What's Next Now!
By Gary Danoff
What's Next Now!Apr 04, 2023
The impact of saying, 'I See You'
It's incredible how just three simple words, "I see you," can profoundly impact our business and personal relationships. As leaders-whether starting a company, leading a division or playing a key member role-it's crucial to understand the value of these words. Using them effectively can create deeper connections with those around us: customers, colleagues and strategic partners and these deeper connections are crucial in this environment. Inspiration for the story today came from a personal experience when I was the first to arrive on a video call (one of several in a row). As I asked if anyone could see me, another guest responded and included those three magic words, "Yes, Gary. I see you." It left a lasting impression and showed me the power of acknowledging someone's presence much more profoundly than, ‘yes, I’ll be right there’. Or, ‘running just a minute late, hang on please’. Right!
But "I see you" is more than just a physical acknowledgment. It's about recognizing someone's worth and building stronger relationships. In South Africa's Northern Natal region, the tribes greet each other with "Sawubona," which means "I see you." It's about acknowledging someone's value beyond their physical being. It's about more than words of politeness, Sawubona carries the importance of recognizing the worth and dignity of each person. Wow. So I began to wonder: is there a way to bring the value and weight of this saying into the digital domain? Can the depth of this greeting be useful in a business setting? Can this greeting help us with our humanness as distinct from our AI?
To answer these questions I created four pillars to help you harness the power of "I see you" in your business and personal life (which are inextricably connected), and they are;I. Seeing and Leading Yourself (how you show up in business online and in person),
II. Leading others, three behaviors are key to a leader who is ‘seen’ and ‘sees others’,
III. Expanding your organizational impact by educating and influencing others,
IV. Expanding your career by seeing others and creating your portable tribe.
By recognizing someone's worth and connecting with them on a deeper level-even in business settings-you can turbocharge your communication and transform your relationships in ways you might never have dared imagine, and there create unusually high business impact.
In a day and time when we are all both excited and yet anxious about integrating the many roles of AI into helping us be our best human beings, we hold the absolute power in our unique human form of recognizing the value in each other, one person at a time. We can truly see what no machine can see.
Let's make those around us feel more fully seen with the power of "I see you," and join me on this journey to see and be seen!
Links & Resources:
Schedule Free Listening Time with Gary@GaryDanoff.com
Decoding Leadership: What Really Matters
Pack Your Parachute - Living Through Layoffs!
Layoffs happen. Most likely, you either have already or will experience a layoff during your career. When they occur, you have no control over when or how they happen. Being blindsided by a layoff can be devastating, depending on how prepared you may be to handle it.
I've worked at 7 seven companies where layoffs occurred and have been laid off at 4 of those companies. I've also had to be the person to carry out the layoffs and terminate people. Being on both sides of the layoff, I have been taught the value of always being prepared; always having a parachute if you get pushed out of the airplane while in flight.
Being prepared means knowing how to Pack Your Parachute and carry it with you at all times ready if you get laid off, change companies, or if funding dries up. In the show today I walk you through:
1. Dealing with the loss and grief of being laid off, losing friends and colleagues.
2. How to move into grief, including a breathing exercise, during the initial loss.
3. The three steps of packing your parachute which include rest and recovery, re-connecting and then finally reformulating yourself in a new way and restarting your career.
I also talk about the inside company re-connection and how a "side hustle" within your company can be beneficial.
Ultimately, packing your parachute builds the muscle of resilience–the core strength needed to use your parachute one or more times over the course of your career!
Episode Highlights:
[04:35] As of this recording, Google has just laid off 12,000 people. Microsoft also laid off 10,000 people. Before that, Amazon also laid off a large number of people.
[05:13] Layoffs aren't uncommon. They are cyclical. This is why people need to be able to pack their own parachute.
[05:41] It's also important to be where you are and grieve the loss.
[06:27] The five stages of grief include shock and denial, anger, depression, detachment, and the final stage of acceptance.
[08:28] You can invoke the eight second breathing technique to deal with these stages of grief.
[08:52] Inhale for eight seconds. Hold your breath for one second. Exhale for eight seconds.
