meta_pixel
Tapesearch Logo
Log in
The Learning Leader Show With Ryan Hawk

202: Jenny Blake - Pivot - What Do You Do When Your Back Is Against The Wall?

The Learning Leader Show With Ryan Hawk

Ryan Hawk

Business, Careers, Management

4.91.4K Ratings

🗓️ 30 April 2017

⏱️ 53 minutes

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

Episode 202: Jenny Blake - Pivot - What Do You Do When Your Back Is Against The Wall?

Subscribe on iTunes  or Stitcher Radio

The Learning Leader Show

"What do you do when your back is against the wall?"

In This Episode, You Will Learn:

  • Common themes of leaders who sustain excellence:
    • Great listeners -- Not just doing
    • Getting the right people in the right seats on the bus
    • Design thinking -- Empathy interviews
  • Common problem with CEO's? -- They surround themselves with people who only agree with them and fear disagreeing with them
    • Requires listening and a culture shift
  • Why Jenny left Google
  • Taking a leave of absence to write a book -- The impact that had on Jenny
  • FONT - "Fear Of Not Trying"
  • The process of uprooting her life and moving to NYC
  • What do you do when your back is up against the wall?
    • Think of a basketball player -- "It's not a 180... it's a pivot."
  • "High Net Growth Individuals" -- People always looking to improve, grow, learn...
  • Advice to others -- Don't worry too much on a formal business plan or thinking too far in advance.  You can't predict it.
  • 4 Stage Pivot Method:
    • Plant - Strengths
    • Scan - People, Skills, Projects, Target
    • Pilot - Test. Like a pilot episode of a TV show -- 3 E's - Enjoy, Expert, Expand
    • Launch
  • Taking measured risks -- Great originals take measured risks (don't have to "burn the boats")
  • Mentors -- "Friend-tors"
    • Don't ask a mentor, "How can I help you?" -- Come up with a list of ideas for them and give them away. Proactively help without them asking
  • "You can navigate uncertainty. We're always doing this."
  • Dealing with Imposter Syndrome
  • "Befriend your fear. It's trying to help you based on old scripts."
  • What % of your job do you dislike?
  • The importance of mediation -- Headspace App
  • Gamification -- Daily To Do List

"What does success look like a year from now?"

Continue Learning:

You may also like these episodes:

Episode 078: Kat Cole – From Hooters Waitress To President of Cinnabon

Episode 071: Nate Boyer - Green Beret, Texas Football, The NFL

Episode 179: How To Sustain Excellence - The Best Answers From 178 Questions

Episode 107: Simon Sinek – Leadership: It Starts With Why

Did you enjoy the podcast?

If you enjoyed hearing Jenny Blake on the show, please don't hesitate to send me a note on Twitter or email me.

Episode edited by the great J Scott Donnell

The Learning Leader Show is supported by Rhone.  Use the code "Hawk" for 15% off.  Rhone... premium activewear engineered with principle, performance and progress for the modern man.  Rhone builds clothing around 3 main tenants: Cutting-edge Performance, Premium Comfort, and Simplistic Style.

Transcript

Click on a timestamp to play from that location

0:00.0

This analogy came to me of a basketball player where when they stopped dribbling, one foot stays planted and the pivot foot can scan for passing options.

0:08.0

Well, I didn't have any grounding. I was ignoring all the assets already under my belt.

0:13.3

I was so focused on what I didn't want,

0:15.4

what I didn't know, what I didn't have,

0:17.3

that none of that propelled the conversation forward.

0:19.7

So it wasn't until I started to look at what was working,

0:22.3

what I did like, what I was great at,

0:24.2

what opportunities you mentioned, the book, speaking gigs, the blog that I had been building

0:28.6

since 2005, these were assets that I had been ignoring

0:33.0

proud to say that this episode of the learning leader show was brought to you by

0:37.6

Rh H-O-N-E-R-D-E-R-D-O-N-E-R-D-O-K-T-C-E-R-T-Kone dot.com premium activeware engineered with principal performance and progress for

0:46.5

the modern man they build clothing around three main tenants cutting edge

0:51.2

performance premium comfort and simplistic style from

0:55.9

rapid moisture wicking to four-way stretch their clothing offers unrivaled durability

1:01.2

and flexibility remember episode number 194 with Roan CEO Nate Checkets.

1:06.0

I love his process for building this business and even more I love their product.

1:11.0

So we're happy to partner together to help you the loyal

1:15.1

listeners of the learning leader show go to Roan.com choose whatever you'd like and

1:21.4

as you're checking out type in the code

1:24.4

Hawk simply Hawk H-A-W-K to get 15% off now Roan does not typically do discount codes, so this is a special one. It will expire within

1:35.1

a few months, but type in Hawk HAWK at Roan.com. Hey and welcome to the Learning Leader Show I am Ryan Hawk.

1:50.0

Thanks so much for being a quick reminder. We'd love to have you further the dialogue in our

...

Please login to see the full transcript.

Disclaimer: The podcast and artwork embedded on this page are from Ryan Hawk, and are the property of its owner and not affiliated with or endorsed by Tapesearch.

Generated transcripts are the property of Ryan Hawk and are distributed freely under the Fair Use doctrine. Transcripts generated by Tapesearch are not guaranteed to be accurate.

Copyright © Tapesearch 2026.