belong. But how do you harness the power of a broken heart in the first place? How do you turn that into fuel for true transformation?