[09:10] This is about the amount of time that it takes to shift your body from the sympathetic or fight or flight reaction to parasympathetic which takes you out of the fight or flight.
[12:11] You have to rest and recover before you move on to anything else when packing your parachute. Develop a practice of rest and recovery throughout the day.
[13:21] When you move on to dialogue and bargaining and reaching out to others is when you begin to reconnect. You begin to appreciate your new opportunity to move forward.
[14:55] I share a story about when I wanted to move from selling hardware to software after a layoff.
[17:07] The “inside the company” reconnection. This is a side hustle inside the company. I want to be connected across disciplines and operating units. It's an opportunity to go deeper and wider inside the company.
[18:42] The final stage of grief is acceptance. This is when you restructure and restart who and how you are going to be in the career portion of your life.
[19:33] The layoff may have actually been a bit of a gift and an opening. Use this time to reformat and restructure your work.
[20:08] Ultimately, packing your parachute builds the muscle of resilience.
Links & Resources:
Schedule Free Listening Time with Gary@GaryDanoff.com
Take a Leap with Gay Hendricks
Have you taken a leap lately? Many of us want to take a leap-in our business or personal lives-or may even be forced to these days? These leaps can come as unexpected shocks or amazing opportunities to invent something brand new for ourselves! I took a leap recently by having Gay Hendricks on What’s Next Now and want to share our energetic conversation with you.
I call Gay Hendricks ‘a life practitioner’ and ‘holder-back of nothing’. I’ve just been on a three-plus month journey diving into some of his work, including The Big Leap, The Genius Zone, and Conscious Luck. If you aren’t already familiar with his work, you’ll be on the road to becoming a fan after listening to this episode. He shares so much wisdom on work, life, and relationships and the surprising intersection of all three.
We kick off the show by talking about the critical importance of breath as a gateway to our emotions. We learn about how in the bedroom, the living room and the boardroom things work basically the same way. Most of us have an allergy to things going well for a very long time. Gay discusses how we can conquer self-sabotage and get back on track to overcome our upper limit problem (ULP) and actually achieve all we hope to and then some. Gay also shares how to discover your genius zone and the mindset shift that can create conscious luck. This is a great episode filled with life-changing wisdom. So go ahead: Take a Leap today by listening to this episode on What’s Next Now!
Links & Resources:
Schedule Free Listening Time with Gary@GaryDanoff.com Hendricks Institute The Big Leap: Conquer Your Hidden Fear and Take Life to the Next Level The Genius Zone: The Breakthrough Process to End Negative Thinking and Live in True Creativity Conscious Loving: The Journey to Co-Committment Conscious Breathing: Breathwork for Health, Stress Release and Personal Mastery Conscious Luck: Eight Secrets to Intentionally Change Your Fortune Gay Hendricks Facebook Gay Hendricks LinkedIn Hearts in Harmony with Katie and Gay Hendricks Facebook Hearts In Harmony Twitter Hendricks Institute YouTube Gay Hendricks Instagram The Big Leap Podcast
Dare To Lead Like A Girl!
It is the word ‘Dare’ in the new book by Dalia Feldheim, ‘Dare To Lead Like a Girl’ that is the most provocative. What does that mean? How do Girls Lead? They show up, they play hard and they win! But they do it somewhat differently than most men and therein lies the lessons for all of us.
In our 35 minute conversation, Dalia talks about some of the science and research behind why women have a different emotional reaction to anger and other triggers in the workplace than men do. The story continues and covers why men are more prone to get into action and fix things while women are more skilled at just sitting and listening before action. Sound familiar? Dalia also shares facts and possible solutions for the alarming drop in empathy from college graduates, new entrants to the workforce and many of us in the workplace today. When it comes to inspirational as well as functional leadership, there’s a lot men can learn from women and Dalia shares ways we can all gain from each other to build strong and more resilient organizations.
Episode Highlights:
[02:46] Dalia shares credit for the successful #LikeAGirl marketing campaign with all of the marketing directors, but her inspiration came from the women of India and a girl she saw using light from passing cars to read outside at night.
[03:46] She also shares a sad story about an in-home visit in India where a girl on her period was treated as unclean. Dalia was so disturbed by the experience that she wanted to do something about it.
