#31: Joey Zwillinger, Allbirds Cofounder—Have a Healthy Sense of Urgency

How Leaders Lead with David Novak

David Novak Leadership

Entrepreneurship, Business, Management

4.8 • 596 Ratings

🗓️ 18 March 2021

⏱️ 59 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

Today’s guest is Joey Zwillinger, Co-Founder of Allbirds, the world’s most comfortable shoe according to Time Magazine. His company is growing by leaps and bounds, and they’ve pioneered a truly sustainable shoe that people really love. But all of it almost never happened. Fortunately, a few years ago, Joey had the courage to ask himself one really powerful question. And when he did, he got a healthy sense of urgency that NOW was the time to start a company that could make a significant impact on the problems surrounding climate change. That healthy sense of urgency is something we can all use, even in our day-to-day lives, to help us figure out what we really want to focus on. In this conversation, you’ll hear how Joey tapped into it for himself, his team, and his company. Plus, you’ll get great insights on making business more sustainable, marketing your products’ differentiators, and lots more. You’ll also learn: How to leverage the power of mentorship, both for corporate leaders and entrepreneurs Tips for navigating business decisions while still upholding your most important values A practical strategy you can use the next time you face a sticky problem A dangerous mindset you have to weed out, especially in successful companies Take your learning further. Get proven leadership advice from these (free!) resources: The How Leaders Lead App: A vast library of 90-second leadership lessons to stay sharp on the go Daily Insight Emails: One small (but powerful!) leadership principle to focus on each day Whichever you choose, you can be sure you’ll get the trusted leadership advice you need to advance your career, develop your team, and grow your business.

Transcript

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0:00.0	Welcome to How Leaders Lead, where every week you get to listen in while I interview some of the very best leaders in the world.
0:10.6	I break down the key learning so that by the end of the episode, you'll have something simple you can apply as you develop into a better leader.
0:18.2	That's what this podcast is all about. Today's guest is Joyce Willinger,
0:23.2	co-founder of Allbirds, the world's most comfortable shoe according to Time magazine.
0:28.3	His company is growing by leaps and bounds, and they pioneered a truly sustainable shoe that
0:34.4	people really love, including me. I've got a pair of them on right now.
0:40.1	But all of it almost never happened. Fortunately, a few years ago, Joy had the courage to ask
0:46.8	himself one really powerful question. And when he did, he got a healthy sense of urgency that now was the time to start a company
0:57.3	and try to make a significant impact on the problems surrounding climate change.
1:03.2	That healthy sense of urgency is something we can all use to help us even in our day-to-day
1:09.8	lives, to help us figure out what we really want
1:12.6	to focus on. I can't wait for you to hear how Joy tapped into it for himself. He also
1:18.2	shares some great insights on making business more sustainable, marketing your product
1:23.2	differentiators, and lots more. So here's my conversation with my good friend and soon to be yours,
1:30.4	Joy's Willinger.
1:37.4	Joy, thanks so much for being on this show. Oh, David, it's awesome to be here and I'm so
1:42.5	humble by those words coming from you. We're big
1:45.0	fans of you over here at Allbirds and your work and what you share with us at that leadership
1:50.2	summit. And also, just in general, your work around recognition has been very impactful to me
1:55.6	personally and to our organization. So thanks for having me on. Well, thank you, Joey. I appreciate it.
2:00.3	You know, I want to get to your personal story and leadership insights. But first, how's your week going?
2:04.8	And can you tell us about a typical week in your life these days?
	...

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