[05:39] Dalia has a passion for women's empowerment and wanted to use the P & G brand voice to talk about these issues. This is when they came up with the "Touch the Pickle" campaign.
[06:50] #PlayLikeAGirl turned an insult into a women's empowerment icon. It's important to use our voice to better the world no matter what business we're in.
[08:35] In Dare to Lead Like a Girl, there are the five P's of leadership. The last two are people and positivity.
[09:36] Emotional bravery is about accepting that emotions are part of being human and bringing emotions to the workplace in an appropriate way.
[11:20] Women have a tendency to sit with empathy longer than men. Men revert to problem-solving much faster.
[13:35] Only 7% of our message is actually driven by what we say. 93% is how we say it. We need to share emotions in a way that doesn't completely overwhelm.
[15:40] A trick for having more empathy by listening more or thinking about how listen equals silence. Leaders and parents need to create space not fill it.
[17:26] In leadership training, we learn soft skills which are actually strengths. Data shows that EQ is responsible for 66% of success as managers and 85% as leaders.
[21:36] Seven countries led by women leaders had better outcomes during the pandemic than countries led by men. With our changing environment, we need more historically female qualities like empathy and teamwork.
[25:46] Dare to Lead Like a Girl isn't about masculine or feminine. It's about all of us connecting with traits that have been historically feminine.
[28:13] After Dalia's TED Talk, she received many calls and reactions. She even received a call from a man in Australia who said he was a bully and seeking advice.
[29:05] Love is always stronger than fear. When you operate with love, the results are always ten times stronger.
[33:33] Dalia is on a mission to help leaders have better people skills.
[34:09] Uppiness is a game that celebrates Dalia's leadership course.
Links & Resources:
Schedule Free Listening Time with Gary@GaryDanoff.com Dalia Feldheim
Care About the Workforce
Nobody accidentally becomes a 2-star General in the Army. Sometimes life just pulls you in. Your calling is your calling. That’s what happened to MAJ General (Ret) Garrett Yee early in his career. He went from being a civilian in the insurance industry with a data platforms company to holding a non-partisan elected position in his California based community among other early experiences. Underpinning all of this was his Army reserve duty and when called into the Iraq War to manage the unified combatant communications to fight ISIS, he succeeded and was then called to the Pentagon.
I will not try to replicate Garrett’s voice in this summary. If you are a student of developing yourself as a leader as well as others in your organization, then you have to listen to this 29 minute conversation with Garrett. It is so good. You’ll hear the stories and lessons around getting after it, staying focused on the mission, being grateful and the critical importance of women in leadership roles inside and outside the military. Through his own leadership experiences and success and with great humility Garrett gives great examples of why caring about the workforce is so important not just in words and policy but in how leaders live it and show it.
Forks in the Road, featuring Peter Goldstone
Talk about an unusual career path: how about going from elementary school teacher to advertising salesperson to becoming President and then CEO of a venture backed data platform company! Peter Goldstone details this and six other crucial forks in the road that produced amazing opportunities for learning, growth and re-invention spawning out several businesses, most of which were birthed in challenging economic times.
Starting out in print advertising, Peter created a path for himself in the real estate media industry. He led and expanded the largest industry segment player in this space. He did this twice, first after being forced to leave the business he had grown and then invited back to grow it to a new level when new venture capital money came in. Peter never burned a bridge!
Peter shares the story and details of seven key forks in the road we can all learn from. These include how he went from print to digital media and crafting a digital media playbook he evolved and used multiple times. Today, Peter is Chairman of the Board of Government Media Executive Group, a digital platforms and data company with four leading digital brands actively engaging with more than two million government executives. Peter’s current fork in the road has him mentoring and coaching rising talent and other executives as he helps to continue evolving the digital platform strategy.
Climbing Down the Ladder -
“Climbing ‘Down’ the Ladder” This has an almost unnatural ring to it. Right? We are taught our whole careers to climb ‘up’ the ladder. That’s where people want to go; should want to go and do go. But not anymore. That’s not the only choice. Whether you are part of the Great Resignation, Great Reconfiguration or know someone who is, you see or are part of the change taking place at work.
Using the familiar ladder analogy, in this episode I talk about the other choices people are taking: 1. Staying put on the rung where they are; 2. Transferring onto a new ladder; or, 3. Climbing down the ladder.
Ben Franklin makes an appearance by way of his famous framework for making decisions and I join Ben with stories and real life examples using my own career data as a reference point for considering these three ladder moves.
I walk through the pros and cons of each ladder move for consideration by people in different stages of their career right now, and provide really valuable questions and a few short exercises to use for shedding light on why and when to consider each of these non-traditional ladder moves.
Learn and be entertained listening to this 43 minute podcast. It turns out the most important thing about ladder moves are the questions you can use provided in the podcast. Enjoy!
Leading Through COVID
In this episode on “What’s Next Now!” I share the story of how six key elements were put together into a framework for leading and preparing yourself: through and after COVID. Elements for leading yourself like keeping humor active in your day, engaging in charitable activities, and creating ways to unplug from your digital world for just a little while. Elements for leading others which include building trust and faith during trying times and launching new initiatives, consistently bringing fun into the environment in simple ways and building a wrapper of support around individual and team interactions daily. For example, would you ever imagine comparing what it takes to own and run a Domino's Pizza franchise to running a sales territory or professional services practice during COVID? It is part of this story and it works! These six elements make up the framework I used to lead the Google Workspace team through COVID, with everyone intact while meeting our business objectives. I hope you will gain insights you can use, be entertained, as well as learn an adaptable framework you can put into use.
Author David Kushner: Amazing Stories
David has written 11 books (and counting), published multiple articles in Rolling Stone, New York Times and Wired, and has had at least two story adaptations into movies. David is well known as a journalist in and about the gaming industry; which is a blood relative of the technology industry. So I was interested in a lot of his stories. Dave talks about everything ranging from an early interview with Mark Zuckerberg when he lived in a one bedroom apartment in Palo Alto to his interview with Julian Assange and for the fun of it, goes all the way back to days at the University of Maryland when he brought in Hunter S. Thompson to speak. Listeners may see connections between gaming, future generations and evolving technologies all around us. David has a knack for finding and knowing people who want to build things. Even digital nomads working from caves in Portugal during the pandemic. He is somewhat addicting to listen to both in his speaking tone and how his stories draw you in for more! David's early fascination with the blend of technology, gaming and life-like characters whose stories we can't stop hearing about made having him on my show a great, great experience. Enjoy the listen!!
Road to Google
All roads lead to somewhere, right? But can you imagine a road in Afghanistan or a high security post assignment at an overseas embassy leading to jobs at Google? Well, they did and two veterans are here to tell you the story of how they made it happen and why!
I mean imagine, Yaser Chow a veteran of the marine corp serving at a high security post for an overseas embassy and Rahul Harpalani a former infantryman leading squadrons through battle in Afghanistan--both earning roles in new disciplines at Google. Their stories reveal their own discovery of passions founded in their respective service to our country and ignited upon leaving the service.
Rahul talks about how he now uses a simple three word phrase the Army taught him: Calmness, Teamwork and Decisiveness in his work leading a product team at Google and surprisingly, the parallels to being a deployed field leader in the Army.
Yaser describes how learning and understanding financial fidelity was the key to his journey in extending his military training into a career at Google.
Together, their stories are inspiring for those looking to take what they have earned and learned in one part of their life and create a new path for themselves in the next!
#Leadership #Veterans #GoogleCloud
Serve the Servant
Who takes care of public sector employees who take care of us? Public sector roles can range from people we never see who process forms for registration to leaders who testify before Congress and everyone in between. Most if not all take and keep their jobs because of a calling to serve others, no matter how thankless the job may be. Just like in the private sector, people change careers at all levels in government. Sometimes, folks leave to address a greater calling.
Alexis Bonnell is one of those people and is now an unofficial ally of public sector leaders. Her story reveals how she now serves public sector servants in a very different and needed way from her time as government executive.
Public sector leaders are so many things: information absorbers, distillers, analyzers. Hear Alexis describe how she helps public sector servants become excited about their mission. And how she serves them by distilling the benefits of technology, like AI, into ways that can help them shift themselves and their organizations to higher value tasks. Alexis addresses topics important to public sector leaders: bringing humanity to their roles after Covid, serving as human offramps in how we absorb technology and how to address time poverty in whatever roles each of us performs today.
Make an Impact
Tom Mendoza, former CEO, President and SVP of Sales at NetApp, shares stories about building a Forbes ‘100 Best Companies To Work For’. I had the privilege of working in Tom’s organization for five years. He and I went on a couple of amazing sales calls together where I learned so much about Tom’s preparation and approach. In this fast-paced 23 minute conversation, Tom describes the people, culture and pivots it took to build NetApp and more. With each segment of this interview, you can literally hear the enthusiasm in Tom’s voice as he shares challenges overcome and his trademark career long commitment to making an impact. Tom gives examples of the balance between supporting when things need improving and injecting tension when things are going well, something he learned from Don Valentine, Founder of Sequoia Capital. Hear the story of how Tom figured out a way to Make An Impact by providing pizzas to engineers working past midnight or travelling around the world to see customers. With all the definitions of culture, learn Tom’s point of view: the behavior you witness when you walk into a room. Listen and learn what Tom is up to now and how he is still making an impact in many places. Hear what’s next for Tom and the entire 23 minute podcast on What’s Next Now! #TomMendoza #Leadership #Forbes
Connection Across Generations
This week's show is so much fun! Lindsay Boccardo went from being the lyrics writer and drummer in a rock band to researching the gaps in how millennials and boomers are effective in the workplace. It is such a great story and journey and the conversation is lively, open, direct and informative. Lindsay now works with public and private companies using humor, vulnerable stories and a bit of nostalgia to help teams work better together. Enjoy!
It's in the Genes
Have you ever considered how you became successful?
Is it because of those natural skills and strengths "in your genes", or due to those you have intentionally developed over the years?
Explore your answer and mine as I describe the mix of people, events, choices and random chance that have helped me succeed as a salesperson and coach.
The Future of Work; the Now of Work!
Here we are in 2021 and can really take a look at how technology and human behavior are changing what we expect from work, how we work and where we work-in the future and importantly, right now-today!
With an emphasis on the future of work in government, Brian Chidester interviews me as we discuss the 'how' and 'impact of' work done by those in public service and the contractors supporting them. We look at tools and solutions from Google and other cloud providers being used by and benefiting a multi-generational workforce supporting government missions.
As you ease (or race) into 2021, spend 17 minutes enjoying The Future of Work; the Now of Work for ideas and insights on how habits and changes are impacting the future of government work, right now.
The Mighty Titus
Alexander Titus has biked 3,000+ miles from Alaska to Silicon Valley, worked as a recruiter at Box, picked up a PhD in Biomedical Data Sciences and is now Chief Strategy Officer at ARMI. Here's the crazy thing...that's not even the full list!
What’s so great about the guy I call The Mighty Titus (you'll hear why in the episode) is the humility and quiet determination he uses to create each step of his career and in his public-private leadership roles. In his episode you will hear new attitudes and approaches you can use: like rather than denying inevitable failure, thinking of it as, ‘not yet succeeded’.
For more ideas and actions on how you are going to define, claim and action your next career move follow me on Instagram @garydanoff or email me at gary@garydanoff.com.
Respect the Knowledge, Not the Age
In the age of Zoom and Google Meet, does age really matter? With so many meetings happening over video, we do not have use of the full three dimensions we are used to when creating, shaping and building in person relationships. Yet our need to connect with customers, colleagues and partners is even stronger. Because of this, a door has opened. Previous perceptions and biases formed by age, rank and title are blurred and back-seated to what can be gained, given, advanced and actioned through video--with everyone!
This episode reviews the great gift of having five generations in the workplace today and provides a 3-step approach you can use this week to maximize your learning and goal achievement with and from others, regardless of age!
Build and advance your career using Integrity, Curiosity and Respect
This week on What's Next Now! Karen Terrell, President, US Public Sector at OpenText, describes the great career she built based on the strengths of integrity, curiosity and respect. From early on as an individual contributor and then in multiple leadership roles, Karen shares how continuing to learn about, listen to, and respect others is central to growing her career and leadership style while also breaking new ground as a female leader.
It is a great story, filled with laughter and camaraderie as I have known Karen for 19 years and once worked for her. You will learn AND enjoy hearing about the journey and What's Next Now! for Karen.
'Stylin' Life' with Alicia McCaslin
Hear Alicia McCaslin describe how she's styled her career and life! Beginning in the restaurant industry, then moving into the technology space and sales, Alicia now owns her own successful business as a personal stylist. What you'll love hearing about is Alicia's formula to thrive in her interactions with clients both through social media and in person.
Independent by Choice--you have options on how you work!
Even before COVID many people were asking questions like: 'Can I run my own business? What does it take to be an entrepreneur? Can my passion gig turn into full-time?" Listen to the conversation featuring Kristian Rayner for answers to these and other questions. Kristian has a really interesting background including being a serial entrepreneur and also helping take an established business into new markets and currently works for MBO Partners to help people make the transition in how they work.
18 minutes of influence to increase your value!
Listen to this highly energetic conversation with Jenn Sherman on how to integrate old school and new school to connect and build influence so that your genius is shared and valued!
Are you really 'connecting' through video?
Listen to this episode for five techniques to relax yourself and connect better with customers during video calls to meet your business goals by demonstrating greater connection.
Born I: Meditation, Music and Business
Listen to the calming voice and amazing story of 'Born I'. Learn how
he discovered his calling to combine music, rap and meditation into a business.
Anchor. Educate. Persuade. How great customer relationships are made during COVID.
New to selling, seasoned pro or someone who educates and persuades--
you will enjoy the phenomenon and process Gary talks about today.
Courage to leap: the journey from IBM to the Music Makers
Hear the story of overcoming doubt and timing to leave a great job at IBM and start a company!
Navigating takeout in a work-from-home life.
Get inspired, laugh and enjoy a free recipe from a person who knows how to get
the most value from takeout and blend it into the way we live and eat now. Enjoy!
One day, will you retire or 're-tire' ?
Here's a new way to think about the end game altogether.
Gain back your Customer Contacts
It's easy to get rusty and fall back on staying in touch with customers.
Hear a short story on how to invent a new way to offer value and stay in touch!
During COVID, business is TOTALLY Personal
During COVID, using video for meetings gives everyone a view into home based work places.
It's so personal: the settings, the scene, the sounds, the views...on and on.
Listen for ideas to make this uniquely personal time really count for you
and your customers, students, patients.
Describing 'Sales' to 5th graders. A new way to think about communicating and being persuasive whether you are a professional salesperson, doctor, business owner, chef or barista!
You can't really lie to 5th graders. They see right through it. In fact, they see right into your truth, your intention and more. So when asked to describe the art and science of sales to a group of 5th graders I was super nervous and really challenged. The 4-letter acronym, "Like, Listen, Learn & Persuade (LLL&P)" seemed to work. The kids loved it and so have many professionals--both career salespeople and those who rely on persuasion and audience building for their success.
You 'CAN' always get what you want. Well, not really.
We all wish you we could always get what we want. It doesn't work that way in business, relationships and life. But like the Rolling Stones, " ...you get what you need". This episode shares the story of trial, error, failure and success on my own journey across a section or two of a really satisfying career so far. With humility and gratitude for each peak and valley, listen and grab some insights and practices you can apply to your own circumstance, RIGHT NOW.
I appreciate you! Hear about the amazing power in the word, 'appreciate' and how it impacts others. See how to incorporate this word into conversations in simple ways you hadn't imagined.
What could be more fun than a night out to celebrate a birthday with a good friend? What made it more fun was discovering great customer service provided by an entertainment vendor (iFly) and how one staff member had a lasting impact by using 'appreciate' instead of 'thanks'. Great story.
Human connection during social distancing--3 techniques to help you.
Maintaining human connection during social distancing does not have to mean, 'human distancing'. Combining social media and until now, less practiced forms of neighborhood connecting, the episode shares ideas and insights on how to stay human with colleagues, customers, friends and family during a period of social distancing.
Intro episode
Hear about the inspiration, birth, fun and foundations of What's Next Now!